Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care

Week 10 of Term 3 always comes with mixed emotions. It has been a busy term with St John Paul Day and Student/Parent/Teacher meetings and the final school days for our Year 12  just to name a few for our general school body. The holidays will come as a welcome opportunity to rest and recharge.

As mentioned, this week we celebrate the achievements of our Year 12 class of 2025 and farewell them as they approach their HSC exams. This can be a difficult time for students as well as parents. Leading up to these exams can be a time of uncertainty, stress, fear, helplessness, disappointment, negative thoughts (rumination about past poor performances, consequences of failure, feeling inadequate, helpless), mind going blank, and racing thoughts. It isn’t all doom and gloom there are also feelings of being well prepared and ready to embrace the next chapter in their lives. As parents it’s very difficult to navigate through these emotions with your child even if this isn’t your first time. Personally, as a parent, I have had four very different experiences.

Your child may feel an enormous amount of pressure about the HSC. As a parent or carer you play an important role in giving them the confidence, support and stability to cope with their final exams. Here are some ideas for supporting them:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/student-wellbeing/stay-healthy-hsc/resources/tips-to-support-your-kids

You should always encourage your child to study and work to the best of their ability but also balance their lives with friends, family, health and rest.

A good diet and healthy routine helps maintain concentration and energy levels. This should include:

• plenty of protein and complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables
• lots of drinking water
• moderated caffeine - if your child must have a coffee, try to limit it to one per day and don't drink coffee after midday
• plenty of sleep - teenagers don't always realise how much sleep they need; at least eight to 10 hours a night is recommended
• exercise and time to switch off and relax each day.

Prudence Greene, Leader, Secondary Education at NSW Department of Education, says it's understandable students and parents want to achieve the best results in the HSC:

"But in the determination to succeed students should not forget that a balanced life is key to success," she says. "Too much of a focus on one area can be counter-productive."

There’s no question that most HSC students are feeling the pressure. In fact, a University of NSW study found that 40% of HSC students displayed symptoms of depression, high stress or anxiety.

By helping to create a calm home environment, you can reduce their anxiety. You could also consider changes to their bedroom, so it is a space where they feel comfortable and relaxed to work.

Meditation is another good way to overcome stress. There are plenty of options to choose from too such as Headspace or Insight Timer.

As a parent or carer, you need to look after your own wellbeing too. As a family unit, you are part of the HSC journey. 

Our young people are very fortunate that there are many ways for them to achieve success after the HSC. Career paths may go in the direction of tertiary education, internships, apprenticeships, etc. Whether they are searching for a job for the first time or are interested in a particular career, it’s important for them to understand what their options are. 

After listening to Dr.Michael Carr- Gregg (a psychologist specialising in adolescent mental health and parenting adolescents) on many occasions I often find myself looking to his writings for some practical advice.

“If in life if you can’t change something, change the way you think about it”.

This means when your students are dealing with self-doubt and anxiety around their progress they should try to change their mind set from “I need to achieve a high ATAR or I won’t succeed in life” to the exams being “a great opportunity to show the examiners what I know”.

Michael also believes it is always best to take an individual approach with students. Everyone develops at their own pace, and some Year 12 students are simply still trying to figure out who they are and what they want to do in life. A great way to support those students is to remind them that there are many options available, such as:

• Bridging courses – great pathways to get into their preferred course
• Second round offers
• Gap years – this will give them the opportunity to really consider their options and what they want to do.

We need to remind our young people to try their best and exam results do not define us as a person.

In closing, it would be remiss of me not to thank Year 12 for all their efforts over the years. A particular vote of thanks to Makaylah and Chayton (our 2025 College Captains) for all their hard work, especially this year. They have guided the student body in an outstanding way doing their very best to understand the needs of the students while also balancing the complicated aspects of such a large organisation that is SJPC. Well done!

Year 12, all the best and God bless Year 12.