Dean of Students, Mr Damien Cuddihy

With the commencement of exams around the College this week for Years 5-9 and the Year 11 and 12 students already off campus on exam block the buildings are certainly a little quieter at the moment. However, this doesn’t hide the intensity of exam time for all staff and students over the next week. It’s important that the boys are organised and well rested in order to be in a frame of mind that is conducive to producing their best effort in an exam.

This month’s TerraceSchool TV topic looks at the impact of gambling in the sports marketing industry. Many of our students are particularly vulnerable to marketing tactics and this is greatly concerning. Research shows that children as young as eight, are able to easily recall the marketing for sports betting. It is having a major impact on the way in which young people think about the relationship between gambling and sport. The 'normalisation' of sports betting is posing a threat to Australian teenagers.

Children are also being inadvertently exposed to simulated gambling and gambling sites through mobile devices. With video games being extremely popular, this has the potential to blur the boundary between video gaming and gambling. Research suggests that more than 40 per cent of young people, who have an interest in video games with gambling-like features, will also have a preoccupation with gambling or intend to gamble in the future.

A study conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research, found that up to five per cent of young people in Australia will develop gambling problems before the age of 25. A link to this month’s topic can be found here.

With the last round of Rugby, Basketball and Chess upon us this weekend I would like to thank you all for your support of the programs this term. The mid-week training and weekend drop-offs and pick-ups are always difficult to manage but it’s your presence that we thank you for. I know it means a great deal to the boys when they know someone is sitting on the side line watching them play.