Pimples, parties, puberty and everything in between.
Find help navigating adolescence at our Community Forum – Wednesday, 12 August, 2026
From 5.30pm in the Astra Arts Centre or via Zoom
Puberty has always existed. Pimples and parties are nothing new.
What is new is that adolescence is now lived under the constant gaze of digital technology, with friendships extending into bedrooms long after the school day has finished. This is one aspect of modern adolescence that previous generations have never had to navigate.
Our panel of experts offer advice on how to navigate the new perils of the post-preteen years, including emerging sexuality, parents’ responsibility around parties, substances, and online crime.
Amazing Me presents sex education programs to thousands of children and adults every year and has done so for more than 35 years. Presenter Rowena Thomas will explore how parents can have positive conversations about relationships, sex and consent, and the impact increasingly early exposure to pornography is having on young people’s expectations and behaviours.
Chelsea Schaefer is a founding Principal of Moin Morris Schaefer and an experienced lawyer specialising in family, children’s and criminal law. She will unpack the legal realities surrounding consent, intimate images, parties, alcohol, drugs and the responsibilities of both young people and parents.
They will be joined by Rebecca Jackson from the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Command at Surry Hills Police Station, who has more than 15 years’ experience in Child protection with NSW Police. Rebecca will share real examples and provide insight into online grooming, image-based abuse and the ways seemingly innocent online interactions can escalate into criminal exploitation.
At the end of the evening, College Principal, Mrs Nicola Taylor, and College Psychologist Penny Kempton will join the panel for a Q&A session.
ADULTS ONLY. Book now via Humanitix: https://events.humanitix.com/plc-armidale-2026-community-forum
Our annual Community Forums are open to all adults in the region, regardless of where their daughters go to school. This event is one of a series focusing on factors that impact the growth and development of young women in an increasingly technological, disconnected, digital and highly sexualised world.