Dear St John the Apostle Primary School Community,

We have had a beautiful day today, celebrating the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Thank you to Fr Gerard for celebrating Mass with us and for the choir (with Mrs MacDonald and Mr Spencer) for leading us in singing together. Thank you to Mrs Stephanie Stewart who organised the entire day.

I have to say that Mass was a particular highlight with everyone being so prayerful and participating heartily in the singing. It was also lovely to sing Happy Birthday with the whole school to begin celebrating our 40th Anniversary.

School Reports & Parent-Teacher Interviews

Today student reports are sent home with the students. The report format is the same used across every Catholic primary school in our Archdiocesan system. It is designed for, and addressed to, adults. Please take the time to read the report before sharing it with your child. 

My own children knew they were never allowed to open their report envelope before my wife or I. Thankfully we worked closely with the teachers and there were never any surprises for our children or us. Each of my children had varied and different academic results and so we always concentrated first on the Personal and Social Capabilities because this always indicated if they were doing their best as a learner and a member of a community.

Parent-Teacher Interviews are next week and bookings close at 3.00pm this Sunday. Please make sure you book in your times through the SZapp or at the following link

SFX Change in dismissal time

Some parents will already know that from next term St Francis Xavier College are moving their arrival and dismissal times back by 10 minutes. SFX students will begin at 8.30am and finish at 3.00pm. There will be no changes to our times. The only impact will be that, with SFX dismissing students at 3.00pm, there may be more congestion for cars at pick up time. Parents will need to factor this into their arrangements.

On this note, I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents that:

• Morning supervision begins at 8.20am. Students should not be at school before 8.20am. Camp Australia run a very good before school care program for students arriving early.
• School begins at 8.50am. A number of students arrive after this time and this impacts on their engagement in the important literacy learning that happens at the beginning of each day. Mornings can be tough in some houses and we appreciate every effort to get students to school on time.

As we finish the term strong I hope you all have lovely plans in place for the coming school holiday period.

Kind regards,

Matthew Garton (Principal)

P.S. Please look at the exciting opportunity below for students in our school.

Happy birthday to Henry C, Cooper W, James T, Nicolai L and Austin P who all celebrated a birthday over the last week.

It’s been a busy term in the Library with students working on various research projects and  events such as Reconciliation and Refugee Week. The Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge is well underway and it’s been a hive of activity at Recess and Lunch for social and recreation activities, including Chess Club on Thursdays and a ‘makerspace’ with Lego and games. 

We hope to expand the makerspace next term with more construction and craft activities and include a space for kids to hang their wonderful artworks. If you have any excess craft supplies at home, we would welcome them.

Library Opening Hours

We love having visitors in the library! Just a reminder the Library is open for family borrowing on Wednesday from 2.50pm – 4pm. Students must be accompanied by a parent/carer. 

Library Volunteers

We have an amazing group of Year 6 students who assist at lunch times during the week.  If any parents would like to help with book covering/small jobs on Monday-Wednesdays, we would love to see you.

Overdue Library Books

As we approach the end of term, Overdue Notices will be sent out this week. Please have a good look at home for overdue library books. They might be hiding under beds, or mixed up with other books on your shelves at home.  If books are 6 months or more overdue, we will be sending home a notice and requesting either replacement or payment of $8.00 each book.

Any books loaned this and next week will be due back after the holidays.

If you are having trouble locating a book or think you have already returned a book, please contact us. 

Happy reading!

Mrs Georgina Jaram (Teacher/Librarian)

Mrs Vanessa Hallaj (Library Assistant)

Helping kids tolerate discomfort

by Michael Grose

Few right-minded people want children or young people to experience hardships or difficulty. However growing up generally means that kids will experience their fair share of hardships, frustrations and challenges which lead to uncomfortable feelings.

Exercising their discomfort muscles

Tolerating discomfort is an important resilience skill. It refers to an ability to sit with an uncomfortable or emotionally painful feeling such as disappointment, apprehension, nervousness or fear. These emotions can be brought about as a result of not being picked for a team; getting lower than expected marks for an assignment; or going into new, unfamiliar situation such as school camp. These are the sorts of every day situations that can make some kids feel uncomfortable. It’s helpful to think of discomfort as a ‘muscle’ that gets stronger with training. Each time a child or teen successfully tolerates discomfort they’re reinforcing their ability to do so and cementing the knowledge that they can overcome emotional challenges.

Opportunities to practise tolerating discomfort

Opportunities for practice are plentiful and are found in common situations such as when a child or teen is: feeling hungry; wanting something they can't have; having to end screen time; contributing to household chores when they don't feel like it; missing out on a job interview; asking someone on a date or not receiving a party invitation.

It’s not toughing it out

Tolerating discomfort doesn’t mean toughing out an unbearable situation. It’s teaching your anxious child to notice how they’re feeling, naming their emotions, and practising acceptance of difficult feelings as they occur. This is done in the knowledge that what they’re experiencing is temporary and that they’re lovingly supported by a warm and comforting adult. Couple tolerating discomfort with social rewards (such as words of praise or shared fun activity) for coping behaviours and you’re helping to build their personal resilience.