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- From the Principal
- Catholic Life & Reflection
- Happy Birthday
- Celebration of Positive Behaviour
- UR_Fab Program
- Walkathon
- Special End of Term Lunch
- Disco
- Clothing Pool
- Year 3 Zoo Excursion
- Student Achievement
- Lions' Reading Action Program
- Year 5 Camp Payment
- Parenting Ideas
- Camp Australia Holiday Program
- Community Notices
Dear St John the Apostle Primary School Community,
Last night was a fabulous Disco again. It was lots of fun! There are some very good dancers among our students. Thank you to Heather Rattenbury for her wonderful orgasnisation and for all who assist her (Heather has written her thanks below).
The joy of Baptism
Congratulations to Olivia (Year 2) and Emily (Year 1) Thexton on their Baptism at St John the Apostle Parish Church last Sunday at 10.00am mass. It was so lovely to see the their family joyfully celebrate this moment together as part of a Parish Mass. We are baptised into a community of faith and so it is important that the community are witness to this moment and share int the joy. As a member of the parish and Principal of their parish school it was an absolute privilege to be present.
Annual Parent Survey results
On Wednesday evening I shared with the Community Council the results of our Annual Parent Survey.
Thank you to all who participated in the survey. We had a response rate of 40% which is considered very good.
The results below are the Executive Summary and these are represented using a traffic light system.
- Green means that this area is going well. It's important to understand what is contributing to this and how to maintain it.
- Yellow means this is an area that could be a potential issue and so to monitor closely.
- Red means this is an area of significant concern and needs to be addressed.
The results indicate that in many areas we are travelling well (green) with only a few areas to monitor more closely (yellow). We are of course our own worst critics and so we always have areas that we want to improve for our students and families. Our staff work very, very hard and the Executive Team are a great asset to the school. With the continued support of our excellent Community Council and parent community we can continue to grow our school to be the best possible learning environment for our students. Together we are strong.
You can read the results below.
40th Anniversary Celebrations
We're looking forward to a Mass and Picnic at school on Sunday 27 October. We would love to display memorabilia and photos. If you have any old uniforms, old books from school, etc, please contact Stephanie.Stewart@cg.catholic.edu.au or drop them into the front office. We'll make sure that we look after them and return them to you after the event.
It has been a very, very busy term so far. Please find some time to rest over the weekend.
Kind regards,
Matthew Garton (Principal)
I have started watching a new Netflix show called Styling Hollywood. At one point, they wanted to put in an enormous picture window and the builder was not confident it would hold up. The client’s response was “Jesus will hold it up!” He was joking obviously but he had heard it so often that it was his first response.
It got me thinking, about how confident the man was in the Lord’s strength. He must have heard that before in other situations, to not worry, the Lord has your back. Jesus will hold you up.
As it often happens, this scripture has been on my mind this week and I could see the connection.
Philippians 4:13 New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Although I rather prefer the version that says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
I think sometimes we try to be stubborn, I can do this, I do not need help, I am all I need.
I have been reminded this week, for many reasons, that in fact I do need the strength of God to get through, I only have to ask. I am working on it
God bless,
Happy birthday to Evie M, Alana S, Newman M, Isabelle P, Sean O, Layla P, Jacob T, Bior A, Eva G, Bailey C, Ky M, Annet T, Dante L and Anotida Z who all celebrated a birthday over the last week.
Congratulations to the following students who received an award for the fortnightly Positive Behaviour Focus 'Put rubbish in the bin' or another great achievement. The awards will be presented at the School Assembly on Monday 16 September at 2:15pm.
| Class | ||
| KB | Luca V | Vincent N |
| KM | Zain G | Amelia S |
| 1B | Lucius H | Emily T |
| 1M | Joseph G | Nate S |
| 2B | Charlotte H | Cooper P |
| 2M | Dante L | Elsie I |
| 3B | Francesca M Thanish M |
Emily N |
| 3M | Otis H | Sally W |
| 4B | Zeke N | Tai J |
| 4M | Athuai A | Archie B |
| 5B | Keanan D | Catalina G |
| 5M | Holly C | Fergus S |
| 6B | Alicia M | Amen E |
| 6M | Cooper S | Sarah B |
| Performing Arts | Olivia M (6B) | Seth West (3B) |
Understanding and Responding to Feelings and Behaviours
UR FaB
Program in Schools
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
In the last newsletter we spoke about emotion coaching. Emotion coaching is helping children understand the different emotions they experience, why they occur, and how to handle them. Accepting your child’s feelings does not imply accepting his/her behaviour. The message is all feelings are acceptable, but not all behaviours are acceptable. The UR FaB program emphasises the need for clear boundaries and the use of emotion coaching. Combined, these generally help children to feel emotionally supported and reduces challenging behaviour.
Often emotions such as hurt, jealousy, sadness or fear can lead to angry expressions.
It’s important to notice and label the emotion underneath the behaviour, to understand it before setting limits or going over the rules. Using labels to describe your child as naughty or bad etc., or using criticism, sarcasm or contempt does not help your child follow the rules or feel confident or competent.
Some strategies for responding to challenging behaviour:
- Family/household rules – each family needs to have their own rules, for e.g. no hitting, no name calling, no destroying things.
- Loss of privileges – it is important that this approach is non punitive, immediate and short lived to be effective.
- Cooling down time (for parents and children) – this is not time-out; rather it is when an individual chooses to cool down by removing themselves from the situation or by being prompted to leave the situation by someone else. By doing this and engaging in a strategy that reduces the intensity of the emotion (such as by breathing deeply), the parent or child is better able to think through how to respond.
- Reassuring and gently holding the child when they are angry can help, but only if it is clearly understood and felt by both parties to be reassuring and non-abusive and not threatening. When holding a child parents should say soothing words in a calm voice, or say very little.
- Talking after the event: repairing and saying sorry – parents should talk to their child about ways of managing anger at times when the child is not angry. Parents provide an important role model for their children about how to repair after a conflict and how to say sorry to each other.
The UR FaB Team
For more information on emotion coaching:
Gottman, J.M., & DeClair,J. (1997). The Heart of Parenting: Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Tuning in to Kids’ – Authors Sophie Havinghurst & Ann Harley, University of Melbourne
Sponsorship:
Students use the sponsorship card to record donations. Each Friday the students may bring this money into class to add to the class tally. The donations will need to be clearly labelled in a zip lock bag with the word Walkathon, students name and amount. Donations can also be made through QKR.
School fun: As the school gets to different stages, the whole school will enjoy the following.
|
Amount |
Prize |
|
$2000 |
Extra Friday playtime |
|
$5000 |
Out of uniform day |
|
$7000 |
Games afternoon |
|
$10000 |
Movie afternoon (Term 4) |
Prizes:
These will be drawn at a special Walkathon assembly on Friday week 10 at 2pm. Therefore, donations should be into the class teacher by Wednesday 25th September 2019 (Week 10)
Every child who participates in the walk will receive 1 ticket. After this for every $10 the student receives 1 ticket to go into the draw for a class prize. The class prizes will be a variety of sporting equipment, movie vouchers, entertainment vouchers etc. just in time for the school holidays.
After the class prize is drawn, all of the tickets will go into a whole school draw where you have a chance to win the major prize. This year the prize will be a Dell Chromebook!
What happens if I bring in the most money?
Each week (starting this week) the Year 6 students will go to the classrooms to find the person who has obtained the highest donation for the week. The class where the highest donation has been made will receive Zooper Doopers.
On Thursday of week 10 we will establish the person who has brought in the most money overall. This student will receive a Chromebook at the Walkathon assembly.
All proceeds will be used to upgrade the black top of the school to be an inviting space for play.
PLEASE NOTE
We will no longer accept any orders on the day. Ordering at the canteen for this menu will cut off on Wednesday 25th September at 3.00pm.
Orders are available through QKR now.
Last night was our final disco for the year. It’s been a busy term, so it was nice to see so many children come out and enjoy the night. Thank you to all the fantastic volunteers that helped out, we could not run the discos without your continued support. Thank you to the staff that are there to help at every disco, Jack , Tiffeney and of course Anthony our DJ. A big thank you also goes out to the 2 legends in the front office, Leanne and Debbie, I would be lost without you two, the effort you put in behind the scenes to help is amazing and I am very grateful for it. Enjoy the final term everyone.
The disco committee
Upon commencement of Term 3 students will be required to wear full summer school uniform.
The Clothing Pool has very limited stock of girls summer dresses. A decision has been made that summer dresses will not be sold through the Clothing Pool once current stock runs out. All enquiries should be directed to Heather at stjohnsclothingpool@gmail.com
Last night, Brianna S from 5M got her hair cut for charity. She was very brave and had been planning this for a while. She is going to donate her hair to a charity that makes wigs for children who don't have any hair due to illness. Here is a pic of her getting the 'official' cut.
The Lions' Readng Action Program is a worldwide program instigated by the International President of the Lions' organiation in 2012. Since then, each International President (a different person takes on that position each year) has endorsed this Reading Action Program to encourage a love of reading and improve literacy skills worldwide.
The Lions Club has spported the program since 2012 by donating books to many Belconnen school libraries each year.
Thank you to the Lions Club of Belconnen for donating these books to the library.
Just a reminder that payment for Yr 5 camp is to be paid in full by the end of Term 3. You can pay in instalments or in full via the QKR app or over the phone on credit card. If you are experiencing difficulties or would like to discuss payment options please contact Debbie Milne via email finance.sjaps@cg.catholic.edu.au
or phone the school.
Helping your child avoid being cyberbullied
Cyberbullying of children and teenagers is one of the greatest fears facing parents today. The thought of their child being subjected to heinous words, threats to their physical safety, as well as their social and emotional wellbeing, is something no parent wants their child to experience.
Most of the bullying behaviours we now see are happening from behind a keyboard, playing out in social media feeds and gaming chat rooms. It is little wonder parents feel overwhelmed and out of their depth, especially when for most, online is an environment that is relatively unfamiliar.
So what can we do to help our kids avoid these types of behaviours, as well as give them the skills to deal with cyberbullying behaviours should they be exposed?
- Remind them of all of the things they have control over: While it may not feel like it, we have a lot of control over what happens online. We can determine who we talk to, what we ignore, what we share, how we comment, who we follow, who we block or hide from our feeds. All of that, helps us determine who is allowed to play a role in our online experiences and ultimately what behaviours we accept on our feeds
- Give your child time away from the screens: Everyone needs a break from screens. We want to encourage regular times when a child doesn’t need to be tethered to their device. Building a wider community away from the screens helps a child or teen build their sense of self worth. Keeping devices away from the dinner table also gives them a break from being socially switched on and allows the to connect with family without a device. Removing devices at night helps their active brains to switch off, and prepare for sleep.
- Role play possible responses: Discuss with your child whether whether they should respond to bullying or nasty online comments, If they do, then consider how they could respond. Consider the statements or types of people they ignore, block or report.
- Regularly check the privacy settings: Every app, game and social network has a settings button that enables you to determine how positive an experience your child can have on that platform and how much control they have. Visit these settings regularly to look at the options available
While nothing is guaranteed particularly when it comes to the online world, we can certainly be taking steps to help our kids. We can give them skills, encourage positive behaviours and thinking that allow them to minimise their exposure to the bullying behaviours of others.
If your child is being cyberbullied you can also access the reporting tool at esafety.gov.au