St Benedict's Primary School - Narrabundah eNewsletter

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we reach the half way point of the term we tend to notice that our students become tired and less resilient. Things that would normally not bother or upset them become major issues. When our students are resilient they feel confident and capable of dealing with life’s challenges and their ability to learn and pay attention in school is improved.

What is resilience?

Resilience is the ability to cope with change and challenges – to ‘bounce back’ and recover when things go wrong. Ups and downs, change and challenges are a normal part of life and everyone goes through periods of feeling stressed, angry or unhappy. But if kids are stressed for long periods of time, stress hormones (particularly cortisol) can build up in their brain and interfere with their ability to learn and pay attention in school. Using healthy coping skills to deal with stress can help your child to pay attention, use higher level thinking skills and learn new facts and ideas.

Resilience involves behaviours, thoughts and actions that can be learned over time. Here are some tips for encouraging resilience in your child.

Strong relationships

Encourage your child to develop a wide social circle of friends through school and extra-curricular activities. Help your child develop and maintain strong connections with yourself and other family members who they can talk to and go to for advice.

By encouraging strong relationships and good communication, your child will have the opportunity to talk about important issues affecting them and feel supported when they experience life’s inevitable disappointments and hurts. Connecting with people provides social support and strengthens resilience.

Self-respect

Self-respect is very important to building resilience. When your child believes in themselves, they will have the confidence to handle challenges and disappointments when they occur. Encourage your child to learn to trust themselves to solve problems and make good decisions. Talk to your child about when they have successfully handled difficult situations in the past – and let them know that previous challenges can help you build strength to handle difficult situations in the future.

Values

Resilience is linked to character traits such as kindness, honesty and empathy. Doing things to help others or ‘make a difference’ can help build children’s sense of worth and strengthen their resilience. Talk to your child about the importance of being kind to other people and encourage them to get involved in age-appropriate volunteering (such as Mini Vinnies).

Change is part of life

Change can often be scary for children. Help your child understand that change is part of life, and that changes can be positive. Talk about how people grow and learn new things through change. Encourage your child to think about how they have already changed and grown so much since they started school. Try to give your child extra attention and patience if they are feeling anxious about changes in their life – and let them know that though some things will change, they can always rely on your love and support.

Onwards and upwards

When your child experiences a difficult situation in their lives, try to talk to them about it and give them your encouragement and support. Let them know everyone goes through troubles and that bad times don’t last forever. Talk to your child about situations in your own life when you have gone through a hard time or succeeded despite an initial setback.

Encourage your child to think about ways they can make themselves feel better when something upsetting happens – like doing a fun activity, talking with a friend or going for a walk. Help your child to see the good things in life (even in times of stress) and be optimistic about the future. Encouraging your child to develop a positive attitude will help strengthen their resilience.

Self-care

Encourage your child to eat properly, exercise and get enough sleep – and make sure they have ‘down-time’ to just relax have fun. Making sure your child is healthy and has time for fun will help them stay balanced and better able to deal with stressful times.

Next week is Sabbath Week. It is typically Week 7 each term and is a week to pause, rest and be present to each day. The Sabbath is a traditionally Jewish custom where one day in seven was devoted to rest and worship. Many other cultures have similar cultural observances.

At St Benedict’s the Sabbath Week is specifically timed when energy levels begin to dip during the term giving us a small pause before completing the final weeks of the term. We do not send homework during that week so as to provide families with a little respite from very busy home routines. We always encourage reading as a pleasurable activity so we provide readers for our younger students, not referring to this as homework.

I hope all families enjoy a restful long weekend.

God bless.

Rachel Smith

Principal

Whole School Performance – All Around The World

Due to COVID restrictions we will be performing our whole school performance on three occasions over 2 days. Please save the date for the whole school performances; Tuesady 20^th July, 11.30am & 6pm, and Wednesday 21^st July, 6pm. More information will follow shortly. All students are participating in the performance and are busily practicing their class items.

Eating Area Tree Roots

I am very excited to say that after 6 years of trying to come up with a solution to the ongoing tree root problem, work will begin shortly on the removal of four of the offending trees. In our search for a solution the quotes ranged from $86,000 to over a million dollars. Thankfully Catholic Education will be funding and overseeing the project. This is a huge relief for the school.

Enrolments Close on 28^th May

We have a great school, with wonderful kids, dedicated staff and supportive families. Please spread the word amongst family and friends, reminding those with pre-schoolers that enrolments close on Friday 28^th May.

Questions from Parents

Our staff are always very, very happy to answer any questions about the learning environment and program offered for your child. If your child comes home talking about the classroom and something sounds a little odd then please be sure to clarify directly with the teacher. A simple email is always effective or a quick conversation after or before school is also helpful. They are always happy to ring you back if you leave a message.

Signing In or Signing Out

A reminder to parents and carers if children are arriving late or departing early from school. All students must be signed in or out by their parent or guardian at the office.

School Uniform

There have been many children arriving at school in the incorrect footwear lately. Just a reminder that students are to wear black school shoes with their winter uniform and not sports shoes. Thank you for your support with this.

Leaving St Benedict’s

If you anticipate that your child will leave St Benedict’s at the end of this year, could you please notify the Front Office. We need to begin planning for staffing and class configurations for 2022. Thank you to those who have let us know already, this is very much appreciated. Naturally Year 6 parents need not respond to this request.

Winter Woollies Preparation

In preparation for our upcoming Winter Woollies Day (Week 10) families are encouraged to start cleaning out their wardrobes ready to donate any unwanted winter woollies such as gloves, scarves, jumpers, jackets, beanies, coats, blankets and sleeping bags. All donations must be adult sizes. Please keep your donations at home until Winter Woollies Day.

Reconciliation Liturgy

Next Tuesday (1^st June 10.30am in the Hall) Year 1/2 Gold and our indigenous students will lead our school community in our Reconciliation Liturgy. During this liturgy the whole school artwork piece from Harmony Day will be blessed and presented to the school for display. All families and friends are welcome to attend this celebration.

Prayer

God of all creation,

We thank you for this beautiful land,

for the first peoples you gave to care for it,

for its richness and beauty

and many peoples who have made it their home. Australia has been good to us.

Teach us to care for our beautiful land and waters,

and help us to share kindly, the resources of this land.

Teach us to respect all cultures.

May your love be the foundations on which we build our nation.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Child Protection is Everyone’s Business

According to Dr Katrina Lines from Act for Kids, it is a new age of parenting. “Easy access to age-inappropriate content is a major factor influencing young minds. So, education is crucial! It’s time we start a conversation about the material our kids might be accessing, or someone else might be showing them.”

The internet can be accessed from almost anywhere, so protecting children is everyone’s business. Games, apps, social networking, and texting are increasingly popular among children and adults alike.

It can be challenging to supervise a child’s exposure to inappropriate content online but it’s vital that we model appropriate behaviour and communicate the importance of online safety to help keep children’s safe.

Our research reveals three quarters of Australian believe online content is the biggest cause of inappropriate sexual behaviours, yet two-thirds of parents fail to secure their devices and one in two allow their children unsupervised access online.

Did you know?

Three steps to help protect kids online…

Today, we celebrated National Sorry Day, which leads into National Reconciliation Week. The theme this year is “Reconciliation Takes Action” Reconciliation is a journey for all Australians – as individuals, families, communities, organisations and importantly as a nation. At the heart of this journey are relationships between the broader Australian community and our First Nations peoples.

Next week, our school will gather to pray for Reconciliation, may we remember that May 27th and June 3rd are important dates in Australia’s history. May 27th marks the anniversary of the 1967 referendum when Australians voted to remove clauses in the Australian Constitution which discriminated towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. June 3rd marks the historic 1992 Mabo decision in which the High Court of Australia recognised native title – the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights over their lands.

Please join us next Tuesday June 1st 10:30am in the hall, for our Reconciliation Liturgy.

Linda de Salis

Aboriginal Contact Teacher

School Fees
Thank you to all the families that have already paid their school fees. Term 2 fees were due last Friday 21st May.

If you have any concerns regarding paying your fees, particularly due to COVID-19, please do not hesitate to contact either Ms Rachel Smith or Mrs Belinda McRae at the Front Office.

Water Bottles

As winter is approaching all students still need to drink plenty of water. As the school bubblers are still closed please make sure your child/children bring their water bottle to school each day.

Lunch Boxes
During the colder months we notice that more children are needing extra sandwiches made as they are eating all their food at recess. Please take time to talk with your child/children about what is in their lunch box and how much food they might need.

Important dates to note for this term are:

3-28 May Enrolment Period to Friday 28th May
26 May National Sorry Day
28 May      Yr5/6 Excursion To Jerrabomberra Wetlands
31 May Reconciliation Day (Public Holiday)
1 Jun Reconciliation Day Liturgy, 10.30am
Parents & Friends Meeting, 6.30pm
4 Jun First Friday Mass, 10.00am
Whole School Assembly, 2.30pm
8 Jun School Board Meeting, 6.00pm
11 Jun       World of Maths Visit
14 Jun Queen's Birthday (Public Holiday)
17 Jun Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge
Ambassador visit
Yr5/6 Silence is Deadly visit
Learning Showcase, 2.00pm
18 Jun       Semester reports sent home
Whole School Assembly, 2.30pm
20 Jun First Communion Mass, 9.00am
21 Jun Parent—Teacher Interviews (Optional)
22 Jun       Parent—Teacher Interviews (Optional)
23 Jun       Mini Vinnies Winter Woolies Day
24 Jun Athletics Carnival (Whole School) - NEW DATE
25 Jun St Benedict’s Feast Day Mass, 10.00am
Ways of Being Award Assembly, 2.15pm
Term 2 concludes

The following notes are going home this week.

Jerrabomberra Wetlands Excursion - Years 5 & 6
Year_56_excursion_Jerrabomberra_Wetlands.pdf

Happy Birthday to the following children who celebrates their special day this week: Finn Mc.

Year 1/2B: Fergus K

Year 1/2G: Jack K

Year 3/4B: Zachary H

Year 3/4G: Arwyn S

Year 5/6B: Lucia M

Year 5/6G: Angus C

Kindergarten: Verona N, Oscar Q and Annaya P

Year 1/2B: Henri R, Lydia P and Isabella M

Year 1/2G: Pragna L and Zoe N

Year 3/4B: Lucy W and Alexander H

Year 3/4G: Anna N and Gordon S

Year 5/6B: George P, Ekamjok K and Ava D

Year 5/6G: Oliver J, Millie R and Isadora N

Entertainment Books
Each year to help with a little fundraising the P&F participates in the sale of Entertainment Books and this year as we are not able to travel overseas as freely they have a special offer until the 31st May.

Support St Benedict's Primary School and unlock your free upgrade: https://www.entertainment.com.au/orderbooks/23231n

The lost property box was emptied last week and is filling fast. We ask parents to check with their child/children to ensure they have checked and collected any missing items from the lost property box on a daily basis. (It only takes 21 days to create a new habit).

Thank you to the families that have already returned items that have accidently gone home. Please check that your child/ren are bringing their uniform home as it is an easy mistake to pick up someone else's uniform. Please place the incorrect uniform in the lost property box or return it to the student or front office.

PLEASE ENSURE YOUR CHILD/REN'S CLOTHING, LUNCH BOX AND DRINK BOTTLES ARE LABELLED WITH THEIR NAME.

If you require uniform items from the clothing pool please email the school office.stbenedicts@cg.catholic.edu.au or contact Mrs McRae with a list of items required. We will endeavour to fill your order and reply to you as soon as possible.

School Ties
We have sourced 10 new school ties from Savvy's. These ties are now available for purchase from the clothing pool for $25 each. Unfortunately, these are the only ties we have available as all donated ties have now been sold.

Apple slinky Tuesdays
We thank the wonderful parents that come and do slinky apples for students each Tuesday morning. There is no cost, we just ask that students bring their own apple to be slinkied for fruit break. We understand that the mornings are getting cold, but the students are still having fruit break each day and a apple slinky is just another way to make fruit more appealing.

Next week our school Tuckshop returns on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The new menu will go up on Qkr! over the coming days ready for you to place your orders before 9am Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Lunch orders must be ordered in the morning. Don’t forget to use the Qkr! App to place your child’s order. Volunteers are always welcome. No amount of time is too small.

St Benedict's Parish
Office Hours: Tuesday to Friday 9am to 12noon
Phone: 62957879
Email: narrabundah@cg.org.au
Web: website: http://cg.org.au/narrabundah/Home.aspx

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