WEEK 10

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you for your continued support of our community in this challenging time. This week the teachers have transitioned the students into an online approach to learning and teaching for both the students at school and at home. I would like to congratulate the teachers who are doing a magnificent job meeting the needs of the students.

At the beginning of each day, the teachers have prepared an “Morning Greeting”, which consists of a prayer, a greeting, sometimes a story and a guide to the day’s activities. This greeting will be found on your child’s class page located in either Seesaw or GOOGLE classroom. It is important that the children have interacted with this greeting by at least 10:30am each day, as the interaction is lodged as part of our attendance record.

Over the past week we have held many ZOOM meetings. If you have ever been in one, you will know that our screens look like an oversized “Brady Bunch”, yet, amazingly, these online meetings work really well. I think one of my meetings last week had over 65 participants in it! These were teachers, Assistant Principals and Principals from across our Diocese, who were meeting together to gain ideas on how to best support our students. Out of all of this, I can definitely say, that I am so encouraged by the motivation and genuine concern our St Michael’s staff have for your children. They want to do their very best to support you and to support the students we miss so very much.

Each day, the teachers are working together to develop effective ways to cater for online/home learning. They have been exploring the best online platforms for delivery and the best online resources for the students to access. These are the small steps we are undertaking, that will bring together our previous class practices with the new home learning practices. Teachers and support staff are embracing all that is being provided, which is a credit to their own learning and professionalism. It's new work, and a lot is being expected of our staff in this difficult time. We are all really appreciative of the positive messages of thanks and encouragement that parents have sent to staff. These acts of support and kindness are what we need right now….. thank you….

My wish is for you all to stay safe and positive and know that we are doing all that is possible to support your child’s wellbeing and learning. Our staff are undertaking this new way of teaching with grace and a strong determination to ensure that no child shall go without an opportunity to learn, wonder and engage with others. I understand that this task of home learning can be daunting at times for all members of a family. My main message in regards to this, is to take every day as it comes. If it is a day where you spend quality time doing special things with your children, then that in itself is the best learning they can have……. the learning that they are loved and cared for, they are safe, that they have parents who will always be there for them.

We pray that you all find happiness in the joy of your family and the love of God. Take care everyone and God bless.

Mrs Katrina West.

Praise Song

Praise be the nurses and doctors, every medical staff bent over flesh to offer care, for lives saved and lives lost, for showing up either way,

Praise for the farmers, tilling soil, planting seeds so food can grow, an act of hope if ever there was,

Praise be the janitors and garbage collectors, the grocery store clerks, and the truck drivers barrelling through long quiet nights,

Give thanks for bus drivers, delivery persons, postal workers, and all those keeping an eye on water, gas, and electricity,

Blessings on our leaders, making hard choices for the common good, offering words of assurance,

Celebrate the scientists, working away to understand the thing that plagues us, to find an antidote, all the medicine makers, praise be the journalists keeping us informed,

Praise be the teachers, finding new ways to educate children from afar, and blessings on parents holding it together for them,

Blessed are the elderly and those with weakened immune systems, all those who worry for their health, praise for those who stay at home to protect them,

Blessed are the victims of violence, the homeless and refugees,

Praise for the poets and artists, the singers and storytellers, all those who nourish with words and sound and colour,

Blessed are the ministers and therapists of every kind, bringing words of comfort,

Blessed are the ones whose jobs are lost, who have no savings, who feel fear of the unknown gnawing,

Blessed are those in grief, especially who mourn alone, blessed are those who have passed into the Great Night,

Praise for police and firefighters, paramedics, and all who work to keep us safe, praise for all the workers and caregivers of every kind,

Praise for the sound of notifications, messages from friends reaching across the distance, give thanks for laughter and kindness,

Praise be our four-footed companions, with no forethought or anxiety, responding only in love,

Praise for the seas and rivers, forests and stones who teach us to endure,

Give thanks for your ancestors, for the wars and plagues they endured and survived, their resilience is in your bones, your blood,

Blessed is the water that flows over our hands and the soap that helps keep them clean, each time a baptism,

Praise every moment of stillness and silence, so new voices can be heard, praise the chance at slowness,

Praise be the birds who continue to sing the sky awake each day, praise for the primrose poking yellow petals from dark earth, blessed is the air clearing overhead so one day we can breathe deeply again,

And when this has passed may we say that love spread more quickly than any virus ever could, may we say this was not just an ending but also a place to begin.

CHRISTINE VALTERS PAINTNER, Abbey of the Arts *a work in progress (24/3/2020)

TERM ONE PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS
This week, teachers will contact parents in Years 2-6 for their Term 1 Parent/Teacher interviews. The interviews conducted so far have proven very beneficial to gauge the level of support you may need for your child’s learning at home. Please don’t hesitate to contact our staff if there is any help you require. We are only a phone call or email away.

In this issue of the newsletter, we have a range of other resources that may be useful for parents in supporting your child's wellbeing and learning at school or at home.

WELLBEING UPDATE
During this time of uncertainty, it can be hard for a child and adult to comprehend what is actually going on. There are a number of services that can support you during this time. These are just a couple of websites that have been developed specifically around COVID-19:

• World Health Organization: Helping children cope with stress during the 2019-nCoV
• outbreak
• Headspace (information for young people): how to cope with stress related to Novel
• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Australian Childhood Foundation: Staying connected with our children
• Australian Childhood Foundation (Kids News): It's not all bad news; there is good
• news too
• Beyond Blue: looking after your mental health during the coronavirus outbreak
• Beyond Blue (online forum): coping during the Coronavirus outbreak
• The Australian Psychological Society: advice about maintaining positive mental
• health during the outbreak

We have been so impressed with the resiliency shown by all of our students. They are all engaged and focused on their learning with a huge smile. Encourage your child to ask questions if they want to, and emphasise why social distancing and hygiene are so important.

PHOTOS
We would love to see some photos of the students working from home. If you would like to share a photo, please email it to info@smmdow.catholic.edu.au

All of the photos we receive, we will put on our school website page for the students to see.

BE HEALTHY – BE ACTIVE DURING ISOLATION
Most parents rely on organised sports and school sport programs to keep their children active but what do you do now that they have all been placed on hold?  

Children and adults need physical activity every day. Activity helps build better bones, muscles, joints and helps maintain a healthy weight. Physical activity can also reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. Get active anyway you can - walking, riding, swimming, and playing active games such as Duck, Duck, Goose or Bull Rush. These games can be played in the backyard with siblings or family members.

There are plenty of online videos on YouTube using dance routines for kids, yoga and simple exercise circuits that are easy for parents to access. 

Otherwise join your children to:

• Take a walk
• Run laps around your backyard
• Bounce on a trampoline
• Play a game like hopscotch, kick ball or handball
• Jump rope
• Chase bubbles
• Hula hoop
• Dance around the house
• Throw a bean bag around indoors

Remember to KEEP IT SIMPLE, MAKE IT FUN, ADD IN MUSIC, CHANGE IT UP AND SET GOALS.

Best wishes,
Mrs Katrina West
Principal