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Catholic Schools' Week is a special time in the year when we celebrate the extraordinary achievements of our Catholic schools. It is a time to give thanks for the wonderful teaching and learning that takes place each day in every classroom. We acknowledge and thank all who work in the service of Catholic education to create the opportunities for students that allow them to grow and thrive. The CEDoW theme for CSW 2019 is ‘The future has a name, and that name is hope’. This has been inspired by our core values, listed in the new Vision and Strategic Direction for Catholic Education in the Diocese of Wollongong 2019-2022, “All who contribute to Catholic Education in the systemic schools of the Diocese of Wollongong are called to act with: Hope, Integrity, Justice and Compassion”.
Dear Lord
We thank you for
the wisdom and understanding of teachers
the enthusiasm and energy of students
the leadership of school Principals and executive staff
the skill, care and commitment of administrative and support staff
the guidance of our pastors and religious leaders
the support and partnership of parents, carers and local communities.
We pray that each student’s learning journey be inspired by a search
for your wisdom and truth.
We pray that we never take for granted the learning opportunities that
we have all been given, and that we use the gifts of learning wisely
and responsibly.
We ask that we use what we have learnt to create a better world for all
people, articularly the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen
This Friday we will be having a longer assembly, which will be held around the prayer space in the playground (weather permitting). The assembly will start earlier at 2.20pm.
P&F Meeting and Uniform Committee Meeting
At 1.30pm this Friday (and before the assembly) we will be holding our P&F Meeting and Uniform Committee Meeting. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. The meetings will end in time for our assembly.
Diocesan Launch of Project Compassion
Today three of our Year 6 students have accompanied Mrs Petzer to the launch of this year’s Caritas Project Compassion Launch. The students will bring back with them project compassion boxes for each classroom and the front office. If you are able to, please give generously during lent to provide resources that will make major changes in the lives of whole communities. As the season progresses we will learn about each of the communities we are supporting.
Parent Teacher Interviews (Years 1-6)
Parent teacher interviews will be held in week 9 of this term. Please see details in this newsletter regarding how to book your interview.
Have a lovely week everyone,
Kayleen Petzer
Congratulations to the following students who were nominated for Student of the Week:
Kinder - Taylah Steen
Year 1 – Cooper Ford-Hucker
Year 2 – Nate Horder
Year 3 – Billy Lyons
Year 4 – Ava Fairbairn
Year 5 – Emily Putland
Year 6 – Alex Steen
The trophies were presented to:- Cooper and Alex
Keep up the wonderful work!
Enrolments for Kindergarten 2020
Application forms are now available for collection from the school office or can be downloaded from our website or by using the link below.
When the application form has been fully completed it should be returned to the office with the required documentation and a current family photo by 12 April 2019.
Tomorrow, Wednesday 6th March, Years 1 - 6 will gather together with members of the Parish to celebrate Mass for Ash Wednesday at 9:30 am. As ashes are placed on each person’s forehead in the form of the cross, we will hear the words ‘Repent and believe in the Gospel’. Lent is a time of reflection and change. The church asks us to do three things during Lent: fast, pray and give alms. We do this as a sign of our desire to follow Jesus’ example.
Over the next six weeks it would be lovely if the children of St Michael’s were encouraged to donate a little bit of their own money to support ‘Project Compassion’ (Caritas Australia’s annual Lenten appeal). Boxes will be placed in each classroom. Money raised helps people in great need throughout Australia and some of the poorer parts of the World.
A group of children are commencing a preparation program for the Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation). We will keep the children in our thoughts at this important time.
This week is Catholic Schools Week across NSW. We will have an outdoors prayer ceremony at the start of our Friday Assembly. During the week each class will consider and celebrate the unique and important elements of a Catholic school.
Mr Richard Tuckwell, REC
Listed below are some important school dates. The school calendar is updated regularly and can be accessed via the school website, Compass Parent Portal and Skoolbag.
MARCH
| Tuesday 5th | Western Region Swimming Carnival |
| Wednesday 6th | Ash Wednesday Mass |
| Friday 8th |
1.30pm Uniform Committee Meeting and P&F Meeting 2:20pm Special prayer liturgy and Assembly outdoors (weather permitting) |
| Friday 15th | Year 2 Maubara Fundraiser |
| Monday 18th | Staff Development Day (pupil free day) |
| Monday 25th - Friday 29th March | Parent Teacher Interviews (Years 1-6) |
APRIL
| Monday 1st | Cross Country |
| Wednesday 3rd | Musica Viva Incursion |
| Friday 12th | End of Term 1 |
| Monday 29th | First day of Term 2 Students return to school |
MAY
| Wednesday 1st | Kinder 2020 Interviews (new families) |
| Monday 6th | Kinder 2020 Interviews (siblings) |
| Tuesday 7th | Diocesan Cross Country |
| Wednesday 8th | Years 5 and 6 excursion to Canberra |
| Tuesday 14th - Friday 24th | Naplan online |
Swimming
We wish our students well today as they compete in the Western Region Swimming Carnival in Campbelltown. We hope they have a great day.
Congratulations to the students who attended the Southern Highlands Independent Schools’ carnival last week, they all participated well and had a great day.
Compass Tips #2 - Parent/Teacher Interviews (Conferences)
An important part of our school’s reporting process are Parent/Teacher interviews at which the teachers will be able to discuss in detail your child’s progress. These interviews will be held during Week 9 of this term (25th March - 29th March) for students in Years 1-6.
This year bookings for parent/teacher interviews will take place through the Compass parent portal. An alert will come through on your Compass news feed advising to book parent/teacher interview. Click on the alert to take you through to the conference bookings.
Parents can make bookings by clicking the “Book Parent Teacher Interviews” button available next to your child’s photo on the compass homepage or by clicking the Dashboard alert.
Please see instructional flyer attached.
Bookings will open 3pm Tuesday 5th March and close 3pm Thursday 21st March. Please contact the school office if you need help with booking.
EXCITING NEWS!!! Fresh Starts Canteen will be trialling a 24/7 cashless solution for the ordering and purchasing of canteen lunches. The system largely replaces the traditional lunch order system where students bring money and a bag to school to place an order.
The online ordering system, called FlexiSchools, allows parents to place orders from home or work at any time up until 9.00am in the morning. As payment for the order is made online, parents no longer need to send cash and a paper lunch order to school.
As well as being convenient for parents, the online orders are much faster and easier for the canteen to process, making everyone's life a little easier. FlexiSchools is well established and tested, and is operating in hundreds of schools across Australia.
If you do not have access to the internet you will be still be able to order lunches using a paper bag and money.
More details will be provided as the service is introduced.
Canteen Specials:-
Chicken burger, lettuce and mayo $5.00
Snack pasta pot $1.00
CANTEEN CLOSED MONDAYS/TUESDAYS
Our Children – Engaging and Growing in God’s Love
Our children are precious to us and to God – made in his image. As parents, grandparents, catechists and sacramental program leaders, how do we encourage and nurture our children as they grow in this awareness? These sessions will reflect on the process of growth in faith, how children are actively involved in their own social and spiritual development – sometimes for the good and sometimes through suffering and hardship.
When and where:
Tuesday 26 March 2019, 7:30pm-9:00pm
Ingham Room, Xavier Conference Centre, 38 Harbour St Wollongong
Wednesday 27 March 2019, 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Phillip Room, Campbelltown Catholic Club, 20 Camden Rd Campbelltown
RSVP: To Helen Bennett by Friday 22 March on 4222 2403 or helen.bennett@dow.org.au
Happy birthday to the following students who celebrate a birthday this week:
Brennan and Sophie
“The start of the year is a great time for making changes and improvements to the way you raise kids. The trouble is, our good intentions towards change often become derailed around March, and we return to our default mode of parenting. So nothing much changes from year to year.
Switch on your kids’ strengths
Most of us have been conditioned to focus on what kids can’t do. It’s not your fault. You were trained by teachers and parents who were adept at picking up your poor behaviours, highlighting errors and encouraging you to eliminate your faults. There is a better way. The Positive Psychology movement lead by US-based psychologist Dr. Martin Seligman showed that when we can unearth kids’ strengths we are, in effect, unlocking their true potential for success and happiness. Three elements come together to make a strength, and parents need to be mindful of all three: performance (being good at something); energy (feeling good doing it); and high use (choosing to do it). Rather than locking on to your child’s weaknesses, set your antennae to your child’s strengths.
Balance kids’ extra-curriculur activities
Alongside social media and news events, being busy is now recognised as a major stress for many children and young people. Over-scheduling kids’ lives is a relatively new phenomenon. Go back a couple of generations and a few sports, music lessons and things like scouting movements were the mainstays of after school life for most kids. Now the choice of activities to keep kids busy after school hours is mind-boggling.
Having so many options is wonderful but it does place a new set of pressures on parents. Many complain that family life is like now living in a hamster wheel, always in constant motion, with hardly a time to catch their breath. The cost of loading kids up with scheduled activities is that many don’t get the chance for free play, or simply ‘vegging out’ on the couch. The benefits of all this activity in terms of kids’ skill development, personal growth and broadening social horizons is well-founded. However finding a balance is tricky as every child, like every family is different. Parenting Ideas expert.
Focus on friendships
Friendships are an important part of the road to adulthood for a child or young person. With families shrinking in size peer relationships are now fundamental in providing kids with a sense of belonging, a place to hone their identity and a group upon which they can develop their future relationship skills such as tolerance, empathy and forgiveness.
Friendships can be problematic. Not every child is naturally outgoing and makes friends easily. If your child is like this, but generally seems happy, then there may be no need to do anything. If your child has difficulty forming friendships and is worried by that, then there are many ways to approach this including: encouraging kids to spend one-on-one time with others, making extra-curricular activities fit their interests, and coaching kids to develop friendly behaviours.
Give kids tools to manage anxious moments
Let’s just say it upfront. We don’t have a childhood resilience problem as many teachers and professionals say, but we do have a childhood anxiety problem. A big one! And it’s mostly undetected as community understanding of anxiety is low. It’s our experience at Parenting Ideas that many parents are anxious and they don’t know it, and many children routinely experience anxiety, which goes unrecognised.
Everyone feels worried from time to time, but these feelings pass when the stressful situation has passed. Anxiety occurs when these anxious feelings don’t pass, and happen for no obvious reason. It’s a serious condition that can be managed and minimised with their right tools.
Develop rights of passage
Why are young people, like moths drawn to a flame, attracted to that annual end of school year beach and booze fest known as schoolies? Why do young people who for the best part of a year put their future self first and study hard to achieve best possible school results, put themselves at risk for a solitary week? It’s more than letting their hair down.
In the absence of adult-initiated rights of passage young people will always fill the void and create their own. For many young people schoolies is the right of passage. As a community we’ve struggled for many years to create meaningful rights of passage for young people. Once a young person’s first job, or their twenty-first birthday were significant markers of maturity, offering a sense that they were entering into the adult world. Community changes have largely eradicated these traditional markers, which make it harder for a young person to know when they’ve become an adult.
There are many healthy ways to recognise a young person’s growing maturity and mark his or her journey into adulthood. Many families are now creating their own rituals to mark key events such as the end of primary school, the start of the teenage years or various stages of adolescence. These traditions are now becoming legitimate rights of passage for young people.
Will anything be different this year?
Change and improvement in anything worthwhile generally comes incrementally rather than in one giant leap. We pointed you in the direction that we feel is important for you and your kids to take kids this year. It’s you who has to implement changes and do the work. Through our webinars we’ve made it easy to take that vital first step to better outcomes for kids. Have a great parenting year”.