This will be the last newsletter for this term and I’d like to especially thank parents for their support this term. We have had a lot of events that would not have gone off so well without your help and support. Parents and grandparents have helped and supported with the book fair, book club orders, soccer training, athletics carnival, chess club, First Communion, class masses and liturgies, the pie drive, the school disco, our Feast Day activities, the P&F Committee, School Community Council  – and these are just a few examples.

It has been great to see some new faces volunteering to help. Your efforts really are valued.

REMEMBER YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US ON THE LAST DAY OF TERM TO CELEBRATE OUR FEAST DAY. This is like a special birthday celebration for our school and during the last week of term students are reminded about why Ss Peter and Pauls Primary is named after these special holy people.  

REMINDER- You will be able to access reports through Compass on the last day of term. You will be notified by Compass when are they ready to read and with instructions on how to access them.

FOR SOME HOLIDAY READING:

Emotional Intelligence is widely recognised as important for human flourishing.

It includes:

• the ability to identify and appropriately express one’s emotions,
• the ability to manage and self-regulate negative emotions, and
• the ability to empathise with others’ emotional state.

While people will be gifted to different degrees with Emotional Intelligence (EQ), like all intelligences, we can only experience the maximum potential benefits if we train that intelligence and learn the necessary skills. This is what Emotional Literacy is all about – developing the skills that allow our natural Emotional Intelligence to flourish and enrich our lives. It’s a key skill in developing healthy relationships and experiencing life as a gift in all its wonder and challenges. Emotional Literacy brings the following benefits:

• promotes self-awareness and positive self-esteem (‘I know and understand myself and my needs and I am comfortable with who I am’)
• fosters self-control (‘I choose how I will respond to strong emotions’)
• develops resilience and optimism – important character traits known to be influential for healthy, well-adjusted individuals (‘I can see the positive side in every situation, good and bad alike’)
• facilitates healthy communication with others and the appropriate expression of desires and needs (‘I can express myself clearly and respectfully’)
• promotes empathetic understanding towards others which helps prevent bullying and other destructive behaviours (‘I can understand how others are feeling’).

My Day

‘My Day’ is a daily reflection tool inspired by the spiritual exercises of St Ignatius. By reflecting on the best and worst of the day, children learn to assimilate their experiences into their developing understanding of themselves and the world in which they live.  This simple practice is a window into your child’s emotional life. When children start school,  a large part of their world is out of a parent’s sight and reach. Things happen at school, both wonderful and upsetting. Yet by the time a child gets home, the moment has passed. ‘My Day’ is designed to help parents keep in touch with the high and low points of their child’s daily life and so promote the development of their child’s Emotional Literacy. To maximise the impact of My Day, make this a family ‘night prayer’ ritual – give thanks to God for both the good and bad in life and ask the Holy Spirit for help.

1. Ask your child/ren about their day:
   a. What was the best thing that happened to you today?
   b. What was the worst thing that happened to you today?
2. Give thanks to God for both the good and the bad in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit for help.
3. Say a Joey Rosary (Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, Glory Be)

We have been getting a large amount of forgotten lunches and unpaid IOUs. This is a huge strain on the canteen manually and financially. Below are a few procedures put in place to keep the canteen running smoothly and effectively.

• How to Order – place order on the Qkr app or write order on a paper bag with cash inside. 
• QKR! Orders – are due by 9.30am on the day. Please remember that you can order the night or days before. Also check that you have selected the correct day. 
• Cancelled QKR! Orders - if you have placed an order and your child is not at school that day, you can cancel your order by going into “activities” and click on the minus icon before 9.30am. If you need to cancel the order after 9.30am you need to call the office or text Di on 0417 688 472 ASAP. If the order has already been prepared or made you may not receive a credit. 
• No Lunch – if your child realises that they don’t have lunch before 10.00am a phone call will be made to parents. If lunch cannot be brought up to school, then the canteen can make lunch and an IOU will be sent home. If they realise after 10.00am a phone call will be made but only a sandwich can be made from the canteen no hot food. 
• Unpaid IOUs – please remember to pay your IOUs ASAP, either on Qkr or cash. Please check your child's school bag for these.

We have started booking the interviews for our Kindergarten students in 2023! If you haven't booked your interview as yet please contact Tracey Kain on 02 4821 3304.

If you or someone you know of wishes to enrol a child in Kindergarten for 2023 please do so online as soon as possible, as our places are filling fast!

Even if your child has siblings attending the school please also complete an online enrolment as soon as possible.

Please call the office if you have any questions about enrolments or interviews.

First Holy Communion

Congratulations to our children who received their First Eucharist last weekend. It was indeed an enriching time to spend preparing these students for the precious sacrament. Thanks for your enthusiasm and desire to receive Jesus. I encourage you to receive Jesus in the Eucharist very often to keep you rooted in Jesus and in His love. Jesus loves you and lives in you.

FEAST DAY

The Feast Day of St. Peter and St. Paul, the Patron saints of our school. Peter and Paul were faithful followers of Jesus. They lived out their faith by sharing Jesus’ message of love with everyone they met. Their faith brought others to believe in Jesus. They were filled with courage and were proud to tell others of their faith. Peter and Paul told others ‘who Jesus is’.

To celebrate the Feast Day of Ss. Peter and Paul’s, we will have a Whole School Mass at Our Lady Of Fatima in the morning and activities in the afternoon run by Year Six students and the Mini-Vinnies on Friday, July 1st. As part of our celebrations, students are asked to bring in a gold coin donation. All money raised from the day will go to the St Vincent de Paul’s Winter Appeal.

RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults)

The RCIA is an opportunity to learn more about the Catholic Faith. The program is open to all and is particularly designed for those interested in exploring the idea of becoming a Catholic or receiving the Sacraments for the first time. The sessions will begin in August. If you are interested, please contact Fr Joshy (0412 358 222) - joshy.kurien@cg.org.au before 14th July 2022.

SPP Athletics Carnival Part 2

Thank you to all our parent volunteers for helping with both the track and field events of our carnival this year!

1. Patrick (641)
2. O’Brien (607)
3. McAuley (594)
4. Blake (521)

Age Champions (Back L to R): Willa, Stephen, Lexie & Harmony

Front L to R: Patrick, Will, Edeva & Toby

Age Champions

8/9yrs

1. Edeva Shannon (29) P
2. Georgia Batty (22) P

1. Toby Boniface (47) M
2. Austin Cosgrove (37) O

10yrs

1. Harmony Payn (72) M
2. Zoe Morris (41) B

1. Will Robinson (69) O
2. Carter Beardmore (37) O

11yrs

1. Willa Reynolds (49) O
2. Charlize Arnold & Isabelle Howard (41) M & P

1. Patrick Turner (68) M
2. Charlie Boniface (41) M

12yrs

1. Lexie Maple-Brown (72) P
2. Adelaide Nguyen (40) M

1. Stephen Watson (64) P
2. Lucas Webster (50) O

Junior Champions - Harmony Payn & Will Robinson

Senior Champions - Lexie Maple-Brown & Patrick Turner

Record Breakers

• Harmony Payn - 8-10yrs Discus 19.96m
• Lexie Maple-Brown - 12-13yrs Discus 19.08m

Canberra and Goulburn Archdiocese Individual Sport Trials for 2022 

Individual Sport trials for Canberra and Goulburn Archdiocesan teams are open to suitable Year 5 & 6 students.

Registration via the CSNSW Website www.csnsw.sport MUST be completed for your child to be considered to trial for an Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Representative team. The online registration additionally provides your permission and replaces the old Medical Forms. The trial payment levy is to be made at the time of registration. No online nomination and no payment means no trial.

If you have NOT previously had an account you will be required to set one up to be enabled to register your child for both Canberra Goulburn AND NSWCCC/CPS sporting events and trials.

1. Type in the website address www.csnsw.sport

2. Click on Register which is located in the blue box on the top right-hand side of the page

3. Click on Setup Parent Account

4. Complete all of the fields and click on Create Account. You will receive a confirmation email.

This week students from all three 3/4 classes went to visit some local daycare centres. At the centres, they shared their love of literature by reading to preschool children starting school next year. It was clear that all teachers and children had a fantastic time. Thank you class teachers, Mrs McCarthy and Mrs Brushaber for a wonderful morning.

Congratulations and Well Done!

Front (L-R): Zoe, Anabelle, Charlie, Dylan, Scarlett, Charlie, Parker, Anastasia

Middle: Charlie, Noah, Briar, Austin, Sonia, Archie, Amalea

Back: Tyler, Emma, Kyah, Elsie, Georgia, Ariana, Kyson, Gabriella, Sky, Will

Congratulations Isabelle from KH on winning the Mercy Value Award!

Hi, my name is Mark Holberton and I am pleased to be working with the students, staff and families at Ss Peter and Paul’s. I am here to provide therapeutic counselling to students and families and to work alongside school staff regarding student welfare and classroom issues.

When will I be at the school: I will be at the school every Monday

How can you can refer your child to the student and Family Counsellor: Speak to your teacher, complete the online referral form, or email me at mark.holberton@catholiccare.cg.org.au.

Written by Kimmy Murchie

Student & Family Counsellor

Trinity College

The Attitude of Gratitude

It can be easy to spend a lot of time worrying about the various stressors in our lives. We worry about our families, our health, world events, what we need to achieve tomorrow, how we look and much more. Young people also have a myriad of worries related to school, friends, appearance, and the future, and teaching them to actively practice gratitude can improve their stress levels and allow them to enjoy the here and now. Having an “attitude of gratitude” is something both adults and young people can benefit from.

Why is gratitude important?

When we feel gratitude, we focus on being thankful for the good things we have in our lives. Practicing gratitude is a great way to improve our mood and to destress.

Practicing gratitude helps us to:

• Feel positive emotions
• Deal with adversity and build our resilience
• Build strong relationships
• Enjoy good experiences
• Re-gain control in our lives

It is important to remember that just because a young person has a lot to be grateful for, doesn’t mean they are not allowed to feel sad or worried. If we don’t give young people space to talk about their negative feelings, they will not learn to express themselves and can bottle up their emotions. Practicing gratitude is important to build into an everyday routine and is also useful when reflecting after a young person has expressed their worries and concerns.

Ways to Practice Gratitude at Home

Journalling/gratitude jar – encourage your young person to write down something they are grateful for each day in a ‘gratitude journal’. You could also have a ‘gratitude jar’ where they can write on a small piece of paper one thing they are grateful for. At the end of the week, you could empty the jar together and reflect on the things you are thankful for.

Appreciate the little things – ditch the idea that you or your young person are going to be grateful for absolutely everything in life. Don’t criticise yourself for not being grateful all the time for everything you have. Sometimes, it’s the littlest things that lift our spirit. A simple feeling of gratitude for a pet or for a favourite home cooked meal can make the world of difference.

Positive role modelling – it may not always seem like it, but young people learn from the actions and reactions of adults. If you are practicing gratitude, chances are your young person will follow along (whether they admit it or not!).

Resources

For further gratitude prompts, look at this image https://headspace.org.au/assets/gcattachments/149570c7169b2df39c6548052a8253e3.jpeg

The Black Dog Institute have developed the ‘Thank Tank’ https://www.biteback.org.au/ThankTank, a space for teens to document what they are grateful for. They also get a chance to see what others are grateful for which can provide inspiration.

Remember to post your player of the week to Facebook if possible... here are some photos from last Saturday (round 6).