Lent

Last week we marked the start of the season of Lent. For those less familiar with our Catholic traditions this is a period of 40 days before Easter where we are called to think about our relationship with God and take up an act of penance to help us think about this. This usually involves giving up something. My challenge to students is that we might like to think as well as “giving up” something, we could try and “take up” something. Perhaps some radical form of kindness or deliberately going above and beyond in service to each other. In the Gospel the apostles asked Jesus “Where do you live?” Jesus replied “Come and see!”. Lent is about seeing where Jesus lives in our lives. Is he in the centre or pushed aside for other priorities? I think each time you do something for others you put Jesus in the centre. As we begin our Lenten journey let us take time to “come and see” and allow Jesus to come close to us and our families.

Attendance at School

We know that every day of attendance at school adds to your child's chances of success and achievement, from Kindergarten through to high school. You play a key role in making sure your child attends school every day, and you do this because you understand that attendance leads to success, not just at school but later in life. Every day at school counts towards your child’s learning.

We realise some absences are unavoidable due to health issues or other circumstances. However we also know that when students miss too much school, no matter the reason, it can cause them to fall behind academically. The more absences your child has the harder it is for them to catch up on missed work and stay connected to their school community. Absences add up quickly. If your child is absent just one day every two weeks over the course of a school year this will add up to 20 days lost learning. This is almost half a school term.

So please make sure your child is at school and contact your child’s teacher if there starts to be a problem with your child’s attendance.

Principal’s Meeting & Retreat

Each term I will be away for a few days to attend meetings in my role as the NSW representative on the Australian Catholic Principals Association & the Australian Primary Principals Association. It is great privilege to be asked by colleagues to represent them in these national forums. My first meeting for the year is next week & I will be in Canberra on Monday & Tuesday. From Wednesday I will be in Bowral for the annual principal’s retreat. The Assistant Principal, Mr Brad Brown, will be in charge during my absence. I do keep in touch with school & check my emails when I'm away.

PROJECT COMPASSION

Last week, the season of Lent began with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allow Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.  

The theme of Project Compassion 2023 is ‘For All Future Generations’ and reminds us that the good we do today extends to impact the lives of generations to come. It invites us to make the world a better place by working together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues. We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent through prayer, fasting and almsgiving in support of Project Compassion. Each family will receive a Project Compassion box and/or a set of envelopes for their donations or you can donate online via the Caritas Australia website at: www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion. 

Our Mini Vinnie students are busy running the Project Compassion appeal and have some exciting fundraising ideas coming this Lenten season. As a bonus, the class that raises the most for Project Compassion will receive a special class prize!!

YEAR 6 JOURNEY WITH JESUS RETREAT

Our Year 6 students will be attending a Journey with Jesus Youth Ministry day at Trinity Catholic College, Friday the 10^th of March. After this, we will start up our school Youth Ministry team again. We are very excited about coming into classrooms and working with students on their Faith formation through meditation and prayer. 

Please note the new phone number for the Parish office is 0403 631 797.

SACRAMENTAL DATES 2023

2023 Touch Football

Canberra/Goulburn Archdiocesan Team: Tyler Toparis

2023 Basketball

Canberra/Goulburn Arcdiocesan Basketball team: Tyler Toparis & Patrick Turner

2023 SPORT TRIALS

Information and registration for individual trials is through the following website >> https://www.sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/

The dates of the trials will be publicised on the webpage and the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn FaceBook Page. 

These trials are for Yr 5 & 6 students or outstanding Yr 4 students.

Thank you to all the parents & carers that travelled to Yass last week and especially to Claire, Kim, Doug, Janet & John for timekeeping. Our SPP representatives swam well and had an enjoyable day.

Congratulations to those students that have progressed through to the Archdiocesan Carnival in Queanbeyan. Please make sure that you register as soon as possible. Directions are on the letter you received last Friday.

The SPP NR team

Results:

Girls Junior Relay (Sophiah, Astrid, Miah & Lucy) 2nd

Boys Junior Relay (Toby, Zach, Huxley & Flynn) 3rd

Families have an important part to play in keeping children safe around roads.

• Never drop off or meet your child on the opposite side of the road to the bus stop or call them across the road. Always drop them off or meet them on the same side of the road as the bus stop.
• Remind your children to always wait until the bus has gone before choosing a safe place to cross the road

Talk to your children about Stop! Look! Listen! Think! every time they cross the road:

•  Stop one step back from the kerb
•  Look continuously both ways
•  Listen for the sounds of approaching traffic
•  Think whether it is safe to cross and keep checking until safely across.

Did you know children consume around a THIRD of their daily food intake at school? Lunchbox food plays a crucial role towards childrens ability to concentrate, learn and play. Our quick link fact sheets provide plenty of tips and guidance on healthy lunchboxes that will ensure your children are well nourished and in tip top shape for learning whilst at school.

Year 1

Year 2

Year 2 have started weekly fine and gross motor skills sessions. Here are 2A and 2BM undertaking a range of activities to help refine their fine motor skills. 

Follow the link to register - PLAY FOOTBALL

Hello from the School Counsellor... and important information about how to access School Counselling

Hi and welcome back to 2023. My name is Madi and I have been a part of the Catholiccare Student and Family Counselling team since 2022.

I am a Social Worker with a passion for working with children, young people and their families. Prior to this role, I worked in Central West NSW in acute mental health.

In my school counselling work - I provide short term client-centred support to children and their families drawing from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), strengths-based, mindfulness and trauma informed approaches in a developmental context. For more complex issues I provide referrals to additional services. I am available at Ss Peter and Paul’s every Monday.

How to make an appointment

If your child was seen by the School Counsellor last year and you would like them to receive support in 2023, we require you to complete a new counselling registration form. New referrals will also require you to complete the counselling registration form. Questions or requests can be directed to the office, your child’s class teacher or School Counsellor (madelyn.burns@catholiccare.cg.org.au).

Referral Link: https://catholiccare.force.com/housing/s/school-referral-form

Parent consent for counselling continues to be required for all primary school students and will be sought and provided via email or phone call. Where parents are separated, we require the consent of both parents. Once the referral has been received by myself - School Counsellor - I will make contact with parents on my next day at Ss Peter and Paul’s to further discuss the referral.

Family Meal Conversation Starters

Madelyn Burns

Student and Family Counsellor

Between work and our children’s extracurriculars, it can be hard to find quality time together and things like family dinner tend to fall down our priority list. However, sharing a meal and conversation together can be far more powerful than we may realise.

Dinner is a great time for your child to talk about their day. If they are feeling stressed, keeping the conversation light and discussing things they like can help to improve their mood. It is great to encourage your child to express themselves and discuss their feelings as early as possible. That being said, I know you might be rolling your eyes thinking about how often you receive one-word replies. This is where conversation starter sheets may come in handy.

By stepping away from technology or turning off the TV in the background, we can help support children to focus on the conversations and be present at the dinner table. And if your child is struggling with their homework schedule, regular dinners can be a welcome break.

Now don’t get me wrong, my family and I absolutely have nights in front of the TV or independently working, so I am not saying this needs to happen every night. Instead, we should try to aim for family dinners to become our regular routine and allow ourselves nights that differ.

The Family Dinner Project has the following information on their website, which I think is extremely insightful:

'Dinner table conversation has special qualities that make it different from talk we have at other times such as while carpooling or while tucking kids in at bedtime. Research indicates that, on average, children bring up about six different topics at dinner, so conversation tends to be interesting and varied. Also, families who eat together expect that children will sit and talk for more than a few minutes and each topic usually gets input from several members, so there are multiple viewpoints expressed. This exposure to multiple points of view engages kids in complex thinking and can encourage tolerance for opinions different from one’s own.

Focusing on certain types of conversations, particularly narrative conversation, or the telling of stories, can be particularly helpful. Helping kids tell stories that include their thoughts and feelings rather than just the facts is associated with greater wellbeing. Research shows that children who know a lot about their parents’ own childhood and family histories will become more resilient – the capacity to bounce back from the slings and arrows that life throws at each of us and better able to learn from adversity, continuing to face ourselves and each other with optimism. Who doesn’t want that for their children? Many researchers have also found that children who learn a lot about their families had higher self-esteem and see themselves rather than others as responsible for their own behaviour'.

I have attached a conversation starter sheet created by Psychologist Emily Hanlon which includes a number of prompts. You may like to print this off and place it on the fridge for those days where it feels impossible to start a deep conversation. If you are looking for further prompts, the Family Dinner Project have an extensive list categorised by age. https://thefamilydinnerproject.org/category/conversation/conversation-starters/

As a general rule of thumb, try to avoid asking questions that can be answered by one word. So, instead of 'did you have a good day at school today?’ Try 'what subjects did you have at school today?' This has the ability to change an answer from one word (good) to an extended response. After all, dinner time is the perfect time to connect with meaningful conversation. With work, school and all of the other activities families have going on, dinner is often the only time we have quality time together to communicate on a daily basis.