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Dear Parents and Carers
Term 4 is a very busy term so we remind you to ensure you take note of our "Important Dates"
Religion
Paddy’s Kitchen - St Patrick’s Parish Pakenham
Some of you may be aware of the support that Paddy’s Kitchen provides to the community. Our Year 6 Religious Education Leaders recently approached the P and F about supporting the work of Paddy’s. As a result, one Friday’s FFF (chocolate frog sales) was recently donated to Paddy’s Kitchen - $245.50. The RE Leaders are going to continue to support Paddy’s Kitchen this year by having a stall at our school market night. More news soon about this.
The Rosary - Month of October
Last week I provided an overview of the Rosary - the meditative prayer used to honour the Blessed Virgin Mary.
This week I would like to explain the purpose of the decades (sets of prayers used within the Rosary). While praying each decade, contemplation is given to one of the Mysteries of the Rosary. The mysteries are divided into four groups of five mysteries, which recall events in the lives of Jesus and Mary.
THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES
The Joyful Mysteries describe the events leading up to the birth of Jesus and then his early life.
- The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38)
- The Visitation (Luke 1:39-56)
- The Nativity (Luke 2:1-7)
- The Presentation (Luke 2:22-39)
- The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-51)
THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
The Sorrowful Mysteries cover the passion and death of Jesus.
- The Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46)
- The Scourging at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26)
- The Crowning with Thorns (Matthew 27:29-30)
- The Carrying of the Cross (Luke 23:26-32)
- The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (Luke 23:33-46)
Source: Liturgy Help
Confirmation
Please pray for our Year 6 students who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation this weekend at 3pm or 6pm at St Patrick’s church. They will be confirmed by Bishop Greg Bennet.
In this edition of SchoolTV - Blended Families
Blended or stepfamilies, come in all shapes and sizes. Today, the term “blended family” is more commonly used as opposed to “stepfamily”. Although their original meanings differ slightly, today both terms are used interchangeably. This is mostly due to some of the negative connotations associated with fairytale characters such as the evil stepmother or stepsister.
The blended family is the fastest growing family dynamic in the world with one in five families now being a ‘step’ or ‘blended’ family. However, when families “blend,” it rarely progresses smoothly. Some children resist change, and parents become frustrated when the new family doesn’t function in the same way as the previous one.
For many step-parent’s, the greatest challenge lies in determining what their role is within the family. The process can be both rewarding and challenging. Children affected by the union of a new couple may not be excited at the prospect of becoming part of a new family.
Although blending families requires adjustment and patience from everyone involved, in this edition of SchoolTV, parents will be given some guidelines of real expectations that can help their new family work through the growing pains.
We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.
Here is the link to the Blended Families edition of SchoolTV
https://stclaresofficer.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/blended-families
Liz Hunt
Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader
Parents and Carers are invited to join our Term 4 Assemblies as scheduled below.
Monday 21 October - Years 3 to 6 in the Modular at 2.30pm
Friday 25 October - Year 2 on the Green at 2.30pm (weather permitting)
Monday 28 October - Foundation on the Green at 2.30pm (weather permitting)
Tuesday 29 October - Year 1 on the Green at 2.30pm (weather permitting)
Monday 11 November - Foundation to Year 2 in the Modular at 2.30pm
Monday 18 November - Years 3 to 6 in the Modualr at 2.30pm
Monday 25 November - Foundation to Year 2 in the Modular at 2.30pm
Monday 2 December - Years 3 to 6 in the Modular at 2.30pm
Parents and Carers - If you can spare any time to cover some new books it would be greatly appreciated. Contact the office if you can assist.
We are happy to provide a space at school if a team would like to come together to cover books after drop off in the mornings or pick up in the afternoons.
SCHOOL FEES
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
REPORTING AN ABSENCE
To report your child's absence please do so via PAM, email absent@stclaresofficer.catholic.edu.au or call 5940 6777
Here is the link for the St Clare's Parent Access Module (PAM)
St Clare's PAM
You username is the email address that you have registered with the school. The first time you log in we ask that you use the forgotten password feature to set your own password.
ALL parents must access PAM to receive up to date information and grant necessary permissions. Students will miss out on events if permission is not granted.
The Secondhand Uniform Shop will be open at the following times during October:
How to Help Kids Stay Safe Online
Adapted from: https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/blog Office of the eSafety Commissioner
- Start the chat
It’s not possible to be at your child’s side every second of the day, so it’s important to talk with them about online safety issues to help develop their critical thinking and ability to make good choices. It’s also good to let them know they can come to you for help if they have any concerns. You may feel they know more about the latest technology than you do, but you have more life experience to guide them.
- With primary school aged children use online devices in the open living spaces at home to make parent supervision part of the expectation for your child.
- Take the opportunity to set some boundaries around when and where they can use devices like tablets, smart TVs and gaming consoles, to help limit potential tech tantrums — you could even fill in an Early Years Family Tech Agreement
- Screen free time before bed is important for good sleep. Consider charging devices in a central location at a regular time each night to allow an hour screen free before bed.
- While you are all at home more, it’s a great time to co-view and co-play with your kids, so you can understand what they are doing and experiencing online.
- Learn about the games, apps, social media and platforms they are using at The eSafety Guide, including how to protect their information and report inappropriate content or conduct.
- Use parental controls and safe search options
Parental controls can help block your child from accessing specific websites, apps or functions. They can also monitor your child’s use of connected devices and set time limits. But beware! You cannot always rely on them — they should be used in combination with other online safety strategies.
- Parental controls are available on most tablets, smartphones, computers, TVs and gaming consoles.
- You can also download family safety controls or buy robust filters out of the box.
- You can set up child-friendly search engines, or select safe search settings on digital devices, to help prevent your child from stumbling across inappropriate sites and content.
- Check smart toy settings
It’s surprising how many toys or devices can connect online these days, from drones and smart teddies to tablets and wearables. While they can be both entertaining and educational, they can reveal your child’s personal details and location — and allow other people to contact them without you knowing. You can help keep them stay safe by:
- setting strong passwords
- turning off location settings
- limiting the amount of personal information shared.
The eSafety Gift Guide has advice on what to check for and how to stay safe.
- Look out for unwanted contact and grooming
Unwanted contact is any communication that makes your child feel uncomfortable or unsafe, even if they initially welcomed the contact. It can come from a stranger, an online ‘friend’ or even someone they actually know. At worst, it can involve ‘grooming’ — building a relationship with the child in order to sexually abuse them.
You can help by:
- making sure their accounts are private — including chat functions on games
- encouraging them to delete requests from strangers and any contacts they don’t know in person
- checking in with your child as they use online devices in the open living spaces at home
- reporting and blocking anyone suspicious on a website or service
- remembering that if suspicious online contacts become aggressive or threatening you should contact your local police.
- Know the signs of cyberbullying
Kids who are bored by long periods at home can pick at each other, and that happens online too. So it’s important to keep an eye out for cyberbullying. It can include mean posts, comments and messages, as well as being left out of online group activities like gaming.
- Remember, when they are away from school, kids have less access to their usual support systems, including friends, teachers and counsellors.
- eSafety research shows that girls are more likely to be affected than boys and the person doing the bullying is generally someone they know from school.
- Watch out for signs such as your child appearing upset after using their mobile, tablet or computer, being unusually secretive about their online activities or becoming withdrawn.
- Cyberbullying can make social isolation worse and the longer it continues, the more stressed kids can become, impacting on their emotional and physical wellbeing.
What to do if your child is being cyberbullied
As parents, our first instinct may be to ban our children from social media, disable the wi-fi or turn off the data access. But this can actually compound the problem, making your child feel as if they’re being punished and heightening their sense of social exclusion.
There are four simple steps that can help minimise the harm:
- report the cyberbullying to the social media service where it is occurring
- collect evidence of the cyberbullying material
- if the material is still public 48 hours later, make a report to eSafety — we work with social media platforms to have the harmful content removed.
block the offending user.