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Dear Parents and Carers
We remind you to take note the folllowing important dates for Term 4
Confirmation
Congratulations to the 44 Year 6 students who received the Sacrament of Confirmation on Saturday. They were reverent and prayerful and conducted themselves beautifully - may they continue to use the gifts and fruits of the holy Spirit in their lives. A very big thank you also to the SFX Officer Cantabile choir and SFX staff who lead the singing for the 3pm Mass and the Parish choir who lead the singing at 6pm.
The Rosary - Month of October
Following on from last week, this week I am sharing with you the other two mysteries of the Rosary.
THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
The Glorious Mysteries meditate on key events from Jesus’ resurrection onwards and two events regarding Mary.
- The Resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 28:1-10)
- The Ascension (Luke 24:50-53)
- The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-41)
- The Assumption of Mary (Revelation 12:1-5)
- The Coronation of Mary (Revelation 12:1)
THE LUMINOUS MYSTERIES
The Luminous Mysteries highlight key events during the life of Jesus that reveal his human and divine nature.
- The Baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:11-17)
- The Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2:1-12)
- The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12)
- The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8)
- The Institution of the Eucharist (Matthew 26:26-28)
During Term 3 in Japanese, the Year 4, 5 and 6 students developed their understanding of the different Japanese writing systems, with a focus on increasing their independence, complexity and variety in their speaking, reading and writing skills. Students were challenged to interact only in Japanese for some activities and read books written in only Japanese to their peers! Students completed a series of writing samples during this time to demonstrate what they know and have chosen their best one to be sent home this week for families to enjoy and celebrate.
Mental Health in Primary Schools
How to deal with disappointment or when things don’t do the way you want them to:
Disappointment is a natural part of life that students may encounter as they navigate through different experiences. It can result from individual expectations, setbacks, or shattered dreams. However, learning to manage disappointment is crucial for building resilience and personal growth. Young people have a lot of choice regarding how they think and respond to disappointment.
Please read the special report from School TV to find out more about how to deal with being disappointed.
A Special Report: Dealing with Disappointment
Disappointment can be a tricky emotion to deal with at any age. It is a normal part of growing up. However, children sometimes need reminding that they have a choice in how they respond to disappointment and their response will determine the impact it has on their future happiness. Overall, disappointment is a healthy and positive emotion and plays an integral part in a child’s emotional, intellectual and social development.
Helping young people manage their disappointment is important in order to avoid stronger emotions such as anxiety and depression. Although a parent’s first reaction may be to fix the problem, it is better to encourage your child to find the words to express how they feel.
In this Special Report, parents and caregivers are provided with strategies on how to help their child process disappointment and look at the problem objectively.
We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback.
If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.
Here is the link to your special report:
https://stclaresofficer.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-dealing-disappointment
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
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.