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Thursday 24 June |
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Friday 25 June |
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Monday 12 July |
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Wednesday 14 July |
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Friday 16 July |
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Tuesday 20 July |
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Dear Parents, Students, Staff and all associated with St Catherine’s Community
There is a well known Chinese Proverb which goes something like this….“We count our miseries carefully and accept our blessings without much thought.” Now, proverbs are supposed to contain a message that is helpful for us to better understand life; could this proverb be suggesting that our lives are shaped by the way we perceive ourselves?
There is a story about a person who came upon an unbroken eagle’s egg that had fallen from its nest. Unable to climb to the top of the tall tree, the person put the egg into the nest of a scrub turkey, where eventually it hatched. The fledgling eagle looked at the other scrub turkeys and did as they did; he accepted and imitated their daily routine. One day, an eagle flew over and the now ageing eagle looked up in awed admiration, as the great eagle soared through the sky. “What is that?” he gasped in astonishment. An old scrub turkey replied, “I’ve seen one of those before. It’s an eagle, the strongest and most magnificent of all the birds. But don’t get ideas that you could be like that. You’re like the rest of us, a scrub turkey.” So, shackled with this belief, the eagle lived and died thinking he was a scrub turkey.
Human beings are blessed with being able to break from the shackles of inappropriate beliefs and alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind. Our attitudes not only determine how we choose to regard ourselves, but how other human beings will treat us. Our attitudes and the choices that we make today will be our lives tomorrow, for our reactions can take us forward or take us down.
A wise person, probably a gardener, tells us that, “Some people grumble because roses have thorns; I am thankful that the thorns have roses.” This wise person, still probably a gardener, might go on to point out to us that, if our attitude towards ourselves is negative, then, our capacity to love is greatly diminished. If we have a poor self-image, all our attention is directed to self-pity and leaves us little freedom to reach out to others with love and affection. If we have poor self-image, we are no longer able to recognise and appreciate the gifts that God has given us that enable us to be our unique self. And if we as parents have poor self-image, and as a consequence, grumble about how hard life is and blame our circumstance on the doings of others, then, how will this assist our children and their chances of having a positive self-image? Children are natural mimics; they learn much about life from watching their parents.
“When I saw you hang up my first painting on the refrigerator, I wanted to paint you another one.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you feed a stray cat and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I felt you kiss me good night and I knew I was loved.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I heard you say a prayer and I believed there was a God that I could always talk to.” Author unknown
Staff Update for the start of Term 3
As we look to the start of Term 3, staff matters to be aware of include:
- Daina Balnionis returns from having been on personal leave for the duration of Term 2. We certainly look forward to Daina's return.
- Kirsten Cox and Gabrielle Mifsud will return from a period of parental leave on a part-time basis in Term 3. Both will be returning to 2-days a week, with Gabrielle returning to a classroom position currently being finalised and Kirsten to work as a tutor as part of Tutor in Schools Program.
- Yveie Tonks will be teaching the class of 3S6 full time commencing Monday, 12 July 2021. Yveie is relinquishing her role as Positive Behaviour Support (1 day a week) to focus on work primarily in the classroom.
- Peggy Harvey has made the difficult decision to resign from her ongoing position here at St Catherine's. Peggy has been teaching at the school for almost 24 years and is one of the first staff to work at St Catherine's. This is indeed a huge step for Peggy who is deeply connected to the school. Peggy has accepted a position as a member of the Pastoral Associate Team at St Michael's Parish. Peggy's final day will be Friday, 16 July 2021. Peggy has also given a commitment to the Learning Conversations to be held early Term 3.
- Vindy Gunasekera will take up the position of replacing Peggy Harvey in 3S5 full time commencing Monday, 19 July 2021. The days that Vindy shares with Daniel Thatcher in 3S1 (Tuesday) and Jason Lester 3S2 (Thursday), will be backfilled with a suitable replacement yet to be finalised.
Final Day of Term
Please note that the final day of term will be this Friday, 25 June with students finishing up at the usual time of 3:10pm. Term 3 will resume on Monday, 12 July, 2021.
Positive Behaviour Support
Hello Everyone!
This will be my last article for PBS this year. I have made the difficult decision to take a break from leading the Whole School Approach to Positive Behaviour Support. During the last three and a half years, we have worked diligently to develop our school-wide expectations, understand, support and manage student behaviour and support and upskill families and teachers within the Personal and Social Capability. We have introduced our Year 6 student Shine Leaders, made SHINE visible across the school and I’m sure you will agree, each and every student can tell you confidently what it means to SHINE at St Catherine’s.
As human beings, all we do is behave. We think, feel, talk and act in order to communicate and fulfill our needs. Our basic human needs are to belong, be cared for and loved, to experience autonomy and freedom of choice to live happy and healthy lives, to have fun and shared experiences which connect us to the people who are significant in our lives and to grow in empathy, resilience, compassion and acceptance of our own and others short-comings. Our school-wide expectations are indeed expectations for all of us; parents, teachers, students, leaders, community members. When we work together to support each other in developing these skills and qualities, we are setting our children up for life.
On Monday, students in 3S6 had the opportunity to build cubbies inside. Students used fabric and furniture to create a quiet space in which they spent time reading a favourite book with a teddy brought from home. I do this each year, whichever year level I teach and my observations of how students build their cubbies always fascinates me. There are so many benefits for child development when they’re encouraged to make a cubby. Cubbies can be made inside or outside and with the Winter holidays coming up, why not suggest the idea to your children? Take a moment to check out these short articles about cubbies.
Why Play Cubbies are Important for Child Development - Little Chief
Why Kids Build Cubbies & Forts
This week our Shine focus is Notice and Own Our Actions when we Transition / Move throughout the school. When we are tired at the end of term, it becomes important for us to maintain a sense of calm and consistency.
Upon our return in Term Three, our Shine focus will be Engage in Learning as we make the transition from holidays to a new term of Learning.
I encourage you to enjoy the rest! Rug up and get outside as much as you can, build cubbies, play, garden and bake. Stay safe, have respect, interact appropriately with others, notice and own your words and actions and engage in learning all around you.
Warm regards
Yveie Tonks
Leader for Positive Behaviour Support Implementation
From our SHINE Leaders
Parent Fortnightly Overviews
Please refer to the following learning overviews for the coming fortnight:
Specialist Learning Showcase
Please refer to the following overviews to find out about the wonderful learning your children have participated in this term during their specialist classes:
Hello Everyone
Well we have reached the end of the term and hopefully, the holidays will give us the time to rest and revive ourselves, ready for Term 3.
With the recent announcement, Masses can resume for First Holy Communion with a maximum of 75 people in attendance, so there have been some adjustments made with how to proceed with the First Holy Communion ceremonies, over a number of steps.
The first step is to offer the sacrament over the upcoming school holidays. There is a limit of 6 attendees per family which must be adhered to. This will include the child receiving the sacrament with a maximum of 5 guests. The dates are as follows:
- Tuesday 29th June to Saturday 3rd July at 9.30am (at our regular Mass)
- Tuesday 6th July to Saturday 10th July at 9.30am (at our regular Mass)
- Friday 2nd July and Friday 9th July at 7.30pm
- Saturday 3rd July and Saturday 10th July at 2.00pm.
Bookings need to be made via: https://www.trybooking.com/BSHUT
First Holy Communion will be held in St Michael’s Church and there will be a strict limit of 6 people per family, this number INCLUDES the child receiving their First Communion.
The number of communicants will increase as restrictions ease and masks are mandatory in the Church. You must also use the QR code to enter the church.
Further dates will be released soon. If you have any questions regarding First Holy Communion, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours in Faith
Nerida Byrden
Leader of Catholic Identity Religious Education
Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education.
Students learn new things at school every day – missing school puts them behind
If students miss school regularly, they miss out on learning the fundamental skills that will set them up for success in the later years of school.
Each missed day is associated with:
- progressively lower achievement in numeracy
- progressively lower achievement in writing
- progressively lower achievement in reading
Attendance patterns are established early!
25% of Australian school students attend less than 90% of school days
- Less than 90% attendance = approximately 20 or more days absent in a school year.
- 13 years (Prep -Year 12) @ 20 days a year = 52 weeks
- 52 weeks = MORE than one WHOLE school year of learning lost
Non-attendance has a variety of effects on students, both academically and socially.
Absenteeism can increase:
- social isolation
- including alienation
- lack of engagement with the school community and peers
This leads to difficulties:
- Emotional
- Behavioural
Game Profile: Among Us
Among Us is a teamwork/strategy game available to download for free on iOS and Android devices. It has been around since 2018, but has recently become one of the most successful games of 2020 after some of the most popular gamers streamed themselves playing it on streaming platform, Twitch.
As a player, you join a game, which auto-fills with people on the internet from around the world. Alternatively, you can co-ordinate to play with friends and fill your own 'local' game which requires a password to join. The game begins when all spaces are filled and the app randomly selects a number of "imposters" and allocates the rest of the players as "crewmates".
If you're a crewmate, your goal is to figure out who the imposter is before they kill everyone and complete as many of the tasks listed on the screen.
If you're an imposter, your goal is to kill as many other players as possible without being seen while sabotaging the tasks they're trying to complete.
Games can have one, two or three imposters and everyone is aware of how many there are from the beginning. Regular emergency meetings are called where people can discuss any suspicious behaviour, or when a dead body is reported. You might ask where it was found, who was near it. People will start pointing the finger at each other and then you have a timed window where you can vote for who you think the imposter is, or you can skip the vote if you're not sure.
People get voted out and you then find out if the voters were correct or not, until the imposter has been discovered or they've killed everyone in the game.
What do the experts say?
Yasmin London, the Executive Director of ySafe, is a cyber safety expert. Here are her main concerns about the game:
1.Violence
Among Us is not suitable for primary school-aged children under 12. While the graphics are cartoon-like there is still the use of knives and visuals of the cartoon players being stabbed and killed. Communication with others is essential to gameplay as it’s all about working as a team to find the ‘imposter.’ The online gaming feature within this app allows children to chat and play with anyone anywhere in the world and unfortunately cannot be turned off. This poses risks to children coming into contact with potentially problematic strangers and engaging in conversation with them. Accusations by team members on who the imposter is, could also potentially lead to cyberbullying style behaviours by players in the game.
2.Unmoderated chats are risky
While the online chat feature can be censored to filter out the inappropriate language it is not password protected and children can
easily turn the censor off with a click of a button. The chat is also unmoderated and people can speak about anything they like. There are also issues with language, and in the game, we have seen players using racial slurs and offensive language as usernames. Parents need to set firm ground rules around the use of the game, such as only allowing use in communal areas of the home and only allowing gameplay with real-life friends, or those their parents have approved. Kids can do this by selecting the ‘local’ option, creating a code and inviting their real-life friends to play. Kids should be instructed not to share this link with anyone outside their "real life" friends.
3 . In-app purchases are a concern
Removing ads and in-app purchases is difficult and the app has a button to restore in-app purchases (this cannot be done if the devices’ setting
s have been restricted with a passcode). The app also has pop-up ads after each game prompting players to use real-life money to upgrade their skins, pets and hats. It is important that parents speak to their children about protecting their personal information, understanding the consequences of in-app currency and making sure they don’t share it with anyone on any of their games.
More From YSafe.....
What do comment filters, geolocations, and report buttons all have in common?
Did you know in just six months a staggering 90 million videos were removed from TikTok for violating the Community Guidelines or Terms of Service?
While the joy and connectedness social media brings is undeniable, many platforms host a seedy underbelly of harmful and explicit content that can be damaging to young people.
You have the power to help.
Awareness of the functionality available in these apps can be incredibly effective in safeguarding children. Understanding the significance of removing geolocation services or activating privacy settings can help guide a child's experience from harmful to harmonious.
With that in mind, check out our cheat sheet of top social media safety tips, to help keep young people safe when on social media.
BOOKCLUB Issue 4
Our school Canteen operates on Tuesday and Thursday.
- Orders are online only.
- Orders are via CDFPay.
- Orders must be complete by 8:45am on the day.
- Orders can be placed in advance.
- Please ALWAYS check the date BEFORE you continue with your order to ensure that the date is correct, so that your child gets the order on the correct day!
Please see the link below. Create a CDFPay account and then simply place your order.
Cancelling Orders
If your child is sick or will not be attending school and you have placed your order you need to:
- Contact the School Office to advise that you wish to cancel the order.
- Your CDFPay account will be credited. Credits must be used by the end of this school year.
- No refunds are possible.
Irien D | Coby S | Benjamin A |
Charmaine O | Alex S | Rameen K |
Joshua S | Paige W | Johan E |
Adriana G | Levi C | Hamish D |
Lacey M | Krystal M | Matilda M |
Kevin D | Leon T | Luca B |
Evan D | Genelia B | Mason C |
Laisha M | Tahlia H | Zane M |
Leonie N | Liam F | Bradley M |
Emerson O | Amber S | Ryan T |
Marcel M | Angelin J | Fletcher W |
Lily A | Acacia C | Navini G |
Sienna P | Isabelle B | Isla D |
Nathaniel O | Chinnu S | Sofia V |
..
Please check jumpers, windcheaters and coats for names. We have received many reports of lost items with name tags. If your child brings home a uniform item belonging to someone else, please return it to the school office
Name labels wear and become faint with washing. Please check labels and 'refresh' them so that they can be read and items returned to owners.
Assorted lost property without names to identify owners can be found in the wheelie bin located near the Community Room.
There are a number of other items such as reading glasses, Poppits, Beanie Boos, trucks, cars, headbands, Rosary Beads, key rings, watches, pea popper, Garmin, purse etc currently in Lost Property. If these items are not collected by Friday, they will be donated to charity.
Uniform
FULL WINTER UNIFORM
Students should now be wearing their FULL WINTER UNIFORM
Hats are no longer required.
Boys Winter Sport Uniform |
Sport polo shirt, school windcheater, school shorts of track suit pants and WHITE socks |
The Uniform Shop
Owned and operated by Jan Kennewell
Location: Multi-Purpose Room
Friday | 8:30 – 10:45am |
Access
- Enter the school grounds via the gate near the School Office , opposite The Chapel or along side the school oval.
- Sign in VIA the QR code at the MPR or in the uniform shop
- Purchase and pay. Note: Payment is by credit card only. NO CASH.
- Exit via the same gate
ONLINE Ordering
Order online using QKR!
- Download the app
- Create a login
- Locate St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School
- Add a profile
- Order
Orders will be sent home via your child
Additional Opening Times
Open Tuesday and Friday afternoon from 2:30 – 3:30pm in the FIRST two weeks of term.
Friday 23 July
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Monday 26 July |
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Friday 30 July
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Friday 6 August
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Monday 9 August
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Thursday 12 August
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Friday 13 August
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Friday 20 August
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Friday 27 August
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Tuesday 31 August
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Thursday 9 September
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Friday 10 September
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Wednesday 15 September
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Friday 17 September
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Monday 4 October
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Thursday 14 October
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Wednesday 27 October
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Monday 1 November
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Tuesday 2 November
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Thursday 11 November
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Wednesday 15 December
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Thursday 16 December
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Friday 17 December
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