Many thanks to our P&F for the organisation of the Mother’s Day Stall. Last Friday a number of mums were able to offer their time ensuring that all the children purchased a gift for the wonderful mums, grandmas, aunties and special women in their lives.

Another wonderful day in the Good Samaritan school year.

Out of School Hours (OOSH) Care in 2020:

Good Samaritan is currently looking at providing an OOSH service beginning in the 2020 school year. This service would be facilitated by CatholicCare with close collaboration with Good Samaritan. The service would operate based upon the systems and structures that are valued at Good Samaritan.

In order to ascertain the interest of parents in accessing such a service, the completion of a survey is required. This survey would take no longer than 5 minutes to complete and seeks to collect information including operating hours, days of operation and what parents would value in such a service.

Click here to complete the survey or follow the link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GoodSamaritan_OOSH

The survey will close on Friday 24 May.

Tips for Talking to Your Child about Strengths and Challenges

In last week’s newsletter Building on the Strengths of Students was highlighted. Whilst it’s important to talk to children about their strengths it is equally important to talk about their challenges. Here are the first 5 tips to help you strike a healthy balance and keep the lines of communication open. Next week 6 more tips will be published.

Talk in a way that matches their age.

Primary school aged students may not be able to reflect on their strengths and challenges. But they do notice how they compare to other kids their age. Start a conversation with an observation: “Sometimes it seems like it’s hard for you to read aloud. I’m sure you see kids in school who can do it pretty easily, even if you don’t think they’re any smarter than you.” This opens the door for him to talk and perhaps confirm your observation. It also may encourage him/her to talk about what he/she is “smart” at.

Talk in a way that matches their age (Part II)

Students in upper primary and high school may be more able to consider their own strengths and challenges, but they’re often less willing to open up. It helps to be specific: “I know you struggled with organization on that project. The art looked great. Did the writing part end up being what you wanted?” Then let them take the conversation where they want

Help them see the whole picture

Having trouble with an activity can be deflating. For example, kids who have trouble reading aloud might decide they hate reading altogether. In this case, remind your child that reading aloud is only one part of enjoying the written word. If your child loves to be read to and has great insights, say so. Ask questions that help your child see there are ways to contribute even in tough situations.

Don’t shy away from the tough stuff

Children need to talk about what they’re good at, but they also need to talk about what they’re not so good at. Talk with your child about what he/she struggles with—not in a hurtful “you can’t do this” kind of way, but in an “I know this is hard for you” kind of way. Let your child lead the conversation as much as possible. You may know what his difficulties are, but only your child can tell you how they make him/her feel and their effect on his/her daily life.

Relate skills to situations

Children need to know that difficulties aren’t going to hold them back in every aspect of life. Case in point: If your child has trouble with mathematics, that’s not that big a deal at swim practice. At the same time, your child needs to know that his/her strengths will help him/her move forward. For example, the ability to make friends wherever he/she goes may not help in English class. But it may make it easier to get a job when the time comes.