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- From the Principal's Desk :
- HAPPY FATHER'S DAY
- Focus on the Paralympics:
- Next Week is GSFM Gratitude Week:
- For Your Information: NAIDOC Family Fun Day Cancellation
- Free Parent Webinar: Supporting Children Through Change & Uncertainty
- Staying Connected With Your Children:
- Our Catholic Life & Identity:
- PB4L:
- School News:
- Parent & School Partnership:
- Dates to Remember:
- Noticeboard:
Dear Parents and Carers of Good Samaritan,
It is certainly good news that we now have return dates for our students to come back to school. We now have to begin the planning for the transition back to face to face learning.
As a school, we recognise that for many children the return to the school environment will be seamless and easy, however there will be other students who may experience anxiety, worry, have many questions to be answered or may even experience school refusal.
All of this is normal and our work will aim to meet students’ needs regardless of how they present in their return. Undoubtedly, the most successful students will return to face to face learning where parents and school work together giving the same or similar messages, the same or similar answers about the return to school.
As a school we are working on a Return to School Action Plan. This will involve support strategies that will aim to assist you in preparing children for their return. The action plan will also assist our school to manage the end of the year and student transition to the new school year.
I have begun discussions with our Captains and Vice Captains to seek their input into what they would like addressed as they enter the final term of primary school.
I plan for our communication and support to meet your needs as parents as the students returning to school. Our upcoming newsletters will seek to ask you to contribute your thoughts and ideas to our return to school strategy.
I am confident that, together, we will return to face to face learning successfully knowing that our community works so well in supporting each other.
Enjoy the week ahead as we journey through these unusual times, with Jesus,
Toni Sillis
Principal
The Paralympics is well underway and there have been some exciting events resulting in Australian athletes gaining 13 Gold, 18 Silver and 17 Bronze medals as of yesterday.
Rising Phoenix, a Netflix documentary that explores elite athletes and insiders as they reflect on the Paralympic Games and examine how they impact a global understanding of disability, diversity and excellence, is well worth watching. Here’s a short clip of Ellie Cole, Australian Paralympic swimmer, reflecting on one of the greatest moments of her life.
Next week we concentrate on giving gratitude. Gratitude is defined as the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Even through remote learning we can find many things to be grateful for.
Gratitude is one intervention used in positive psychology - affecting the mental health of all of us. Teaching children to be grateful develops their strength of character. One way to assist your child to understand gratitude is to help them identify what it is they are grateful for. Gratitude, whether we receive it or give it, leads to happiness.
Next week the students will be engaging with learning about gratitude. Below are 5 simple ways you can teach your child about gratitude.
Model gratitude
If you would like your child to be grateful, model gratitude yourself. Say thank you when you mean it and make sure your child knows when you are grateful for something they do too. Children always look to adults to model their own behaviour so make sure you practice what you preach.
Create a ritual
A simple way to include gratitude in your family’s daily life is to talk about it at the dinner table. At dinner each night, have everyone list one thing they loved about their day. This helps children to see that even on days that feel bad, there is always something we can be grateful for – even if it’s only that we got through it. Gratitude journaling could be helpful for older children, or a great practice for adults too.
Say ‘thank you’
It’s about more than just having good manners. When you feel genuinely grateful for something or someone, say thank you. Write thank you notes, say thank you in person and post positive reviews on social media. At the end of the school year, have your child write a note of thanks to their teacher. Don’t force it, just encourage your child to say thanks when it is due, and they truly mean it.
Find gratitude in darker times
When your family or your child is suffering through darker times, look for a small piece of light. Being able to acknowledge that you still have something to be grateful for even during this kind of experience is a skill that’s worth working on.
Feeling sick? You can be grateful for comfortable pyjamas and books to read. It doesn’t mean forgetting the bad or trying to gloss over it – just look for a tiny sliver of good in every moment.
Keep a journal
Not everyone loves verbalising their gratitude, so why not encourage your child to write it down instead? Spend a couple of minutes each day writing down the best things that happened and don’t make them share it. It can be their own private space for reflection.
Encouraging your child to express their gratitude can help build their resilience and create skills for life. When done together as a family it can also strengthen relationships and build some mindfulness into your day.
I was recently listening to a podcast where the speaker said ‘...in this pandemic community is going to be immunity.’ Community and staying connected starts at home. Connection may just be what your child is looking for right now.
Pope Francis has asked that today, 1 September, is recognised as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. In his letter to Cardinals Turkson & Koch Pope Francis said:
‘…for believers in Jesus Christ, the Word of God who became man for our sake, “the life of the spirit is not dissociated from the body or from nature or from worldly realities, but lived in and with them, in communion with all that surrounds us” (Laudato Si’, 216). The ecological crisis thus summons us to a profound spiritual conversion: Christians are called to “an ecological conversion whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them” (ibid., 217). For “living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience” (ibid.).’
Below Pope Francis asks us to pray for creation:
Love of Learning
How Can We Build & Maintain Empathy in Our Community?
- Show kindness towards others through actions and/or words.
- Use active listening & showing this with your whole body
- Think through what you say before you say it
- Be aware and supportive of those less fortunate
- Value the perspective others even though you may not always agree
- Turn taking when listening and speaking
- Setting expectations for social interactions
- Recognise different opinions and viewpoints are ok
- Speak up when you know or hear something that is not right
Since Jump Rope for Heart started in 1983, schools like ours have raised more than $104 million for the Heart Foundation’s lifesaving work.
It’s important you register your child online, so they can receive the full benefits of the program and participate in online fundraising, simply follow the link below to get started. www.jumprope.org.au/parents
Students will be skipping as part of remote learning and when they return to school, during this time you can share their online fundraising page with family and friends to help raise money for this great cause.
We will hold our school Jump Off Day on Friday 17 September, this will mark the end of the program and is a chance for everyone to come together to skip and show off their newly learned skills.
Thank you for supporting the Jump Rope for Heart program!
Canteen News:
Canteen is currently closed until further notice
The Uniform Shop will be Closed for Appointments until further notice
In order to manage the physical distancing requirements, parents will continue to make appointments at the uniform shop to purchase uniforms.
This can be done through the Compass Portal.
If you would like to place an order with the uniform shop an order form has been added to the school website under parents/uniform.
Please complete the form and return with the correct money to the school office.
These orders will be filled on uniform shop days.
Tuesday mornings 8.30am to 9.30am
Thursday afternoons 2pm to 3.15pm
From the School Handbook:
School Attendance and Absences
It is most important that students attend school unless there exists a genuine reason for absence. It is also most important that students attend school for the full school day. Whilst the first 10 minutes of school or the last 20 minutes of the school day may seem unimportant to parents, it is during these times that students are instructed of the essential routines and guides of the school day that help to create productive learning environments. As parents, you are urged to ensure your child/ren arrive at school on time and stay for the complete school day every day of the week.
CEDoW ATTENDANCE POLICY AND GOOD SAMARITAN PROCEDURES
Good Samaritan aligns Attendance Policy and Procedures with the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) Attendance Policy.
Under this policy it states that it is the parents' responsibility for regular attendance and that they are legally obligated under the Education Act 1990.
Unsatisfactory school attendance is when:
- Regular absences without explanation occurs, this includes partial absences
- Explanations not accepted by the Principal
- Extended periods of absence without an explanation
Lateness is a partial absence which must be explained. All absences must be explained to the school within 7 days of the absence.
Permission to leave the school early must have been authorised in advance by the Principal or Assistant Principal in the Principal's absence.
Parents/carers must provide an explanation by phone, email, SMS or in person to the school:
- if your child is late for school, explaining this partial absence;
- if your child is absent for a full day from school, explaining this full absence; or
- if you are planning for your child to be absent from school, explaining this partial or full absence.
Medical certificates are required for extended absences due to medical reasons. Respiratory symptoms reporting must be followed in accordance with COVID-19 procedures.
Acceptable reasons for a partial or full absence include:
- Medical illness
- Medical appointment
- Pre-approved travel. It is encouraged that travel is undertaken during school holiday periods
- Other explained absence i.e funeral, special event, religious ceremony or critical incident
- Domestic necessity i.e misadventure, unforeseen event, serious illness of an immediate family member
- Natural disaster
- Other school activity
- Elite Arts/Sport
If absent for 10 consecutive days parents/carers must request and complete the school Application for Extended Leave form.
In accordance with CEDoW guidelines, attendance letters will be sent out twice per term in Weeks 5 and 10 to parents/carer via COMPASS, in regards to unexplained absences. Strategies will be adopted in accordance with the CEDoW Attendance Policy where attendance is unsatisfactory
TERM 3 DATES:
AUGUST:
- Monday 30 August - Friday 3 September -School Focus - Paralmpics
SEPTEMBER:
- Sunday 5 September - Happy Father's Day
- Monday 6 september - Friday 10 September-School Focus - Gratitude
- Monday 6 September Students return to wearing Summer Uniforms
- Monday 13 September- Friday 17 September- School Focus - Caring for Myself & Others (Social Emotional Learning)
- Friday 17 September Jump Rope for Heart Day
- Friday 17 September Term 3 Concludes
October:
- Friday 15 October Grandparents Day -TBC