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To The Community of Holy Trinity,
As we continue on our journey on this Land,
May the God of creation warm your heart like the campfires of old. Bring wisdom and peace as shown to the first peoples of this land. Shake off the dust from the desert plains by the refreshing rains followed by the glow and warmth of the sun. Let the light of God show us the right path and stand tall like the big river gums drawing life from the ever flowing waters.
(Source: Uncle Vince Ross)
In the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Wow, my last Newsletter for the year! What a crazy year too. We have been fortunate to be able to slowly get back to some sort of normality, and it has been so lovely to see families around the school again.
First though, I wanted to remind you all of my report way back in Term 2 (I know you read it)! It was then we committed to focus the year on Community and Giving. The P&F offered to fund whatever activities and events we could throughout the remainder of the year. We decided to still go ahead with our Mother’s Day and Father’s Day stalls by funding the gifts, and held a Colour Run (instead of a walkathon) with no sponsorship. I want to thank all of the families at Holy Trinity for your support and involvement throughout the year. We knew it was going to be tough, but we also knew we were stronger together. I have heard many stories of families checking up on others, phone calls, messages to make sure we were all doing OK. What a wonderful place to be a part of.
I wanted to say a very big thank you to Cheryl and her amazing Uniform Shop team who have kept the children all looking neat and tidy throughout the year. Thank you for dropping everything and being available when we need it. Also a big thank you to Alicia and her volunteers in the Canteen. The food is amazing and I always look forward to Audrey’s afternoon leftovers, except there are never any! We are very lucky to have these two wonderful services in our school, lead by two amazing parents.
I know the P&F is more than the formal committee that meet a couple of times each Term. We are all part of the P&F and every family contributes in different ways. I really hate mentioning people by name, because it means I run the risk of leaving someone off the list! But I’m going to anyway, only if we all appreciate this is a limited list and doesn’t account for the sport coaches/managers/umpires etc we have in our community. Thank you to Mark, Annette, Paul, Cheryl, Alicia, Rowena, Mark, Rach, Lisa, Jo, Niki, Kim, Monica, Jenny.
There are a couple of things I’d like to let you know that have either been happening since my last report, or are about to!
Teacher Appreciation Day
A very huge thank you to our wonderful teachers and staff of Holy Trinity. The families in our beautiful community can’t thank you enough for looking after, caring for and teaching our children, in this particularly challenging year. The P&F on behalf of all our families, were pleased to provide a yummy Amici Bar lunch for the staff last week. The best part about the lunch were the gourmet sweet treats from some lovely parents (Kim, Jane, Cass, Jess, Lucie, Sarah, Sophia, Loretta), thank you. A very small token for all the wonderful things you do for our children and our school. We just want you to know that we appreciate you and are grateful for you, so thank you.
Colour Run
I know it seems like such a long time ago, but I wanted to thank the wonderful Year 6 Sport Group and the equally wonderful Mrs Punyer for all your work in pulling this event together. Also to the many parent volunteers we had on the day, it certainly was a fun day! Even though we didn’t do the normal sponsorship drive, families donated $900 for the event, so thank you!
Revue
Oh my goodness, we have had to cancel the Revue for 2020! Let’s be honest, there is never any social distancing at the HT Revue, and a different format just doesn’t cut it. But don’t worry, there are plans for a bigger and better event next year (I have no details because there are no details!!).
Charities
The annual Revue raises money for our local charity, L’Arche who offers supported living in community households together with a rich social and cultural life, for adults living with intellectual disability. The P&F on behalf of all families is honouring our commitment to still donate money at the end of the year to this wonderful organisation.
Our International charity is a sponsor child, Lydia, through Global School Partners. We have also remained committed to supporting Lydia and Global School Partners throughout the year.
Working Bee
A very big thank you to all families who attended the Working Bee last Friday afternoon. The gardens are looking lovely! Thank you to the BBQ chefs and bar staff.
Student Fete
How much fun does the Fete sound!! It will be a fabulous day, the kids are certainly pumped. A huge thank you to Jenny for all the work you are doing to organise such a mammoth event.
Next P&F AGM
The AGM will be held in Term 1 Week 4 next year. If anyone is interested in being a part of the P&F please feel free to contact me, I’m always up for a chat.
As always, thanks so much for reading. Hope to see you soon, but if I don’t, I hope you have a wonderful and safe Christmas break with your family. All the best.
Cath Day
Email: htpspfpresident@gmail.com
Rememberance Day
Yesterday we gathered as a school community to commemorate Rememberance Day. A warm thank you to the students and family members who led us beautifully! We also pay tribute to all service people in our community who were unable to attend. We were privileged to listen to a Commemorative Address by Patrick Heffernan (Claire T 5/6B step-father), who outlined to the students and community about the importance of rememebering those who have served our country over our short history. Those men and women have sacrficed many things for us so that we can live in a country where we have access to fresh water, healthy food, good housing, good education and more importantly the right for indivudal freedom. Our school includes a number of Defence families and we think of all those, especially those who are serving away from home.
Sacrament of First Eucharist
Thank you to all of the parents and students who joined our Zoom First Eucharist Formation session last night. I hope it was a nice way to conclude your preparation for the Sacrament.
A reminder that all parents can now select a time and day for their child to receive their First Eucharist, please use the link below:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/146FLEi9zYXFb7-ORSpIEnyadSPXt4E8kAxxmC_2ORTM/edit?usp=sharing
Due to restrictions, only 4 children will be able to register for each Mass. Please remember to also list the number of family members/guests that will be attending (Maximum of 10).
First Eucharist Mini Retreat Day
Next Tuesday, 17th of November, all Year 4 students will participate in a mini First Eucharist retreat day at Holy Trinity. Students are welcome to wear free dress and are required to bring their own lunch. Due to current restrictions students will be unable to have a shared morning tea, as we would have previously done on the Retreat Day.
Children’s Liturgy
A reminder that Children’s Liturgy runs on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month during term time.
Below is a timetable with the remaining dates for Term 4.
Sunday 22nd November
Sunday 13th December
Emily Capper
Religious Education Coordinator
On Monday 9th November Year 5/6 Red and Year 1 Red put together a lovely prayer celebration for NAIDOC Week 2020!
NAIDOC celebrations are held around Australia in July each year to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year due to COVID it has been postponed to November 8th to 15th. This year’s theme for our NAIDOC Week is ‘Always was, Always will’.
Always Was, Always Will Be recognises that First Nations people have occupied and cared for this continent for over 65,000 years. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were Australia’s first explorers, first navigators, first engineers, first farmers, first botanists, first scientists, first diplomats, first astronomers and first artists.
NAIDOC Week 2020 acknowledges and celebrates that our nation’s story didn’t begin with documented European contact whether in 1770 with Captain James Cook, or in 1606 with the arrival of the Dutch on the western coast of the Cape York Peninsula. The very first footprints on this continent were those belonging to First Nations people.
NAIDOC 2020 invites all Australians to embrace the true history of this country – a history which dates back thousands of generations. It’s about seeing, hearing and learning the First Nations’ 65,000- plus year history of this country - which is Australian history.
Year 1 enjoyed some Indigenous games during NAIDOC Week 2020.
Mel Punyer
ATSI Contact Teacher
Holy Trinity Highlights.................... The latest episodes
Season 2
Episode 1-3, 5: How can we change your thinking?
We meet with groups of Year 6 students who are planning their interactive space for Exhibition. They discuss their ideas and how they can provoke thought to those who visit their space. Keep tuned to listen to each group explain how they will take action on an issue they have inquired into.
Episode 4: Mr Ross Fox-Director of Catholic Education for the Canberra Goulburn Archdiocese
This episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing a very special guest, Mr Ross Fox. He is the current Director of Catholic Education for the Canberra Goulburn Archdiocese. Ross discusses his family, his time at Oxford, our CECG office and their relationship with school communities. He also discusses his impression of the Holy Trinity Primary School community.
Episode 6: What have Year 1 been inquiring into?
This episode, Tracey Hanlon (Year 1 teacher) and I co-host an interview with some very intriguing and giggly Year 1 students. Amy and Henry discuss some of the provocations their teachers have set up to provoke thought and we try and answer a very interesting burning question about teeth.
Search for 'holy trinity highlights' on the following apps
Subscribe through Apple Podcast 
or PodBean 
If you would like to be interviewed for this podcast, please flick me an email.
Regards,
Rebecca Casey
ICT Coordinator
rebecca.casey@cg.catholic.edu.au
A Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) is a formal statement of commitment to reconciliation. Holy Trinity Primary School and Early Learning Centre has developed a RAP using existing initiatives and identifying areas for development.
The Holy Trinity RAP working group assists in the implementation of reconciliation initiatives. Our working group includes teaching and non-teaching staff, parents, students and community members.
If you are interested in becoming part of our working group towards reconciliation, please contact either Mel Punyer melanie.punyer@cg.catholic.edu.au or Cushla Sheehan cushla.sheehan@cg.catholic.edu.au.
The next meeting of the working group will be on Tuesday 1 December at 3.30pm in the school library.
Before and After School Bookings for the ELC 2021
The ELC has now opened bookings for Before and After School Care for students attending Kindergarten and Year One in 2021. Children currently enrolled in BSC/ASC will be required to submit a new enrolment form. The ELC provides a warm, relaxing and fun environment for 4-7 year olds from 7.30am-9am and 3.10pm to 5.45pm, as well as a school holiday program during the school term breaks. Places will be limited and priority given to siblings of 2021 preschoolers and Kindergarten students.
The After School Hours care enrolment form can be found here. Please return to the ELC office.
The ELC also has permanent and casual BSC and ASC places available this term. Contact the ELC office for bookings.
The power of sorry
Our boys tend to get into trouble more than our girls. There are lots of cultural and biological reasons for this but much of it boils down to the fact that boys are still soft-wired to be ‘mammoth hunters’, ready to react to any threat.
Generally, boys have more muscle than girls and, with that, a physicality that gets them in strife. There’s also brain research that shows that, while females tend to quickly shift emotions from the brain’s limbic system to the word centres of the brain, males tend to shift them into their bodies.
This is more obvious as our boys become teens as they can be as big and strong as men, but their brains are under construction and their bodies are flooded with testosterone.
Author and counsellor Michael Gurian writes that boys tend to seek external measures of success to feel good about themselves. It is critical they maintain credibility and status in the eyes of the ‘tribe’… that’s their peers, not you.
Inevitably, all this means your son will probably make many mistakes; or hurt himself; hurt someone else; or make a very poor, thoughtless, seemingly stupid or cruel choice.
React with compassion not shame
How you react as a parent can significantly impact how your son recovers from mucking up. Your first reactions may be anger, disappointment or the urge to discipline harshly. However, there are other ways of reacting that can strengthen your bond with your son and ensure he learns from the experience through growth rather than shame.
Listen to him, guide him to see the impact of his poor choice, help him make it right, forgive him and ask him what he might do next time he’s in the same situation.
Break down the old male-code
This code told us that men don’t apologise as it’s a sign of weakness. One of the most powerful things we can teach our boys is that when we make mistakes, we own up to them and we apologise if need be. Teach your boys that saying sorry when they really mean it is a sign of courage and strength, not the opposite. It is also about taking responsibility for your actions, which is important for boys to learn. They need to see the men in their lives – particularly dads – apologise.
Don’t force an apology
Forcing a boy to apologise can be problematic. A genuine apology is very different to a forced apology. A genuine apology has a real sense of remorse attached to it. Coach your son to see the situation through the other person’s eyes. If someone has been impacted, he needs to apologise and make amends even if he didn’t intend for the consequences of his poor choice to happen. It doesn’t mean he’s wrong. It just means his choice affected someone.
Embrace failure
To help your son better learn about failure, have conversations about things you hear in the media where boys and men have experienced failure and recovered. Steve Smith, the former captain of the Australian cricket team who was involved in a ball-tampering scandal, is a great example. He owned his mistake, publicly apologised and he went on to have a very successful return to cricket.
Your son is going to make poor decisions repeatedly until he has enough myelin in his brain to be more mindful of the choices he makes. That is just a fact of life. As parents, your job is to, day-by-day, help your son learn a culture of accountability without a need for severe punishment, shaming or ridicule.
(Source: Parentingideas.com.au)
Heidi White
Email: Heidi.white@cg.catholic.edu.au
This year we started our first ever Holy Trinity Book Club. It began in Term 1 but had a significant pause due to COVID and then resumed again in Term 3.
Fifteen children signed up for Book Club. We started off by discussing what makes a good book, why we love reading, shared books that were being read at home and we also designed an essential agreement. We then played a few games, ate food, had some hot chocolate and then selected a book that we could all read at home and discuss in our weekly Book Club gatherings. Lots of fun!
This term we were invited by Radford College to attend the first ever ‘Readers Cup’. It was to be a night time event at Radford but COVID restrictions interrupted the fun and it became an online event. Preparations involved each Book Club member reading five books over a five week time frame – an impressive effort. We then had to form teams of four with a reserve.
The actual event took place Thursday, 15th October (Week 1, Term 4) from 9.30am until 1.00pm. There were 20 schools involved from all around Canberra. The teams then had to answer 4 lots of 10 questions on the range of books read. Marking was done by the CBCA (Children’s Book Council of Australia) ACT branch. Holy Trinity came 13th and 17th overall. The teams learned a lot about reading at a deeper level and not rushing written answers. All participants were thoughtful of peers, had fun and were well mannered.
Kate Mertz
Email: kate.mertz@cg.catholic.edu.au
Year 5/6 Excursion to BFirm
Friday 31st October, the 5/6 students participated in the BFirm, Swing into Life Program. Students participated in an activity course, which included a number of different obstacles, and activities that encouraged the students to work as a team and overall build confidence whilst being physically active.
I thought it was a wonderful experience of teamwork and agility. If that went for three days it would have made the best camp. (Emma P)
I really in enjoyed bfirm, apart from the push-ups because they got annoying. The cold-water wash down at the end was unfair, because the girls got showers. (Coen R)
B-firm was a good opportunity to come together as a 5/6 cohort. I really enjoyed it because everyone got competitive especially when the fives where versing the sixes. (Tom J)
BFirm was a fun and exciting day of activities to do with our friends and teachers. It was a great way to get away from Exhibition. (Ginger P)
B-Firm was an opportunity for me to get down and get dirty and takes some risk. (Eliza R)
During BFirm it was a fun time to bond with others and it was exciting and challenging to power through the courses. (Isis F)
BFirm was awesome. It was really fun and exciting. We were head to toe with mud. We had to battle for the showers, girls won, sadly the boys got the hose. We did four courses and it was a great test of fitness and stability. (Alex H)
We had to do several courses and race at the end. Most of them were difficult. It was strict, but a wonderful experience. (Yael K)
Recently we were able to purchase over $2,500 worth of sports equipment for students to use at lunchtime and during sports lessons. This is made possible because when you spend money at Rebel, Holy Trinity get money from Rebel to spend in the store.
If you are a member of rebel, next time you are in the store can you please register to link your account to Holy Trinity? If you shop at rebel and are not a member, next time you are in the store can you please sign up as a member, it is free, and link your account to Holy Trinity.
If you have any questions about this, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Mel Punyer
Sports Coordinator
Melanie.Punyer@cg.catholic.edu.au
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Students celebrating their birthdays this week: Hugo W, Isabella K, Roy K, Lucas G, Allegra E |
Team Leader: Robert Chicco, Matthew Trinca, Joseph Barbatano, Dario Morosini, Peter Andruska, Dean Hunt
Reminder: Could team leaders please ensure the ELC is vacuumed, as well as the main building and annexe. Just the carpeted areas, as the bathrooms are done by the cleaners.
Paul Osborne
Email: osbornep@aap.com.au
NOTICEBOARD