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Help kids tap into their inner resources
My first parenting mentor, Maurice Balson, author of Becoming Better Parents constantly reminded parents, “If you want your child to be resourceful you need to put them in positions to develop their resources.”
Balson’s resourcefulness message is just as apt today. Coping with change, dealing with small losses, handling rejection and overcoming disappointment are the types of experiences that build a child’s or young person’s inner resources.
Developing resourcefulness is the appropriate approach to take when considering the disruptive impact that coronavirus is having on kids’ lives. A child who is struggling to come to grips with the changes brought about by the pandemic initially needs an emphatic, supportive approach. They also need encouragement to tap into their inner resources to help them manage the hard times. The following strategies will help develop your child or young person’s inner resources.
Give them a chance to be resourceful
Harry, age 10, often leaves his lunch at home. His father, who works from home, won’t take forgotten items to school. Harry either misses lunch or persuades his friends to share their lunches with him. Either way, when Harry leaves his lunch at home he’s forced to rely on his emotional or physical resourcefulness to get by. And he does.
Catch them being resourceful
A child’s behaviours that gain a parent’s attention generally expand. Highlight a child’s good manners, acts of kindness or honesty and you’re more likely to get a repeat of those behaviours. Positive parental recognition is a high motivator for most kids. To encourage your child’s resourcefulness, focus your attention and positive comments on acts of resourcefulness and resilience they exhibit.
Encourage creativity
Sylvia, age 13 walked to school each day, saving her bus fare to spend on clothes that were out of reach of her parents’ budget. Sylvia found a way to overcome her money problem in her own way. Children and young people usually come up with very creative solutions when they’re allowed to own their problems.
Develop coping skills
Kids rely on their coping skills to help them manage their emotional states when life throws them curve balls. Build your child’s set of coping skills through direct teaching, modelling and discussion. Humour, distraction, relaxation, exercise, play and thought-distancing are some of the more common coping skills kids can use to help them tolerate their difficult feelings.
The resourcefulness a child develops when they experience adversity doesn’t desert them when life returns to normal. It waits in the background, ready to be drawn upon again when hardships, frustrations and difficulties come their way.
(Source: Parentingideas.com.au)
Heidi White
Email: Heidi.white@cg.catholic.edu.au
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:1-13)
Dear Friends,
Welcome to Holy Trinity Primary School and ELC 2021!! It has been just wonderful to see so many of our families back in our school grounds (with social distancing) dropping off and picking up students. We have had a very settled and positive start to the year, welcoming many new students and families at our ELC, Kinder and across the other grades. The smiles on their faces (for most) and the eagerness to begin school has been beautiful, warmly depicted in this picture below:
Or course, the beginning of the year also brings with it new routines and often some very tired children at the end of the day! (too cute!)
Our staff has also had a fabulous start to the year and we have welcomed Janice McDevitt (Kinder Red), Ben Davis (Year 3 /4 White), Kylie Baines (Music) and Kathy Falaras (Classroom and office support) to our community. We also congratulate Mel Punyer (Year 2W) who is expecting the birth of her first child in June! Such special news to begin the year with! Staff has spent time in the holidays setting up classrooms, participating in Professional Learning based on our strategic goals (see below) and CE system requirements. Much time has also been given to setting up the demountables for our Year 2 and Year 1 White classrooms, ready for our building refurbishment of the Annex area to begin in a few months. Thank you also to Michael and David Kane for ensuring our furniture, demountables, decks and outdoor areas were all ready to begin on Monday.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Cheryl and the incredible band of helpers in the clothing pool. At the end of last year, we moved the uniform shop to the back of the school hall area, ready for the Annex refurbishment. This was a HUGE task and the volunteers spent much time here, sorting through clothes and setting up. I know time was also spent here last Friday and Sunday to ensure new students were ready to attend school with uniforms. Thank you again so much!
Holy Trinity will continue throughout 2021 to ensure our students are given every opportunity in a nurturing Catholic community to be the best they can be, whilst enabling learning experiences to enhance progress and strive for excellence.
Holy Trinity's strategic goals for 2021 and beyond are as follows:
- Improve student outcomes through the effective evidencing for learning
- Empower students to be actively engaged in learning
- Increase student agency to foster life-long learners
These goals will be further explained in our Parent Information Video that we will be presenting to our community via a link in next week's newsletter. Due to COVID restrictions indoors and the size of our hall, we are unable to present this information on site. Teacher will be distributing via Szapp each class group's information sheet for the year and the Overview of the first Unit of Inquiry that has begun this week in classrooms.
We will however, still be able to have our welcome evening on Friday night the 12th of February from 5pm in our school grounds. This will need to be a BYO picnic night, however the P and F will be supplying a treat for our children! It will be wonderful to have our community of families come together to share an informal BYO picnic together(with social distancing and sign in), after being unable to for most of 2020!
Soon you will be sent an invitation to participate in Parent Partnership meetings with each of children's teachers. At these meetings, to be held over the next three weeks, you will be given opportunity to begin open communication with your child's teacher: to talk about your child, their strengths and areas of growth, and to give any other information that may be pertinent. As we are not having the Information session together, parents can also use this time to ask any questions or seek further clarification about our school. I strongly encourage every family to make these meetings a priority, noting they can be done at school in person or via Zoom.
Please keep the Nash family in your prayers (Emma 3/4 Red) as Catherine's mother sadly passed away during the holidays.
Thank you once again for the fabulous start to our school year and I look forward to seeing you all at our welcome picnic next Friday, if not before.
With every best wish for a holy and peace-filled week ahead with your beautiful families,
Philippa
Philippa Brearley - Brearley
Email: philippa.brearley@cg.catholic.edu.au
Welcome Back!
Our school theme for this year comes from 1 Corinthians 13:13.
“And these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love”.
Connecting our school theme to our school motto this year was an easy decision. The many challenges of 2020 led to a disconnect in the community. Social gatherings, Sacraments, Masses, class assemblies, classrooms and school celebrations were missing just one thing… our community!
This year we are continuing to grow our community in Faith, Hope and Love.
In Faith we experience that life has meaning and purpose, and we know ourselves to be called to live as the sons and daughters of God. In Hope, we lay claim to the promises of God and to the life that God has for us. In Love, we enter into the very life of God; love directly links us with God.
We cannot wait to share with you throughout the year on how our community is growing in Faith, Hope and Love!
Sacramental Dates
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Term 1 |
Reconciliation |
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Term 2 |
Confirmation |
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Term 3 |
First Eucharist |
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Youth Minister Welcome 2021
WELCOME BACK Holy Trinity community,
I am excited to be joining you for a second year as your Youth Minister!
A brief introduction, I’m Grace, a uni student, art lover and I work for CSYMA (Catholic Schools Youth Ministry Australia) with some wonderful young adults, who like myself are passionate about our sharing our faith with students, in both high schools and primary school across the Archdiocese.
The best part of this role is walking side by side with so many young people and being able to encourage and inspire them to live life to the full!
I found a love for Youth Ministry and music ministry as a student at St Clare’s College. For me joining the Youth Ministry Team gave me the love, support and healing I needed to navigate the world during some fragile teenage years and find strength in something beyond myself, God. I aim to create a safe space and the same platform for students at Holy Trinity this year with our very own Year 5/6 Youth Ministry Team.
I will be working with your Religion Coordinator, Emily Capper and our Parish Priest Monsignor John Woods, on sacramental preparation and spiritual retreat days. You will also see me around the school on Thursdays assisting teachers in Religion lessons and prayer time.
I am easy to spot in a blue shirt so please come and say hi. I look forward to meeting all the students and families.
God Bless,
Grace
Thank you!!
Last year, Holy Trinity donated the money that was raised in the Bushfire appeal to two primary schools in our community. St Patricks Primary School in Bega and Trinity Catholic Primary School in Murrumburrah.
Both schools extend their gratitude to Holy Trinity Primary School families for the generous donation! St Patricks in Bega used the money to get new sports equipment and books for senior students and Trinity, Murrumburrah used the money for a new sign for the front of their school.
Welcome to the ELC 2021
The ELC teaching teams have been delighted to welcome our new cohort of preschoolers for 2021. The children have bought their smiles, confidence, inquisitiveness, and questions and sometimes a few tears, but all the children are settling beautifully. The family interviews conducted last week have enabled a very smooth transition to the preschool this week. Below are some photos of the first days in the Black Cockatoo, Ground Parrot and Rock Wallaby classes.
Welcome Picnic
The Holy Trinity School community invites all families to attend a welcome picnic on Friday 12 February from 5pm. It is a BYO picnic with the P&F will providing ice blocks for the children. The ELC families will congregate directly below the ELC building and between the 'top' playground in the primary school. All families are requested to sign in using the Check In CBR app, and maintain physical distancing. We hope to have many of our new and returning ELC families attend.
Stay and Play - IS BACK!
Playgroup for pre-preschoolers and their families. Wednesday mornings from 9am-10.30am in the ELC Playground (weather permitting). Parents, grandparents, carers and children are all very welcome. Please sign in using the Check in CBR app.
Before and After School Bookings 2021
The ELC have both casual and permanent places in Before and After School Care for students attending Preschool, Kindergarten and Year One in 2021. The ELC provides a warm, relaxing and fun environment for 4-7 year olds from 7.30am-9am and 3.10pm-5.45pm, as well as a school holiday program during the school term breaks.
The After School Hours Care enrolment form can be found here. Please return to the ELC office. For further information contact the ELC Office Ph 6281 7428.
Making new friends and staying in touch with old classmates
As a parent there is a great deal you can do to help your child adjust socially at the start of the school year. Here are some tips to help.
Encourage your child to be open to new friendships
An open, friendly attitude is a child or young person’s best social asset. Students who open to forming new friendships are more likely to succeed than those who seek solitude, who are critical and who limit themselves to just one or two familiar faces. Encourage your child or young person to seek out new friendships, even though they may feel uncomfortable or strange at first.
Encourage healthy relationships
Do all you can to encourage healthy relationships based on respect and common courtesy. Generally, when a relationship is healthy a child feels safe, valued and able to speak up. Unhealthy relationships, such as cliques, are restrictive, one-sided and are full of gossip and criticism.
Encourage inclusiveness
Studies have shown inclusiveness to be one of the prime social skills shared by socially successful students. Encourage your child or young person to include others in games, conversations, team activities and other group activities. Inclusiveness is not just a wonderful friendship skill, it’s strong leadership attribute as well.
Encourage friendships with both genders
If you are in a co-education environment encourage your child to form friendships with both boys and girls. This is particularly valid if your child has siblings of their own gender, or don’t have siblings. It’s through these early relationships that we gain the confidence to mix with different genders in the later years. Forming friends across genders helps to break down the mystique that sometimes forms, when a child has little contact with the ‘other’ gender.
Stay in touch with former classmates and school friends
Encourage your child to maintain friendships with former classmates and groups outside of school as this helps to insulate against unfriendly behaviour that they may experience with their close social circle.
Provide social scripts
Your child may benefit from being provided with some social scripts that they can use in common social situations such as meeting a new friend, joining in a game or asking someone else for help. Boys, in particular, can benefit when given the words to use in a variety of different social situations.
Forming new friendships can take time
Meeting new students and forming new friendships can be anxiety-inducing. If this is the case for your child, then it helps to acknowledge their feelings of discomfort, but also remind them that these feelings will pass. As well discuss the fact that feeling comfortable with new friends often takes time, particularly if your child by nature is reserved or slow to warm up in social situations.
Helping kids work through friendships can be tricky for a parent as you don’t have a great deal of control over what happens at school. However, with empathy, patience, encouragement and a supportive attitude you can do a great deal to help your child make a smooth social transition.
(Source: Parentingideas.com.au)
Heidi White
Email: Heidi.white@cg.catholic.edu.au
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Students who celebrated their birthdays during the holidays: Alexia V, Yael K, Zac T, Owen F, Elijah B, Ivan V, Mirah J, Ethan A, Emilia C, Rose C, Lila W-W, Amelia B, Sofia L, Deliza S, Charlotte S, Justine T, Alessandra P-S, Eloise G, Mila G, Audrey D, Sophie B, Evan L, Lily H, Tiana M Staff Birthdays in the Holidays: Mrs Foley, Mr Sloane and Mrs Cusack Students celebrating their birthdays this week: Camille R, Georgia C, Neve I-G, Madison T, Harrison V der M, Charlotte R |
Soon you will receive an electronic form to volunteer for a range of tasks, including school vacuuming.
If you ask ANY of our experienced school parents, vacuuming is clearly THE most fun voluntary task you will do all year, allowing you to contribute to the school's health and get fit at the same time.
My aim is to put together 13 teams of five or six people each, which would mean your effort is only needed three times over the whole school year.
Vacuuming is done on a Wednesday night during school term. Each team has a leader whose responsibility is to set a time for cleaning (usually between 6 and 8pm), ensure everyone is available and check that the job is completed.
It is a great opportunity to contribute to the school and foster friendships. So please consider doing your bit and keep your eye out for the online volunteer form.
Thanks,
Paul Osborne
(Vacuum Coordinator and Year 5 Dad.)
Merici College Enrolling Information
Tae Kwon Do
Soccer
Irish Dancing Classes
Irish dancing is fun, a great way to keep fit, and make new friends. It also assists with coordination and gross motor skills. The sequences and patterns of the moves make it spectacular to watch.
Anne-Marie Dimmock, is a qualified Irish dancing teacher registered with the Coimision in Dublin Ireland. Anne-Marie competed for many years in local and National competitions with excellent results.
If your child is interested in learning Irish dancing or you would like more information please ring Anne-Marie on
0418 626 911 after 3pm.
Positive Partnerships
Australian Girls Choir
The Australian Girls Choir is holding an Open Day on Saturday February 20 and we would love to invite the girls at your school to come along. Thank you for speaking with an AGC representative recently and agreeing to place some information in your newsletter.
Our Open Day gives girls the opportunity to try a fun complimentary class, and for parents to attend an information session to find out more about the Australian Girls Choir.
Please see below for a short blurb that you can place in your newsletter regarding the Open Day. There is also a PDF flyer attached to this email which you are welcome to use.
Australian Girls Choir Open Day
Look no further than the Australian Girls Choir (AGC) because we encourage, challenge and inspire girls as they learn to sing, dance and perform. School aged girls are invited to come along to our Open Day on Saturday February 20 to try our fun and inclusive classes and learn more about being part of the AGC! Please visit our website to register to attend our free Open Day: https://ausgirlschoir.com.au/febopenday/
Thank you again for your continued support of the Australian Girls Choir. Should you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact agcinfo@aspagroup.com.au.
Kids News Bushfire Poetry Competition closes on 20 February 2021
There’s still time for primary and secondary students to submit poems about what they felt, saw, heard or went through during the 2019-20 bushfires.
If you know a budding poet, encourage them to submit their poems by 5pm AEDT on 20 February 2021.
Poems can be submitted, and more information can be found, on the Kids News Bushfire Poetry Competition page. There are plenty of tips around, including author Jackie French’s five rules for writing a poem.
NOTICEBOARD