Dear Parents and Families, 

The Queen’s Birthday Weekend just gone by provided us all with an opportunity for extended family time and a break from some of the regular weekend routines. With another short week, it was also a great segway into our termly 'Sabbath' week, whereby no doubt parents and students alike,  have enjoyed a break from homework. 

This Sunday is a very special one in the lives of many of our Year Six students and their families. After many hours of preparation they will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation at one of two masses on Sunday.  Confirmation is one of the Initiation Sacraments of the Catholic Church and helps the candidates to be united more firmly with Christ.  Please keep the candidates and their families in your prayers.

Next week, we will be holding our annual Parent Teacher Interviews (K- Year 2) and Three-Way Conferences (Year 3-6). These conversations about learning are being held before the written Semester 1 report is sent home.

Click on the image below to complete a booking 

Bookings will remain open until Friday 15th June at 5pm. 

Peace and Best Wishes

Katie 

In March 2019, Holy Trinity School will be visited by representatives from the International Baccalaureate Organisation, to evaluate our journey as an IB World School, offering the Primary Years Program.

The visiting team will look at every aspect of our School, from its leadership and management to the rigour of our academic programs to the ways in which students and parents are involved in the learning through inquiry.

In preparation for this we are currently undertaking a PYP self-study. The self-study is a requirement of the International Baccalaureate (IB). Our self-study is a year long process that involves staff, students, parents and board members. The purpose of the self-study is to ensure that we are maintaining the IB Programme Standards and Practices. As the staff conduct the self-study, we are looking to identify our achievements and areas that need further development in terms of our practices. The self-study allows teachers to reflect on their practices, but it also calls on parents and students to participate by reflecting on the school's practices and commitment to the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP). 

We look forward to your participation and responses in this survey. Thanks in advance for your time and input. 

SURVEY 

Confirmation Update 

Parent and Candidate Night

Last Thursday Holy Trinity hosted the Parent and Candidate Night in preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. During this session the Confirmation Candidates decorated their stoles to wear on the day of their Confirmation. 

Retreat Day 

Today Year 6 students from Sts Peter and Paul, Holy Trinity along with other Candidates from the Parish of the Transfiguration attended the Confirmation Retreat Day in preparation for their Confirmation this Sunday. We celebrated mass together, discussed the significance of the Sacrament of Confirmation with Archbishop Christopher, rotated through 3 activities and practiced for the mass on Sunday. We warmly welcome and encourage everyone to come along to one of the Confirmation Masses this Sunday at 9am and 11am. 

Global Schhool Partners Coin Line 

Can you believe it!!!!! As a school community we raised over $1000 last Friday at our Coin Line Fundraiser! We are well on our way to raising the money needed to purchase Evaland Hekmia a water tank. 

With help from the kinder and ELC teachers, the GSP Year 6 Team and 5/6 White helped count and collect every classrooms combined coins. The classes then come down to the basketball court to place their coins on the lines that spelled out Evaland Hekima, our partner school in Kenya. Well done to 5/6 White who raised the most amount of money for the coin line. 

Global School Partners Cake Stall

Next Tuesday 19^th June Holy Trinity will be hosting a Global School Cake Stall. We are asking all Year One and Year Two families to please provide the “sweet treats” that the students will then buy for a gold coin. The cake stall will be selling from 10:30am and again at 1:10pm. All the money raised from the cake stall will go towards the purchase of the water tank.

Global School Partners Trivia Night 

Tomorrow night, Friday 15th June Holy Trinity has two tables that are ready to go for the GSP Trivia Night! The Trivia night is raising money for the GSP Women's Prgram. The theme for the night is wild Africia...... stay tuned for photos!  

GSP Talent Show 

Mark your diaries...... Friday 29th June is Holy Trinity's Talent Show. Students from 3/4 White launched this at last Friday's Morning Assembly. Individuals and groups will be able to enter from Monday Week 8, 18 June until Friday 22 June. Depending on the number of entries, we may have some auditions. Individuals will pay an entry fee of $5 and groups are &10. 

Up and coming RE Celebrations 

Friday 15th June: GSP Trivia Night. 

Sunday 17th June, 9am & 11am: Confirmation Masses

Tuesday 19th June, 10:30am & 1:10pm: GSP Cake Stall. Sweet treats supplied by Year 1 and Year 2 families. Please remind your child/ren to bring in a gold coin to buy and enjoy a sweet treat at lunch and/or recess. 

Friday 29th June, 2:10pm: GSP Talent Show

10 ways kids involve parents in sibling fighting By Michael Grose

Sibling fighting is common but not inevitable. Parents can easily become embroiled in the conflict so that they help create the problem rather than solve it. Children usually become quite adept at drawing their parents into sibling fighting. Be mindful of the following ten common ways children involve parents in their sibling disputes:

1. Beware the teller of tales because they can draw you into disputes you don’t need to be in. “Tell Tale children” tend to involve parents in fights and disputes when they don’t need to be. Tales also invite parents to take sides, which may mean a fight stops momentarily. However it will begin again at another time as there may be lingering resentment about you taking sides.

2. Beware the blamers for it is never, ever their fault! Some children will blame other siblings for wrong-doing but will rarely see their side in a dispute. It usually takes two or three to tango so make sure you point out their place in the dispute.

3. Beware the tantrum-throwers as they divert attention away from themselves. Kids who throw a ‘wobbly’ when a sibling even looks at them in the wrong way have discovered a great way to keep mum or dad busy with them.

4. Beware of children’s tears as they can make us feel pity, narrow our focus rather than look at the whole story. A child who comes to you with tears in her eyes and a tale of woe sure knows how to get their parents onside. Empathise but don’t sympathise. And remember that sometimes the child who cries the loudest is the child who caused the dispute in the first place.

5. Beware of children who say that they couldn’t help hitting, hurting or misbehaving. Children always have a choice. They just choose the easy way or a way that suits them a lot of the time. Sibling fighting doesn’t have to happen.

6. Beware of the child who is always, always the victim. Sometimes they revel in this role. Some children, particularly youngest kids, love to play the victim in fights and arguments with their siblings. “He always picks on me” is their catchcry. Don’t give these children too much attention and give them some options about how they can keep away from their siblings if things look likely to ‘cut up rough’.

7. Beware of the child who acts like the deputy sheriff, always giving orders and bossing others around. They can make life unpleasant at home. First born boys can sometimes act like a parent’s deputy and believe it is their job to keep peace on the ‘family range’. They often use methods more akin to the ‘wild west’ than those they would learn in any negotiation skills workshop. Aggression and power is their preferred methodology. Keep a firm eye on these kids and don’t put them in charge of the ‘family range’ too often.

8. Beware the donkey who whines and whinges about his siblings - “Hee Hawlways picks on me!” Give them some ideas about how to deal with their siblings and refuse to drawn by incessant whining. Like water torture, whining wears a person down after a while.

9. Beware children who bring home poor attitudes and behaviours that they learned at school or pre school. You can tell sometimes what is happening in the schoolyard as children can bring home poor conflict resolution skills that they see in the schoolyard. ‘We treat each other well in this family’ is the message!

10. Beware of the home environment that uses power to resolve disputes and conflict. Children will often reflect the ways that the significant adults in their family resolve conflict so make sure you use the same methods to sort out issues and disagreements with your partner that you want your children to adopt. Children tend to live what they see so make sure they see conciliation and compromise rather than bullying and power. It helps if they see assertiveness rather than aggression. And make sure they see you looking at both sides of the picture in sibling fighting, rather than your side all the time in disputes.

Most of us as parents are as predictable as washing machine cycles. Kids fight and we react tends to be the default mechanism in many families. Rather than react habitually to sibling disputes stand back, take a deep breath and work out first, whether you need to get involved. If you do, then consider carefully how you’ll respond as the parent. Do you guide them to resolve the problem themselves? Do you need to change anything in the environment? Do you acknowledge their feelings? Do you encourage problem-solving? Do you need to step into provide safety? Do you simply needs some peace and quiet? Is there a power imbalance?

When you take an active approach to helping children resolve their fights, you are teaching them a valuable life skill as well as reducing the incidence of fighting over the long term.

ACT Cross Country Championship

On Wednesday 13^th June, six students from our school competed at the ACT Cross Country Championship at Stromlo Forest Park. Well done to all these students who qualified for the championship.

Netball

Due to Ada and Lou’s (year 3 students) imminent departure towards the end of this term, the Silver Sparkles Netball Team (mainly Yr 3 players but some Yr 4 players) is in need of some new players. Games are played at Deakin at 9am on Saturday mornings (warm up beforehand). Training is after school on Tuesdays. Please contact Suwanna Danaher smaried1001@gmail.com if you are able to fill the vacant positions

‘Hats-Off’ period has begun

The ‘Hats-Off’ period commenced on the first day of winter, and it is now optional for our students to wear hats until 31 July 2018. The ‘Hats Off period is recommended by the ACT Cancer Council. In the colder mornings some children may choose to wear a beanie. School beanies are avaialble from our school uniform shop.