As Week 5 draws to an end, we can be confident in knowing that all children across the school have been working hard on various tasks, building connections, developing positive class spirit, establishing clear goals and, learning with others. Even the youngest of our children, who have started on a long and exciting learning journey, have been working hard to establish relationships and making new discoveries - their wonderment and questioning is something to be captured and celebrated.

When your child comes home from school, you will often be keen and perhaps a little anxious to know about their day, and you may find yourself asking them the same question, ‘So how was school today?’, with little response.  Below are some examples of more engaging questions to ask about school. They aren’t perfect, but they may lead to a more interesting conversations... and hilarious answers... and more insights into how your child thinks and feels about school.

Throughout the year our teachers will ‘post’ to their class seesaw pages. These ‘postings will also provide you with insights into what learning has been taking place and can provide the ideal springboard for purposeful discussion.

Learning a language in addition to English is an important aspect of developing internationally minded students. Within our school community there is a diversity of learners of language; those who are introduced to learning a language other than English at school, and those who ably speak in their ‘mother tongue’ language. While at school our children learn Italian and this language learning centres on enhancing language ability and understanding of culture.

I encourage families who are proficient in languages other than English to share this knowledge with their children and to consider how they might partner with us as a school to share personal culture and background within our classroom settings.  We appreciate being able to draw on the diversity that exists within our community to further personalise and enrich the learning of our students in this dimension of school life.

Our community is strengthened by the existence of a strong P&F and at last week’s  Movie Night I saw first-hand one of the things that makes Holy Trinity very special. The community involvement that exists here enriches the children’s experience of school and fosters a strong sense of belonging for parents. Part of this, and something that the school has come to rely on, is the wonderful volunteer network that operates across the school. Please try to involve yourself in some way so that you can contribute to this great school.

And finally, thank you for the lovely welcome that I have received these past few weeks. I feel very blessed to be part of this wonderful community and look forward to a fantastic 2018.

Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable Canberra Day Long Weekend

Compassion Prayer Assembly

On Monday 5/6 Green lead us in an inspiration Prayer Assembly about Compassion. They wanted us to remember “See, Think, do”. See- look at a situation/ problem, think- think about what might be happening in that situation / problem and do- act on what you think needs to happen for that person in that situation/ problem.

Parish School Mass- Saturday 17^th March 6pm Please come and join the community next Saturday night for our Term One Parish School Mass at 6pm followed by supper.

Please have a conversation with your child / children if they would like to participate in the Mass (reading, presentation of symbols). If your child would like to be part of the mass, they have been asked to sign up on our outside notice board.  I am also looking for a family who would like to volunteer to do offertory. Year One families will be supplying supper. Your Year One Class Coordinators will be sending out an email with further details.

A big thank you to Mr Mac for conducting Alter Serving Trainning with 4 of our 5/6 students.  

You will find all our upcoming Religious Education Celebrations in our School Calendar

Let kids off the leash for greater confidence and resilience by Michael Grose

“Did you as a child or teenager enjoy more freedom to move around your neighbourhood than you give to your kids?” I often ask parents this question at my presentations and the answer is usually overwhelmingly affirmative. I then ask:

“Put your hand up if you benefitted from this freedom in any way including developing self-confidence, gaining independence and learning how to solve your own problems.”

Almost every parent present raises a hand. Deep down we know that giving kids more freedom is good for their overall development, yet we so often struggle to give kids the same liberties to roam that many of us enjoyed as children ourselves.

Recently Tim Berryman, principal of Fitzroy Community School, gave a speech urging parents to be brave and give their children more freedom. The speech obviously struck a chord, as more parents in his school now allow their children to travel to school independently, as well as walk to the shops, the park or friends’ homes without an adult.

Bravo to the principal for taking a stand and three cheers to the parents who changed their ways and gave their kids the opportunity to roam away from home without adult supervision. In my book Spoonfed Generation I wrote how it was the edgier escapades – such as climbing walls, exploring drains and building cubbies from scraps scrounged from a nearby wood yard – and not the safe experiences that shaped me and made me less fearful as a child. These types of experiences in unpredictable environments taught me about being resourceful, assessing risk and confronting my fears.

I would strongly argue that although I benefited greatly from a very good formal education at school it was these unorganised activities that helped me reach my full potential. Unfortunately, these are not the type of experiences many of today’s children and young people enjoy.

Not all risks are the same

There are a number of reasons why today’s generation experience less freedom than previous generations. These include busy after-school schedules leaving less time for wandering and the centralisation of shops and parks reducing opportunities for walking. However, it’s the perception that the world is a more dangerous place that seems to be most pertinent. This is despite there being little evidence to suggest that stranger danger is on the rise.

The wish to keep kids safe is now paramount for many adults, but it comes at the expense of children’s and young people’s natural developmental need for unpredictable experiences away from constant adult supervision. We need to be careful we don’t throw all risk into the same basket. We need to separate risk-taking in terms of unsafe/unhealthy risks (e.g. playing chicken with cars on busy roads) and safe/developmental risks (e.g. using traffic lights to cross busy roads). It’s evident that children who are exposed to safe risk-taking usually are less fearful, less anxious and more able to take on new challenges and experiences.

Parents need to be brave.

Perhaps one of the hardest parts of parenting is letting go of our primal need to keep kids safe from pain and harm. The wish to protect is in the DNA of most parents, yet we can’t let that innate desire restrict children’s basic developmental need to explore, to be curious and to pull away from parental protectiveness.

As Tim Berryman said so eloquently in his speech, “We don’t need to reflect for long to consider all the disasters that could befall our children in the park, travelling to school or going to the shops. …(But) if we are aware of the cost of this fear, and instead keep it in check, we will help to nurture a more empowered child, laying out the ground for a more empowered adult.” Just as we want our children to be brave and face their fears, we too need to face down some of the unwarranted fears that we have for our children’s safety. Navigating fear is a part of parenting just as it is part of growing up. It makes us feel uncomfortable. But when we face those fears, confidence and competence grows and anxiety dissipates. This principle is just as pertinent for parents as it is for our kids.

(parentingideas.com.au/schools)

The Holy Trinity Parent Library is located up the back of the school library and contains a wide range of great books to help us all in the quest to be great parents.

Some of our newest books include; Steve Biddulph’s “10 things girls need most”, Judith Locke’s “The Bonsai Child”, Kristy Goodwin’s “Raising your child in a digital world” and Dannielle Millers’s “The butterfly effect”.

There is also a great selection of books on puberty. If you would like to borrow a book please come in and have a look or send me an email via your child. I’m also happy to suggest a book. Books will be borrowed out under your child’s name.
Happy Reading,

          

Our talented photographers will be visiting your School on:

Tuesday 27^th & Thursday 29^th March 2018

 Payment must be made before photo day 

We only photograph children who have prepaid online

 To order your School Photos it is as simple as logging onto our website and selecting from the following three options

THE SCHOOL PORTRAIT  PACKAGE

Your full package will contain 2 different individual natural outdoor photos of your child professionally printed at 5x7”  and  8 wallet size prints (4 of each portrait) a beautifully produced class photo with names 7x10’ all for only $35

SIBLING PHOTOS

We will also be taking 2 different natural outdoor sibling shots on the day if you would like a portrait of the kids together (both printed at 5x7”) for only $25

 GROUP PHOTO ONLY - $25

For those families not wishing to purchase individual photos, but still wanting a memory of your child’s school days, there is the option to purchase a class photo only. This comes as a 7”x10” print.

 To order your photos click on image and follow these instructions:

• Click on [ PREPAY ]
• Select your School
• Select your child’s Class
• Select your preferred package/s – School Portrait Pack / Sibling Photos / Group Only
• Click Prepay
• Go to View Cart
• Make sure packages ordered are correct
• Proceed to Checkout
• Once you have completed your personal information please enter your payment information. (Place Order)

 Four weeks after photo day we will return with your portraits.

Please note there has been a change in photo day for 1 Red and 2 Red classes ONLY. 

Literacy Workshops for parents will be held on Tuesday, 13 March at 9.30am and 6:30pm in the library.

The sessions will cover:

Helping your child develop literacy skills

Practical tips to encourage reading

How to listen to reading

Helping in the classroom

K-2 parents are encouraged to attend the literacy workshops. The workshop will provide practical strategies to help your child come a confident reader and also to equip you to help more effectively in the classrooms.

Both sessions will be hosted by Philippa Brearley and Katie Smith

Click here to RSVP by 9^th March 2018 to

CONFIDENCE IN CATHOLIC EDUCATION PARENT AND STAFF SURVEY

Dear Parents, 

Catholic Education shares with Catholic school parents a deep commitment to providing your children with high quality academic and faith-filled education, and the safest possible school experience. To inform the work of Catholic Education has engaged accredited, leading Australian researcher body, JWS Research, to help us understand parent and staff views on current child safety and protection policies and approaches and what may be required to strengthen Catholic Education in this important area. The research project is aiming to reach all parents in the Archdiocese through a survey below.  Your views will help Catholic Education to enhance its schools and meet the needs of the children in our school communities.  Your participation is very much appreciated.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE SURVEY

Please join the Canberra Choral Society for the magnificent St Matthew Passion on Saturday 24 March at St Christopher’s Cathedral in Manuka.

Ticket sales are here ​

https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=356110&​