“Teach me your way O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth.

Grant me an undivided heart to revere Your name.” (Psalm 86:11)

Dear Friends,

A HUGE Thank you to all parent, families and students that helped celebrate Mother's Day, recognising all those special role models in our lives last Friday.  It was wonderful to see so many of our community come together for breakfast, kindly hosted by the P and F. 1Red shared a beautiful Prayer Assembly and then we finished celebrations with our stall, also kindly run by the volunteers below! 

As you are aware, the Federal election will be held this Saturday 18 May 2019. As always, Catholic Education does not advocate or direct votes for any party. We do seek to ensure everyone who is interested is well informed on policies relevant to education.

School funding has not been a focus of the election campaign to date and is not expected to feature further in the days remaining in the campaign. In contrast, the policy positions of the major parties with respect to Early Childhood education are substantially different.  Much information is available through each party’s website and through news outlets. Alongside this, specific to Catholic education the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) has prepared a guide to the federal election on their website with a number of resources. The guide can be accessed at:

https://www.ncec.catholic.edu.au/news-events/2019-federal-election

The links below are available through the NCEC federal election page and provide further information including Facts on School Funding and FAQs documents for the 2019 Federal Election.  

2019 federal election overview provided by NCEC

https://www.ncec.catholic.edu.au/news-events/2019-federal-election

Facts on school funding

https://www.ncec.catholic.edu.au/images/2019_NCEC_Facts_on_School_Funding.pdf

Frequently asked questions

https://www.ncec.catholic.edu.au/images/2019_NCEC_FAQs.pdf

Party responses to questions from NCEC regarding Catholic education

https://www.ncec.catholic.edu.au/images/2019_NCEC_Election_Party_Responses.pdf

It was with great sadness that the world heard of Jean Vanier’s passing during last week.  For us as a school and Parish Community that supports the L’Arche residents ( an organisation set up by Jean Vanier), this is particularly sad. I would like to finish this message with one of his many great reflections: 

 “'When we start helping the weak and the poor to rise, everyone will begin to change.  Those who have power and riches will start to become more humble, and those who are rising up will leave behind their need to be victims, their need to be angry or depressed... This is the spirituality of life, that helps people to rise up and take their place.  it is not a spirituality of death.  Jesus wanted those who have been crushed to rise up and those who have power to discover that there is another road, a road of sharing and compassion.”

With every best wish for a holy and peace-filled week ahead with your beautiful families,

Philippa

Eveland Hekima

This term we will begin our fundraising for our Global School, Eveland Hekima. We hope to raise enough money to support Eveland Hekima in building ELC toilets and buying metal frame beds to escape the termites.

Tomorrow, 5/6 will hold a bake sale. A gold coin is all you need!

Global Schools Trivia Night

All are invited to the Global Schools Trivia Night. Enter tables of parents and friends.
This year there will be a student trivia competition running parallel to the adults, just for primary school students in our inter-school trivia competition!

Date: Friday June 14th 2019

Time: 6 pm for 6.30 pm start to 8.30 pm

Venue: Holy Trinity Primary School, School hall

Theme: Colourful Africa or Your school’s colours

Lots of prizes to be won!

Dates for your Diary

Monday 20th May 2:20pm - Class Assembly - 3/4W

Thursday 30th May 9:30am - Whole School Mass, Feast of the Ascension

Saturday 1st June 6pm - Parish Mass

First Eucharist Dates

PRESENTATION TO PARISH AT WEEKEND MASSES:

Holy Trinity Church, Curtin    6.00pm Saturday 1st June 2019

Holy Trinity Church, Curtin    5.30pm Sunday 2nd June 2019

PRACTICE/RETREAT FOR CHILDREN:

Thursday 13th June - 9.00am–2.15pm

SACRAMENTAL CELEBRATION:

Saturday 15th June - 6pm

Athletics Carnival

Our annual athletics carnival is planned for Wednesday 29^th May. The day has taken on a new format where the students in age groups will move between track and field events throughout the day as rotations. For this to happen we require parents and grandparents to run the events, teachers will support rotations and record results. If you are able to help in any way throughout the day this will be greatly appreciated. Please contact Michael Feerick to let him know your availability for this event.

Walk Safely School Week

Holy Trinity are participating in this national initiative during Week 4, 20-24 May. We have been able to organise two days to have a walking school bus that will meet at two locations around Curtin on Wednesday 22^nd and Friday 24^th May. Thank you class coordinators for organising this. The meeting points for the walking school bus are North Curtin Playing Fields (corner of Dunstan/Throssell St) and the underpass near Curtin Primary (corner of  McCormack/Carruthers St). The walking school bus will meet at 8:20am and depart at 8:30am to arrive at school before the bell. If your child wishes to be part of the walking school bus it is the parent’s responsibility to walk with their child to school. The school does not take any responsibility of students outside of the school grounds and there is no teacher on duty at school until 8:30am each day. Each day the students who walk to school will receive a raffle ticket to win new sports gear. On Friday morning at the assembly winners from the raffle will be drawn.

More information about walking safe to school can be found here https://www.realinsurance.com.au/school-safety

A Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) is a formal statement of commitment to reconciliation. Holy Trinity Primary School and Early Learning Centre is developing a RAP using existing initiatives and identifying areas for development.

We are currently establishing a working group to assist in the implementation of reconciliation initiatives. Our working group will include 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 Kate Mertz kate.mertz@cg.catholic.edu.au or Cushla Sheehan cushla.sheehan@cg.catholic.edu.au.

Helping children make and keep friends

by Michael Grose

Enjoying healthy relationships has a tremendous impact on your child’s wellbeing and their overall success at school. Many children who experience behavioural problems at school have difficulty interacting with their peers.

Coach your child in positive social skills

Children who develop healthy friendships generally have a definite set of social skills that help make them easy to like, easy to relate to and easy to play with. If your child is struggling to make friends consider coaching them using this three-pronged approach:

Be open: Some children close themselves off to forming new friendships, preferring to stick to one or two friends. Encourage your child to be open to forming friendships with a wide variety of children in and outside school and in doing so encircling themselves with many friendship groups

Be inclusive: Encourage your child to include a wide number of children in their games and activities rather than restricting the possibility of joining in to certain children. Healthy friendship groups are open and inclusive of others, while unhealthy relationships, such as cliques are restrictive, one-sided and full of gossip and criticism

Be aware: Encourage social awareness in your child. For instance, a socially-aware child would be discrete when giving out birthday party invitations at school, being protective and sensitive to the feeling of those not invited. This level of social awareness doesn’t necessarily come naturally to all children, but it can be reinforced by parents and teachers

Encourage friendships with both genders

The primary school age is an ideal time for children to form friendships with both genders. 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 later life. Forming friends helps to break down the mystique that can form, when a child has little contact with the ‘other’ gender.

Understand the impact of gender on friendships

Research shows that boys’ friendships groups are more inclusive and less changeable than friendships enjoyed by girls, particularly those in the eight to twelve year age group. Be prepared to support your daughter through the hurt of friendship breakdowns and remind her that new friendships are just around the corner. Help her reflect on her own place in a friendship breakdown, and be open to restoring a relationship once emotions are in check.

Remember, friends of a feather flock together

If you think that your child doesn’t have as many friends as a sibling or other children their own age, don’t be too alarmed. On average, children usually have only two or three significant friendships at any one time. It’s the quality rather than the quantity of friendships that counts. If you are concerned that your child lacks friends at school encourage him to take up a variety of extra-curricular activities. It’s easier to strike up a friendship with someone when you have something in common.

Above all else encourage your child to be friendly by talking to others, showing an interest in what other children do, offering help when needed and being willing to enter a new game or social situation. Consider teaching your child, if necessary, alternatives to fighting and arguing when there is disagreement and conflict within groups.

As your school has a membership with Parenting Ideas, you can attend the upcoming webinar -Teach girls to build each other up- at no cost!

About the webinar
Join Parenting educator Collett Smart in this special webinar that will show you how to help girls create positive peer relationships and provide practical advice and ideas to help them navigate tricky situations including toxic friendships, cliques and bullying.

When
Wednesday 29 May 2019 at 8:00 PM AEST.

Price
This webinar is $37 per person to attend, and is free of charge to families at schools that have a Parenting Ideas membership. Use the voucher code below to register.

How parents can redeem the voucher
1. Click this link: https://www.parentingideas.com.au/parent-resources/parent-webinars/webinar-teach-girls-to-build-each-other-up
2. Click ‘Add to cart’
3. Click ‘View cart’
4. Enter the voucher code FRIENDSHIPS and click ‘Apply Coupon’. Your discount of $37 will be applied to the order. This voucher is valid until 29 June 2019
5. Click ‘Proceed to checkout’
6. Fill in your account details. These are the details you will use to login to your account
7. Click ‘Place Order’

(Source: parentingideas.com.au)

       TERM 2, WEEK 4 - WED 22 MAY

Team Leader: Greg Bayada, Duncan Meagher, Tom Green, Stephanie Lehoczky, Ben Williams

PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL GATHERING SUNDAY 2nd JUNE

There will be soup and a roll after the Presentation Mass at 9.30am for First Eucharist at Sts Peter & Paul Garran.

This is the second Gathering of the year for the Parish, you are all warmly invited to share, there will be ice blocks for the children.

PART-TIME (22 HOURS PER FORTNIGHT) FINANCE POSITION

St Francis of Assisi is looking for part time (22hours per fortnight) finance position for their Before and After School Care. The applicant must have experience and be able to work during school hours.  If you are interested in this position please refer to the job advertisement on the Catholic Education Website.  The job closes next Friday 17^th May.