"Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up the mountain to pray. As he prayed, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became brilliant as lightning. Suddenly there were two men there talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem."

Dear Friends,

25 years ago, the Parishes of Holy Trinity Curtin, and Saints Peter and Paul Garran amalgamated to create the Transfiguration Parish, North Woden. On Tuesday,  the staff and students of both schools, as well as members of our Parish community, gathered together to celebrate the unity of our Parish, its strong faith, generous acts of service and dedication to being followers of Jesus, just as those present at the original Transfiguration were.

The original Transfiguration event is the guidepost for all we are and do as a Parish: Jesus Christ, shining atop Mount Tabor in His glory to Saints Peter, James, and John, gave them a vision that would strengthen their faith when they saw Him suffer on a different hilltop, the Mount of Calvary.  None of us is perfect, all of us have our sins, our fears, our doubts, and our crosses, but with the grace of God we are on the way together. 

As many of you are aware, last year our school underwent a 12 month self-study in preparation for our IB Evaluation process in March of this year.  Throughout this study, parents were given many opportunities to contribute-  surveys, data collected at parent meetings including P and F and School Board meetings, and some parents met with the Evaluation panel during their visit.  In the school holidays we were sent the final Report from the evaluation visit, with may commendations and some key  recommendations to help with future planning.  Steve Wishart, our IB Australasian manger, wrote this in the email about our report: 

"Congratulations on the number and nature of commendations received by the school. These represent practice exceeding the requirements of the programme and demonstrate strong implementation."

Recommendations focussed on ensuring we continue to:  

• facilitate ways to enhance all teachers’ knowledge and skills in approaching teaching and learning through inquiry.
• develops and implement collaborative planning structures that provide all teachers with the opportunity for ongoing collaboration on the trans-disciplinary programme of inquiry and units of inquiry.

Commendations included the following: 

Purpose:

The governing body, administration, staff and pedagogical leadership demonstrate high level understanding, alignment and support for IB philosophy. The school community demonstrate significant commitment to and understanding of the  PYP, which is a part of the school culture. The community serve as partners in programme implementation.

Culture

Decision making across the school is significantly influenced by PYP values, requirements and philosophy.  International mindedness and the attributes of the learner profile are consistently developed. The school actively ensures open communication with parents, students and staff.

Learning

The school employs various strategies supporting differentiation and  implements grouping and regrouping strategies to support teaching and learning. The school is committed to student-initiated action, which is discussed, shared and celebrated within the school community.

Environment

The school has built a stimulating learning environment based on understanding and respect throughout the school community. The school provides environments in which students work both independently and collaboratively.

Much to celebrate and be proud of as a community striving for academic excellence in an nurturing, environment! All recommendations from this report will be included in our next 5 year Action Plan beginning 2020, which incorporates our annual improvement goals and strategic planning.  A reminder also that data collected from the parent survey is also used for this planning-  this survey will close tomorrow, so please ensure you have completed this using the link shared in an email sent recently.

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

Philippa

RE News

Feast of Transfiguration

As Philippa mentioned above, Tuesday was a wonderful day with Holy Trinity and Saints Peter and Paul coming together as a community to celebrate 25 Years as the Parish of Transfiguration.

I would like to thank the parents who were able to help out with setting up, cooking, serving and packing up the BBQ. We could not do it with out you!

Feast of the Assumption

Please join us next Thursday morning at 9:30am to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. We would love to see you there. 

Global School Partners

On Friday morning we will welcome Simon Carroll from Global School Partners to present a check for $3000! I know that both Simon and Jan are extremely grateful and overwhelmed with the generosity the students at Holy Trinity have shown. We look forward to seeing photos the student at Evaland Hekima with their new beds!

Class Mass Term 3

Each term classes sign up to attend the 9:30am mass. We would love for you to join your child's class at mass. Please see the timetable below.

Upcoming Dates

Thursday 8th August 2:20pm - Feast of Mary Mackillop - 3/4 White

Monday 12th August 2:20pm - Class Assembly - K Red

Thursday 15th August 9:30am - Feast of the Assumption

Monday 19th August 2:20pm - Class Assembly

Saturday 24th August 6:00pm - Parish Mass (Confirmation Presentation Mass)

Black Cockatoos visit the Zoo

In their inquiry in Understanding our social responsibility in the natural world, the Black Cockatoos visited the National Zoo and Aquarium this week. It was an outstanding excursion learning about various animals and their habitats. The children made toys for the tigers, handled a snake and feed an emu. The highlight was the child friendly habitat of the playground. The smiles in the photos below attest to the fun.

Stay and Play

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.

Refining your parenting style

by Michael Grose

Kids benefit from a mixture of two parenting approaches. On the one hand, they benefit from an approach that provides nurturance, builds strong relationships and offers strong emotional support. They also need a style that sets behavioural boundaries, challenges them to face their fears and promotes independence from an early age.

This combination of nurturance and firmness is known as an authoritative style according to the work of researcher Diane Baumrind who studied parenting styles in Western countries.  A purely nurturing style is known as a permissive style, while a singularly firm style is known as authoritarian.

When discussing the authoritative approach, it’s easiest to use a dog and cat metaphor. If you have a dog, you’ll know it’s usually friendly and wants to show love, affection and attention. The ‘dog’ style of parenting is relational, empathetic and warm. Cats, on the other hand, are different. They are usually self-sufficient and generally able to live quite happily without you. To develop the metaphor, a ‘cat’ style of parent is more able to set limits, more likely to challenge kids and encourage them to become self-sufficient. They can separate themselves from their kids, step back and not allow emotions to rule decision-making.

Warm cat, firm dog

Which of these two styles do you identify with? If you defer to one, then you may have to work a little harder on more consciously to bring the other to the table. In reality, many parents working in a partnership with each other will share the dog-cat loads, just as they sometimes play good cop, bad cop when they are less than perfect. Sole parents need to be firm cat and nurturant dog all in one package, which is challenging as we tend to default to one style over the other.

Don’t mix the two approaches up

Get your cat and dog wrong and you’ll be ineffective. If your first approach when a child is anxious is to be distant and unapproachable, then you’re not meeting your child’s emotional needs. If you meet poor behaviour with a friendly smile or an indecisive manner, then you will not be providing your child with the guidance they require. Get your response right – meet anxiety with dog-like warmth and poor behaviour with cat-like firmness – and you are giving your kids what’s required in each situation.

Keep the approaches separate

A common mistake is the failure of adults to separate the two approaches. Imagine your son coming home from school very upset. You are not sure what’s wrong, but you keep an eye out just the same. The next minute he hurls an insult at his younger sister, causing her to come to you for support. You remonstrate with your son, then sympathetically ask what’s troubling him. Most likely you’ll get a confused response from your son, as you’ve mixed management – a cat-like behaviour – with counselling – a dog-like trait. It’s best to keep the two approaches separate.

In this example, it would be better for you to remonstrate with your son about his behaviour and perhaps send him to his room. Then, when things have calmed down, speak to him quietly about any problems or worries that he may have. This separation will ensure that the firmness of the cat is effective and then gives some time and a different space for the more dog-like approach to work its magic.

The cat-dog framework is a practical way to ensure that your child receives the type of parenting they need to suit different situations.

(Source: Parentingideas.com.au)

What do you do for your own wellbeing?

"I like to work out to reduce stress from my body. I like to pump iron! (spoken in an 'Arnie' voice)"

Mrs Punyer

"I love watching shows with my kids. We like watching Survivor, we laugh and share our day. I also love hitting the tennis ball with a racquet for our dog, that's really relaxing for me."

Mrs Casey

Our Year 6 students will shortly commence PYPx. Students need to source a wide range of information in order for them to acquire accurate and timely information. Guest speakers and excursions are encouraged, but we need your help to do this. If you are or know of anyone connected to our transdisciplinary theme, please contact Brendon Pye brendon.pye@cg.catholic.edu.au or your child’s class teacher.

Transdisciplinary Theme for 2019 

Sharing the planet Inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and other living things; communities and the relationship within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution. 

The South Weston Athletics Carnival is coming up, it will take place on Wednesday 21 August. Families have been informed by email if their child has qualified. Permission forms are due by Friday 16 August. On the day all students will need to arrive 30 minutes prior to their event and check in at the Holy Trinity School Flag. Once their event/s are complete they can return to school

TENNIS CANBERRA

The Tennis Canberra Spring Coaching Season starts August 26th.  In preparation we are invite our Holy Trinity School students to play the rest of the current Winter Tennis Season for FREE.  

Spring Season: Junior Timetable - Tennis Canberra - Free Trial

 - Monday 5pm (Year 2-6) at Old Parliament House Tennis Club

 - Tuesday 4pm (Year K-6) & 5pm (Year K-3) at Old Parliament House Tennis Club

 - Wednesday 4pm & 5pm (Year K-6) at Barton Tennis Club

 - Thursday 4pm (Year K-6) at Old Parliament House Tennis Club

 - Friday 4pm (Year K-6) & 5pm (Year 3-6) at Erindale Active Leisure Centre

 - Saturday 9:45am (Year K-2), 10:45am (Year K-6) at Majura Tennis Club, Dickson

Students participate for free for the rest of the Winter Season (ending August 25th) if registered for the upcoming Spring Season. Subject to availability. Sign-up for the Spring www.tenniscanberra.com.au/junior-tennis

To book your free session please email play@tenniscanberra.com.au with your child's - Full name, age and which session you wish to attend.

Term three in the library is always busy with lots of fun and festivities - It will be again this year with Book Week Celebrations and a Book Fair.

Over the next few weeks all classes will be involved in a stand-alone Unit of Inquiry on Book Week 2019. We will be looking at all the wonderful books nominated for the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) awards 2019.
https://www.cbca.org.au/shortlist-2019

The theme for Book Week this year is ‘Reading is My Secret Power’…

The theme is all about how the power of a good book can take you anywhere. 

A few dates to add to your diaries include…

 Also, just to make things a little more exciting - Kids are very welcome to wear capes to their library lessons for the next few weeks…..

Happy Days,

Kate M J
Your Friendly Librarian x

PS Redgum Book Club closes next Monday

Redgum Book Club Catalogue Term 3 2019

How exciting, we have Obstacool coming up on 23 August. Please remember to return your child’s sponsorship form so they can be part of a weekly raffle to win some cool prizes. Only those who return sponsorship forms are eligible for the raffle, so get in early.

We are still finalising the running sheet for the day. All parents and carers are more than welcome to come along at any stage of the day, and we are looking for a few volunteers to help out. If you can spare some time, please get in touch htpspfpresident@gmail.com. Thank you!

A reminder that the Holy Trinity Revue is on next Sat 17 August.  Please call Monica Campbell on 0439608040 ASAP to advise table numbers, costume choices and proposed acts, or with any other questions.

Rehearsal night will be next Thursday night 15 August in the school hall.  All acts must attend and will be allocated a 15 minute rehearsal slot between 6.30 and 8.30pm. If you have a preferred time, get in contact quick! 

Remember $10 entry fee going to L'Arche community.

Please check the Feed in SZapp where you will find an alert re Revue with more information.

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR EFFORT TO ACHIEVE A WASTE FREE SCHOOL.

Kids: it’s time to pack your own waste-free lunch

While kids’ lunches don’t have to be perfectly-assembled masterpieces, plastic food packaging such as cling wrap, zip-lock bags and chip packets end up in landfill where they may never break down. To combat this and raise awareness, many ACT schools are holding waste-free lunch days, resulting in less waste going to landfill, and cleaner playgrounds.

Example of soft plastics we see in lunch boxes everyday at Holy Trinity

Our student leaders from the Sustainability Group have decided to take action and to hold their own WEDNESDAY WASTE-FREE lunch days to promote the benefits of packing food in reusable or recyclable containers and packaging.

Sound too challenging for your household? You don’t have to put it in the ‘too hard’ basket.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO HELP YOU MAKE WASTE-FREE LUNCH BOXES A REALITY:

• Buy mini containers and compartment lunch boxes (small hands can help pack their own lunches!).
• Buy snacks in bulk like unsweetened yogurt, hummus, cheese or crackers, and dispense into small reusable containers as required.
• Many fruits and vegetables come wrapped in their own ‘natural packaging’, such as tomatoes, snow peas, oranges, bananas, baby cucumbers and beans.
• Include fruit and vegetables in your child’s lunchbox every day. It’s a great way to make these foods a normal part of your child’s life, which can potentially lessen waste and reduce grocery costs.
• Always pack a refillable bottle of water, or a frozen water bottle on hot days.
• Wrap sandwiches in a cloth napkin, reusable beeswax wrap or a paper bag. You could even encourage your school to make and sell beeswax wraps to raise funds for the school!
• Have children choose from a list of healthy, package-free options, and assist in making their own lunch to avoid uneaten food.
• Buy seasonal fruit and vegetables to save money and reduce food miles. Better still, grow your own!
• Avoid buying individually-wrapped snacks, squeeze pouch yoghurts and single-use sandwich bags.
• Tuna tins, yoghurt containers and juice boxes can be recycled if your school has co-mingled recycling. Ask your school for more details.

(source: HerCanberra)

TERM 3, WEEK 4 - WED 14 AUG

Team Leader: Justin Irvine, Ross Hamilton, Loretta Pabian, Tim Graham