In these days we might ponder how each of us responds to overwhelming negativity, fear and despair. As we edge closer to Easter, I wonder what thoughts were going through Jesus’ head as he edged closer to Jerusalem and then Calvary. He must have felt many of the emotions that we are feeling now, but deeper and more severe. That is why God became man— to reassure us that all we feel and fear, he knows and understands.  He has been there, and done that.........

Dear Friends,

Welcome to another week of learning at Holy Trinity that has taken on a new platform for all our students and families, whether working from home, or at school. We thought we would begin the newsletter today with some sharing of the creative and engaging learning happening throughout our community.

Snapshots of Remote Learning

Kindergarten

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3/4

The 3/4 teachers have been very busy transitioning to online learning this week.

This week has involved lots of new discoveries and has put our creativity to the test.

We would like to introduce to you the latest in educational teaching resources. Here is the first of its kind, a design like no other, engineered by the country’s most brilliant minds, we give you……..the Reader 9000!!!!!!!!! This apparatus allows teachers to read aloud to their students AND record at the same time, a perfect inclusion in your remote learning routine!

Here you can see our very own Miss Leach using the prototype. Please contact Mr Sloane to enquire about investment opportunities.

We miss seeing our students each day but are thrilled to see the work you have been doing at home via Seesaw. Keep sharing your fantastic learning with us 

Miss Leach, Mrs Binutti-Wilson, Mr Sloane & Miss Joy

Year 5/6

Year 5/6 we are incredibly proud of your hardwork!!! We absolutely love seeing the work that is being posted each day. We miss you lots!

Mr Bugden, Miss Capper, Mrs Casey, Mrs Gerbich, Mrs Lategui and Mrs Punyer

I am extremely proud of all my staff as we swim through new waters, and navigate a different way of teaching, with very little preparation time.  I am also very grateful to all the support that our parents and community are giving us.  I am particularly grateful for allowing us the opportunity to have Professional Learning together next week to ensure the safety and security of remote learning in Term 2. I know for families at home, this remote learning must be at times, challenging and frustrating.  Please know that we are always here to help, support, guide and care as we trial this new way of life together.  Also please remember that  this is not forever and we will come back together as a  community at Holy Trinity in the near future.  Perhaps when we do, we might view, learning, communicating, collaborating and being together a little differently...... 

Let's continue to remember and pray for all those in our community experiencing hardship, ill health or other challenges at this time.  There is a strong focus in the newsletter this week around well-being, including some resources and organisations you can reach out to for support.

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

Philippa

Prime Minister announcement for Early Childhood Sector.

This afternoon the Prime Minister made an announcement regarding funding of the Early Childhood sector. It looks like a very welcome package for both families and the ELC. I will push out more information as it becomes available, but meanwhile the statement can be read by clicking here.  

A week in the ELC

The ELC has continued to operate as 'normal' over this last week, being a place of routine and fun for our children who are here. The reduced number of children has meant we have combined classes and had opportunities to be creative in managing physical distancing and lock down. The highlight this week has been visiting Fred Ward Gardens, singing and dancing for the residents through the community room window. Fred Wards is currently in lock down and this act of kindness from our children bought many smiles to the faces of the residents. (see photo below)

We celebrated Alex, George's, Sam's and Mrs Angus' birthday with streamers, cake and a jumping castle (we can still party at preschool!)

Rain may instil dread in teachers and parents stuck indoors, but we donned our all weather gear, played outside and laughed at the rain.

Learner Profile Attributes are so apt now.

As we continue our learning through a remote model, our learner profile attributes become even more important. This week we have seen all members of our community be risk takers with new learning and new challenges being faced on a daily basis. As we move forward in this unusual time we ask you to embrace the learner profile attributes.

It is important for us all to be risk takers, open-minded and caring. 

#Choose Kindness 

Open-minded students understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.

Risk Taker students approach uncertainly with forethought and determination; we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.

Take care,

Ms Smith and Mr Pye

Dear Families,

Upfront I need to thank and acknowledge Philippa Brearley and all our wonderful staff at Holy Trinity for their relentless effort in making sure our children continue to learn and grow during this time. They all have families of their own and yet are thinking of ours each day. Our gratitude is such a small token for all you do, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

We can’t always choose the music life plays for us

But we can choose how we dance to it. (unknown)

I have struggled with what to say during this extraordinary time in the world. First though, I want to apologise for not saying anything until now. With what’s going on, I thought it would also be a great time to pack up our home and move out with nowhere to live for four weeks! After a week with wonderful friends, we’ve settled into an apartment for three weeks before we move into a new place. Not perfect timing, but it could be so much worse, we are certainly the lucky ones. My only struggle at the moment is rotating and washing my three changes of clothes while everything is in storage.

This brings me to my focus for writing to you all. There are so many people faced with the unthinkable – no work, no money, no food. I have lived this nightmare in the past and know that a common first instinct is to withdraw from everything – family, friends, society in general (self-isolation aside). I want to assure all families that you are not alone. I have seen the wonderful people in our Holy Trinity community band together and I have the upmost confidence we will all come together to get through this.

There are a number of new families in our school this year. I don’t know them all, nor do I know their story. Just imagine though if they have moved to Canberra with no family or no established friend group. They were probably expecting to meet people through school. If at all possible, please reach out to them, check they are doing OK, maybe include them in your online school group network (if you have one, or if not, maybe think of setting one up). It might be a small gesture but may mean the world to them. You know that saying – people will forget what you said, they will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

Whether you are a new family to Holy Trinity or not, we are all in this together and can all support each other. Having said that, it can be difficult to reach out. I’ve set up a Zoom catch up next week for anyone who would like to chat over a coffee. Here are the details:

• Catherine Day is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
• Topic: Holy Trinity Families
• Time: Apr 7, 2020 04:00 PM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
• Join Zoom Meeting
• https://us04web.zoom.us/j/818805439
• Meeting ID: 818 805 439

It’s just a simple open invitation, an opportunity to have some interaction with others. Please join me!

Holy Trinity Facebook page

There is a private Facebook page (Holy Trinity Community) for parents to share ideas and ask questions of our community. If you’re not already member please feel free to join. It’s a safe space of no judgement and can act as a really good sharing platform of activities/resources. A great suggestion by a parent is to post tutorials teaching a craft, cooking or skill for others to learn. We are only limited by our imagination, please feel free to post something you think may help or be of interest to others.

Virtual catch ups

I know there are some pockets that have organised video catch ups for children which has worked really well. Maybe we can look at expanding that to include the entire class via Zoom. I know my Audrey loves nothing more than seeing a friend while chatting. If you think that would work with your child’s class, please feel free to set something up. I’m sure your teacher wouldn’t mind circulating the details to everyone.

Act of kindness

You might be able to help someone by picking up some groceries for them, dropping off a script at the Chemist, or being available for a friendly phone call. I’m not sure how we’ll set this up on SZapp yet, but I’ll work it out. Please let me know the following:

Name:

Suburb:

Phone number:

I am able to help with: [picking up shopping; a friendly phone call; other errands].

Time restrictions, if any (eg only available on Wednesday afternoons):

If we can get this information available to everyone through SZapp, people in need can contact you directly for assistance.

Casserole Bank

Please don’t forget we have a Casserole Bank for families in our community in need. Lisa Bauer leads a group of over 20 parents who have cooked meals and treats to share. Please reach out if you are in need of some meals to take a little pressure off, or reach out if you know a family that we could assist.

Businesses

As I said earlier, I’m one of the lucky ones. Yes I have my own business that has stopped, but I’ve been offered a Government contract, working in my field. Henry’s work has and will continue. Financially, we will see a manageable decrease.

We have many businesses within Holy Trinity, and I want to showcase as many as we can over this tough time. You may have a business that has had to close a shopfront but are offering products/services online. You may now be doing contactless deliveries. You may have a business that is running business as usual, fantastic! Whatever situation your business is facing, please email me at htpspfpresident@gmail.com and I’ll put together a list to circulate to all families next week. This will also be a great starting point for our new Business Directory.

I’m happy to kick this off as an example:

Caday Workplace Relations – I normally assist businesses with employment contracts/agreements, Award and legislation interpretation, employment policies and procedures. Not much call for that at the moment, so I’m offering free of charge to our Holy Trinity businesses any COVID-19 advice or guidance regarding your staffing obligations. Please email me at cath@caday.com.au.

Other assistance

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions to support our community I would dearly love to hear from you. The more we can communicate with each other and offer help, the stronger we are. Please also let me know if you are already doing something with your Holy Trinity group, it may be a great example for others too.

If we were face to face I would be quite animated and say to you all that, individually we are tough, strong and resilient. Together, we are absolutely unstoppable. We can do this, no doubt. This is our time to step up and prove we are better together, prove we can look out for each other.

Please take care, stay safe and see you all soon (hopefully via Zoom next Tuesday!). Virtual hugs.

Cath Day

P&F President

Helping siblings resolve their fights

Student & Family Counselling Services

I am writing to update you on the efforts CatholicCare Canberra & Goulburn are making to continue to provide services in light of the Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19).

The health and welfare of our clients, families and staff are our highest priority. Our organisation is on high alert and we have enacted a number of strategies to ensure we are able to respond to this national health pandemic.

We are working closely with the Commonwealth Health authorities to follow all guidelines as directed and as such, have put in place hygiene and self-protection measures that can prevent the transmission of COVID-19.

Counsellors will continue to provide support and are able to connect with students and parents via telephone or online using the Zoom platform.

Appointment information:

• Appointments will be available during school hours on the counsellor’s usual working day/s in the
• Appointments can be made by phoning our receptionist on 6162 6104 or by emailing schoolcounselling@catholiccare.cg.org.au. Please provide the following information in your email – name of student, school year, name of school, name of counsellor (if currently working with this person) and a brief outline of the reason for the referral. We will then make contact to arrange an appointment time and discuss your preference for a telephone or online

Session information:

• For telephone sessions, if the call is missed, a second attempt to make contact will be If this is still not successful, the Counsellor will send an email to negotiate another time. It would be appreciated if you are not available at the scheduled time, that an email to cancel the session is received.
• For video sessions you will receive an invitation via email with a link to your Zoom session. You do not need to already have a Zoom account; you will be invited to download the software once you click on the The same process as above will be followed if you do not accept the session.

Privacy & Confidentiality:

• Please make sure you are in a private place for your session; where others cannot hear your conversation or see your screen. This is your responsibility; please advise the Counsellor if this is not
• Should your counsellor become concerned about your safety or the safety of another student, the usual limitations around confidentiality
• Parents of primary school children: the need for privacy and confidentiality will be discussed with you when making the appointment. Many families have rules at home about phones and devices in bedrooms or other private places, so this will need to be discussed with your child.

Kind Regards

The Student & Family Counselling Team

Holy Trinity ELC and Primary School - ENROLLING NOW!

At Holy Trinity we believe that each child is unique and treasured. We welcome all enquiries to our inclusive community where our School motto, ‘Faith, Hope and Love’, is the foundation of our teaching and learning.

We are an International Baccalaureate World School. Our learning community offers an engaging, relevant and stimulating curriculum that prepares our students to meet the challenges of tomorrow. We strive to develop students who are internationally minded with an understanding of their responsibility to the world.

To complete your online Primary School Enrolment, please click here

ELC Online Enrolment, please click here.

For further information on enrolling in our school, please click here to view our enrolment information.

Systemic Secondary Schools 

Please click on images for further information.

 

MERICI COLLEGE ENROLLING NOW CAMPAIGN

A wonderful opportunity for prospective families to see the College in action, meet our students and attend the Principal’s Address, Year 7 and 11 Information Evenings and lots more.

We are enrolling now for 2021 and beyond!

Please visit www.merici.college for all dates and information for our Open Day, Be a Merici Girl Days and Talk and Tours. Register online now!

Open Day and Year 7 2021 Info Night: 7 May

Be a Merici Girl Days: 30 Apr, 4, 5, 12 May

Talk and Tours: 4 Apr, 9 May, 15 Aug, 24 Oct