Welcome back parents and carers to term 1 2020

The Student and Family Service hope everyone enjoyed the holiday period and feel refreshed coming back to school.   So many of us use the holidays to relax, refuel and in some cases routine flies out the window.  Well is definitely does in our house!!   So I thought I would take this opportunity to talk briefly about the importance of monitoring screen time.  The holidays can be a time where children may be able to have more freedom around using their devices which can then cause grief if parents and carers  then try to reign it in back during school time.   Devices can be a wonderful addition to a child’s learning and the school encourages fabulous apps to help students with their learning.   The tricky part is when there isn’t a balance and children only access their devices at home to roam social media platforms or online games which have the ability to draw in a child and lose track of time.   Here are some tips that may be helpful in enjoying screen time and creating healthy boundaries:

Role – modelling:   The old adage ‘monkey see, monkey do’ rings true with devices.  As a parent/carer it is important to be mindful of how much time you may spend on a device in the presence of your children

Digital free dinner:   If it’s not possible to do this every week night, consider incorporating one night a week where dinner is at the table without the distraction of devices.   It can be a great opportunity to hear about your child’s day and they in turn hear about their parents/carers day.

Screen time buzzer:   Set an alarm for a time that works for you as a parent/carer and inform your children it is set for x amount of time.  Once the alarm has gone off, everyone puts away their screen.   This can be done in consultation with your children.   We all know children will say so much longer than we will let them but with compromise it can make a child feel empowered and part of the decision making process around their device.   They also won’t get a surprise when the alarm goes off and you are standing there with hand out expecting them to hand it over.

I’m sure there are many parents who at some stage or another have felt a little overwhelmed with how to manage the issues around being part of a digital world.   If you are looking for further reading material there is a informative textbook written by psychologist Brad Marshall “The Tech Diet for your Child and Teen”.   This is available through Booktopia or any good bookstore.   It may also be worth asking at your local library if it can be sourced.   An informative website is Rasingchildren.net.au.   This has a wide range of topics, including appropriate screen use. 

Any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact the Student and Family Counselling Service through the school

Have a happy term 1

Warm regards

Rachael Sheridan –Student and Family Counsellor

Lord of life,

we give you thanks for the beauty of creation,

and we rejoice when we see signs of new life.

May we be Spring to others and never Winter.

Amen.

Week 5

Our life is a gift that comes to us through a graciousness that is beyond our understanding. Every adult and every child has a talent and an ability to contribute to the good of the broader life around them. But are we daring enough to “stick our neck out” or “go out on that limb” to realise the potential of our ability?

We can “if” and “but” about life too much and before we know it, life has passed us by. As someone once put it, “Too often opportunity knocks but by the time we push back the bolt, undo the two locks, take off the three chains and turn off the alarm, it’s too late.” When attempting something new or different, we must not be afraid to make mistakes. If we want to achieve something, we have to be prepared to take the knocks and experience failure. Life is a little like playing chess; as some of the chessmen move forward they may be beaten, but they may set up a winning game.

We often talk about what you think about and what you look for you will see more of. It is easy to be dragged down by those around us, but if we look for the good in others, if we look for what we would like to find, suddenly it seems that there is in fact more good and happiness in our world. As we continue our Lenten journey, it is a time for reflection about what we value, how we can help others and how we can be an uplifting influence in others’ lives.

As Christians, we believe in the power of prayer. Time to converse with God who always listens, and if we take the time to listen and be mindful also speaks with us.

An extract from “Mental Fitness Tips” by Michael Herbert notes:

‘A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug. Mental fitness is like physical fitness; we have to continually make the effort if we wish to stay in good shape. Set aside some time to reflect upon your emotional well-being. What demands or stresses are you facing and how are they impacting the way you think, feel and act?

It is a positive step to take a deliberate break from your worries and concerns. Dedicate a short time every day to your mental fitness and you may reap significant benefits in terms of feeling rejuvenated, more confident and in control of your life.’

LEAD Youth Rally

Our Year 10 Student Leaders will be travelling to Canberra on Sunday to participate in a LEAD Youth Rally with students from all over our Archdiocese. Please pray for these students as they engage with others to explore their faith and the importance of mission.

Maths Family Fun Night

Invitations went home last week and we hope to see many families come along on Tuesday 6 March from 5.30pm to enjoy a variety of Maths games which help students to engage with learning essential skills for numeracy. Please ensure you RSVP today to the front office if you plan to come along, so we are able to adequately provide sufficient resources.

With blessings,

Mrs Janet Cartwright

Principal

Opening School Mass:

Our School celebrated a wonderful liturgy last Friday to officially open the school year. Fr Joshy lead the mass and spoke to the students about the importance of our school’s theme “Reach for the Stars”.  He explained that as Christians our first call is to live the gospel and in striving to do this well, we will live our liturgical theme “Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”

Mrs Cartwright introduced our revised Vision and Mission and spoke about the process we followed over the last year to achieve a reinvigorated identity for the school.

Our newest students in Early Stage One received their Welcoming Candles as did all new students from Year 1 to Year 10 and new staff. The candles acknowledge a connection between home and school and symbolise the light of Christ which hopefully will encourage prayer time with family.

Staff renewed their dedication to teaching and finally we blessed our new Student Leadership Team and Sports Captains and presented them with leadership badges. They then pledged their dedication to the school by reciting their Prayer of Commitment. The mass was followed by a wonderful fruit fiesta organised by the Wellbeing Team.

Rice Day and Uniform Free:

On Wednesday we held a uniform free Day and the students raised $260. The Students Leadership Team chose to also contribute this money to Mercy Works and the projects of the Sisters of Mercy in Timor Leste. So we are very pleased to announce that Mercy Works will be receiving $725 from Sacred Heart for the work in Timor Leste. A very big thank you to all the students for their support of Rice Day and Uniform Free.

Project Compassion:

We are now two weeks into Lent and most families would have received a letter home with a Project Compassion Box, explaining what it was all about. It is a very simple message we have given the students. Lent is about preparing for Christ’s coming at Easter and a time for us to practice Prayer (talking and listening to God), Fasting (giving up something and offering it up or give the money saved to help another) and Almsgiving (giving to others from our time or talents). We are not asking the student or their family to fill the box. We would hope that each student can follow the three practices of Lent and if they do give up a weekly milkshake or hot chips, we ask that they put the money into their box. If each student could contribute a small amount from their individual sacrifice, we could as a community provide some excellent help to Caritas’s project compassion appeal. We hope you can support your children in this project.

Yours in Faith,

Swimming for Sport.

Primary students (Yr3-6) will swim for sport each Thursday in Weeks 1,4,5 and 6. Please ensure students have $2.50 for pool entry, swimmers, rash shirt/ shirt, towel and sunscreen.

Secondary Students will swim or do water based activities for sport each Friday in Weeks 1,2,3, 5 and 6. Please ensure students have $2.50 for pool entry, swimmers, rash shirt/ shirt, towel and sunscreen.

CE Survey

The CE would like to gather feedback frmm families in regards to sporting representative path ways.  If families who have been involved in representative sport or would like to be could follow the below link and complete this survey, it would be very beneficial.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q8HL3N3

SSA Annual School Holiday Netball TID Camp

The Southern Sports Academy is offering a School Holiday Netball Camp to be held at the Equex Centre, Wagga Wagga on the 17^th- 20^th April 2018.           

The camps are a valuable opportunity for children of all skill levels to receive top quality coaching. We are excited to announce that former NSW Swifts player, Jackie Murphy, will again host our Junior Netball Camp this year and will be joined by a panel of experienced coaches including Southern Sports Academy Coaching staff, special guest coaches and Southern Sports Academy athletes.

This year players between the ages of 7 and 10 will be attending on Tuesday 17^th and Wednesday 18^th April, while the players aged between 11 and 14 will attend on Thursday 19^th and Friday 20^th.

^{Further information and registration forms available from Mrs Maxwell}

Archdiocesan Swimming Carnival

Well done to the 13 students who travelled to Boorowa last Tuesday for the Archdiocesan Swimming carnival.

Congratulation to Evie Leahy and Jake Winsor who have been selected to attend the MacKillop swimming trials in Sydney.

Well done to the secondary students who travelled to Goulburn on Monday for the secondary Archdiocesan swimming carnival. We are still waiting on final results to confirm who has been selected for the CCC swimming trials.

All the best to Xanthe Tozer who is competing at MacKillop Tennis trials in Wollongong tomorrow

Primary Dates:

Monday 5th March Winter Sports Trials - Queanbeyan

Tuesday 6th March NRL Well-Being presentation 11:45-12:30

Thursday 8^th March Primary School Triathlon

Friday 13th April Sacred Heart Cross Country

Secondary Dates:

Friday 9^th March Secondary School Triathlon

Wednesday 13th March Years 7-9 Tag League – Young

Wednesday 28th March Combined Sec C-G/Wagga Open Touch Trial-Wagga

Wednesday 4th April Secondary Rugby League Trials-Forbes

Friday 13th April Sacred Heart Cross Country

VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE:

From now on some CCC sport nominations will be completed on line. Parents interested in nominating their child for particular sports need to read the attached PDF document and visit the website to nominate their child. www.csss.nsw.edu.au. Further information will be sent home when students return an expression of interest note.