I come into your presence, Father,
and ask that you help me
to be as trusting and close to you
as many little children are with their parents.
May my life today reflect
that you rejoice in my company.
May I rejoice in yours.

Lord Jesus, we read in the Gospels

that you brought healing and acceptance to many people,

In your love stretch out your hands and

touch me and bring healing and wholeness in my life.

Amen.

Week 1

Welcome to Term 2! It was with great delight that I welcomed students back on Monday morning. Many were very excited to be back and happy to share their varied holiday experiences.

Thanks to our fabulous, hard-working P&F! So far this year our P&F have already made significant contributions to the school which make such a difference for all our students. Thank you for:

$1960.62 - kitchen appliances and tools for TAS

$1500 - new books in the library ($500 each infants, primary, secondary)

$2227.27 - a new shade sail in secondary

$615 - representative swimming caps

Your donations are very much appreciated by all in our community.

Please join us on Saturday evening from 6.30pm for another fundraiser – the P&F are having a Bingo evening at the RSL which should prove to be plenty of fun.

Our thanks to Brigid Holder and her catering team (sub-committee of the P&F) who did an outstanding job for a recent catering event. We received this feedback: “…catering for Dad’s birthday. Please pass on to your team that the event was a huge success and everyone liked the food.” All funds raised through our catering team also go towards P&F donations for school resources, etc. If you are interested in having them cater an event, please contact the front office.

Good luck to our students competing against Canberra Girls Grammar in Yass tomorrow for Mock Trial. Good luck also to our students participating in WR Cross Country and Soccer tomorrow as well. We hope you have a great day.

Sports Shorts

We do not currently have a specific sports short listed in our uniform policy. It is currently just a plain navy blue pair with no logos. We have allowed students to wear the Canterbury tonal shorts (blue CCC on the side) as they are not white or obvious logos while we determine what is best for our school. An email was sent to all families on Thursday asking for your input with regards to deciding on a specific pair of shorts for our school sport and PE uniform to allow our students to always look their best and as if they belong at Sacred Heart. If you could please provide feedback to the front office prior to Friday 11 May, that would be greatly appreciated. Decisions will be made based on the information we receive by the uniform committee. Please refer to the email for further details.

 “Helping Young Girls Find Their Voice While Developing Friendships

Katie Hurley’s office is filled with young girls who struggle with courage, confidence and friendship skills. Hurley, a child and adolescent psychotherapist and author of the recently published "No More Mean Girls," has noticed an escalating trend: Girls right now are overwhelmed with adult-directed activities.

"Girls no longer have time to partake in girlhood on their own," said Hurley. 

This overly structured, overly controlled milieu leaves girls feeling anxious and uncertain about their abilities to navigate basic social challenges.

“Friendship is a process. It takes time and practice,” said Hurley. “Girls need time to work through friendship issues -- to experience conflict, negotiate and get through the natural bumps in the road. But we have them so highly scheduled that they are not using organic friendship-making skills anymore.”  

When girls do have limited, adult-free time with one another, said Hurley, she’s not surprised that it’s often fraught with exclusion, triangulation, fighting or avoidance. The solution to these challenges is not more adult intervention, but rather more encouragement and opportunities for girls to tackle these problems on their own. “Our need to have all the solutions as parents is very high right now,” said Hurley, and that is backfiring.

Listen and Ask Questions

When Hurley asks her patients what they want from their parents, the response is almost always the same: “Listen and ask questions.”

“As parents, we are not great listeners,” said Hurley,  “We are very busy, constantly trying to multitask. And we are often disconnected from kids because we are connected digitally.”

When kids come to us with a problem, we tend to bounce between extremes -- either dismissing their concerns as “no big deal” or jumping in to solve their problems for them. Both take less time than the alternative: guiding and supporting them as they solve their own problems.

“They need to know that it’s totally acceptable and normal to struggle at times,” said Hurley, “and we want them to come to us with their concerns. But we need to remember that parenting is about guidance, not controlling.”

In the height of emotion -- often immediately after school ends when they are tired and hungry -- girls sometimes “go into survival mode and use language at home that is more traumatic than what is really happening at school.” If parents match that level of emotion, they can intensify the situation.

For example, says Hurley, if your child shares an unkind comment she heard on the playground, don’t respond with, “ 'That kid is mean --  stay away from her!' That ends a friendship potential and doesn’t give your daughter room to work it out.” Instead, stay calm, gather information, and respond empathetically, using phrases such as, “This sounds hard. Can you tell me more about it?” or “Sounds like you had a rotten day.  I understand. I have had those days, too.”

“Once they have vented and are not so tense inside their bodies, then you can start to brainstorm together,” said Hurley. Revisit the problem when they are calm and rested, allowing them to stay in the driver’s seat. For instance, if the struggle is whom to play with at recess, encourage them to “zoom out” and reflect on the big picture, perhaps drawing a map of the playground. Where does she go? What does she like to do? What activities do other kids do at recess? What’s one thing she wants to try tomorrow?

Practice Bravery

When girls think up a strategy they want to try -- such as asking a new person to play and joining a new activity at recess -- they also need to muster the courage to test it out. And that isn’t always easy.

“I have girls in my office who are petrified of taking risks,” said Hurley. “Perfectionism is on the rise, fear of failure is on the rise. Girls are socialized to be pleasers. That is a mistake.  Girls should be socialized to be brave.”

……They “need the time and space to try and fail again and fail again and fail again,” said Hurley. “When we step in and solve their problems for them, what we really communicate is, ‘I’m afraid you can’t do it well enough, so I’m going to do it for you.’ and that starts fear of failure.’ Step back, let them make choices.”  

Teach Assertive Communication

Part of courage is finding one’s “brave voice,” said Hurley. Girls often confuse assertive communication with aggressive communication and then default to the other extreme: passivity. Assertive communication --  including making eye contact, speaking in a clear, calm voice, and listening patiently to others -- communicates self-respect and respect for the other person.

….Practice yields dividends. “When girls get in the habit of being assertive, it feels good,” said Hurley. “They feel like people want to listen to them. They say, ‘My teacher is calling on me more.  My friends are listening to ideas.’ They feel more self-confident. And when one girl stands up and is more assertive, others start to do that as well.”

Model Resilience

 “One of the best gifts parents can give their kids is the gift of their failures,” said Hurley. Tell your children stories about times you’ve tried and failed and bounced back. Our stories shape children’s understanding of how the world works. According to one study children who hear stories about how family members and ancestors overcame obstacles are more resilient in the face of challenges.

These stories can serve as an important reminder to parents as well: We became stronger by facing challenges and overcoming them. We learned by doing -- and so will our kids. “As parents, we cannot micromanage everything,” said Hurley. “They’ve got to learn how to have these conversations with friends. We can give them language and we can role-play, but let girls do things on their own. They are capable, and they have really good ideas.”

(Taken from MindShift - https://www.kqed.org/mindshift)

Anonymous letters

From time to time I receive anonymous letters from community members expressing their thoughts. I always welcome feedback and the opportunity to “set the record straight”, particularly as gossip can be a disappointing reality of most communities. I would like to reassure those who feel the need that if you gave me your name and contact information, I would explain our processes which are rigorous. It is very difficult to respond to questions when I don’t know who has sent the letter. Our “Values in Action” guidelines outline our processes for following up inappropriate behaviours and are available on our website. We have very high expectations of our students and staff and their behaviours and are very proud that we follow through with appropriate consequences for any times in which our strict guidelines are not followed.

We are a Catholic school, and as such we believe in ensuring the dignity of anyone who might be involved in a situation which does not meet our guidelines. We do not believe in publicly embarrassing or discussing any inappropriate behaviours which may arise at school. All matters are dealt with as soon as they become apparent in a discrete and appropriate manner and all parties involved are kept informed of investigations and consequences. At no time do we ignore any situations, no matter how small or substantial, as we believe that we are teaching our students to accept responsibility for their actions, restorative practices and to live according to Gospel teachings.

If you have any questions or concerns, I urge you to make an appointment to come and see me to discuss as I have an open door policy. All appointments can be made by contacting the front office who have access to my diary and can make a time which is mutually available.

Professional Learning Day

Don’t forget that Friday 18 May will be a pupil free day in lieu of the first day of term. All staff will be involved in Professional Learning and will not be available to meet parents, etc. Classes will not be running. If students miss Naplan during the week, makeup sessions will be held each afternoon at school during school time. If students still require makeup tests for Naplan they can take place on Friday but we ask that parents collect their child/ren afterwards.

Changes to our Calendar

1. Athletics carnival 25 May (Year 3 to 10, plus children 8 years old in 2018 or before in year 2)
2. Secondary Basketball moved to 29 May

With blessings,

Mrs Janet Cartwright

Principal

janet.cartwright@cg.catholic.edu.au

 Project Compassion

Thank you to all the families who contributed to the project compassion program throughout the seasons of Lent and Easter. As a community we raised $613.65. The money will be used by Cartas to fund many programs worldwide to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.

Infants Weekend Mass

On Saturday 5^th May our infant’s students will lead Saturday night Mass. All are welcome to come and join in the celebration. A reminder to parents to return the involvement note that was sent home earlier in the week.

Yours in Faith

NAPLAN

Naplan will be held during Week 3, 15,16, & 17 May 2018

for years 3,5,7 & 9.

Please read the attached article.

naplan-2018-information-brochure-for-parents-and-carers.pdf

Congratulations to all the students who participated in the cross country on the last day of Term 1.

Congratulations to the Champion House - De La Salle

All the best to the 32 students travelling to Gundagai this Friday to compete in the Western Region Cross Country.

Congratulations to the students who trialled at the Archdiocesan Touch Trials in Cootamundra on Wednesday.

Well done to the students who were selected to represent the diocese at the MacKillop Touch Trials and the CCC touch championships later in the term.

Congratulations to Ben Rumble on his selection in the Catholic Schools Western NSW 15 rugby League team. Ben will now play a trial game against Wollongong Diocese for selection in the NSW Southern Country Team in Wagga Wagga next week.

All the best to the Primary students who will be competing in the MacKillop Winter Trials in Canberra next Friday as part the Canberra Goulburn Diocesan teams.