Hi everyone,

Wow this has been a very challenging week with many children finding it difficult to be on task or to manage their emotions appropriately. I’m not sure if it is that many children are feeling unwell with lots of colds going around, the full moon (believe me its a theory :)) or just that too many children are simply making poor choices. It can be quite disheartening when children are disrespectful and then impact on other student’s rights to learn and feel safe. I would encourage you to chat with your children about always being the best person they can be when they are at school, taking responsibility for their choices - words and actions; after all that is something they can have complete control over. We have so many wonderful students here at St Benedict’s and I want to ensure we are all doing our best to keep growing into the supportive contemporary learning community we aspire to be.

Anxiety in children

One of the major challenges facing parents today is the increasing number of children experiencing anxiety, especially from very young ages. Anxiety can present in such a variety of ways for children and it is important to understand what it can look like and what you can do about it as parents and carers. As a school we aim to support students experiencing anxiety through a number of strategies including of the Zones of Regulation Program, developing knowledge an understanding of the sensory system and providing sensory tools and activities for students to develop self-regulation skills. We also immerse our students in contemplative practices like meditation that is a well known activity that promotes mindfulness, reduces stress and anxiety and allows children the headspace to enjoy silence, simplicity and stillness for a few minutes. I am attaching a couple of articles from our Parenting Ideas guru Michael Grose that may assist you in understanding how anxiety presents in children and some steps that may support you at home.

Understanding your child’s anxious behaviour using the ABC method

Six steps for Parenting Anxious kids

School Board

This week our School Board started to review the School Improvement plan we had developed for this year to identify the areas we have made progress in and the areas where we still want to work further before the end of the year. We will communicate these further as we progress. 

Our Board also had a discussion about all the work we have done around developing our school charism and thought there are things that we now have in place for specific reasons that we may not have made clear. Catholic Education week is always a good time to reflect on the culture we are building here at St Benny’s. Sometimes you may hear us talk about our Benedictine Charism or spirituality which contributes to the community we are building.  A Charism is about developing the characteristics we want to embed as part of our community culture. This Benedictine Spirituality document outlines the Hallmarks for Benedictine Education and is a great reflection to spend some time with. I’d encourage you to take some time to read through it. Each time that I do, I am reminded of how special our Benedictine Spirituality will be and is becoming.

In this week’s newsletter you will find a draft copy of the Behaviour Policy our School Board has developed over the last couple of months. We’d love for you to read it and offer any feedback we need to consider before we ratify and implement it. You can provide your feedback by emailing our enquiries account. 

eProjects

Our eProjects continue to develop in ways that we are really excited about with each year level being committed to different areas. Our new Environment Support Officer, Ngaire Trigg has a wealth of passion and enthusiasm for engaging students in learning how to be good stewards for the environment and for understanding the awe and wonder of Creation. Currently Ngaire is working towards turning the bush area behind our back fence behind the low oval into a Bush Tucker Trail. She has already engaged the assistance of experts from JCU and an indigenous elder to identify the existing native bush tucker plants and the introduced species we will need to remove. We are now working with council and some local developers for final approval to go ahead and then we get the kids involved in setting up the trail. This will become an excursion opportunity in our back yard that we can share with the wider community.

Have you seen the vouchers and rebates being offered by the Townsville City Council through their Water Smart Program? There is a Garden Support Package or a Water Saving Devices Rebate. Get in and take advantage of this offer. It benefits everybody.

Catholic Education Week

This week our students have participated in a multitude of activities and events for Catholic Education week including mass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral with our students who completed the Sacramental Program this year. Our Years 4-6 students had a visit from the Canberra Parliamentary Education team and role-played some political speeches, our Preps dressed up as though they were back in Jesus’ time with lots of shepherds, Marys and Jesus, some Year 3’s headed off to Eco Warriors sustainability day and to top it all off,  Challenge Games just happened to be in the same week. We are so very proud of the students representing our school at the various activities and especially to those at Challenge Games this week. We are so pleased they have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We look forward to sending an even larger contingent to Challenge Games next year. 

Next week we have our Year 5 / 6 Turtles class heading to camp at Magnetic Island. They have a range of challenging activities to do that will test out their problem solving skills and their ability to think differently in different situations. It is a beautiful location and they are bound to have lots of fun

We also have a performance from Nexus Arts by Toshinori Sakamoto who is presenting ‘wa-sa-bi- it’s hot!’ on Thursday afternoon. This will be a Japanese musical and cultural experiences for our students to enjoy.

Have a fabulous week. 

Cheers 

Penny

PLEASE RETURN YOUR PREP VISION SCREENING FORM TO THE OFFICE 

Visit by Registered Nurse for Free Prep Vision Screening

Good vision is important for a child’s educational, physical and social development. Vision screening is therefore vital in early childhood, particularly for conditions such as ‘lazy eye’, which if not detected early can lead to blindness.

A Registered Nurse will be visiting the school in 2019 to commence vision screening for all Prep Year children.  If you wish to have your child participate in this free vision screening program, please complete and sign the consent form sent home with your child and return this to your child’s class teacher as soon as possible.  You will be advised in writing of the outcome of your child’s screening.

Please note that if your child has had a vision assessment in the past 12 months it is not necessary for him/her to participate in this screening program.  If this is the case, please complete the consent form and indicate that you do not wish for your child to participate, and ensure that you follow the schedule of reviews recommended by your eye health professional.

The Registered Nurse will be visiting St Benedict's on the 12th & 13th September 2019.

Primary School Nurse Health Readiness Program

Child and Youth Community Health Services

Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service