Dear Parents & Guardians,

I trust that as we get close to the end of this term your mind is beginning to think about how to keep the family occupied for the next two weeks.  For those who are doing the road trip because there is not much else we can do, it is a wonderful time to see a little of our country whilst at the same time reconnect as a family.

I’m considering returning to the community where I lived and worked in my first principalship, twenty-four years ago. The town is called Coleambally, 600km southwest of Sydney, 80 km southwest of Griffith.  I’m hoping to catch up with some of the families and the school secretary from all those years ago. It will be a time where we can share stories from the past, laugh again at the funny moments, which were many and feel a part of the community once more, even if for only a few days.  

One story I'm sure will come up is the time I went to turn off the water main due to some plumbing issues.  The main handle was down a piece of plastic plumbing pipe.  As I went to put my hand down the pipe, I noticed a brown snake curled up inside, just in time!  Apparently, some of the students, who are adults today with their own families farming rice and wheat in the area, still laugh about how they had never seen their principal run so fast and he never turned that tap off again after that experience!

You are probably wondering why I am sharing this with you? It is because I remember, having my eighteen month old son at the time (he’s twenty-five now), along with my wife, us all away from our family support network so that I could find out if the role of principal was my professional calling. The community, as a caring, supporting community, wrapped themselves around my family and were grateful that we came. This built deep seated connections that are still there today. 

We try to be that country school in many ways here at St Paul’s for your children.  Our school has a strong sense of belonging which I feel has assisted those children during such trying times to cope with the many challenges and obvious changes that have impacted on how we "do” school in 2020! The sense of welcoming you show each other, even outside the school gate, has gone such a long way to keeping a positive spirit alive within our community.  I have seen this more so than ever during term three, a bonding of students where they have experienced an affinity for St Paul’s as a place where they are recognised as people and feel linked to others.  This bonding offers support and affirmation for each child in the school community.  The children, now more than ever, know their presence in the school community is significant to the group and they are contributing directly to making our school a happy place.

Whilst that has been my observations and experience at the gate in the morning and afternoon, I am also mindful of those who feel disconnected and we haven’t, through our efforts, been able to reach out to.  Who is there for those children and parents?  I pray that someone sees them and offers a hand of friendship and welcome,  as for some, they just need to be invited.

I wonder if in twenty-four years time, will our current students catch up with each other to celebrate this bond again, at a time that was like no other. I wonder what their stories will be? I hope I haven’t contributed in the same hilarious way to their conversations. Come to think of it, if I make them laugh as they tell their stories, I will laugh with them.

Enjoy the holidays, especially those who have an exciting road trip planned!

Go gently,     

Michael Reardon
Principal

Congratulations to the following students who have recently received a Principal's Award.

Cody Russo, Aaliyah Moon, Ella Maycock, Harrison Brookes, Savannah Bonvini, Jaime-Lea Middleton, Matthew Bellamy, Liam Weatherhead, Alessandro Cocco, Jaimee Apps, Sarah Gahan, Chloe Payne, Charlie Haddad, Maddison Maycock, Ayla Meredith, Ryan Maydew, Dominic Patricio, Antonio Fakher, Ava Marano, Kara Fielding, Hannah Latta

At St Paul’s we are teaching our students to be resilient. Resilience refers to a child’s ability to cope with ups and downs and being able to bounce back from the challenges that they experience. Building resilience helps children not only to deal with current difficulties that are a part of everyday life, but also to develop the basic skills and habits that will help them deal with challenges later in life, during adolescence and adulthood.

As a parent, carer, or significant adult, you can help to develop essential skills, habits and attitudes for building resilience at home by helping your child to:

• build good relationships with others including adults and peers
• build their independence
• learn to identify, express and manage their emotions
• build their confidence by taking on personal challenges

We encourage parents and caregivers to work alongside us with building resilience in the child/ren and to let them know that it is normal to experience friendship issues and sadness. Equally important though are qualities such as optimism and problem solving skills, and the understanding that most disappointments are temporary and can be endured or solved.

Often as parents, we want to solve the problem/s for our child/ren, which can often result in us heightening a situation. It is not helpful for a parent to:

• Approach another student regarding an issue with your child
• Respond to other students via social media
• Request for students to be kept apart during playtime

Finally we ask parents to be open with their class teacher and to make an appointment to discuss any matters that are concerning you. A success happens when we move away from blame focus to solution focus. This would be a good mantra to share with your child/children.

Attention: Year 4 Parents                      

Due to COVID restrictions, I am unable to hold an information evening about Bring Your Own Device 1:1 Program (BYOD) for Year 5, 2021. Instead, you will receive an information booklet Week 1, Term 4. If you have any questions prior to this time, you are welcome to send an email to info@spcdow.catholic.edu.au.

Thank you for understanding.    

Social Media e-Safety  

As a parent and an educator, this topic is near and dear to my heart. Every week that passes, the social media landscape changes and keeping up with the changes can be a nightmare. As parents, we need to keep up with the developments of technology. In today’s ever-changing society, I believe we can’t use the excuse “I don’t understand this stuff!”. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 I haven’t been able to hold any face-to-face parent workshops on site so I have compiled the following list of tips to remind you and your child on how to use their device appropriately when using social media.

1. Teach your child about respect. Respecting themselves and respecting others when online. Give them the skills to make good decisions.

2. It is extremely important to understand yourself and teach your child that whatever they post online is permanent (this includes texting!). Private doesn’t always mean private. A challenging concept for students to understand is that photos they post online are no longer owned by them but the social media platform they post it on e.g Instagram and they can do as they wish with that photo. My motto with my own children is 'If you wouldn’t show it to Grandma it shouldn’t be on your device.'

3. Lead by example. Practice what you preach if you want them to navigate their digital life safely.

4. Explain to your child that communicating verbally is completely different to communicating online. If you happen to say something verbally that you later regret, you can usually fix this over time. If you happen to post something online that you regret, that content may never disappear and you may never be able to fix it.

5. Be present and aware of what your child is doing online. This includes the websites they might be looking up out of curiosity - we need to remember they are children. At school, we have a filter system that blocks inappropriate sites however this system doesn’t block content at home. Don’t allow your child to use their device/s in their room behind a closed door unless you regularly keep an eye on them. You have to find a balance between trusting your child and parenting. 

6. Review the privacy settings of each app. You’ll probably want to make sure they’re not sharing their current location. Don’t do this secretly, be open and have the conversion with your child. Remind them it’s about being safe while online. 

7. Make sure your child knows to come to you with a problem as soon as it occurs, so you can help them. Things can get out of hand quickly online, as pictures, texts and posts can go viral within minutes! Let them know that coming to you is the only option and that you will always listen to their concern. 

It’s important to remember as parents we don’t need to be an expert about technology, but you should know how different social media networks operate, what content is on your child’s device and be a role model for your children on how to be respectful and responsible online. 

These holidays I would like to challenge you to have a technology free day/days or even a week with your child. I encourage you to have an open discussion with your child about the apps they use, the privacy setting for each app, flick through their camera roll but ask them for their permission. If need be, together set some expectations around using their device/s. It’s important that we don’t have a negative tone towards the use of technology as it is an amazing educational resource but like with all things we need to learn how to use/operate these things appropriately and as a parent we are the best role model for our children.

Below are some websites I recommend you view;

https://www.esafety.gov.au

Screen time tips https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-06/EC-ESP-screen-time-tips-flyer_0.pdf

Parental control tips https://austparents.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/parental-controls.pdf

Filter systems for home https://www.commsalliance.com.au/Activities/ispi/fff

Best wishes for the coming holidays.

Andrea Martin
ICLT Middle Leader

Recycling

Throughout the month of September, we acknowledge the Season of Creation, a month where we are called, by Pope Francis to reflect on our commitment to care for the environment. I draw your attention to the image below, from The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which highlights the practice of ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’. 

CBCA Book Week Day.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the CBCA Book Week has been postponed until Term 4, Week 2. This will change what we do for Book Week.

We will be having a Book Day on Friday, 23 October 2020.

There will be no Book Parade.

Students and teachers can come to school dressed as their favourite book character or something to do with the CBCA 2020 Theme "Curious Creatures, Wild Minds". They may remain in their outfits all day. No props are to be bought to school eg plastic swords, knives etc

We will be having literature activities in the classrooms using the shortlisted books.

Great chance to plan outfits over the holidays.

Chess News                                      

Chess club will resume in Term 4. Students who play chess and those who would like to learn to play chess can meet in the library before school 8:30am-8:55am and Tuesday Primary lunch break.

For Parish news and information, or to book Mass during COVID-19 please visit the Parish website.

https://www.stpaulscamden.org.au/