Congratulations to those students who received the Principal and Value Awards in Week 6 in recognition of their application to learning and for continuing to show respect in all areas of the school.

PB4L NEWS
Teachers have noticed students are bringing more resources to school then is required, including textas and pencils. Some students have multiple pencil cases, which is taking up a lot of space on and around their desks.  This is causing a distraction to learning, as students find the urge to play with the items in the pencil cases. We ask you send your child to school with only 1 pencil case, no larger that 20cm x 30cm.

Parenting an Anxious Child
When parenting an anxious child, it is important to remember the following behaviours. They are the behaviours that help children overcome their anxiety most often:

Attention. Attention is probably the most powerful way to influence your child’s behaviour. Paying attention to an anxious behaviour increases it, removing attention from an anxious behaviour reduces it.

Praise. Praise is another way of paying attention. Providing your child with praise is another way to reinforce appropriate (non-anxious) behaviours. Make your praise clear and specific e.g. “You tried really hard today, you caught the bus on your own and you didn’t cry or hold onto me before you got on the bus. I know that getting on the bus and saying goodbye to me makes you worried so I am really proud of you”.

Avoid giving excessive reassurance. Parents want to protect their children and so the most natural response to children’s worry is often to sympathise too much, letting emotion creep into your voice and providing the child with lots of attention when they are worried. This can feed the anxiety and at worst, increase it. Try to take the emotion out of your voice and respond in a matter-of-fact tone. “I understand that you are worried, but things are going to be fine”. Limit reassurance to one or two times. Remain kind but firm.

Consistency. It is important to be consistent in your praise of brave behaviours and in your paying less attention to anxious behaviours. If you do this, you will help to shape your child to behave less anxiously. It is important that both parents are consistent in their approach.

Modelling. Children learn how to behave by observing others. You may need to pay attention to your own behaviours and if possible, deal with your own anxieties using the same tools that your child is learning, to demonstrate to your child a better way of dealing with worries.

Self-Talk. Teach your child to say a statement inside their head to help them to stay calm and handle stress. Here are a few: “Calm down”, “Relax”, “Everything will be ok”, “I am ok, I will be fine”.

Breathing. Train your child in how to control their breathing. Practise slow, deep breaths with them. Ask them to think about what the air feels like going in and out. They may like to count in for three “one . . . two . . . three . . .” and then say the word “calm” as the breath comes out.

Much of this information is taken from the “Cool Kids Program – Parent’s Workbook” by Heidi Lyneham, Maree Abbott, Ann Wignall and Ronald Rapee (Macquarie University Anxiety Research Unit).

This weekend, the candidates’ reflections on the Spiritual Gift they would most like to possess will be offered during Mass. 

Prayer to the Holy Spirit
For the month of June - to coincide with the children preparing for Confirmation - we have been praying the Prayer to the Holy Spirit for morning prayer. If you have been present for morning prayer, you may have noticed our litany is getting longer and longer.  This is because we are calling on the saints our Year 6 students have chosen for their Confirmation names to pray for us

Celebrating our Faith

A fortnight ago, Year 3 attended the parish Mass with Fr George and the Gospel for the day was the Beatitudes. After Mass, Ms Maloney shared with Year 3 that our church at St Francis of Assisi always reminds her of the Beatitudes because of the octagonal design on the ceiling. She later explained that in the Holy Land, there is a church built where they believe Jesus talked about the Beatitudes and it has an octagonal ceiling with the Beatitudes written around it. Here are some photos of the church in question. Happy deciphering when you get to the Beatitudes!  Year 3 were also challenged to think about how they could be peacemakers in their classroom, on the playground and at home. 

Significant Feasts - Trinity Sunday & Corpus Christi 

Last weekend, our Church celebrated Trinity Sunday. Whilst the concept of a ‘3 in 1’ God is a bit of a ‘mystery’, the doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most fundamental in our Christian faith. We express our belief in a Trinitarian God every time we make the sign of the cross. It is important to note that we don’t believe in three gods but rather three “persons” or “forms” of the one God: Father, Son & Holy Spirit. The term ‘consubstantial’, which is used in the Nicene Creed, aims to express that all three “forms” come from the same source or substance. Perhaps one of the most useful analogies for this otherwise complex teaching could be to consider water, ice and steam. Whilst their forms are different, they are composed of the same substance. Regardless of our understanding of the Trinity, what really matters is th

Refugee Week:  19-25 June

This Sunday, marks the beginning of Refugee Week.  The theme for the week is “healing”.

The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office and the Office for Justice, Ecology and Peace invite you to participate in an online prayer service on Monday 20 June at 6pm to pray for asylum seekers and refugees and to mark Refugee Week from Sunday 19 June to Saturday 25 June 2022.  To register for Monday’ s online prayer service:  https://bit.ly/RefugeeWeek2022Prayers

Ms Marita Maloney
Religious Education Coordinator

Celebrate 19-25 June ~ Healing
Refugee Week in Australia is always held from Sunday to Saturday of the week which includes 20 June (World Refugee Day). For 2022, it will be held from Sunday 19 June to Saturday 25 June.

The Refugee Week theme has a number of important functions:

• It raises awareness of the issues affecting refugees. The theme aims to highlight aspects of the refugee experience and help the broader community to understand what it is like to be a refugee.
• It helps to make Refugee Week a national celebration. The theme provides a focal point for events across Australia, uniting separate activities into a single nationwide celebration.
• It promotes harmony and togetherness. The theme unites individuals, communities and organisations from many different backgrounds behind a common cause. The common theme is a reminder that, regardless of our differences, we all share a common humanity.
• It broadens the impact of Refugee Week. The theme provides a common, cohesive message which can be promoted across the country, helping to maximise the effectiveness of awareness-raising activities

2022 Theme - Healing
Australia and the rest of the world have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hit the reset button on how we behave towards one another. The importance of human connections has been underscored by the pandemic and such lessons can help us in so many ways.  Mainstream and refugee communities alike can draw upon shared hardship to heal wounds, learn from each other, and move forward. Healing can occur through storytelling, through community, and also through realisation of our intrinsic interconnectedness as individuals.  
 

Semester 1 reports will be available on the Compass Parent Portal on Friday 24 June for students in Years 1–6. Kindergarten only receive an end-of-year report (Semester 2). 

Please see attached for instructions on how to access your child's report, and contact Mr Murphy if you are having trouble accessing your child's report. 

It is a requirement of national legislation for Primary schools to provide twice-yearly written reports for students in Years 1-6 to parents. These reports are to be standards-referenced, which in NSW means reporting based on the Common Grade Scale. Standards-referenced reporting requires teachers to consider the performance of each student according to the standard detailed at each level (A-E) of the Common Grade Scale for each Key Learning Area (KLA).

Students are then awarded a grade based on the evidence teachers have of their learning in that particular Key Learning Area and the standard it reflects.
According to the Common Grade Scale, a ‘C’ grade is considered sound. That is, if awarded a C in a particular Key Learning Area, the student has demonstrated that they have gained the knowledge, skills and understanding expected of them at that point in time.

The Common Grade Scale

The Common Grade Scale describes performance at each of the five grade levels.

A	The student has extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in the processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations.
B	The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations.
C	The student has sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills.
D	The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved a limited level of competence in the processes and skills.
E	The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few areas of the content and has achieved very limited competence in some of the processes and skills.

Other Report features include:

Overall grades
Each Key Learning Area has an overall grade that is determined by the teacher by considering the evidence of each student’s learning and the standard on the Common Grade Scale it reflects. Overall grades are not determined by averaging performance on strands within a KLA. In many cases, more time has been dedicated to learning in one strand over others, and this contributes significantly to the balanced judgement a teacher is required to make in order to award an overall grade.

It is not unusual for a student’s overall grade to change from one reporting period to the next as the knowledge, skills and understanding they encounter in each Key Learning Area will vary from one reporting period to the next.

Commitment to Learning
Commitment to Learning captures the student’s attitude to the particular KLA and their skills in managing their work, persisting when challenged and working to their potential. A scale explaining the three standards used in Commitment to Learning is included on the front of the report.

Strands
The term ‘strands’ refers to the breakdown of learning within each KLA that is presented in a grid with the options Extensive, Thorough, Sound, Limited, and Basic for teachers to indicate the performance of the student within each strand. Over a reporting period, some strands will have a greater focus than others, which will impact the overall grade for the KLA. In some KLAs, not every strand will be covered in each reporting period; those that are not covered will not appear on the report.

Please watch this video before looking at your child’s report https://vimeo.com/219326386/4efcdd6c2e

Accessing Students Reports via App

Accessing Students Reports via App 266.51 KB

Term 2 Sporting Events

Paul Kelly Cup - AFL Gala Day

Finally, our Girls competitive team went through the day undefeated, went into the final and were 2-0 down early before powering home to win 51-2 and become champions. Congratulations!

Athletics Carnival
Our whole school Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 17 June at Myimbarr Oval, Shellharbour. Please check your Compass Portal for all details and to give permission for your child/ren to attend. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child's teacher or Mr Murphy. 

When families are taking holidays during the school term for 10 days or more, an Application for Leave must be completed, with notice, and submitted at the School Office.  This application is required to be approved by the School Principal prior to the leave commencing and a Certificate of Extended Leave will be issued for the parents to have with them during their travels. Please see the attached form for further information.

School photo orders are being completed and will be delivered to the school next week and passed on to the students to take home.  Advancedlife apologises for the delay due to a shortage of staff at this time with Covid. Thank you for your understanding.