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It’s a Wrap!

It’s hard to believe that we are at the end of term 3! Once again it has been a very busy term with most recently our students receiving their First Holy Communion, various masses, incursions and excursions, assemblies, Book Week, Character Parade, Tony Bones Performance, Great Book Swap, Clubs, District Sports Finals, Footy Colours Day, Father’s Day Breakfast, 100 Days of Foundation and of course plenty of learning. The children and staff have worked very hard this term and I wish them a restful and well-deserved break. I thank all the parents who have contributed to the school, your efforts and support are appreciated by us all.

Father’s Day and Parent and Friends Committee

On Sunday 3rd of September we celebrated Father’s Day. We recognised the amazing contribution men make in our children’s lives. There is a growing recognition of the irreplaceable contribution men offer families in their roles as fathers, step-fathers, grandfathers, uncles, family friends, guides, mentors and carers.

We honoured the significant men in all our children’s lives. We honoured the way in which they model strong, masculine care and respect for their loved ones and for themselves. We especially remembered those in our community who no longer have a father in their lives and know that Father’s Day was a difficult one for them as they remember their loved ones. Thank you to all of our Dads and Special Others for joining us over breakfast to celebrate Father's Day. We had a fantastic turn out and it was great to see so many students starting their day with their special person.

Thank you to Soufra for catering the event and Lonsdale Larder for donating the delicious sweets.

A special thanks to our amazing Parents and Friends Committee, Ms Vivien and Sr Veronique for donating their time in organising a scrumptious Father’s Day breakfast, selling of the gifts during breaks and preparing our special Friday lunches during the term.

Click here for photos

After School Pick Up

Please ensure your child is collected from school each afternoon by 3.20pm. Children do get anxious when parents are late. We do understand that an emergency can occur on the odd occasion. If this is the case and you are running late please phone the school office.

Hats - SunSmart Policy

As we are a Sun smart School, we follow the guidelines related to the wearing of hats from the beginning of October until the end of April, in response to the increasing UV levels. Therefore, all students and staff must be wearing hats whenever they are outside. Hats are available from The Academy Book Shop and can be arranged to be delivered directly to Cedar Campus. Term 4. No Hat No Play!

Uniform

I urge parents check their daughter’s uniform over the holidays to ensure their daughter’s summer dress is at knee length. All boys white summer shirts must be purchased from the Academy Uniform shop that have the school logo. Hats must be worn during Term 4.

Book Week

What a wonderful morning it was celebrating Book Week. The students really enjoyed dressing up as their favourite book character. The Book Fair, Book Parade, The Great Book Swap and class activities were a great highlight. I would like to thank all members of our community for supporting and promoting Book Week which is an opportunity to highlight the importance of reading. Special thanks to Mr Kelly, Mrs Georgette and the staff for all their hard work in organising this event. It has been a wonderful success and again it is fantastic to see our students and families so enthusiastic about reading.

Parent Protocol – Child Safety

I remind all parents that under no circumstances should they approach someone else’s child or another parent to discuss a school/classroom/playground/bus incident. If you are concerned, or have a problem or an issue, please speak to a teacher or contact the front administration to make an appointment. This ensures that appropriate processes and protocols can be followed and that behaviour cannot be seen as bullying, threatening or intimidating.

Under new child safety regulations all parents must enter through the front administration office. Parents, guardians and friends are not permitted to enter the school grounds in the morning and after school. The safety and well being of all our students is of the utmost importance.

You Can Do It!

As part of the You Can Do It! Program the students are continuing to learn about attitudes that can block their success and happiness. Angry Annie is not very resilient and doesn’t get along well with her classmates. She over reacts to things and gets angry when she doesn’t get her own way. Angry Annie always has to be first and is often rude to others and thinks only of herself. She doesn’t understand when other children don’t want to be friends with her. Acting like this is stopping her from being happy and successful. Angry Annie needs to develop empathy for others and learn ways to get along with others, she also needs to learn strategies to calm herself down when she gets upset.

All children need to understand the importance of treating others with respect: waiting for a turn, letting others go first and speaking appropriately to others even when we are upset. Disappointments are part of life and some children need support in learning how to cope with being upset or disappointed. Playing board games with children at home can help them learn to take turns and about winning and losing. Keeping things in perspective is also an important skill for everyone.

Children can use self-talk strategies to help them when they are upset or disappointed eg; it’s not that bad; many others are worse off than me; I can take deep breaths to calm down; I can use my words to explain why I’m upset rather than yelling or throwing something….

The ‘You Can Do It’ program aims to help all our students experience success and happiness in learning and in life!

CATASTROPHE SCALE

Each classroom at Cedar Campus display a large poster which covers a strategy for helping children develop ‘resilience’ in and out of the classroom - ‘Catastrophe Scale’.

The Catastrophe Scale poster can be used to teach the children how not to blow things out of proportion and of the importance of keeping things in perspective as they confront challenging events. The poster presents to children a scale for measuring how bad things really are:

-The Worst Thing in the World

-Very Bad

-Bad

-Bit Bad

It is one of many strategies that we use in our approach at Antonine.

Australia’s Biggest Safety Lesson

I urge all families to unpack and have the conversation around child safety.

Teachers have been and will continue to unpack crucial lessons regarding child safety. The below information and link provide targeted and age-appropriate lessons around child safety.

Produced annually, the award-winning Australia’s Biggest Child Safety Lesson (ABCSL) is live streamed across Australia and is back again in 2023 with important safety messages aimed at junior primary and early years, 4 to 7 years of age, and upper primary aged children, 8 to 12 years.

Communication is key to giving and getting consent. ABCSL 2023 will provide an easy way for parents and carers to have conversations about consent confidently with children with FREE, ready-made resources and lessons. Students will learn how to recognise, react and report and practice strategies they can use when they need to give or refuse consent https://danielmorcombe.com.au/keeping-kids-safe/keeping-kids-safe/australias-biggest-child-safety-lesson/

R U OK Day?

On Thursday the 14th of September we acknowledged ‘R U OK? Day'

R U OK Day marks the national day of action dedicated to reminding everyone that every day is a day to ask, “Are you ok?” and support those struggling with life's ups and down, so be sure to ask your family and friends tomorrow - R U OK? and always remember that a conversation could change someone's life, or even make someone's day.

'Something to think about'

'R U OK?'

Here are some handy tips and tricks on how to ask someone if they're feeling okay, without feeling like you're crossing the line. 

https://www.ruok.org.au/2023-ruokday-resources#GuideToSupportingRUOKDay

- Mr Abraham Diab