Dear Friends,

Welcome to Term 4 and the blessing of Spring time!  I hope that you have all had opportunity to enjoy the sunshine, the chance to spend more time outdoors and the break from juggling work, remote learning and family life.

It is positive to be able to begin Term 4, with a plan from the ACT Minister in regards to return to school, staggered throughout Week 4 and 5. The newly announced arrangements include early childhood education and care and out of school hours care services. This is an important step to support the safety, education and well-being of our students and their families. The timing of this staged return to school is in line with the ACT’s COVID-19 Pathway Forward. It is designed to align with critical community vaccination rates and the pace of the easing of restrictions in other parts of the ACT community and builds on the previous announcement in relation to Year 11 and 12.  

From Monday 25 October (Week 4, Term 4), ELC,  Kindergarten, and Years 1, 2, and 6 can return to on campus learning. These year groups will also be able to attend our out of school hours care programs- ELC or Kids Biz.

• If you are needing your child/ren to attend school for onsite supervision  for weeks 1-3, please ensure you have firstly emailed me about this, and secondly, register using the link below:

 
https://holytrinitypscurtin.schoolzineplus.com/form/294
 

From Monday 1 November (Week 5, Term 4), Years 3, 4, 5, can return to on campus learning at Holy Trinity. 
Please note:

• With our multi aging in Year 5 and 6, Year 6 will be attending school in Week 4 and Year 5 will continue remotely for this week. Year 5 return on Monday 1 November. We are still,  however, in Week 4 be open for students in Years 3-5 of parents/carers who are unable to provide care
  for their children. Our school will also remain open for vulnerable students. If you require supervision of your child/children in Year 3-5 during Week 4, please complete the following form-  this will ensure we have appropriate supervision ratios. 
  

  https://holytrinitypscurtin.schoolzineplus.com/form/295

• Please not that there is one mode of learning employed for children needing on site supervision, the remote learning model. This is where the same learning is delivered to students both at home and on site at school. 

 
The safety and well being of students and staff is the primary consideration of any decision related to re-opening schools. Holy Trinity School and ELC follows various COVID-19 Safe requirements as advised by ACT Health which seek to prevent and minimise the transmission of COVID-19.

Of course with the new COVID safe Road Map shared with families last week, we have had to cancel or change some of our Term 4 events-  please refer to our school calendar regularly and we will also advertise throughout the term via the newsletter and Seesaw upcoming significant events. 

TERM 3 WEEK 10 AWARD RECIPIENTS 

On the last Friday of Term 3, during class MS Team Meeting, students who received an award were acknowledged.  As soon as we are back physically together at school, we will present these awards to each child and take photos to share with families.  Congratulations to these students on this great achievement during our initial remote period Term 3 Weeks 5-10: 

The first online assembly of the FIFTH PLENARY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA commenced last Sunday and concludes at the end of this week. The second assembly will be held in Sydney in July next year, in person hopefully. Pray that the members will be mindful of the many thousands of submissions presented in seeking to respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church in Australia. You can join parts of the Plenary Council online by going to https://plenarycouncil.catholic.org.au

To finish today I am  going to share a reflection from the new Pope Francis book, ``Let Us Dream”, that  I thoroughly enjoyed reading during stand down time.  Pope Francis talks about in a crisis, the temptation to retreat, and preserve our own place- status quo, roles.  His challenge is to ensure that we continue to serve others and to enable change through compassion.

“There is a moment to dream big, to rethink our priorities-  what we value, what we want, what we seek- and to commit to act our daily life on what we have dreamed of…. Dare to create something new.”  

I hope you have given yourselves an opportunity  during the school break to rest, recharge and look at the possibilities that can come from change.  Enjoy the sunshine this weekend, with a few restrictions continuing to ease.

I also know for some of our families, the school break was filled with tragedy or illness. Please know that you are all in my constant thoughts and prayers, and I thank our  Holy Trinity community who continue to support each other with such compassion and love. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out for anything at all and continue to stay safe. 

Warmest wishes,

Philippa 

Welcome back to TERM 4!

First Eucharist Update

First Eucharist Parent Information Night and First Eucharist Celebration Sign-up October 12th 5:30pm 

As you are aware, due to the lockdown in the A.C.T, the Sacrament of First Eucharist was not celebrated in Term 3 as scheduled, and was instead postponed. Like all other places of worship, the Parish was unable to reschedule until the A.C.T announced the end of lockdown and eased the associated number restrictions for Masses.  

As the ACT Government has now released their roadmap to opening, The Transfiguration Parish Sacramental Team have created a schedule for First Eucharist celebrations. We therefore invite all families of students making their First Eucharist to attend a short parent information night via Zoom at 5:30pm on October 12 (Zoom link below). The purpose of this meeting will be to outline the rescheduled dates for this Sacrament. The Parish will be offering families a choice between two celebration options, and strongly encourages your attendance at this meeting to understand their differences. 

At the end of the PIN, a sign-up document will be shared with families where they will be able to select a suitable option and date. In developing this schedule, we have endeavoured to best meet the needs of our families and to provide options so that the Sacrament is a special celebration.  Regrettably, we must remind you that there will be number restrictions for these celebrations. We therefore strongly encourage you to attend the Zoom meeting, when the sign-up sheet will be made available, to ensure you are able to Celebrate the Sacrament on your preferred date and time. 

Finally, we thank you for your patience during this time. As parents, you are the first teachers of your child’s faith.  We, the parish and school community, thank you for the support  and encouragement you have provided in preparation of this Sacrament. We also thank home group leaders for their generosity and support. 

Zoom Link: 

https://cgcatholic.zoom.us/j/64762836749?pwd=U2wvKzJkMUNXZmNqclRSRU9rNmdNUT09

Password: 323816

Global Schools Partners

This October, Global School Partners are holding the GSP 20x20 Challenge. The CEO and co-founder, Simon Carroll, is riding 20km every day, for 20 days. They would love people to donate just $20 (or more) each to help us reach our goal!

Did you know $20 can provide a child-in-need with 3 weeks of schooling? You can donate to Simon's ride here

https://gofund.me/34c8b04chttps://gofund.me/34c8b04chttps://gofund.me/34c8b04chttps://gofund.me/34c8b04chttps://gofund.me/34c8b04chttps://gofund.me/34c8b04chttps://gofund.me/34c8b04c

OR you can JOIN IN and do your own 20 x 20 at https://gofund.me/8c507cb0 You could do anything that you can imagine and commit to, such as read 20 pages of a book in 20 days, or walk 20 minutes a day for 20 days......

Find out more on the website: https://www.globalschoolpartners.org.au/events

Emily Capper

Religious Education Coordinator 

Return to School

In line with recent announcements, the ELC is looking forward to welcoming all children back to school on the 25 October. Those families needing education and care prior to this time are welcome to attend, but must advise their needs in the week earlier, including Before and After School Care requirements. Please email cushla.sheehan@cg.catholic.edu.au 

The ELC team have been continuing to provide both face-to-face and home learning opportunities throughout this lockdown period. I have sent information to all families on the roadmap forward including safety procedure and practices in place. If you would like to discuss your family or child's unique situation or requirements, please do not hesitate to email me on the above address.

Please continue to share the amazing home learning that is happening via the Seesaw app. We miss our preschoolers terribly and love seeing their gorgeous faces!

Using routines to support family wellbeing during lockdown

For health and wellbeing during lockdown, children need a sense of security, healthy eating, physical activity, good sleep, play and quiet time. You need these things too.

A good way to make sure you all get what you need for physical and mental wellbeing is to plan a new daily routine.

How routines can help children and teenagers during lockdown
Routines let children know what to expect. This means they can help children and teenagers feel safe and secure. This is really important during lockdown, when children and teenagers might be feeling stressed, worried, frustrated or just bored.

If children and teenagers need to do schoolwork, a routine can help them get through lessons and keep up with learning at home. It’s also a good idea to make time for different kinds of play in your children’s routine – for example, outside play, quiet play, craft, reading, digital play and so on. This can help your children get a good balance of activities into their days at home.

Routines can help children and teenagers stay healthy and hygienic too. For example, more careful hand-washing can be part of the routine, as can exercising, eating and going to bed at regular times.

Also, routines can reduce stress, and lower stress is good for children’s immune systems.

How routines can help you during lockdown
Routines can help you to:

• get through your daily tasks, freeing up time for your children and time for yourself
• share out household chores in a fair way while everyone is at home
• feel like you’re doing a good job as a parent
• feel more organised and in control, which lowers your stress
• step back from sorting out disputes – for example, if Wednesday night is one child’s night to wash up, there’s no need for a sibling fight about who does the job.

Why routines are good for family relationships
Routines can strengthen family relationships.

For example, if you’re all at home during lockdown, it might be easier to share regular family meals. And family meals can be a great time for you to check in on each other.

If you have younger children, reading a story together before bed can be when you and your child have special, comforting time together during lockdown. For older children and teenagers, a regular card game could work in the same way.

Here’s a tip: why not make time for gratitude during your family routine? This is about regularly sharing something from your day that you’re grateful for. It can help you all to feel good and stay positive.

Source: Raisingchildren.net.au

Using routines to support family wellbeing during lockdown

For health and wellbeing during lockdown, children need a sense of security, healthy eating, physical activity, good sleep, play and quiet time. You need these things too.

A good way to make sure you all get what you need for physical and mental wellbeing is to plan a new daily routine.

How routines can help children and teenagers during lockdown
Routines let children know what to expect. This means they can help children and teenagers feel safe and secure. This is really important during lockdown, when children and teenagers might be feeling stressed, worried, frustrated or just bored.

If children and teenagers need to do schoolwork, a routine can help them get through lessons and keep up with learning at home. It’s also a good idea to make time for different kinds of play in your children’s routine – for example, outside play, quiet play, craft, reading, digital play and so on. This can help your children get a good balance of activities into their days at home.

Routines can help children and teenagers stay healthy and hygienic too. For example, more careful hand-washing can be part of the routine, as can exercising, eating and going to bed at regular times.

Also, routines can reduce stress, and lower stress is good for children’s immune systems.

How routines can help you during lockdown
Routines can help you to:

• get through your daily tasks, freeing up time for your children and time for yourself
• share out household chores in a fair way while everyone is at home
• feel like you’re doing a good job as a parent
• feel more organised and in control, which lowers your stress
• step back from sorting out disputes – for example, if Wednesday night is one child’s night to wash up, there’s no need for a sibling fight about who does the job.

Why routines are good for family relationships
Routines can strengthen family relationships.

For example, if you’re all at home during lockdown, it might be easier to share regular family meals. And family meals can be a great time for you to check in on each other.

If you have younger children, reading a story together before bed can be when you and your child have special, comforting time together during lockdown. For older children and teenagers, a regular card game could work in the same way.

Here’s a tip: why not make time for gratitude during your family routine? This is about regularly sharing something from your day that you’re grateful for. It can help you all to feel good and stay positive.

(Source: Raisingchildren.net.au)