Welcome everyone to the end of Week 9 and the beginning of Advent, as we prepare for the coming of Jesus's birth at Christmas. It has been wonderful to begin each Monday morning with a special prayer assembly, signifying the differing weeks of Advent and their focus-  HOPE, LOVE, JOY and  PEACE.

This week has also seen the beginning of our building works in the back Annex area!!  This has been a long time coming and we are hopeful that both Stage 1 and 2 works will be completed by the middle of 2022. Thank you to our bike riders who have been locking their bikes in the courtyard fence, as the bike cage area is now being used for the building works. 

L'Arche Summer Fundraiser

We will be holding our L'Arche Summer Fundraiser TOMORROW!!

Students are invited to wear a Hawaiian Shirt and bring in a GOLD COIN donation. During lunch we will have a disco outside and enjoy an ice block together!

St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal

Cessation of Care

If you are aware that your child will be absent on their last day of attendance at the ELC in Before/After School Care or Preschool, please advise the ELC office. Children who are absent on their last day/s of care are unable to receive CCS payments for these sessions. Families may receive an additional fee statement in late December for this CCS adjustment.

School Holiday Program 

Preschool finishes on the last day of school term Friday 17 December. The ELC will remain open for the School Holiday Program on 20-21 December and the week of 24-28 January, with the exception of Australia Day 26 January.

The aim is to provide a relaxed atmosphere where the children will be able to play, participate in a variety of fun activities and interact with their peers in a safe and supportive environment. The holiday program will operate from the ELC but also make use of our local environment too. 

Please click here to book your child or children. Children in ELC, Kinder and Year One are welcome to enrol.

Before and After School Care in the ELC 2022

The ELC is now taking bookings for Before School Care (BSC) and After School Care (ASC) programs for 2022. Places are limited and are open to children in Kinder and Year One. The ELC program provides individualised care and a safe environment, promoting agency and is based on the needs and interests of the children. It also offers a variety of learning, relaxing, recreational and sporting activities. The programs are an excellent way to transition to the Primary School. Children enrolled in the BSC and ASC program are assured of a placed in the onsite ELC school holiday program. Please click here for an enrolment form and click here for the ELC Handbook.

The ELC currently has places; casual or permanent, in both the BSC and ASC programs. Please contact the ELC office elc.holytrinity@cg.catholic.edu.au for your booking needs.

3 Important steps to look after your mental health these holidays

“May you never be too grown up to search the skies on Christmas Eve.”

While the holiday season is a time to relax and take a break from “work” (whatever form that takes), it is often a time when a parent’s anxiety and stress can kick into high gear. Your children are home from school and experiencing a mix of feelings from excitement to boredom. Your elderly parents have come to stay and you and your siblings are noticing the changes that mean you now need to help plan for care when they return home. The list of “to do’s” seems to grow daily. Packing up and heading to family or friends creates a different yet equally lengthy list. Pack the presents, pack the children, sort out the pets, tidy up loose ends before heading off, prepare for living with your parents or siblings for two or more weeks. It is not surprising that the lead up to Christmas can leave busy adults feeling stressed and anxious.

The Shifting Set

A 2015 study conducted by Healthline reported that 62 percent of respondents reported increased levels of stress around the holiday season. Reasons cited included navigating family dynamics, as well as maintaining habits such as exercise which, like diet, plays a large role in stress management. Ellen Braaten, PhD and HMS associate professor of psychology at Massachusetts General Hospital refers to this as the ‘shifting set’. A shifting of cognitive skills required when there is a change in the environment.

‘Shifting set’ is what psychologists refer to as an executive function – a cognitive function of your brain required to organise information and help you “get things done”. At any time of the year, your focus is required to maintain your usual activities: work, children, home, partner, personal. At Christmas, you add to this: caring for elderly parents and extended family staying in your home, Christmas meals to be planned, presents to be purchased, children to be entertained day and night. With a greater than normal number of activities to remember and perform the brain’s prefrontal cortex often experiences an overload and performance often decreases. Your memory falters and brain cells shut down. Fortunately, it is a temporary reaction to the stress and, once the period of stress has passed the brain can, most often, return to its normal level of function.

So what can you do to look after your mental health during the holiday season? We’ve explored the tips and tricks to help alleviate stress and come up with our top 3.

1. Plan Ahead

When elderly parents and adult siblings come together, it is not uncommon for conflict and tension to rise. The normal stresses of navigating relationships apply and are fuelled at Christmas with alcohol consumption and heightened emotions. Planning ahead can help take the stress out of large family gatherings. 

Organise a game of backyard cricket and include roles for elderly parents who’ve always loved getting involved but might not be able to participate physically this year. Perhaps they can be the “3rd umpire”, or coach?

Have other games at hand to keep kids and adults occupied while you’re busy preparing.

Create the menu ahead of time and ask everyone to contribute. This will help ease the financial burden as well as ensuring you’re not responsible for the entire meal.

Think of ways to reduce the cleanup. Cold salads mean fewer pans to clean. Environmentally-friendly disposable crockery means fewer dishes to wash.

Task the children with clearing the Christmas wrappings when presents are opened so you’re not left to face the mess once everyone’s gone.

There are so many ways to ensure you’re not responsible for every element of Christmas so be sure to work ahead and look for opportunities to let others help you.

2. Be Tolerant

Be aware of your expectations and tolerant of others. 20 percent of participants in a 2016 survey by Relationships Australia said their relationships were negatively impacted by differing expectations around Christmas. Remember that ageing parents may have a different set of beliefs and behaviour to teenage and young children. In-laws may bring differing religious and cultural beliefs. 

Reframe how you and your family consider these differences. Look for opportunities to celebrate the rich diversity of your extended family and broaden your family’s traditions. The roles these extended family members play in your own family’s life, especially the grandparents, can have an extremely positive impact if you let them.

3. Be Mindful

Mindfulness plays a large part in managing stress. If you are aware of where your energy is directed you can take steps to redirect it back to where it is best spent.

As we have discussed in our article “Being Mortal”, your energy is not infinite. You probably already know how quickly you exhaust your energy levels. For most of us exhaustion kicks in around 3 or 4 pm, but even for those with greater energy resources, the Christmas period, and additional daily requirements will see your energy levels dropping sooner than normal. Small habits such as practising breathing can help you quickly reset your stress levels and allow your brain a moment to reframe the situation.

It’s not unusual that spending a couple of weeks with elderly parents at Christmas will reveal the need for care. Mum might look frailer than you expected. Dad seems forgetful. If you are concerned about your parents’ ability to care for themselves, consider whether this is a conversation you could have after everyone has gone home. Above all, look for moments to enjoy Christmas. While often a stressful time in the lead-up, most Australians agree that, when Christmas Day comes around, they are keen to relax and unwind with the family. Remember to find time to sit and enjoy the day. You deserve it.

(Source: nursenextdoor.com.au)

Last Friday, we finally got to watch Perform Education’s (livestreamed) Book Week Performance ‘Bigger, Better, Brighter’.

ELC – Year 2 were involved in the first session aimed at younger students, then Year 3 – Year 6 completed the second session. It was fabulous fun.

We all had to wait patiently until our livestream began. We participated in the sessions with 4 other schools from across Australia.

There were three sections to the performance with little breaks in between each session. Marley the main character had lost her interest in life, enthusiasm for fun, and hope for the future. Terrible stuff ☹.

Each section in the show dealt with Marley’s feelings and the Book Week books were used to give Marley back her enthusiasm, interest, and hope. There was lots of dancing, acting, calling out and laughing.

During breaks the host asked the classes questions about the production. We had to answer our group responses with our class name. The children loved hearing “Holy Trinity Year 1 W said…” called out on the screen.

Student Reflections:

Liliana 1R: I loved the three different chapters

Finley 1G: It taught us to stay positive and do something you love

Celine 1G: I loved how funny each of the stories were and how the main character popped up everywhere.

Blake 3/4R: I loved the enthusiasm of the host

Liliana 3/4R: I loved the questions and voting we did as a group

Tesia G 3/4G: It was creative and made us interact.

On another note, this week Mrs. Ellen Schofield who volunteers in the library with Year 2 every Tuesday (and was a TA here for 24 years before that) presented us with a book written and signed by her daughter Meredith.  Ellen read snippets of the book to Year 2 and they loved it, as did I.

Keep an eye out for ‘Around Australia at 80ks’ as it is the perfect Christmas gift for grandparents who travel or 20+ year old’s who are off on an adventure. It was only recently released and was No. 1 bestseller in the travel section @ Dymocks.

Please note that all COVID-19 fee remission applications close tomorrow Friday 3 December at the end of the school day (3.10PM).

Any applications received after this time will not be considered for any remissions as per direction from Catholic Education. This is to allow the finance teams time to review and process all applications prior to the end of the school year.

If you are intending to submit a COVID-19 fee remission application, you will need to complete the following forms as directed. 

Fee Assistance Form (All families requesting assistance tp complete)

Fee Remission Form (Families wishing for support with fees to complete)

Request to Defer Fees (Families wishing for additional time to pay fees to complete)

Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this causes, but further to Catholic Education advice re COVID -19 restrictions, we have cancelled the Year 7 Orientation Day to be held on Tuesday 7 December.

We look forward to welcoming our Year 7s on Monday 31 January 2022 at which time we will run orientation activities.