Jesus said, ‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.’

Dear Friends,

Last weekend we commemorated Remembrance Day, the ritual that marks the cease-fire of 11 November 1918, 100 year ago. The above Gospel was shared at our Remembrance Day Prayer Service on Monday, where we honoured inspirational people, who serve our country to bring about peace and purposeful change.  On Wednesday we also presented from our 5 and 6 students their Exhibition Inquiry, honouring humans who use inspiration and knowledge to bring about purposeful change.  It has certainly been an honour and inspiration to watch the growth, perseverance, risk taking, care and reflective insight that all our senior students gained during this personal inquiry.  Such a wonderful ocassion to celebrate such rich, insightful and engaging learning.  In next week's newsletter we will share the 2018 Exhibition learning with you all.

We are coming to that time of the year when we begin planning staffing and class groups for the following year.  I am currently employing new staff for next year as we have some staff leaving. Brett Seaman will be joining the St John the Apostle staff at Florey, another loss for us, however we wish him continued success into the future.  We also have two very long serving staff members retiring at the end of this year-  Michael McNamara and Terry Ross.  Both gentleman have given a significant part of their lives to this school and the families and we are indebted to all they have done.  We will be welcoming Caitlin Meany, Tracey Hanlon, Catherine Joy and Emily Capper to our 2019 teaching staff; Caitlin is an Early Career Teacher who did her 4th Year Practical placement here in Year 1G class and the other three teachers are experienced staff who come from differing Catholic schools in Canberra.

On Monday, all children will receive a green form to fill in suggesting students they would like to be placed with for 2019. There are many elements to consider to form equitable and cohesive classes of students.  We want to  make sure that all students are in the best possible learning environment.  These considerations will be outlined in this note for your child to fill in with you. We will then place all these considerations into Class Creator, our new software program. This program that will help us generate classes which will then be closely reviewed by our teaching teams. These forms will need to be completed  and returned to your child’s teacher by no later than Friday 23^rd November. If there are specific needs or information about your child in regards to 2019 class placement, please contact me via email by the 23^rd November.   Please do not request specific teachers for your child, just any circumstances you believe need consideration when forming class for 2019.

Finally,last week at our School Board meeting we voted for a new Chair.  This is  because John Owens, will be finishing his journey here at Holy Trinity as his last child, Georgia completes Year 6 at the end of the year. Words cannot express our gratitude for the many hours and insightful wisdom and support John has given to our community over the years. We also thank and welcome Scott Pearsall (Liliana Yr1 and Conor ELC 2019) who will be the new Chair of our School Board from the beginning of 2019.

Please keep Grace Fogarty (1G) and her family in your prayers as her grandmother died recently.

I look forward to seeing many of you at our School and Parish Mass at 6pm on Saturday night, followed by a Parish BBQ. With every best wish for a holy and peace-filled week ahead with your beautiful families,

Philippa

Remembrance Day Celebrations 

Last Friday I had the privilege of accompanying a small number of Year 6 students to Fred Ward Gardens Remembrance Day Ceremony. The students read a stanza of the poem, In Flanders Field or laid a wreath to Remembrance for those lives lost in Service. 

Amongst the poppies created by each student from Holy Trinity, parents led us in our Remembrance Day Liturgy on Monday Morning. We thank Lieutenant Commander Kevin Whiteside, Commander Michael Miller, Mr John Owens, Mr Rob Gray and Mrs Ana Guterres. These parents shared prayers of thanks and petition, explained the significance of Remembrance Day and shared a Gospel reading from John with the  message of “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you”. 

Term 4 Parish School and First Reconciliation Presentation Mass & Parish BBQ 

We will celebrate our Term 4 Parish School and First Reconciliation Presentation Mass this Saturday at 6pm. This is a vital part of the candidates preparation for their sacrament. The mass will be followed by the Parish BBQ. 

Tuesday 4 December- Sacrament of Reconciliation @7pm. 

Remembrance Day

The preschoolers marked Remembrance Day with several events. The Ground Parrots and Rock Wallabies walked to Fred Ward Gardens to see the beautiful display of poppies remembering those who died. The Black Cockatoos and Ground Parrots participated in the whole school liturgy on Monday and each preschooler made a poppy that was placed at our flag poles. Today Air Commodore Scott Winchester AO visited the ELC to talk to the children about his role in the Air Force. When the children were asked about what they thought Scott's job was, one answered "To save the world." Photos are in the gallery below.

Quality Improvement in the ELC

The ELC is committed to quality improvement and seeks input from our current families. Please click here to complete the short survey - it has only 7 questions.

2019 Before and After School Care 

The ELC is now taking enrolments for 2019, for Kinder and Year One students. Priority is for preschool children, siblings of preschool children and then Kinder and Year One students if space is available.

2019 School Holiday Program

The ELC will be open in the January school holidays on 24-25 January and 29-30 January for a school holiday program. The program is open to current ELC and Kinder families. Bookings for the School Holiday Program can be made by clicking here

Tea Towels

The preschoolers have created a gorgeous tea towel as a memento of their time at the ELC. The tea towels feature each child's drawing of themselves. A sample image of the tea towel and order form will be distributed next week, $15 per tea towel or 3 for $40 or 5 for $65. The tea towels make great Christmas gifts for family and friends too. Orders close on Thursday 22 November. Direct Debit transfers only, order forms available at the sign-in tables.

Stay and Play

Every Wednesday morning from 9am-10am in the ELC Playground during school term. Pre-preschoolers and their parents, grandparents and carers all very welcome.

Four critical tools for kids’ anxiety management

by Michael Grose

Anxiety disorders are currently taking a heavy toll on Australian children and young people.

It’s been estimated that there will be at least four children in every Australian classroom who are experiencing an anxiety disorder at some stage during a year.

Anxiety is not restricted to secondary schools either, with children as young as four now presenting with symptoms of anxiety, manifested in headaches, tantrums and refusal to go to school.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is still a stigma attached to anxiety as people still seem to associate it with weakness and don’t understand the difference between normal feelings of stress and crippling anxiety.

Anxiety is normal

Anxiety is the body’s response to fear, real or perceived. It’s our body’s way of protecting us when we’re in danger. It’s completely normal to feel anxious from time to time. A child might feel anxious about speaking in front of their class or a teen might feel anxious about an exam. Those anxious feelings can act as a motivator to do more revision or be better prepared. With ‘normal’ anxiety, when the stressful event has passed, the anxious feelings pass too.

We can liken our anxiety response to a smoke alarm. The alarm is designed to alert us to fire, a danger that can threaten our lives. Anxiety becomes a problem when the mind’s alarm system is extremely sensitive and responds when there’s no genuine danger present.

Anxiety needs to be addressed when it starts interfering with daily life. Kids and teens with anxiety experience the symptoms when they’re actually quite safe; the danger is only imagined. And sometimes anxiety shows up for no reason at all.

Parents are well positioned to provide kids with the tools and skills to regulate their anxiousness. Here are four critical skills to teach kids to help them self-manage feelings of anxiousness:

1. Breathing to calm down the anxiety
   When it comes to calming down anxiety, the brain ‘listens’ to the body. Kids and teens can show their brain they’re safe using deep, slow breathing. This type of breathing helps bring the brain down from high alert and signals the nervous system to begin to return to normal. Encouraging kids to practise deep breathing in between times of high anxiety is essential. By practising, they’re preparing their body to also be able to calm down using breathing when the fight or flight response is in full swing.
2. Mindfulness to bring kids into the present
   Generally kids become anxious about future events such as giving a talk, starting secondary school or going into an unfamiliar situations. They can be perfectly safe yet their bodies can respond as if they are in danger because they are thinking about what may happen. Mindfulness is a great tool to bring kids into the present and relieve them of their feelings of anxiousness.
3. Exercise to dissipate anxiety
   Exercise plays a huge role in anxiety management, yet children’s lifestyles are increasingly sedentary. Exercise and movement help kids regulate their moods and reduce the symptoms of anxiety. Play and exercise help to ease muscle tension, regulate breathing and induce the release of ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitters.
4. Thought-noticing to shift thinking
   Thought-noticing is a wonderful skill set that helps kids to better manage their mental health. When kids tune into their thinking, they can immediately distance themselves from it. Rather than being lost in the thoughts that are making them feel anxious, they can mentally step back and see the thought for what it is – a thought which comes and goes, and not a fact.

Breathing, mindfulness, exercise and thought-noticing are best taught and practised when kids are not under stress. They are most effective when they become an entrenched part of kids’ lifestyles rather than an activity to be called upon from time to time.

(Source: Parentingideas.com.au)

Money Raised from the 2018 Fete

Our fabulous treasury team have now finished tallying the money raised from fete day. If you’d like to hear the final result, come along to assembly this Friday morning for the announcement!

Cheers, the Fete Team

Art and Craft Stall Update

What an amazing & fun time we had at our craft selling stall and DIY art corner!

BIG thank you to the Year 5/6, parents, carers and grandparents who gave significant effort and time in the lead up to, during and post fete clean up! Our exciting plans could not have come together without your invaluable assistance.

Are you/know someone who is the owner of this cool truck sadly left behind at our diy corner on fete day? Please contact the fete committee to collect.

We have some lovely leftover stock and are planning to give our HT community one more chance to secure some bargains before Christmas & continue our fundraising efforts! Keep your eyes peeled for a szapp message with details.

Thanks again for your wonderful support,

Jo H.

0407 002 513

johamilton2007@gmail.com

Lower:

Ava and Dom make a vegemite sandwich. How can they share it fairly? Can you find three different ways to cut the sandwich?

Middle:

Coen is designing, making and selling number plates. Each can have a maximum of six characters, numbers or letters. Coen cannot use plus and minus signs, or any other mathematical symbols. He can make 10 by using ‘10’ or by ‘TEN’. In how many ways can he make 12? What number less than 20 can be represented in the most ways?

Upper:

Mr Pye bought some pigs, goats and sheep. Altogether he bought 100 animals and spent $600. Mr Pye paid $21 for each pig, $8 for each goat and $3 for each sheep. There was an even number of pigs. How many of each animal did Mr Pye buy?

       TERM 4, WEEK 6 - WED 21 NOV

Team Leader: Peter Conlon, Michael Miller, David Pembroke, Wayne Poels, Simon Frawley

HOLY TRINITY FATHER AND SON GO-KART CUP

The 2018 Holy Trinity Father and Son Go-Kart Cup will be held on Sunday 9th December.

Entries open to all Year 4, 5 and 6 boys and their fathers (or mother/grandfather if Dad can’t make it).

There will be separate races for the boys and the adults, with the winner being the team (child and adult) with the fastest combined time.   There will be a Year 4, a Year 5 and a Year 6 winning team.

Date:  Sunday 9th December

Time: 5pm for a 5:30pm start

Place: Powercart Raceway Kingston, 25 Canberra Avenue, Griffith.

Cost for race: $38 (adults), $32 (children) or $32/$27 if you already have a PKR head sock.

We will follow the race with dinner at the Kingston Hotel for all who can make it.

Please RSVP asap by text or email so we can confirm numbers with Powercart and the Kingston Hotel.  No issues if you’re a late withdrawal as it’s only pay on the day but we do need indicative numbers now.  

The challenge is on!  I hope you can make it.

The question is:

Do the Apps, Sunil, Patterson, Campbell, Longland or Poels families have what it takes to prevent the Smyth family from continuing with their winning streak? 

And who will take over from the Winton family as reigning champions for the Year 5 group?  

And is anyone from Year 4 up to beating the Ben/Nathan Smyth family combination? 

See below the coveted trophy and a picture of some of the boys last year.

Regards,

Sarah Collins

0478 877 819