“Teach me your way O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth.

Grant me an undivided heart to revere Your name.” (Psalm 86:11 )

Dear Friends,

Thank you to all families who were able to attend the Parent Information Night last Friday night.  Thank you also to our School Board Chair, Scott Pearsall, our P and F  Vice- President, Mark Bauer and our Parent Class Coordinator, Louise Willis for speaking at the evening and for all staff who attended.  Thank you also to the P and F for catering the BBQ, in particular, Mark Bullock and Kirsty Brogan who organised the team and all the food.  We also welcomed Cath Day, our new P and F President who met with the committee for the first time this year last night. 

As discussed on Friday we have three targeted areas in our strategic planning for 2019 as follows: 

An explicit Catholic Identity and culture- By the end of 2019, all classes will be implementing the conceptual inquiry framework in Religious Education

A Culture that promotes learning- Continual promotion of inquiry and innovation, where independent learning and creative exploration are nurtured and valued.  This will be supported with further development of a stimulating physical environment that supports and encourages learning.

Targeted use of Resources- Deploying staff to address the learning needs of students and make best use of staff expertise.  Address the learning needs of individual students through creating a more flexible curriculum delivery.

We have also engaged the services for 2019 of Focus Total Property Care, lead by Michael Kane, (Elsa, Year 1 and Oliver, Year 6) to help with the maintenance of our grounds and facilities.  I am sure parents and visitors have already noticed the improvements and care given to our surroundings, as well as the new furniture that has been purchased in each classroom to enable more flexible learning opportunities.  Next week we will also be installing new bubblers and concreting the area outside the ELC and Year 1 classroom.  ELC families will need to access their area from the side gate nearest to the carpark and families and students at school will be need to access the assembly area through the school hall or around the bike cage area side of the school for a few days.

As we will be participating in our annual school swimming carnival on Friday, we will be needing to board buses as quickly as possible on Friday morning.  Therefore we will be presenting Week 3 weekly awards on Monday at morning assembly.  In the afternoon on Monday, Year 5 / 6 White will be celebrating a Prayer Assembly at 2:20pm, in which all families are welcome to attend.  At the end of this assembly our Year 6 students will be explaining to the school our Year 6 Leadership Communities that will be active throughout 2019 under these 6 main categories-  

Service, Christian Outreach,  Sustainability, Technology,  Well-Being and Sport. 

I look forward to seeing you at the swimming carnival or other events at school over the next week.  A reminder about the Literacy information morning next Friday 1st of March at 9:15am in Mrs Capper's Kinder classroom. This is especially targeted for parents beginning the reading journey with their children at home and for those needing a recap of reading strategies to use with their children. 

"The more your read, the more things you will know.  The more that you learn, the more places you will go. " (Dr Seuss). 

With every best wish for a holy and peace-filled week ahead with your beautiful families,

Philippa

On Monday, Year 6 engaged in the retreat ‘Journey With Jesus’ coordinated by our Parish Youth Worker Sarah. The retreat focused on the individual journey students are on in developing their relationship with Jesus. Thank you to Sarah, Nathan and the team of Youth Minsiters for coordinating such a wonderful day!

Year 6 Youth Ministry Retreat Reflection

At the Year 6 retreat I enjoyed seeing the Youth Ministry leaders going out and inspiring kids like us to get more involved in their mission. They really inspired us to do more and find new ways to enjoy going Church and celebrating God’s love for us. The Youth Ministry team made it really easy, fun and enjoyable for me to connect with God and explore different ways to do so. They made the experience child friendly and really easy to enjoy. With videos explaining God’s love, Sacrifice and Reconciliation. I took action by joining the Child Youth Junior program. In this program we will be organising retreat days for the younger students as well as taking part in a Christian outreach program.

By Ruby Pavlic Searle

I really enjoyed the games and I thought the wonderful youth ministers were great and have taught me so much more about my Catholic beliefs. I enjoyed the stories of the Youth ministers, and how they started their relationship and journey with God. I also liked the idea of the backpack and the water, torch and first aid kit- which means love, sacrifice and reconciliation. I thought it was a great day and found all the activities fun and exciting. I have joined the Youth Ministry team because I thought it can help me improve my relationship with God and the Catholic community. I am going to continue Jesus’ mission on the youth ministry team.

By Rachel Hofmeier 

Upcoming Religious Education Celebrations

Emily Capper

Religious Education Coordinator

Early Learning STEM Australia (ELSA)

Holy Trinity ELC is participating in a federally funded STEM program in run by the University of Canberra. The program is app based, but encourages the application of skills and knowledge in the classroom, playground, home and beyond. Parental permission is required for participation; notes will be going in the coming week.

Library

The ELC has a parent library in the front foyer containing both children’s books targeting specific issues and parenting/child development. Please help yourself.

Stay and Play

A play group for pre-preschoolers and their parents, grandparents and carers. 9-10.30am Wednesday mornings in the ELC playground (weather permitting). All very welcome.

Giving kids scripts for social and school success

by Michael Grose

Recently, I heard my adult daughter rebuke a male friend for telling her that she’d lost weight.

“You just can’t say that,” remarked my daughter.

Realising his mistake this young man said, “So what should say instead?”

“Tell me I look healthy.”

“Hey, you look really healthy!”

“That’s better,” remarked my daughter, who’s not backward in coming forwards.

This young man’s scripting was askew. He knew that a male complimenting a female on losing weight maybe no compliment at all, however he didn’t know what else to say. My daughter gave him a new script that he can use in similar situations in the future.

This scenario is relevant to parenting. Parents should always looking for opportunities to give their kids the social scripts to express themselves in different situations.

Benefits of providing kids with social scripts

Social scripting wins the parenting trifecta. Giving kids the words to use helps them stay safe; become social and importantly, promotes their independence. Your job as a parent is to wean kids off you. Social scripting is a big part of this process.

So if keeping kids safe, while socialising and developing their independence is important then look for ways to give kids the right words to use. Here are some ideas to get you started.

1. Asking a teacher for help or assistance

Kids often coerces parents to do their bidding with teachers, coaches, siblings and other adults. It’s easy to pick up the phone and arrange to meet a teacher or go into your child’s room and ask for something on behalf of your child. Take a different approach. “Choose a time when your teacher is free, and then ask her if you can sit at the front of the classroom. You could say….”

2. Entering a game at school

Many kids struggle to enter into a game or activity at school, so they sit on the sidelines and miss out. Consider coaching a child about how he or she may approach a situation. Suggest that he or she looks for someone they know, and wait for a lull in the game before asking. Social scripting involves timing, not just the words to use.

3. Telling a sibling to stop annoying them

“Jessica, please stop flicking the ruler while I’m watching TV. I find it annoying.” This may work. If not, this child could try, “Jessica, could you flick your rule elsewhere.” It may work. It may not. But it’s infinitely better than yelling, “Jessica, DDDOOOONNNN’TTTT!!!!”

4. Saying No to a friend without losing face

Research shows that many teenagers struggle with peer pressure because they don’t know how to say NO in a way that maintains their status. One strategy is to use an excuse rather than say give an outright NO. “I don’t want to drink tonight because I’ve got football training in the morning.”

5. Expressing their emotions

Both genders can struggle to express their feelings, particularly if they haven’t been taught the words to use at home. Recently, I saw a mother prompt her three year old when he was clearly annoyed.

“Are you frustrated Maxie?”

“Yes, I fusttated!!”

“Would you like a hug?

“Yessss!”

You’re never too young or too old to be hugged. Just as you’re never too young or too old to receive a social script from a well-meaning parent or friend.

(Source: Parentingideas.com.au)

Upcoming Webinar

Through your membership with Parenting Ideas, your entire school community can attend our webinars for parents at no charge. We're pleased to let you know about our upcoming webinar.

The Holy Trinity Movie Night has become a much loved annual feature in our events calendar. The Friday of Week 4 sees all sorts of cushions, bean bags and blankets spread over the basketball courts as our community settles in for its own Outdoor Cinema. Movie tickets are sold on QKR and are per family with a bag of popcorn. The Candy Bar will be stocked with lollies, popcorn and some drinks.  Bring a Picnic dinner (homestyle or takeaway) or pre-purchase a sausage sizzle from the fabulous P&F BBQ Team. Don’t forget: We are going waste free, so please take all your rubbish home with you for disposal.

Friday 1 March From 7.00pm

Sunset: 7.42pm

Movie Screening: (as soon as the light allows)

Purchase your tickets and snacks from QKR (Candy Bar sales on the night):

Family Tickets: $15

Red Wine Cheese Platter: $9

White Wine Cheese Platter: $9

Sausage Sizzle: $3

SignUp to help the night run smoothly Here

Swimming Carnival

Tomorrow is the big day for our Annual Swimming Carnival at CISAC Belconnen. A reminder for students who have nominated for the 50m events they will be required to be at the pool by 8:15am.  A schedule of the 50m events is on the notice board near the Annex, this will also be on display at the pool.

A huge thank you to all parents who have kindly offered assistance throughout the day. We will have a tea and and coffee station set up for those volunteers but you will need to provide your own lunch. The Kiosk will also be open. 

Please ensure your child comes to school wearing their swimmers under their clothes. They are allowed to come to school wearing their house colours. Please pack swimming caps (if you have one), googles, towels, morning tea, lunch and drinks, hat and sunscreen, rash shirts. All clothing is to be clearly labelled. The kiosk will be open for a limited time for children to purchase drinks and snacks.

Choir: Mrs Fletcher and Mr Sloane

Day: Monday

Time: Lunch time after eating

Age Group: Kindergarten to Year Six

Info about your club: Holy Trinity Choir. Students from across the school join together to learn and sing a diverse range of songs. The repertoire of the choir will include songs and chants from different regions in the world and across many time periods.

Weekly sequence of activities: Each week students will be introduced to new songs and review previously learnt repertoire. Students will also have opportunities to develop pieces for performances at events within our school and the wider community.

Writing Club: Ms Thompson-Lang

Day: Monday

Time: 1:40-2:10

Age Group: Grades 3-6

Info about your club: We'll spend time writing together, sharing our work and talking about where our ideas come from. Students will have the opportunity to seek feedback from their peers and receive encouragement and helpful suggestions. We will discuss our favourite books and authors and their styles.​

Minecraft: Mr Sloane

Day: Tuesday 

Time: Lunchtime (11:10am-11:40am)

Age Group: Years 2-6

Info about your club: Minecraft club is an opportunity for students to build and create amazing worlds within Minecraft. Students have the opportunity to work independently or collaborate with their peers to imagine, design and create.

Weekly sequence of activities: Each week students will collaborate and build new and existing worlds.

Gardening Club: Ms Smith and Signoria Rover 

Day: Tuesdays

Time: 11am – 11.40am           

Age Group: Kinder – Year 6

Info about your club: Come along and join the fun of being a part of our kitchen garden.
Weekly sequence of activities:

1. Watering - It is also a good way to teach children about rainwater harvesting and the need to value this precious resource.
2. Weeding 
3. Sowing - sow seeds regularly, especially for fast croppers
4. Harvesting - we pick and pull as many crops as we can so the student has the chance to taste what they've grown. On occasion we take fruit and vegetables home to share with families.

Coding and Robotics Club: Mrs Casey

Day: Wednesday
Time: 11:10-11:40
Age Group: Yr 3-6
Info about your club and weekly activities:
Robotics - we build, create and program different robots such as VEX, Spheros, Lego WeDo and Beebots.
Coding - We experiment with different coding apps to create/problem solve. We use apps/websites such as code.org, Hopscotch, Scratch Jr., Kodable and Tynker.

Sport:  Mr Feerick

Day: Wednesdays and Fridays

Time: 11:10- 11:40

Age Group: Yrs 2-6

Info about your club: Organised team sports supervised by Mr Feerick and the sports committee. Students will have the chance to put their names in a team and take part in an organised game. Each game has a duration of 15 mins allowing for 2 games per day. 

Some of the sports included in each term are: Term 1 Softball and Netball. Term 2 Soccer and Basketball. Term 3 Gridiron Netball, Softball. Term 4 Cricket

       TERM 1, WEEK 4 - WED 27 FEB

Team Leader:  Michael Kane, Doug Ridd, Anthony Friend, Christie Woods, Dan Mossop

NAPLAN Online test period will run between 14 and 24 May 2019. Closer to the time we will confirm the exact testing days at Holy Trinity. 

NAPLAN Online is a more engaging assessment that adjusts questions to each student’s achievement level. It also delivers more precise results to schools and parents more quickly.

NAPLAN provides valuable information to schools and parents about literacy and numeracy achievement. It supports school improvement processes by enabling teachers to monitor student progress over time and to identify areas of strength and development.

All eligible students are encouraged and supported to participate in NAPLAN testing. Visit www.nap.edu.au to see interactive versions of the test and for more information.