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St Brigid’s Primary School
Mordialloc Truth Conquers All
Thursday 22 February 2018 NEWSLETTER Edition 4 Week 4 Term 1
Tel: 9580 4518 Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Web: www.sbmord.catholic.edu.au
PARISH INFORMATION Tel: 9580 1018 or http://brigloui.cam.org.au MASS TIMETABLE: Monday Aspendale 9:15am Tuesday Aspendale 9:15am Wednesday Mordialloc 10:00am Thursday Aspendale 9:15am Friday Mordialloc 11:30am Saturday Aspendale 6.00pm Sunday Mordialloc 8:00am, Aspendale 9:30am, Mordialloc 11:00am
TERM DATES TERM 1—1 FEBRUARY TO 29 MARCH (1.30pm Finish)
TERM 2—16 APRIL T O 29 JUNE (1.30pm Finish) TERM 3—16 JULY TO 21 SEPTEMBER (1.30pm Finish)
TERM 4—8 OCTOBER TO 19 DECEMBER (1.00pm Finish)
Pages 1 –2: Principal News and Dates to Remember Page 3: Parish Picnic Invitation Page 4-5: Wellbeing News Page 6: Tuckshop News Pages 7-10: Community News and Events
STUDENT FREE DAY 09/03/2018 TUCKSHOP OPEN TOMORROW
must be read, signed and returned to school otherwise device use will be limited.
If families have children split across both sessions and only want to attend one session - it is
recommended that you attend the 7.00pm session with all your children.
Prep Information Night Our Prep Information night will take place next Tuesday 27 February at 7.00pm in Brigid Hall. This evening will be filled with information for families to support their child through the Prep year of school. This night is in place of the Parent Information Sessions that were held week 2 for families with children in Years 1 to 6. Fees All families should have received their fee letters delivered through the Eldest child and their statement via email this week. We ask that all families take the time to read through the St Brigid’s Fee Payment Options form. We do ask that all families complete this form and return it to the office at your earliest convenience however if you are wishing to set up a direct debit—Monthly and fortnightly instalments will commence in March. Please be aware when completing the form Monthly and Fortnightly instalments do not include levy and camp fees, this needs to be completed according to your child’s year level. If automatic payment option is chosen the Levies and Camp fees will be deducted at the due dates.
Dear Families, Story Dogs Congratulations St Brigid’s on your great effort last Friday. We raised $215.00 for Story Dogs. Barney was a very well behaved and a welcome guest at Friday’s assembly. Year 4 Eucharist Parent Faith Evening Families are reminded that our Eucharist Parent Night for the combined parishes of St Louis de Montfort and St Brigid will be held on Wednesday 28th February. Prep Mass & Parish Picnic Our combined Prep Mass &Parish Picnic is on at Braeside Park at 11:00am this Sunday 25 February. Prep families and all St Brigid’s families are welcome to join us for Mass and the festivities after. BYO Everything Picnic. Games and fun provided! See page 3 for details. Internet Safety Night—Monday 26 February As we are becoming more reliant on the digital world and our children are working towards being Digital Citizens it is vital we work together to educate them on ways to stay safe in this environment. Brett Lee from Internet Safe Education presented at our school in 2017 and we received extremely positive feedback on his session. This is a parent/child night for all to attend. Prep to Year 2 at 5pm and Year 3 to 6 at 7pm. Please note: This is a compulsory event as all students will be given their Digital Device Acceptable Use Agreements on the night. They
ATTENTION HEALTH CONCESSION CARD HOLDERS
Camp Sports and Excursion Fund The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) commenced in 2015 for four years and will provide payments for eligible students who attend camps, sports and excursions. Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. $125.00 per year is paid for eligible primary school students, with $225 per year paid for eligible secondary school students. A special consideration eligibility category also exists. Payments are made directly to the school and are tied to the student . CSEF applications open from term one 2018. If you received CSEF last year and you still hold a valid means-tested concession card you do not need to reapply. Funding will be granted automatically. If you have not already applied please see Tracey or Michele in the Office. Privacy Collection Notice This will be sent home via Caremonkey to all families next week – please read and acknowledge this document via the Caremonkey response process.
Contact Lists For all of those families who agreed to their details being distributed for the use of communication within each class, lists will be sent home Monday. If your name is not on the list it means you either asked for it to be removed or you did not sign off against having it made public to the class. There will be no further lists published in 2017 and if details change—families can share those as they see fit amongst themselves. District Swimming Team Swimming training continues tomorrow morning at 7.15am at Don Tatnell Pool – breakfast will follow back at school from 8.10am onwards. Training will also take place Tuesday 27 February and Friday 2nd March leading in the the District Swimming Carnival on Wednesday 7th March at the Noble Park Aquatic Centre. Parking Since returning from the summer holiday break, we have had many trade vehicles from local developments filling the streets surrounding our school. This has now eased in the last couple of days, however the City of Kingston by laws officers are continuing to monitor the use of legal parking spaces in our surrounding streets. Please be mindful of where you park – check the signs - as you incur a fine. Unexplained Student Absence—Notifying Parents As you may have seen in the news recently the Victorian Minister of Education has reviewed the Attendance Guidelines and accordingly schools must now notify parents/guardians of unexplained absences on the same day, as soon as practicable. Accordingly we have now put measures in place that parents will receive an SMS by 10.00am advising if your child is an unexplained absence from school. It is now more important than ever that families notify us if your child is absent or will be late for school. Families are welcome to leave a message on the absentee line—9580 4518. This message service is available 24 hours or alternatively families may also notify us via the Skoolbag App—select eForms-Absentee Forms. We look forward to your co-operation in this very important matter.
Tuckshop Just a reminder that Tuckshop is open tomorrow for lunch orders. Remember to get your orders in via CDFpay by 8.00am tomorrow: https://sbmord.cdfpay.org.au/MonitorOnline/app/#/login . Kind regards Michael Russo Principal
23/02/2018 Swimming Training 7.15am 1/2MD to Nixon House 9.00am Senior Sport—9.30am
25/02/2018 Prep Picnic and Mass at Braeside Park—11.00am
26/02/2018 2.45pm—Earn and Learn Presentation Assembly 5pm—Internet Safety—Prep to 2—Brigid Hall 7pm—Internet Safety—Years 3 to 6—Brigid Hall
27/02/2018 Swimming Training 7.15am 8.15am Running Club Prep to 2 7pm—Prep 2018 Parent Information Session
28/02/2018 8.15am Running Club 3 to 6 Year 4 Eucharist Parent Night 7pm Brigid Hall No Preps Today
02/03/2018 Swimming Training 7.15am 3/4ZP to Nixon House 9.00am Assembly—2.30pm Brigid Hall
03/03/2018 Yr 4 Commitment Mass St Louis 6pm
04/03/2018 Yr 4 Eucharist Commitment Mass 8am & 11am St Brigid’s, 9.30am St Louis 3/4 Family Mass 11am St Brigid’s
05/03/2018 House Cross Country
06/03/2018 8.15am Running Club Prep to 2
07/03/2018 District Swimming—Noble Park Aquatic Centre
09/03/2018 SCHOOL CLOSURE STAFF PD DAY
12/03/2018 LABOUR DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY
13/03/2018 8.15am—Running Club Prep to 2
14/03/2018 7.50am Cross County Training
15/03/2018 7pm Year 4 Family Eucharist Night
Dates to Remember
Wellbeing News
The weapon we need in the war on Bullying
You were at school. You know how bullies work. And you know that at certain stages even the great kids can become bullies. They rarely strike when there is a teacher around and when they do, it is so subtle, that even if the teacher has a whiff of it, it is almost impossible to identify and name. It is tone, it is a raised eyebrow or an insincere compliment that is actually mocking. And it is so painful when you’re the bullied child. Even if we had eyes on kids at all times we wouldn’t be able to stop bullying. Especially with the advent of smart phones, devices and their accompanying digital warfare. That is, unless…we were able to teach all kids to be empathetic. It is very hard to be a bully when you are empathetic.
What is empathy? Empathy is the ability to place yourself in the shoes of another person. The ability to understand how another is feeling, even if you aren’t in the same situation as them. It involves emotionally connecting with people, which makes us a bit vulnerable. To be empathetic we have to reach into our own bank of emotions and find that same feeling. Sometimes having those emotions is uncomfortable. Empathy is the greatest gift we have as a species. It connects us to one another. It ties us together and ensures we help each other to survive. Unfortunately, in the era of the individual and everybody wanting to be special, it’s almost counter-cultural. Two types of empathy Affective empathy is also called ‘shared empathy’. It is the kind of empathy that we are all born with. This is where we naturally react to another person’s display of emotions. If someone is upset we feel upset too. If someone else smiles, we instinctively smile too. You know you have it when you watch a movie that makes you cry or you feel joy for someone overcoming hardship. We don’t all have affective empathy in equal amounts, but we all have it…even sociopaths. They know how victims feel, they just don’t care! So, they switch their empathy off, like a light bulb. Unfortunately, we all choose to do that sometimes. All kids experience empathy, but we need to encourage them to switch it on. This is difficult for teens, and they need our help, for a few reasons:
They do not have adult-state brains
They often have undeveloped emotional intelligence
They have to make themselves vulnerable
They might have to choose empathy over belonging, and we all know that belonging is so important to them Santa Maria psychologist Jane Carmignani says, “Bullying and friendship issues gather speed because kids depersonalise. They justify their actions or ignore how the other child feels. They will carry on with hurtful behaviour because there will be some short-term gain for them. Usually the gain is in developing their own status, sense of belonging, reputation etc. They don’t naturally consider the consequences of their actions. “This depersonalisation is made worse if life for them is particularly challenging at the time. Then they are even less likely to pay attention to how others feel. Their focus is on themselves and meeting their own needs.” That’s why we need cognitive empathy. Cognitive empathy or ‘perspective taking’ is when we decide to really try to take someone else’s point of view. It is beyond what comes naturally. Cognitive empathy is when we’re attempting to feel what the other person feels in order to better understand and relate to them. It’s deliberately trying to make our empathy light brighter. This is the empathy that we can teach our kids. It is a skill they can learn. It will make them better people and it will serve them in their future work and relationships. So how do we teach kids to make their empathy light brighter? 1. We teach the definition of empathy. This alone will begin the process of self -awareness. Am I an empathetic
person? Could I be more empathetic?
2. Teach what empathy is…
Listening to understand
Allowing new ideas in
Making ourselves vulnerable enough to feel what someone else feels
Feeling with someone, not for someone
Seeing others as equal to ourselves
Removing ourselves from the picture and focusing solely on someone else
Wellbeing News
Wellbeing News
3. Teach what empathy is not…
Judging or feeling pity
Silver lining someone’s misfortune. Empathy never says, “At least…”
Hijacking the conversation. Comparing their sad experience or joy with yours by telling your own story
Waiting for your turn to talk instead of listening
Empathy never puts people down
Educating or telling people what they should do
4. Model vulnerability. Carmignani says, “Modelling vulnerability is how we begin to develop emotional intelligence in our kids. Vulnerability is more honest and more authentic than what they are seeing on television and on social media.” They need to see it in the significant adults in their lives.”
5. Develop the ability to actively listen and read body language, give feedback and check they ’ve understood what the other person is saying and feeling.
6. Reduce social media use. Digital interaction allows kids to distance themselves. Connection is what is needed.
7. Practise from a young age and continue…forever!
Start with pets and siblings with little kids. “How does Meow feel when you pull his tail?”
Build up to friends and characters on television.
Gradually get kids to think about people of different ages and in completely different situations to themselves.
8. Read to them a lot and often when they are young, and even when they are older, so you can discuss what is read. Then pump them full of fiction. Fiction is particularly great because it trains kids to take someone else’s perspective.
9. Travel. Travel. Not 5-star hotel travel. Your world view isn’t changed by being in the Hilton in every city. I mean ‘get amongst it travel’. You don’t find many bigots and bullies who are well travelled. People learn that the world is large and they are a tiny part of it. They learn how others live and why others are valuable. They see other lives…and there is no going back from there.
10. Make sure kids are involved in service. Getting to know people who are living with disadvantages such as disabilities and poverty builds empathy. It also feels good to show compassion and help, so the process is positively reinforced.
The reality is empathy has to compete with the need to fit in and the fear of not being good enough and dozens of other disappointing human drivers. But…it is definitely a step in the right direction. Empathy can be the light in the dark space of bullying. We just need to make it shine brightly. Linda Stade.
Tuckshop News
Monday 26th
February 5pm
& 7pm After positive feedback from our parent community last year we
have once again invited Brett Lee, from Internet Safe Education, to
run sessions at St Brigid’s. However these sessions will be slightly
different as the focus will be on both child and parent education.
Both child and parent will be required to attend.
The P-2 Session will be held at 5pm and the Year 3 - 6 session at
7pm.
It is compulsory that students attend this session as new Digital
Device User Agreements will be handed out on the night. Students
will be restricted on their device use until these User Agreements
are signed and returned to school. MORE INOFRMATION TO FOLLOW
Internet Safety Education
Camp Australia
Community News and Events
OPEN DAY FOR TOURS AND ENROLMENT PACK – WEDNESDAY 7 MARCH 2018
Bookings for tours are essential (between 9am – 10.45am)
Book on www.stbedes.catholic.edu.au
OPENING DATE FOR YEAR 7 2020 – WEDNESDAY 7 MARCH 2018
CLOSING DATE FOR YEAR 7 2020 – FRIDAY 3 AUGUST
Grade 1 Winery Tour.
Saturday April 21st.
Please fill in the sheet by
your classroom door
by Friday this week to
confirm a spot on the bus!
Community News and Events
Community News and Events
