Newsletter September 7th, 2021

To the wonderful members of the St Brigid’s community,

Imagine my surprise and absolute delight when I accepted delivery of an amazing treasure trove of cards, treats and goodies on Friday evening!!  Thank you so much to the incredibly thoughtful and generous souls who took the time to organise and contribute in any way to ensuring such a wonderful care package came my way.  At a time when life is providing incredible challenges to us all as a result of Covid 19, lockdown and remote learning, your kindness to me is somewhat overwhelming and I am so appreciative of your thoughtfulness and actions.  Judging by the contents you all know me very well and my biggest regret is that I cannot share them with you all!!!  I feel totally humbled and totally grateful for you taking the time to think of me. 

With absolute appreciation.

Gabe xx 

R U OK? Day inspires and empowers everyone to meaningfully connect with the people around them and start a conversation with those in their world who may be struggling with life. You don't need to be an expert to reach out - just a good friend and a great listener. 

Use these four steps and have a conversation that could change a life:

For more information about R U OK? Day, please visit the following website: 

https://www.ruok.org.au/

The Daniel Morcombe Foundation invites parents, carers, and educators across Australia to participate in Australia’s Biggest Child Safety Lesson (ABCSL). ABCSL is an annual initiative of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation now its fifth year.

In a live-streamed online format, ABCSL is an engaging, educational video aiming to teach age-appropriate personal safety strategies in an empowering manner. 

There are two sessions: 

Session 1: Junior Primary - 4 – 7 year old children

Session 2: Middle/Upper Primary - 8 – 12 year old children

Please click on the following link to watch recordings of the livestreamed lessons:

The following information has been provided by our school Pastoral Care counsellor Angie Haywood to support children and families during the COVID 19 Lockdown. 

• Activities that include, safety, wellness, kindness: https://preparecenter.org/toolkit/kidskit/
• Interactive questions for children to complete around how they are feeling including stories they can select that are aligned to the emotions chosen: https://kidshelpline.com.au/kids
• Resources and videos on different ways to support children: https://emergingminds.com.au/resources/supporting-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/

Below are links to stories that children might like to watch about emotions:

• The Colour Monster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6wIEp-M4tg

• The way I feel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSdSWlfCpJ8

•  The Invisible string https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rZNTFf35Aw

Kids helpline recommend the following key points to assist children with learning about and expressing their emotions and feelings during the Pandemic:

Tune into cues - Sometimes feelings can be hard to identify. Tune into your child’s feelings by looking at their body language, listening to what they’re saying and observing their behaviour. Figuring out what they feel and why means you can help them identify, express and manage those feelings better.

Behind every behaviour is a feeling - Try to understand the meaning and feeling behind your child’s behaviour. You can help your child find other ways to express that feeling once you know what is driving the behaviour.

Name the feeling - Help your child name their feelings by giving the feelings a label. Naming feelings is the first step in helping kids learn to identify them. It allows your child to develop an emotional vocabulary so they can talk about their feelings.

Identify feelings in others – Provide lots of opportunities to identify feelings in others. You might ask your child to reflect on what someone else may be feeling. Cartoons or picture books are a great way discuss feelings and helps kids learn how to recognise other people’s feelings through facial expressions.

Be a role model - Kids learn about feelings and how to express them appropriately by watching others. Show your child how you’re feeling about different situations and how you deal with those feelings.

Encourage with praise - Praise your child when they talk about their feelings or express them in an appropriate way. Not only does it show that feelings are normal and it’s ok to talk about them, it reinforces the behaviour so they are likely to repeat it.

Listen to your child’s feelings - Stay present and resist the urge to make your child’s bad feelings go away. Support your child to identify and express their feelings so they are heard. When feelings are minimised or dismissed, they will often be expressed in unhealthy ways.

Due to current restrictions, 3 -Way Conferences have been rescheduled and will now take place in Week 3 of Term 4 - Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th October.  3-Way Conferences actively involves parents, students and teachers reflecting on student growth as a learner, while acknowledging the most important participants in the learning process – student, teacher and parent. The student facilitates the conference and is supported by the teacher when needed.

Mass Times:

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