Principal’s Report – Issue 28

Dear Parents

Connected Learners

At Infant Jesus School, we provide a safe school environment where parents, teachers and students are working together to provide a supportive and connected school culture. All parents of children in the school are members of the P & F Association.

This Association is a community-based group, which has the primary function of supporting, providing community gatherings and parent involvement in the school. It is essential for parents and teachers to cooperate for the good of the child. By showing interest in the child’s activities at school and by involving themselves in the school community parents will ensure that their child receives the full benefits of a Christian education.

It is important that parents support the school and ensure that their child is well prepared for each day. This support from the home helps foster pride in the child, their family and in their school.

At Infant Jesus School, we believe in

A culture of excellence as evidenced by high expectations and expressed through a shared vision.
Encouraging relationships of mutual respect with one another, by developing empathy and care.
Striving to develop skills to equip students with the necessary social etiquette and expectations to navigate their world both digitally and physically.
A learning community that builds relationships and trust.
Developing and maintaining a healthy partnership between the home, parish and school.
Encouraging students of all ages to work alongside each other to form an Infant Jesus family and #ExpectGreatThings.

As we are all aware the end of the term is rapidly approaching with only one week remaining. We would all agree that it has been a very busy, yet a rewarding term with wonderful achievements noted. It has been pleasing to watch students and teachers engage in daily activities and to note the satisfaction in achieving positive outcomes.

All staff are to be commended for their interest and commitment to working with young children who require positive role models in their formative years.

The support from parents and the very strong partnership between home and school are highlights in this community. As Principal, it is most encouraging to have the active and positive support of both the Infant Jesus School Board, led by Mr Ric Olivieri, and the Infant Jesus School P&F Association, led by Mrs Marisa Gullini Both of these organisations are fantastic supports for the school.

First Holy Communion

Congratulations to all our First Holy Communion recipients last weekend. We were very fortunate to have to beautiful days to celebrate these very special masses. The children were really excited about their opportunity to receive the ‘Blessed Eucharist’ for the very first time.

A very BIG Thank You to Fr Greg Burke for celebrating the masses with the children and making it such a meaningful occasion for the children and their families. Thank you also to Mrs Faith Rico (Parish Sacramental Coordinator) and Mrs Sue Goodwin (Parish Sacramental Team), our Year 4 Teachers, Miss Rebecca O’Connor and Miss Jasmine Ziino as well as all the staff of Infant Jesus School for their support at these masses over the weekend.

The generosity and commitment shown by staff by attending these masses over the weekend was wonderful. Thank you!

Learning Journeys

At Infant Jesus our goal is to develop a community which fosters life-long learning and an attitude which promotes achievement of full potential in an environment embedded in our Gospel values.

Our Learning Journey session enables parents, children and the school to come together to support, share and celebrate each child’s learning.

At Infant Jesus our Vision for Learning is based on our beliefs that:

Children are competent and bring a wealth of experiences and knowledge to the learning task.
Children are involved in making choices which supports their unique way of learning.
Children are engaged in meaningful and purposeful tasks which include action and reflection.

The aims of a Learning Journey are:

To allow children to take responsibility and be accountable for their learning.
To help children build reflection and goal setting for their own learning.
To help children develop a love of learning and begin to see themselves as Life-Long Learners.
To encourage a wider range of child/parent communication.
To enhance / support parent communication and participation in school.
For children to develop pride in their learning.
To encourage communication that focuses on learning and development.

Parents are reminded that the class Learning Journeys will take place next Monday afternoon from 3.30pm – 6.00pm.

Reconciliation Sacramental Program

This weekend the children in Year Three begin their preparation to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Their preparation begins by attending Mass at 6.30pm this Saturday, or this Sunday at 9.30am or 6.00pm. Families need to register their child in the foyer of the Church after Mass.

Next term, the preparation will continue with a Reconciliation Parent Night on Monday 22 October.

The children will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation in Week 5 of Term 4. The Parish will be providing more information for parents as the children continue their preparation to receive this sacrament.

Faction Athletics Carnival

The Infant Jesus Athletics Carnival will take place on Friday 12 October at Inglewood Little Athletic Centre (Dianella Regional Open Space). Students will compete in sprint events and team games. Students from Year One to Year Six will be transported from school at 8:45am and will return at 2:30pm. Pre-Primary students will leave on a bus at 12:00pm to join the school for the second half of the day and will return to school at 2:30pm.

If you would like to take your child home from the Carnival then please indicate so on the consent form that will soon be sent home with your child. Good luck to our athletes.

Summer Uniform

Next term, all students move back into their summer uniform. Children are permitted to wear their winter uniform up until the end of Week 2, if necessary.

All students are required to be in the full Infant Jesus School uniform by Week 3 of Term 4. Parents are reminded to have all items of school clothing clearly labelled as we constantly have items of school uniform in our lost property.

Australian Primary Principals Association National Conference

Next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the School Leadership Team will be attending the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) National Conference to explore the theme of ‘Visionary Leadership’ and participate in various workshop that showcase the best the profession has to offer.

This conference provides an opportunity for primary school leaders to hear national and international presenters representing the global education profession. Delegates will experience visionary keynote sessions on the latest cutting-edge research, plus a number of concurrent sessions aimed to take a deeper dive to address common challenges and provide knowledge sharing opportunities. This national event will extend engaging professional networking and provide direct access to key service providers and innovative educational resources.

From My Readings . . .

Staying Relevant in your Child’s Digital World
Martine Oglethorpe

As technology continues to advance at breakneck speed and our lives become more deeply immersed in the digital world, the challenges faced by parents in this uncharted territory can often feel overwhelming.

As a parent, worrying comes naturally. We hear so much about the dangers of the digital age: the predators, the pornography, the paedophiles, the gaming obsessions, the screen addictions and the cyber bullying.

We hear so much about the pitfalls and dangers of the connected world, we often overlook the vast possibilities digital technology can offer.  Through digital devices, we now have countless amazing ways to connect and collaborate, raise awareness, create, learn and share. For young minds, this is a tremendous opportunity, and making full use of these tools can give them a big lead in today’s competitive world.

So how can we ensure that our kids can reap the very best of what technology has to offer, while at the same time protecting them from those negative elements?

Make time to talk One of the best ways we can help kids make the most of these opportunities is to stay relevant. But how do we do that in a world that seems to move faster every day! How do we keep up when our kids already seem to know so much?

We start by taking the time to get to know the kind of world they are growing up in. We try to understand the challenges they face. Because even if it seems they know a lot, kids do face challenges, and they will make mistakes. As parents, we need to ensure that those mistakes are ones they can recover from and learn from.

Be their guide
Kids may well have a lot of knowledge when it comes to all things digital. But they are not necessarily as wise as their parents. Generally speaking, parents have a much deeper understanding of the world, the intricacies of different interactions, relationships and the complexities of human behaviour than kids do. Our kids are interacting and connecting with others in a world that is often beyond what they are developmentally and emotionally ready for. We need to help them cope with that.

Take an interest in current tech trends. Talk to your kids, make them feel secure enough to discuss difficult topics with you, and put yourself in the best position to remain relevant to your child’s world. Be the one they come to should things go wrong. Be the one they come to share the positive experiences they have online.

Play and interact more
Sure, we all love the babysitting power of an iPad to ensure we can finish our coffee while it’s hot, or get dinner cooked without any interruptions. But if we also take the time to play with our kids and their devices, and take an interest in their digital playground, we can get a whole new perspective about what they enjoy. We get the bonus of staying current with interactive technology, as well as time to bond with them and enjoy some family time together. We also put ourselves in a much better position to set relevant boundaries and help kids understand those boundaries.

Listen to others, and listen to your child
If your friend’s child is playing a certain game, has a social media account or enjoys certain websites, then there is a good chance your child does too. Just as we would play at the park or hang out at the milk bar where our friends were when we were young, so too our kids will hang out where their mates are playing. So listen to those parents in the playground. Listen in to which popular apps and games are being talked about in the media.  Listen to your child. Ask them what they like to do. Ask them about their concerns and their challenges. You may never keep up with every single app or site that your child visits, but if you have a good understanding of the ways kids are using technology and the sorts of things technology is capable of, then you are in a much better position to help them use it safely and smartly.

Be open and honest about what’s out there
While there are times we get nostalgic about the good old days when screens and social media were not such an integral part of our lives, we can’t afford to live in denial about the role technology is playing and will continue to play in the lives of our children.  So rather than ignoring it completely or trying to avoid it, we need to be ready to have conversations that we may prefer not to have. We need to face the fact that the average age a child first sees pornography is about eleven and understand that this is a very real possibility for our children.

So how do we prepare them for that? What conversations would we need to have if we suspect this has happened? Because we want to make sure that the education they are getting comes from us, and not from some random online source that we have no way of checking.

Seek out knowledge. Take an interest in current tech trends. Talk to your kids, make them feel secure enough to discuss difficult topics with you, and put yourself in the best position to remain relevant to your child’s world. Be the one they come to should things go wrong. Be the one they come to share the positive experiences they have online.

Our role as parents is not to shut down the internet accounts and take away the screens, but rather to ensure we are giving them the skills, the support, the understanding and the critical thinking skills to make the very best decisions every time they go online.

Martine Oglethorpe is an accredited speaker with the Office of the e-Safety Commissioner and has presented to numerous parent groups, schools and teachers. She is a speaker, counsellor and educator with a passion for building resilient kids in a digital world.

Prayer for the Week

The Beatitudes of a Different Kind
Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves: They will have no end of fun.
Blessed are those who can tell a mountain from a molehill: They will be saved a lot of bother.
Blessed are those who know how to relax without looking for excuses: They are on the way to becoming wise.
Blessed are those who know when to be quiet and listen: They will learn a lot of new things.
Blessed are those sane enough not to take themselves too seriously: They will be valued by those about them.
Happy are you if you can appreciate a smile and forget a frown: You will bring others to the sunny side of the street.
Happy are you if you can be kind in understanding the attitudes of others even when the signs are unfavourable: You may be taken for a fool, but this is the way of the Gospel.
Blessed are those who think before acting and pray before thinking: They will avoid many blunders.
Happy are you if you know how to hold your tongue and smile, even when people interrupt and contradict you: The Gospel has begun to seep into your heart.
Above all,
Blessed are you who recognise the Lord in all whom you meet:
The light of truth shines in your life for you have found true wisdom.
Amen

Did you Know?

Men can read smaller print than women; women can hear better
According to an old English system of time units, a moment is one and half minutes
Bulls are colour blind, it is the motion of the cape which angers them
That Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature

Thought for the Week

We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle

Have a Great Week