Principal’s Report – Issue 14

Dear Parents

Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday, also known as Holy Trinity Sunday, is celebrated a week after Pentecost Sunday in honour of the most fundamental of Christian beliefs—belief in the Holy Trinity. We can never fully understand the mystery of the Trinity, but we can sum it up in the following formula: God is three Persons in one Nature. The three Persons of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—are all equally God, and they cannot be divided.

A school’s sacramental program has its Trinity as well: Reconciliation, Holy Communion and Confirmation. Each is a landmark of spiritual journey in the life of every child, and as it is received, the family is richer by another member becoming a more developed sacramental person. Therefore, it is up to the family to further develop the sacramental life, so it gives as spiritual strength to the life of each child. In this way a strong trust in God will be developed.

The following prayer might have a use as a personal creed:

Believe in yourself; you are God’s creation.

Believing in your job; on this work is a form of worship.

Believe in each day; every minute contains an opportunity to serve God.

Believe in your family; create harmony and togetherness by working together.

Believe in your neighbours; fFriends are important ingredient for a happy life.

Believe in the present; yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come.

Believe in God’s promise; he means it when he says, ‘I am with you always’.

Believe in God’s mercy; since God forgives you, you can forgive yourself and try again tomorrow.

Amen

Sacrament of Confirmation

Our Year 6 student’s preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation continues as they get closer to receiving this very special sacrament. On Monday night we had a Parent & Child Confirmation Preparation Workshop at the Parish Centre which was well attended. It was wonderful to see children sharing their learning with Mum/Dad as well reflect on the significance and special components of this sacrament.

I would like to thank Fr Greg, the members of the Parish Sacramental Teams led by Mrs Faith Rico and the staff who assisted with this workshop. There were so many staff and catechists who willingly gave of their time to help on this night. This is a very positive sign! A BIG Thank You to all involved on the night. Those families who were not able to attend on Monday night, a special workshop is being conducted this Saturday morning as children need to attend this workshop if they want to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation this year. Each of these families have been contacted regarding the details for the weekend.

Year 6 Camp

Well, we have returned safely from another very successful and rewarding Year 6 Camp. This was a tremendous experience for our Year 6 students as they challenged themselves in ways that they have never really encountered (in the most part) before. I am sure that they will remember the Year 6 Camp for some time to come. The children behaved brilliantly and got a lot of satisfaction out of the experience, as well as the opportunity to develop some new friendships.

I sincerely thank all the staff who attended the camp and for making themselves available. It is a huge responsibility attending a School Camp and each of the staff were very professional in their duties and generous with their time. As I mentioned last week, attending these camps takes time away from their families, and therefore puts extra pressure on the family. I certainly acknowledge this support.

I am also very grateful to the staff who remained at Infant Jesus School as a number of adjustments to timetables and duties, as well as the support needed to cover the staff who were away. Added to this was the complexity of staff being unable to attend and other staff having to step in at the eleventh hour to ensure we had enough supervision on camp and here at school. Thank you to everyone for this support!

Nine Key Drivers – Play-Based Learners

At Infant Jesus School, we believe in the development of the whole child and that our children must be equipped for the future. We understand that the children of today do not live in the world of yesterday and as such believe in an innovative, curiosity driven education based upon traditional and new pedagogy and understanding.

Infant Jesus School offers so many exciting opportunities and I encourage students and parents to attend relevant events and to be as involved as possible in the life of the school. Our aspiration, at Infant Jesus School, is to provide a world-class Catholic school where students and staff flourish. As A LEADing Learning School, the nine key drivers support our beliefs and approach to developing successful learners.

Our students and staff are very much aware of these nine key drivers. You will see them in classrooms and on banners around the school. I thought I would share the thinking behind each of these over the course of the year. The third driver I would like to share is Play-Based Learners.

Early Childhood Education lays the foundation for further schooling and provides the initial interface between home and school in a child’s life. Recognising parents as the first educators of their children, early childhood education seeks to build upon home learning. In establishing programs for young children, it is important to remember that Catholic schooling is intentionally directed to the holistic development of children from within, assisting them to become fully integrated human persons.

Our program:

Recognises, values and builds upon the child’s prior knowledge.
Understands the importance of developing problem solving and thinking strategies through play.
Listens to children and their families, respecting their values, cultures and experiences to provide opportunities which support learning.
Closely observes, describes and records the children’s efforts and achievements by monitoring progress and planning experiences which build on their knowledge, understandings, skills, attitudes and values.
Facilitates a challenging environment which motivates and enriches learning and gives the child the opportunity to experience:
- Independence and guidance.
- Free choice and direction.
- Incidental moments and planned activities.
- Child initiated, and teacher navigated.
- Individual and group work.
- Free inquiry and explicit teaching.

The aims of our Early Childhood Education Program are to encourage children to:

Develop a positive self-image.
Love learning and value their individual learning styles.
Be responsible for their learning.
Respect their own knowledge, background and culture.
Take risks, persist and be self-paced with their learning.
Know, understand and use their personality, talents, and personal ways of being creative.
Learn through problem-based play activities by doing and being actively involved.
Learn through adults and others who scaffold their endeavours.
Respect, value and accept all people.
Experience the joy in the mystery and wonder of the universe.
Feel valued and safe.

School Attendance

We want to make sure all children get the best education possible which is why attending school every day is so important. Western Australian law stipulates that all school-aged children must go to and attend school every day. As a school we are required to keep accurate attendance records for all of our students. This includes taking attendance:

in the morning and afternoon for students in Kindergarten to Year 6
at every lesson for secondary school students.

Developing the habit of going to school every day is vital so children do not miss out on important ideas and skills they need for future learning.

The impact on the child’s learning when they continuously miss school is quite significant. We certainly do not want parents sending their child to school when they are unwell. This serves no purpose and can have a detrimental effect on the child, other members of the class and the teacher. However, children who stay home for less legitimate reasons, can be habit forming, as well as impacting on their learning. For example:

Missing half a day of school each week equates to one month of missed learning each year.
The attendance habits set by children when they first start school continue throughout their school life.
If children miss half a day of school each week between Pre-Primary and Year 10, they would miss almost one full year of learning.
Learning is cumulative – if children miss a day, it is harder for them to catch up.

You can help by arriving and collecting your children on time; making sure they get nutritious meals and enough sleep; and making appointments with doctors, dentists and specialists after school hours, and making holiday plans during school holidays and not during the school term.

As Principal, I certainly understand that this cannot always be the case, as sometimes you can only get into specialists at certain times and holidays can be a ‘once in a life-time’ opportunity for the child and the family.

If your child is unwell and unable to go to school, let the school know straight away by telephone or by the School Mobile App. If they miss a day it is important you talk with their teacher to find out how you can help them catch up. If your child cannot attend school because of their mental or physical health, speak to your child’s teacher or make an appointment to speak with me to see what options are available for your child. As the year progresses and we move into the colder months, it is hard to get out of bed and get ready for school. It is important that we remind our children the importance of attending school every day.

Infant Jesus School Faction Cross Country Carnival

These will be held on Friday 15 June at Lightning Park, Noranda commencing approximately at 9.30am. More information to follow.

Interstate Visitors

Last week, Mr Greg Whitby and some delegates from Catholic Education Parramatta, as well as some of the Directors from CEWA, visited our school to look primarily at how we are implementing the Office365 suite of products in the LEADing Lights initiative within the system. They were amazed at what the staff and students at Infant Jesus School were doing in this space. They were very interested to hear about our approach to Teaching & Learning (pedagogy) and how this is being implemented (currently) within our school. Our current Deputy Director, Peter Yensch was most pleased to hear about the schools’ focus getting the balance between play-based learning, inquiry and explicit (intentional) teaching practices. Thank you to the staff that the delegates visited and interrupted on the day.

Parent Information Session – Occupational Therapy

Last night a small group of parents attended a presentation by two Occupational Therapists from Therapy Focus. This was a very informative presentation, particularly for parents of children in Kindy, Pre-Primary and Year 1.

Key aspects of the workshop included –

identifying fine and gross motor skills and why they are important.
information about the development of fine and gross motor skills from birth and the skills expected at each age prior to coming to school and in the early years of school.
‘red flags’ to be aware of and observe as these may signify that fine and gross motor skills and milestones have not been achieved and could therefore impact on learning.
the many and complex aspects of early development that need to be integrated to attain proficiency in both fine and gross motor skills including tone, motor planning, muscle strength, co-ordination and cognition.
recognising that fine motor skills are essential for achieving independence in everyday skills and also support a healthy self-esteem and academic performance.
the importance of bilateral integration (using both sides of the body simultaneously) and crossing the midline.

The presenters highlighted the impact of gross and fine motor skills on the many aspects of learning, including handwriting. They also answered many questions, shared and provided a range of fine and gross motor activities, resources, ideas and strategies for each stage of development. These ideas could be used both at home and at school to support ongoing development in the early years.

It was an extremely informative evening and made us very aware of key aspects of child development.

Three-Year-Old Program 2019

The Three-Year-Old Kindergarten at Infant Jesus School is an educational program for Pre-Kindergarten children. The program at the school is very much play-based and helps the children develop independence and creativity by offering interesting and fun activities, that are developmentally appropriate, in a semi- structured form. The program follows a routine similar to Kindergarten where the children are in the care of a teacher and a teacher assistant for the duration of the session, but parent help is encouraged.

Who May Attend the Program?

The 2019 program is offered to children who will have turned THREE by 30 June 2019 and plan to continue attending Infant Jesus School in 2019 and beyond. Regulations prevent us from taking children until they have turned three years of age. Please note that enrolment at the Infant Jesus School Three-Year-Old program does not guarantee a place in the Four-Year-Old Kindergarten Program. Interviews will be conducted for both places.

Interested parents are asked to contact Mrs Cheryl Macpherson at the school office for enrolment forms for 2019 Three-Year-Old program.

Infant Jesus Family

IT’S A GIRL

Our congratulations to the Wall Family on the birth of Harper, a little sister for Amelia (PK). Blessings on you all as a family at this joyous time.

Prayer for the Week

Parents are a vital part of each child’s life. Children often model themselves on what they learn and see from their parents. The following reflection is based on the importance of parents in our lives.

There are little eyes upon you and they’re watching night and day.
There are little ears that quickly take in every word you say.
There are little hands all eager to do anything you do;
and a little boy who’s dreaming of the day he’ll be like you.
You’re the little fellow’s idol, you’re the wisest of the wise.
In his little mind about you no suspicions ever arise.
He believes in you devoutly, holds all you say and do;
he will say and do, in your way when he’s grown up like you.
There’s a wide-eyed little fellow who believes you’re always right,
and his eyes are always opened, and he watches day and night.
You are setting an example every day in all you do, to grow up to be like you.

Did you know?

A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
Because of the speed at which the sun moves, it is impossible for a solar eclipse to last more than 7 minutes and 58 seconds.
Of all the words Dr Seuss made up in his storybooks, only one word has stuck in the English vocabulary: Grinch, which refers to a killjoy – and it took more than 20 years.

Thought for the Week

Everyone has a unique role to fill in the world and is important in some respect.

Kind regards