Principal’s Report – Issue 18

Dear Parents

Fortunate is the Child . . . A Checklist for Parents

Believe it or not but at the end of next week the school will break for holidays and one half of the school year will have been completed. Over the past two terms what growth we have witnessed in our children! How quickly they seem to be developing and maturing. Coupled with the witnessing of this growth is the sometimes thrilling, sometimes worrying evidence before us in the persons of our children, that the persons we see are almost entirely the product of our effort, care and philosophy towards life. As the semester reaches its final stage, it is appropriate to perhaps take a pause and have a quiet think about our role as the most important persons in the lives of our children.

Time management experts tell us that, if we wish to achieve the maximum benefit from the way in which we use our time, we need to have a strong element of forward planning such as a schedule or checklist. Also, they suggest, that at the end of the time period, the plan should be appraised to see how successful it has been, and areas needed for improvement.

Maybe it could be of some benefit to us, if we had a checklist directed towards our role as parents. We can cast an eye over the list and take encouragement from our successes and perhaps on occasion admit, “Yes, I need to do something about this one”. Anyway, see how you go:

Fortunate is the Child who has someone who believes in him and has high hopes for him.
Fortunate is the Child who has someone to whom she can carry some problems unafraid.
Fortunate is the Child who is allowed to pursue his curiosity into every worthwhile field of information.
Fortunate is the Child who has someone who understands that childhood’s grievances are real and bitter and so call for understanding and sympathy.
Fortunate is the Child who is led gently by the hand along the pathway of life by someone who is guide, companion and inspiration.
Fortunate is the Child whose love of the true, the beautiful and the good has been nourished through the years.
Fortunate is the Child whose efforts to achieve have found encouragement.
Fortunate is the Child who has learned freedom from selfishness through responsibility and cooperation.
Fortunate is the Child who is encouraged to look beyond the material things of life, to see the spiritual strand which adds eternal meaning to reality.

Well how did you make out? If you got a perfect score, go straight to heaven! If you are like the rest of us, then I guess we might try to pick up on a point or two during the next semester.

“Lord, parenthood is a very responsible role I share with you as co-creator of my children.

Help me to remember the preciousness of this role that has been given to me.

Help me to realise how fortunate I am to have you as my unseen partner.

Amen”

Winter Sports

Term Two, always marks the beginning of the winter sports competition, as many of you would already be well aware. A substantial number of our students participate in weekend competitions such as football, netball, soccer and hockey. It is a busy time for both students and parents, with at least one training night and game scheduled per week. As a community, we are very fortunate to have a number of parents involved in some way with the organisation of the various sporting teams, whether it be coaching, managing or coordinating. By having parents being available to assist the children in these pursuits, children are given a tremendous opportunity to participate in team games, learn new skills, make friends and above all enjoy themselves.

I hope the children associated with this school always respect their coaches, managers, umpires and display good sports-person-ship, Thanking their coaches and managers often. We are very grateful to the parents who generously donate their time to the children and wish them all the best of luck for the remainder of the season.

School Reports

The task of personally reading over just over 450 student reports is always a very humbling experience. As I spoke about at our assembly last week it is wonderful to see the progression that students have made in first half of the year. It is obvious that most children have worked well this semester and have been engaged in important learning. I thank the teachers who have spent many hours writing the reports.

As humans, we naturally want to compare our children with others, but it is really important that each child is working to their potential, their personal best, and that we try not to compare one child to another. This is sometimes even harder when you have two or three children at school. We all have our own gifts and talents – some are good at maths, some music, some athletics, and some have the gift of hospitality, ensuring the rest of us are made to feel welcome and special – we should celebrate the diversity and enjoy the differences.

Reports will be sent home via SEQTA Engage. Parents have been given their log-on codes as well as instructions on how to down load this. If you have not downloaded the App you will not be able to read your child’s report. Hard copy (paper) reports will not be sent home. Reports will be available to parents on Friday 29 June.

Welcome

We welcome to our school Mrs Mary Barclay. Mary will be teaching Year 6B from the beginning of next term as Mrs Edwards will be taking parental leave at the end of Term Three. Mrs Barclay is currently a teacher at Our Lady’s Assumption School and has had many years experience teaching children in the upper primary grades. I am sure the Infant Jesus School Community will welcome her with open arms!

In Our Prayers

We continue to keep Mrs Janelle White in our prayers. Janelle return from the Year 6 Camp earlier this term and contracted a virus that has kept her off school for the past five weeks. We pray that she is able to make a full recovery and we see her back at school for the beginning of next term.

Infant Jesus Family

Our congratulations to the Napoli Family on the arrival of a little daughter, Angeline, a little sister to Sam (4B) and Francesco (2B). Blessing to you all as a family at this joyous time.

Interschool Winter Carnival

Today our Year 6 children competed in Football, Soccer and Netball against other schools in our Association. Netball was held at Noranda Netball Courts and Football and Soccer at Carine Open Space. The Year 6 children, from all accounts had a fantastic day.

Car Park

Please be aware of the parking restrictions around the school. Adhering to these restrictions keeps all in our community safe. The well-being and safety of all people occurs when following these procedures in a cautious and responsible manner.

We ask that you please;

adhere to the speed restrictions.
leave the ‘Disabled Parking Bay’ to be used by people who need it.
park sensibly within designated bays.
follow and keep the flow of traffic running smoothly.
use the school drive throughs at Peter’s Place and Russell Street if you would like to drive through and pick up your children.
use the church car park and walk down to collect your children.

We thank you for your assistance and co-operation with this matter.

From My Readings . . .

Creating Momentum for Positive Change

Currently, I’m reading about Sir John Monash, the first Australian-born general to command Australian troops in World War 1. He was an amazing figure, as unlike his foolhardy predecessors, he refused to sacrifice troops as cannon fodder in the fields of France. He is widely attributed with turning the tide of the war to the Allies’ way through his assiduous planning and attention to detail.

Equally pivotal to his success was his ability to change the mindset of the troops from defensive to offensive. This was no mean feat as they’d been stuck in trenches for months. The troops he inherited in 1918 hadn’t experienced military success of any note for over two years. Monash engineered a series of continuous mini-raids on the enemy so that his troops could feel success again.

Monash knew about the secret power of momentum. The more they succeeded in battle, the more his troops wanted to experience success. He built a culture of success in his forces by starting small and then harnessing the power of momentum. This powerful momentum principle applies equally to families as it does to the battlefield. Here are four areas you can harness momentum for positive change:

Developing Independence

If a child is very reliant on others, then consider creating opportunities for them to resolve small every day problems themselves. Let them experience what it’s like to be a problem-solver. For instance, rather than resolving a child’s sibling conflict issues give him or her clues and ideas to help them. They may not experience success every time but little by little they begin to see themselves as capable of resolving their own problems.

Building Confidence

Self-esteem can be boosted in similar ways. If your child lacks confidence to mingle and meet new friends consider helping him or her experience social successes in smaller, more intimate settings. For instance, encourage him or her to invite one friend at a time to your place, as it’s easier to form friendships singularly in familiar territory. Also encourage your child to spend more time in activities that they do well in so that they experience confidence more often and for longer. Self-esteem is usually built little by little.

Being Cooperative

Cooperative behaviour can similarly be built through momentum. Often uncooperative kids receive a great deal of B-grade, negative attention (plenty of reminders, lots of nagging, being yelled at) for their lack of cooperation. Catch them being cooperative in small ways (cleaning away dishes without being asked, being kind to a sibling, using manners with an adult) so that they experience what it’s like doing the right thing.

Helping Others

Help your kids experience the appreciation of others that comes from their small acts of kindness, generosity and help. Feeling appreciated for their small contributions (loaning a toy to a friend) and acts of selflessness (giving up a seat in the bus to an elderly person) can be just the tonic some kids need to see themselves as positive contributors to their families and other groups.

Small changes create the momentum needed that leads to significant behavioural changes. The opposite to momentum is inertia, which means nothing much will change in your family regardless of how much you remind, challenge or hassle your kids.

Get some movement in the direction you want (better behaviour/more cooperation/more helpfulness/greater confidence) and let the magic of momentum take over to get the significant changes you want to see in your kids or family-life.

By Michael Grose

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.

School resumes for students on Monday 16 July

Prayer for the Week

Lord, I may forget You; Please don’t forget me. Lord,

You are the only one who walks with us through all the stages of our life.

Your Spirit was with us at our birth.

You give us courage to stand against wrong, talents and gifts to use to help others,

Hearts to desire to know You, minds to seek to understand You and souls that want to rest in You.

You have lead us to friends who support us as we travel the hills and valleys of life.

Be with us always as we bear witness to Your name.

Amen

Did you Know?

One penny (cent) doubled every day becomes over 5 million dollars in just 30 days
It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown
You can’t fold a piece of paper in half more than seven times
“Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in the letters “mt”!

Thought for the Week

Perform a random act of kindness for someone; a smile, compliment, or a favour just for fun.

These will multiply and spread very rapidly.

Best wishes