Principal’s Report – Issue 35

Dear Parents

One of the most difficult aspects of being a parent is being able to give satisfying answers, that is, answers that not only give you the feeling you know what to say, but what you did say had real meaning to the child that asked the question. Hopefully, when giving answers to children, which are of concern to them personally, we can always think of some way of expressing the answer, so the child is encouraged to think positively about him/herself; in other words, we encourage our child to be the very best person they are capable of being.

Ultimately, it is adults who are responsible for the way in which children eventually express themselves in society. Loving children unconditionally, is not always an easy matter, but unconditional love is the rock on which each child builds a personal life. Discipline is never easy either; what counts is the spirit of the law,not the letter – it is the difference between exercising authority and being authoritarian. Children need an abundance of affection, support and encouragement. Each child is a unique being who, because of their humanity, has the right of affection, love, understanding and full care of adults. Everyone, especially children, occasionally need a generous dose of self-affirmation, which does wonders for self-esteem and personal confidence.

Parenting is sometimes compared to flying a kite: you need a kite that is sound and in good repair, you need favourable conditions and an assisting wind and then slowly you let out the string. Eventually you have the kite fulfilling its destiny far from you, but still attached.

Lord, it is not easy to be a parent,
Sometimes I feel exhausted by the effort.
Send your spirit to guide my mind
so that I make the correct choices
for my children and myself.
Amen

Volunteer Mass and Morning Tea
As parents would be aware, Thursday 22 November, there is a Volunteers Mass at Infant Jesus School followed by a morning tea in the Hall to say ‘thank you’ to all the parents who have assisted with school activities throughout year. We recognise that parents are a very important link between home and school and we greatly value and appreciate the support they have provided the staff and students of Infant Jesus School.

Volunteers at Infant Jesus School have assisted in many ways during 2018 both in classes and in many other areas of the school. We have included some photos to depict the many ways that parents have volunteered to help at school during 2018.

We recognise and are very appreciative of the involvement of volunteers. It is through the volunteers, who generously give of their time, that many benefits then emerge. These include:

teachers and parents working together
better communication between home and school
greater understanding by parents of their children’s schooling
greater understanding of the role of teachers and the planning and organization required within a classroom
more goodwill and mutual respect between parents, teachers and staff
children seeing their parents and teachers sharing common beliefs, attitudes and goals.
more opportunity to see adults, both teachers and parents, as role models.
The value and importance, of education. Is shared between the home and the school. We are all part of a team working co-operatively and collaboratively to assist children in their learning.

It is tremendous to have this level of interest displayed in the development of both the children and the school as a whole. Many activities could not be planned without their involvement and generous commitment of time and energy generously given by all our volunteers. To all our parent helpers and volunteers – THANK YOU. To RSVP Click on this link

Annual Community Meeting
As parent are aware, our Annual Community Meeting will take place on Tuesday 27 November at 7.00pm. Contained within the next few newsletters we will share some further information about the ACM, as well as details about the election process for position on either the School Board or the P&F Association Executive and Committee. We encourage parents to consider assisting the school community by serving on one of these committees.

Staffing
We are happy to make the following announcements about the staff who will be joining us in 2019. As we head towards the end of the year we will be finalising each of our teachers for the various year levels. We have every confidence that the Infant Jesus School community will welcome these teachers to the school and help with their transition into their new environment. We look forward to the following teachers joining us in 2019:

Miss Leesa Hermans – many parents would know Miss Hermans as she has had some short-term contracts in the past years at the school, as well as plenty of relief. Miss Hermans is currently teaching at St Anthony’s in Greenmount. Staff and parents always speak very highly of Leesa and we look forward to Leesa becoming part of the staff from 2019.
Miss Penny Mulholland – is a young teacher who certainly impressed the panel with her level of enthusiasm and passion for teaching. Miss Mulholland had a wonderful understanding for the vision of the school and the areas in which we were focused. We are sure that Miss Mulhollandwill be a tremendous asset to the school.
Miss Sandra McMullen – is currently a teacher at Our Lady of Mercy in Girrawheen. Sandra has been most industrious in her time at OLOM taking on a number of various teaching and leadership roles, including Acting Assistant Principal. Sandra is highly motivated educator and will be a welcomed edition to the Infant Jesus School staff.

Kindergarten Information Evening
There will be a Kindergarten Information Night on Tuesday, 20 November in the School Hall commencing at 6.00pm for all parents of children attending Kindergarten in 2019. The Kindergarten Information Night will provide parents with the opportunity to find out more about the school and the Kindergarten program in 2019.

2019 Term Dates
Please find below the listed Term Dates for Infant Jesus School for 2019. Included in these are the scheduled Pupil Free Days for the year. Please note that the finishing date is yet to be confirmed, but at this stage is the 13 December.

Term dates for the 2019 school year are as follows:
Term 1 Monday 4 February – Friday 12 April
Term 2 Tuesday 30 April – Friday 5 July
Term 3 Tuesday 23 July – Thursday 26 September
Term 4 Tuesday 15 October – Friday 13 December (To be confirmed)
Pupil Free Days 2019
Monday 29 AprilTuesday 4 June
Monday 22 July
Friday 27 September
Monday 14 October

From My Readings This Week…

When Kids Don’t Play By Family Rules Any More
by Michael Grose

Recently, I had a conversation with two parents who’s children wouldn’t cooperate with them anymore. Their kids were both thirteen and they were too old for some things such as joining the family at the dinner table, but they weren’t too old to be driven to school. They cooperated with their parents when it suited them. They resisted when it didn’t. They played by some rules and deliberately broke others.

Both kids were the eldest in their family. They were both taking their parents through new parenting ground.

Thirteen is a notoriously difficult age. It’s an age of regression. This is not to excuse abusive or uncooperative behaviour, but it does provide some context.

Approaching this time is tricky, as parents want to maintain good relationships, but also need to ensure their kids stay safe and engaged in family and school-life.

You can’t pick and choose
Many young teens like to distance themselves from their families. Not quite teenagers in the real sense of the term and no longer children, they are stuck in the middle of two stages. It can be a struggle for many parents.

It’s common for kids in this age group to want to operate outside of the family. Teenagers need to be cut some latitude and not be expected to do the same things as they did when kids. As parents we need to make some adjustments. However, expect them to come to the party for important things such as treating siblings respectfully and turning up for family mealtimes.

They can’t opt out of reasonable family obligations; nor can they cooperate on their terms only. Life is full of give and take. The best place to learn this is in the relative safety of a loving family.

Co-operation is two way
Sometimes young people need to be reminded of the tenuous nature of cooperation. One way to do this is for a parent to temporarily withdraw their assistance around activities they value such as being driven to places; having meals cooked; even having clothes washed.

If you withdraw your cooperation in this way, make sure you do it calmly so that your young person or child doesn’t interpret it as play for power. Cooperation is an all or nothing thing so let them experience your non-cooperation for a time. Think this through very carefully. You may need to outlast your young person to make a point so do it at a time when you feel strong.

‘I can use your help’
One way of working with children and young people who directly challenge you or the status quo is to get them working for you, rather than against you. Acknowledge that they are older and that you could really use their help to look out for and after their siblings. Many young teens search for significance within their family so give them more responsibility rather than less so that they can feel older.

You build your skills with the outliers
The outliers in your family will always test your parenting skills. You may have to throw out the playbook that used to work and look for different strategies to bring these outliers in from the cold.

Whatever method you use I think it’s essential that you don’t allow kids to operate outside the family rules and norms for too long. It becomes tiresome for you and destructive for family life as well.

I outlined many key strategies you can use to get cooperation from children of all ages, including testy teens, in my recent webinar – Win Kids’ Cooperation. I think you’ll find it useful. The recording is still available.

Prayer for the Week

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

Did you Know?

Leather skin does not have any smell. The leather smell that you sense is actually derived from the materials used in the tanning processes.
Bill Gates designed a traffic control system for Seattle when he was only 15.
Gardening is said to be one of the best exercises for maintaining healthy bones.

Thought for the Week
If you were another person, would you like to be a friend of yours?”
unknown

Have a Great Week