Newsletter 76- November 11th 2022

Remembrance Day marks the anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War.

Each year on the 11 November, Australians observe one minute’s silence at 11am in memory of those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts and in appreciation of their sacrifice.

On Friday we gathered as a whole school for morning prayer to remember those who have been lost, and for us to strive to work for freedom and peace in the world today. 

 They shall not grow old,

as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them,

nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun

and in the morning. 

We will remember them.

Lest we forget

We finished our Prayer with Andrew Chinn's new song “Rivers of your peace”  click on following link to access the song:  Andrew Chinn - Rivers of your peace

Grounding Techniques for Anxiety

Grounding Techniques

Grounding techniques are simple yet powerful ways to help us to manage strong feelings in the immediate term. Grounding techniques allow us to connect to the present moment and take us away from the stories in our mind that often fuel anxiety.   

Grounding techniques are useful for settling ourselves when we’re feeling overwhelmed or have strong emotions. When we practise grounding techniques, we can connect to the present through our body and senses, which can keep ourselves calm.  These techniques help children and teens when they are hyper aroused and/or outside of their ‘Window of Tolerance’.

If children or teens find themselves feeling stuck with strong feelings, they can use grounding techniques that are simple but powerful and only take a few minutes. These all help to feel anchored in the present and restore balance in body and mind.  

5-4-3-2-1 Technique

• Guide teens through the 5,4,3,2,1 technique.  In this technique, they are intentionally taking in their surroundings using their senses.
• Notice 5 Things you can see (inside room and outside room), 4 things you can feel (teens touch them), 3 things you can hear (guide them to sounds inside the room and outside the room), 2 things they can smell (have some herbs or oils or similar ready) 1 thing they can taste (have a mint or piece of chocolate ready). 

Deep Breaths

• Take 3 deep Mindful Belly Breaths, extending out the exhale. 
• The exhale switches on the parasympathetic nervous system which is immediately calming.

Body Awareness

• Sit or lie down comfortably. Take a few deep breaths.
• Place both feet on the floor.  If you are lying down, bend the knees so the feet can press into the floor. Notice how your feet feel and any sensations you can notice.
• Move your feet up and down for a moment.  Notice any more sensations.
• Press your palms together, then release. Repeat and notice sensations.
• Rub hands together, then pause and notice sensations.
• Take a few more deep breaths and notice any body sensations.

Read Affirmations

• Read out loud a favourite affirmation.  This is best practised and chosen when in a calm state, so it feels like second nature.
• Have these stuck up somewhere to look at and read when needed. 

Soothe

• Take a nice long shower or bath. 
• Use essential oils or bath bombs to engage the senses.

Connect to nature

• Sit somewhere in nature where you can soak up the environment.
• Research shows just looking at pictures of nature relaxes the mind.
• Close your eyes and feel the sun on your face and listen to sounds.

Call someone

• Call a friend or someone who cares about and share how you are feeling.
• ‘Naming’ how we feel helps to ‘tame’ how we feel.
• Share what is worrying you or upsetting you.

Move your body

• Do any type of exercise where you are moving your body.
• Using your body and focusing on your body is calming to the nervous system and helps to switch off the stress system

Assembly:

It is fantastic to once again have our Friday school assemblies happening. Assembly starts at 2:50pm every Friday afternoon in the hall. All family and community members are welcome. 

Assembly roster for term 4:

Week 6 - Foundation

Week 7 - Junior R

Week 8 - Senior M

Week 9 - Middle B

Week 10 - Middle H

Week 11 - Buddy & Foundation

Professional Development:

At St Patrick’s Primary School we are committed to the Professional Development of our team.  At various times staff members will be working off-site or online which may result in classroom teachers being out of the classroom.

Term 4 Week 7

14/11/22    Miss Kerrie Ryan            Offsite 

14/11/22    Mrs Judy Giles                 Offsite 

18/11/22    Ms M Comitti     8-10am    The Writing Revolutionary 

Reports 

Teachers are busy assessing and preparing student reports.  Reports provide us with the progress students have made to date and give us information on how to best support them going forward.  Reports will be sent home on Friday 9th December, 2022. They will provide parents/carers with valuable information on their child’s progress throughout the year. If you would like to speak to your child’s classroom teacher about your child’s report please contact your teacher for a meeting in Week 11 (12-16th December, 2023).  We at St Patrick’s are committed to working in partnership with our parents/carers as we know when we work together we achieve the best outcomes for our children. 

End of year celebration - Save the date

Wednesday 14th December, 2022.  

Our next community celebration where we can come together will be to celebrate our end of year and Grade 6 Graduation.  It will be an evening to celebrate learning, strive for personal excellence and celebrate our achievements. It will also be a chance to say goodbye to our grade 6 students and families that will be leaving at the end of 2022.  

Students will begin working on a classroom Christmas presentation that they will perform on the night.  We hope you can join us in celebrating a terrific year of learning and teaching and growing together as a community of learners. More details to come. 

Fundraising: Every Friday our Social Justice group will be selling Zooper Doopers for $1.00 each at lunch time.

October is World Mission Month, a month dedicated to the life-giving work of missionaries around the world.  This year Catholic Mission is raising money for local communities in Ethiopia to help provide life-changing opportunities to those most in need.  

If you would like more information or wish to make a donation please visit:

https://www.catholicmission.org.au/worldmissionmonth

Below is an extract from Catholic Mission and their current work in Ethiopia. 

We are currently supporting a range of mission development programs in Ethiopia addressing malnutrition, the lack of access to education for young children, and the vulnerable position of women in society.

In the rural region of Emdibir, where 70 percent of families struggle to put food on their tables, we are working towards providing them with a sustainable source of nutrition by building a goat rearing centre. The resources produced through the Centre will help fight malnutrition, a phenomenon that contributes to 50 percent of child deaths. 

In the capital, Addis Ababa, the life-giving work carried out by our local partners is helping children access education.

We are also supporting women in the town of Meki to learn skills and gain financial independence by providing access to vocational training, which can help them secure employment or start their own businesses. 

As always we thank our St Patrick’s community for your support. 

Maryanne Comitti    Religious Education Leader 

Latest CSPV - Catholic School Parents Victoria newsletter. 

Please find below links to our October issue of CSPV Connect and CSPV Parent Connect flyers for primary and secondary school parents of children in Catholic Schools. You will also find a media release in response to funding announcements this week for Catholic schools.

These resources have been designed and provided as pdf downloads to include in digital school newsletters so parents can easily access the information via the links on the flyers.

Click to download the email update - CSPV Connect

Click to download the A4 CSPV Parent Connect Secondary flyer with information about what each major party is offering in the lead up to the election and how it will impact Catholic education.

Click to download the A4 CSPV Parent Connect Primary flyer with information about what each major party is offering in the lead up to the election and how it will impact Catholic education.

Click to download the CSPV media release

Regards,

Rachel Saliba

Executive Officer - Catholic School Parents Victoria

PO Box 3, East Melbourne Victoria 8002

Mob: 0419 371 876

Ace Rowe - For the sensational work you’re putting into your maths on 2D shapes. I am very proud of you, keep up the hard work.

Jai Hine - For the brilliant work you’ve put into your reading fluency. You have been displaying attributes of a great learner, well done Jai!

Alivia Rolph - For the excellent reading strategies you have been using. You are reading words and texts more fluently. Keep up the hard work!

Lucas Papadopoulos - For your wonderful work with numbers.  You are counting, reading numbers and completing all your work with more confidence, independency and a positive attitude. Great work!

Fletcher Thomas - For your wonderful persuassive writing when convincing us to buy a motorbike! Great writing Fletcher!

Kora Allen - For always showing compassion and kindness towards your peers! You're such a lovely person to be around Kora!

Maddox Austin - For the wonderful progress you have shown in your recent reading assessments. I am very proud of you. Well done!

Beverly Parkin Alamo  - For your fantastic work ethic, great attitude toward your learning and for the empathy you show towards others. You are a valued member of our class. Well done!

Eleanor Erwin - For your fantastic efforts during writing activities. You are able to identify and use nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs in your writing.  Keep up the amazing work!

Nate Jantzen - For your amazing work writing and identifying prepositional phrases.  You have shown the attributes of a great learner.  Well done!

Thomas Ross - For your constant efforts at displaying the qualities of a learner, your positive mindset is something you should be proud of

Zachary Ford - For the positive way you have been completing your learning tasks and for the fantastic results you got in your maths check-up.

Kobi McKinnis - For the stamina you showed in your cold write on Tuesday. Well done Kobi!

Marli Scott - For always challenging yourself to take your writing pieces to the next level by experimenting with new ideas. Fantastic work Marli!

Dear school community

Once again Stawell Inter Church Council welfare Cottage will be providing an extra Christmas distribution to those in need in our community.  Last year we helped 94 households made up of 296 people – 142 were adults, 36 were kids aged 14 – 19 and 118 were children aged 13 years and younger.  

Do you or someone that you know need help this Christmas?  To register for a Christmas grocery shopping voucher please come to “The Cottage” at 20 Sloane St. Stawell during November.  We are open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 10:30am and 12:30pm.  Distribution will be on Tuesday 13^th December.

 My thanks,  Mary Rita Thomas

Sec. and Public Officer, Stawell Inter Church Council.

Congratulations to these students who are having their birthday this week:

Willow Boylan

Andy Papadopoulos

Lillian Smart

This time it will be held on a Sunday

27 November   North Park     Families welcome

Better weather!!! fingers crossed

A big thanks to Shev at Stawell and Ararat Cross Country for guiding the new group of GYE’ers with planning for this event.

We look forward to seeing many of you there.

The Horsham Cinema will be showing public screenings of the documentary this weekend, but it is also available for private & School bookings.

Unpack the world of body image in a social media society. 'EMBRACE: KIDS' explores the world of body image through the eyes of children to understand why 70% of Australian school kids consider body image to be their number one concern, and what can be done about it.

Filled with fun and joy, this vital documentary shows kids how to move, nourish, respect and embrace their bodies.

Featuring interviews with Australian comedian Celeste Barber, actor and activist Jameela Jamil, and Australian electronic music duo, Electric Fields.

If you have any questions, or would like to book your group in, please call Kerry on: 0421 197 786

Cheers,

Kerry & the Horsham Centre Cinema Team