Term 3 Key Dates

COVID-19 Update of School Regulations

From yesterday, Wednesday 19 August, all schools in NSW are required to adopt the following changes to ensure school communities remain safe inside and outside the school gate.

Additional measures for Term 3:

• Students and staff absent or sent home due to flu-like symptoms need to be tested. Staff and students must not return to school or work until they return a negative COVID-19 result and are symptom free. Schools must receive a copy of the negative COVID-19 test result prior to allowing students and staff to return to school.
• Schools should limit activities to year groups whenever possible. Students are to stay within their relevant cohort, year group or stage for all learning activities. This applies to all curriculum/learning activities, extra-curricular activities approved in these guidelines include arts, sport and physical activities learning activities and does not include playground activities (before school, recess, lunch). 
• Activities such as choirs, chanting and the use of wind instruments in a group setting are not permitted.
• Only external providers essential to the delivery of the curriculum may continue.
• Schools must not travel outside their local community or zone, including between rural and regional areas.
• There are to be no activities that result in the mixing of students from different schools.
• Kindergarten orientation and transition to school activities remain on hold until further notice. Alternate arrangements to engage families and children in preparation for starting school in 2021 are currently being developed.
• School Assemblies are still limited to 15 minutes with no external visitors.
• No activities that result in the mixing of students from different schools and from different regions, such as sporting-related activities, drama and debating.
• No school-related social activities (e.g. school formals, dinners or dances; graduation ceremonies; or parent engagement functions)
• Professional development for staff should not be conducted face-to-face unless absolutely necessary. Staff gatherings should be minimised and, where they must occur, limited to the minimum amount of people required to achieve educational outcomes.
• Staff should also be required to maintain social distancing at all times and, where they must gather, their names should be recorded to assist in identifying who attended the gathering and for how long.
• Staff gatherings should be minimised and, where they must occur, limited to the minimum amount of people required.
• P&F social events or functions are no longer permitted.
• Organisations that use school buildings or grounds must have a COVID-19 safety plan in place and encourage strict compliance with that plan.

The new restrictions will complement existing health advice for schools, including maintaining good hand hygiene inside and outside the classroom, physical distancing for adults and banning non-essential school visitors.

National Science Week

This week many of our students have had the opportunity to participate in National Science Week by accessing virtual activities provided by the Australian Agricultural Centre (AAC) - STEM Connect 2020.

The week-long event, from 17-21 August has consisted of on-demand and live virtual experiences for the students to learn more about their food and fibre through STEM-based presentations from a variety of facilitators. These include Grains Research & Development Cooperation, Cotton Australia, Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia, Agerris Agricultural Robot Demonstration, Horses Teaching Humans, UNE Poultry Hub, Meat and Livestock Australia, Vegepod, Greater Sydney Local Land Services, Greater Sydney Local Land Services, BJCE Gullen Range Wind Farm, UNE Soil Research Centre, Cotton Australia, Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia, South East Local Land Services and more.

Year 5 enjoying some AAC STEMConnect 2020 activities

Northern Region Public Speaking Competition

St Mary's is virtually hosting the Northern Region Public Speaking Competition and are looking forward to welcoming students and audiences next Thursday 27 August.  

This year each school entered will ‘zoom in’ from the classroom of their participating students. Each grade will take part in their own video conference with a remote adjudicator. 

GRADE	HOST	ADJUDICATOR	ZOOM Meeting ID
Year 3	Larry O’Kane	Alexandra Dunwoodie	969 4090 4029
Year 4	Therese Skelly	Gaye McManus	974 3163 1547
Year 5	Linda Walsh	Colleen Caddey-Murphy	988 8219 8216
Year 6	Sally Croker	Lauren Shinfield	920 5689 0287

To access the video conference teachers, parents and friends go to https://zoom.us/, select JOIN A MEETING and then enter the ZOOM MEETING ID. Anyone experiencing technical issues on the day is asked to call 48321 592 for assistance.

We ask anyone joining the meeting to log in from 9.30am. The competitions are scheduled to start at 9.45am.

We are pleased to be able to offer this experience to the students in this new format, given the current restrictions and ask for your patience and understanding on the day. 

 

Make a Difference to our World- Show Compassion 

We are continuing to learn about the value of COMPASSION at St Mary’s

True compassion leads us to ask: “What is the ‘cause’ of another’s suffering?” We need to do more than just notice that he/she is suffering. If I say that it is terrible that someone else suffers, no matter what the reason, I separate the suffering from the cause of the suffering. Compassion calls me to be aware of AND present with the sufferer.

Many assume that if they cannot offer efficient help, presence is meaningless. How often do we meet people who are suffering deeply– physically or psychologically – who feel alone and abandoned? Loneliness added to suffering is particularly cruel. There is no one to sit with them, to hold their hand, and make them feel that, even though you cannot relieve them, their suffering is spiritually shared. The very presence of a compassionate person communicates a loving message: “you should know that I feel your suffering in my heart. Not only am I suffering with you but my inability to relieve your pain causes me grief.”

When Jesus was praying in the garden before he was arrested, he knew he would be crucified. How he must have been suffering. Yet his disciples who he asked to be with him were sound asleep. “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour?” Mt:26-40

There are degrees of compassion, depending upon our closeness to the person suffering. A mother’s compassion for her suffering child can make her utter words such as: “I wish I could take your pain upon myself and suffer in your place.” This must have been what Jesus’ mother felt when looking at Jesus dying on the cross. She was totally incapable of doing anything to relieve her Beloved Son’s torture. Her response was to ask for the grace of feeling His suffering as much as a creature could do. Many authors have said about Mary – ‘no human suffering, fearful as it might be, could be compared to what she experienced standing at the foot of the cross.’

We look to Mary as a perfect example of faith, courage and compassion. At St Mary’s School, we ask her to pray for us at every morning assembly “Mary, mother of Jesus, Pray for us.”

Mary our mother,

Pray for us

That we may look at one another

With kind, loving eyes

And with hearts and minds filled with compassion

That we might let the love of Jesus

Live in our school, our home, our community

and the world

Amen

Jump Rope for Heart

Please note that due to the weather forecast we have made the decision to move the Skip Off indoors. This, combined with COVID-19 restriction changes, has meant that classes will only be able to present to their stage peers.

Each class item will be recorded and then posted to each classes Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams pages. Parents will be able to login and view their child’s performance here.

Cricket NSW Gala Day

Due to the new NSW Guidelines (19/8/20), which restrict students from different schools mixing, we will not be able to participate in the Cricket Gala Day set for this term. We are hoping to hold an in-school visit later in the year.

Sporting Schools- Basketball

Weeks 6-10 Friday sport this term will be focusing on basketball. We were again granted a Sporting Schools Grant to facilitate a basketball program. Due to current COVID restrictions, how we run the program is different this term to previous programs we have delivered. I have completed a registered basketball coaching course and been provided with lesson resources for all grades which teachers will deliver. We have been very lucky in being able to use part of the funds to purchase much needed basketball equipment. Lots of photos to come next week.

Why are we rushing our children?By Linda Stade

My friend James and his wife had a baby girl on Friday; her name is Matilda. At work on Monday, I asked him if Matilda could read yet. James replied, “She hasn’t had time, we’re working on her algebra.”

It was silly banter between two pretty nerdy teachers. However, it reflects our experience of a society that rushes children to grow up too quickly; socially, emotionally and academically. The problem is widespread and at its most extreme can present as a stress disorder called ‘hurried child syndrome’.

What is a hurried child?

Dr David Elkind, is the child psychologist and author who coined the term ‘hurried child syndrome’. He describes it as “a set of stress-linked behaviours, which result when a child is expected by his (her) parents to perform well beyond his or her level of mental, social or emotional capabilities. Basically, parents over-schedule their children’s lives, push them hard for academic success, and expect them to behave and react as miniature adults.”

We can look at that description and say, “Well that’s obviously bad”, and it’s true, most people are not that extreme. However, rushing children sneaks up on us. In day to day life, what does that look like?

Well, it looks like:

• Taking children to tutors so they can read before they start school
• Sharing with children marital or financial problems
• Bombarding kids with the idea that success is all-important and winning is everything
• Subtle messages about the importance of grades and the idea that choices at school will determine their WHOLE lives
• Expecting kids to always be disciplined, organised, socially aware and never grumpy or argumentative

We need to examine the messages we are sending our kids and more importantly, the lifestyle we are modelling. Perhaps COVID-19 has been an opportunity to slow down and reflect, have we been making rushing and winning the norm?

Why do we hurry children?

Being part of western society means constantly marinating in a culture that values achievement and success. We have internalised the idea that ‘winners are grinners’ and unfortunately, we pass this onto our children. Our society sees awards and recognition as so important that they sometimes eclipse our deeply inherent knowledge that children need to be children.

Most parents have the very best of intentions. It seems natural to want more for their children than they had themselves. Consequently, some see hurrying their kids as a gift. They may also fall into the trap of constantly pushing for success as a protection against the pain of failure. Unfortunately, they are working against nature; growing up and developing skills takes time, and failure is invaluable to learning, children need it.

Consumerism adds to these problems. The people designing marketing campaigns are very aware of the ‘pester power’ of children and the impact that has on parent spending, so they market directly to children. Often marketers are selling children ideas of success well before it is appropriate. The fact that so many children have smartphones from a young age allows marketers easy access. Smartphones pull children into an adult world.

Source: acm.gov.au

Hurrying through learning

School is an environment where comparing one child to another is almost inevitable as they are so conveniently separated into age groups. It is easy to see how it could become a thirteen-year race to graduation. Government testing and exams don’t help as they teach children to focus on grades and comparisons instead of learning itself.

When teachers hand back assessments there is a buzz around the room as students compare marks. When they get home, they are quick to say whether or not they ‘got above the average’. It doesn’t really matter what that average mark is or what knowledge it represents; it’s abstract.

Ms Cathy Hains is Deputy Principal Middle School at Lourdes Hill College. She says, “When students focus only on the exams, they miss the richness in the learning around them. They miss the opportunities to spark interests that could become passions.”

They also miss the opportunity to gather the skills they will need in the future. Ms Hains says, “Students need time to learn to problem-solve and be creative. They need to connect their learning to life and that takes time. In any career or life, there will be challenges. Kids need a toolbox of strategies and skills and they need lots of opportunities to practise using them.”

The impact of hurrying children

When we continually hurry children and expose them to expectations and experiences that are not age-appropriate, we create long-term stress. Stress that lasts for more than a couple of days, such as that experienced by a hurried child, has negative effects. The constant flood of cortisol actually damages the brain and makes it harder to lay down memories. This kind of stress can have a devastating impact on mental health, physical health, and even brain development. It also makes for a pretty miserable childhood!

How can we ensure our children are not hurried?

1. Recognise your child needs a childhood. Protect it by reassessing the schedule.
2. Avoid falling into the trap of equating your child’s success with your own.
3. Limit technology, it exposes children to the adult world before it’s necessary.
4. Talk about the future positively and hopefully.
5. Help your children set goals that are personal and meaningful to them.
6. Talk about a whole myriad of possibilities for their life, not just ‘get a good mark and go to university’.
7. Introduce them to adults who have done life differently.
8. When they sit an assessment, ask them to tell you about all the things they learnt that weren’t on the test. Value that learning.
9. Always link learning to life, make it relevant, and bring it to life.

• Don’t share adult problems with children, they are not your friend or confidante, they need a parent.

In conclusion…

My friend’s little daughter Matilda is very lucky. She has the good fortune of being born into a loving family in a country that can offer her a safe and rich childhood. She has wonderful opportunities ahead of her, but all in good time. All in good time.

https://www.inspiringgirls.info/post/rushing-children

Emotional Intelligence

The emotions of children matter. Focus and learning improve, when children are not anxious or aggressive. Sometimes children can be victims or perpetrators of bullying when their emotions are difficult to control. Bullying can be contributed to a lack of emotional intelligence skills. As teachers and parents, we need to teach these skills.

• We want children to recognise different emotions in themselves and others.
• We want children to understand the cause of emotions and their consequences
• We want children to be able to label different emotions.
• We want children to be able to express their emotions in ways that are socially appropriate
• We want our children to learn to regulate their emotions.

If we are emotionally intelligent, we recognise a range of healthy emotions. This helps us to develop stronger, positive relationships, enjoy better health and well-being. Emotional intelligence can help protect us from depression, anxiety and aggression.

Children need to be clear about behaviour expectations at home and at school, to ensure they can better regulate their emotions and behaviour. It is helpful to teach them to take a short pause before reacting to others.

Education in emotional intelligence is as important as learning traditional subjects. Our learners then become more effective, more self-aware and more compassionate people.

Book Club

Book Club will be distributed this week. Please note it is due by Thursday 27 August.

The preferred method of ordering and paying is via Loop.

All students are required to please bring in an old wire coat hanger for their Art Focus Day, thank you.

Year 6: Monday 24 August

Kindy: Monday 31 August

Year 4 – Rorey Hearne and Ava Nicholson

Year 5 - Reece Allport and Phoebe Selmes

Year 6 - Dylan Greenwood and Ethan Whittle

School Spirit Awards

Lauren Fraser for caring for the school environment

Madeline Strode for always thinking of others and showing Compassion

Henry Galland for always playing fair and showing Compassion

Elkie Storrier for showing Compassion

Wood Raffle

Are you starting to run low on wood? Be prepared for our next cold snap by buying tickets in our Wood Raffle.

Tickets cost $2 each and all proceeds go to the P&F Association to help support the school and the purchase of resources for our children. Extra booklets can also be collected from the school office or sent home.

There will be two prizes, the first prize is a ute load of wood and the second is a trailer load.

Due to the predicted weather, the drawing of the raffle has been extended until next  FRIDAY 28 AUGUST.

Thank you to the parents who have offered their labour and wood. 

St Mary's Cookbook

Due to current circumstances with COVID -19 and the resulting restrictions and limitations, we have been unable to carry out a lot of fundraising activities or events this school year.

With kids spending more time at home as a result of cancelled sport and other extra curricular activities, there is always the question of what to feed them...something different, interesting, easy and quick to prepare for those midweek meals, something that even the fussiest of eaters would eat or at least try, or maybe even something slightly more elaborate for weekends or when there is some time to spare.

Wouldn’t it be great to have an easy to use and refer to cookbook of family favourites?

Well, what if we had our own St Mary’s Cookbook? With anything and everything ranging from quick, simple and easy to throw together meals for those days when you just don’t feel like cooking, to more elaborate dishes when you feel like entertaining and impressing.

The book release is planned towards the end of Term 4, just in time for Christmas (Facebook has just informed me that there is only 4 months and 2 weeks till Christmas. Yes, it’s scary how quickly time flies). It would make planning meals during the long summer break just that little bit easier and less stressful. The book would also make a great Christmas present.

If you, or anyone you know, are willing to share your favourite recipe(s) that would be fantastic!!! Please email them to Belinda Tarlinton at Office.Stmarysc@cg.catholic.edu.au

Coordinator's Daria Lawson & Tash McCormack

Tuckshop

For Parish and Sacramental matters please forward your enquiries to Parish Secretary, Janet Haynes or Pastoral Associate Sr Rosemary via email or call into the Parish Office at the Old Convent Building on Tuesdays or Thursdays.

Email: Crookwell@cg.org.au

Website: http://cg.org.au/crookwell/Home.aspx 

Phone: 48321 633 

Address: 55 Wade Street (the Old Convent Building)