Dear Parents and Carers,

As we continue with our current lockdown situation there's a famous story that illustrates an essential truth about our lives that I would like to share with you.

It's called the "Echidnas Dilemma."

One night a group of echidnas found themselves caught in a blizzard. Afraid they might freeze to death, they snuggled next to each other to share their body heat.

The problem was they were echidnas!

As they huddled together, they poked each other with their razor-sharp quills.

Clearly, their collective warmth provided safety and shelter against the bitter winds, but the needling and pricking became too much for some of the echidnas. They broke from the group to fend for themselves and soon died in the wintry cold.

Doesn't this mirror our experience? Life is hard. We need each other to bear life's storms.

But when a group of human beings gets too close to each other, watch out! Some people will irritate us. Occasionally, their words and deeds will wound us. There's no escaping it!

There’s no such thing as a conflict-free relationship. If we're going to survive the cold, we must learn to accept our imperfections and band together.

Why? Because like the echidnas struggling for warmth, we simply aren't made to go it alone. We need one another to survive, even if it feels impossible at times!

We are called to make Christ Our Way and Life and we can do this simply by being kind to ourselves and those around us in the weeks ahead.

Stay safe and well.

Tina Murray

Principal

This week (5 - 11 September) is National Child Protection week. This year’s theme, "Every child, in every community, needs a fair go" reinforces the message that to treat all of Australia’s children fairly, we need to make sure every family and community has what kids need to thrive and be healthy. 

The 2021 theme for National Child Protection Week is all about the importance of the ‘bigger picture’ in addressing child abuse and neglect.

Children can thrive and be healthy when they have what they need to develop well.

But not every family has these resources.

This is why we need to support every child, family and community according to their needs.

This will create a healthier, fairer Australia for all children.

A lot of great research is helping us understand more and more about what children need to thrive.

Child Protection Week 2021 will be an opportunity to translate this knowledge into action. All skill sets, all people, and all communities are assets in this important endeavour.

Let’s make sure our neighbourhoods have strong foundations for families and children – jobs, safe places, libraries, parks, playgrounds, schools, childcare, affordable housing, health services, social activities, clubs, friendly neighbours, businesses and more.

Many of us are already playing our part every day – as individuals, as community members, as volunteers and as workers – to help create these great communities for children.

When we do this together we can give  ‘every child, in every neighbourhood, a fair go’.

Why environment matters … toxic stress

Minor, everyday stresses are a healthy part of child development, but major stressors can have a long-term effect on children’s brain development and even on their physical health. Severe adversity that lasts over long periods of time can send the body’s stress systems into permanent high alert, flooding the body’s vital organs and the brain with stress hormones. This ‘toxic stress’ response can derail healthy development and has even been linked to adult health problems like heart disease and diabetes.

The environment in which a child lives can be the source of significant stress or support for children. For instance, living in a community with not enough jobs, with poverty, or with high rates of abuse and violence creates stress that can stop children from getting a strong foundation for life. 

When we address these root causes of stress, we create healthier communities for everyone, particularly children. 

Further, research tells us there is a powerful source of protection against the long-term negative effects of adversity on children. What is it? Stable, supportive relationships with caring adults. These relationships actually buffer them from toxic stress, softening and moderating the biological stress response. 

Providing every family and community with the robust system of supports they need, has tremendous power to build these critical relationships between children and caring adults.

This is one of the most important investments we can make. Parent resources are available via the following link - https://www.napcan.org.au/napcan-brochures/

'R U OK? Day' 2021

R U OK? Day is a reminder that every day is a day to empower people to meaningfully connect, start a conversation, and lend support.

The theme this year is 'Are they really OK? Ask them today.' 

Life's ups and downs happen to all of us. So, chances are someone you know might be struggling. Your genuine support can make a difference whatever they are facing, big or small.  

So, don’t wait until someone’s visibly distressed or in crisis. Make a moment meaningful and ask them how they’re really going. 

New videos are available that encourage everyone to stay connected and make asking R U OK? a part of their everyday. 

Join the R U OK? Day webinar to learn when and how to ask R U OK? so you can have a conversation that could change a life.

Thursday 9 September at 12:30pm AEST.

Speakers include:

• Sam Mac, weatherman Sunrise and R U OK? Ambassador
• Katherine Newton, CEO R U OK?

You might laugh, you might cry but most importantly you’ll feel empowered because asking “are you OK?" when someone’s struggling with life, can make a difference.

We request all attendees register for the event. Everyone who registers will receive a recording of the event.

Ripples Podcast

in support of R U OK? Day this podcast offers resources for individuals to access and experience at any time of the day.

The conversation with Paul Field, explores the R U OK? Day theme of 2021, "Are they really OK? Ask them today". 

Episodes 27 and 28: RUOK Day 2021 - In Conversation with Paul Field 

A conversation with Paul Field who was the lead singer for the Cockroaches and the Manager of the Wiggles for almost 25 years. Paul shares his own story and the impact of people checking in on him at critical times and of the value of reconnecting with those things that bring you life. It is a moving and authentic story and one that reminds us all of the value of a single conversation. 

 Early Childhood Guided Learning Packages

The NSW Department of Education has announced the launch of early childhood guided learning packages.

The early childhood guided learning packages have been developed by early childhood professionals and learning designers. They can be used to supplement learning at home for 3–5-year-old preschool children if they are not accessing their usual preschool or early childhood education due to COVID-19 restrictions. The packages can be used by early childhood teachers and educators when supporting families to engage with the child’s learning at home.

The packages contain a full week of learning activities such as shared reading, singing, physical movement, creative arts and include explicit teaching guidance and open-ended learning experiences for children. They link to The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and support children in their transition to school.

A new package will be launched each Tuesday and will also be available as a printable version. 

Resource for parents/carers: Butterfly Foundation

Body Kind Families is a Butterfly Foundation initiative for parents of teenagers. It provides free resources and important tips on supporting positive body image. It also encourages everyone in a family to be kind to their own body and to others.

It includes resources for parents on:

• Building resilience to social media pressures
• Healthy eating and exercise behaviours
• Talking about appearance and weight
• Boys’ body image
• Body acceptance & compassion
• Warning signs and what to do if concerned

For more information and to receive free resources (videos, tips sheets, family activities, and more) see here.

Sacraments of Initiation Survey

Bishop Brian has invited parents and caregivers to participate in a survey that seeks to collect information regarding "what they believe to be important for their children in presenting them for the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist”.

Please use the link available in the attached letter to parents and caregivers from Bishop Brian inviting you to take part.

You can access the survey via this link here: Sacraments Survey

As we near the end of Term 3, we are all looking forward to a break from our at-home remote learning. It is important for us to read every day, even if just for ten minutes, so we can look forward to the holidays with more time for relaxing with a book. We need to encourage our children to read their library books, or books from their own collections at home, and talk about what they have read. We also have access to SORA online, which provides us with plenty of choice. 

Library Shelving - Unfortunately at the moment we are unable to access the Library, but we know how important it is to have the shelves in order. Each book in our Library has a spine label, which is like the address which tells us where in the Library the book can be found. 

Our Fiction books - made-up story books - are shelved in alphabetical order according to the author’s surname, so the spine label has an F for Fiction, then the first three letters of the author’s surname. 

Non fiction books, which are the information books, have a Dewey number on their spine labels, and then the first three letters of the author’s surname. The Dewey number is a number between 000 and 999 and is decided by the subject of the book. For example, dinosaurs are 567.9. 

History Behind the Dewey - The Dewey numbers are named after the American librarian, 21-year-old Melvil Dewey, born in 1851 in Adams Center, New York, who decided that it would be easier to find information books if all the books on the one topic were collected in the same place, not in alphabetical order by the author’s surname. Melvil Dewey copyrighted his system in 1876; his Dewey Decimal system revolutionised libraries across the world. Over 135 countries around the globe use the Dewey Decimal, and it has been translated into 30 different languages. Melvil is considered the “Father of Modern Librarianship” and, more than any other individual, the founder of library science. 

You can find out more about the Dewey system if you would like to take a look at the following site:

https://kids.kiddle.co/Dewey_Decimal_System

Some more help about Dewey numbers can be found here: 

https://gapines.org/eg/kpac/homedewey 

There is also a Shelving Game, which is a bit of fun: 

http://www.mrs-lodges-library.com/shelver 

Enjoy finding out more about how to find the books we are interested in. 

Don’t forget to keep reading every day with your family! Aim for at least ten minutes a day! 

"If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books." 

Roald Dahl