Principal's Post

A few things that are happening at St Columba’s School, Bayswater

Morning Tea Get Together

A couple of months back, Trish and Faye, icons of St Columba’s School, held an afternoon tea for any parents who wished to meet for a cuppa. The dynamic duo would like to hold a couple of morning teas in the next few weeks. A cuppa and a chat. The dates are Tuesday 3 September and Thursday 5 September both at 9.00 am. The reason for the two morning teas in the one week is to allow our Pre-Kindy parents the opportunity to attend after dropping their little ones off at school. All parents are welcome to attend. Special thanks to Trish and Faye for continuing to add to our community spirit and the connection of our families to St Columba’s. It is always about the people.

Feast of the Assumption

Mass will be held tomorrow, Thursday 15 August at 9.00am, for this special Feast Day, The Assumption of Mary into heaven.  Thank you to Year 5’s for organising Mass.

Sacrament of Penance

Our Year 3s, and other students across our school and parish, will be making their First Reconciliation next Tuesday 20 August at 7.00 pm in our church. We wish to thank all our staff and families for their support in preparing the children for this very special sacrament. It is one of the beautiful things about our faith and the understanding of compassion and forgiveness. This can make such a difference in our lives. We know our kids are the best examples and role models of this forgiveness in their daily lives. We see it first-hand. I continue to learn from them every day. One of the great blessings in being their principal.

Parent and Friends’ Wine and Cheese Night

A special thank you to all our P and F and their team of helpers for organising the upcoming Wine and Cheese Night this Friday evening from 7.30 pm. It takes an enormous effort to get such events organised. We appreciate the commitment to building the spirit of St Columba’s within our school community and the bringing together of people in a social setting. We look forward to a night of happiness and good times.

Book Week Parade

This Monday, 19 August at 9.00 am, we will be holding our Book Week Parade. This is always an exciting time for the kids and the staff. We will hold the parade in the undercover area from 9.00 am. Please see further details about the theme for the week in Library News. It is also important to remember to keep the dress up as simple as possible. Use what you already have at home. This is all about celebrating the love of books. Thank you for you continued support of such events as we know and appreciate how busy this Monday morning will be for you in getting your kids organised for the day.

Father’s Day Breakfast

The Pastoral Care team are busy organising breakfast for all the dad’s/grandad’s/Uncles.  The breakfast is on Friday 30th August at 7.30am.  Cost is $2.50 per child and $2.50 per adult.  Further information and RSVP slips are attached to this newsletter.

Kindy dads are also invited to visit the classroom for a ‘Stay and Play’ from 8.20am to 8.45am on the morning of the Father’s Day breakfast.

Quiz Night – Bayswater City Saints Netball Club and Bayswater Bears Football Club

Our Bayswater City Saints and Bayswater Bears are holding a combined Quiz Night on Saturday 24 August 2019 at 6:00pm. This is a terrific opportunity to test your pop quiz skills against the best. These two community clubs provide wonderful opportunities for our St Columba’s kids to participate in weekend sport. It promises to be a fun-filled night. Please see further details in our Community News section.

School Counsellor News

Children’s birthday parties – cause for celebration or alienation?

• RESILIENCE

by Michael Grose

It’s funny how the seemingly small things cause the greatest angst for kids – a sneer from a sibling; a curt remark from a teacher or being left off a classmate’s birthday party invitation list can leave a child feeling insecure, even sad.

While some issues such as sibling disputes are perennial others such as helping children manage the disappointment of missing a friend’s birthday party is a more pressing concern for primary-aged children right now. In fact, according to many teachers and parents I meet many children’ birthday parties are creating rifts between children, leading to alienation for those left off the party list.

Issue invitations with sensitivity

It’s a good life lesson for a child to learn that they can’t be invited to everything. But not being invited to a party shouldn’t make a child feel isolated or humiliated. Disappointment is normal; humiliation and alienation are not acceptable. Which means children need to give out invitations while being mindful of the feelings of others. This is where good parenting comes in. We need to remind, and if necessary teach children, how to give out invitations sensitively being mindful of the possible disappointment that some children will experience. Likewise all children who are going to a party should be reminded of their social obligations to all classmates, not just those who are in the “in” crowd. Tolerance and social graces are the foundations of a civil society and these lessons start in primary school.

Helping kids handle disappointment

One of the keys to functioning socially and emotionally is the ability to deal with disappointment and rejection.

So whether it is a case of not receiving an invitation to a classmate’s birthday party or a school playground snub, most children experience some type of rejection from their peers throughout childhood. Most children recover from such rejection. They move on and form constructive, worthwhile relationships but some children need help. They often take rejection personally, blaming themselves. As a parent it is useful to challenge children’s unhelpful thinking and encourage them to look for new friendship opportunities. Parents can help children understand that rejection may happen for any number of reasons that are unrelated to them.

In the course of a school day children will meet with a number of challenges and even setbacks. They may struggle with some schoolwork. They may not do well in a test and they may not be picked for a game that they wanted to play. Children grow stronger when they overcome their difficulties. The challenge for parents is to build and maintain children’s confidence to help them get through the rough times.

One way to help children deal with rejection and disappointment is to talk through problems or difficulties, recognising and accepting their feelings. Talk about various scenarios, discussing possible outcomes. The age of the child will determine the amount of detail. Keep things simple and avoid burdening a younger child with concepts he or she doesn’t understand.

Your attitude can make a huge difference to how a child reacts. If you see rejection or disappointments as problems then your child will be hamstrung by this view. See them as challenges then your child will, in all likelihood, will pick up your upbeat view and deal with disappointments easily. After all, confidence is catching!

To help children handle rejection and disappointment try the following four strategies:

1. Model optimism. Watch how you present the world to children, as they will pick up your view.
2. Tell children how you handle disappointment and rejection. Not only is it reassuring for children to know that their parents understand how they feel but they can learn a great deal by how their parents handle situations.
3. Help children recognise times in the past when they bounced back from disappointment. Help them recognise those some strategies can be used again.
4. Laugh together. Humour is a great coping mechanism. It helps put disappointment in perspective. It helps them understand that things will get better. They always do.

Jennifer Maughan
Social Worker
Tuesday & Wednesday
9208 2703
jenny.maughan@cewa.edu.au

P & F News

Rachel Lange
P&F President
rachel@galleriapodiatry.com.au

Library News

Pastoral Care

Community Notices

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Mark this down in your diaries everyone fundraiser with the Bayswater City Saints Netball Club. 

Why not grab a table (of 10) and come along!!!!

 Amazing pendant up for grabs!!!!!!!!       

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