Principal's Post

Important Reminder

Pupil Free Day

Friday 13th September

Staff Professional Learning Day

This Friday staff will be engaged in a Faith Development workshop as part of our on-going renewal. Please be aware there is no school for students this Friday 13th September.

Pre Primary Sport Carnival

Thursday 12th September from 9.00 am- 10.00 am

This will take place on the school oval.

The best fun to be had at this event!

Once again we have our special guest announcer, all the way from down the road at Maylands, Greg McKeaig, one of our grandfathers. There is a bit of pressure on him after his widely acclaimed debut performance last year.

Faction Athletics Carnival

Year 1 to 6

Friday 20th September

Venue: Bayswater Little Athletics Centre

Wylde Road, Noranda

Start Time – 9.30 am

The Year 3 to Year 6 400m events will commence immediately at 9.30 am.

End of Carnival – 2.15 pm

This is one of the best days of the year! Come along and enjoy seeing how wonderful St Columba’s Kids are at having a go and supporting their mates. It is all about fun and being a part of a faction and a team.

Students going home with parents at the end of the day

Parents will be able to take their children directly home from the carnival at the end of the day. Please let your classroom teacher know if you will be taking your child home by Monday 16 September. This will allow us to plan the number of buses required for the return trip to school.

Our classrooms will be open at 8.20 am for our teachers and students to get ready for the day and get straight onto the buses by 8.40 am at the latest.

Before school, the buses will be lined-up along Milne Street. Please do not park in any of the bays on the school side of Milne Street on this day.

Schedule for the events for the day will be posted on the school website under Parents Information > News section, by Monday 16th September.  A Text message will be sent once it has been uploaded.

Sausage Sizzle closing date is Wednesday 18 September. Thank you to the Parents and Friends for organising this for us.

There will also be a cake stall, along with a coffee van.

Website Notifications

As we continue to develop our website, we have set up notifications to parents that will come through SMS. The two key notifications will be when The Donegal [newsletter] goes live and for Merit Award winners. Merit Award notifications will go out to parents by Tuesday morning on the week of the Assembly. Thank you again for your feedback on the website. Our team continues to work on managing the website to ensure it meets the needs of our parents.

School Banking

Thank you to Ariane Mazurak for volunteering to take on the role of School Banking Co-ordinator. Ariane will now conduct school banking on a Thursday morning, in the canteen, commencing next Thursday 19th September. We again thank Jennifer Benfell for her time and commitment to school banking for the last couple of years. We sincerely appreciate the time committed and the passion with which Jen took this on.

Mercy Mission Day

Mercy Mission Day will be celebrated on Tuesday 24th September. This is our major fundraising event for the year, the proceeds of which will go to the Mercy Missions and other local and global Catholic Missions and outreach agencies.

Details of the day:
9:00am Mass
11:00am-1:00pm Stalls

Each class organises a stall and the students join in fun and activities on that day.   It is requested that students bring small amounts of change (not notes) to spend at the stalls. Classes may also request small donations from families to run the stalls. This will be communicated via SeeSaw.

Students may wear free dress for a gold coin donation.

Thank you for your support.

School Counsellor News

Why self-sufficiency is paramount

by Michael Grose

Recently, a mother of two primary school children thanked me for the impact one of my presentations had on her parenting style.

When I asked what was it that made the difference, she said that one particular question I posed in the presentation had the most impact. The question was “What are you regularly doing for your children now that they can do themselves?”

This mother attended my Parenting for Independence seminar after reading my book Spoonfed Generation. My message of developing self-sufficiency in children from the earliest possible age stayed with her.

She said that the independence message really came home to roost when her children went to an international school in Germany two years later. Self-sufficiency was expected at the school so the training she provided them as a result of the seminar such as in teaching them to pack school bags, preparing snacks and assisting with meals, doing daily chores, and getting themselves up each morning helped to prepare them for the expectations of an international school.

Why is self-sufficiency important?

Self-sufficiency, of the ‘I can do it myself’ kind, is the basis of self-esteem and resilience. One of the main developmental tasks is for children and teenagers to gain a sense of control and mastery over their environment. This mastery begins by gaining basic competencies such as being able to feed and dress yourself as a toddler and then gradually adding new competencies as physical and mental capacities allow. The development of children’s independence can be frustrating and time-consuming, particularly if you are time-poor or have a strong perfectionist streak. But that is the price of independence-building.

Step back to allow kids to step up

Respected US parenting and child development expert Dr. Debora Gilboa (aka Dr. G) believes parents need to step back to allow children to step up. It’s a smart phrase that infers that parents need to take on the role of their child’s teacher rather than be the person who is always solving their problems and doing routine tasks for them.

Gilboa says, “It’s crucial that you take a step back and let your kids make mistakes and learn from their experiences. You aren’t going to be there in adulthood to clear the obstacles they face or solve their struggles.” It is through dealing with their own frustrations and learning from their mistakes that kids develop the resilience needed to stand on their own two feet.

Self-sufficiency tips

Gilboa gives the following three tips to develop self-sufficiency in children at any age:

1. Problem-solving. When your child or adolescent comes to you with a problem, resist the urge to fix it. Invite them to resolve the problem themselves.
2. Welcome failure. This is hard in our perfectionistic world but expect them to struggle and talk about what they can do to get back on their feet.
3. Expect them to help. Give them tasks that help the whole family, not just themselves and make sure they do them well. Be patient, but firm.

Self-sufficiency has many forms and many faces, including the ability to problem-solve, emotional self-regulation and taking responsibility for your actions. It’s easiest to develop in children when they are young. This is also because not every child in a family will take to independence as willingly as others.

If developing independence is something that you haven’t focused on before, don’t despair. It’s not too late to start. Begin where you feel comfortable, rather than make huge changes straightaway. Persist rather than give in when you have resisters; the notion of independence is too important for children’s future success.

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

P & F News

Athletics Carnival sausage sizzle and cake stall

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to bake and to help out on the day. We now have enough volunteers and baked goods. I suggest you don’t eat breakfast that morning as we have some yummy treats coming!

Sausage sizzle forms are due back on Wednesday 18th September,  we are required to pre-order rolls and sausages and therefore will not be accepting late orders. Please provide correct change as Mrs Slocum is unable to provide change. We have also hired a coffee van for the day to provide hot beverages for the event. We look forward to seeing you there!

Kids Artwork

By now you should have been able to view your kids artwork on seesaw and you should have received an order form. If you haven’t could you please speak to your class teacher. Order forms are due back on Wednesday 18th September and need to be handed to your classroom teacher. Thank you

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

Library News

Pastoral Care

Community Notices

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