Dear Parents and Guardians,
Prayer for the Week
Everything we do in our Catholic schools is about bringing the light
of Christ’s Gospel to children’s learning in all its dimensions.
We are called to let the joy of our faith shine through the gifts and talents, we bring to our work.
We are challenged to bring out the best in one another and in the children entrusted to our care.
Jesus calls us to discipleship. Discipleship means involvement. In our calling, as disciples, and as educators in a Catholic school, we make the Good News visible to all through our words and actions.
Lent
It’s nearly football season again! Sometimes members of a football team wear black armbands as a symbolic mark of sorrow for the passing of a close associate. Their supporters are decked in the team colours to show their willingness to be identified as a club supporter. True believers live the game with their heroes expressing their support physically and emotionally. In good times and bad they stick by their club.
Lent is here and we are presented with the same opportunity to give expression to the type of supporters that we are. Some supporters celebrate only the happy time in Jesus’ life such as Easter and Christmas. As “true believers” we should also pray with him on Holy Thursday, stand by him on Good Friday and join him in prayer and fasting during the forty days of Lent.
Yesterday, as a school we celebrated Ash Wednesday, which in the Catholic Church marks the beginning of the season of Lent. It is a season of reconciliation, reflection and prayer, which prepares us for Easter Sunday. This period we call LENT means ‘spring’, and we celebrate it in memory of the forty days Jesus spent alone praying in the desert. Lent is a time for strengthening our faith, a time to reflect on who we are and where we are going. It is a time for quietness and prayer, a time of penance and meditation, a time to become aware of our strengths and weaknesses.
A very special thank you to Father Francis, for celebrating Mass with us in Father Liam’s absence. Also, thank you to Miss Paratore and Mrs Reardon for preparing the Mass.
The season of Lent is one of those times when the Church gives us the opportunity to address the important elements of our lives in a practical way.
Lent provides many opportunities for people to choose to do renewing activities, such as visiting someone who is lonely, giving up something on television, remembering to say our prayers daily and/or as a family, attending Mass as a family regularly or perhaps even making the Stations of the Cross throughout the period of Lent. We need to remember that if we are choosing to do something this Lent it needs to lead us to a positive change, which in turn has a positive effect on the people who are daily in our lives.
It’s sobering to realise that if we “give up” watching TV, chocolates etc, we are “giving up” things that most people in the world have never had! What is really meaningful to us? Our time, given to assist people in need; Our pride, through an act of long due reconciliation; Our finance, given to an aid organisation. So how will you this Lent renew your Christian commitment and express Christ’s message of love, care and forgiveness?
The Daily Encouragement from Pope Francis
Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty. Let us not forget that real poverty hurts: no self-denial is real without this dimension of penance.
Lenten Thought
Remember the concept of not only giving up during Lent, but taking up. What can we take up that will improve our lives and the lives of others this Lent?
Evening on the Green Welcome to 2023 Family Picnic
I encourage all families to attend this event tomorrow, Friday 24th February. This event is coordinated by the Christ the King School P&F Association. This occasion is a way of celebrating your child/ren’s first few weeks at the school, as well as an opportunity to meet other parents and welcome NEW families to the CtK School community. This will be held in the School Quad from 6:00pm until 8.00pm. A Bubbles play area, fairy floss and Mr Whippy will be available. As in the past, you are encouraged to bring your own picnic dinner. The Russo’s band will be entertaining us with live music on stage where we had our Christmas Concert last year. Once again, this promises to be a fabulous community gathering to start the school year.
Student Ministries
Next week our students in Year 6 will begin their respective ministries for this semester. I know each of them are excited ‘getting their teeth’ into the work of the ministry. This is a fantastic opportunity for them to show leadership and responsibility around the school. One staff member is responsible for facilitating the children’s involvement in each of these areas. We wish all our Year 6 students the very best as they undertake these leadership roles this year.
Kindergarten 2024 – Applications are Now Due
Enrolments are now being taken for siblings and new students wishing to commence Kindergarten at Christ the King School in 2024. Families with children eligible for Kindergarten in 2024 are required to fill out a Kindergarten Enrolment Application Form.
Christ the King School will continue to operate two concurrent Kindergarten groups next year with the days of attendance being Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
We are starting to see high demand for 3 Year Old Kindergarten and Four Year Old Kindergarten places, so it is important that parents within the Christ the King School community submit their applications as soon as possible. Forms can be obtained from the office.
Attendance
It is not okay to stay away from school for any reason except legitimate illness and extreme family circumstances. Any unexplained absence and extended holidays during school time, without a note of explanation, are all considered illegal by the Department of Education and the Federal government.
We are legally responsible to report via an electronic program, all absences every day, including continual lateness to school. Please make sure you are compliant with this legislation and please assist by contacting the school by 9am of the day of absence. Please also send a note upon return even if you have been contacted by phone from the school.
From My Readings This Week…
As we progress through the first term of the year and students settle in to their new classes, sometimes there can be moments of conflict or tension that may be experienced by students. These difficulties can come from any number of different sources such as peer conflicts, classroom and school expectations or learning difficulties.
As children experience these conflicts, there will often be times when they come home from school with issues or complaints and will naturally call upon parents for advice and guidance. As parents, the approach that you take can have a huge impact on your child’s ability to cope with frustrations and grievances and indeed their resilience to deal with disappointments or difficulties in the future. It can also impact on their future relationships with their teachers and peer group.
Michael Grose (www.parentingideas.com.au suggests six points for parents to think about when dealing with children’s concerns. He recommends these steps to help parents remain focused and effective in dealing with difficulties:
Stay Calm and Rational
It’s natural as a parent to protect, or defend your children, particularly when you think they’ve come in for some unfair or poor treatment. But acting when you are full of emotion is not always smart. Rather than getting on the phone straight away to organise a meeting at school, take your time to think through how you might assist your child.
Get All the Facts
Once you’ve calmed down, get the facts about the situation. Kids are faulty observers and often only see one side of a story when there’s a problem with a teacher or a fellow student. They sometimes can’t see that perhaps they may have contributed inadvertently to a dispute at school, or perhaps said something that may have upset a teacher. It is the job of parents to help kids process what happens in an incident so that all the facts emerge, and they understand their place in any problem. Ask good questions to help the full story emerge.
Assess whether to go to the School or Not
Kids, like adults, like to vent and will benefit from having told their side of a story to a trusted source. Often problems can be dealt with at home, simply by talking through an issue and giving kids some common-sense tips to help them cope. If your child has a recurring problem that they can’t solve themselves, or you think an adult intervention may be needed to sort out a relationship issue with a teacher or peer, then consider meeting with your child’s teacher.
Go through the right Channels
Approach the school calmly, going through the school office to make time to see the teacher. If you have already established a relationship with the teacher concerned, then it’s often easier to approach them directly.
Look for Solutions rather than Blame
State the problem as you see it and view your child’s teacher as an ally, not a foe. “I’m really worried about Jeremy. He’s been acting strangely lately, and I need some help” is the type of approach that will elicit a helpful response. Talk about your concerns and keep the discussion focused firmly on what is best for your child. Listen to your teacher’s viewpoint, valuing a different perspective.
Stay in Touch
Be realistic with your expectations, remembering that some problems can’t be solved to your satisfaction, nor will they be resolved straight away. Be prepared to work alongside your child’s teacher over the long-term, which means you need to keep communicating with each other.
Did you Know?
- Kangaroos cannot walk backwards!
- Potato, the delicious and favourite veggie of children is the staple food in many countries and is the most cultivated vegetable across the globe.
- Venus is the only planet in the solar system that rotates clockwise, whereas all other planets rotate anti-clockwise.
- Australia is the only continent that has no volcanoes.
There are ‘great things’ happening in our school due to the efforts of so many people; seek to be one of those people in the coming week!
Keep smiling and let’s do great things together!
Andrew Kelly
Principal
