Dear Parents, Caregivers and Community Members,

 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA (WA) DAY is held on the first Monday in June each year and is a State holiday only. It commemorates the foundation of the Swan River Colony near Perth by European settlers – Captain James Stirling in 1829, although sightings and landings occurred as far back as 1616. Originally, Albany on the south coast, was to be the capital of WA, but better resources for shipping and farming were found on the Swan River and Perth became the capital.

WA Day was previously known as Foundation Day, but to recognise Aboriginal people as the original custodians of the land, the name was changed in April 2012.

WA was settled as a free colony, unlike some other parts of Australia like New South Wales and Port Arthur. It was the only British colony in Australia established with land grants to settlers. The settlers were given land in proportion to the quantity of people and goods they brought to the colony and were only given the full title to their land when it had been improved enough to be considered established and sustaining.

 

CONFIRMATION THANKS AND CONGRATULATIONS

Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May our Year 6 students received the Sacrament of Confirmation in what were two very special and memorable ceremonies. The celebration was the culmination of many weeks of preparation, which involved Religious Education lessons, student retreats and parent meetings. We recognise and thank the many people who have been involved in the candidates’ preparation.

Father Isidore who conducted the ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday ensuring it was meaningful to the students and their families.
Miss Kezic and Mrs Barrett for preparing the children so well. This takes lots of planning and hard work to ensure both Masses ran smoothly, well done.
Mrs Allegretta, Mrs McKenna and Mr Hancock for all their hard work in ensuring that the Mass booklet, PowerPoint and Mass organisation were well organised and clear for everyone to follow.
Germaine and Mrs Carroll for the music and singing at the Masses.
Mrs Urbano and Mrs Reardon for printing the Mass books and communicating with the Parish.
The staff for their support at events leading up to the Confirmation and their attendance at the celebrations on Saturday evening or Sunday morning.
The parents, as prime educators of their children, who have helped them on their faith journey.
The Parish community for their involvement and assistance with the Mass. Congratulations to all involved.

 

Prayer for our newly Confirmed Children

As the children in Year 6 continue their journey of faith we recognise and remember it is the Spirit that is alive in our hearts and lives today.  The following prayer focuses on the Spirit and its many special gifts.

Spirit of love – show us how to love.
Spirit of truth – help us to be honest.
Spirit of wisdom – teach us the best thing to do.
Spirit of gentleness – make us gentle in our ways.
Spirit of  God – live in our hearts.

Last Sunday, the church marked the end of the celebration of Easter, with the celebration of Pentecost. It is also the celebration of the birthday of the church. The church uses the next two Sundays to reflect on two of the most important ways God continues to share: this Sunday, who God is and Sunday week, the gift of God’s presence in his Body and Blood.

Sunday is consecrated throughout the year to the Holy Trinity because God the Father began the work of creation on the “first day,” the Son made man rise from the dead on a Sunday morning, and the Holy Spirit came down on the Apostles on Pentecost Sunday.

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE INTERSCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY TEAM

Last Friday, teams of boys and girls from Years 3 – 6 competed at the Interschool Cross Country Carnival at beautiful Manning Park. It turned out to be a very successful day for our CtK athletes!

Every student represented themselves and CtK to the best of their ability and they looked fantastic while doing so, in their brand-new Interschool singlets!

CtK came home with the shield! We won the carnival overall, but finished 5th on handicap. Our Year 4 girls, Year 6 girls and Year 6 boys all won champion teams. Amazing!

A special mention must go to our six medallists:

• Lachlan 1st Place Year 3 Boys
• Brielle 2nd Place Year 5 Girls
• Jenna 1st Place Year 6 Girls
• Dominique 2nd Place Year 6 Girls
• Jake 2nd Place Year 6 Boys
• Charlie 3rd Place Year 6 Boys

Well done Team, you ALL did CtK proud! Huge thanks to our students, teachers and parents for their continued support!

 

CTK – The Fathering Project team

A HUGE thank you and congratulations to Alf DiTullio and Danny Cerra for organising the Bangers and Bingo Fathering event last Friday. Alf and Danny do such much for the dads and children in our school and we all value and appreciate their hard work and support.

 

Thank you to the P&F for raising funds to pay for the Softfall bike track in the 3 Year Old Kindy play area. The children will enjoy riding their bikes around the track.

 

SORRY DAY – 26 May and National Reconciliation Week – 27 May to 3 June – is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The theme for Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week 2024: The theme for 2024 is ‘Now More Than Ever’, encouraging all Australians, from individuals, families, and communities, to organisations and government, to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in their everyday lives.

Just a friendly reminder, 3 Year Old Kindy places and 4 Year Old Kindy places for 2025 is filling up fast. Please make sure you have completed an enrolment form for 3 Year Old Kindy or 4 Year Old Kindy and return this to the office ASAP.

 

What you can learn from children

• A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 186sq m house 10cm deep.
• If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 19kg boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape.
• However, if you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan and tie it to a paint can, it does spread paint on all four walls of a 6x6m room.
• Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
• Always look in the oven before you turn it on because plastic toys do not like ovens.
• The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earth worms dizzy.

 

From My Readings . . .

Devil at Home, Darling in Public

“Why does my child behave well for others, but not for me?”

This is a common question many parents ask. It’s frustrating!

I remember my primary school-aged children having very poor table manners at home, yet after sleep-overs and visits with friends we were always complimented for having children with beautiful manners.

“They showed my kids a thing or two about manners,” was the type of comment we received.

When one daughter was thirteen, she barely had a civil word for anyone who lived under the same roof as her. Yet following a weekend staying at a friend’s house, the supervising parents remarked how communicative she was with them.

“What do you do get such a lovely teenager?” our friend asked. “Send her to you!” was my reply!

So why do kids behave well for others and save their worst behaviour for their parents? It’s simple really…..because you love them.

It’s hard to be good all the time. When we are fully accepted by others we tend to show them our true selves warts n’ all.

The same theory applies with all our relationships, including dating. When you first started dating, you more than likely put huge energy into making the best possible impression. In the early days of dating you more than likely dressed to impress, were always ready on time and wore a perpetual smile.

When the relationship became more stable, you probably loosened up. You didn’t always dress to impress; you may have turned up late a few times and you were less fussed about presenting your best possible face all the time. In short, familiarity breeds contentedness.

The same happens with kids. They become so relaxed with their parents that they will show their worst side to them.

They’ll be very polite to their teacher, barely speaking out of turn in class yet they can be downright rude and overbearing at home.

They’ll be friendly to peers at school but painful for siblings at home. Such is the way of family-life.

It’s important that kids know how to behave.

We’d all love our kids to behave appropriately all the time, but the reality is they won’t.

Most kids have L plates when it comes to learning how to fit in and behave around others. They make mistakes, yet they are always on a path to improvement…or should be.

It’s important that they know how to behave. That means parents teach their kids good manners; they teach them right from wrong; and also, you teach them how to behave well in a variety of social situations so that when they are outside the house and around others, they know how to behave in public.

Sometimes kids are worse in public than at home:

This happens with toddlers who are really on a huge learning curve. It’s easier to teach them in the confined, organised environment at home. When they are in public spaces, such as supermarkets, they are so much harder to control!

Teaching kids to behave:

Here are four smart strategies you can use to teach kids of all ages to behave well – both outside and inside the family home:

• Modelling
• Mentoring
• Messaging
• Manoeuvring

Modelling: Kids are born mimics. The minute you become a parent you become a walking, talking social studies lesson (as in how to be social, generous and pleasant to others). They need to see adults and significant others such as parents behave well, behave generously and use appropriate manners (cos’ they will speak like you in public). Model the behaviours you want in your kids… as much as is humanly possible.

Mentoring: Good behaviour comes easily to some, but many kids need to be taught the nuances of behaving well and socialising. Boys, in particular, benefit from a parent who is willing to invest time and energy into helping them behave well. Toddler and teens both benefit from explicit teaching and coaching in what to do and say in the company of others. They benefit from hearing messages such as “Say thank you”, “Look your teacher in the eye when you speak”, “Address her parents by name”.

Messaging: Astute parents give kids social scripts that they can use in a variety of situations. This social scripting starts when we tell a toddler to say hello to a relative and continues to provide more complex scripts to use in a variety of situations such as in a restaurant, at a friend’s house, at school, even online. It also helps if kids rehearse their lines before they use them in social situations. Behaviour rehearsal is particularly important for boys who are usually tactile, practical learners.

Manoeuvring: A great way to prepare kids to excel is through manoeuvring social situations much in the same way as sporting codes create junior versions of their games, so kids can learn the basics without being overwhelmed by adult rules. Look for opportunities for kids to socialise at home in ways that mimic situations that they’ll encounter in public. For instance, once a week set up your mealtimes like a restaurant, so kids learn how to behave in a restaurant situation.

By Michael Grose

 

DID YOU KNOW?

• An ant can survive for up to two days underwater.
• The letters in the abbreviation e.g. stand for exempli gratia – a Latin term meaning for example.
• The plastic tips on shoelaces are called “aglets”.

 

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!

Have a wonderful, relaxing long weekend with family and friends.

 

Andrew Kelly
Principal