Dear Parents, Caregivers and Community Members,

Yesterday we celebrated Book Week with the theme being ‘Reading is Magic.’ We had a great day. Thank you, Mrs Hagen for being our MC and Mrs Gumina for coordinating activities for the week. Thank you, Miss Kezic for taking all the great photos. Also, thank you, Mrs Darch for managing the library and the Book Fair this week.

 

OPEN NIGHT Wednesday, 18 September – Put it in your diaries as we showcase the learning happening in classrooms. The library, Music Room, Learning Hub and Science Lab will be ready to showcase everything new and wonderful. A sausage sizzle and soft drink will be available from the canteen. Remember, the Lego competition will also be running.

IEP MEETINGS – Thank you to the parents for having rich and engaging conversations about their child as there were moments of celebration and goal setting. Thank you to Mrs Painter, CEWA representative Mrs Kounis plus the classroom teachers for their professionalism and commitment to the children in their care.

 ILLNESS – I am asking all parents to make sure children who are unwell stay home as we are sending a very large number of students home who are vomiting. Many staff are sick too, which results in lots of relief teachers and a huge cost to the school. This cost then means less money being spent on resources, activities and opportunities for our students.

“Happy Father’s Day!”

Next Sunday, 1 September is Father’s Day! Father’s Day presents each of us with the opportunity to focus our attention on our dad and make him feel “extra special”. But what is Father’s Day?

A few thoughts are shared below:

• According to one astute 10-year-old, “It’s a bit like Mothers’ Day, only it doesn’t cost as much!”
• A more advanced concept of Fathers’ Day would be that this special day is an opportunity to celebrate the important role that fathers play in the lives of their children; a role that cannot be played by any other person. The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.
• Both parents are of vital importance to a young child’s development. In one study, young boys whose fathers engaged in physical, affectionate and stimulating play were found to be more popular as school children. Even if fathers spend less time with their children than their mothers, fathers can become meaningful and special to their children through play. In fact, when fathers are good at playing with their young children, these children score higher on tests involving thinking and problem-solving skills. (Radin. The Influence of Fathers.)
• Our astute 10-year-old put another question, “Dad, you’re the boss in our family, aren’t you?” A smiling and pleased Dad answered, “Well, yes”, only to be told, “That’s because mum put you in charge, right!”
  What an insight from a 10-year-old, for the time of the uninvolved father has long gone; it takes a team effort for a married couple to cope with the joys and challenges of parenthood.
• Studies have shown that when fathers are affectionate and helpful, their children are more likely to get on well with each other. When children have fathers who are emotionally involved, so that they acknowledge their children’s emotions and help them deal with bad emotions, they tend to have better relationships with children outside of their family and behave less aggressiv (Gottman, Katz & Hooven. How Families Communicate Emotionally)
• Fathers with a strong commitment to their family provide a model of responsible behaviour for their children. As a consequence, their children tend to take more responsibility for their actions and rarely blame others for their mistakes.  Fathers also influence their children’s moral development by being good models for their children to admire and desire to resemble.  This results in their children developing a strong respect for rules and authority figures. (M.L. Hoffman. The Role of the Father in Moral Internalisation.)

Day in and day out, we probably do not appreciate all the little things that our fathers (like our mothers) do for us. Their love, their care and their guidance all go towards making our lives enriched. The thoughtful little deeds, the play times and fun times are all memories we cherish. And it is true on most occasions that whenever we are in trouble or upset, dad always seems to be there to help, guide and support us.

The following poem is dedicated to every man out there who proudly wears the name DAD.

What Makes a Dad? God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun, The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night, The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle’s flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
And then there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it—Dad.

 

From My Readings . . .

 Father to Father: Seven tips for Fathering Success
By Michael Grose

Fatherhood is life-changing. It’s a very personal journey that a man experiences when he takes on the responsibility of parenting his kids. It’s also a vital role, and it’s all too easy to neglect the positive impact a father can have on his children’s lives.

Every father’s parenting journey will be different, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer to its challenges. But Father’s Day is just around the corner, so this is a great time for some tried and trusted parenting tips to help you be the best dad you can be.

1. Play to your strengths
   Fathers often parent in a more active or action-oriented way than mums, so games, play time and physical activity become important parts of a man’s parenting repertoire. Your partner may not always appreciate your more active approach, particularly if you play with kids just before bedtime and then leave it to her to calm them down.

   How to make it happen: Be yourself but be smart about it!

2. Lighten up – don’t take yourself too seriously
   It’s easy to get caught up in your own importance, taking yourself and your work too seriously. For many men a bad day at work translates into poor or, at best, distracted experiences when they’re with their families. Consider putting a strategy in place, such as exercise, to help you leave work, and the bad moods it may engender, behind.

   How to make it happen: Be present in mind as well as in body when you’re with your kids.

3. Find something in common with your child
   It would be wonderful to say that you can always connect with your kids, but family life is never that straightforward. There’ll always be a child who we struggle to connect with, or a developmental stage during which the child feels alien to you. In these times it helps if you share a common interest (such as a love of sport or music) with them, so that you always have something that will bring you together, even though you may not always see eye to eye.

   How to make it happen: Take an active interest in what interests your child.

7. Go easy on your son sometimes
   Many dads are tough on their boys and have expectations that go way beyond their son’s interest and abilities. Remember, it takes boys a little longer to mature. Resist the temptation to turn every game and every father-son activity into a lesson and avoid giving advice when your all your son wants is to be understood.

   How to make it happen: See the boy as he is now, not the man you want him to grow up to be.

8. Enjoy the outdoors with your daughter
   The biological nature of fatherhood causes most men to be very protective of their daughters. But that doesn’t mean you should put your daughter on a pedestal and treat her like a little princess. Expect a lot from her. Play with her, and get her outdoors as it will do wonders for her confidence and independence.
   How to make it happen: Enjoy spending time outside with your daughters on a regular basis.

9. Be ready for kids to knock you off your pedestal
   Most children in the preschool and middle-to-late-primary school years look up to their dads. “My dad is bigger and better than your dad!” is a type of mantra that’s familiar to many men. Make the most of this admiration as the Superman Syndrome won’t last. Young children soon turn into adolescents, who generally go to great lengths to prove that you’re just Clarke Kent after all. Expect them to stop laughing at your jokes, roll their eyes at your well-intentioned advice and even give you the cold shoulder in public. Ouch! It can be hurtful to a man who just wants to be the best dad he can be.

   How to make it happen: Don’t take yourself too seriously, and give them room to be grumpy sometimes.

10. Give your kids a compass and a map
    One day your children will become truly independent individuals. Don’t worry! You won’t be irrelevant, you’ll just be taking the backseat in a more practical and managerial sense. There are two things you can do to help your kids safely navigate the world when you’re not around. First, help them develop a set of positive values including integrity, honesty and respect that will act as their moral compass when they have difficult decisions to make. 
Second, reveal your a personal story over time, as this narrative will become ingrained like personal map that will guide them when life gets tough. It’s good to know that they won’t be in uncharted territory when they finally strike out on their own.

    How to make it happen: Take the time to tell kids your story and own it – don’t make them guess it or learn it from someone else.

Father’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on how men shape the lives of their children. It’s a very personal reflection as each man’s experience of fatherhood is as unique as the children they are raising. Take the time to reflect on your own fathering style as well as the contribution that a father (either your own dad or someone else’s dad) has made to your own life.

There is a beautiful quote from Janusz Korczak, (a Polish Jewish educator, children’s author and Principal of an orphanage in Warsaw), that I would like to share with you. This quote and the sentiment within, are my hopes and prayer for the children entrusted in our care here at CtK.

“Children are not the people of tomorrow but are people of today. They have a right to be taken seriously, and to be treated with tenderness and respect. They should be allowed to grow into whoever they were meant to be. ‘The unknown person’ inside of them is our hope for the future.”

Did you Know?

• Coffee, as a world commodity, is second only to oil.
• Despite a population of over a billion, China has only about 200 family names.
• Ketchup was sold in the 1830s as medicine.

 

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