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From Thursday 28 May: Car-Line Drop-Off & Pick-Up Procedures
Parents, please be advised that we have changed the Family Surname designated car lines to A-K & L-Z - commencing tomorrow Thursday 28th May. We thank you for your patience and understanding this week, as we improve the process to make both car lines flow as smoothly as possible.
We now have 2 car-line areas to drop off students before school and pick up students after school, designated by your Family Surname.
A - K Surname of families will use the Victoria St regular car-line loop around the staff/admin carpark.
L - Z Surname of families will use the new Drouin Recreational Reserve loop. (shown in the following picture / please do not park and do not leave your car).
Parents using either car-line are advised to stay in your cars and do not park. School staff will assist your children from/to the car. Please note the Drouin Rec Reserve is now a car-line loop only & parents cannot park at the Drouin Rec Reserve.
For parents wishing to walk up to the school gate and drop off/collect their children in person (not via the car-line) can only do so via the front gate of the school next to the Administration building. This also applies to children that walk/ride to/from the school and have notified the school that they are permitted to walk/ride home.
Please remind your child in the morning and inform your child’s teacher via Class Dojo prior to 3pm, if your children are to be collected in person from the admin gate, so we can make sure they are waiting in the correct area for pick up after school. This will allow teachers to reinforce this message to your children before dismissal and send them to the correct area.
If parents are collecting another family's children, please use your/the driver’s family surname for the area you are collecting your children from and remind the other family to go with your children to the correct area for pick up. Please inform the class teacher via Dojo.
We ask parents to please be patient and courteous whilst using car-line and remember the general road rule expectations that apply to every day driving: please don’t block the bus bay (the bus bay on Victoria St near the church must be kept clear, drivers please leave a gap between the bus bay poles otherwise you will risk being fined), please do not block and keep other roads, driveways & roundabouts clear, keep to the left if waiting in line and do not cut in front of others and do not turn right into the Victoria St car line entry.
Helping Kids With The Transition Back To School: ABC Life
With school resuming in most states after weeks of lockdown, many kids will be busting to see their friends and get out of the house.
But for some, the thought of returning to the classroom is enough to induce a bout of anxiety. Over weeks of online wellbeing sessions, teacher and friendship skills expert Dana Kerford has heard a steady stream of concerns.
"Of the 4,000 plus kids I've worked with in my online classroom, many of them have expressed anxiety and nervousness around going back to school," says Ms Kerford, who founded a company teaching friendship strategies.
As well as concerns about social distancing and how they will be able to safely interact with their friends, some kids are also concerned about how to reconnect with their friends.
"Many friendship groups have changed or dissolved during coronavirus, so there's this underlying uneasiness," Ms Kerford says.
"Where do I fit?" and "Is that group I was in still my group?" are among the concerns she has heard recently.
Children's anxiety expert Karen Young says even if your child is eager to go back to class, they may need help with the transition.
"It might still be jarring because they've become settled into a new routine," says Ms Young.
"This is not like going back to school after the holidays. They've been disconnected from their friends for such a long time."
Signs your child might be worried
Ms Young says parents should be aware their kids may not share their back-to-school worries.
"You might get the 'What ifs' — such as, 'What if I go to school and I get sick? What if I go to school and something else happens?'" says Ms Young.
Other signs could be trouble sleeping, restlessness, bursts of anger over seemingly benign things, withdrawing, or complaints about headaches or feeling sick in the tummy.
Helping kids transition back to school
We can help our children by encouraging them to express how they feel about going back to school, and validating their concerns.
Ms Young suggests a conversation opener such as: "It's a big thing going back to school and it's OK if you feel a bit worried. That's really understandable and normal."
After validation comes strength: where we tell our kids it might be a bit hard at first but it's going to be OK, and we know they're going to get through this.
"This is very different to saying there's nothing to worry about," says Ms Young.
"They don't buy that anyway, and it also just increases their anxiety because they feel the person they have turned to for support doesn't get it."
Thinking it might be easier to keep kids home?
If stress levels are running high in your home, you may be tempted to let your child stay a little longer, especially if they have siblings in other grades or schools who are not starting back yet.
Georgina Manning, a counsellor and student wellbeing expert, was asked by one mother if she should allow her child in prep to stay home, because it might be too hard for her little one to go back to school earlier than her grade three sister.
Ms Manning says you might be asking for trouble with this approach.
"The anxiety will be worse if she goes back two weeks later than her friends, when the class has all settled back in. It's best to rip the bandaid off quickly and just go," she says.
Teachers can help kids settle back in
It isn't just kids and parents who are anxious. Ms Young has received many emails from teachers just as concerned about how to best support their students transition back to face-to-face learning.
"With social distancing in place, teachers will need to convey that welcome and warmth to put their children at ease in other ways," says Ms Young.
"It can happen by your face lighting up when you see them."
That may mean spending more time on the social and emotional side of learning.
"Academics are second to relational safety. Because if you want them to learn, they have to feel safe," says Ms Young.
Keeping our own anxiety in check will also help our kids
As for us parents, we can help our children by managing our own emotions.
"If a parent feels anxious about dropping off, the child may pick up on that and may see the situation as anxiety-provoking," says Ms Manning.
"But if a parent is really relaxed, the child will model that."
And remember, our children are often more capable than we think.
"We underestimate how resilient kids are and how easily they can adapt," says Ms Manning.
"Once kids are back with their friends and back with the teacher, they'll settle back in."
Read LessHoly Spirit Tools
Pentecost Sunday is generally regarded as the birth of the Church. In spite of all our failings and (sometimes grievous) faults over 2000 years, we continue as the Church which began on that amazing Pentecost event all those years ago. This weekend is a good time to reflect how we, as Church, proclaim Christ’s message in every language and witness to the presence of the Spirit by manifesting the Spirit’s fruits, especially the fruit of love. And we ask, “How can we do it better, more faithfully?”
John’s gospel relates Jesus breathing the Holy Spirit into the disciples (John 20:19-23) while Acts (Acts 2:1-11) tells of the wondrous descent of the Holy Spirit like powerful wind and like tongues of fire and 1 Corinthians 12 reassures us that we each receive from the range of the Spirit’s gifts according to our mission. Like Jesus first disciples, after the Resurrection and Ascension, we are eager to get about our mission, but feel we lack the equipment. In Baptism we know we have all been commissioned to continue Jesus mission, but we are fearful of not being up to the task. We first received our gifts, our box of tools for the task, at Confirmation, but we slacken off.
Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit, renews in us the tools. The Gifts, the tools, of the Holy Spirit are: Wisdom, Right Judgement, Courage, Knowledge, Reverence, Wonder and Awe and Understanding. Rearmed with those tools, the Fruits of the Holy Spirit through us will be proclamation of Joy, Love, Peace, Goodness, Kindness, Patience, Self-Control, Trustfulness and Gentleness to the world. Pentecost renews us in these Confirmation gifts of the Holy Spirit; enabling us to reach out to those who have been hurt by ourselves, by our Church and by the world in general, thereby witnessing, as we are called to do, to the truth of Jesus’ message.
Deacon Mark Kelly
Read LessImportant Information This Week
Remote Learning Google Meeting for Grades 3-4
Tomorrow morning at 10.30am Mr Osler and Mr Monckton will be hosting a Google Meet with all our Grade 3-4 students. This is a great opportunity to share the remote learning experience and check in on the well-being of all our 3-4’s as we begin transitioning back to school over the next two weeks. Mr Monckton will send invites out to all 3-4 students and we will begin at 10.30am sharp. We look forward to seeing all those smiling faces.
School Canteen
Just a reminder that the school canteen will be open this Friday 29th May for snack and lunch orders. Please order via Flexi-schools. Alli and her team are looking forward to cooking your delicious school lunches again and can’t wait to see all the students excited faces when they smell the aroma of their favourite lunch drifting through the air.
Alli would like to ensure the school community that the highest hygiene practices among her canteen staff are always in place and additional measures have been implemented as required by the Department of Health and Human Services including but not limited to, an increased cleaning regime at regular intervals during the day of frequently touched surfaces such as door handles & benchtops in the canteen area and a daily anti-viral disinfectant of the classroom lunch order baskets, limited food handling & limited access to the canteen foyer of students and staff.
If your child is unwell
Please remember if your child is unwell to please keep them at home to avoid the spread of any infections. Please contact the school principal to discuss further if you are unsure of the best procedure to follow. email: principal@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au
If the person you live with is confirmed to have coronavirus (COVID-19), all people in the household are regarded as having had close contact and are required to self-quarantine.
What’s on in the Library?
This week we participated in National Simultaneous Storytime.
We listened to the story Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas by Lucinda Gifford.
It’s a fabulous story! Full of rhyme, friendship, fun, adventure, singing, dancing and secrets.
The grade one students made some chicken divas to add to the display in the library. Very snazzy!
And the grade 2s drew their favourite part of the story and moved to the chicken dance!
In Art, the Foundation and grade 2 students made gorgeous chickens.
Catherine McKenna, Library Teacher
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