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Dear parents and carers,
We have had another busy week, inside our school grounds. The pandemic restrictions are gradually being lifted and it is hoped that we can return to some of our more regular activities in the coming weeks.
Thank you to those families who are ensuring that children who are unwell, are taking time to recover before returning to school. Remember to keep us informed of where things are at with regard to illness.
Parent and Friends Association – our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday June 16 at 7:30pm in the Library. I look forward to seeing you there.
School Committee – our school committee have been looking into different projects that would benefit our school. Please take the time to fill in the survey that was distributed last week. The link is below:
Please fill out this survey to support our school.
Parent Teacher interviews - We will be holding our Parent Teacher conferences during Week 8 – this is next week. A form was sent home last week for you to nominate times for your interviews, thank you to those families who have returned these. It is important that you come along to these interviews as this is an opportunity for you to meet with your child’s teacher and reflect on remote learning and hear about the adjustments that have been made to the reporting process for this semester considering the covid-19 pandemic. As you are aware the pandemic, created many changes that have impacted how we undertook learning for a large part of the semester.
It is important that you attend these meetings as these are a great opportunity for you to provide feedback about your experiences of remote learning and how your child coped during the period of learning from home.
Reports - We have received advice from Catholic Education that the format of our reports for Semester 1 will be different to previous reports. We will be assessing the areas of English, Mathematics and Religion. The other key learning areas will be assessed in Semester Two. Please note changes have also been made to the Social and Personal Capabilities section of the report. This has become Engagement with Learning. It covers the areas of Thinking, Communication, Responsibility and Collaboration. This will be a useful discussion during the parent teacher interviews.
Changes to routine - Thank you to those families who are keeping us informed when children are absent from school, or there are changes to the regular routine. Be aware that we are required to keep the rolls up to date and that thorough explanation for absences enable us to do so.
It is important to note how quickly, what seems like a small absence from school can equate to a large amount of learning time that is lost. Arriving 10min late each morning or leaving “just a few minutes early...” can quickly lead to a substantial block of learning time that is missed from each day. For example, arriving to class 5 minutes late once each day …
= 25 min per week
= 250 min per term (or 4 hrs 10min)
= 1000 min per year (or 16 hrs 40min)
The update of our behaviour plan is a work in progress. In terms of our behaviour management, we are focusing on how we can be considerate of others and their feelings. This can include taking turns, positive encouragement, opening a door for someone, offering to carry equipment, taking care of the equipment that we do have or even remembering to say please and thank you. All these actions are easy courtesies that are gratefully received.
To this end, we have also been talking about how what we say can cause offence or hurt. Some of the children have a way of thinking that suggested that a person is “better” because of the car that their family drives, or the runners that they wear, or the hobbies that they might have.
This misconception can be the cause of disagreements and deep hurt. It is better to reflect on how people are treating each other and who is a person that can be trusted, as these are people that we know that we can call on in times of need.
Please continue having conversations with your children around the things that they can be doing both at home and at school that show an understanding of being considerate of others.
Kinder 2021 – many families are already beginning to plan for 2021.
If you know of a family who would like more information about St Joseph’s, please invite them to contact us at school.
Thank you to those families who have already returned enrolment forms in preparation for 2021.
Book Club – flyers were sent home this week, please finalise your orders by Friday, 19 June 2020.
Take care and stay safe,
Because Black Lives Matter- a prayer
Loving and forgiving God, we come to you today recognising that in matters of ethnicity we have no choice – we are who we have been made to be. Before you, we rejoice at our diversity, and our hearts lift at your great vision of a worshipping multitude gathered from every nation, tribe, people and language.
We have each of us been shaped by different forces; some of us have been ground down, whilst others have been built up. Some of us have been worn away, or have become fractured and broken. Some of us have found life a burden rather than a joy. None of us have experienced the perfect life.
Some of us have inherited power, whilst others of us have inherited powerlessness.
Some of us have been born white, in a world where whiteness confers privilege. Others of us have been born black, in a world where darker skin carries disadvantage.
We know that this is not the world as you would have it be, but it is our world, and it has been our experience.
None of us asked for our skin colour, none of us asked to be born the heirs of oppression, none of us asked to inherit power or powerlessness.
So, before you, and in the name of Jesus Christ who loves all people equally, regardless of ethnicity, gender or social status, we come now to recommit ourselves to your vision of the world.
We come now to pray ‘your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven’, and to offer ourselves once again to live out your coming kingdom of equality and justice in our lives, in our churches, and in our communities.
Help us to discover our true and rightful place within the new humanity created in Christ Jesus-all races together.
We confess our failures to speak out against injustice. We confess those times when, as individuals and as churches, we have witnessed the fracturing of humanity along ethnic grounds, and yet have remained silent. We confess those times when we have been the powerful ones and have chosen to withhold that power whilst another human suffered.
We pray for our churches. May they become places of reconciliation, where each human soul is valued, and where equality in Christ is a reality in our midst. Forgive us those times where we do not live out our calling as your people. May our churches model the new humanity of Christ to those in the communities where we live.
We pray for our communities. Where there is division, may we bring restoration. Where there is inequality may we bring justice. Where there is powerlessness may we lift the broken hearted. Where there is damage may we bring healing.
Loving and forgiving God, hear the desires of our hearts to bring equality, peace and unity to our world.
Amen
Prayer retrieved and adapted from https://www.bloomsbury.org.uk/because-black-lives-matter-a-prayer
