From the Principal

~Do all that you do with love~

Dear Families,

Here we are, half way through the term already! It has been great to welcome so many of you through the doors, I think as a staff we have chatted in person with just about every family through drop off and pick up, our welcome BBQ and Getting to Know You meetings. Some of you have also attended our volunteer workshops - we thank you and look forward to your support at some of the activities we have planned for this year. Please keep an eye out for information regarding Harmony Day on Friday 21st. We are planning our biggest and best celebration yet.

As we head into the second half of the term, and what a busy few weeks it is going to be, please join us for our school Masses and assemblies. We love having family and friends join us.

Positive Family Connections

All of you will have received an email, phone call or been stopped for a chat during the first month of the school year. Our focus has been to engage with all families for positive conversations. Some of you groan when you answer the phone to a member of staff, dreading what news you are going to hear. We aim to change this and all teaching staff are endeavouring to contact more families for celebration of your children meeting our school wide expectations of Respect, Responsibility, Cooperation and Courtesy. When you do receive an email, phone call or have a chat, please follow this up with your child and let them know how proud we are of them. Ask them to explain how they have demonstrated our expectations and celebrate. Whilst some of the actions are small, remember that St Therese said 'nothing is small in the eyes of God. Do all that you do with love.'

Cyber Safety Parent Information Session

Thank you to the families that attended our Cyber Safety session led by Susan McLean. It was disappointing that a number of you were not able to attend this valuable session. Susan shared many important facts and statistics, highlighting the necessity for parents to be informed about how to keep our children safer online.

One of the key takeways was the use of social media. This is particularly relevant now with the government'd decision to change the suitable age for many social platforms from 13 to 16 years old by the end of the year. There were questions about the suitability of social media, and the clear message was that no child under the age of 13 should be on any platform. If your child has a phone or iPad, Susan strongly recommends that you review the terms and conditions of any apps they use and be prepared to monitor their online activities closely.

For those of you seeking more information, you can access Susan's website - https://www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au and for those of you that use Facebook, you will also find her there - Susan McLean Cyber Safety Expert.

All families who attended were entered into a prize draw - Congratulations to Shane's family in the Senior school, they have won a family movie voucher.

NAPLAN

Next week, students in grade 3 and 5 will sit their NAPLAN tests. All families have received an information sheet regarding this but if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact your child's class teacher or Michelle Hinds, our NAPLAN coordinator. Whilst I encourage you not to put additional pressure on your child, please ensure they have had a good nights sleep and breakfast before coming to school - it is hard to concentrate in test situations if you are tired or hungry.

Don't forget you can keep up to date with news and events happening at the school by following us on Instagram or Facebook!

Have a great week!

Felicity Broughton

principal@sttcbourne.catholic.edu.au