Dear Families,

It has been lovely to welcome our students back and to see their smiles and hear their voices as a school without students just doesn’t feel right!

I read an interesting article over the weekend and would like to share it with you as it is particularly pertinent after our time spent Remote Learning and the use of technology.

Screen time should be shared time

We are all deeply involved with screens, a large proportion of our waking lives is spent looking into them. They’re essential for many activities but there’s a difference between what is useful and what is damaging.

Children are heavy users of screens and they need some guidance as to what is acceptable and where screen use starts to be negative.

Professor Julie Green is a senior leader in parenting and child and family health and wellbeing, she is the Executive Director of the Raising Children Network and has established successful partnerships that have positioned the body and its website raisingchildren.net.au as a leader in online parenting portals.

Prof Green has led the development of digital resources for parents arising from recommendations from parliamentary inquiries and Royal Commissions, national parenting strategies and COAG Advisory Panels.

She says, “It is important to break up screen time with other activities like creative play, reading, physical exercise and socialising. This is because children need their brains and bodies to be engaged in different ways in order to stay healthy, including through face to face interaction with family and peers, moving their bodies in different ways, and hands-on activities that help build the motor and cognitive skills that often aren’t engaged through screen activities.

“Signs that your child’s screen use may be becoming unhealthy include aches and pains from sitting in the same position for too long, a lack of interest in other types of activities, or difficulty regulating their emotions and behaviour.

“The time children spend watching TV, using computers, gaming consoles, tablets and smartphones can be part of a healthy lifestyle. If used in a balanced way, it can help promote learning, bonding with others, and even physical activity (e.g. using health and exercise apps)," Prof Green says.

It’s also essential that screen time is spent consuming quality material, there’s plenty to be found online and, no, Ssundee doesn’t count.

“When using screens, stick to good quality content that ties in with your child’s interests, sparks their imagination or builds on something they are learning at school. You can also encourage children to make informed decisions about their tech usage by talking with them about the information and ideas they are engaging with through screens.”

Rather than leaving kids alone with screens, sharing screen activities with them is one way to spend some time with kids and add some guidance and supervision.

“Sharing screen time with your child can be a great way to build trust, communication and connection, and strengthen your relationship. It gives you the chance to learn more about what interests your child and sends the message that these interests are important to you,” Prof Green says.

Some ideas for sharing screen time include:

Searching online for something you’re both interested in such as a new recipe to cook for dinner or a weekend activity
Playing an ongoing game together, like Scrabble.
Getting active whilst using technology together, for example going for a hike and using a mapping app.
Watching a favourite show together and talking about the stories and ideas in the show.

“As a parent one of the most important things you can do to promote healthy screen behaviours is to model healthy screen usage yourself. This means setting rules that demonstrate what role you would like screens to play in your family (e.g. no screens at the dinner table because it’s important to spend time connecting and having conversations together), as well as interacting with devices in ways you would like your children to follow.

“An important part of modelling healthy screen practices is to not let screens distract you from interacting with your children, or from fully participating in other household activities. This is why tips like not answering notifications or messages while you are talking to your child, and turning the TV off if you’re not actively watching it, can offer helpful guidance,” Prof Green says.

Professor Julie GreenJulie holds concurrent appointments as Principal Research Fellow at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Honorary Principal Fellow at The University of Melbourne and Professor, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University. Julie has a PhD (University of Melbourne), Master of Public Health (La Trobe University), Graduate Diploma in Adult Education (University of Melbourne), Certificate of Nursing and Certificate of Midwifery and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

raisingchildren.net.au is a free, independent online parenting resource that provides up-to date, evidence-based information about raising children. Funded by the Australian Government and reviewed by experts, the website features a myriad of articles, videos and interactive resources that have been tailored to different ages and stages, taking families through nurturing a newborn to raising a confident, resilient teen.

https://raisingchildren.net.au/

EVENTS WAITING FOR DOSCEL APPROVAL

Sacrament of Confirmation Mass/Masses

Sacrament of Eucharist Mass/Masses

School Photos Nov 13th

The Bike ride to Meeniyan for the grade 5's on Friday 11th December

Bike Hike Inverloch - grade 6's on 14th & 15th December

SCHOOL FEES

School Fees Rebates - Due to COVID19, some of the students normal activities covered by the CSE student levy will not go ahead this year. Under instruction from DOSCEL, there will be a rebate on the Student CSE levy in term 4. Rebates will be as follows:

Prep to 2 $175

Gr 3 & 4 $217.20

Gr 5 $462.20

Gr 6 $442.20

It will be a lengthy process to rebate all families, so please be patient. If you are making a payment or payments, please refer to the rebates above. For families not on a payment plan, unpaid school fee payments (less the above rebate for the grades above) would be appreciated as soon as possible.

School fees are not meant to be a burden on your family budget and we understand during COVID19, some families have been affected and are really struggling. If your family is experiencing difficulties in meeting your school fee commitment, we wish to hear from you. Please contact Liz O'Loughlin on principal@stlleongatha.catholic.edu.au as soon as possible as there are concessions available to those who need it.

PREP TRANSITION

COVID19 RESTRICTIONS: Due to all the COVID guidelines we had to shorten the time for transition to an hour and half to have all children offsite before recess. To accommodate this, we will have staggered arrivals and departures. Unfortunately, due to restrictions, parents will not be able to be on the school grounds after the drop off, therefore the short meeting we had planned will not go ahead. A prep pack will be handed out with all relevant information in that would have been given at the meeting.

STAGGERED DROP OFF AND PICK UP: Arrival and departure from stage area (at the back of the gymnasium) entering and exiting via the car park on Ogilvy Street. Please be aware that there is a bus zone outside the school on Ogilvy St from 8:00am to 9:30am and you cannot park there. Alternatively, you can park in the church carpark on Brumley Street and walk to the gymnasium carpark along Ogilvy Street. Please note that you will not be able to enter the school grounds.

Thursday 29th October - 9.00 - 11.00am - children to bring a drink bottle to all sessions please. Parents have been emailed their arrival and departure times.

For all new families, hard copies as well as emails have gone out.

Thursday 12th November - 9.00am - 11.00am. Uniform will be available to purchase. Unfortunately, uniforms can not be tried on for size. Size swap overs will be available at the next transition day on the 26th.

Thursday 26th November - 9.00 - 11.00am

ENROLMENT INTERVIEWS: Enrolment interviews have been granted, but can only have one adult and prep child in attendance. Adults to have masks please (babies are welcome). If the day and time scheduled for you is not suitable, please contact the office and we will see what we can arrange. If you have not received notification of your day and time, I do apologise. Please contact me (Kylie) on 5662 2192 or if you have any questions. Alternatively, you can email me on office@stlleongatha.catholic.edu.au

PRAYER

A Prayer of Celebration and Thanksgiving in Carer’s Week

Loving Father, we thank and honour you for the people who care for us, our

parents, foster parents, grandparents, Godparents, spouses, brothers,

sisters, aunts, uncles, teachers, religious and all those special people in

our lives who just seem to know when we need them. We especially pray for

young people who care for siblings, parents, grandparents and friends.

We ask you to bless, fill and flood their hearts with your endless love.

Jesus, we thank and praise you for those who care for us in a professional

capacity. We pray for doctors, nurses and support staff. We pray for all

those who care for others as volunteers, for those who give their time to just

sit and be present, for those who help with the daily mundane chores of life

and for those who provide personal care so lovingly and respectfully. We ask

you to bless, guide and sustain them with your everlasting peace.

Holy Spirit, pour out your gifts and fruits on all those who provide care for

others. Grant them time and rest to rejuvenate, courage and fortitude to face

the day to day challenges and wisdom and trust to know when to ask for help.

Blessed Trinity, inspire and awaken us to be a Church community that is

actively seeking to provide assistance and support to people who care for

our brothers and sisters, who are witnesses of your gifts to our world.

Amen.

eSmart