Wellbeing & Partnerships
Our Amazing Community!
What a Fortnight!
The last two weeks at school have been packed with amazing community events!
We celebrated Book Week in style with our vibrant Book Week Parade, a special incursion from a talented illustrator, and of course, the always-popular Book Fair.
Our Grade 3/4 students enjoyed fascinating Livingstone Science incursions, and the whole school came together for St Augustine’s Feast Day Mass.
Italian Day brought a splash of culture, language, and fun – with a memorable Italian incursion, and let’s not forget the delicious pizza and gelato!
These events provided so many wonderful opportunities for us to come together as a community.
A quick update: our Movie Trivia Night, originally scheduled for this Saturday, has now been rescheduled to Saturday, 11th October. We hope you can join us for what promises to be a fun-filled evening – just for the parents of our amazing school community!
Lunch Clubs
Lunch Clubs Still Going Strong – Rain or Shine!
Even with a few wet and windy days keeping us indoors, our lunch clubs have continued without a hitch! These clubs have become a much-loved part of the school day, especially for our Prep and Junior students. Each playtime offers a new opportunity to take part in a fun, structured activity led by a member of staff.
Whether it’s colouring, board games, loom banding, or something new, children are excited to see what’s on offer each day. It’s also a wonderful way for them to make new friends across year groups while enjoying a calm and creative break from the playground.
Lego Masters Still a Hit!
Lego Masters with Miss N continues to be a popular lunchtime club! Over the past fortnight, the focus has been on building cool characters, followed by an exciting free-build session. These creative challenges gave children the chance to experiment and let their imaginations run wild.
There was a real buzz in the room as students proudly shared their creations with each other – a lovely mix of creativity, confidence, and collaboration!
Happy Families
This fortnight, we've come across two insightful articles from Happy Families that are well worth a read.
🔍 You Find What You’re Looking For: Changing the Way We See Our KidsThis reflective piece encourages us to consider the subtle ways we interact with our children—through our words, tone, and body language. It highlights how even throw-away lines or unconscious expressions can shape how our children see themselves. It’s a gentle reminder of the power of mindful communication and the importance of looking for the good in our kids.
💬 Three Conversations Every Family Should MasterThis article explores the three types of conversations children tend to remember most: practical, emotional, and social. It got us thinking about how we can be more intentional in these everyday interactions. Whether it’s giving instructions, offering comfort, or helping children navigate friendships, these conversations play a key role in their development—and our relationships with them.
We hope these articles spark meaningful reflection and conversation at home, just as they did for us.
If you would like to provide some feedback please email your thoughts to: admin@safranksth.catholic.edu.au
Insight Articles
Please remember, Insights are released once a week during the term and we will include them in the school newsletter. The membership also allows parents and staff to access all of the previous 300+ Insights articles. To do so at any time, use the below URL and password.
https://schools.happyfamilies.com.au/login/augustine
PASSWORD: happystaps
Term 3 Holidays
Our friends at Monkey Minds are offering holiday programs for children in Prep to Grade 4. Please see the flyer attached below for more information.
We would love to have you join us at St A's - would you like to help out?
As the school year begins, it's a great time to find out how you can become an active member of our vibrant community at St Augustine's. We always appreciate an extra pair of hands to help across the school for a variety of reasons. This term we will have Cooking & Gardening sessions, a number of sporting events and excursions planned. It would be great if you are able to get involved and take part. If you are keen to join in, please make sure you have a current Working With Children Check.
Savers Plus
About Saver Plus:
Saver Plus is a free community program where participants can get up to $500 in matched funding for education costs.
There are three parts to the program:
- SAVING – ANZ bank will match what participants save up to $50 a month to a total of $500 over 10 months
- WORKSHOPS - fun workshops where participants build on their money management skills and we share practical resources. These are held on Zoom and have never been more flexible to attend.
- CLAIMING - In the 11th month of the program participants claim their matched funding.
Eligibility:
Participants MUST:
1. Be 18+ years old and doing the program for the first time
2. Have Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card
3. Have a Centrelink payment
4. Be studying themselves or have a child that is studying
5. Have some money from work – includes cash in hand work, child support payments, partner’s work and carer payments.
Online Safety Hacks (for Apple devices)
Over the next few newsletters, we will be sharing some practical hacks to keep children safe while using Apple Devices
Before getting started
Before diving into these hacks, you’ll need to set up a separate Apple Account for your child. This prevents them from accessing your personal data while giving them their own safe space to explore.
Then you can easily set age-based parental controls, and they can use Family Sharing.
- On your iPhone or iPad
- Go to Settings > Family
- Tap the Add Member button
- Tap Create Child Account, then tap Continue.
EXPERT TIP: Never share the ‘Screen Time’ password with your child; this will null and void the safety features as they will be able to override them. This is a parent or carer, ‘family circle only’ level of trust.
TIP 2: Ask to Buy: Your digital wallet guardian
This setting is to ensure that you are never caught off guard by app or in-app purchases. Plus, it helps to ensure all app purchases (even free ones) or anything else that can be purchased through the Apple Store are appropriate for your child.
The ‘Ask to Buy’ feature will send you a request that requires your approval every time your child tries to make a purchase. This means no more unexpected bills, and you can ensure the purchases are age-appropriate.
How to activate the Ask To Buy function:
- Open the Settings app
- Tap Family in iOS 16 or above
- In iOS 16 or above, tap your family member’s name, then tap Ask to Buy
- In iOS 15 or earlier, tap Ask to Buy, then tap your family member’s name
Article sourced from Mama Mia and originally published on 14/4/25
NCCD Information & Application
