Wellbeing & Partnerships
Saints & Spoons Café: A Monday Morning Retreat
Saints & Spoons Café, our school's very own parent café, will be open every Monday morning from 8:45 AM to 10:00 AM in the Kids' Kitchen.
Why Saints & Spoons?
Inspired by the idea of gathering around the table, much like the saints who shared meals and fellowship, Saints & Spoons Café offers a warm and welcoming space for parents to connect, relax, and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea before the school day begins.
What to Expect
- Coffee & Tea: Enjoy a selection of freshly brewed hot beverages.
- Pastries & Treats: Savour a variety of baked goods.
- Community Connection: Meet fellow parents, share stories, and build lasting friendships within our school community.
For our first café, we will have freshly made scones on offer with coffee or tea for $3.
A Space for All
Whether you're a first-time parent or a seasoned school veteran, Saints & Spoons Café is a space for everyone. It's a place to unwind, share experiences, and start the week with a smile.
We look forward to seeing you there every Monday morning.
Lunch Clubs
🌟 Lunchtime Clubs Continue – Rain or Shine! 🌟
We’re excited to share that our lunchtime clubs are still going strong, even with the chillier weather setting in! Thanks to our new timetable of fun activities, there’s something for everyone to enjoy each day of the week – from indoor crafts and storytelling to music, games, and movement.
Our dedicated staff and volunteers are making sure the clubs stay warm, welcoming, and full of energy. Whether your child wants to stay active, be creative, or simply try something new, these clubs offer a great way to make the most of lunchtime in a safe and supportive space.
Don’t forget to check the updated timetable on the school noticeboard and website, and encourage your child to give something new a go this term!
Let the fun continue, whatever the weather! ❄️☀️
Miss N's Lego Masters Club had creativity flowing in abundance this fortnight. The Lego fans thought of ways to create structures that were ''bigger, wider and longer''. I'm sure you all agree that they are pretty amazing!
Happy Families
Our two articles shared this fortnight are both very interesting and worth a read. "Unhurrying Childhood: Why Slowing Down Is the Best Thing for Our Kids" talks about the 'hurried child' as a syndrome. It suggests that, sometimes, we may unknowingly be pushing our children to grow up too fast. The other article, "Teaching Our Kids Self-Control: The Superpower that gets results", provides a number of strategies that are just as helpful for adults as they are for our children!
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
Playgroup at St A's
Do you know that we have weekly playgroup sessions?
Playgroup sessions occur each Thursday in the school hall from 2pm - 3pm.
All babies, toddlers, and children are warmly welcome! Join us for a fun and friendly hour where little ones can play and socialise, and families can connect and support each other.
Come along and be part of our growing community – we’d love to see you there!
Parent Support
We always receive a number of offers from various companies and institutions for additional support available. Whilst they are not always suitable or relevant for our community, sometimes they may be of some help. This fortnight, Swinburne have provided a flyer about a support program for parents around childhood anxiety. A company call WeSupportU are about to provide various OT assessments.
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.
- Communication Safety: The nudity blocker
This clever feature protects your children from inappropriate images. If someone tries to send your child content containing nudity, the system automatically blurs the photo or video before your child can view it on their device.
They’re safeguarded with a three-step verification process, which also offers them ways to get help.
If they choose to continue to view the image or the video, they will need to enter the ‘Screen Time Password’. Which, as mentioned above, they should never know, plus you will get an alert if your child attempts to view blocked content, putting you firmly in control.
How to activate Communication Safety settings:
- Open Screen Time settings:
- iPhone, iPad or Apple Vision Pro: Go to Settings > Screen Time
- Mac: Choose the Apple menu > Systems Settings, then click Screen Time
- Select the name of a child in your family group
- Select Communication Safety
Turn Communication Safety on.
Article sourced from Mama Mia and originally published on 14/4/25
NCCD Information & Application
