Principal's Report

Feast of the Ascension

Dear Parents,

This coming Sunday is the Feast of the Ascension. On this day, we remember Jesus gathering his disciples around him and charging them with the ministry of going out and not only preaching the good news but being 'good news people' to everyone everywhere.

For many years the Feast of the Ascension was celebrated on the Thursday before the seventh Sunday of Easter. It is now celebrated on the seventh Sunday of Easter. As the Ascension story in the Gospel is the most suitable for children, it is used each liturgical year.

When Jesus was about to leave the disciples in a physical sense, He gave them certain instructions. He called them to be His witnesses. They were asked to tell everyone what they had seen and heard. They were to encourage people to turn away from any sinfulness in their lives and ask for and receive God’s forgiveness.

Jesus did not intend to leave His disciples completely alone to cope with this important mission. He promised them that he will send the Holy Spirit who will be their guide and strength and finally He gives them His blessing.

We, like the disciples, are asked to evangelise – to be Christian witnesses.

How do we spread the Good News in our everyday lives?

Individual Differences

Every day children learn new skills and new ways to relate to people around them. School is an environment where students are challenged to share space with others and sometimes conflicts arise. Conflict is part of daily life. One of the greatest challenges facing parents, carers and teachers is to guide children to resolve individual differences effectively and peacefully. By helping children develop skills to use in conflict situations, parents and teachers are equipping them for success in their future lives.

Effective people resolve conflict in ways that protect relationships, honour the feelings of others and lead to a peaceful resolution. They neither avoid conflict nor do they use power to dominate others in order to win conflict.

Parenting expert Michael Grose advises us that it is useful for parents to help children develop a process to resolve disagreements. When two children have a dispute, they may need adult assistance to help find a solution. He advocates using a process called Face-Up, a process that is both easy to learn and highly effective.

In the Face-Up process children face each other and maintain eye contact. This helps for greater openness and understanding. It generally requires an adult to be present as a third party so parents may need to stick around to make sure it works effectively. The steps involved in the Face-up process are:

Safety First:

To ensure safety and integrity it is important that both children are calm. Give them time and some help to regain control if they are angry or upset.

Feelings Second:

Using I – messages, children tell each other how they feel about the situation. “I feel awful when you don’t share your toys.”

Focus on the feelings and don’t let it get into recriminations or accusations.

Repeat Third:

Sometimes this process is enough to get a resolution or at least an apology. Repeat this procedure if necessary so both children feel they have been heard.

Resolve Fourth:

State the problem as you see it or as children identify it. Sometimes children just want to state their case and they will make their own suggestion about resolving it. “You can play with my old toys but I don’t want you playing with my new toys for a while. They’re special.”

Morning Routines

As our mornings are getting colder and darker the challenge of getting our children off to school is more difficult. Believe me I know!

“Come on Fred! Get a move on.

School starts in ten minutes and you’re not even dressed yet!”

If this scenario sounds familiar then you are not alone. Anecdotal evidence suggests that getting children to school or pre school on time can be one of the most difficult tasks for parents. Missing a few minutes each day may not seem like a big deal but your child may be missing more than you realize if he or she is continually late. Current research shows that mornings for most children are the most productive time of the day with 10.00am the peak period for productivity. When children arrive late and take time to settle, as they inevitably do, precious minutes are lost. A child who is fifteen minutes late to school each day misses one week of school every year.

How can you get your dawdling kids out the door without yelling yourself hoarse? Here are a few techniques and ideas for you to try to get your punctually-challenged children to school on time:

Establish a Morning Routine

Make sure your children know what is expected of them in the morning, and also what you will do. Resist nagging but be willing to take them to school even if they have not fully prepared for the day.

Identify and remove distractions such as television

If the children are regular watchers before school change the routine and keep the TV off. It should only be turned on when children are completely ready for school.

Teach some of the basics of time management

The average adult underestimates by about 25 per cent the time it takes to do various jobs. Make sure you have realistic time estimates and stop packing so much into the time you allocate. Encourage older children to estimate how long it takes to do activities such as getting ready in the morning. Then they can measure the time taken to do these tasks and compare their estimates with real time.

Arrive at school ten minutes early

Plan to arrive at school early rather than be there on time. This idea works well for perpetual latecomers, whether young or old.

Model a good routine

It is pointless expecting children to be organized in the morning if you are in a muddle yourself. Set a good example by being as methodical as possible and avoid sleeping in unless your children are so organized that they get you breakfast in bed!

Supporting Parents in the Faith Education of the Children

At this particular time of the year, we are called to keep in mind the Year Six and Year Four

The primary role of a Catholic school is to support parents in the faith education of their children. Parents play an essential role in the life of the school and contribute in many positive ways to the education of their children. Our Religious Education program is based on the Religious Education units of work produced and issued by the Catholic Education Office with the approval of the Archbishop of Perth and the Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia.

Parents are encouraged to attend the various Masses and prayer services, that are an integral part of life in a Catholic school. Notices of school and class Masses and prayer services are given on the term

calendar and upcoming liturgical celebrations are noted each week in the school newsletter.

We are reminded that as parents, we have made a conscious decision to send our child/ren to a Catholic school. Therefore when we enrol our children in a Catholic school we agree to:

Be supportive of a full Catholic education
Support the educational and spiritual programme of the school.
Be actively involved in the life of the school

students, their families and teachers who are preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation and Sacrament of First Eucharist (First Holy Communion). This is a most significant time for each individual child and one of the most special celebrations and gifts that they have an opportunity to receive. Further information about the Sacraments will shared in the coming newsletters.

Three-Year-Old Program

The Three-Year-Old Kindergarten at Infant Jesus School provides an educational program for Pre- Kindergarten children. The program at the school is very much play-based and helps the children develop independence and creativity by offering interesting and fun activities, that are developmentally appropriate, in a semi- structured form. The program follows a routine similar to Kindergarten where the children are in the care of a teacher and a teacher assistant for the duration of the session, but parent help is encouraged.

Who May Attend the Program?

The 2018 program is offered to children who will have turned THREE by 30 June 2018 and plan to continue attending Infant Jesus School in 2018 and beyond. Regulations prevent us from taking children until they have turned three years of age. Please note that enrolment at the Infant Jesus School Three-Year-Old program does not guarantee a place in the Four-Year-Old Kindergarten Program. Interviews will be conducted for both places.

Interested parents are asked to contact Mrs Cheryl Macpherson at the school office for enrolment forms for 2018 Three-Year-Old program.

Parent Sign-in Procedure

As a school it is our duty to ensure that all students who attend Infant Jesus School are provided with the maximum duty of care. It is necessary to be informed of where all students are within the school, within school hours. To enable this to happen, any student who leaves the school grounds during school time must be ‘signed out’.

To ensure that teachers, including specialist subject teachers, are carrying out their duty of care, we ask parents who need to take children out of school prior to home time to please adhere to this request. Upon signing a child out from the school a parent will be provided with a permission slip that needs to be given to the teacher. This way the teacher is sure that permission has been given.

If you are a parent helper or visitor to the school you MUST sign the Visitor’s Book in the office. We ask for parent’s cooperation in this matter.