Principal's News
Dear Parents and Carers,
Yesterday the portable classroom that is home to Ms Sahyoune’s Grade 4 class was moved to its new site alongside our other Grade 4 classrooms and is having the power and other services reconnected this week. Ms Sahyoune’s Grade 4 class have taken it in their stride and are working merrily in our Multipurpose Room this week.
We look forward to the new, improved and expanded facilities that our new Building Program will deliver as we continue to implement the Masterplan that we have for Sacred Heart.
SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM We had a beautiful assembly led by our Grade 3 classes last Friday, here at school. The children demonstrated an excellent understanding of the Sacraments that many of them are preparing to celebrate for the first time in coming weeks. Congratulations and thank you to the children and their teachers for this.
Children who are enrolled in the Parish Sacramental Mass are reminded to attend either the 6:00pm Saturday night Mass or the 11:00am Sunday Mass this coming weekend at St Mary’s Church. Members of the Sacramental Team will be in attendance to work with the children during both of these Masses.
SCHOOL REVIEW The external panel overseeing our School Review will be attending our school both tomorrow and Thursday. Many thanks to the parents who responded to my email asking for volunteers from the parent community to meet with the reviewers tomorrow. This meeting will be held in the Staff Room from 3:00pm until 3:30pm.
PARENTING IS TOUGH An article I have on file that I have always found worth a revisit to reassure us as parents:
“Without a doubt parenting is confusing, challenging, exhausting, fabulous, delightful and amazing, and often all these things on any given day. We can get lost in the struggle to know how to be 'good enough' parents who will allow our precious cherubs to grow up to be happy, healthy, strong, kind and resilient.
Babies are technically born without emotional and social awareness, and they need consistent loving care to learn how to be decent human beings.
This endless journey of teaching and guiding is what parents need to focus on after basic needs have been met. Gradually the last century's preferred style of punitive parenting — shaming and punishing kids when they do what we don't want — as a way to improve human behaviour is now seen as ineffective long-term.
That doesn't mean we have to instead be a soft touch whose children rule the roost.
Parents are meant to be the 'alpha' people in the house. This means our kids need to know we are the ones who keep healthy boundaries and structures and we will be their main protectors if the need arises. For those who have highly spirited, strong willed 'rooster' children this means there will often be times you have to be 'mean' – where children lose privileges or need to do things to show they have to make things right and be accountable for their actions.
Without these 'mean' moments little roosters can become narcissistic, overly competitive, mean and power hungry.
Being 'mean' also includes having children do regular chores, speak politely and use manners. Research shows that modelling how we want our children to behave works much better than telling them how to behave (ouch!).
The long-term benefits are enormous in developing a moral code and a conscience. P.S. They don't hate you for long for making them accountable.
Being mean also means that sometimes when children are unable to practise self-regulation – when they hit, bite, push or fight – we may need to remove them from that situation quietly, firmly and confidently, and let them know we are not going to let them hurt others. They do get better at self-regulation as they mature.
Our primary need as humans is attachment or deep connectedness and when we have that from our parents or primary carers we can then feel safe and secure to focus on growing, exploring, being happy and becoming competent. When children feel loved – especially unconditionally – they are motivated by love and affection and this means they try harder to make better choices. When kids muck up they are more likely to respond to non-threatening and caring teaching and guidance if they feel loved and connected, rather than through punitive punishment.
Essentially being a mean and loving parent is what authoritative parenting is all about. Too much mean is authoritarian, the 'my way or the highway' approach. Not enough mean is more submissive, where kids are not given guidance and structure and so they can feel confused and often struggle working to social norms later in life.
Of course it is so much more fun being a loving parent than being mean because we love our children so much – we never want to cause them discomfort.
REPORT TO THE FRONT OFFICE PLEASE
PICK UP IN SCHOOL HOURS/LATE TO SCHOOL
If for any reason your child is arriving late to school, picked up and returned during school hours or is leaving early from school, parents/carers will need to come into the Front office and use our ‘Student Kiosk’ to attend to this matter. This procedure enables us to establish who is and isn’t at the school should an emergency situation arise and for monitoring student attendance.
ILLNESS AND ABSENCE
The school must be contacted if your child is absent from school for any reason. Parents/carers may notify the school of this absence (before 10:00am each day) by using PAM in the first instance, or an email or phone call to the school office will also meet this requirement.
Emails should be directed to office@shcolac.catholic.edu.au
In the case of special circumstances such as an infectious disease, a death or serious illness in the family, a prolonged absence through serious illness or accident or an “in term” holiday, DIRECT contact with the school office is required.
FACE MASKS are HIGHLY recommended. Clearly Covid-19 and the flu continue to pose a health risk in our community and, of course, none of us know where and to whom our germs may be inadvertently spread to. So care is required.
The four reasons that you must wear a mask that apply in our setting are:
1. “If you have COVID-19 or are a close contact and are leaving the premises for a permitted reason.” (such as school)
2. In a public indoor space if you are a close contact. (such as a classroom)
3. On public transport, in taxis/rideshare services and in tourism vehicles.(Such as a school bus)
4.After being tested for COVID-19 and awaiting results. (R.A.Tests will be sent home at least 3 more times during Term 3)
Following these rules will hopefully keep us all healthy and help us to keep our school open.