Dear Families

St Anne painted by Leonardo Da Vinci

O God, You bestowed on St Anne such grace that she was found worthy to become the mother of Mary who brought forth your only begotten Son.

Grant that we may be helped by her intercession.

This latest lockdown has certainly tested our resilience and agility. I would like to thank our children for the way they have adapted once again to learning online, our staff who quickly moved into teaching online and our parents who have supported our children to continue learning from home. It's great to have our children back here with us and I hope you all had a very relaxing day today, not having to balance work, home and children trying to learn on a screen.

We have some very disappointed children who have had their Eucharist or school camp cancelled due to the recent restrictions. We will keep you updated about new dates or a change of program. While we are seeking out alternative dates I ask for your patience and understanding.

Last Friday we celebrated St Anne’s feast day. Although we know little about the life of Ann, we do know that her and her husband Joachim were a very respected couple. They prayed for a child and Mary was born and dedicated to God at a very early age. Anne is often shown in paintings with Jesus and Mary. Anne is the patron saint for grandparents and being Mary’s mother she must be the most significant grandmother in history. We acknowledge our grandparents and the importance they play in the lives of our children. Our children love being with their grandparents. They love their stories, their cuddles as well as the many treats they receive. Also our children gain a deeper awareness of the importance of being a member of a family that is filled with traditions, history and love. We will be holding our annual grandparents day early in Term 4.

COVID 19 - Restrictions

A reminder that parents who come into the Office and school grounds, must sign in via the QR Code and wear a mask. This is a requirement from the Victorian Government. I also ask that parents remember to social distance - 1.5 m when dropping off or collecting your children each day.

Positive Behaviour for Learning

Our focus for the upcoming weeks is to be RESILIENT when we are playing outside. Resilience is the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events while retaining a positive sense of self. At school we will focus on ‘I statements’ At home there are many strategies you can use to assist your children to further develop their resilience. These suggestions come from Michael Grose.

If we want our children to grow into resilient adults, we need to stop solving their problems for them. We need to help make kids become courageous problem-solvers.

Turn requests for help into problems for kids to solve

Kids get used to bringing their problems to parents to solve. If you keep solving them, they’ll keep bringing them. Alternatively, you can take a problem-solving approach, cueing them to resolve their own problems and take responsibility for their concerns. ‘What can you do to make her stop annoying you?’ ‘What’s the best approach to take with your teacher?’ ‘Socks, smocks! Where might they be?’

Ask good questions to prompt problem-solving A problem-solving approach relies on asking good questions, which can be challenging if you are used to solving your child’s problems. The first question when a child brings you a problem should be: ‘Can you handle this on your own?’ Next should be, ‘What do you want me to do to help you solve the problem?’ These questions are not meant to deter children from coming to you. Rather to encourage and teach them to start working through their own concerns themselves.

Coach them through problems and concerns Imagine your child feels they were unfairly treated. The easiest solution may be for you to try and solve the problem. Even though you may or may not resolve the problem, in doing so you are teaching a child to become dependent on you. Alternatively, you could coach your child to try and solve the problem themselves. Obviously, there are times when children need their parents to be advocates for them such as when they have a problem or concern, but we need to make the most of the opportunities for children to speak for themselves. Better to help your children find the right words to use and discuss the best way to approach another person when they have problems. These are great skills to take into adulthood.

Prepare kids for problems and contingencies You may coach your child to be independent – walk to school, spend some time alone at home (when old enough) – but do they know what to do in an emergency? Discuss different scenarios with children whenever they enter new or potentially risky situations so that they won’t fall apart when things don’t go their way. Remember, the Boy Scouts motto – Be Prepared!

Show a little faith

Sometimes you’ve got to show faith in children. We can easily trip them up with our negative expectations such as saying ‘Don’t spill it!’ to a child who is carrying a glass filled with water. Of course, your child doesn’t want to spill it but you’ve just conveyed your expectations with that statement. We need to be careful that we don’t sabotage children’s efforts to be independent problem-solvers with comments such as, ‘Now don’t stuff it up!’, ‘You’ll be okay, won’t you?’ , ‘You’re not very good at looking after yourself!’

Applaud mistakes and stuff ups

Would a child who accidentally breaks a plate in your family while emptying the dishwasher be met with a ‘that’s really annoying, you can be clumsy sometimes’ response or a ‘it doesn’t matter, thanks for your help’ type of response? Hopefully it won’t be the first response, because nothing shuts down a child’s natural tendencies to extend themselves quicker than an adult who can’t abide mistakes.If you have a low risk-taking, perfectionist child, consider throwing a little party rather than making a fuss when they make errors so they can learn that mistakes don’t reflect on them personally, and that the sun will still shine even if they break a plate, tell a joke that falls flat or doesn’t get a perfect exam score.

God bless and stay safe,

Ms Noelene Hussey

Please keep the Lever children in you thoughts and prayers following the passing of their Father

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