GENERAL NEWS
NO WRAPPER WEEK
next week ..... Week 9
7 Facts About Plastic Bags that Will Change How You Use Them
(Sourced from National Geographic)
Every second, 160,000 plastic bags are used around the world.
All together, it adds up to a trillion plastic bags being used every year. The amount of petroleum it takes to produce one plastic bag could drive a car 11 metres. The amount of petroleum it takes to produce ten plastic bags could drive a car the length of a football field.
A plastic bag is used for an average of 12 minutes.
After its 12 minutes of use, it’s generally discarded. In fact, less than 3% of plastic bags are recycled worldwide. Once discarded, plastic bags will remain in the environment for 1,000 years before they decompose!
267 different species of animals have been affected by marine debris.
We know this isn’t specifically about plastic bags, but 90% of marine debris is one kind of plastic or another.
Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most found in coastal clean-ups.
Plastic bags are so commonly found during coastal clean-ups that they are among the 12 most found items of debris. All the more reason to reduce our use of them.
If we joined all the plastic bags in the world together, they would circumnavigate the globe 4,200 times.
If just one person used recycled plastic bags over their lifetime, they would be removing 22,000 plastic bags from the environment.
With these facts in mind, let us all at St Nicholas School
try to do our bit by reducing our plastic wrappers next week.
If we can do it for one week ...... we can make a lifelong change to our plastic wrapper habit.
Year 6 Debating Final
Next Monday 16th September the following teams will go head to head in the final of Year 6 Debating, arguing the topic "That social media is beneficial." We thank Mrs Kirrilee Ringland for accepting the challenge to adjudicate this final for us! Congratulations and good luck to these students:
Affirmative: Mia Shvili, Ella Dowden, Cooper Holzigal, Amelia Traill
Negative: Cooper Darlington, Mia Wallace, Hannah Wakely and Hugh Burnett.
END OF TERM 3 SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
We are nearing the end of Term 3 with only two weeks to go. If you are in need of care for your children through school holidays, you may like to consider our onsite SHERPA KIDS holiday care. The children have the use of our fantastic field facilities, visits to Forum 6 cinemas, arts and craft and much more.
Please call William Wong on 0410 841628 to reserve a place.
KINDERGARTEN 2020
Our Kindergarten classes are now full for 2020. If you have a child starting Kindergarten in 2020, please mark your diary with these upcoming Term 4 dates. Any queries, please contact our office staff.
PARENT INFORMATION EVENING
Wednesday, 23 October 2019 - 6.00pm
St Nicholas School - The Hub
The Parent Information Evening is important for parents to attend once their child is enrolled. Points for discussion will include: what we do at St Nicholas School, school readiness, orientation days, Best Start Program, After School Care, Additional Needs, first days, Religious Education at St Nicholas School and more …
Orientation Day 1
Monday, 4 November 2019 - 9.00am to 11.00am
There will be three orientation sessions for Kindergarten 2020 children. The Orientation Days for children are significant in helping children familiarise themselves with the school environment and helping to make the transition to ‘big school’ so much easier. These days are also used by teachers to make observations which may help us to cater for your child’s needs. Children should be dressed in appropriate casual clothing with a hat and closed in shoes. Your child should bring a water bottle and cut fruit for morning tea each morning.
Morning Tea for Kindergarten 2020 parents (hosted by 2019 Kindergarten parents)
Monday, 4 November 2019 - 9.00am to 11.00am
St Nicholas School Auditorium
On Monday, 4th November (first of the orientation days) parents are invited to morning tea in the school auditorium. This morning tea is hosted by our current Kindergarten parents and will give Kindergarten 2020 parents the opportunity to meet each other while having the opportunity to receive valuable information regarding uniforms and bus travel. New and second hand uniforms will be for sale as well as the school bag, hat and book bag.
Orientation Day 2 - 9.00am to 11.00am - Monday, 11 November 2019
Orientation Day 3 - 9.00am to 11.00am - Monday, 18 November 2019
Kindergarten Best Start Interviews - Wednesday, 29 January to Tuesday, 4 February 2020
Kindergarten 2020 students start 2020 school year (full school days) - Wednesday, 5 February 2020
STUDENT ABSENCE
Please notify the school if your child is absent. Due to government legislation, notification of your child's absence must be received no later than 7 days after your child's last day of absence.
You can do this in the following three ways ....
1. Telephone our office staff (office hours 8am to 4pm).
2. Email our office staff (admin@stnicholastamworth.catholic.edu.au).
3. Use the school website home page to send through a student absentee.
Many parents are surprised by their child's absence details when receiving the end of Semester reports. Please do not panic. Notifying the school can be easily forgotten, especially when caring for an ill member of the family. If you are in doubt as to whether you have notified the school, please contact our office staff and they are more than welcome to print you a list of your child's absences and rectify.
STUDENT SICKNESS - SICKBAY
We are experiencing a large increase in students coming to sick bay. It's that time of the year and with the winds and dust, our asthmatic children are also experiencing difficulty. High temperatures, coughing, headaches, vomiting and gastro is making it's way through the classrooms.
Remind your children to keep their fluids up, wash their hands and cover their mouths when coughing. Please keep your child at home if they have an illness that can spread.
SCHOOL UNIFORM CHANGE OVER
Due to the unseasonable weather we have decided to permit our students to wear either full summer uniform or full winter uniform. This is totally optional but we ask that both uniforms be worn neat and tidy until the end of the term. Our official changeover is Week 1, Term 4.
OUR SCHOOL UNIFORM - IT MATTERS
Here at St Nicholas School we have high expectations and one particular area we expect students to show this is in the way they present each day in their school uniform.
We ask parents to support us in the following:
**No coloured scrunchies or hair accessories - The only colour to be worn is green please.
**No other earrings apart from simple studs or sleeper. Save other decorative earrings for the weekends and holidays.
**No excessive jewellery - only a watch is to be worn. Other jewellery can be worn on weekends.
PARENTING IDEAS
by Michael Grose
Why Self-sufficiency is Paramount
Recently, a mother of two primary school children thanked me for the impact one of my presentations had on her parenting style.
When I asked what was it that made the difference, she said that one particular question I posed in the presentation had the most impact. The question was “What are you regularly doing for your children now that they can do themselves?” My message of developing self-sufficiency in children from the earliest possible age stayed with her.
Why is self-sufficiency important?
Self-sufficiency, of the ‘I can do it myself’ kind, is the basis of self-esteem and resilience. One of the main developmental tasks is for children and teenagers to gain a sense of control and mastery over their environment. This mastery begins by gaining basic competencies such as being able to feed and dress yourself as a toddler and then gradually adding new competencies as physical and mental capacities allow. The development of children’s independence can be frustrating and time-consuming, particularly if you are time-poor or have a strong perfectionist streak. But that is the price of independence-building.
Step back to allow kids to step up
Respected US parenting and child development expert Dr. Debora Gilboa (aka Dr. G) believes parents need to step back to allow children to step up. It’s a smart phrase that infers that parents need to take on the role of their child’s teacher rather than be the person who is always solving their problems and doing routine tasks for them. Gilboa says, “It’s crucial that you take a step back and let your kids make mistakes and learn from their experiences. You aren’t going to be there in adulthood to clear the obstacles they face or solve their struggles.” It is through dealing with their own frustrations and learning from their mistakes that kids develop the resilience needed to stand on their own two feet.
Self-sufficiency tips
Gilboa gives the following three tips to develop self-sufficiency in children at any age:
- Problem-solving. When your child or adolescent comes to you with a problem, resist the urge to fix it. Invite them to resolve the problem themselves.
- Welcome failure. This is hard in our perfectionistic world but expect them to struggle and talk about what they can do to get back on their feet.
- Expect them to help. Give them tasks that help the whole family, not just themselves and make sure they do them well. Be patient, but firm.
Self-sufficiency has many forms and many faces, including the ability to problem-solve, emotional self-regulation and taking responsibility for your actions. It’s easiest to develop in children when they are young. This is also because not every child in a family will take to independence as willingly as others.
If developing independence is something that you haven’t focused on before, don’t despair. It’s not too late to start. Begin where you feel comfortable, rather than make huge changes straightaway. Persist rather than give in when you have resisters; the notion of independence is too important for children’s future success.
MCCARTHY CATHOLIC COLLEGE
Year 7 2020 Orientation & Information Night
ORIENTATION DAY
Monday 2 December 2019 - 9.30am to 2.30pm
McCarthy Catholic College Hall
Students from St Nicholas School will be transported to MCC at 9.00am and returned at 2.30pm with Hannafords Coaches. Students are to wear their full primary school uniform and bring their own morning tea, lunch and a drink bottle. All students will be met by senior student buddies on their arrival at the College.
PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT
Monday 2 December 2019 - 6.00pm to 6.45pm
McCarthy Catholic College Hall
Following the Year 7 2020 Orientation Day we will be holding a Parent Information Night to discuss important information for the transition of your child to high school at MCC.
If you have any questions in regards to Orientation Day or the Parent Information Night please contact: Mrs Belinda Gleeson-Barker
Enrolments Officer
Telephone: 02-67610802
Email: bgleeson@arm.catholic.edu.au.
LOST PROPERY
We have the following items in the office. If you recognise any of the items, please contact the office to claim.
SUPERVISION OF STUDENTS
All parents need to be aware our supervision of students does not begin until 8.15am each day. We are becoming increasingly concerned that children are being dropped off and left on their own, unsupervised by parents before this time - often up to half an hour earlier. This is not a safe or acceptable practice. Currently students are expected to come in and sit in the Holy Family Courtyard unsupervised and wait. We cannot be responsible for any accident or potentially harmful incidents occurring. Please organise alternative care for your child if your child requires supervision before 8.15am.
SCHOOL STUDENT TRANSPORT SCHEME (SSTS)
For information visit https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts