Active Citizenship

In a democracy, children and adults express citizenship in three ways, through:

Responsible actions
Leadership
Innovative thinking

The more children learn to develop skills and abilities that support citizenship, the greater mark they make on the world. It's that simple. Democracies need citizens to play three roles and the more roles people play, the greater society thrives. Parents and educators influence how kids view citizenship and how they eventually turn ideas and passion into action.

"I Am Responsible"

When children are young, they learn kindness, respect, and empathy - internal strengths that connect them to others. You can't just talk about these feelings;

OSHC is a place where children learn and experience these positive values.

"I Can Help Improve my Community"

In order for communities to grow and thrive, people must step up and take leadership roles. Many children as young as ten have the capacity to inspire and mobilize others.

When children learn to improve their communities, they develop the capacity to organize others. They acquire problem-solving, planning, time management, and marketing skills. They learn about community agencies and how local governments work. Experiences that involve teamwork, collaboration, and interaction are training grounds for future organized citizens, people who set goals, work within established systems, and motivate others to help. These kinds of citizens coordinate food drives, develop recycling programs, or take part in community-action committees.

"I Can Help Solve Societal Problems"

Just like businesses require innovation and the ability to respond to change, so do communities and nations. By the time children reach adolescence, their brains are capable of understanding complex issues and exploring the root causes of problems. In order for democracies to thrive, citizens must question and respectfully debate how to improve society -- how to change established systems that are inefficient or unjust.

Educators use intentional moments during transitions to develop “citizenship” within the OSHC especially amongst older children. Older children are expected to volunteer a small portion of their time and efforts to ensure transitions and routines are effective and that foundation children and newcomers are made to feel safe and secure. Some of the responsibilities that go hand in hand with “active citizenship” have seen older children walk younger children to school, ensuring they follow all the safety protocols around drive through, close the school gate at 3.45pm, open/close the sports shed, implement group games such as bingo and musical games, help with cooking experiences, maintain the Reconciliation garden, and take the rubbish to the school dumpster.

Simultaneously, older children are granted freedom to develop their own space and given privacy.

This is however a two way street. This means Educators trust older children to make good decisions, behave appropriately/safely, and balance their afternoon with meeting their homework responsibilities and having fun.

The active citizenship program directly addresses the outcomes related “Becoming”.

"Becoming emphasises learning to participate fully and actively in society".

A child’s sense of becoming refers to the changes they experience as they grow, learn and develop. Within OSHC, a child’s sense of being changes over time as they gain knowledge, extend their understandings, create relationships and develop skills. This enables a child to learn to participate actively in today’s society.

Further strategies that Educators will include to develop “Becoming”

Encouraging independence
Focusing on the child’s positives
Enabling children to be confident
Reflecting on individual growth
Aspiring others
Acknowledging self
Maintaining and developing relationships
Building foundations for learning
Expanding on skills

School Closure Days

The service will operate both the 10th and11th March from 8-6 pm School Closure days. To book, please email stfinbarsaftercare@gmail.com.

COVID safety- Please BYO face masks. Years 3-6 are required to wear face masks when indoors, however should the service decide to watch a movie, then ALL children will be required to wear a face mask indoors.

BYO HEALTHY LUNCH, SNACKS (extra snacks) AND DRINK BOTTLE WITH WATER: where food is brought from home, the service encourages families to provide food that is consistent with the: Australian Government guidelines Get Up & Grow: Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for Early Childhood, and/or Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia. We encourage parents to provide extra fruit and vegetables for afternoon snack and “sometimes foods” to be kept to a minimum. Store lunches in our fridge (chilled water is always available @ the service) Snack time 10.15am - Lunch 12.15pm.

Please note that the service aspires to be a nut and egg free environment.

Anaphylaxis: Under regulations children who have been prescribed an adrenaline auto-injection device such as an EpiPen® must bring it to the service. Please note that the school office will be closed during the school closure days and as such OSHC staff cannot access the first aid room.

To ensure parents/guardians of the child/ren diagnosed at risk of anaphylaxis are provided with a copy of the policy (r. 20(2A)), the service has now posted the policy on the school website. (Community tab; OSHC; Anaphylaxis policy)

Thunderstorm Asthma

Actions required by parents or guardians If a child is diagnosed with asthma all medication and asthma action plan must accompany the child to the service. It's important to note that the school is a separate entity and as such permission by the parent must be given for the child to bring their medication from the office to the After care.

Asthma medication must be provided during School Closure Days.

Clothing and footwear; casual, comfortable and protective.

Behaviour- Children are expected to follow the rules and practice positive behaviour, where a mutual respect between staff and children shall be fostered. If a child/rens behaviour is deemed unsatisfactory, behaviour management action will take place to positively change the behaviour (redirect to quieter activities) if unsatisfactory behaviour persists, then an incident record will be completed and parents/guardians notified. The Directress reserves the right to exclude the child/ren from participating in the program.

Electronic games are welcome although items bought from home are the children’s responsibility. St Finbar’s OSHC will not take responsibility for lost or broken games.

Kids on wheels- bring anything with wheels and a helmet for safety.

Please note: Families must be registered and have a current assessment in order to claim the Child Care Subsidy Rebate.

The cost of the day is $47 per child and attracts the CCS rebate.

Please note that the service will be closed Monday 14th March Labour Day

Accounts due

Accounts are now out. Should you have any queries then please email stfinbarsaftercare@gmail.com.The accounts cover weeks 1&2 of Term1. Accounts are emailed directly to a dedicated family email. If an email is not available then accounts are distributed via the office which are then handed to children by their class room teacher. If you do not receive your account please email the service.. Cash is NOT to be left at the school office. Cheques are accepted however the most preferred way is via a direct transfer to the St Finbar’s OSHC bank account (St Finbar’s Outside School Hours Care BSB: 083 347A/c: 55055 9263. Please include your surname and child’s name in the Ref area). Thank you in advance.

Parish News

St Finbar's Parish Bulletin 20th February, 2022