What a perfect day we had for our Athletics Carnival!
It was wonderful to see so many students participating with enthusiasm and team spirit. A huge number of house points were earned throughout the day, making it a fun and competitive event for all.

This year, we’d like to give a special mention to students who demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship. These students earned bonus points for their houses through their exemplary behaviour. Congratulations to Robert (Year 6), Aiden (Year 4), and Harry E (Year 3). They went above and beyond, showing us how to compete with love and peace. Well done!

Netball Gala Days
On Thursday 22nd May, our Year 5 and Year 6 students will be participating in the Southside Netball Gala Day. We wish them all the best and hope they have a fabulous day!

Our Year 3 and Year 4 students will have their turn on Thursday 29th May. If your child would like to participate and has not yet been registered through Compass, please ensure nominations are submitted by Sunday 18th May.

Snowsports – Interschools Nominations Now Open
Nominations for the annual Interschools Snowsports competition are now open. If your child is interested in participating, please email elyse.charles@cg.catholic.edu.au for more information.

Elyse Charles

Classroom Teacher/Sports Co-ordinator

Sometimes children have big feelings and it can be difficult for parents to know how to respond. Big feelings are often expressed as behaviour that can be best described as challenging!  As a parent you have an important role to play in developing your child’s emotional skills and helping them to learn healthy ways to express their feelings. We know that children who learn to cope with and express their feelings are more likely to have good mental health and wellbeing, be more resilient and able to cope with change and setbacks, display less behavioural problems and be more confident and have a positive sense of self. So the earlier we can build a child’s ability to identify their feelings and implement healthy coping strategies the better!

Here are some great tips from the Kids Helpline that can help your child to learn about expressing their feelings:

• Tune into cues - Sometimes feelings can be hard to identify. Tune into your child’s feelings by looking at their body language, listening to what they’re saying and observing their behaviour. Figuring out what they feel and why means you can help them identify, express and manage those feelings better.
• Behind every behaviour is a feeling - Try to understand the meaning and feeling behind your child’s behaviour. You can help your child find other ways to express that feeling once you know what is driving the behaviour.
• Name the feeling - Help your child name their feelings by giving them a label. Naming feelings is the first step in helping kids learn to identify them. It allows your child to develop an emotional vocabulary so they can talk about their feelings.
• Identify feelings in others – Provide lots of opportunities to identify feelings in others. You might ask your child to reflect on what someone else may be feeling. Cartoons or picture books are a great way to discuss feelings and helps kids learn how to recognise other people’s feelings through facial expressions.
• Be a role model - Kids learn about feelings and how to express them appropriately by watching others. Show your child how you’re feeling about different situations and how you deal with those feelings.
• Encourage with praise - Praise your child when they talk about their feelings or express them in an appropriate way. Not only does it show that feelings are normal and it’s ok to talk about them, it reinforces the behaviour so they are likely to repeat it.
• Listen to your child’s feelings - Stay present and resist the urge to make your child’s bad feelings go away. Support your child to identify and express their feelings so they are heard. When feelings are minimised or dismissed, they will often be expressed in unhealthy ways.

For more information please visit the Kids Helpline website https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/helping-kids-identify-and-express-feelings

If you’d like to talk about any of these tips (or anything else), you can contact me via email Amy.Kennedy@mccg.org.au or by phoning through the school.

Amy Kennedy

Student and Family Counsellor

The following students received an award in Week 3:

WALK IN LOVE AND PEACE AWARDS

PRINCIPAL'S AWARD