Bushfire Appeal

Tomorrow is the big day for our Bushfire Movie Day appeal. For a donation amount of $10, the children will receive a little treat to have during the movie. 

Please send the money in with your child tomorrow if you haven’t yet done so; it is not too late to donate. 

The Church is growing! I had the great privilege to witness the catechumen and candidates being presented to Archbishop Prowse on Sunday. In total, there were 37 adults from 10 parishes across Canberra preparing to become Catholics. This happens through a process called the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA).  It is wonderful to see joy filled people who are searching for God in their lives and are seeking to learn more about the Catholic faith.

Have a peaceful week,

Nikki Dwyer

It's not too late to register your interest in playing winter netball.  Expression of interest forms are still available from the front foyer or contact Jenny Tiffen, Netball Coordinator, on 0411 112 464 or tiffen@velocitynet.com.au

Autumn School Hols Tennis Clinic at Red Hill Tennis Club, Astrolabe Street.

100% refund if not choosing to continue after Day 1.

April 20 - 24, Mon - Fri, 8.00am -1.00pm (Half day) or 8.00am - 5.30pm (full day).

Kindergarten - 17 years, all standards, full stroke development.

Free racquet hire.

Contact Matt McDonald, Level 2 tennis coach on 0412 565 137.

I hope everyone has a great long weekend.

Julie

Year 1: Daisy Tiffen & Ashton Kane-McGuire

Year 2: Sophie Dawson & Ari Rezo

Year 3: Edward Peterson & Hailey Trewhella

Year 4: Audrey Higgins & Sofia Lane

Year 5/6B: Arabella Krippner & Zach Davies

Year 5/6G: Matilda Stuart & Charlotte Peters

Kinder will join the SRC in Semester 2.

The following students received an award in Week 3:

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

WALK IN LOVE AND PEACE AWARDS

LEADERSHIP AWARDS

Please help us to reduce the use of unnecessary plastic.

We have noticed quite a lot of notes are being sent to school in plastic Ziploc bags.

Whilst we re-use these bags whenever possible, it would be great if we had a reduced supply!

The P&F’s first fundraising activity for the year will be an Easter Raffle.

The Easter Raffle has traditionally been extremely successful and we ask that each family make a donation of an Easter egg, bunny, basket or other related item to form part of the prize pool.  A box will be placed in the front office for donations.

Tickets will be coming home shortly with your child. 

Do you or a friend have

an under school age child?

Playgroup is held in the Multi Purpose Room on Fridays from 9.00am until 11.00am.

Ms Kerry Watson is a private piano teacher who has conducted classes at St Bede’s for many years.  Lessons are on an individual basis during the school day.  If you have a child from Year 2 onwards who would like to learn piano, please email Kerry on lynehampianostudio@iinet.net.au

The enrolment period commences Monday, 4 May with Year 7, 2021 applications due to the colleges by 4pm on Friday, 22 May.

Just a reminder that you will need documentation such as copies of birth and Baptism certificates and school reports including NAPLAN, etc.   You should have these in a safe place at home and we would expect that requests for us to provide copies would be rare.

An up front administration fee of $20 will be payable should copies of documentation be requested from the Front Office to complete enrolment applications for current students applying for high school or other schools. 

One of the most important things you can do to ensure your child has a bright future is to make sure he or she goes to school every day—and gets there on time.

It sounds simple, but it’s true. The correlation between school attendance and children’s achievement levels is well established. The more time kids spend at school, the more likely they are to experience school success.

Conversely, according to a report from the Victorian Auditor General, students who are regularly absent from school are at the greatest risk of dropping out of school early, and of experiencing long-term unemployment.

When kids miss school, not only is their academic progress impeded, forcing them to catch up on missed work (which some never do), they often miss important interactions with their peers which can compound issues of social isolation and low self-esteem. Also, many teachers tell me, it’s often the kids who can least afford to take time off school who are most likely to be serial absentees.

Of course, most people know this intuitively, yet school absenteeism is a huge problem in Australian schools—and much of it is parent-condoned.

It’s hard to get an accurate picture across the country but it would appear that Australian students miss an average of between 12 and 15 days per school year, with parent-condoned absenteeism highest among young primary-aged children.

That adds up to a year’s lost schooling over the school-life of a child. In today’s highly competitive world, this rate of absenteeism is alarming, putting our kids at a distinct disadvantage.

That’s not a reason to be away!
It’s now commonplace for children to stay away from school for reasons that would have been unheard of just twenty years ago. These include staying away to celebrate their own or a sibling’s birthday; being absent because they stayed up too late watching television; going shopping for clothes; an extended long weekend; and kids not wanting to take part in a sports day or special school event.

This type of absenteeism sends a strong message to kids that parents don’t really value learning or their children’s school experiences.

Australian kids only spend 15% of their total time at school. They spend more time asleep than they do at school. So we need to maximise every day to get full value. That means turning up to school every day, on time.

Being late is not okay either
Missing a few minutes each day may not seem like a big deal but your child may be missing more than you realise if he or she is continually late.

Current research shows that mornings for most children are the most productive time of the day, with 10.00am the peak period for productivity. When children arrive late and take time to settle as they inevitably do, valuable learning time is lost.

It takes strong parenting…
As a parent myself I know how persuasive children of all ages can be when it comes to taking a day off school. It takes a strong will to resist the persistent pressure that kids can bring to bear, particularly if they play the guilt card with comments such as “It’s not fair that I have to go school today because Aunty is coming to visit!” Nice try. But the answer should be “No!”.

As parents we need to make a commitment that our kids make the most of their precious time at school. That means that we send them to school every day, on time and ready to make the most of the school day.

Of course, there will be times, such as illness or genuinely extenuating family circumstances, when kids should be away. But these need to be a rarity rather than the norm.

It’s reassuring to know that you increase their chances of future success just by making sure they turn up to school every day. And of course regular school attendance also helps kids prepare for the workforce, where it will be expected that they turn up each day work-ready. The real world is unforgiving of those who stay away with NO EXCUSE.

As a parent:

• Commit to sending kids to school every day.
• Make sure kids arrive at school and class on time.
• Inform the school when they are away, sending medical certificates and other evidence of genuine absence.
• Consider catching-up on missed work.
• Make kids who are away stay in their bedroom – that is where ill kids should be.

Michael Grose, founder of Parenting Ideas, is one of Australia’s leading parenting educators. He’s an award-winning speaker and the author of 12 books for parents including Spoonfed Generation, and the bestselling Why First Borns Rule the World and Last Borns Want to Change It. Michael is a former teacher with 15 years experience, and has 30 years experience in parenting education. He also holds a Master of Educational Studies from Monash University specialising in parenting education.