Dear families,

Our beautiful school has been a thriving hive of activity these past few weeks. The dedicated staff have continued to amaze us with their creativity and enthusiasm, organising a wide range of rich and engaging learning experiences for our lucky learners. 

Today’s Souper Hero Day is an example of the wonderful things our Sts Peter and Paul community can achieve. Our foyer has been filled with bags of generously donated cosy gear, bathroom essentials and pantry goods to support The Vinnies’ Winter Appeal. These donations will bring warmth, dignity, and comfort to our needy Canberrans.  

Thank you for continuing to hold our Year 6 Confirmation Candidates in your prayers.

This Sacrament will be celebrated next week. I thank Veronica and Amanda for their wonderful leadership and hard work, and of course I thank our Year 6 teachers, Luke and Katie for their dedication, care and support.

Next week I attend the annual Assistant Principals’ Retreat for 3 days in Manuka with some of my colleagues across the archdiocese. I look forward to participating in this ‘Spiritus’ retreat, which is a unique faith formation program for education leaders. Mrs Hall will lead the school in my absence.

Thank you for your continued support,

Anna Williams

Acting Principal

PS: Don’t forget to book your Parent/Teacher Conference via Compass.

Confirmation

We continue to pray for the Confirmation Candidates and their families as they prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation in June. It was lovely to see the Candidates and their parents at the Stole Night last Thursday in the Holy Trinity School Hall. The Candidates will wear their stole during the Sacrament.

This Friday (16th June), there will be a Retreat Day, held at Holy Trinity School for all Year 6 students. A permission note was sent via Compass last Thursday with more information regarding the day. Thank you for ensuring you have accepted the permission via Compass. 

Important Confirmation Dates:

Friday 16 June - Year 6 Confirmation Retreat - Holy Trinity Primary School

Monday 19 June - Sacrament of Confirmation 6pm - Holy Trinity Church

Tuesday 20 June - Sacrament of Confirmation 6pm - Holy Trinity Church

Social Justice - Vinnies Winter Appeal -  Be a ‘Souper Hero’ Day

Thank you to everyone who has supported our Vinnies Winter Appeal this term. The Vinnies Winter Appeal is all about providing emergency relief to those at risk of/or experiencing homelessness. All donations are distributed through St Vinnies to many homelessness and community services to directly support those in our local community who are most impacted.

Today has been a fun day and we have loved being a ‘Souper Hero’ by donating cans of soup. Our donation baskets are overflowing!  Thank you for your support in this worthy cause.

Sunday Gospel:Matthew  9:36 – 10:8 SUNDAY YEAR A

He summoned his twelve disciples, and sent them out.

Living the Gospel – Apostles, not disciples

There is a lovely distinction in this gospel passage between disciples and apostles. Jesus calls his twelve disciples, commissions them and sends them out to continue his work. From then on, they are referred to as ‘apostles’. Disciples are followers, but apostles have been sent out. In our own lives we are called to accept the challenge of being apostles, not disciples. For we are not just followers, we have been sent out by Jesus to continue his work. To be a disciple is just the first step. Disciples follow a path; apostles take the initiative and forge their own path.

Adapted from reflection by Greg Sunter

Blessings for the week ahead,

Amanda Basedow

Acting Religious Education Coordinator

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to those students who are celebrating their birthday this week

Zaccharias L

Olive M

Yash K

Freyja S

Cruz A

Delilah F

Lauren M

Active travel program evaluation

Transport Canberra and City Services (TCCS) is undertaking an evaluation of the school active travel programs, including the Ride or Walk to School, Active Streets for Schools and School Crossing Supervisor programs.

As part of the evaluation, TCCS is requesting school communities to complete a short online survey about their travel habits to and from school. The survey can be accessed through this link. If you could please complete this survey by the end of the term that would be greatly appreciated.

TCCS has engaged First Person Consulting (FPC) – a Melbourne-based evaluation consultancy – to manage the evaluation and the surveys. FPC will not be collecting any identifiable information from anyone completing the survey, and all responses will be kept confidential and anonymous.

TCCS appreciates your support to evaluate these programs to continue to enhance the program offerings to schools.

Whilst sibling putdowns are a normal part of life, parents can certainly aid in disrupting and disapproving harmful and unkind behaviours between siblings. Oftentimes when the younger sibling begins to be perceived by the elder as encroaching on their special areas of expertise and acclaim (academics, sports, popularity), the older sibling will attempt to reaffirm their specialness by attacking the younger’s most vulnerable spots. Often these attacks can seem out of the blue and intense without any warning, but there are some things that parents can be on the look out for when attempting to disrupt this pattern of behaviour early on.

Drawing on research from acclaimed pioneers and researchers of bullying intervention and prevention, Ken Rigby & Dan Olweus’ work highlights the importance of often the unnoticed first phase in a siblings’ escalation of conflict between each other. Whilst sibling conflicts become most alarming at the point of heightened tension and aggression, the initial stage whereby an exclusive body language message is communicated is often critically unnoticed by adults in order to intervene. As approximately 70% of communication is portrayed through body language, these messages are easy to transmit between siblings and peers and can open the door towards ongoing conflict. Unspoken body language messages such as body curtaining to protect toys, an eye roll, etc, can be difficult to pick up and if parents aren’t able to identify and disapprove of it, Rigby and Olweus explain that often this will escalate into verbal micro-aggressions, and finally full-blown aggressions between siblings, which can become habituated if not addressed by adults and parents.

Whilst the key opportunity for disrupting sibling conflict and aggression would be at the point of unspoken and unkind body language, being able to intervene at any point along the escalating road to conflict is important and necessary in order to improve sibling and peer relationships. Silence by an adult or parent is always presumed as agreeance and permission to escalate the behaviour. When seeking to disapprove and disrupt conflict, Rigby guides parents, with an energy of warmth, kindness and clarity, to affirm, connect, disapprove and invite. Elaborating on these principles further, Rigby encourages parents to initiate the parent-child conversation with a strengths-based focus, drawing on positive experiences the child has had in the past related to getting along with their sibling. As the parent seeks to connect and let the child feel safe, they can then clearly disapprove of the aggressive behaviour using phrases such as, “in this family we try really hard not to----, even if it’s really hard.” Finally, the parent can invite the children who are putting each other down, to sort it out themselves or ask a parent for help working it out. This opportunity to problem-solve and repair social issues can be of great use and experience to the young child. This step still often requires a parent to supervise and ensure harmony is attempted and may still need a parent’s guidance in facilitating reconciliation at times.

As kids cope with conflict, they also learn important skills that will serve them for life, including how to value another’s point of view, how to compromise and negotiate, and how to control aggressive impulses. In cases where siblings’ conflict escalates to severity in terms of disrupting daily functioning, or particularly affecting a family member’s emotional or psychological health, or self esteem, it can be useful to speak with a mental health provider. Parents of the school are also always welcome to contact the school counsellor via phone or email (Shandelle.steere@catholiccare.cg.org.au) should you have any questions concerning your child’s aggression or mental health.

We are excited to invite all children (and families) to our very own Movie Night on FRIDAY 16^th JUNE!

 Movie: 'Sing'

Time: 5:45 to 7:30pm in the school hall

Cost: $5 each for students (parents and other siblings free) available for sale via Qkr!

This will include popcorn, lollies and a drink.

Students are invited to wear pyjamas, oodies, dressing gowns and bring along a pillow or beanbag!

Parents are more than welcome to join their children to watch the movie. There will also be an area for parents to mingle and enjoy a light refreshment.

 WE ALSO REQUEST SOME PARENT VOLUNTEERS TO HELP OUT ON THE NIGHT

Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge 

We are over halfway through the ACT Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge. 

K-2 are keeping a whole class recording chart, Years 3-6 have an individual online recording sheet via the Library Google Classroom and Google Docs.

Remember to return your overdue Library books!

Please have a look around home to find any overdue Library books so that they can be returned to the Library. 

We have over 250 outstanding books!

Please take note of your child or children’s library days. Kinder- Year 4 must have a Library Bag to borrow books to take home. 

Should you have any questions please email me at amanda.basedow@cg.catholic.edu.au

Happy reading! Mrs Basedow

ACT Cross Country Carnival Thursday 15th June

Congratulations to Harry C, Isabel W, Hamish S and Anna S who have been selected to represent our school and the South/Weston region at the ACT Cross Country Championships tomorrow. We wish you all the best of luck and an exceptional day of running!

Boorowa Touch Football/Netball Carnival Friday 20th October

Sts Peter and Paul Primary School will be sending teams to compete in the Annual Boorowa Touch Football and Netball Carnival. The carnival is for children in Years 2 – 6 and is open to both boys and girls. Boorowa is a small country town located 112 kms west of Canberra. This carnival is the main fundraiser for St Joseph’s Primary and Boorowa Central School. 

Please have a talk to your child to ascertain if they may be interested in this event. Information about this will come home to students who are interested in the coming weeks.

Let us know!

What sports would you like to see more of at Sts Peter and Paul? We are looking to fine tune our clinics run at school and offer assistance to classroom teachers to ensure that our students in each grade are participating in sports that will be of a great benefit to them. If you would like to have your input noted, please complete the below, short GoogleForm.
https://forms.gle/63vvfSNTxdRstiGP8

If you ever have any questions about anything related to Sport, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Luke Gubler (luke.gubler@cg.catholic.edu.au) and Sarah Walsh (sarah.walsh1@cg.catholic.edu.au) and hopefully we will be able to help you out!

Our kitchen was busy with students learning abouts bees and how honey can help make things we eat sweet.  The children enjoyed a talk from Mrs Horsfield who volunteered her time to talk about her passion with bees.

The children made biscuits using oats, cereal, and honey to sweeten them. They learned that we don’t need to always use sugar.

We planted cauliflower and parsley in the garden this week to keep our supplies up.

As always if you have any questions email Mrs Katie Birch katherine.birch@cg.catholic.edu.au

The Garden Club

THE CANTEEN IS CASHLESS FOR ALL LUNCH ORDERS

 Families are required to place ALL lunch orders via Qkr! before 8.45am

Please purchase over-the-counter sale items (snacks & treats) for your child in a lunch order,

or

Purchase a “daily counter sales voucher” via Qkr! for your child to go to the canteen to purchase (snacks & treats) at lunchtime.

CANTEEN VOLUNTEER ROSTER

Thank you helpers; your assistance is very much appreciated

Please contact me if you are unable to help out on your day

 ARE YOU ABLE TO HELP OUT IN TERM 3?

If you have any spare time and would like to help in the canteen, PLEASE feel free to contact me through email at lauretta.raccosta@cg.catholic.edu.au

or click on the link below to slot a time in.

NEW Term 3 Canteen Roster OUT NOW

Click on the link below to add your selected time to the roster.

https://stpandp.schoolzineplus.com/Canteen Roster Term 3

All volunteers must have a WWVP card.

 Qkr! TIP

 Is your child sick and not going to school, and you have placed a lunch order on Qkr!?

 You have till 8.45am that morning to cancel the lunch order - instructions on how to cancel lunch orders are below.

Thank you to all the students who participated in this week’s Special Lunch!

It’s so nice to see the children in their superhero costumes enjoying themselves sharing the same meal with their friends.

A very special THANK YOU goes to Jane, Karin, Clarissa, Chris, India and Natasha for helping out today! The day would have not been successful without your help.  It was very much appreciated!!!

 THANKS FOR DRESSING UP!!!

Kindest Regards, Lauretta Raccosta “Mrs R”

OPEN TUESDAY MORNINGS

8.30 – 9.30AM

The Uniform Shop is a service for the parents and children.  

We sell New & Quality Second-hand school clothing, and all money raised goes back to the school to provide resources for the children.

 The School Uniform is available via Qkr!
Tuesdays - Fridays, orders will be delivered to your child’s classroom. Orders need to be placed before 8.45 am. 

The Uniform shop is stocked up with second hand uniform, please visit on a Tuesday morning to purchase second hand uniform.

The uniform shop is limited with space, so if you wish to donate pre-loved items, PLEASE ONLY DONATE CLOTHES

that are washed and in perfect resalable order.

Thank you

Next Tuesday 8.30am -9.30am

All second hand Jumpers $5

DO YOU HAVE SPARE COAT HANGERS AT HOME WHICH YOU DO NOT NEED?  THE UNIFORM SHOP IS IN GREAT NEED OF SOME COAT HANGERS AND WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE SOME DONATED COAT HANGERS.  THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE. 

Please visit the schools website for the Uniform price list.

Lauretta Raccosta

Uniform Shop

Lauretta.raccosta@cg.catholic.edu.au