Bearers of Christ’s Love

As mentioned previously, the key aspects of the Bishop Brian’s Charter will be included in the newsletter. Today we continue with the next 3 points relating to Catholic schools in the Diocese of Wollongong:

4. Recognise the integral connection between schools and parishes and so develop relationships of active collaboration between schools, parish clergy and the wider Catholic community. They actively seek to develop students’ and families’ involvement in the life of the parish, especially that of Sunday Eucharist.
5. Give priority of enrolment to Catholics to develop and maintain a ‘critical mass’ of those active in the Catholic faith within our student community. We also welcome practising Christians, and those of other faiths, who wish to receive a Catholic education with the understanding that they will respect and support the Catholic ethos of our schools.
6. Give priority of employment and promotion to practising Catholics, practising Christians, and those practising other faiths. In order to develop and maintain a ‘critical mass’ of active faith, to ensure authentic Catholic identity within staff communities.

Safety Tips for Parents/Carers - Accessing appropriate content on i0S devices

How to build digital intelligence

Parents and caregivers hold significant roles in fostering children's digital intelligence, encompassing social, emotional, and practical competencies essential for effectively maneuvering through the digital realm.

Even with Kindergaten and pre-Kindergarten, it's never premature to cultivate positive habits. As children mature, it remains beneficial to continually reinforce fundamental digital intelligence tenets: respect, empathy, critical thinking, responsible conduct, and resilience. These principles also serve as valuable points of emphasis when addressing challenges or missteps with your child.

Promote respectful communication online by encouraging positive manners and behaviours similar to offline interactions. Teach your child to avoid negative messages and report any unpleasant encounters. Foster empathy by helping them understand diverse perspectives and emotions. Encourage critical thinking to discern misleading content and question online interactions. Emphasize safe and responsible behaviour, setting boundaries for device use and safeguarding personal information. Build resilience by supporting your child through negative online experiences, teaching them to manage friendships and navigate challenges confidently.

Communication Safety on your child's Apple device

Communication Safety is a feature designed to protect children from sending or receiving photos or videos containing nudity. If such content is detected, the feature blurs the image or video before the child can view it. It also offers guidance and resources to help them make safe choices, including contacting a trusted person. This system employs on-device machine learning to analyse attachments for nudity, ensuring privacy as the analysis is done locally and not shared with Apple. To ensure synchronisation of Communication Safety settings across devices, all devices in the Family Sharing group need to be updated to the latest software version.

Click here for setup instructions

https://support.apple.com/en-au/105069

Esafety Commissioner: Online Safety Basics

Assist your children in safely navigating their online activities and educate them on avoiding harmful experiences on the internet. Engage in exploring websites, games, and apps together, while establishing guidelines and rules.

Click here for key strategies

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/online-safety-basics

Using Parental Control on your child's iPad

Using Content & Privacy Restrictions within Screen Time, you have the ability to prevent or control access to particular apps and functionalities on your child’s device. Additionally, you can regulate settings on your iPad or iPhone concerning explicit content, purchases, downloads, and privacy.

Upcoming Teacher Professional Learning Development 

Throughout the year teachers have access to a variety of quality professional development opportunities. Casual teachers are employed to cover classes with the teacher ensuring the teaching program and routines are followed.

“Those who dare to teach, never cease to learn”
John Cotton-Dana

Week	Date	Staff Member/s	Purpose
10	2/4/24	St Therese Staff	Berry Street Education Model
10	3/4/24 & 5/4/24	Stage 1 Teachers, Mrs South, Mrs Crofts	Phonemic awareness and Phonics PD Day 1 & 2
10	3/4/24	Mrs Gilmore &  Mrs Johansson	Lamplighters Program (Spirituality)
10	4/4/24	Mrs Tirchett, Mrs Runko, Mrs McRae, Mrs Merrett, Mrs Thomas	PB4L Training Day
10	4/4/24	Mr Thorne and Mrs Calvert	Educating with a Missions Lens
10	5/5/24	Miss Tikkeros	Alight The World (Religious Education)
11	8/4/24	Stage 3 Teachers, Mrs South	New Yr 3-6 Curriculum

Life Ed is looking forward to visiting the students of St Therese's Primary School West Wollongong.

Our booking details:

• Term: Term 2 2024 29/04/2024 to 3/05/2024

Teaching Dates:

• 29 April 2024 - Educator : Emily Leonarder
• 30 April 2024 - Educator : Emily Leonarder
• 1 May 2024 - Educator : Emily Leonarder
• 2 May 2024 - Educator : Zoe Sansom
• 3 May 2024 - Educator : Zoe Sansom

Life Education Parent Session

Please join Life Education Educator, Zoe, in the van for an informal parent session on Friday 3 May at 1.30-2.30pm. Zoe will take parents through an overview of the module content students will take part in during the Life Education visit, highlight the unique learning features of the van, and answer any questions you may have. Non-school aged siblings welcome.

Life Education Program Outline

Below is a brief outline of the programs available to the children for participation. If you DON’T give permission for your child to participate please contact the office.

Harold's Friendship - Kindergarten - Year 1: Explores how to build friendships and care for others, feelings, and emotions, safe and unsafe situations and early warning signs, safe places and people to turn to for help.

Growing Good Friends - Year 2: Unsafe behaviours, situations, and environments, and healthy food choices.

Safety Rules - Stage 1 (Yrs 1-2) - Porblem solving, personal safety, seeking help, how to care for others and behaviours that maintain friendships.

Relate Respect Connect - Stage 3 (Yrs 5-6) - Teaches the knowledge, skills and attitudes that children need to develop and maintain safe and respectful relationships both on and offline. Including effective communication skills, development of empathy and conflict resolutions skills.

Friends and Feelings - Stage 2 (Yr 3-4) - Broadening and developing emotional literacy, identifying and practising assertive communication skills and emotional regulation skills.

Berry Street Education Model Day 1

Believing in Children, Young People, Families and their Future

St Therese staff and St John’s staff at Dapto, engaged in the first day of the Berry Street Education Model four-day course. 

The Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) is a practical approach to teaching and learning that enables teachers to increase engagement with students with complex, unmet learning needs and successfully improve all students' self-regulation, growth and academic achievement. The domains within the Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) are: Body, Stamina, Engagement and Character, all anchored by Relationship.These five areas are pedagogical lenses: each domain reflects our durable understandings and evidence-based practice that inform daily classroom practices.

Dimitra Vezinias

Assistant Principal