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No.31

14th October, 2019

Dear Parents, It was lovely to see the sunshine as we greeted you this morning, it felt much more like Spring! Last week we celebrated Our Lady of the Rosary with a school mass. Fr Michel also visited the preps to explain how to pray the Rosary. This is a focus across the school and many children brought their Rosary beads to mass. Last week some Grade Four students were involved in the Hoop Time finals. They all put in a great effort, but unfortunately didn’t make it through to state finals. Well done on getting this far representing our school!

Congratulations also to Emmerson (1/2D) who entered the Australian Teachers of Media photography competition. There were six finalists chosen in the primary section and Emerson has three entries of those six! Well done. A reminder that our new tuckshop menu will

commence this week. Orders can be made

through CDF online.

We only have three working bees left for this year so if you haven’t taken part in one yet please contact the office. Attending a working bee entitles you to a $100 rebate off fees. Dates: Thursday 17th October 1.00pm - 3.00pm Tuesday 12th November 9.00am -11.00am and Thursday 5th December 1.00pm – 3.00pm

A change of date for your diary: Please note that the decision has been made to combine our

Christmas Fair/Carols with our annual Art Show. This will take place on Thursday 12th December.

Hopefully this will allow everyone to participate in several school events on the one night.

And a final reminder for all families that have not returned their fundraiser chocolates or money as of yet, please return them immediately as they are overdue. Invoices will be sent out this week for outstanding amounts.

Congratulations to our students of the week: PF: Kya F PR: Skylah H 1/2P: Jax W 1/2M: Quinn V 1/2H: Amala S 1/2D: Madison C 3/4F: Milla K 3/4M: Olivia C 3/4G: Tahlia D 3/4R: Lucia M 5/6B: Lachlan A 5/6P: Annika P 5/6T: Riley C 5/6F: Mitchell M

Have a blessed and productive week, Veronica Fraraccio, Deputy Principal

58 Clegg Rd, Mt. Evelyn Ph: 9736-2219 Email: principal@smmountevelyn.catholic.edu.au

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Also available at www.smmountevelyn.catholic.edu.au

2019 FEES STATEMENTS

Please contact the office if you did not get your fee statement.

St Mary’s BSB/ACCOUNT Details

St Marys Primary School BSB 083-347 Account Number 676054930

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE Unexplained Absence forms have been sent home. Please complete them and return ASAP so they can be processed. If you did not receive one, please contact the

office on 9736 2219.

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Monday, 14th October Tuesday, 15th October Thursday, 17th October Friday, 18th October

8.45am 3.30pm 2.00pm 1-3pm 8.45am

School begins Staff Meeting P & F Meeting Working Bee School Assembly

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Monday, 21st October Wednesday, 23rd October Thursday, 24th October Friday, 25th October

8.45am 3.30pm 1.30pm 11.00am 11.00am 7.00pm 8.45am

School begins Staff Meeting Ed Board Meeting Minnie Vinnies & SAT team Children’s Mission Mass St Patrick’s Cathedral 1/2 Level Walking Excursion Peter Sullivan Parent Maths Night at St Richards Primary School Hall School Assembly

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2019 TERM DATES

Term 1 Wednesday 30th January – Friday 5 April Preps start Thursday 31st January

Term 2 Tuesday 23 April – Friday 28 June

Term 3 Monday 15 July – Friday 20 September

Term 4 Monday 7 October – Thursday 19th last day for students.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS 2019

26 Jan Sat Australia Day

28 Jan Mon Australia Day Holiday

11 Mar Mon Labour Day

19-22 Apr Fri-Mon Easter

25 Apr Thu Anzac Day

10 Jun Mon Queen’s Birthday

5 Nov Tue Cup Day

25 Dec Wed Christmas Day

26 Dec Thu Boxing Day

CURRICULUM DAYS

Monday 4th November School Closure Day – Melbourne Cup

NB*TERM DIARY - Please find the full term diary online at www.smmountevelyn.catholic.edu.au Please note updates

and changes will be made to the term diary during the term. Please check on the website for updates.

Child Safety Code of Conduct St Mary’s endeavours to create and maintain an environment where child safety is paramount and there is zero tolerance of any form of child abuse. What is the purpose of a child safety code of conduct? A child safety code of conduct is intended to promote child safety in the school environment. A child safety code of conduct spells out professional boundaries and acceptable and unacceptable adult/child relationships and behaviour, professional development and training. A child safety code of conduct helps schools, staff and volunteers to raise behavioural issues. It provides a reference point for discussion when there may otherwise be confusion, uncertainty, or a lack of confidence about boundaries for appropriate behaviour with children. The code specifies behaviour unacceptable for a professional relationship between a teacher and a student. All parents, relatives and caregivers attending St Mary’s Primary School to help within the classroom must hold a current Working with Children Check and must have read and signed the Code of Conduct. Please go to our website for more information. CHILD SAFETY CODE OF CONDUCTS CAN BE COMPLETED AT THE OFFICE

2019 FEES

ST MARY’S require every year a new fee agreement form to be returned with your up to date payment details.

Always check your statements carefully and confirm they are correct.

St Mary’s BSB/ACCOUNT Details

St Marys Primary School BSB 083-347

Account Number 676054930

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Helping Your Child with Maths

Parent Night

Would you like to learn how to support

your child with their maths learning

at home?

You are invited to attend a parent night facilitated by Professor Peter

Sullivan. Peter has extensive experience in mathematics education and

research. He has worked in schools around Australia and overseas

supporting teachers to deliver high quality mathematics education.

Among his many roles, Peter was a senior lecturer in mathematics

education at Monash University; he was the former President of the

Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers and was the lead

writer of the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. Peter is extremely

passionate about getting the best possible outcomes for students in

mathematics.

We are delighted to be able to offer our parents the opportunity to

come along and listen to Peter as he shares his wisdom about how

children can be best supported in their mathematics learning at home.

We strongly encourage you all to join us on this night. Peter is a very

engaging speaker and we are sure you will come away from this evening

with lots of great tips about how you can support and extend your

child’s mathematical learning.

SAVE THE DATE

Venue: St Richard’s School Hall

Date: October 24th

Time: 7pm

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REMINDER

Tuck shop will resume this

Friday 18th October Order on line with your CDF account

See our new Menu in this weeks newsletter and on our website

UNIFORMS

NO HAT NO PLAY for Term 4 and Term 1

All St. Mary’s students are required to wear the full correct school uniform. We believe that the wearing of

uniforms promotes the children’s pride in their school and self-discipline. Uniform items can be purchased or

made at little cost. The uniform shop at St. Mary’s carries all uniform items, including school and library bags.

There is a small amount of second hand uniforms available in the shop.

Children are expected to have a school bag with the St Mary’s School logo.

Please ensure that your children bring their correct school bag.

Girls’ Summer Uniform Boys’ Summer Uniform St Mary’s uniform school dress Navy Shorts Length of dresses and tunics should (no jeans, jean style or cargo pants) not be above the knee St Mary’s polo shirt St Mary’s windcheater St Mary’s windcheater Navy socks Navy socks Black polished shoes Black polished shoes (no sneakers/runners) (no sneakers/runners) School hat School hat

Girls’ Summer Sports Uniform Boys’ Summer Sports Uniform Navy track suit pants Navy track suit pants St Mary’s windcheater St Mary’s windcheater Navy unisex sports shorts Navy unisex sports shorts St Mary’s sports polo shirt St Mary’s sports polo top White St. Mary’s sports socks or plain White St. Mary’s sports socks or plain white socks and runners white socks and runners School hat School hat

Please ensure that all items of uniform are well maintained, including sports uniform and hats.

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NO NUTS AT ST MARY’S We have children attending our school with severe (life threatening)

peanut allergies.

As always, we are concerned for the safety of our children, and ask everyone to avoid bringing any items

that may contain peanuts to school, as the smallest amount of peanut or proteins of peanuts on benches,

etc., can affect an allergic child. Whilst we can appreciate that there may be children who just love to have

their Nutella and Peanut butter sandwiches or bars alternatives must be given.

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School Procedures for the Bushfire Season

Fire danger ratings and warnings are used in Victoria to provide clear direction on the safest options for

preserving life.

Schools and children’s services listed on the DET Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR) will be closed when a

Code Red fire danger rating day is determined in their Bureau of Meteorology district. Our school has

been identified as being one of those at high bushfire risk and is listed on the BARR.

Where possible, we will provide parents with up to four days notice of a potential Code Red day

closure by letter and SMS message. A Code Red day will be determined by the Emergency

Management Commissioner no later than 1.00 pm the day before the potential closure. Once we are

advised of the confirmation of the Code Red day we will provide you with advice before the end of the

school day.

Once confirmed, the decision to close will not change, regardless of improvements in the weather

forecast. This is to avoid confusion and help your family plan alternative care arrangements for your child.

It is also important to note that:

No staff will be on site on days where the school is closed due to a forecast Code Red day.

School camps will be cancelled if a Code Red fire danger rating day is determined for the Bureau of Meteorology district in which the camp is located.

All bus routes will be cancelled.

On these Code Red days families are encouraged to enact their Bushfire Survival Plan – on such days

children should never be left at home or in the care of older children.

For those of us living in a bushfire prone area, the CFA advise that when Code Red days are forecast, the

safest option is to leave the night before or early on the morning of the Code Red day.

As part of preparing our school for potential hazards such as fire, we have updated and completed our

Emergency Management Plan.

What can parents do?

Make sure your family’s bushfire survival plan is up-to-date and includes alternative care arrangements in the event that our school is closed.

Ensure we have your current contact details, including your mobile phone numbers. Keep in touch with us by reading our newsletters and checking our website.

Most importantly at this time of year, if you’re planning a holiday or short stay in the bush or in a coastal area, you should check warnings in advance of travel and remain vigilant during your stay.

If your child is old enough, talk to them about bushfires and your family’s bushfire survival plan.

You can access more information about school closures on the Catholic Education Commission Victoria (CECV) and Department of Education and Training website – see <www.cecv.catholic.edu.au> and <http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/pages/closures.aspx>.

For up-to-date information on this year’s fire season, visit the CFA website at www.cfa.vic.gov.au or call the 24-hour Victorian Bushfires Information Line on 1800 240 667

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WORKING BEES & GROUNDS MAINTENANCE

Working Bees at St Mary’s are fundamental to maintaining safe and orderly learning environments for our

students. There are so many tasks to do with such a large school ground that we need all the help we can

get!

To assist planning for this year we are asking each family to attend ONE Working Bee and to indicate

which session (listed below) suits best.

As an incentive this year the families that attend a Working Bee date will be rebated the $100.00 working

bee levy from their account.

In an effort to cater for everyone, we will hold Working Bees across a range of days and times. If these

dates to not suit you please contact the office and schedule a time that will be appropriate. If you are a

tradie, we would appreciate your expertise at times, so please let us know your skills below.

We looking forward to seeing you all,

Veronica Fraraccio

Deputy Principal

Please complete and return to school

Family Name: _______________________________Eldest Child’s Grade: _______________

Please circle your selected date below or nominate a date of your own _______________2019

I have particular skills and expertise in the area of ___________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________\

Thursday 17th October 1.00pm - 3.00pm

Tuesday 12th November 9.00am -11.00am

Thursday December 5th 1.00pm – 3.00pm

School Vegetable Garden News

We had lots of great helpers in the garden this

week. It is finally Spring and the warmth will help

the veggies grow. A BIG THANK-YOU to the

parents who help in the garden, including Liz,

Alan, Ginny and Ilona. The children enjoy learning

in the garden!

Garden club is run on Wednesdays, from 10.45 till

11.30am. New parents helpers required. Please

bring gloves and garden tools. All helpers are required

to have a working with children’s check. If you

would like to assist, please complete the form below.

Or email rpritchard@smmountevelyn.catholic.edu.au.

Thank-you

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VEGETABLE GARDEN VOLUNTEER AVAILABILITY

Name:_______________________________________Mobile:______________________________

Availability: Helping in the garden ⟥ Wednesday 10.45am. Thank-you

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Religious Education news:

Class Mass is on Thursday 17th October, 9am, Grade 5/6 B and Grade 5/6 F. All welcome.

October is Catholic Mission month. Mini Vinnies promote the importance to look after

the less fortunate, especially the poor in developing countries. Please watch this video

on the assistance Catholic Mission give to the needy in Ghana:

https://youtu.be/nxYaGqGimVI

To raise awareness and to fundraise for this Catholic Mission project, the Mini Vinnies are promoting Socktober on Friday 25th October. Children are asked to wear colourful socks with their school uniform on this day and a gold coin donation would be appreciated. Mini Vinnies will also make ‘sockballs’ out of recycled materials for the children to play with on this day. Or you could make your own: Here is the video on how to make a 'sockball': https://youtu.be/MPLnuvW7XFo

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14th October 2019

Avoid doing deals with kids

BEHAVIOUR

by Michael Grose

Have you ever said something like this to one of your kids? “If you eat all your dinner up, I’ll let you use

my iPad for five minutes.”

Most kids under the age of ten would empty their plate in an instant with that sort of carrot dangled in

their face. But it’s a tricky game you play when you start to do deals with kids to win their cooperation.

For a start, you need to be prepared to raise the stakes as the novelty of five minutes of iPad use will

soon wear off.

This would also mean you need to be prepared to keep dealing with your kids, as they soon learn that if

they hang out long enough, Mum/Dad or whoever will offer me a juicy enticement to win my favours.

You get what you negotiate

Keep doing deals with kids enough and they learn that they get what you negotiate. That’s fine in the

business-world, but hard work in families.

I’ve seen mums who deal with kids because they just want peace and quickly. I’ve also seen dads deal

with their kids because they simply enjoy negotiating. They see it as a game. That’s hard work for their

partner who doesn’t use those methods.

Kids who do deals

Sometimes it’s kids who do the negotiating. “You want me to go to bed at 8.00pm do you? Well I’ll go to

bed at 8 o’clock if I can have a TV in my room” says a born negotiator.

It takes a savvy parent to say, “Actually, no. That’s not going to happen.” Sometimes we become

involved in child-initiated deals before we’re even aware it’s happening. Again kids can take advantage

of busy, tired or time-poor parents.

The last resort

If doing deals with kids to get cooperation is a strategy you use then it should be a strategy of last

resort (to use when your mother comes to visit; when you are dog-tired; or when you want a cosy

Sunday morning in bed), not the first one you use when you want your kids to behave well.

Here are 5 alternatives to ‘doing deals’ with kids:

1. Catch them doing the right thing: Make a bit of a fuss when your kids behave as you want. Tell

your face that you are pleased with your kids so it lights up, and kids get to notice you are happy

with their behaviour. This is based on the premise that parent recognition (“Mum/Dad is happy

with me”) is a high driver for many kids.

2. Reward them after the behaviour you want: Avoid saying, “If you behave well on our shopping

trip I’ll buy you a matchbox car.” This is bribery, which is tied up with the art of dealing. Instead,

show your appreciation with a treat after they have behaved well. The order of events makes a

huge difference!

3. Manage like a cat: There are times when a child or teen needs to know that “No means no” rather

than “No is just a suggestion”. A message delivered with firm body language, a still head and a

clear, flat voice without intonation indicates to a child or teen that you are serious and that no

further communication is to be entered into. This non-verbal communication is quite cat-like, thus

the cat metaphor for parent credibility.

4. Let consequences be your friend: Let your actions, or lack of action, do the talking. Rather than

negotiating with kids to pack their toys away, put toys that are left around into the ‘mystery bin’

for a time. You may need to hold firm to a tantrum when you use this method, but hang tough so

your child sees that you really mean what you say and do.

5. Focus on you, not them: Want them to go bed on time? Then start reading their bedtime story at

the agreed time whether they are there or not. (This works well if your child is a reader! Not so

good if your child isn’t interested in books. It’s the principle that counts). Resist calls for ‘that’s

not fair!’ as not being in bed at an agreed time is not fair on you either! The simple shift from

telling them what to do to telling them what you will do makes a massive difference particularly

when you have a child who doesn’t like to be told what to do.

Nothing works all the time so smart parents know they need to have a number of different strategies at

their disposal when they want cooperation from their kids. They also have a hierarchy of responses that

places ‘making deals with kids’ their last resort, rather than their first option.

In fact, it may be best to leave doing deals out of your parenting armoury altogether and focus on using

other communications methods instead.