Dear Parents,

This week we are participating in a National Day of Action against Bullying. One of the areas we are often asked about is what to do to help your child from being cyberbullied. The following is an article from Parenting Ideas website by Martine Oglethorpe that I thought offered some practical ways of assisting your child.

Cyberbullying of children and teenagers is one of the greatest fears facing parents today. The thought of their child being subjected to heinous words, threats to their physical safety, as well as their social and emotional wellbeing, is something no parent wants their child to experience.

Most of the bullying behaviours we now see are happening from behind a keyboard, playing out in social media feeds and gaming chat rooms. It is little wonder parents feel overwhelmed and out of their depth, especially when for most, online is an environment that is relatively unfamiliar.

So what can we do to help our kids avoid these types of behaviours, as well as give them the skills to deal with cyberbullying behaviours should they be exposed?

• Remind them of all of the things they have control over: While it may not feel like it, we have a lot of control over what happens online.  We can determine who we talk to, what we ignore, what we share, how we comment, who we follow, who we block or hide from our feeds. All of that, helps us determine who is allowed to play a role in our online experiences and ultimately what behaviours we accept on our feeds
• Give your child time away from the screens: Everyone needs a break from screens. We want to encourage regular times when a child doesn’t need to be tethered to their device. Building a wider community away from the screens helps a child or teen build their sense of self worth. Keeping devices away from the dinner table also gives them a break from being socially switched on and allows the to connect with family without a device. Removing devices at night helps their active brains to switch off and prepare for sleep.
• Role play possible responses: Discuss with your child whether whether they should respond to bullying or nasty online comments, If they do, then consider how they could respond. Consider the statements or types of people they ignore, block or report.
• Regularly check the privacy settings: Every app, game and social network has a settings button that enables you to determine how positive an experience your child can have on that platform and how much control they have.  Visit these settings regularly to look at the options available
• While nothing is guaranteed particularly when it comes to the online world, we can certainly be taking steps to help our kids. We can give them skills, encourage positive behaviours and thinking that allow them to minimise their exposure to the bullying behaviours of others.
• If your child is being cyberbullied you can also access the reporting tool at esafety.gov.au

In line with the advice given on COVID-19 over the weekend.  The Commonwealth Government has announced that mass gatherings of more than 500 people are now prohibited. This explicitly does not include schools running normal teaching and learning program. It does, however, apply to any school event that involves attendance by community members who are not students or staff (where staff includes support staff) and where total attendance will exceed 500. As a result we will be cancelling our school assemblies until further notice - student of the week awards will be given out in classrooms each Friday. We thank you for your understanding. 

Kind regards

Jodie

Bushies Bakery Bunraiser

The eagerly awaited Hot Cross Buns arrive TOMORROW Wednesday the 18th of March, collection will be from the school hall between 2:45 and 3:30pm.
With that in mind, here is some important information:
- Your order will not be handed out to your child in class, orders must be collected from the hall.
- If you send your child to the hall to collect your order, consider the size and weight of your order. If you have a large order, it may be too heavy for your child to manage, and you may end up with squashed hot cross buns!
- A last-minute reminder will also be sent out on the app Wednesday morning. We don’t have the storage space to hold your orders, so please make sure to organise someone else to collect your goodies if you can’t make it yourself.

Bunnings BBQ and Cake Stall

In the interest of everyone’s health and safety, the St Michael’s Bunnings BBQ and Cake Stall this Sunday has been cancelled. A huge thank you to everyone who offered to bake and/or help out on the day, your response was much appreciated.

Lunch Order Day

Friendly reminder that this Friday the 20th of March is lunch order day!

Parents and Friends Association Annual General Meeting
The St Michael’s Parents and Friends Association meet monthly to coordinate fundraising activities and social gatherings like the Walkathon, Disco, Mother’s and Father’s Day stalls and social nights.
It is an important part of the school as it generates much needed funds for the school.
We really need more parent help to keep the committee going. Your consideration of taking on a position in the P&F Association, being a general member, or someone who helps out when needed would be greatly appreciated. Some roles will be vacated at the AGM and it is vital that passionate people fill them.
Our Annual General Meeting will be held this Friday the 20 th of March at 9:00am in the staff room, all are welcome, so please come join us for a cuppa.

Each week students from each class are awarded Student of the Week certificates. These children are nominated for the example they have been within the school based on the School Wide Expectation focus for that week. The weekly focus will be from Wednesday until Tuesday the following week.

In Week 7 the School Wide Expectation focus was Honesty.

I always tell the truth.

I am honest when reflecting on my personal performance.

I take responsibility for my actions.

The award winners for week 7 were:

Answer from last week:The first number is 2.
2 + 4 = 6 (This is the second number)
2 + 6 = 8 (This is the third number)
8 – 2 = 6 (This is the fourth number)
Muhammed’s password is 2686.

Sunday 15th March

In readings this weekend, the  first reading talks about God as a provider of water to the people who were dying of thirst in the desert. In the gospel Jesus promises to give us the water of eternal life. This lead can lead you to  discussions about the waters of Baptism and we talked about what Baptism means in your lives. It would be good if you could follow this up with your child, perhaps by telling them about their Baptism. You could also talk about water generally, and why it is so important.

Regional Swimming

School Library – Book Covering

Each year parents are asked if they would be interested in assisting with book covering. When we purchase new library or class reading books, small numbers (12 to 18) are sent home with your child or picked up from the school, with contact and tape for covering. If you would like to remain on the list or be added to the Book Covering List, please fill in the form below and return it to the office or email Debbie dgilmour@stmtraralgon.catholic.edu.au with your details.

Welcome to the 2020 Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge.

As you know, reading helps ensure children develop important foundational skills –
setting them up for school and for life. Just as importantly, reading also helps our kids imagine, explore and learn more about the world around them.
This year, everyone who completes the Challenge will receive a Certificate of
Achievement – and with more than 12,000 titles on the Challenge’s reading list, there really is a book for everyone.
For children not yet at school, the Challenge invites parents and carers to experience
40 books with their child. For students from Prep to Year 2, the Challenge is to read or experience 30 books and for students in Years 3 to 10, the Challenge is to read 15 books.
I also encourage you to visit the Challenge Facebook page: facebook.com.au/VicPRC
There you can join the community of avid readers to share stories, stay informed and
recommend books.