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Welcome to Term Three Everyone. An unusual start again. For the sake of avoiding confusion, we will call next Week 1 of the Term. Well, it is great to be back. I really have missed the community. My son is doing well and is reaching the final rounds of his treatment. He starts quite a heavy treatment of chemo and steroids this Friday, but hopefully that is the end of the challenging treatment rounds. We are working towards our lives returning to some sort of normality in Term 4. Thanks to all who sent me emails and messages in my absence.
Well… what can we say… we have returned to remote Learning for a while due to the increase of community transmissions. I guess more and more we will have to get used to this. This week we have been using the time to prepare the work and get ourselves ready. We have made some more tweaks to try and make it run more smoothly at both ends. The introduction of Fun Friday and trying to allow more time for teachers to give feedback are a couple of changes to decrease the stress on families and provide the feedback that families are interested in receiving.
All cleaning practices will continue and temperature checking has now begun. We will have four thermal checkers at the school that will allow more entry point checking when more student resume at school.
We have had many families visiting the school today collecting Chromebooks and other items they need to borrow. It was great to see so many smiling faces in these uncertain times.
Staffing News: Laura Banks: Welcome to Laura Banks who replaces Lucy McCarthy- Hill in Year 6 this year for her maternity leave. We wish Lucy all the best for this time and will see her again some time next year.
Paul Burke has had to return to Ireland to support a sick family member, so he will be away for some weeks. Teresa Prismall, our Music Teacher, will replace Paul at this time. Teresa is an experienced classroom teacher as well as being a music teacher. Please keep Paul in your prayers.
Cristy Kelleher, one of Learning Support Officers(LSO) has had to resign from her for Personal reasons. We thank Cristy for her time her and hope to see her again in the future. Liz McNamara has increased her days to replace Cristy.
Building Project: Our Building Project continues. The hall is basically finished with only a couple of things to finish off. Our two classrooms upstairs are being used. We now just await the removal of the contaminated soil from the down stairs rooms so that work can begin in those rooms.
Communication Update: Obviously we have started to use our new Newsletter format. We think it has a much nicer look and will be easier for the community to access. We are using email addresses, so if you are aware that someone has not received the newsletter, they will need to contact the school with an updated email. You may have also noticed we are using Bulk Email Lists to get things to families. This is simply to avoid the use of the unreliable PIC. We are in the final stages of the new newsletter and our new app, we should have that completed in the next few weeks. All of the tools will be then linked and should work seamlessly together. With the new administrative tool ICON nearing completion as well, each family will also have a Parent Portal which will allow you to update medical forms, complete absentee notices and excursion permissions, book parent teacher interviews through the same tool. We will try to introduce these things slowly so we get a chance to learn as we go.
God Bless and Stay Safe
Anthony
Parent Education
Parents and the Home Environment they create are the single most important factor in shaping their children’s achievements and prospects. Research has shown that in order to raise achievement, parents need to be both involved in schools and engaged in learning (Harris and Goodall; 2007)
Tips for a healthy headspace - for family and friends
Good mental health allows young people to deal with the changes and challenges life throws at them and live their lives in a positive and meaningful way. It includes things like being able to work and study, deal with day-to-day life stress, feel connected to others, be involved in activities in the community and ‘bounce back’ when things go wrong.
Just like physical fitness, mental fitness takes regular effort. There are lots of things that family and friends can do to support a young person to look after their mental health. Here are some things you can encourage your young person to do to build their mental fitness every day.
One of the most effective ways to support young people to look after their mental health is to model healthy habits yourself, so it’s a good idea for you to practise some of these tips as well.
Get enough sleep
Sleep is really important for young people and their mental health. You can help them by encouraging regular sleep routines and gently helping them get up in the morning. Encourage them to switch off or reduce the time they spend on their phone or devices a few hours before bedtime. You can also help them to make their bedroom cool, quiet and dark during the night.
Eat well
Eating well can improve your young person’s mood, energy levels and general health and wellbeing. Cooking nutritious meals and encouraging your young person to fill up on good food (like veggies, fruit and whole grains) and drink plenty of water is good for their physical and mental development. This also teaches them set up healthy habits for their future.
Keep learning
Setting goals and learning new things are really important for your young person’s mental health. You can help by talking to your young person about their interests and hobbies and encouraging them to take part in them. You may want to help them find a hobby group or learn more about a topic they are interested in. Helping them to set realistic and achievable goals, while celebrating their achievements, can be really empowering for them. Listening to their challenges and disappointments is also important.
Stay active
Regular exercise can help your young person to sleep better, improve their ability to cope and boost their mood. Regular physical activity is also related to better wellbeing, which can lower depression and anxiety levels. Going for a walk with your young person can help increase their activity level and provides a great opportunity to talk. Supporting them to find a sport that they enjoy and encouraging active interests in your young person are also great ways to facilitate exercise.
Connect
Spending time with friends and family (including pets) and people in the community is an essential part of being human, and can really strengthen your young person’s mental health and wellbeing. Regularly spend time connecting with your young person by setting up an activity that you both enjoy – like a regular walk, a hot drink together after dinner or a drive. Ask questions and listen without judgement to your young person. You can also encourage and support meaningful and healthy friendships. Listen to their concerns about relationships and encourage opportunities for them to make new friends in the community.
Your self-care
Parents and carers of young people often neglect their own needs because they are busy looking after others, or because they feel guilty taking time for themselves. It is important that while you care for someone, you also look after your own mental health. This will encourage your young person to do the same and it will help you to re-charge and be more patient and less reactive. Reach out for extra support if you or other family members need it. Talk to someone you trust and seek professional help if necessary.