Newsletter Week 6 Term 2 2024

Hi Everyone,

This week, we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi (The Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ). This is a special celebration for us as we reflect on our school's name, which is not named for a saint specifically but for Christ's presence in the world. One of our favourite hymns to make this meaningful for the child is 'We are the Body of Christ' by Andrew Chinn.

We are the body of Christ, a unified team, each with a unique role, working together to spread love and kindness.
We're here to help others, just like Jesus did when he healed the sick and helped those in need. We can lend a hand to someone who's struggling or do kind things to make someone's day better, just like Jesus would.

We can speak up for what's right and share messages of love and kindness, just like Jesus did when he taught people about God's love. We can use our words to encourage others and spread positivity.

We're filled with love and compassion, just like Jesus was. We can show love to everyone we meet, just like Jesus did when he showed love to everyone, no matter who they were.

So, when we think about being the Body of Christ, we're reminded that we can make a difference in the world by showing love, kindness, and compassion to everyone around us.

Uniform

Listed below are our Winter Uniform expectations. I have highlighted some items are reminders to students and families.

Staff Development Day: 

Friday 5 July (Last Day of Term 2) 

 Week 7:

Monday 10 June

King's Birthday Public Holiday

Tuesday 11 June

P&F Meeting 6:30pm

Wednesday 12 June 

Sacrament of Confirmation - Corpus Christi Church

Week 8: 

Monday 17 June 

Regional Spelling and Maths Bees - St Peter's Primary School Stockton 

Week 9: 

Friday 28 June 

Mini Vinnies - Winter Appeal Pyjama Day 

Final Assembly for Term 2 

Reports published on Compass 

Week 10: 

Tuesday 2 July 

NAIDOC Day - Prayer Service and Activities 

Thursday 4 July 

Regional Athletics Carnival 

Last Day of Term 2 

Friday 5 July 

Staff Development Day (School Closed) 

Diocesan Spelling and Maths Bees  

Term 3: 

Monday 22 July 

First Day Term 3 

Friday 16 August 

Staff Development Day (School closed) 

CELEBRATING CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK AT CCW

In week 4, Corpus Christi celebrated the contribution that Catholic schools make to the lives of students and families around Australia. Catholic schools educate over 805,000 students (one in five Australian students) and employ over 109,000 staff. For over 200 years, Catholic schools in Australia have provided Australian families with a choice for the education of their children, which reflects their own beliefs and values.

Our Diocesan theme for Catholic Schools Week this year is “Follow me” (Matthew 4:19). In this story from the Gospel of Mathew, Jesus invites Simon, Peter and Andrew to place their trust and confidence in Him and to follow Him on a journey as His disciples (followers or students). For disciples, to ‘follow me’ meant that they became like apprentices to Jesus, to learn His ways, to love as He does, and to serve the poor and outsiders as He does. To ‘be’ Good news to all the earth!

This invitation continues to this day as Catholic schools help fulfil the mission given by Jesus to “Follow me!” Working alongside our parishes and other agencies to love and serve those in our communities. This attitude of service and caring for the whole person flavours our Catholic schools’ approach to everything! From striving for excellence in learning, to dedicated pastoral care and wellbeing, to faith formation opportunities for every child, we work hard to help each child to flourish in life.

Thank you for trusting Corpus Christi to care for and educate your child.

SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION

We keep these students in our prayers this week as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation next Wednesday, 12th June, at 6:30 p.m. We thank the parents, sponsors and teachers of these children who have helped to prepare them for this next step in their faith journey.

We wish you all the best; Aoife, Casey, Julia, Ruby , Harlan, MJ and Hudson. 

Last week we wrote to you and asked you to complete the ‘Tell Them From Me’ survey.
 
The results from the survey will help to clarify and strengthen the important relationship between parents and carers and our school.
 
If you are yet to provide your valuable feedback, it’s not too late.
 
You can do so now, by clicking on the link below. Please note, your responses are anonymous.
 
SURVEY LINK: http://tellthemfromme.com/ccw
 
The more parents and carers who complete the survey the better, as this will enhance the reliability of results and be more representative of everyone’s experiences.
 
If you would like more information about completing the survey, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions and Answers document.
 

Classes have been working their way through the Social/Emotional Development Program; Highway Heroes. The learning and shared understanding gained from this  evidence based program is one of the key elements of supporting and ensuring student wellbeing

 This term, the focus has been on TAMING TEASING and BEATING BULLYING.

Our regular newsletter updates have given parents insight into some helpful research and strategies to help your child become more confident and skilled in handling teasing or bullying situations they may come across. 

The section below; Spotlight on Bullying, also provides extra important parent information on bullying.

Over the next few weeks, students will be unpacking The Differences Between Teasing & Bullying & The Triple A’s 4 Teasing Strategy.

Bullying is a HIGHWAY HAZARD - serious in nature and deserving of immediate attention. It's effects are harmful and can be ongoing.  

It is important though, to be aware that not every form of criticism, rudeness, faultfinding and even, in some forms, teasing, is determined to be bullying. There are differences between bullying and these forementioned behaviours and also differences in how to address them.

The differences between teasing and bullying need to be clearly emphasised to ensure that children can accurately differentiate between them, and then respond effectively to both. 

Teasing is a HIGHWAY BUMP - it has the potential to develop into bullying if
the warning signs aren’t attended to. However, the child who has a good range of
HIGHWAY HERO TOOLS will usually be able to prevent the teasing from escalating to bullying.
Teasing is not always meant to be mean. There is Cruel Teasing which is meant to be
hurtful or humiliating intentionally. Then there is Cool Teasing which could be unintentional, a clumsy attempt at humour or to break the ice. There is no intent on harm in Cool Teasing. This doesn’t mean, however, that Cool Teasing can’t - and doesn’t - often go too far, and a child also needs to know how to address that.

The Triple A’s 4 Teasing
The HIGHWAY TOOL of The Triple A’s 4 Teasing gives a child a choice from a range of skills that they can use immediately.

AGREE: Defuses what the teaser has said, e.g., “Yep, that’s about right!”

ASK A QUESTION: A disarming stratgey, designed to tackle the teasing content directly and appears the person being teased is actually interested e.g., “Have you only just noticed my freckles?”

ASK TO STOP: Tells the teaser directly, clearly and calmly, that enough is enough!

Taking time to review what assertive, straight talk looks like and sounds like is also beneficial for helping children to tame teasing (see below).

Bullying is an ongoing or repeated misuse of power in relationships, with the intention to cause deliberate psychological harm.

Bullying behaviours can be verbal, physical or social. It can happen in person or online, via various digital platforms and devices and it can be obvious or hidden. Bullying in any form or for any reason can have immediate, medium and long-term effects on those involved, including bystanders.

Despite the efforts made to reduce bullying behaviours, the research tells us that one in four students in Australia, still report being bullied every few weeks. However, not all negative behaviour should be considered bullying. The key difference is that bullying does not stop on its own. It’s important young people learn how to identify behaviours that are rude, behaviours that are mean, and behaviours that are related to bullying. 

Often the reasons for bullying can be complex. Some young people do it to get approval from others, some do it to regain control, whilst others may do it because it makes them feel safe. Supporting young people as they work through their emotions will help them unpack the motivation and reason behind the behaviour. 

There are times that an incident can not be confirmed as bullying. There are any number of incidences in any given week that constitute a range of social interactions that could be perceived as bullying but, in fact, are not. Firstly, this does not mean it is not something that needs to be dealt with under our school’s policies and procedures. Secondly, it does not mean that that incident itself will not necessarily develop into a pattern of behaviour could later develop into bullying. 

It is important for parents to know that: 

• the school has a clear procedure and strategies for dealing with bullying issues
• Reports of student bullying can be made to an appropriate staff member at our school and concerns will be taken seriously. 

In this edition of SchoolTV  (link below), caregivers can better understand why some young people engage in bullying behaviours and what to do to support a child experiencing it.

 Bullying edition of SchoolTV

https://waratah.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/bullying

We issued 2024 School Fee Statements at the start of March.
For families who opted for an annual installment, annual payments are due by 30 June.

Please note all fee accounts require a zero balance by 30 November.

Fee statements are emailed regularly, and live balances are available via Compass. Please contact the office if you have any questions about your School Fee Statement.