Our Spirit

5th April 2018 WEEK 9 TERM 1

Dear Parents and Carers, CATHOLIC SCHOOLS SOCCER CARNIVAL The Catholic Schools Soccer Carnival, which Holy Spirit is hosting, is on this weekend. Thank you to the many families who have offered support or volunteered their services for the weekend. It is a whole community event, so please support our sponsors and share our Soccer Facebook Page! It is not too late to help! Contact cgcssoccercarnival@gmail.com AUTISM – APRIL IS AUTISM MONTH As a Catholic school we openly promote inclusion, community and a welcoming environment. As a community we model ourselves on the life of Jesus. This is a core of a Catholic school, it is the essence of why we exist and why we are different from non-Catholic schools. This is not something we take lightly and it is something we continually work on. The result is that we have a wonderfully diverse community made up of people from all walks of life. One of the diverse needs we cater for is autism and April is autism month. We have several students with autism in our school. Autism is a lifelong developmental condition that affects, among other things, the way an individual relates to his or her environment and their interaction with other people. The word 'spectrum' describes the range of difficulties that people with autism may experience and the degree to which they may be affected. Some people may be able to live relatively normal lives, while others may have an accompanying learning disability and require continued specialist support. The main areas of difficulty are in social communication, social interaction, sensory sensitivities and restricted or repetitive behaviours and interests. Go to http://www.autismspectrum.org.au/ for more information. At Holy Spirit, we have students who display a range of these difficulties and behaviours. The message I want to convey is that we all need to be supportive and inclusive in our thinking and in our actions. If we are a true Catholic community, then we need to continue to be welcoming, accepting and inclusive of these students and their families. Some students may come home and share stories of behaviours they have observed. If you are ever concerned, please do not hesitate to email or call myself, your child’s teacher or Justine Brasnett, our Classroom Support Teacher and we will be able to clarify things for you. CONGRATULATIONS Congratulations to some of our staff who are getting married in the next few weeks! Jake Anderson (Year 5) is marrying his lovey fiancé Kate this Saturday and Jessica Pearson (Year 6) is marrying her fiancé Ricky the following week. We hope both weddings are wonderful days for them and their families. Jake is now on leave and will return next term and Jessica will be away for a few days late next week.

ALIVE WITH THE SPIRIT, WE CELEBRATE

FAITH, LEARNING AND

LIFE.

School Address

Kelleway Avenue

Nicholls ACT 2913

School website

www.holyspirit.act.

edu.au

Email

office.holyspirit@

cg.catholic.edu.au

Phone

6241 8640

H o l y S p i r i t P r i m a r y S c h o o l

Dates to

Remember in

April

Sunday 8th

Soccer Carnival

Monday 9th

North/Gungahlin District

Swimming Carnival

Friday 13th

Last day of Term 1

Monday 30th

Term 2 commences

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ENROLMENTS 2018

2019 Enrolment Period 7 May until 25 May

Open Day Monday 14 May 9am - 12pm and 3.30pm - 5.30pm

Enrolment time will be on us again in a few weeks. If you have a little one ready for school in 2019 or you know of anyone interested in looking at our fantastic school for their children, the enrolment packs will be available soon. WINTER UNIFORM It is time to get the winter uniforms out and dust them off. We will be wearing it when we return for Term 2 on Monday 30th. We will have the usual few weeks of change over, but students are expected to wear correct winter uniform. From our School Handbook; Girls’ Winter – Worn in Terms 2 & 3 Boys’ Winter – Worn in Terms 2 & 3 Dress or Navy slacks Long sleeve pale blue shirt with school logo Long sleeve pale blue blouse with peter pan or pale blue polo neck skivvy collar or pale blue polo neck skivvy Long navy trousers Maroon polar fleece jumper with school logo Maroon polar fleece jumper with school logo Navy blue socks or tights Navy blue socks Black Leather School Shoes Black Leather School Shoes

Girls’ Sports Boys’ Sports Sport polo shirt with school logo Sport polo with school logo Microfibre shorts with school name Microfibre shorts with school name White socks White socks Predominately white sports shoes Predominately white sports shoes Navy tracksuit with school logo Navy tracksuit with school logo Hair - Students’ hair should be clean and neat; fashionable extremes are not permitted. Examples of hair styles not permitted include rat’s tails, dreadlocks, geometric shapes cut into hair and mohawks. Shoulder length hair or longer must be tied back. Accessories are to match school colours (maroon, royal/navy blue and white). Hair should only be of natural colour.

Brad Gaynor Principal brad.gaynor@cg.catholic.edu.au

Only 3 sleeps until the Catholic Schools Soccer Carnival!

What can you do? Support our sponsors and share our Soccer Carnival Facebook Page.

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PREMIER SPONSOR

MAJOR SPONSOR

FIELD SPONSORS

A LEAGUE SPONSORS

FAN CLUB SPONSORS

The Playground People

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Garden Club

Thanks to our wonderful Garden Club members and their awesome Green Thumbs we have some

delicious, fresh produce for you to purchase from the front office. Zucchini, tomatoes ,and rhubarb

are available to buy for a gold coin donation. Yummy!!

If you are able to bake some goodies for our Soccer Carnival cake stall please drop them to the stall on Sunday or into the school office on Friday 6th April.

We are also in need of 2 generators to help us make the day run smoothly. If you have one we can borrow please let the front office know.

We look forward to seeing you all on Sunday. Thank you for your support.

Soccer Carnival Committee cgcssoccercarnival@gmail.com

Second Hand Uniform Shop

Our second hand uniform shop will now be open Monday and Friday mornings from

8.30 to 9am.

If you have any second hand clothing you would like to donate

please drop it into the front office.

Library News

Please remember to return all books to the

library by Monday 9th April.

SCHOOL WELFARE NEWS

I am very happy to be able to support your children and their teachers again this year and I am always

happy to support your families in any way possible. The following are just a few of the programs we will

be running at Holy Spirit Primary this year.

KIDSMATTER PRIMARY

Mental Health Difficulties

This year in Kidsmatter Primary we are investigating

Component 4: Helping Students Experiencing Mental

Health Difficulties.

The Kidsmatter Primary website has some excellent resources and information. Today I have included a

link to Mental Health Basics where you will find some excellent information surrounding the risk and

protective factors associated with children’s mental health.

Children’s responses to the different feelings they experience every day have a major impact on their

choices, their behaviour, and on how well they cope and enjoy life. Emotional development involves

learning what feelings and emotions are, understanding how and why they happen, recognising one’s

own feelings and those of others, and developing effective ways of managing them.

COOL KIDS ANXIETY PROGRAM

This term Sharyn Lynch, our school counsellor, and myself, are completing training and accreditation in

the Cool Kids anxiety program. The program has been running at Macquarie University since 1993. It is

a structured 10-week program that teaches children (ages 7-17 years) and their parents how to better

manage a child’s anxiety. The program is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), involves the

participation of child and parent and focuses on teaching practical skills. I have just completed The

Essentials of CBT: The Beck Approach, which has given me formal training and a solid background in

CBT in preparation for the Cool Kids course. Students will be selected for the program after consultation

with parents and teachers.

MINI VINNIES NEWS

Our Mini Vinnies group is up and running, with many enthusiastic students from Years 4 to 6. This term

we have made Easter cards and little Easter Egg bags for Canberra’s disadvantaged, which were

collected by Bryce and the Vinnies’ Night Patrol Van last week. This week, at 9.00am on Friday, our

2018 Mini Vinnies group will be commissioned – the students will make their

pledge and receive certificates from Mr Wesley Raymond, the Youth Liaison

Officer from the St Vincent De Paul Society. Please feel welcome to attend if

you are able. We are also planning our major fundraiser for the year which

will be a Pyjama Day to be held early next term with more information to

come! If you have a child in Year 4 to 6 and you think they might enjoy Mini

Vinnies, encourage them to come along! We meet at lunch time on

Wednesdays in the Computer Hub.

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SCHOOL WELFARE NEWS

SEASONS FOR GROWTH

The Seasons for Growth program is designed to assist children who have experienced grief, loss and

change. The program helps them to process the effects of the grief, loss and/or change and it helps them

to build resilience and wellbeing in a safe, peer supported manner. We will be running this eight-week

program in small, age-specific groups later in the year and I will put more information about it here.

SAFE SCHOOLS HUB

The Safe Schools Hub for Parents provides you with information and resources

that you may find useful in helping to make your child's school experience a

positive and happy one. Get ideas on how to stay cyber safe, and how to deal

positively with bullying and harassment. You'll also find out about encouraging

self-respect and protective behaviours in your child. The following is a link to the

Safe Schools Hub website which is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education.

http://safeschoolshub.edu.au/for-parents

PLAY GROUP

Cheeky Cherubs Playgroup is held in the Community Hub on Wednesday mornings from 9.00-10.30; it is run through ACT Playgroups. There are limited places and a small fee does apply to this group so if you would like further information please contact the front office.

Always feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance, at Sharonmarie.harrison@cg.catholic.edu.au

Sharon Harrison

Student Welfare Officer

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HOLY SPIRIT CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL

OPEN DAY 2018

MONDAY 14TH MAY

9AM – 12PM & 3.30PM – 5.30PM

Our Open Day is a great opportunity to hear about the many engaging and high

quality learning programs our school is able to offer, as well as getting to see it

all in action!

Come take a tour anytime between the above hours.

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Confirmation Ministry Masses

The Confirmation ministry masses will continue this weekend (7

th and 8

th April).

Please remember to arrive 15 minutes prior to mass starting if you have a role in ministry. Mass times: Saturday 6pm; Sunday 9.30am and 5.30pm

PROJECT COMPASSION BOXES NOW NEED TO BE

RETURNED

We kindly ask all families to return their Project Compassion boxes to the Holy Spirit front office by the end of the term. We would like to pass on all donations to Caritas on Friday 13

th April.

Every cent makes a difference towards building a just future for all and we appreciate the

generosity our Holy Spirit families have demonstrated this Lent, supporting Project Compassion.

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ANZAC Day Ceremony

Wednesday, May 2nd

Important Notice to Parents and Carers

This year we are very privileged to have the Australia’s Federation Guard (AFG) attend our ANZAC Day Ceremony at Holy Spirit School. They will be performing a Catafalque Party and as part of this they will be carrying arms (weapons). These weapons will not have any ammunition and will be handled exclusively by the AFG.

The AFG will be a very striking part of our Ceremony and will showcase one of the highly disciplined corps of our Australian Defence Force.

If you are not comfortable for your child to attend our ANZAC Day Ceremony where weapons will be present, you are welcome to bring them to school after our Ceremony has concluded at 10.45am.

If you have any concerns, please feel free to contact me prior to our ANZAC Day Ceremony. vicki.walsh@cg.catholic.edu.au

Vicki Walsh

DSTA

Defence News…..

Hopefully you have received your invitation to our ANZAC Day Ceremony which will be held next Term. If your invite has gone MIA, please contact me and I am happy to resend. Our ANZAC Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, May 2nd at 09:30 in our School Hall and it would be wonderful to see our Defence Families attend in uniform. Again, we are very privileged to have the Australia’s Federation Guard attend our Ceremony, along with one of the Musicians from RMC to perform the Last Post and Rouse on his bugle.

In honour of ANZAC Day we are running a Poetry Competition. Students are encouraged to reflect on this special day and submit an entry on the theme of “One Hundred Years of ANZACs”. Entries are due by the end of Week 10, April 13th, and there are two age categories with prizes to be won!

This competition is open to ALL Holy Spirit Students.

To celebrate the end of Term 1, next week at DKC will be Cupcake decorating! I expect we will have a full contingent as this is always very popular.

Cpl Ted and Cpl Alf have been doing the rounds, although one of them did go AWOL for a few weeks! Please ensure that our Corporal Bears return to Barracks promptly after their week at home with you, to ensure all of our Defence Students can share time with them. Thank you.

If you have any concerns with your child, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Vicki.walsh@cg.catholic.edu.au

Vicki Walsh

DSTA

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Submit your poem on the theme of

100 Years of

ANZACs

Entries due by Friday 13th April

Please contact Vicki Walsh, DSTA .

Our Spirit