TERM 1 WEEK 11 OATLEY WEST LANTERN - The school by the park 6.4.2020

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Here we are at the end of Term One. Who could have imagined what a different world we would be in, only a few weeks ago. At this point we are keeping check of everyone as best we can. By engaging in the work sent home from school, either hard copy or via distance learn-ing this term, your responses keep teachers informed and act as a ‘roll call’ each day. Our teachers for Learning Support, English As An Additional Language and Library along with the School Counsellor have all been involved in each of the classes across the school and ready to go within the online structure for Term 2. It has been a mammoth task to get this form of teaching up and running so quickly and I’m indebted to all the staff for their professionalism and dedica-tion to our kids. As I wrote last week, you at home have also had some major adjust-ments to make in family life, supervising the learning, running the home, some working out in essential services and some, like me, learning to work from home. We realise this has been a big juggle for you and we respect that you are doing your very best under these circumstances. We appreciate all of your good wishes and kind re-marks that have been flowing in. To all of our kids, I say to you, thank you also for your dedication to your studies. We understand that work levels may be different from your normal classwork. Many of you have had to grapple with online presentations and getting used to software and hardware that might not have been behaving as it should, and presenting your work back to teachers electronically. You’ve had a lot to deal with. I love the photos of your work place at home. Please keep them coming. This week continue with a timetable or routine, make sure you give your-self plenty of down time to relax, get some movement in, and re-member our Peaceful Kids relaxing techniques such as sitting quietly, deep belly breathing and if you can, meditate to some music. We have done these exercises a couple of times as a whole school. They work! Continue to physically distance yourself from other people when outside your home, keep hands clean and get good food and rest and we’ll beat this virus. Continue To live by our VALUES:

MR NASH’S CORNER

Good Friday 10 APR

Start Winter Uniform 11 MAY

OWPS Trivia Night 23 OCT

Last Day Term 1 9 APR

First Day Term 2 28 APR

School Values: Fairness/Integrity/Respect/Cooperation/

Excellence/Participation/Care & Responsibility!

Principal Nash continued

TERM 1 WEEK 11 OATLEY WEST LANTERN - The school by the park 6.4.2020

WELLBEING

I hear the Easter Bunny has been declared an essential service and should be OK to still do his visits even though we might not be able to share Easter in the usual way with family and friends. Have a good break, not sure if I can call it a hol-iday? Down tools and relax over the next two weeks! Principal’s orders :) HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE

Looking after your wellbeing Holidays are just around the corner, but we know that these holidays will be unlike any we have had before. Please be mindful of yourself and your family as the holidays approach as we navi-gate holidays in a modified way. Last week I included some support services and their phone numbers, which I have included again. You may know of someone who needs to reach out, please encourage them to do so in this difficult time. These are some of the support services around to help. Lifeline Australia 13 11 14 Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 Headspace Australia 1800 650 890

At the end of the OWL I have included some be-haviour management tips and survival tips for parents which you may find helpful over the next few weeks. Thank you again for the work you are doing as parents. I will be putting out wellbeing resources on google classrooms and class dojo for students to look at and engage with remotely. Miss Benita Wellbeing Officer

BORROWING · Students can reserve books using “ OLIVER “ Library and will be notified when they are ready for collection. · Maximum of 6 books each time you borrow.

RETURNING · Books being returned, will be placed in a tub for 4 days, covers wiped, before shelving. · The RETURNS tub will be placed outside the office READING AND VIRTUAL TOURS Attached at the end of the newsletter is a PDF, giving links to author's reading their books and virtual tours of Zoos, Space and Natural History museums. It's not an exhaustive list, but you may wish to ex-plore. Each week, we will add some more author sites and virtual tours. If you are unable to open the link, copy and paste the link into your browser. Happy Reading Rita Fitzpatrick and Carol Kalusek.

LIBRARY NEWS

TERM 1 WEEK 11 OATLEY WEST LANTERN - The school by the park 6.4.2020

KEEPING A FAMILY DIARY OR SCRAP BOOK. RECORDING HISTORY

A diary is a primary source of information. A primary source is an original material created during a

particular event or in a particular time period. Diaries contain thoughts, pictures, drawings etc, provid-

ing a first hand account of an event or a time period.

During this time of isolation, you may wish to record the activities and thoughts of the day in a diary or

scrap book. Remember to include the everyday things, as these show how living in isolation affects

families, friends and relatives. Be sure to mention endless journeys in search of toilet paper.

Some famous diarists.

Captain Cook

Rita Fitzpatrick and Jen McDonald

History/Geography Co Ordinators

HISTORY

UNIFORM SHOP

TERM 1 WEEK 11 OATLEY WEST LANTERN - The school by the park 6.4.2020

Uniform Shop - Closed

Late last week, the Department of Education gave a directive that school Uniform Shops are unable to contin-ue trading until further notice. Updates will be on Skoolbag as we receive further communication and in the event we can continue trading, parents will be advised prior to their accounts being debited and when orders will be available for pick up. When we reopen and resume processing orders, please keep your receipt together with all items in their packaging with tags left on, until you need them. In the event items are not used, or sizing is incorrect, ex-changes can be arranged, when school resumes. Given the majority of children are not currently at school and with uncertainty around when we will be re-turning, if you wish to defer your order or are not in a position for your order to proceed, please email me at owpsuniform@gmail.com with details of your child’s name and class. We apologise for any inconvenience. Sia

READING: AUTHOR /ILLUSTRATOR ONLINE STORIES/ACTIVITIES

Enrolments are now open for the

FREE Sally Rippin Holiday Program!

https://www.sallyrippin.com/?fbclid=Iw

AR3VPP7xFSSMF6g7Cz0hB6wClYFNaYH

ROMGp8PSek2jTQXaCjaARXHFKKQo

Here’s everything you need to know

about Harry Potter At Home: some

new ways to bring the magic closer

to you, all specially created by

different members of our wide

Wizarding World family.

https://www.wizardingworld.com/collec

tions/harry-potter-at-home

For as long as schools are closed,

students can instantly stream an

incredible collection of stories, including

titles across six different language.

All stories are FREE to stream on your

desktop, laptop, phone or tablet.

https://stories.audible.com/start-

listen?ref=adbl_ent_anon_ds_hm_hb

https://www.sallyrippin.com/?fbclid=Iw

AR3VPP7xFSSMF6g7Cz0hB6wClYFNaYH

ROMGp8PSek2jTQXaCjaARXHFKKQo

Paper Bird Books Home Club is a new

YouTube Channel set up by Paper

Bird Books in WA. Every morning at

10.30am (WA time) they have story

time (Sunday and Monday) or (the

rest of the week) a visiting author or

illustrator. Catch up on the activities

anytime

.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC

lAft85_6Ldu-

tR0QYfmPhw/videos?fbclid=IwAR2l63G

HF-

w9W5n3EbRm9YPxD1gYLTovdO8pMlBR

Gcx2hE53uqYemNV_IWM&app=desktop

ELEVENSES WITH THE WORLD OF

DAVID WALLIAMS

Stages 2/3. Every day at 11am, you

can listen to one of David Walliams’

World’s Worst Children stories.

Catch up anytime.

Astronauts reading children’s space

and science fiction books from the

International Space Station.

https://storytimefromspace.com/library

/

Oliver Jeffers will be reading one of

his books every weekday and talking

about some of the things that went

into making it. Catch up anytime.

https://www.oliverjeffers.com/books#/

abookaday/

Join Matt Stanton for Monster Monday

drawing.

https://www.kidsnews.com.au/arts/aut

hor-and-illustrator-matt-stanton-gives-

tips-on-drawing-monsters-and-curing-

boredom/news-

story/a3fc1a425a71aee2e47bcbb8e1b4

a7d1

Stage 3. Neil Gamin reads The

Graveyard Book and Coraline. Have a

look at his website.

http://www.mousecircus.com/videos/

Debbie Ridpath Ohi is reading her

books.

https://www.youtube.com/user/debbie

ohi

Stages 2/3. This is a weekly PODCAST of

funny stories for kids. There are side-

splitting versions of her fractured fairy

tales. Also, short stories from some of

her best-selling books, featuring

characters from 'The Adventures of

Nanny Piggins' and 'Friday Barnes, Girl

Detective'

raspratt.com

Listen to Mem fox read some of her

books. Click on a book title.

https://memfox.com/books/

Storynory is a free PODACST featuring a collection of

original, fairy tale, and classic children’ stories.

Students can follow along with the story as it is read

to them, as the text is included.

https://www.storynory.com/archives/fairy-tales/

VIRTUAL EXCURSIONS

ZOOS

• Taronga and Dubbo Zoos: Live stream

https://taronga.org.au/taronga-tv#animallivecams

• Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/webcams

• San Diego Zoo

https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/

SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER

▪ ACCESS MARS 360– The real surface of Mars, recorded by NASA’s

Curiosity Rover.

https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/

▪ International Space Station ( ISS) Tour - NASA. Be guided around the

ISS with Astronauts.

▪ European SPACE AGENCY (ESA) – Living in space and viewing our Earth.

https://www.youtube.com/user/ESA/videos

MUSEUMS OF THE WORLD

British Museum: How to explore the BM from

home (UK)

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/how-to-

explore-the-british-museum-from-

home/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIusPP3rbN6AIVkoa

PCh2ubwpDEAAYASAAEgLMGPD_BwE

Smithsonian: National Museum of Natural

History - Virtual Tours (USA)

https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour

https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour

Natural History Museum (UK)

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/

TIPS FOR BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT AND JUST PLAIN SURVIVAL FOR PARENTS STAYING HOME WITH THEIR CHILDREN

Behavioural Reactions Be aware of the normal behavioural reactions children can experience when there are significant changes in their lives. Predictable routines provide children with a sense of safety. Children frequently behave badly when they don’t feel safe. As a result, your children may exhibit many of the following behaviours given their current circumstances: • An increase in anxiety, irritability, impatience,

anger, meltdowns and tantrums. • Complaints against restrictions on normal

activities, lying, opposition and defiance. • Mood swings, withdrawal, clinginess, aggression,

trouble concentrating. • Sleep problems, bed wetting, thumb sucking. • Headaches, stomach aches, chest pain, fatigue.

How To Make Your Child Feel Safe Make this a positive experience – children look to parent

emotional reactions to determine how safe the world is. Monitor their emotional wellbeing - look for signs listed

to the left, talk openly about the situation and ask them how they feel, give them a safe space to open up about their feelings.

Acknowledge their concerns and share your own past experiences and coping strategies.

Remind them of their own coping successes in the past Download and work through the Relax Kids for Parents

pack:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/re/public/stfillans/uploads/sites/2293/2018/05/Relax-Kids-Pack-for-Parents.pdf

Let them know that this too will pass. Work on designing a daily routine together. Working on it together will give your children a sense of

ownership and make it more likely that they will follow it. Try to follow the routine each day but remain flexible. Remember that routines change at school too sometimes

and we are all likely to have to adapt to many more changes before this is all over.

Help them regain their sense of control by giving them choice from a reasonable set of options for when, what and how they do things.

https://www.relaxkids.com/blog-single.aspx?id=896

Helping Your Child Manage Negative Emotions Model appropriate expression of emotions – Be the change you

want to see. Set reasonable expectations – unreasonable expectations lead to

failure, fustration and anger. Avoid known triggers e.g. tired, hungry. Alter the environment – e.g. provide each child with their own

space to avoid conflict. Don’t encourage them to vent by punching a pillow etc – this will

only intensify the emotion. Distract – lead them to focus on something else e.g. snack, game. Let them talk it through – telling their story reduces anger. Express empathy for their feelings (not the behaviour). Help them to think differently about the event - ask questions to

elicit the other person’s perspective and options to avoid future problems.

Help them to change their response e.g. use calm down strategies, use their words, fix it.

Be compassionate and gentle – punitive responses only increase everyone’s stress.

https://childhood101.com/take-5-breathing-exercise/

Avoiding Parent Meltdowns Everyone in the house together all day, every day can be a challenge for everyone.

Put your own self-care first to build your resilience against meltdowns Journal your feelings/experiences 20 minutes a day. Practice Gratitude - start your day by listing at least 3

things your grateful for. Listen to your favourite music. Make yourself a hot drink. Schedule time to talk to friend. Go for a walk/exercise regularly. Have a nap. Replace an unnecessary activity in your schedule with

an enjoyable hobby.

But when the inevitable happens and you reach your limits: Clap your hands once forcefully and loud – it can stop

things long enough to give you room to think. Say – “This behaviour was unacceptable and we will

speak about the consequences later.” Give yourself time out from the situation:

• Get a drink of water. • Do something calming – go for a walk, yoga. • Ask yourself how would an observer see this? • Don’t mentally rehearse negative thoughts. • Use your supports – call a friend.

Dealing with Defiance Make sure both parents are on the same page. Make sure you have a predictable routine – sudden

and unexpected demands can increase resistance. Build you relationship by replacing negative attention

with positive/neutral attention (e.g “Thank you for answering the phone,” “Your wearing green today”).

Give at least 5 positive comments to every 1 negative comment.

Check out http://resourcingparents.nsw.gov.au/

Spend at least 15min of one-on-one time 3-4 times/week with each child.

Give one command (not a question or favour) at a time – speak in a business like tone.

Communicate clear and specific expectations e.g. fill and run the dishwasher, put the dishes. away when the dishwasher is done

Be flexible and adapt to changing demands of each day.

Addressing a Problem Behaviour 1. Pause – Remember that mistakes are an opportunity

to learn. 2. Calmly state the problem behaviour. 3. Explain why it’s a problem. 4. Suggest more appropriate alternative behaviours.

5. Ask for a replay of the events with the newly chosen behaviour.

6. Resume the conversation/meet the request when appropriate behaviour is shown.

7. Do not make hollow threats.

Making The Best Of A Bad Situation None of us would have chosen to be in this situation willingly but now that we’re here, how can we make the most of it? While there will be many challenges, there are also many things we can do to make the experience more positive:

What are some of the things you’ve always wanted to do as family but never found the time? Do them now!

Build a cubby house, take an online art classes together, start a vegetable garden, make pasta from scratch.

Use the time saved travelling to and from work and shopping for “stuff” you really don’t need to spend dedicated, focussed quality time with each of your children individually. Turn off your phone notifications and enjoy the time together without interruptions.

Do a https://www.bigfamilychallenge.com/ Remember to be playful – at school the children have

recess and lunch breaks as well sports, drama and art. These are all times to let loose, be creative and play – it’s not all work, work, work, they have fun too.

Use the Internet to get out of the house and/or travel – Visit a virtual art museum or famous international landmark.

Set up online play dates using one of the many Apps available to let people get together online. E.g. Zoom.

Set them up to watch a movie with friends through Netflix Party.

Use your child’s interests to encourage learning – crazy about animals – visit an online Zoo and build a habitat for their favourite animal together.

Allow time off from school work when necessary – now is not the time for more emotional distress and frayed relationships

Take turns parenting – give each other permission to take a break from childcare and school work to focus on personal needs and projects.

KIND is the new COOL - Remember to be kind to yourselves and to each other, things will inevitable not work out the way you plan – accept it at the outset and it will be much less stressful. Family relationships and the wellbeing of each family member should always be our primary goal.