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- Art Show
- Congratulations Glee and Hip Hop
- Faith Leaders - Children's Mission Mass
- Student Bathroom Refurbishment Update
- SRC Selling Poppies
- Multicultural Day
- Intentions for 2020
- Year 3 & 4 Scienceworks Camp
- School Closure - Monday 4th November
- PSG Meetings
- Head Lice
- Uniform & Hats
- Compulsory Dates for 2020 Foundation Families
- Finding the Balance: Screen Time, Gaming and Social Media
The Art Show is tomorrow night!
We are very excited about our annual Art Show. The auction pieces are on display in the school entry foyer - and they are impressive.
ENTRY - $12 per family tickets are to be pre purchased using the trybooking link below:
https://www.trybooking.com/
We will be able to accept cards at the door to pay entry if you have not pre purchased, however we will not have cash at the door. This means you have two options to purchase tickets; using the link above and pre purchasing or credit/debit card at the door.
FOOD - We are encouraging people to pack picnics and use the tables and chairs provided to have a family meal together. We are also providing the option to pre- order Pizza Religion Pizzas. As per all recent communications, Pizza orders closed today at 12pm.
It is important to note that there are no other food options available for sale on the night.
Alcohol will be served from the confines of the art room. Please be mindful that this is a family event and we ask that you keep child safety foremost in your minds on this evening. There is to be NO alcohol brought into the school buildings including the hall during the Auction. The dining/drinking areas are easily identifiable by their tables, chairs and black tablecloths and away from the children's playing areas.
There are both card and cash options on the bar.
AUCTION - This evening is primarily about the display of the sensational art work our children produce in a year. We also take this opportunity to auction seven class pieces. These pieces are magnificent and traditionally fetch an equally magnificent price tag. This money is much needed to support the purchase of materials that give our students the exceptional experience that our specialist art programme offers. It also subsidises our school musical which I'm sure considering the standard of our musicals, everyone would agree is money well spent.
Can’t wait to see you on Friday evening.
Congratulations Glee and Hip Hop
TPT Glee Spring Challenge group
Dominique, Eve, Gabriella, Georgia, Helena, Juliette,
Kyra, Leila, Lola, Sophie, Tessa, Victoria.
TPT Dance Star Hip Hop Spring Challenge group
Dominique, Grace, Isabella, Molly, Victoria, Sophie, Rose, Sarah, Olivia.
Faith Leaders - Children's Mission Mass
Yesterday, our Faith Leaders accompanied me to the annual Children's Mission Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral. OLOL has not attended this Mass before but the leadership team felt it was an appropriate reward for our two exceptional faith leaders (we extended the Mass excursion by including a special lunch). Nicola Callanan ably assisted by Victoria Hogan has lead the school on numerous occasions with reverence and grace exemplifying everything we hold important in our faith. We take this opportunity to thank Nicola and Victoria for their great example of faith leadership.
Student Bathroom Refurbishment Update
The student bathrooms have finally been finished! A huge thank you to Julian and Katie Anderson for their assistance in making this project seamless and beautiful. They have worked so hard on getting all the tiles, vanities, electrical, paint and plumbing all organised for our builder. Thank you to Lisa Collinson, Anabell Dungy and Tarryn Gilles for their hard work on the government grant submission, fingers crossed we are successful. In our last newsletter, we showed you all some of the before photos of the bathrooms. Here are the after photos. The toilets look so good that I’m sure the number of toilet breaks is going to increase.
Beginning next week, our very responsible SRC members will be selling poppies on behalf of our local RSL for Remembrance Day. They will have a little stall in the front garden of the school where children and adults can buy their poppies at the beginning of the day between 8:30-8:50am.
2/3R will also be holding a Remembrance Day Service on Monday 11th November at 10:30am. Due to this being Remembrance Day and at the 11th hour, assembly will be held at this time. There will be NO assembly at 3pm on this day.
We have had 32 families return their Intentions for 2020. If you have not already submitted your Intentions Form, please do so by Friday 1st November.
Families of Year 3 and 4 students should have received their Scienceworks Camp notices last week. Please remember to return all permission slips and medical forms to your classroom teacher by next Wednesday, 30th October. Also note that the cost of the camp this year is $140 which must be paid in full prior to the students departing for Scienceworks.
We are looking forward to a fun and action-packed Scienceworks Camp!
School Closure - Monday 4th November
There has been a reported case of head lice in one of the Foundation/Year 1 classes therefore I would ask that all parents examine their child’s hair for signs of lice infestation. These usually first appear as eggs or nits, tiny silvery white specks attached to the hair shaft near the scalp.
If you find eggs in your child’s hair please treat immediately and do not send your child back to school until the eggs have been removed as well as treated.
Please note that you do need to check the hair for any eggs and remove them either by using the supplied comb or by pulling the egg off the hair strand with your finger nails.
Please make sure that you do regular checks on your child’s hair. If eggs are left, the lice will reinfest. It is also advisable to retreat the hair 7 days after the first treatment. It is also very important for all girls with long hair to wear it tied back.
One wonderful and considerate mother has sent me this product for your information. “I just wanted to share with you the details of the product I had talked about, as I find it very clever for our children’s heads”
http://www.danielgalvinjunior.com/product/dubble-trubble-detangling-lice-repel-spray/
Please ensure that all items of uniform are clearly marked with your child's name.
We also ask you to check that your child owns a hat. We have a number of children visiting the office at recess and lunch asking to borrow hats as they do not own one. As it is Term 4, it is 'no hat, shaded area play' if you are not wearing a hat.
Hats are available for purchase from the office for $15.
Compulsory Dates for 2020 Foundation Families
Parent Information Night (Parents Only to attend)
Tuesday, 12th November 2019 : 7.00pm - 8.30pm
Orientation Days (Children Only)
Thursday, 14th November 2019 : 9.30am - 11.45am
Thursday, 21st November 2019 : 9.30am - 11.45am
Thursday, 28th November 2019 : 9.30am - 11.45am
"Welcome Mass" for 2020 Families
Sunday, 1st December - 11.00am
Our Lady of Lourdes Church,
631 High Street, Prahran East
First Day of School
Thursday, 30th January 2020 : arrive 8.30am - 8.45am
Finding the Balance: Screen Time, Gaming and Social Media
With the rise of the internet and mobile technology, the children of today exist in a vastly different world than the one we grew up in. Whereas all the world’s information was once contained within the 32 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica and the daily newspaper, we are now exposed to a constant barrage of 24 hour news cycles, advertising, ‘fake news’, ‘sponsored content’ and social media ‘influencers’ that make it difficult to find the balance of staying informed and nurturing our offline relationships with our families and friends, nature and ourselves.
Indeed, finding the balance has fast become one of the biggest issues facing families and children today. Information overload and addiction to screens and social media has seen a rise in a vast array of interconnected health and wellbeing issues. Obesity, anxiety, stress, depression, sleep deprivation and social isolation have all been linked to overuse and addiction to screens, social media and gaming in children and adults alike. When these issues present in children, the effects on their social development and learning can be devastating.
Much of this can be attributed to the ubiquitousness of technology and screens and the increasingly intelligent designs of games and social media. Where video games were once developed to be more technically and visually advanced then their competition, online games and social media are now engineered to influence the way we think and act in much the same way poker machines do. They target the pleasure centres of our brains with the sole purpose of occupying as much of our time as possible to expose us to the advertisements that keep their revenue streams flowing.
Facebook and other social media platforms know when you wake up, go to sleep and are most likely to use your device. They will send a notification just prior to these times in order to catch your attention and expose you to more content and ads. Online games from app stores will create rewards, blockers and limits which ensure children are compelled to continually check in with the game at regular intervals.
This is not to detract from the many advantages that technology has brought to our lives. Medical advances, long distance travel, free and open education and the ability to communicate with those far away as if we are face to face, are all aspects of our daily lives that we now take for granted. However, as the saying goes, we mustn’t allow technology capabilities to bring those far away much closer at the expense of making those close to us more distant.
To combat this, we must be proactive in setting limits and rules. We must make a conscious effort to monitor our own technology use to set the example to our children. Below is a small list of things you can do now to help your children develop positive habits with their technology use.
Set the example – Be aware of the example you set to your children with your own technology use. Downloading an app such as ‘Moment’ can help you monitor the time you spend on your device and how many times you pick it up throughout the day. This can be quite an eye opener.
Create family rules and stick to them – These can vary for children of different ages and between weekdays and weekends.
Technology free times – Make a time every day that is technology free. The hours leading up to bedtime are particularly important as the light emitted from screens block the buildup of melatonin which helps us get to sleep.
Green time as well as screen time – Ensure children are given the opportunity to interact with nature and the environment.
No technology in bedrooms – Setting this rule early makes it much easier when your child becomes a teenager. If possible, have the computer/device in the living room or where family spends most of their time. This allows for easier supervision..
Encourage open communication – Talk to your child about their technology use. Ask what apps they are using. Get them to show you how they work, what they do. Continually encourage them to come to you if they feel uncomfortable or there is problem without worrying about being in trouble. If you threaten to take away their device when they come to you, they most likely won’t come to you again.
Staying ahead of the technological curve in today’s world is not easy and there will always be times where things slip by us. However, by setting the ground rules early and being tuned in to the effects, both good and bad, of technology in our everyday lives, we can help ensure our children are creating positive habits early that will allow them to flourish in their learning, relationships and daily lives.
Below are two great sites to help you stay up to date with how your children are using technology and the latest trends.
Article from Wellbeing for Kids: Georgina Mannying
Monique Gaylor