Dear Parents and Caregivers
St Joseph's Memorial School, Bridge Street site - 150 Year Celebration
Next term, we will celebrate 150 Year Anniversary of our Bridge Street site. On the Feast of Mary MacKillop, we will celebrate with a Liturgy and short performance by students in our Performing Arts Studio. Details around this day will follow.
Sports Day
This year, in Week 10, we will hold our Sports Day on St Ignatius Junior School oval. We hope that this will be a great venue and the children will be able to highlight the skills they have learnt throughout the term. A program of events will be sent out to families with the structure of the day so that you are aware of the activities planned. We look forward to seeing many parents and grandparents come along on the day.
Semester 1 Reports
This Friday, the Semester 1 Reports will be available for all parents and caregivers. Reports will be given to the students at the end of the day to deliver to parents. The learning that is assessed in the reports will reflect the learning during Terms 1 and 2.
Next term, in Week 2 Parent and Teacher conversations will be held. This is another opportunity for parents and teachers to follow up on learning or have a further discussion regarding Semester 2. Information re: Parent and Teacher conversations will be sent out before the end of the term via Skoolbag.
Gratitude
A few weeks ago, I read an interesting article on Gratitude. Sometimes in the busyness of our daily lives, we forget to stop and practice gratitude to focus on the positive things in our lives. Like any skill, gratitude can be learned and strengthened. Here are some tips on how to practice gratitude:
Each day, think of three things you are thankful for. Make it a daily habit to visualize what is good in your life. This can directly impact your mood throughout the day, as well as your sleep quality. Writing down these three things is a great way to complete this exercise, and it is useful to come back and read them at the end of the week.
Start a gratitude journal. When you write, you use different parts of your brain and access memories and emotions from a new perspective. People who could find purpose and feel grateful for the good things to come out of a challenging situation show higher resilience, forgiveness, and detachment.
Thank someone new every week. There are many people around us, and we are all connected somehow. How often do we take the time to express gratitude more consciously or thoughtfully? Give yourself the purpose of choosing someone new each week and learn how to express gratitude differently. This could mean adopting a more conscious non-verbal communication (like eye contact and a smile), writing a thoughtful message acknowledging others’ behaviour and its positive effects on you, or saying thank you with a nice gift or gesture.
Meditate. Meditation can promote acceptance, detachment, forgiveness, and thus, gratitude. We can also take this moment to imagine a specific situation we are grateful for and let the feeling grow and become stronger.
Focus more on others' intentions. When you receive a gift or a nice gesture from someone, consider how they intended to bring good into your life. Take a moment to visualise their willingness to help you, make you feel happy, or be there for you during a challenging time.
Yours sincerely
Grace Vassallo-Wakefield
Photo: R/1 classes practising the Health Hustle ready for Sports Day.