St. Michael's Primary School ~ Term 1 Week 6

IMPORTANT DATES

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Sunday’s Gospel gave us the events of Jesus entering the temple where he discovered the villagers using it for their everyday market. From this passage, the key takeaways for us as adults and our students are:

• We treat special places with respect
• We use our words kindly: even when we are upset, we can talk to others calmly and respectfully.
• We stand up for what is right: if we see something that is not right or just, we try to stop it in a kind and respectful way, as Jesus did.

It has been a busy fortnight at school with our Learning Conversations, Clean-up Australia Day, a visit from Tallangatta Secondary College running a special Mini Olympics sport session, commencing Softball Clinics and our Zooper Doopers Caritas fundraiser (which will run to the end of the term).

Next week is Catholic Education Week! This is a week where all Catholic schools celebrate what it means to be a “Catholic” school. We will be marking the start of this week with our Community Evening on Tuesday 12th March from 5 - 6pm as well as opening our enrolments for 2025. We hope to see many of you there for a BBQ catch-up with existing and new families before the year disappears on us!

NAPLAN will commence on Wednesday next week for Years 3 and 5. Teachers have been working hard to help prepare our students for these tests and all we ask is that they try their very best throughout the testing period. I encourage you, if you have not already done so, to speak with your child about NAPLAN to reiterate to them that this is an opportunity for them to share what they have learnt so far across their years of schooling.

Lastly, I would like to thank all the parents and staff who kindly completed my Principal Appraisal survey. Your feedback and support is greatly appreciated. This external process I am currently undertaking helps to ensure that I can reflect on my performance against the leadership standards and requirements needed as a principal within a school and set goals for my continued future development.

As such, you might recall last year some of you also completed the ORIMA school survey. This holistic survey looked at staff, student and parent feedback and I am pleased to be able to share below some of the amazing findings with you regarding our school.

Yours Faithfully,

Charlene Fenton

Principal

This Week from Mrs Ardern 

Tattling Vs Telling

School Wide Positive Behaviour 

This month St Michael’s SWPB will focus on educating the students about the difference between Tattle and Telling. The focus of this area is to:

• empower students to problem-solve
• encourage positive social behaviour
• come up with solutions for smaller issues that occur
• develop a sound understanding of school expectation
• peer support in monitoring school expectations
• Self-monitoring of school expectations

The following is an article about Tattle vs Telling from Advanced Psychology Services.  

How To Explain The Difference Between Telling And Tattling - Anna Kaminsky | June 18, 2020

As numerous schoolyard rhymes tell us, tattling is an incredibly unpopular phenomenon among children. It’s not exactly a favourite behaviour at home, either: Most parents know all too well the frustration of having a child frequently seek their intervention because a sibling has taken his toy or violated another minor rule. These parents know that their child could probably handle the situation himself, but instead he’s telling on the other child in the hope of getting him or her “in trouble.”

Many parents tirelessly mediate between their children, not realizing that it’s entirely appropriate to also make a rule against tattling. After all, we want our children to let us know if they are genuinely hurt, upset, or in danger, so we hesitate to “shut down” aid-seeking behaviour. However, it’s possible to teach most school-aged children the difference between telling (informing an adult when they witness a serious transgression) and tattling (seeking adult intervention in small matters before trying to handle them independently). You’ll just need to take the right approach, keeping in mind the fact that children have a great deal of difficulty understanding situational nuances and different perspectives.

Step One: Keep It Simple

Rules work especially well with young children because they have not developed the cognitive or emotional maturity needed to self-govern in complex situations. They cannot, for example, easily understand that they should share their toys with their siblings because if they do not, their siblings will feel hurt and excluded. It’s not that they don’t care about how their siblings feel—they do—they just don’t yet have the empathy skills required to grasp these shades of meaning. It’s much easier for them to comprehend “black and white” guidelines, i.e., “We must share our toys because sharing is the rule.”

To effectively create a rule against tattling, you will therefore need to explain the concept in a basic, kid-friendly way. This can be challenging to master as some children genuinely think that tattling is always the right thing to do—they think they’re helping their parents by reporting every minor infraction. Trying to tell these kids that you want some broken rules reported but not others can introduce perplexing, troubling moral gray areas for the child in question. As such, you will need to begin by creating a concrete definition for what is (and isn’t) tattling.

Step Two: Define the Line Between Telling and Tattling

The difference between telling and tattling should be based purely on matters of safety. Is another child acting in a way that might harm either another person, an animal, or someone’s property? If so, then reporting his or her behaviour promptly is never tattling—it’s telling. If, on the other hand, there’s no direct threat to anything or anyone, immediately running to a grown-up to sort the situation out is a form of tattling (albeit sometimes a well-intentioned one).

Note, however, that it’s not tattling if a child seeks adult aid after they have unsuccessfully tried to resolve a situation independently. If they have told another child to cease breaking a rule and that child refuses to comply, then it’s appropriate to involve an adult.

It’s also important to explain to your child why tattling is wrong, especially if he’s been told previously that telling is helpful. Tattling is wrong because it doesn’t give the other child a chance to correct his or her behaviour—behaviour which may not in fact be malicious. The other child may not realize that she’s breaking a rule, for example, or she might not see the transgression as anything serious. If your child tattles on her it can therefore look mean-spirited, like an attempt to get her in trouble when she didn’t know any better.

To put it simply, when we tell, we protect someone or something from harm, and that’s the right thing to do. When we tattle, we deprive someone of the chance to correct his or her actions, and that can be hurtful.

Step Three: Teach Your Child How to Intervene

Kids often lack the tools they need to resolve minor conflicts harmoniously because their communication skills are not well-developed. Fortunately, teaching rudimentary conflict resolution skills is usually fairly straightforward: You just need to give your child the words he’ll need to tackle the problem.

Giving children the tools they need to interact properly is inevitably a process of trial and error—one you will have to guide. As your child reports various minor disagreements to you, rather than stepping in resolve them yourself, give your child suggestions for phrases he can use to sort the situation out himself. If, for instance, another child is rushing him through his turn on a playground ride, tell your child to try saying “It’s my turn” in a calm but firm voice. If the other child listens, the conflict will be resolved and your child will know how to handle that kind of issue in the future without resorting to tattling.

As you help your child learn the difference between tattling and telling, make sure to remind him that if he feels unsafe or gets hurt, it’s time to stop trying to handle the situation independently. While you want your child to start exercising his good judgment, it’s essential that he never loses the sense that you’re there to support and protect him any time he needs you.

Finally, to teach your child the difference between tattling and telling, try to implement a reward system that makes the distinction clear. When your child tells in order to protect himself or someone else, praise him. When he runs to you to resolve a minor dispute before trying to communicate with the other party himself, remind him gently that the other child’s actions aren’t hurting anyone and give him the tools he needs to approach the other child constructively. If you start conditioning your child in this way from a young age, not only will he learn how to separate tattling from telling, he’ll gradually develop more refined, versatile social skills.

International Women's Day 2024

Wishing all the phenomenal women out there a day filled with love, respect, and appreciation for everything you do. You are the backbone of our society.

Check out our personalised video for International Women's Day 2024.

"May the courage and strength of women around the world inspire us all to strive for a more inclusive and equitable society. Happy International Women's Day!"

CARITAS Annual Easter Raffle Fundraiser

Its that time of year again... Donations are now open for our Annual Caritas Fundraiser.
Chocolates, arts & crafts, anything Easter related... (no live bunnies thanks)
Raffle tickets will be sent home in the coming days. Thank you for your support!

St. Michael’s Primary School is committed to child safety and the inclusion of all children.

National Ride to School Day  - Friday 22 March 2024

Camp, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF)

Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply.

A Special Consideration category also exists.

Schools can receive applications from families over terms one and two.
Families can list more than one student in the one application form if they are attending the same school.

Link below:

https://ccw.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/CSEF-application-form-2024.pdf 

S C H O O L ~ P H O T O ~ D A Y

26th March 2024

Full school uniform & black shoes please

Grade 6 Students - Year 6 Top, Green shorts & black shoes please.

In line with our school policy - No excessive jewelry, no hair colour or makeup please.

Hair accessories to be kept to a minimum please.

New email address - Office Staff 

With the change in office days for staff, a new email address has been created for all office related school communications at:

office@smtallangatta.catholic.edu.au

Principal and teacher emails are still to be addressed directly to the staff member.

Lunch Order  List 2024

What's On...

Wodonga Catholic Parish News

2024 Synod Consultation

As the Church prepares for the Second Session of the Synodal Assembly in October 2024, our Northeastern deanery has been invited to contribute by deepening aspects of the Synthesis Report that are fundamental to the Synod’s theme.  

These contributions are guided by the question: 

• How can we be a synodal Church in mission?

Please join us on Sunday, 10 March, 2024 at 7:00 pm via Zoom to participate in this process and help to shape the communications provided to the Second Session of Synod in October. The synthesis report is available at the link below, we will  focus on Chapters 8-12, 16 and 18 during this session. 

 If you intend to participate please read these chapters prior to the Zoom call.

Meeting ID: 814 864 5873

Passcode: 045506

Neighbourhood House - Tallangatta

NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE ACTIVITIES

Free Legal Advice

Hume Riverina Community Legal Service will be visiting the House on Thursday 14 March.   The friendly team can give advice on a wide range of legal issues including credit, debts and fines, separation and divorce, family violence, tenancy, insurance, Centrelink and more.  If you are unsure if they can help with your issue just give them a call to find out, you will find the team extremely approachable and easy to talk to.  Call 6055 8090 now to book your FREE appointment.  If the dates don’t suit please give the team a call to make alternative arrangements.  The service visits Neighbourhood House on the second Thursday and fourth Wednesday of every month or you can arrange a phone call or a visit to their office in Wodonga.

#stuff4teens – Polymer Clay

Calling all artsy teens!  Get ready for an epic polymer clay sesh including after-school snacks to stop you feeling hangry!   At the House on Friday 15 March from 4pm to 6pm.  Kickstart your creativity and try something different on a Friday arvo.  Kit provided full of tools, cool clay colurs and jewellery bits!  Make it, bake it and take it home!  Our #stuff4teens activities are open to all the peeps aged 13-17 and the House will be running an activity every month just for teens!  Don't sleep on this opportunity to craft and vibe with other talented teens!  Spread the word and bring your squad!  See How to Book below.

Boat Fishing

Fancy some fresh fish for dinner?  Head out onto the Tallangatta arm of Lake Hume to experience boat fishing on Sunday 17 March at 8am.  Everything is provided for you to enjoy a morning out on the water including boat equipment, fishing gear and fishing licence!    If you are lucky to reel in a fish you will also learn how to fillet your catch.   This activity has a minimum age of 16+ and wearing of supplied lifejackets is compulsory.   Session will run weather permitting.   See How to Book below.

Sewing Machine Classes for Kids

In this introduction to sewing children will learn everything they need to know to be able to use a sewing machine. Retired home economics teacher and CWA member, Mary Grant, will then help them apply their newly acquired skills to make a unique and colourful wall hanging.

The workshop will take place over two weeks on Monday 18 & 25 March from 4pm to 6pm.   There are only 5 places available so book quickly! If you miss out please put your name on the Eventbrite waiting list as we may be able to run additional workshops.   The cost is $25 and covers both sessions. All materials, sewing machines and after school snacks will be provided. This workshop is for children aged 8+ unless accompanied by an adult.  See How to Book below.

Needle Felting – Bunnies

Join us on Wednesday Crafternoon to learn the addictive craft of needle felting - the process of sculpting and shaping wool into objects. A special felting needle is used to bind the fibres together, creating a solid form.  You will learn how to create an inner core for the shape and use the needle felting technique to create the features of a cute little bunny.  Perfect for a non-chocolate Easter gift!  This is a simple but effective craft using very few materials and a relaxing hobby for many.  Why not come along on Wednesday 20 March at 1pm and give it a go?  It will be a lovely relaxing afternoon and we will have the kettle on.  See How to Book below.

Shibori Dyeing

Experience the magic of Shibori as Kylie from Art Starts Here introduces you step by step to the art of Japanese manual resist dyeing.  Experiment with folding, twisting, stitching and clamping the fabric to create traditional and beautiful patterns.  You will transform four cotton handkerchiefs and a tote bag using your favourite Shibori technique.   This is a beginner adult workshop 15+ and the cost includes all tools and materials.  Come and join us on Saturday 23 March at 10am!  See How to Book below.

Easter Treats Community Afternoon Tea

Put this one in your calendars!  Hop along to the Neighbourhood House on Wednesday 27 March between 2.30pm and 4pm and join us for some Easter feasting!  A great chance to enjoy a cuppa, hot cross bun or a sweet treat for the cost of a gold coin donation.  Our community food events are designed to bring our community members together.  Stay for a little or a long while and make a new friend or meet up with an old one!  All welcome, no need to book, just come along. Really hope to see you!

COMMUNITY INFORMATION

Connecting Carers

Carer Gateway are hosting a lunch and information session in Tallangatta on Thursday 21 March from 12pm to 2.30pm.  This is a chance to connect with carers in your local area, share experiences and learn about carer supports from informative guest speakers.  See the attached poster for more details.   To register or for more information contact Suzie on 0402 159 696 or email CarerGatewayEnquiries@vt.uniting.org

Tallangatta & District Astronomy Club (TADAC)

Did you know you can gaze upon the wonders of the night sky at the Tallangatta & District Astronomy Club (TADAC) observatory?  At TADAC’s public viewings you can use the powerful telescopes to view deep sky objects including nebulae, star clusters and galaxies and find out more about astronomy from TADAC members.   The next public viewing night is Saturday 23 March at 8.30pm.    The cost is free however a gold coin donation is appreciated if you are able.  The aim is to do the viewing in moon-free skies so the dates and times do change throughout the year and are also weather dependent.   If you would like to know more about how to get involved contact Zachary West on 0438 863 739, email tallangattaastronomyclub@gmail.com , visit www.tadac.info or https://www.facebook.com/groups/353336408686606

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