Issue 4 - May 2024

Welcome to Term 2!  I hope all children have had a good break, ready for an exciting term of learning, sporting, spiritual and cultural events that we have planned over the next 10 weeks. 

In the month of May, we have a particular focus on Mary, the mother of Jesus, in our Catholic tradition. Mary holds a special place in our hearts as a model of faith, love, and devotion. Here at SPC, we will be honouring Mary throughout the month of May, in particular by praying her special prayer, the Hail Mary. 

May is not only the Month of Mary  but also a time when we celebrate and honour the mothers and mother figures in our lives. This Sunday, we will celebrate Mother's Day. Throughout Jesus's life, Mary remained a faithful and devoted mother. She played a pivotal role in his life and ministry. She nurtured him, taught him, and stood by him. Mary's love and devotion to her son were unwavering, even in the face of great suffering. Mother's Day is a special occasion to express our love and gratitude to the mothers and mother figures who play such an important role in our lives.

I have just taken long service leave to spend time with my own mother in Hervey Bay. My mother has dementia and I am reminded when I am with her of how precious memories are. My mother and father raised four children. It is the photos of us as children that bring a spark to my mother now. Remember to spend time creating and capturing memories.

May this month be a time of prayer, gratitude, and love as we express our devotion to Mary and celebrate the incredible women who shape our lives.

Hello SPC families! What a great start to Term 2. It has been great to hear about the different adventures that everyone had during the break. 

I have noticed that a lot of students are bringing various sports balls to school, especially footballs. We have plenty of balls at school and there is no need to bring balls from home. We do not want any personal equipment to be lost or damaged at school. Any balls that do come to school will not be allowed to be used during play times and will need to stay inside the classroom. 

Feast Day 

Yesterday we belatedly celebrated St Peter Chanel Feast Day. It was great to share a meal with all the staff and students and to recognise St Peter Chanel for his work to spread the gospel message to the people of the Pacific Islands. Classes also enjoyed different activities around the school with their buddy class. Thanks to everyone who helped with the set up of this great day. 

St Peter Chanel Prayer

St Peter Chanel, you left your homeland to proclaim Jesus,

Saviour of the world, to the peoples of Oceania.

Guided by the Spirit of God, who is the strength of the gentle, 

you bore witness to love, even laying down your life. 

Grant that like you, we may live our daily life in peace, love and joy.

May your prayer and example bring forth many workers for the Gospel, 

so that God’s kingdom may reach to the ends of the earth.

Amen

Project Compassion

I want to thank everyone for the amazing donations to Project Compassion. As a school, we raised over $270. That is quite impressive for a small school. The money raised ensures that Caritas is able to help people all over the world to access necessities such as clean water and school supplies. Thank you all for your generosity.

Mother’s Day 

On behalf of the staff at St Peter Chanel, I would like to wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers, grandmothers and other influential women in the lives of our students. I hope that you all know how appreciative we are to the hard work that you do. 

Mum you are simply the best - by Fr. Amal Devadoss

Dear Mum

You are God given precious gift to me;

You are the treasure of all goodness.

No words to praise your sacrifices.

You clean and cook selflessly every day.

Your patience is praiseworthy.

You are the role model and inspiration.

You teach me the virtue of discipline. 

You are simply the Best.

Dear Mum

Your love is unconditional;

Fear vanishes by your gentle kiss.

Your smiling face unveils your inner beauty.

Your caring tough soothes my heart.

You are the loveliest person I have ever met. 

You are simply the Best.

Dear Mum

On this Mother’s Day,

I think of all your love and sacrifice.

I sincerely express my love to you. 

I love you;

I love you and I love you wholeheartedly.

Wish you a happy Mother’s day

A Mother is ….

A sponge to absorb your tears;

A broom to clean your mistakes;

A compass to show you the way;

A tear if you need to cry

And a melody if you want to sing…

A mother is always there for everyone and

By her willingness to help others,

She totally forgets 

about herself….

A Mother is SPECIAL. 

Mr Casey Moore

Deputy Principal

We are moving into cooler weather.  Students are able to wear any parts of the Smart Play uniform and are encouraged to wear school items that will keep them warm. Students must not have t-shirts under their clothing that can be seen. Jackets and jumpers other than the SPC items are not to be worn. Scarves and gloves should be navy or black. SPC beanies can be purchased from the Front Office.

Hair

A reminder that hair must be in line with the SPC Uniform Protocols.

• If hair reaches the collar (boys and girls), it must be tidily pulled back. Ribbons, bows, ties  must be in school colours (navy, gold).
• Hair colour must be natural, cut neatly and washed regularly.
• Hair must be off the face.
• The following hairstyles are not permitted - variations of mohican style, mullets (short or long), shaved sides, shaved hair with logos/designs and colours, distinct differences in length, any type of extreme style.

Hi all! My name is Laura Korpershoek and I’m your new literacy leader! I’m very excited to be working with everyone in the literacy space. 

This term we have the Tasmanian Premier’s Reading Challenge starting in week 8 (17th June), continuing into Term 3. This program is open to all students (including Kinder) and is designed to encourage students to read more! Students will set their own goal with how many books they can read in 10 weeks, with teacher and parent support. Reading material can include fiction, non-fiction, blogs, comics, poetry, lyrics, essays, magazines, newspapers, etc. Anything with words can be included! Books that are read to younger students by teachers and parents can be counted, and larger chapter books can be counted as more than one book (come and see me to determine how many!). I will be coming around each classroom next week to give students information on how to sign up, and then information will come home if they are interested in participating. There will be prizes given throughout the program to students who are trying their best. I can’t wait to see students achieving their reading goals and exceeding them!

Congratulations to the following students who received Shooting Starr Awards last term: 

Kinder - Lucas Barker & Ruby Godwin

Prep - Charlotte Hill & Ella Burley

Year 1 - George House & Avah Lobegeiger

Year 2 - Henry Cotton & Levi House

Year 3 - Huxley Bryan & Ollie Woolnough 

Year 4 - Hudson Medwin & Kaley Saward 

Year 5 - Sophia Hardy & Airelle Dela Cruz

Year 6 - Naite Barker & Jordana Pay

Aiming High Awards - 8th May

Kinder - Prince Dela Cruz & Giovanni Korpershoek

Prep - Fletcher Armstrong & Ruby Doel

Year 1 - Quinn Saward & Vera Kelechukwu

Year 2 - Ty Dennison & Macklen Coombs 

Year 3 - Reegan Poke & Millah Fraser

Year 4 - Ethan Braid & Olivia Doel  

Year 5 - Sophia Hardy & Chayse Collins 

Year 6 - Harper Bishop & Noah Gray

SPC Way - Naite Barker

Tomorrow is Walk Safely to School Day! For those students who are participating in the 'Walk Safely to School' day, please meet at the carpark of Dreambuilders Church on Brittons Road and walk as a group to school. A staff member will collect student bags and transport them to school so students don't have to carry them.

Students will be supervised by Casey Moore, Deni Fraser, Emma Berechree and Angela Hall.

The group will depart at 8:10am. Please advise your child's attendance via the compass event. 

Student Support:

Adelle Sushames is a clinical psychologist who is the name and face behind ‘Neurodivergent Ally’, which can be found online and on social media pages.  Her work consists mainly of ASD and ADHD assessments alongside therapeutic support to her clients. 

Her latest blog talks about anxieties and fears, bringing a new perspective to how our children view themselves, their world and many events around them.

Some common fears and anxieties I have seen in many autistic children I have worked with in my private practice include:

• Separation anxiety that persists well beyond the toddler years, and which can interfere with school and even impact home life (some children cannot go to another part of the house on their own, or cannot tolerate a parent leaving the room to go to the toilet).
• Fear of a parent dying or not coming back. This can also impact things like feeling regulated at school, or being able to stay for the day or overnight with a grandparent or school friend.
• Health-related fears such as choking or vomiting. This can be sporadic, such as when eating particular foods, or in response to someone else in the home vomiting, or hearing about a stomach bug that is doing the rounds at school. It can be a serious concern as it can impact ability to eat, which, if you are already dealing with sensory issues around food, can be really frightening for parents. 
• Common phobias (dogs, bees, or other insects), but with a twist. Usually phobias develop in response to a negative experience, or from witnessing others acting fearfully or having a negative experience (arachnophobia is a classic example of this). However, many autistic children develop phobias without having had a negative experience or seeing others behaving in a fearful manner.
• More unusual phobias can also develop. Some examples I’ve seen include flies, bees, or other insects, particular toys or other household items, and even being fearful of a category of people (such as fearing police or other emergency personnel).
• Fears associated with sensory overwhelm, such as balloons, swimming pools, hand dryers, vacuum cleaners, and windy weather.
• Fears of things that are unlikely to occur, or cannot occur in your geographical region, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, or cyclones.
• Things they’ve seen or heard about on the news, particularly break-ins, assaults, and events related to terrorism or war.
• Things that are fictional/don’t exist, or are unlikely to exist (zombies, cannibals, aliens, “Slenderman”, sharks in swimming pools).  I think contributing to this is the fact that there are many non-existent or improbable things that look incredibly real on YouTube, and it’s so easy for our children to be exposed to these types of images without warning when they engage with these platforms.

Why are autistic children more likely to experience these fears or anxieties? 

In addition to the reasons included above, many autistic people tend to think in absolutes. Something is either safe or it isn’t. An outcome may be good, or it may be very, very bad. We tend to see the details and to imagine how terrible an outcome may be for us, and not have the bigger picture  awareness that statistically, the thing we fear is unlikely to occur, or if it does, that we will be able to cope. We tend to experience emotions, including fear, very intensely, and can struggle to self-regulate or be co-regulated. And with our capacity to hyperfocus (our ADHD neurokin also excel here), it can be very difficult, if not impossible, to focus on anything else.

Often, children who experience these fears are diagnosed with anxiety and referred to a psychologist for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. However, in my experience, these fears are rarely eased by reason or fact-checking. Many will resolve overtime, while some may persist into adulthood.

I think it’s important to raise awareness that these types of fears can be suggestive of an autistic (or ADHD) brain style, so that parents (and therapists) can see the problem in full context, and so that the child can be given information that is helpful to them, rather than maintaining a narrow focus on just “fixing the anxiety.”

Mrs Brooke Lardner

Student Support Coordinator 

Due to our supplier increasing uniform costs, we have updated our uniform price list to reflect this. These increases will come into effect from 1st July, 2024.

Please note prices are subject to change at any time. 

Year Two and Four students worked with their buddies to create their own board games. Students spent the afternoon working collaboratively and creatively to design games that incorporated their own unique interests and ideas. We had a whole lot of fun and look forward to playing them together in future buddy sessions.