Without confidence and love, there can be no true education. If you want to be loved,

you must love yourselves, and make your children feel that you love them” St John Bosco

I hope everybody is well and that the Covid 19 term is treating you kindly.

Our last two weeks of online/home learning were designed to ease the children and parents into the rigours of establishing routines under our new norm. From next week our children will have 4 academic slots per day to navigate as well as some physical activities and specialist subjects.

Specialist subjects will be allocated at the start of each fortnight and the children will be expected to complete them over the fortnight. From week 4 the children have half a day each Thursday to complete their specialist activities. While the children are busy with these activities the class teachers will be using this time to plan for the following week.

Children in Grade prep to 3 will have access to their teacher including a 40 minute online session on Thursdays mornings and complete specialist activities in the afternoon. Children in Grades 4-6 will do their specialist classes up until 12.00pm and connect with their teachers, including a Google meet in the afternoon.

From next week, teachers will have up to 40 minutes of online time each day with their class. This will involve the whole class at least one day and may be small class groupings for the remainder of the week or a variation of both. Your teachers will let you know how this will look for their class in the coming days.

We will continue to recognise birthdays and have awards each Friday. We are also looking at the possibility of sharing some videos of our children's talents in a SJB has Got Talent live assembly. I am still weighing up how feasible this will be.

Happy birthday to the following

children who celebrated their

birthdays this week.

LILY FRANGOULIS SOPHIE TEAGUE XAVIER DE FAZIO LAYLA DE FAZIO

Liturgical calendar This week we celebrate the Third Sunday of Easter. The Gospel of Luke 24:13 - 35 tells the story of the Road to Emmaus.

Don’t forget to look out on the SJB app for the link to the recorded Mass by Father Nhan and Father Thomas each week when we cannot attend Mass in person.

Living the Gospel – Living the journey The story of the road to Emmaus is a perfect model for our Christian life. It reminds us first of all that none of us walk the journey alone. Even when we don’t recognise his presence, Jesus joins us in the everyday realities of life. The breaking open and interpretation of scripture is essential to making sense of our life experiences and through the celebration of Eucharist and table fellowship we are nourished to not only continue the journey but to share the good news with others. Where do you find yourself in the events of this story?

Personal Reflection - An activity you may like to do in relation to this week’s Gospel. (individually or as a family.)

Draw a personal ‘road of life’ and record all your life events of significance and illustrate through symbol or word the highs and lows that you have experienced. Acknowledge the people who have been a part of your life and who have made a difference to the way you live your life. Use your ‘road of life’ as the focus for your personal prayer over the next week. Construct a large heart shape out of coloured paper or card and attach to it the photos or names of people you know who ‘set your heart on fire’ – people who inspire you; people who make you feel passionate about life; people who call you to be all that you can be.

St John Bosco’s School NEWSLETTER

St John Bosco's School is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all students and young people www.sjbniddrie.catholic.edu.au E: principal@sjbniddrie.catholic.edu.au T: 9337 2314

Edition 9 23 April

2020 Fri 26 June Last Day Term 2, 1pm dismissal Mon 13 July First Day Term 3 Mon 10 Aug School photos (revised date) Fri 19 Sept Last Day Term 3, 1pm dismissal Mon 5 Oct First Day Term 4 Mon 5/Tues 6 Oct Year 3 Urban Camp Mon 19 Oct Whole School Photo Tues 15 Dec Last day 2020, 12.30pm Dismissal

Presbytery Renovation Update

Last term we mentioned that our presbytery renovation quote is more than expected and that we will do a call out for any parents who are able to help with a list of jobs to help save money. This is on hold during this period of isolation. We will be in touch in the future.

Please consider joining the Thanksgiving Program to help our parish manage financially, especially during this time when mass collections are not occurring. Parishes are self-sufficient, running like a small business, and rely on the generosity of parishioners. Please call Faye on 9337 9994 if you would like to help support our wonderful parish.

As we are now about to start week 3 of our online home learning program, a disposition I would like all to follow is Problem Solving. Allow your child to use some strategies of problem solving an issue they may have, before they call out to a parent or teacher. This will enhance independence and also a sense of accomplishment and self-efficacy, that is having the belief that they can do it.

As of week 3 the timetable will change slightly. Instead of 2 academic blocks a day we will increase to 4 academic blocks throughout the day.

Suggested Daily Routine for Home Learning

Week 3 onwards

As you can see we have kept the task at a 40min session within that hour. So if it takes your child the whole hour to complete the task, that is great. Or if your child has completed the task within the 40min then they have 20 or so minutes of some free time of their choice.

Next week each grade will have a google meet session daily. The timetable for google meet will be as follows:

Prep 9:15 -10 am

Yr 1 /2 10am -10.40am

Yr 3 /4 1pm -1.40 pm Yr 5 /6 2pm -2.40pm

This may look differently from grade to grade. Some teachers may want to do a whole class google meet every day, while others may want to focus on a different small

group each day. Your child’s teacher will notify you of how the google meet will look.

Once again we need to be flexible with our timetable and our thinking. As you are aware, we have set up a roster for online home learning, that specifies times when academic tasks are held, BUT if that timetable does not suit your current home situation, parents having to work from home, taking care of babies or toddlers, children feeling anxious about the task, parents feeling anxious about the task and many other reasons then be flexible. If you want to swap your creative time at 11am with an academic time as stated above, then change it for whatever time suits your current home arrangements and alleviate any anxieties or stresses from your day.

A helpful hint: This has really helped many families and children in the last two weeks. Sit with your child / children the night before and organise what tomorrow's learning will look like. As a family you might want to decide what tasks the children will be doing and an explanation on how to achieve their task. So hopefully in the morning the children would already know what is expected from them and hopefully give children some independence and structure.

Please make sure you have turned on notifications on the SJB school APP so that you don't miss out on any important reminders or messages shared throughout the week.

If you need any help, advice or any questions please contact me at mguzzardi@sjbniddrie.catholic.edu.au or your child’s teacher or any one of us on leadership. We are in this together, and let's continue to support each other, be patient with each other, be patient with the kids, be flexible, have time to laugh, sing and dance with your child at home and be kind.

Cheers, Marc Guzzardi

This week has seen the reality of online home learning really settle in for us. Families are experiencing the demands of juggling new routines at home, adjusting to new roles and working with many different learner attitudes, some not so easy to work with.

Staff are working tirelessly to deliver learning opportunities to their students they miss dearly.

While every household/workplace is unique, we are all experiencing the same pandemic and can draw strength in our similarities and differences.

This week we have attached a wonderful information picture story book ‘Coronavirus, A Book for Children’. (refer to extra newsletter attachment). The beauty of this free publication is that we can read it through the eyes of our children or as an adult working through the diverse changes in life. We hope you all take a moment to read the book and share it with your children, please give them a hug from us!

Please reach out if we can support you in any way. There is small comfort in knowing this will end and we will return to SJB life in the future.

Enjoy your weekend,

Sommer Azzopardi & Naomi Scott Student Wellbeing Team

It Is wonderful to see so many smiles online and we look forward to working with you online in the following weeks.

We would like to also take this opportunity to remind you that recording, taking photos and sharing any of the media that is shared during the google meet is not allowed. Sharing this type of content on social media is not acceptable and a breach of privacy. Please be familiar with the 2020 Digital Technologies Policy and User agreement and Google Meet Student Guidelines to ensure you meet our school’s expectations.

Parents are required to monitor and supervise your child/ children when they are online.

Thank you for helping us to protect the rights of all members in our school community to ensure we can all engage in and promote a safe, inclusive and supportive online learning environment.

To find more information on how to keep children safe online by joining online webinars that are designed for parents and carers, follow the link below: http://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars

Year 6 to 7 2021 Victorian Government Secondary School Transition Information Packs and Year 7 application forms are now available on the Department of Education website below.

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/going-to-school/Pages/year-6-to-7.aspx

Families may also contact the government secondary school directly for a copy of the Year 7 Placement/ application form.

All application forms for Year 7 2021 placement should be returned to the front office at St John Bosco’s by Friday 29 May 2020.

Scholastic Book Club looks a bit different this term. Books can only be ordered online through a Scholastic Loop account. Follow the link below to view the digital catalogue and make a purchase directly from Scholastic Books. Orders must be made by May 8th Delivery is $5.99. Please ensure your order is delivered to your home address.

https://scholastic.com.au/book-club/virtual-catalogue-1/

Congratulations to all to all who participated in the School Fun Run and thank you to all of our families and friends for your extreme generosity! Our total

profit was a whopping

$21,480

Congratulations to our highest fundraiser Harper G from 2TC who raised the incredible amount of $1772.73. Harper will receive a $100 VISA gift card, which will be presented at assembly when we all come back to school. Special mention to Luka S (1MC), Aria L (PKR), Laura H (1AT) and Matthew H (1NL), who all raised over $1000! Thank you to their siblings as well if they had a family account.

We are still in talks with bushfire affected schools and looking into playground updates, in consultation with Mr Monaghan. Thanks again to all who helped on the day, what a team! We couldn’t do it without you!

PRIZE CLAIM – if your child did not claim their prize/s, please call or text School Fun Run Coordinator Lisa Duray on 0411206210. Prize claim is closed online but can be ordered through the coordinator.

We hope you are all managing well, considering the extraordinary circumstances we are living in. We look forward to our community joining together again, and pray that will happen in the near future. P&F Committee

ANZAC Appeal 2020

The money raised through the ANZAC Appeal supports our veteran community in times of need. From emergency accommodation through to funding programs to combat social isolation, the RSL help varies greatly but is always tailored to the needs of the individual.

Donate today at https://anzacappeal.com.au/

Thanking you

Peter Monaghan Principal

MESSAGES FROM OUR SCHOOL

LEADERS

Hi everyone, it's your School Captain, Emily Ewing here. I hope that everyone is well and still has a smile on their face. I am going for lots of bike rides and I have started to learn how to play the guitar. Because of this virus I now have lots more time to spend with my family which is a good thing (most of the time). So stay home, stay safe and we will get through this together as one big SJB community!

”You can achieve anything no matter where you are!” Natalia Di Carlo Year 6 (Red/ Savio House Captain)

Oh, are you

telling me it

is walk time…

again? a walk

Hello everyone! I hope you are all settling into your new routine and feeling more comfortable with this new way of learning at home. I have to adapt to a different routine as well this term. Instead of teaching in a classroom with students, I now teach my students through a computer screen. I am also spending my break times at my kitchen table in my home as you can see in the picture. To help me feel calm and relaxed during this time, I like to focus on taking long, deep breaths. I use the Five Finger Breathing technique to do this. I trace my forefinger of my right hand up along the fingers of my left hand, breathing in as I trace up a finger and breathing out as I trace down a finger. Maybe you might like to give this a go too? Miss Aoife :)

Hi everyone, What a different term we are having! I miss seeing you all. While I have been at home I have been busy looking after and playing with my son Lachie. He has learnt so many new things while we have been at home, he can crawl, wave and give a high 5 now. Hopefully I’ll get to see you all soon. Miss Jolley

G’day everyone, Being at home for extended periods of time can be challenging for all of us for different reasons. During the partial lock down we have certainly spent more time than usual as a family, doing exercise together, playing games and walking the dog. By the end of the day Floyd (the dog) is exhausted as he has never had so many big walks and with our girls playing with him nearly all day he is snoring by 8pm. Also I never thought that a trip to ALDI would be the highlight of the day! And wondering around their special buys would be so fun! I feel at the end of this experience my computer and online video skills will have certainly improved. Trying to teach my parents to download and use video conferencing, so we can all stay connected at the same time has been a bit of a challenge, but as you can see we got there in the end. I hope everyone is keeping safe and well and that we are back to school soon. - Will Kingston

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