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Our Prayer
Loving God, you promise to be with us always. Give us hope when we despair, give us faith when we doubt, give us courage when we falter and give us the confidence to trust in you always.
May we always turn to you in times of trouble and rejoice with you when times are good.
During this time in particular we pray for everyone across the world. May we look after each other and reach out to others. We offer up prayers for those with the COVID-19 virus, the elderly, people with low immunity levels, all health care workers and those working on a cure.
We ask this prayer through Jesus, your Son.
Amen
Dear Parents,
We certainly know we are in unprecedented times when so many changes have taken place within a fortnight since our last newsletter. I am very mindful that many of our families are experiencing very challenging times at present and want you to know that you are in our thoughts and prayers at this time. We are here to support all in our learning community in any way we can.
Our school office will remain open as usual for the remainder of this week and next term with staff also present.
Care and supervision program
Providing care and supervision to students who need to be at school, for whatever reason, is an important contribution to the national effort to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by teachers and staff across all schools in Australia.
We want you to know that, wherever possible and where the need exists, that we are providing a care and supervision program for students who are children of essential services workers or students who are vulnerable.
Schools that offer such programs are supporting parents working in logistics, grocery retailing, emergency services, government and many other occupations and professions essential to the effective operation of our community at this time.
This reflects the essential community role played by many Catholic school parents across Victoria.
Provision for the Possibility of Learning From Home in Term 2: Our teachers have been working diligently and will continue to for the remainder of the week to prepare for a possible move to more flexible learning arrangements, including remote learning from Wednesday 15 April if required.
We will be using the first day of Term 2 as an additional pupil-free day to finalise our preparation and release our Learning from Home landing page on Tuesday 14 April in the afternoon.
The learning we are preparing reflects our Term 2 scope and sequences from the Victorian Curriculum and will be meaningful and purposeful. The technology which will support this will be SeeSaw Prep-2 and Google Classrooms Year 3-6. We are mindful to offer you a balance of technology and book time.
Please be assured, when we release this landing page next term we will provide further explanation and will be there to support. Our teachers will be available each day as they would be in a school day to support your children.
Easter Raffle: A special shout out to Jen Bermingham and the PFA parents who were able to get the Easter raffle organised so promptly. Congratulations to all the winners.
As we know, some exciting events we had planned and our children were looking forward to have been cancelled or put on hold for now. I would like to thank all parents, particularly for those who had a role within the organisation of Earth Fest and had done so much pre work particularly Sue Azzopardi, Paul Prout, Hayley Bennett, Ty and Rachael Simons, Jackie Montgomery, Kellie Clark, Nikki Wood, Tania Cipriani, Deb Maud, Cathy Rundle and PFA reps in each hub along with all the teachers and students. It was promising to be a wonderful event with so much student voice and hub involvement. We will ensure that next year we will be able to celebrate this event even bigger and better.
Building Project: We have some good news. We have put out an expression of interest for builders and are almost ready to go to tender. In these challenging times it is important that we continue with our endeavours to build our Stage 1 of our Master Plan which is our multi purpose space and 4 new classrooms. This will not only benefit us but ensure we are injecting back into the economy.
ECSI Survey if you have not yet completed the survey, you still have time. The deadline is now Friday 17 April. It would be greatly appreciated if you can take the time. We require at least 60 to be completed and currently have 5. There is a family movie voucher as a raffle prize for those who share their certificate of completion at the end.
Staying connected: It is heartwarming to observe our families reaching out to each other in a supportive way within the community and on facebook. The community care of each other is a real strength and you are all to be commended.
We as a staff also want to ensure we reach out and stay connected with you during this time and with whatever may come with remote learning. This is very important to us as we will miss greatly the warmth of our community, particularly our students, daily in our schools.
I wish our students and yourselves all the best for the break knowing it will be very different to what you are used to. Please know we are here for each and every one of you as we continue the learning journey in what may be a different way with your amazing children next term.
Finally, I received this beautiful reflection from a parent in the last week that I felt compelled to share as it brought me comfort and hope. I trust it will for you also.
"And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.
And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed."
Kitty O'Meara
Stay well, stay safe and stay connected.
Wishing you all peace and blessings at this time.
Kerryn
This weeks information is more for parents and comes from the Smiling Mind app which provides free meditation for both adults and children.
Stay safe in this challenging time.
Paul Anderson (Student Wellbeing Leader)
How mindfulness can help during Coronavirus?(Source:Smiling Mind -March 2020)
We are living through an unprecedented and uncertain time, requiring each of us to navigate our way, as best we can, through a rapidly evolving global health crisis. With things changing so quickly, such uncertainty and unpredictability can take a toll on our mental and physical health.
Managing our emotions and supporting each other can be challenging at the best of times. This is why, more than ever, we all need to be doing our best to regularly pause, take a breath and be proactive in looking after ourselves and others.
Fear, Anxiety & Denial
Acknowledging that feeling fearful and anxious at a time such as this is not only normal but appropriate. Given the nature of the threat we are facing, fear and anxiety are adaptive responses as they alert us to the fact that we need to be taking appropriate action to keep ourselves and others as safe and healthy as possible.
It’s also important to recognise that fear and anxiety can quickly escalate and reach a tipping point beyond which they are no longer particularly helpful and can affect us in negative ways. When the acute stress response, otherwise knowns as the ‘fight or flight’ response, kicks in we’re not as able to think clearly or make good decisions; we become more reactive and less responsive; and our thinking can quickly spiral, becoming increasingly negative and difficult to unhook from.
Warning signs
Mindfulness helps us get better at recognising and understanding our own personal signals that tell us we’re close to our tipping point. We can think of mindfulness as being like our own personal ‘fear and anxiety thermometer’ helping us get to know our own warning signs and recognise them as they’re kicking in.
Examples include:
- Irritability,
- Losing patience,
- A sense of urgency.
- Difficulty sleeping.
- Inability to focus.
- Catastrophic thinking.
- Ruminating.
- Eating or drinking more than usual.
In addition to knowing and recognising our warning signals, mindfulness gives us the opportunity to respond by taking steps to settle and soothe our nervous system which in turn enables us to think more clearly, make better decisions and respond as opposed to react.
Beware denial
It can also be tempting to turn away from and deny the seriousness of what’s happening. Denial may be particularly appealing given the significant impact that this pandemic will have on so many people financially, emotionally or physically. While temporary distractions can be useful for giving our minds a break, on the whole denial not a helpful approach. It can leave us vulnerable and exhausted as it may lead to not taking appropriate precautions and it’s difficult to sustain in the face of reality.
In essence, mindfulness helps us see things more clearly, which in turn helps us strike a balance between staying informed and making sensible choices without becoming overwhelmed.
7 Healthy Brain Breaks
Giving your brain a break when you’re nearing your tipping point can be a really helpful way of deactivating the acute stress (‘fight or flight’) response. Even short moments of reprieve are beneficial as they help reset enabling us to find the middle ground between overwhelm and denial. It’s in this place that we’re able to make better choices and are best placed to support ourselves and those around us.
Smiling Mind recommend trying out the following as often as you need to:
Move
Any kind of physical movement is a great way of releasing the build-up of excess energy that accompanies the acute stress (‘fight or flight’) response – take yourself for a walk or run outside; do some stretching, yoga or some other form of mindful movement; or crank some uplifting music and dance around the house for a few minutes.
Breathe
When you slow your breathing rate down the uncomfortable physical sensations of fear and anxiety start to subside. Try the following:
- Stop what you’re doing, take three long, slow deep breaths.
Impose a rhythm on your breathing so that your out-breath becomes longer than your in-breath. - Try a 4-2-6 rhythm – e.g. breathe for 4 counts, hold your breath for 2 counts, and breathe out for 6 counts.
- If that doesn’t feel comfortable, try imposing a 3-1-4 rhythm. The main thing is that your out-breath is slightly longer than your in-breath.
Ground
Connect to what is happening in this moment right now more consciously engaging your senses. Try the following:
-
- Splash cold water on your face;
- Take a hot (or cold) shower;
- Cuddle your pet;
- Smell and/or diffuse a relaxing essential oil (e.g. lavender, geranium, ylang ylang);
- Take a moment to enjoy a cup of tea – really pay attention to the aroma and taste;
- Do one of the following short guided grounding exercises from the ‘Stress Management’ program in the Smiling Mind App:
- Counting and Blowing
- Three Things
- Roots to the Ground
Sleep
When we’re fearful and anxious it can be hard to sleep. Given the importance of sleep for our mental and physical wellbeing, including immunity, establishing good habits around sleep is particularly important at the moment.
Consider creating a pre-sleep routine by turning off news and screens at least an hour before going to bed. If you wake during the night and find you can’t sleep, rather than sit lay there and worry, try a meditation from the ‘Sleep’ program in the Smiling Mind App.
Connect
While social connection may be tricky during this time when many people are physical distancing, staying connected to others is more important than ever as we are wired to connect and seek comfort and care from others. We are fortunate to have so much technology at our fingertips enabling us to stay connected to family, friends and colleagues.
Contribute
Contributing to the wellbeing of others helps shift our attention from ourselves onto what we can do for them. This helps us connect with others; gain a sense of agency, even if only in a small way; and also positively impacts on our own wellbeing.
Consider how you might help others at this difficult time. For example, could support a local business you value that is likely struggling at the moment or check up on an elderly friend or relative?
Create healthy habits
Mindfulness can help us create healthy habits to keep us and others as safe and healthy as possible. For example, washing your hands mindfully and taking care not to touch your face.
Thankyou to one of our parents who forwarded this "imaginaction" resource. It is a hypnosis based program teaching kids how to use their ïmagination to get some control over their thoughts, feelings and even their bodies. This was shared by pediatric psychologist Dr Jody Thomas and her team who created this for the Stanford University School of Medicine in order to suppport children during this time.
Please install the School App. It is an important communication tool for us.
How do I install SZapp on my device?
1. On your device, open the App Store.
2. Search the App Store for SZapp.
3. Download and install SZapp.
1. On your device, open the Play Store.
2. Search the App Store for SZapp.
3. Download and install SZapp.
You will need the 2019 Year 5 Naplan results for your secondary enrolment application.
They are available for collection from the school office until Friday 27 March 2.30pm.
Ride 2 School Day
Let’s support school family businesses as we navigate the current COVID-19 situation.
Learey family
Aus Gates & Fencing
Stephen Learey
0408 314 901
Day family
Todd Day Painting & Decorating
0405560389
Dreams Spa & Beauty Studio
0410434804
Preston family
Geelong Pest Control
1300 147 378
Tanner/Brydges family
Beauty Therapy
Singh family
Pinch Salt & Float
Salt Room and Infrared Sauna
5255 1939
Kylie Taylor
MindfulMess Decluttering
Facebook.com/MindfulMessAUS/
Tyers/Frisch family
Thermomix
Ems Thermie Adventure
0439 012 929
Giblin family
Eco Laundry Room
Market Place Shopping Centre
Ocean Grove
Facebook: Eco laundry room (ocean grove)
Instagram@ecolaundryroomoceangrove
Fraser family
Cheeky Cow Cafe
Ocean Throughway, Ocean Grove
Sally Williams
Iamsali design
Branding and logo design
Instagram @iamsalidesign
Simons family
The Driftwood Cafe
64D The Terrace, Ocean Grove
5255 1832
Casamento family
Health and fitness by Zoom, Skype, Facebook
0438 834003
Mitchell/Leonard family
Enjoy Bob Evans' music
https://www.bobevans.com.au/store
Laidler family
Ocean Grove & Leopold Osteopathy & Sports Health
OG Clinic: 5255 5040
Leopold Clinic: 4202 0446
Flowers by M.E.L
Contact: 0410 341 491
Instagram @flowersbymel
Facebook: Flowers by M.E.L
Email: melsie30@hotmail.com
The Bishops of Victoria have decided to suspend all public Masses and gatherings until further notice.
Daniella Sutera, Parish Secretary
Holy Trinity Catholic Parish
Term 4 2020
Friday 16 October: Respectful Relationships "Gratitude Day"
Monday 19 October: Book Week Dress Up Day
Thursday 22 October: Footy colours casual clothes day and Gold Coin donation for Cherished Pets Ocean Grove.
Friday 23 October: AFL Grand Final Public Holiday, school closed
Sunday 25 October: School working bee 10am - 12pm - Purple Hub TBC
Tuesday 3 November: Melbourne Cup Public Holiday, school Closed
Friday 6 November: Mission Fete Day
Monday 9 November: School Photo Day Individual and Class Photos
Tuesday 10 November: School Photo Day Family Portraits
Monday 23 November - Tuesday 24 November: Year 6 Camp Wyuna
Tuesday 24 November: Prep 2021 Parent Information Session 6 - 7pm TBC
Thursday 26 November: Prep 2021 Parent Information Session 6 - 7pm TBC
Friday 27 November: Staff 2021 Planning Day, student free day
Monday 30 November: Year 3 Camp Wyuna
Tuesday 1 December: Year 4 Camp Wyuna
Wednesday 2 December: Year 5 Camp Wyuna
Wednesday 2 December: Prep 2021 Orientation Day 9.30am - 11am TBC
Tuesday 8 December: Prep 2021 Orientation Day 9.30am - 11am TBC
Thursday 17 December: End of Term 4
Please note: Please refer to the Parent Calendar for all dates
Blood donors are needed
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood is calling on all eligible Australians to become blood donors and for current donors to make and honour their appointments to prevent a potential shortage of blood supplies.
In fact, we need 14,000 more donors across Australia, in the next few weeks to prevent a shortage.
Geelong Blood Donor Centre is open 7 days a week and is located at 237 Ryrie Street, Geelong. To give blood call 13 14 95 or visit donateblood.com.au
Thank you for your help — we need it now more than ever. Your support will help Lifeblood maintain the nation’s blood supplies, and together, we can change the lives of patients and their families.
Our Lady Star of the Sea has been added to the list of supporting organisations. If any staff and family give blood, they can have their donation added to the tally and as a community we can keep track of the lives we save.
