St Kieran Newsletter Term 2, Week 6 - 23rd May 2024
Principal's Message
Holy Father, God of Love,
You are the Creator of all things.
We acknowledge the pain and shame of our history
and the sufferings of Our peoples,
and we ask your forgiveness.
We thank you for the survival of Indigenous cultures
Our hope is in you because you gave your Son Jesus
to reconcile the world to you.
We pray for your strength and grace to forgive, accept and love one another,
as you love us and forgive and accept us in the sacrifice of your Son.
Give us the courage to accept the realities of our history so that we may build a better
future for our Nation.
Teach us to respect all cultures.
Teach us to care for our land and waters.
Help us to share justly the resources of this land.
Help us to bring about spiritual and social change,
to improve the quality of life for all groups in our communities, especially the disadvantaged.
Help young people to find true dignity and self-esteem by your Spirit.
May your power and love be the foundations on which we build our families,
our communities and our Nation, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Next week we celebrate National Sorry Day beginning on Sunday. We gather to acknowledge the past policies and practices which caused hurt, dispossession and loss of identity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We acknowledge that there needs to be healing between non-Aboriginal people and Aboriginal people. Pope John Paul II in 1986 reminded Australians that “for thousands of years this culture of yours was free to grow without interference by people from other places. You lived your lives in spiritual closeness to the land, with its animals, birds, fishes, waterholes, rivers, hills and mountains. Through your closeness to the land, you touched the sacredness of man’s relationship with God, for the land was the proof of a power in life greater than yourselves.”
The first National Sorry Day was held on 26th May 1998, one year after the Bringing Them Home report was presented to parliament. The Bringing Them Home report was the result of an inquiry into the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, and recommended an apology and reparations to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This National Sorry Day, let us all reflect on the need for genuine reconciliation – not just in word, but in deed and in action. Genuine reconciliation requires acknowledgement of the harm done by those enacting past policies, and those who did not act out against these policies, so that healing can reach the whole community.
Today, and every day moving forward, we are invited to take action to make reconciliation a priority in order to heal relationships and build a future of compassion and respect with Aboriginal people. As we gather, we acknowledge the land on which we meet, recognise and respect the ongoing relationship and spiritual connection in which this land has always been held and pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians of this land.
Best wishes and take care.
Mr Daine Burnett
Principal
daine.burnett@cewa.edu.au
School Calendar
A reminder to all families to continue to check the school calendar on our website for dates and events that are coming up during the term. We have a number of days that the school is closed this term Friday 31st May, Monday 3rd June and Friday 28th June.
Kindergarten Enrolments 2025
We are accepting Kindy Enrolment's for Kindy 2025 and now conducting interviews. Please don’t leave this until the last minute as we had many families we could not accommodate in 2024. Please submit your application and make sure you have your children enrolled at St Kieran Catholic Primary School. If you have missed this please call the administration office as soon as possible.
We do have a small number of spaces across other year levels and if friends or families are wishing to look at enrolling their children at our school.
Seesaw
Can all parents make sure you have access to your child's Seesaw. Teachers constantly post assessment results and pieces during the term. This is a great way to keep you updated on the progress of your child.
Unwell Students
As we are well and truly in the colder months can we please ask that unwell students are not sent to school. Our staff will call parents if a child is unwell or presents unwell - we are not trained medical staff and if a child says they are unwell or looks unwell we will call the families to collect them. Sending an unwell child to school in turn has an impact on the other students as well as the staff and of course the families at St Kieran. Your consideration around this matter is appreciated.
Social Media Usage
As a society, we are facing a major crisis impacting our children's and teenagers' well-being due to the harmful effects of social media. This situation has become so severe that it is being called the greatest crisis of a generation, affecting both the mental and physical health of our youth.
Despite parents' efforts, tech companies continue to expose children to dangerous content. Psychologists report that excessive social media use is causing a mental health crisis, leading to loneliness, sleep deprivation, and reduced social skills, all of which greatly impact our student's ability to engage in their learning.
Alarmingly, there has been a significant rise in conditions related to mental health among children under 19. Experts point to the explosion of social media use as the primary cause.
In response, parents across Australia are uniting in the "Let Them Be Kids" campaign, calling on the federal government to raise the age limit for social media access to 16. Child advocates, health professionals, and leading psychiatrists support this campaign to protect children from the addictive and harmful influence of social media.
Recent polling reveals that 70% of teens have had negative experiences on social media, with significant numbers facing abuse, harassment, and exposure to disturbing content.
Experts, including Professor Philip Morris AM and neuroscientist Professor Selena Bartlett, warn that the current situation is a massive crisis, urging urgent action to protect our children’s innocence and childhood.
Other countries are taking similar actions, and movements are growing to delay children's access to smartphones and social media.
As a school community, we have engaged with ySafe to run workshops with students and parents. Within classes, teachers continue in the education of supporting students managing themselves and their profiles online. We are continually monitoring internet usage, at school, and are frequently updating our network settings to keep students safe.
At home, here are some questions that could help with open discussions with your children and their online usage:
Examples of open-ended questions
About screen time:
- “Why do you like this game/show/app?”
- “What do you enjoy most when using your device?”
- “How do you feel when you can’t use your screen?”
About rules:
- “What do you think about our screen-time rules?”
- “Why do you think we have screen-time rules?”
- “How do you feel about the time you spend on screens versus other activities?”
When rules are broken:
- “I see you’ve been using your device more than we agreed. Can we talk about why?”
Holy Eucharist Retreat
Next Thursday, May 30, our Year 4 students will be participating in their Sacrament of Eucharist Retreat:
When: Thursday May 30 2024
Where: St Catherine’s House of Hospitality (directly across from St Kieran CPS) 113 Tyler Street, Tuart
Hill WA 6060
Time: Normal school hours 8.25am - 3.00pm. We will begin our day in class as usual and walk over at
about 8.45am for a 9.00am start. The retreat will conclude at 2.30pm and students will return to
school for their normal 3.00pm collection.
What to wear: Comfortable Free Dress, closed-in shoes
What to bring: Normal school bag, hat, water bottle
Lunch/Recess: As per usual. Bring from home or lunch order. We will be returning to the school grounds for both recess and lunch.
Holy Eucharist Parent/Child Workshop
Next Tuesday and Thursday, May 28 and 30. There are two sessions on Tuesday, 4:00pm and 5:15pm and one sessions on Thursday at 4:00pm.
If there are any issues where you and your child can not attend the sessions, please inform Miss Davis and Mr Bakic.
Hale School Parent Presentation
Psychologist and author Karen Young will return to Hale this month to discuss emotional regulation in children. The capacity to emotionally regulate is one of the most important building blocks for success and social and emotional wellbeing. This will take time to develop and, in the meantime, things can get messy.
For many young people, big feelings will drive big behaviour, which can be confusing and challenging for them and the adults who care for them. The more we understand the what, why and how of feelings and the behaviours they fuel, the more we can respond to young people (and ourselves) more effectively and compassionately.
What: Karen Young on big feelings, behaviour and self-regulation
When: Wednesday 29 May, 7.00pm - 8.30pm
Where: John Inverarity Music and Drama Centre, Hale School, Unwin Avenue, Wembley Downs
Registration: This is a FREE event but registration is required via this link:
https://events.humanitix.com/karen-young-presentation
Note: This presentation will be most suitable for parents of Junior and Middle School aged children.
Australian Girls Choir Open Day
Look no further than the Australian Girls Choir (AGC) because we encourage, challenge and inspire girls as they learn to sing, dance and perform. School aged girls are invited to come along to our June Open Day to try our fun and inclusive class and learn more about being part of the AGC! Please visit our website to register to attend our free Open Day: ausgirlschoir.com.au/joinagc