Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you once again for your continued support as we navigate this challenging time of remote learning together. We genuinely acknowledge just how demanding it continues to be for many of you, juggling work commitments and family responsibilities as well as taking on a more direct role in your child's learning. 

On behalf of the staff at St Paul's wish all of the fathers, grandfathers and the special men in the lives of the students of St Paul's a very happy Father's Day. We hope that you have had a chance to really enjoy your day today, as we celebrate you and the very important role you play. Thank you for all that you bring to the life of our school community at St Paul's.

There are three additional pages in this Week 9 Remote Learning Newsletter which include:

• An overview of St Paul's Wellbeing Week
• The Importance of Physical Activity and Movement during Remote Learning
• Tips for parents and carers on supporting your child to deal with Lockdown Boredom.

Further information regarding the above new inclusions can be found in this newsletter.

If you have not had a chance to view the Week 8 Virtual Assemly please see the video below.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to parents and carers, the St Paul's students and staff for your continued support as together we journey through our ninth week of remote learning and we continue to hold everyone in our community in our prayers. 

Yours in Faith and Learning,

Michelle Rodwell
Principal

This week St Paul’s will be participating in wellbeing week. The purpose of wellbeing week is to highlight the importance of balanced lifestyles to support the difficult nature of a pandemic. 

On Thursday we will also be acknowledging RUOK Day and participating in activities surrounding this important concept. We encourage you to participate in some of the activities with your children and take some time for yourself in what has been a challenging term. 

Each day of the week students will have a zoom theme and an activity that encourages them to think about their own and others’ wellbeing. During this week students will also have a reduced workload and be encouraged to spend time off technology. Please refer to each grade’s daily plans for more information. 

• For health benefits, children aged 5-12 years should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity every day.

• Children’s physical activity should include a variety of aerobic activities, including some vigorous intensity activity.

• On at least three days per week, children should engage in activities that strengthen muscle and bone.

• To achieve additional health benefits, children should engage in more activity – up to several hours per day.

To reduce health risks, children aged 5-12 years should minimise the time they spend being sedentary every day. To achieve this:

• Limit use of electronic media for entertainment (e.g. television, seated electronic games and computer use) to no more than two hours a day - lower levels are associated with reduced health risks.

• Break up long periods of sitting as often as possible.

A Note from your School Counsellor- Coping with Lockdown Boredom

The strategies below are to help students recognise and deal with lockdown boredom

1. The thing that makes us happiest is our social connections. That means you need to be connecting with your friends and family members in any way you can – whether it's face-to-face or through the phone or computer. Find new things that you can do online together. If you miss a grandparent, cousin, Aunt or Uncle, send them an invitation to talk to you online.
2. Mix it up – Don't do the same old thing every day. Try new things, be creative, build something, write a wild story about lockdown – use your imagination. When we add new things, we add a bit of excitement and action to our lives.
3. Don't spend all your time on screens. I know on-line games can be fun, especially when you are playing against your friends, but they can be very addictive, and it is unhealthy for you to spend more than 2 hours total on screens every day.
4. Do things you don't normally do, like bake a cake, cook dinner, build something, plant out the garden, or ask elderly neighbours if they need a hand with anything outdoors.
5. Try to stick to a schedule. When you follow a schedule, you know exactly what you are meant to do and what comes next – just like in school.  It is easier to focus and be kind to yourself when you know what is happening.
6. Don't be hard on yourself. Nobody expects you to be perfect. If you get frustrated, get up and take a break, have a drink, wash your face. Come back to it when you are calmer and start again. If you need help ask for it
7. If you’re struggling, it's okay to skip over a certain task or come back to it later. If you're worried about not getting the work done, let your teacher know you are finding it difficult and have moved on to something else. Ask your teacher to explain it to you when she has some time.
8. Fake it till you make it. We all know it can be hard to be motivated, but if you just push yourself to follow a schedule, be kind to yourself, commit to whatever time you have for learning, and achieve some outcomes, you will start to feel better and more positive.  The more you practice being motivated, the more motivated you will become.
9. Your work will still be there whether you’re taking a break, having a tantrum, or something else. Give yourself permission to rest and repair, and work at a pace that’s right for you and your parent.
10. Remember that your teachers know that this way of learning is difficult, and they are doing their very best to help you. They are not expecting you to be perfect, but if you can just force yourself to participate and do the best you can, the road is going to a lot smoother for everyone.
11. Remember that this is only temporary and there are better days ahead. It's easy to think this is going to last forever, but it's not. We will soon be back to school, and then on summer holidays. Just try to get through this next little while calmly and coolly. Don't stress yourself out. Just be calm and push yourself out of the boredom circle.

I know these are difficult times, but I do hope these tips will help you. Remember, you can send me an email if you have any questions or concerns for your child.

You can send me an email if you have any questions or concerns about your child. doreenw@catholiccare.dow.org.au

Take care of yourselves during this crazy time.

Best Regards, Doreen

Thank you to those parents and carers who have provided such positive feedback regarding the weekly remote learning newsletter and the varied documents and information we share with our community weekly.As a result we have developed a St Paul's Remote Learning Website so that parents and carers can easily access the materials, information and resources we have shared over the past seven weeks of remote learning.

The link to the St Paul's Remote Learning website is featured below. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Ms Shari Allison who developed the St Paul's Remote Learning Website. The website will be updated regularly and shared with the community. 

Our staff thanks you for the generous support and ongoing patience you have shown over the last four weeks while, together, we continue to live, learn, and work under the restrictions and challenges posed by COVID-19.

We urge everyone to continue to follow the advice from the NSW Government and NSW Health regarding Stay-at-Home orders and restrictions in keeping all members of our community safe and well. As you know, COVID-19 case numbers continue to be high across Greater Sydney, as does the number of people who have been in the community while infectious. In light of this, the NSW Government and NSW Health have again reinforced the message that parents and carers must keep children home if they can.

We understand how difficult it can be to manage working from home as well as supervising your child’s learning, however we are requesting your support to limit the risk of COVID-19 by having your child learn from home, rather than school, unless you absolutely have no other option. As we continue to plan for supervision of students who must attend school it is vital that we schedule only the minimum number of required staff members each day. This is to ensure we meet the direction provided by Catholic Schools NSW and NSW Health.

If it is absolutely necessary for your child to attend school for onsite supervision on any day between Monday 6 September and Friday 17 September 2021, please complete this form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8woA3c_wQD07mrBpQbiBDulMTIxPKlM-Cx0vscs-wVVadCg/viewform

This information will enable the school to organise appropriate supervision for students onsite whilst managing teachers working remotely and ensuring there is adequate access to electronic devices for students being supervised at school to engage in online learning.

If your child is learning from home it is a requirement that you complete the attached form to indicate this by 10 am daily.

If your child needs to be at school then the supervising staff will complete attendance. 

If neither of these roll marking options is chosen then you will receive a notification at 3 pm that day to state your child has an unexplained absence. Please ensure that you inform the school if your child is sick and will not be accessing learning on that day.

Understandably, many questions may arise and it is hoped that frequent school communication via Compass, assists you in clarifying your concerns. Teachers will respond to communication in a timely manner during school hours (8:00 am – 3:30 pm) only.

Requests for technology support can be made via the form below.

Telephone (02) 42 562 772

Email Office info@spapdow.catholic.edu.au