SACRED HEART COLLEGE Tel: 011 081 2203 Reception: 011 081 2200 Fax: 011 648 5204 Website: www.sacredheart.co.za
PRE-PRIMARY AND PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER DATE: 14 July 2016 Dear Pre-Primary and Primary School Parents
GENERAL: FOR ALL PARENTS Blessed Eid Al-Fitr During Mid-Term break our Muslim Families celebrated Eid Al-Fitr to mark the end of Ramadaan. We trust that you had a Blessed day with family and friends. Mandela Day: Monday 18th July
The world remains beset by so much human suffering, poverty and deprivation. It is in our hands to make our world a better one for all.
“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead” – Nelson Mandela The Nelson Mandela Foundation, together with its sister organizations, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, launched a global movement for good in honour and celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy. The United Nations adopted 18 July, the late Nelson Mandela’s birthday, as an Annual International Day. The campaign call to action is simple: Take Action Inspire Change. We are inspired by the example that Madiba set for us: we must take responsibility for ourselves and act on the responsibility we have to others. To be part of the Mandela Day movement, all that is required is an action that helps change the lives of people for the better. To ensure that our actions have lasting benefits, we should strive to leave behind, not only physical changes in our communities, but also a sense of empowerment, helping to build pride amongst these communities so that we can all take charge of our destinies and change our circumstances. The cumulative actions of people, even if it is one small step at a time, can be transformative. Sacred Heart College’s Response: We encourage all our families to spend 67 minutes doing one of the following: 1. Clearing out your cupboards of unused or clothing in good condition, shoes and toys which can be brought to Habits. These items will be sorted by the PA and distributed to the various charities we already support.
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2. Shopping for items (beanies, jerseys and scarves) for the High School’s Addo Elephant Project or for food for the Three2Six Education Project’s Tinned Can Drive (pilchards or baked beans). Recently, the management received a proposal from Cassidy Opperman in Grade 5L, in which she challenges other learners at the College to raise funds for people less fortunate than themselves. The funds will go to the Three2Six Education Project run at Sacred Heart College in the afternoons. This year, on 28th July, schools are allowed to participate in the CEO Sleep out Challenge and Cassidy proposes that our school, and more specifically, the Grade 5s, hold a SHC Sleep Out under the supervision of their parents. The school, in consultation with PACE is looking at Tuesday 2nd August as a preferred date for this event. Details will be in next week’s newsletter. Fun Day for Prospective Parents to PPS – 16 July 2016 from 10:00 to 13:00 The fun day is open to our PPS parents and those parents who have family and friends interested in sending their child to the Pre-Primary section of the school. The morning has been structured to allow parents the opportunity to see some of the activities the children engage in during a school day. If any parent knows of other parents who are thinking of enrolling their children at the College in 2017, please inform them about the Fun Day. We will have three classes in all the grades from Grade R to Grade 6 in 2017, so there are a few spaces available in some of the grades. We remind parents who may be leaving us, that a term’s notice is required; therefore, you need to let the school know in writing by the end of the term. Safety: The issue of cars speeding on the school property was discussed at the recent PA meeting. As a school community, we have an obligation to make sure that all our children are safe when on the property. To this end we expect parents, au pairs and drivers to adhere to the speed limit of 10km. You will also note that we have now resorted to putting cones on the red lines at the ends of the islands to stop cars from parking where others cannot pass. Please, please, please adhere to the traffic rules in place at the College. Friendship and Responsibility Each month, the College focuses on a theme or value to be instilled in our children as part of their moral formation. The theme for July is Friendship and Responsibility, and we include some advice, from a previous newsletter, from Ms Grobler, the senior counsellor at the College, to help our children to engage with one another in more positive and meaningful ways: 8 Tips for Helping Your Child Resolve Conflict and Be a Good Friend
This post is sponsored by Hasbro My Little Pony.
As much as we try to avoid it, conflict is a normal part of life. Helping children learn to manage conflict effectively will also help them to experience more fulfilling friendships and enjoy better social experiences, both at school and outside of it. Of course, how well children are able to resolve
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conflict is directly related to their age, stage of development and life experiences – for example, a young child may not know how to compromise without assistance or have the emotional capacity to empathize with the needs of others. Equipping children of all ages with the strategies shared below will help them become more effective at resolving conflict and being a good friend. 8 Tips for Helping Your Child Resolve Conflict and Be a Good Friend Help your child unlock the keys to friendship with these five conflict resolutions and three important ways of practising them. Tip #1: Learning to Manage Strong Emotions While children have the right to feel strong emotions such as anger and frustration, it is important that they learn that yelling or being physically hurtful or intimidating does not help to resolve conflict. Helping children learn simple strategies for remaining calm, such as taking a deep breath or stopping and counting to ten, is an important part of the process of effective conflict resolution. Tip #2: Talk & Listen Help your child to recognize the value of using words and speaking nicely to solve conflict. Work together to develop a phrase that they can say to a friend to help start the resolution process, for example, “Let’s talk about this and find a way to work together.” Learning to say how they feel and what they wish would happen, rather than attributing blame and overly focusing on the cause of the conflict, is also a great skill to have. Being a good listener is also important. Helping children learn to listen to each other can be difficult, especially when they are very young or emotionally upset and often, when they are tired or upset, trying to talk it through will not work well. In these instances, it is often best to wait until your child is calm before proceeding with any positive conflict resolution strategies. Tip #3: Problem-Solve Together to Find a Solution Initially, children will need help to navigate the process of brainstorming potential solutions together, with the aim being to find a solution that makes everyone happy. For younger children, keep the options limited and simple. For older children, remind them that everyone has the right to be heard and that no idea is a silly idea. Tip #4: Encourage Fairness Talk regularly with children about the benefits of being kind, being fair and sharing with others, and catch them doing the right thing as often as you can – rewarding positive examples with lots of verbal encouragement. While young children find it difficult to understand why they need to ‘take turns,’ they will often be more willing to share when encouraged to let the other child have a turn once they are done – this gives them a sense of control over the situation and the act of sharing, rather than it being something they are being directed to do by an adult or peer. Tip #5: When Nothing Else Works Teach your child that it is okay to walk away when nothing else works, and that they should feel safe to come to you or another trusted adult to seek assistance resolving difficult situations.
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Tip #6: Role Play Friendship-Related Scenarios Use role play to help your child feel more comfortable employing the strategies outlined above. Taking time to actually talk through and act out potential scenarios that might develop in the playground or on a play date will help your child feel more confident to use these conflict resolution strategies as needed. Tip #7: Encourage Imaginative Play Imaginative play provides a powerful safe haven for children to work through overwhelming emotions, to make sense of things they have seen, heard or learned from others, and for processing social interactions, including conflicts. Having the space, time and freedom to play imaginatively provides children with a sense of power – they feel in control, capable of figuring things out, of thinking things through and solving problems. My girls both love playing with figurines and I regularly see elements of their real life experiences re-enacted in imaginative play. Tip #8: Host Regular Play Dates Regular play dates provide your child with real life opportunities to develop friendships and to use the strategies included above with your support, away from the stress of the school playground or other larger group setting Source: http://childhood101.com/2014/06/8-tips-for-helping-your-child-resolve-conflictand-be-a-good-friend/#_a5y_p=1969530
PRE – PRIMARY SCHOOL Reggio Sue Jacobson attended the annual Reggio conference at St Mary’s School two weeks ago. The workshop confirmed that we are on the right path in our endeavours at Sacred Heart College. Parent Interviews Sue Jacobson will be conducting parent interviews for her class on 18, 19 and 20 July. Please make sure you sign up for a slot outside her classroom. All other class interviews will take place on 1 and 2 August.
FROM THE SPORTS DESK DATE
SPORT
DETAILS
VENUE
START TIME/
Friday 15-Jul
Hockey
U9-11 v St Martin's & DLHCC
St Martin's Prep
13:30
APPROX FINISH TIME 16:15
Sports Photographs All the sports photographs for Grade 1 to Grade 6 will be taken on Wednesday, 20 July. Please ensure that children are dressed neatly in the full winter school uniform.
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