Welcome to the Parent Memo for Term 4 Week 6.

On Friday 19 November we are having a Crazy Sock Day!

Come to school in your uniform but with crazy socks...we’re talking tie-dye, face socks, shoelace or fuzzy, any kind you want!!

Crazy Sock Day is a fundraiser for Catholic Mission for kids in countries who need our support.

Click on this link to donate and help us reach our $500 goal!

https://www.socktober.org.au/fundraisers/stfrancisofassisiprimaryschoolcalwell

With the end of Term 4 fast approaching, please take a moment to check your 2021 school fee account to ensure it is up to date by the end of Term.

Leaving Families
If your family will be leaving St Francis of Assisi and not returning in 2022, please finalise your school fee account prior to the end of term 4, Friday 17 December 2021. Please contact me at the front office on 6292 4500 if you foresee any issues settling your account prior to the end of term.

I have already been in touch with families who are leaving and have a Direct Debit in place, to ensure the Direct Debit is cancelled after the final payment is made.

Change to Direct Debit for 2022
Around Week 8, the 2022 school fees will be communicated to all families following the Community Council's approval of the 2022 school budget.

If you are currently paying your school fees by Direct Debit it is important to amend your regular payments to keep your school fee account up to date in 2022.

During Week 1 Term 1 2022 please email me susan.rowell@cg.catholic.edu.au and I will assist with the calculations to adjust your Direct Debit amount for 2022 fees.

Reminder
A reminder that Term 4 school fees are due for payment by Friday 26 November 2021 unless paying by regular instalments. Payments may be made by Cash, Cheque, EFTPOS, BPay, QKR, or you may phone the front office on 6292 4500 to pay over the phone with your credit card details.

Please email me with any school fee queries and I'll respond as soon as possible.

Kind regards

Susan Rowell

A sibling discount of 20% will apply next year to the CEO Tuition Fee for the eldest child attending an ACT systemic primary school where they have an older sibling in a systemic secondary school.

We ask that you please complete the attached form detailing your students enrolled in systemic secondary and primary schools in 2022.

Sytemic_Letter_2022.pdf

Please return your form to school or email it to susan.rowell@cg.catholic.edu.au by Friday 10 December.

A reminder to all Year 5 students that orders for Year 6 2022 Leadership Shirts are due TOMORROW!

Leadership_Shirts_2022.pdf

Helping kids to identify and express their feelings  

Sometimes our children have big feelings and it is difficult to know how to respond as parents. Big feeling are often expressed as behaviour that can be best described as challenging!  As a parent you have an important role to play in developing your child’s emotional skills and helping them to learn healthy ways to express their feelings. We know that children who learn to cope with and express their feelings are more likely to have good mental health and wellbeing, be more resilient and able to cope with change and setbacks, display less behavioural problems and be more confident and have a positive sense of self. So the earlier we can build a child’s ability to identify their feelings and implement healthy coping strategies the better!  

Here are some great tips from the Kids Helpline that can help your child to learn about expressing their feelings:  

• Tune into cues - Sometimes feelings can be hard to identify. Tune into your child’s feelings by looking at their body language, listening to what they’re saying and observing their behaviour. Figuring out what they feel and why means you can help them identify, express and manage those feelings better. 
• Behind every behaviour is a feeling - Try to understand the meaning and feeling behind your child’s behaviour. You can help your child find other ways to express that feeling once you know what is driving the behaviour. 
• Name the feeling - Help your child name their feelings by giving them a label. Naming feelings is the first step in helping kids learn to identify them. It allows your child to develop an emotional vocabulary so they can talk about their feelings. 
• Identify feelings in others – Provide lots of opportunities to identify feelings in others. You might ask your child to reflect on what someone else may be feeling. Cartoons or picture books are a great way discuss feelings and helps kids learn how to recognise other people’s feelings through facial expressions. 
• Be a role model - Kids learn about feelings and how to express them appropriately by watching others. Show your child how you’re feeling about different situations and how you deal with those feelings. 
• Encourage with praise - Praise your child when they talk about their feelings or express them in an appropriate way. Not only does it show that feelings are normal and it’s ok to talk about them, it reinforces the behaviour so they are likely to repeat it. 
• Listen to your child’s feelings - Stay present and resist the urge to make your child’s bad feelings go away. Support your child to identify and express their feelings so they are heard. When feelings are minimised or dismissed, they will often be expressed in unhealthy ways. 

For more information please visit Kids Helpline website for additional resources or contact your school counsellor if you have concerns about your child’s ability to express their emotions or you need support to develop healthy coping strategies.  

https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/helping-kids-identify-and-express-feelings 

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