St Jerome's Newsletter
Week 1 - Term 1 (Thursday 10 February)
Dear Parents
Always a delight to write to you, and I hope my words do justice to the story which is St Jerome’s. I cannot deny the sense of joy and interest which surrounds every aspect of this school, it is a good place to be. I’m progressing with learning names, and attending the first P&F meeting for 2021 added the first set of parent names to my list. From all accounts it was the most well attended P&F meeting St Jerome’s has ever enjoyed. I applaud those who attended because you left busy and hectic homes to connect with your child’s school. My hope is that your generosity does not go unnoticed and that it will inspire others to connect with their child’s school too.
Next week is a busy one, and the events we have planned will have us informed, anointed and prepared for this 8 week school term. Tuesday evening’s Parent Information Session will inform with news of classroom matters and curriculum planning, and on Wednesday we will be anointed with the Lenten Ashes. Carol and I have written some information about the Ash Wednesday Mass, and the Student Councillors' Commissioning in this newsletter.
On Monday mornings of each week, all our staff gather in the staff room for prayer. We gather at 8.20am to pray, and share news of our work for the coming week. I need you to know this as our school is called to prayer at this time. No one will be in reception, no one will be in the uniform shop, or the canteen or a classroom. To gather as colleagues as we pray and ask for God’s blessing on our work, for your children and on our school community, is a privilege and a priority we are called to. We will return to our duties immediately after.
Thanks everyone.
The Lord be with you.
Chris.
Ash Wednesday and Lent: Beginning Again Always
The season of Lent is one that is often misunderstood. For some of us it passes without thought, while for others it is simply a time of ‘giving up’ certain things. This season began, though, as a time of preparation for new believers who were to be Baptised at Easter time. Over time, others began to share this journey of preparation, and the season became a significant part of the Church's journey through the year.
The Season of Lent provides a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect on Jesus’ life among us and prepare for the celebration of Holy Week. The forty days of a Lent are an opportunity for me to consider how to bring more love and forgiveness to my home, my work place and the world?
The first challenge of Lent is to open ourselves to life. Perhaps we may have refused for years to even think about spending quality time with our children, visiting our parents, exercising, or taking time to read good books. We have closed our minds, maybe, to the thought of reconciling with old friends whom we have hurt. We have refused to put the effort into visiting a church, a prayer in the morning, or prayers for our friends and family. We may have closed our hearts to many of the things we need to live full and Holy lives.
Lent calls us to stop and repent. To change the direction in which we are seeking our happiness, if it is a direction taking us away from love and from God. Lent is a call to growth and it summons us to live anew.
Chris.
Why children tell lies
Very young children think their parents know exactly what they are thinking so telling the truth or telling lies is not an issue for them. They also think that parents know everything in any case. About the age of three, children discover people don’t actually know what they are thinking. They will try out this new knowledge by telling ‘whoppers’. They will also try to blame someone else when things go wrong or make up a story rather than own up.
As they begin school, children quickly learn that it is good to please their parents and teachers and not so good to make them cross. They will tell fibs as a matter of course in the interests of pleasing their parents and avoiding blame. It can be pointless getting into long interrogations with children of this age. Rather than asking, ‘did you do this?’ Try a different approach, ‘look at this mess! Let me help you clean it up’.
By the age of eight, children are developing their understanding of right and wrong and can separate truth from fantasy. As they enter their teens, children will often lie to protect their thoughts and privacy from their parents.
What parents can do about it
- Tell stories about people who told the truth and were praised for their honesty.
- Demonstrate by your reactions that mistakes are not the end of the world.
- Talk about the difference between telling stories to entertain and telling stories to deceive.
- Praise them when they tell the truth but avoid giving them rewards. Honesty should be its own reward.
- Avoid conflicts over telling the truth. These are agonising and ultimately fruitless.
Ash Wednesday - Why do we place ashes on our foreheads?
The Hebrew People of the Old Testament understood that human life was short and that all people eventually would become sick, grow old and die. They knew their lives were like the grass that grew in the fields and then faded away. They remembered that they were children of Adam and Eve. God made Adam and Eve from the dust of the earth and breathed life into them and cared for them like a good Father – when they lived by God’s laws, they knew they would always be happy. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their life was not easy. They had to work hard, and eventually they died.
In the stories of the Old Testament, when the people disobeyed God, people called prophets called them to repent, to turn away from their sin, and to have a change of heart. In order to show they were repenting the people would put on clothes made from rough cloth and cover their heads with ashes; they would fast and pray for God’s mercy.
Who can receive ashes?
On Ash Wednesday the procession to the altar is as diverse as we will ever see it!
Mothers carrying babies, toddlers holding on to Dad’s hand, teens, parishioners, neighbours, employees from nearby places of business, the elderly—we all come together to mark the beginning of Lent. Anyone, including non-Catholics, can receive ashes.
This year in keeping with our COVID restrictions, Ashes will not be placed on our foreheads but lightly sprinkled above our heads.
Lent
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. From our Jewish roots we learn the importance of caring for the poor. During this season of Lent we as a school, support the work of Caritas through Project Compassion. Over the next six weeks your children will be talking about Project Compassion with their teachers and looking for ways to support those less fortunate than us.
Drive through and Carpark
It is very obvious that parents have read the Drive Through and Carpark Guidelines because despite it only being Week 1, the Drop off in the morning is flowing well and children of all ages are ready to jump out of the car and confidently head into school.
At the moment we are seeing many of our Year One parents waiting at the front of the school with their children. We ask those parents to either use the Drive Through Drop Off or walk their children to the white gates, say their goodbyes and then send the children through to the oval. Parents should then exit the school. The children are already showing confidence and independence and this will contribute to building strong resilient children.
In the afternoon, despite the road works on Mayor Road causing delays, we are still managing to clear the Drive Through by 3:25pm. We are grateful to the contracting company dealing with the road works for providing the Traffic Management Staff to assist on Rockingham Road while these road works continue. Your patience, cooperation and assistance are gratefully appreciated.
This week we have noticed a few areas that we still need to work on:
· Drivers exiting the school grounds after 3pm must turn left onto Rockingham Road.
· Drivers exiting onto Troode Street are asked not to attempt to turn right from Troode Street onto Rockingham Road.
· To minimise impact on traffic flow, all Pedestrians must use the footpaths, walkways and crosswalks, where they are in place, then move directly through the carpark to their vehicles.
· Children and adults are not permitted to walk across the Pickup Area in front of the school.
· Parking in front of the Drive Through when the cones are in place is prohibited, as it prevents others accessing the Carpark and causes a dangerous backlog onto Rockingham Road.
Sacramental Program 2021
Families wishing to enrol their children in the Sacramental Program for 2021 should download and complete the relevant enrolment form from the St Jerome’s parish website.
Please then place all the required documents along with the payment for the parish into a sealed envelope. Please ensure that you have placed your child's name, their class and the sacrament they are receiving on the back of the envelope and on the front write:
'For the attention of Carol Hoare - Sacramental Program'
If you wish to pay by card at the front desk the Office ladies can assist with this. Please note that a receipt will be given to you at the time for Credit Card transactions over the counter or forwarded to you once I have processed your paperwork.
This all needs to happen before 26th February 2021 as no enrolments can be taken after this date. If you have any issues or concerns with any of this, please let me know as soon as possible so I have time to assist in any way I can. My email address is: carol.hoare@cewa.edu.au
The link to the parish is: (you may need to copy the link and paste into your browser)
http://www.stjeromesparish.org/sacramental-programme-guide-2021-school-based/
Please see the dates below for each Sacrament and note that the order of Sacraments has changed this year.
Best wishes
Carol Hoare
Assistant Principal
Why participate in Crunch&Sip?
Do those carrot sticks keep coming home at the bottom of the school bag every day? Are you concerned that your child isn’t eating enough vegetables and fruit and drinking enough water for good health?
Diligently we send our little darlings off to school every day with vegetable sticks only to be discouraged when it comes home again a little bruised and battered. Ever hopeful we do the same thing day after day. This is what Einstein defined as insanity:
"Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results!"
Many parents have been saved from this fate by the innovative Crunch&Sip program.
Participating in a daily Crunch&Sip break is a great way for children to drink water and eat an extra serve of vegetables or fruit to support good health and to help learning.
Most WA school kids meet the recommended intake for fruit, but only 1 in 6 eat enough vegetables. Students mainly bring fruit for Crunch&Sip, so there is a big opportunity to increase vegetable intake by choosing vegetables more often for Crunch&Sip.
If this is new for your family, try some of these tips:
- Start with vegetables your children are more familiar with
- Try sweeter vegetables like red capsicum or cherry tomatoes
- Allow children to choose their Crunch&Sip vegetables
- Keep vegetables fresh at school by storing in thermos containers
- Let kids pick out a special Crunch&Sip container from the supermarket
- Get kids involved in meal preparation at home
- Children’s food preferences are shaped by the diet habits of those around them – make sure you show them how much you enjoy eating vegetables!
Assistant Principal
School Tours 2021
A school tour is a way to promote our school in the community, which hopefully may lead to a new family enrolling their children at St Jerome's.
This year our school tours will be available twice a term, and Robyn Hunt is our official tour guide. You can find the link to book a tour on the school's web page or at this link.
Book Club - Issue 1 (2021)
Book Club – Issue 1 (2021)
Book club orders must be finalised online
by Friday 19th February
Any orders placed after this date will incur a delivery fee and be delivered to your home.
Please use LOOP on scholastic website.
No cash payments or paper orders taken
Catalogues for Issue 8 have been handed out to classrooms.
Medical Plan Updates
If your child is on a Medical Plan, particularly if they are on an Emergency Action Plan for Anaphylaxis, please ensure that it has been updated within the past 18 months and the school has received a copy of this updated Plan.
Please ensure that you have checked the expiry date for your child's EpiPen and ensured a current Pen is provided to the school. Notifying parents that an EpiPen is due to expire or has expired is not the responsibility of the school. Parents should make a note in their calendar when an EpiPen is due to expire and bring in a replacement in a timely manner.
Admin
Contact Details
Email: admin@stjeromes.wa.edu.au
Website: www.stjeromes.wa.edu.au
Location: 38 Troode Street, Lake Coogee, WA, Australia
Phone: 08 9499 9500