Please keep in your prayers the following families who have recently lost loved ones:

Gisele O'Gorman on the passing of her grandmother, Christian & Trinity Merklaose on the passing of their grandfather and Lily Thomas on the passing of her grandmother

May their soul and the Souls of all our faithfully departed, Rest in the Peace of Christ.

Amen

Parenting in Primary School: How to give your child self-confidence

Helping your child to feel good about themselves provides a foundation of confidence long into adulthood. As parents, how can you give your kids the tools for facing challenges positively?

Creating a solid foundation of self-esteem early in your child’s life gives them the tools needed to face the challenges and changes that lie ahead.

Fostering self-confidence means they can feel good about themselves and their choices, opening them up to new opportunities and possibilities without fear of failing.

It’s important to remember that having good self-esteem doesn't mean arrogance or overconfidence; it’s about liking yourself, knowing what you’re good at, and having confidence in your own decision-making process.

So how can you give your child confidence? We look at some useful strategies.

A ‘have a go’ attitude

Encourage your kids to try out new skills from an early age, making them understand that it’s ok thing to just ‘have a go’, even if they’re not successful the first time. Real confidence comes from knowing that failure is part of the process of learning.

What does your child enjoy doing? Perhaps they like sport, art or playing a musical instrument? Whatever their preferences, involvement in an activity they enjoy will give them a sense of satisfaction and wellbeing.

Focusing on strengths

Positive affirmation, rather than concentrating on the negatives, will give your children confidence to keep trying out new skills, instead of feeling anxious about failure.

If they get upset about a lack of success, listen to their worries, then give possible solutions for how to approach the activity next time. Helping them to learn problem-solving skills will give them valuable life tools.

Role modelling

An important aspect to consider is your own self-esteem as a parent – are you habitually critical of yourself? Do you focus on the negatives of a new challenge rather than the positive? If so, you could be unintentionally influencing your child. As their model for behaviour, they look to you for how to react, copying your actions and words. How can you improve your own self-image?

Quality time

Feeling loved and valued is essential for building self-esteem. Try setting regular times to spend with your children to give them a sense of belonging. Another idea is to develop unique family routines, such as a story at bedtime or preparing a special meal together.

Encourage sociable behaviour

Forming friendships with other children is a great way to build self-esteem. Humans are naturally sociable and learning to empathise and enjoy the company of others is an integral part of growing up. Encourage your kids to invite their friends over for play dates.

If you’re worried that your child lacks self-esteem, you can get help. Talk to teachers, other family members, or call Parent line. Catholiccare Campbelltown provides a range of parenting courses such as "Circle of Security" that can be helpful in building self-esteem.  #alwaysconnected

Sources:

Raising Children Network: About self-esteem

The Schools Parenting Resource is put together by our family specialists who work with families across Sydney everyday.   You can call our professional Parent Line NSW counsellors on 1300 1300 52 for individual advice.

Disclaimer: This article does not give professional advice.  The contents constitute general information of a summary nature of interest and relevance at the time of publication. You should not rely on the contents as professional advice but should seek, formal advice in particular matters relevant to your particular situation.

Circle of Security Term 1

Monday, 01 February 2021 10:00 AM

For Parents/Carers

A must for all parents. Children who feel secure have empathy, greater self-esteem, better relationships and increased capacity to handle their emotions. Understand your child's world by learning to ready your child's emotional needs.

Sessions: 5 x 2 hours weekly

Cost: $75

Monday 1, 8, 15, 22 Feb, 1 Mar 10:00am-12:00pm

To enquire about enrolling in this course please email intakeservices@catholiccare.dow.org.au with your name, email address and phone number along with the course you wish to attend.

Venue: Catholiccare Campbelltown

35a Cordeaux Street, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia

No Scaredy Cats Term 2

Thursday, 06 May 2021 10:00 AM

For Parents / Carers of children with anxiety

Parents and Carers are invited to share their experience of parenting children with anxiety. A supportive and safe learning environment is provided to help guide parents and carers to understand more about their childs' needs and how they can support and encourage their children to nurture their anxiety.

Sessions: 3 x 2.5 hours weekly

Cost: $45

Thursday 6, 13, 20 May 10:00am-12:30pm

To enquire about enrolling in this course please email intakeservices@catholiccare.dow.org.au with your name, email address and phone number along with the course you wish to attend.

Venue: Campbelltown

35a Cordeaux Street, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia

The University of Wollongong has invited our students to LITTLE and EARLY LEARNING LABS, an academic and creative arts enrichment holiday program.

We are targeting students from Year 1 to 6 who are passionate, self-motivated and curious learners.

Dates:  Little Learning Labs (Years 1 and 2): 17^th-18^th April 2021

Early Learning Labs (Years 3 to 6): 10^th-11^th April 2021

Venue: University of Wollongong (Wollongong campus only)

Applications close: Wednesday 3^rd March 2021

APPLICATION PROCESS

• Students can be encouraged to apply by their school, classroom teacher, subject specialist teachers from school or out-of-school or by their parents. If a school-based professional is identifying a potential student they will supply them with a 'Teacher Nomination Letter'
• Parents/Guardians visit our website and read the full list of workshops available by scrolling to the “April workshops overview” section.
• Parents/Guardians (or school if parent/guardian is unable to) fill out the online application form.
• This is an academic and creative arts enrichment program designed for students who are motivated and passionate learners and performing excellently in their area of interest. First-time applicants are required to demonstrate their suitability for the program. One piece of supporting documentation is required (see 'Supporting Documentation' section on website). Please note that the 'Teacher Nomination Letter' can be used as a supporting document.
• Learning Labs is registered as COVID-Safe and follows the guidelines set out by the NSW Government.

Please know that workshops fill very quickly.

We will also have several sponsorship places available for students who identify as Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander or students experiencing financial difficulty. 

For further information about workshops and the application process please visit our website, or contact the Learning Labs team via email at: learning-labs@uow.edu.au or phone on (02) 4221 5557.

We thank you for your continued support of Learning Labs and we hope to share our passion for providing further opportunities to your students in April!

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Smith and Janelle Cuzen

Learning Labs Team

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students) | Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) | Building 17, Level 2.

University of Wollongong NSW 2522 Australia

T +61 2 4221 5557

uow.edu.au/In2Uni | Facebook | Support In2Uni Scholarships

Congratulations to the following students on they're fantastic achievements !!!

Hannah Shortland

on her fantastic results in the 'Little Athletics State Qualifer Event'

She has qualified for State in 100m, 200m and Triple Jump events.

  She also achieved her Personal Best results in triple jump and all of her races.

Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers

Re: Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• year of schooling
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school.

Kind regards

Mrs Michelle Rolfe

Principal