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Dear Parents and Carers,
Holy Week provides us with the opportunity to reflect on our Lenten journey during this challenging and unprecedented time for each of us. Prayer, service, and forgiveness have never been more important or needed. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and finishes with the celebration that is Easter Sunday. The events experienced during Holy Week are not dissimilar to the current situation we face - feelings of disappear, loss, uncertainty, anger and frustration. Yet, as we move closer to the celebration of Easter Sunday, we begin to feel a sense of knowing, acceptance and understanding. At the very heart of Easter Sunday is HOPE and LOVE. For us today, hope and love needs to be at the very centre of all we do each and every day. Hope and love brings with it patience, tolerance, empathy and compassion - qualities worth celebrating even in the challenging and unprecedented time.
Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback to staff on our Remote Learning platform. The survey provided us with the opportunity to gain an understanding of where we are at and what we can do moving into Term 2. Survey results were overwhelming positive and highly informative. There were several ideas identified and reinforced what we will be working towards for Term 2. Please refer to the Remote Learning Survey Feedback article below.
Please look after your own well-being - mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Take sometime to care for yourself. Communicate with your partner, family, friends and our school community. Your well-being is essential in supporting your child/ren. It is OK to be challenged by being a mum or dad, working from home, financial and emotional pressures, being a teacher and managing the home. We are all feeling these things in some way. Please let me know how we can best support you - there is a long way to go. We will get through this because we will continue to work together to support one another as a community.
Below is are two links and some supporting ideas from acclaim author Maggie Dent.
https://www.maggiedent.com/blog/coping-with-the-corona-chaos/
So as parents, what can you do to help your family thrive in these challenging times:
1. Predictability
2. Nature Is Waiting For You
3. Time To Build Life Skills
4. Family Rituals
5. Go-Slow Childhood
6. Strengthening Connection and Filling Those Love Cups
7. You Can't Read Too Much
Thank you to our students, parents, grandparents and staff for your innovation, creativity, problem solving and continued generosity across our school community. We can and should be very proud of the work that we have a achieved together in such a short period of time.
Wishing you and your family a wonderful weekend. All the very best.
Take care - Brad Colquhoun (Principal)
Palm Sunday
This weekend we celebrate the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. He is heralded as king and the crowds wave palm branches, place cloaks on the ground and shout ‘Hosanna.’
Palm Sunday this weekend’s link to readings, reflection and prayer
PALM SUNDAY MASS with Father Patrick inside St Joseph’s parish church available on parish website www.saintjosephsbulli.com
Masses Online
Commencing last weekend was a live recorded celebration of Sunday Mass online with Bishop Brian Mascord.
These online Masses will continue on Sundays (while possible) giving parishioners throughout the Illawarra, Macarthur, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands (and everyone else watching from around the world) the opportunity to join with their bishop and make an act of spiritual Communion together as a diocese.
It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an act of spiritual Communion which is a source of grace. Spiritual communion means uniting one’s self in prayer with Christ’s sacrifice and worshipping him in his Body and Blood. Acts of spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.
As Jesus said, “For where two or three gather in my name, I shall be there with them” (Matthew 18:20). Imagine the grace that will abound if all 190,000 Catholics in the diocese gather online for Mass with their bishop. Please extend this invitation to all your family, friends and loved ones, especially as we enter Holy Week and the Easter Season. The premiere link will be posted on the Catholic Diocese of Wollongong website https://www.dow.org.au/ and Facebook page 24 hours prior to the online Mass. For all current regulations regarding the Church due to Corona Virus again go to the Diocesan website above.
HOLY WEEK ONLINE 7pm HOLY THURSDAY (9 April)– Mass of the Lord’s Supper
10am GOOD FRIDAY (10 April) – Stations of the Cross
3pm GOOD FRIDAY (10 April) - Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion
7pm HOLY SATURDAY (11 April) – Mass of the Easter Vigil
CathFamily website
This is a free resource until June 30 which requires email and password for access. When logging on to this website use Safari as your browser.
This weekend for Palm Sunday visit this child friendly site
https://cathfamily.org/cathkids-palm-sun-a/
It contains the scripture, questions, response activities and prayers.
In commemorating Good Friday there are two lovely activities focusing on the Stations of the Cross. One is for the child/ren https://cathfamily.org/childrens-station-of-the-cross/ and the second is for families https://cathfamily.org/family-stations-of-the-cross/
These can be completed in a day or over a few days.
Children’s Liturgy
In light of the church closures the parish has developed alternative ways to offer Children's Liturgy. If you would like to access Children's Liturgy resources, to be used with your family, you can contact the parish office at bulli@dow.org.au.
The parish will email resources to you. Alternatively you can also access resources through the following websites
- liturgyhelp.com/aus/woll/pray
If you have any questions please let the parish office know.
There are also other resources available on the diocesan website to assist parishioners with their home worship. Please visit https://www.dow.org.au/
In these unprecedented times we experience so many emotions- fear, sorrow, bewilderment. May your families experience the hope, joy and love of Jesus as we celebrate Holy Week in the lead up to Easter. Some special prayers for Holy Week are attached below.
Take care and God bless,
Mrs Jo Herring - Religious Education Coordinator
Staff development days will occur from Monday, 6 April through to the end of Term 1. Our school will remain open and teachers will be supervsing students (no structured teaching will occur) who will be attending. Students are to wear their normal school uniform. For additional information, please refer to the letter attached.
During the staff development days, our staff with continue to work until the end of the term focusing on the Learning Progressions modules, professional learning in using Zoom (digital conferencing) and Google Slides, Visual lessons in Religious Education, English and Mathematics and completing Disability Modules.
Thank you for your patience, support and flexibility.
COVID 19 has brought challenges and opportunies. Some of the challenges may include how parents balance working at home with supervising their children with remotes learning tasks, or how to balance screen time, keep children on task and motivated or how to nagivate the Google Classroom platform. Setting up routines, that include breaks from the device for physical activity and motivating children to complete tasks with an end reward will assist in making the remote learning experience smoother and happier for all invloved.
The following is a summary of challenges mentioned in the survey:
- Children understanding the task (more instruction from teacher)
- Keeping students on task and focused (time management)
- Balance of screen time
- Limited devices at home
- Uploading work when there is no link
- Motivation
- Lack of social and face to face
- Fear of teaching content incorrectly
- Getting used to the online platform
- Balance between parent/carer work and assisting child.
The following are aspects that staff will working towards:
- Zoom opportunities to connect with grades
- Use of Google Slides for daily lesson outline
- Adding additional differentiated tasks
- Visual demonstrations - modelling of lessons Religious Education, English and Mathematics
COVID 19 and all it has brought with it has meant a swift change in how learning is devilvered. The remote learning environment is new to many students, teachers, parents and careers, and hence it continues to evolve as we all learn from each other. Should you need any technological assistance, please feel free to contact me via email. (disibiom01@dow.catholic.edu.au) I will get back to you as soon as I can and togeher we can solve the technological issue.
If you feel you want to upskill in using Google Classroom, the following websites may assist.
Google Classroom Tutorial Video
Submitting an Assessment in Google Classroom Video
Google for Education Online Modules - you may receive certifacation for some of these modules.
Video Link: https://childmind.org/article/talking-to-kids-about-the-coronavirus/
Tips from the video:
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Aim to provide reassurance without increasing worries
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Don't be afraid to talk about the coronavirus. Not talking about it when it is in the media can be more distressing.
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Adults should consume the news and provide young people with factual information at an age appropriate level.
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Be developmentally appropriate, avoid to much information at one time.
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Parents can invite children to ask them questions, allowing parents to confirm if true or not. Avoid asking children questions as this can encourage frightening fantasies.
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Adults must deal with own anxiety before talking to young people. Be calm.
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Focus on what young people can do to stay safe-hygiene practices.
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Stick to normal routines-be consistent and predictable. (At home regular mealtimes, bedtimes etc).
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It's okay to tell young people you do not know the answer to a question and that if/when you do, you will get back to them.
Term 1
For the remainder of Term 1 counsellors will:
- Provide face-to-face counselling at the school where needed, aligned to the social distancing requirements will be followed
- Undertake phone check-ins with parents in primary schools
- Make contact with students on their case list in secondary schools, where required
- Accept referrals as per our regular procedures
As part of COVID-19 response plan for CatholicCare school counseling, the following will be implemented:
- A small number of school counsellors fall into the vulnerable high-risk category as identified by NSW Health Guidelines. These counsellors will be working remotely and will continue to deliver counselling services via phone until online counselling is implemented. All schools will be informed by the team leaders if the school counsellor cannot attend school in person. If there is a situation where a school requires a counsellor to attend school, we ask the Principal or their nominee to contact the CatholicCare Leader for that region
- From 30 March, new online user-friendly Intake Referral Form will be shared with the Principal to distribute to appropriate school staff
In the next couple of weeks CatholicCare will be trialing working remotely to test the system’s readiness to provide services in this new workspace.
Term 2
School Counsellors will:
- Deliver counselling services remotely via Zoom or phone counselling
- Provide face to face counselling where required via your allocated school counsellor if available, or via another counsellor as soon as possible
- In the event of a full school closure, provide families and students with Zoom counselling session as requested. These can be accessed by calling the CatholicCare intake number 4254 9395 or email Intake@catholiccare.dow.org.au
The referral pathway to school counselling will remain the same as current processes via Principal, Pastoral Care Coordinator and Year Coordinators as applies to individual schools. Protocols for working collaboratively with school counsellor and school staff in this new environment will be shared with schools in the next few days. Schools are encouraged to collaborate and have conversations with their school counsellor(s) regarding ongoing communication. Students and parents will be able to book an appointment with our CatholicCare counsellors by contacting the CatholicCare intake phone number 4254 9395 or email Intake@catholiccare.dow.org.au.
