School Vision

St Matthew’s School empowers children to embrace life-long learning, and grow and develop as God intends.

O Glorious St. Matthew,
in your Gospel you portray Jesus
as the longed-for Messiah
who fulfilled the Prophets
of the Old Covenant and
as the Lawgiver who founded
a Church of the New Covenant.
Obtain for us the grace to see
Jesus living in His Church and
to follow His teaching in our lives
on Earth so that we may live forever
with Him in heaven.
Amen.

Dear Parents & Carers,

Welcome to the last newsletter for this term.

St Matthew’s Day

We will be celebrating St Matthew’s Feast Day on Friday 23rd September. We will commence with a whole school Mass at 9:30am at St Matthew’s Parish.  Over the course of the day, students will complete some activities in their classroom about St Matthew. We will conclude the day with ‘St Matthew’s Got Talent’, showcasing the wonderful gifts and talents of our Pre-Primaries to Year 6 students.

NAPLAN Student Reports

On Friday, students in Years 3 and 5 will bring home their NAPLAN student reports. An information leaflet will accompany the report. Please feel free to contact your child’s classroom teacher should you wish to discuss your child’s results in detail.

Returning Library Books Tuesday 20 September

Parents are reminded that all Library Books must be returned during Library lessons on Tuesday this week. Time to look under the bed and behind the lounge!!

Test Books

Over the course of this year, teachers have added a minimum of one test from Literacy, Numeracy and/or Religious Education to the Test Book each fortnight. This book will be sent home on Monday 19 September for parents to view. All Test Books must be returned by Wednesday 21 September.

Mary Poppins – Whole School Musical

Principal Focus – How to Keep Content “G”

As we rush towards our Term 3 break, I thought it was worthwhile looking at how we can keep our kids cybersafe these holidays.

E-safety.gov.au explores many cybersafety topics for children and adults. As the website explains:

Our purpose is to help safeguard all Australians from online harms and to promote safer, more positive online experiences.

We use research, evidence and experience to lead and advise on online safety issues. This is how we deliver comprehensive services that are compassionate and focused on people.

I would particularly like to highlight their information on explicit content. Naturally, we would all like to think our kids are not accessing this material, however, I am sorry to say that this is just not the reality. According to the Australian Institue of Family Studies, “Nearly half of children between the ages of 9–16 experience regular exposure to sexual images.” I’m sure you agree that the scary word in this statement is “regular”.

Pretending it is not happening, simply can not be an option. Your child may not be at risk today, but what about tomorrow? And do they know what to do if they do come across something inappropriate? Who do they tell? And, just as importantly, do you know what to do to help? Overreacting can be just as damaging as doing nothing:

• Stay calm
  Try to approach the situation calmly. If you are upset or angry, your child may feel like they cannot come to you about other concerns in the future.

Thank them for being brave enough to let you know and reassure them that you will sort it out together.

• Listen, assess, pause
  If your child has accidentally viewed explicit content, ask them to fill you in on the details so you can help manage the situation.

For example, find out how they found it, where it happened, who (if anyone) showed it to them and how they felt when they saw it.

It may be tempting to give a big lecture right there on the spot but sometimes this is not the best option. Take some time to plan your approach to the topic. You will have a better outcome if everyone stays calm.

• Reassure your child they are not in trouble
  Try to understand rather than criticise or punish.

When children fear punishment, they may close down emotionally. They may be reluctant to talk, and may struggle to listen or understand. This could lead your child to hide their behaviour or not want to approach you in the future.

Try not to remove your child’s device or online access completely, as they will see it as punishment.

If they say they have not been watching (or been shown) pornography but you know they have, it is best to tell them what you know rather than getting mad at them for lying. The conversation is likely to be ineffective if you are upset and they are defensive.

• Be sensitive to how they feel
  It is important to talk with your child about how the content made them feel. This makes the conversation less confronting and allows them to talk more openly about their experience.

Does your child feel good, bad, safe, scared, uncomfortable, curious, repulsed or something else? Any or all of these feelings are normal reactions.

Seek professional help if you are concerned your child is very upset or struggling to process what they have seen.

Encourage your child to talk to you about any questions they have about what they come across online. Let them know they can talk to you at anytime.

I encourage all parents to access the e.safety.gov.au website that addresses this content.

Happy, safe holidays everyone!,

Susan Milton