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WHERE TO FROM HERE
Congratulations again for your support through the last three weeks and for last Thursday's Parent Teacher Interviews. Our learning through this time has been remarkable and your resilience very impressive. There will be emotional ups and downs and you do need to continue to look after yourselves with exercise and social connection.
After adjusting to learning from home and all the implications of online learning and teaching we now enter a period of some uncertainty.
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What will Premier Andrews decide?
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When will we return to school?
Dealing with the unknowns is always challenging so I believe we need to focus on what we do know.
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The National Cabinet has brought it’s next meeting forward and they will now meet on Friday, 8th May
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The Victorian State of Emergency which began on the 16th of March ends on Monday, 11th May
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There will be announcements made by the Victorian Government on Monday, 11th May
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In the days following The Department of Education and Training (DET), the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) and Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM) will then provide official advice to schools as to what is to happen.
What do we do?
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Staff will plan for Schooling from home for the fortnight starting Monday, 11th May
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We will organise our “normal” pick up drive through for Thursday, 7th May between 8:30am and 5:30pm and Saturday, 10th May between 10:00am and 12:00pm (Change from Sunday as Sunday is Mother’s day)
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We will continue to provide daily videos for P-4 and online Google meets every morning for Year 5 and 6.
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Google meets will be extended into small groups for some classes - Relevant classes and families will be advised
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School Leadership will plan to organise transition into whatever changes are advised by CECV.
During times of uncertainty we can sometimes focus on things out of our direct control and influence. I will continue to keep you informed of changes and updates and I encourage you to continue to share your feedback via the email address set up for you feedback@spbentleigheast.
ST PETER’S HOLIDAY - Monday, 11th May
In an attempt to balance work and wellbeing I have decided to declare Monday, 11th May a holiday from online learning for students, families and class teachers. No work will be set, no videos will be sent and families and staff can have a break from timetables and take a breath.
Knowing that some families will be concerned about keeping students busy Louise Van Corler, our Wellbeing leader, and Justin McCarthy our PE teacher will prepare you some activities that you can use if you wish but they will be completely optional. These will be emailed to you on Friday the 8th of May. Another idea would be to double up on Mother’s Day and have children spoil their mums for a second day!
PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS
Our adjustment to video Parent Teacher Interviews went fairly smoothly last Thursday. If your interview did not connect please email your child’s teacher and an alternative arrangement can be made.
FAREWELL
Mrs Kye Moore who has been at St Peter’s teaching our Year Three children since the beginning of 2017 commences her Parental leave at the beginning of next week. We are very excited for Kye as she begins her family and we look forward to sharing the exciting news in the near future.
WELCOME
A period of isolation is a challenging time to move states and schools. It is under these circumstances that we welcome the Parkins family to St Peter’s. Emerson has joined the Year 2AC class and Max has joined our Prep DG class. We look forward to school returning when we can welcome these children and their parents Jamie-Lee and Shane to the St Peter’s community face to face.
CREATIVE ARTS EXHIBITION
The Catholic Education Creative arts exhibition has had to go online. The link below will allow you to view all entrants in this exhibition. Schools are in alphabetical order so the four St Peter’s entries are pictures five to eight. Congratulations to last year’s Year Six students Keiva Kell, Charlotte King, James Gatto and Alexandra Henry for being selected to have their work exhibited. Congratulations also to our visual Arts Teacher Cate Sanders for providing these opportunities to our students.
MESSAGE FROM THE ARCHBISHOP
Archbishop Commensoli has provided this message to be shared with our school communities.
Message from Archbishop Commensoli
FINALLY
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY
In times of crisis and during election time education becomes a ‘football’ where everyone has an opinion and pressure is applied by governments. This COVID 19 crisis has seen the Federal Government and State Government at loggerheads about schools opening. Catholic Primary Schools in Victoria receive almost 80% of our funding from the Federal Government, while State Schools are funded fully by the State Government. That was why the Federal Education Minister said last week if Catholic and Independent Schools open then funding will be bought forward. (it was no extra funding).
St Catherine’s, St Paul’s and St Peter’s (and all Catholic Primary Schools in Victoria) will be directed by the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) about when we return and what that looks like. We cannot make that decision alone. In a statement last week, the CECV said: “The CECV is following the advice of the Chief Health Officer and working with the Victorian Department of Education and Training on developing a state-wide process for all schools to transition back to in-person teaching, and will provide an update once an approach has been agreed.”
We will know more on May 11th when the State of Emergency in Victoria ends and the State Government will make announcements about Stage 3 restrictions and whether Remote Learning will continue or whether we will transition back to school before the end of term.
It amazes me how much our world has changed in the last few months, it amazes me even more how adaptable human beings can be. The way in which schools have responded to this situation is an indication of staff's commitment to the children, their willingness to take risks and to learn new things. This is just what we expect of our students.
I am just in awe of the work our teachers are doing currently to minimise the disruption to the students’ learning but to also support their wellbeing. I thank them sincerely for the way in which they have gone above and beyond and for the countless additional hours they are committing to our schools currently. To our Office Staff and Learning Support Officers we say thank you for being there to answer phone calls to support families and assist the students that have to attend school.
To the parents, l know it is an extremely difficult task to work from home and support your children with remote learning, but I want to say congratulations on the wonderful job you are doing.
It is in times of uncertainty that you see what sort of leader someone is. I want to acknowledge the absolute outstanding leadership of Michael Hanney (St Peter’s), Catherine Tammesild (St Paul’s) and Lynda O’Donnell (St Catherine’s) during this time. They have not stopped since the news broke that we would be having remote learning for Term 2. Keeping on top of updates from CECV, preparing information that needed to be distributed to parents, responding to emails, supporting staff and planning with their teams around what Term 2 would look like. The time commitment they have put in behind the scenes needs to be acknowledged and for families to be aware of. Be confident in the great leadership each school has - it will get us through this situation.
We will come out of this and we will have learnt a great deal about ourselves and some of the learnings we take from it will make us better people and better educators.
The latest version of ‘Catholic Education Today’ can be found on the Catholic Education Melbourne website.
Stay Safe
Michael Juliff
Co-Ordinating Principal
THE GIFT OF HUMILITY
In his writings St Benedict writes about HUMILITY and PRIDE. Sr. Joan Chittister (a Benedictine Nun) expands of the sixth step of Humility, “To confess and believe that one is unworthy and useless for anything”. We may cringe at the language but the whole concept of humility is one which as Christians we are asked to strive towards. Humility is certainly not a secular word and is deemed unnecessary in a world which seeks success. But in the Christian world humility is a gift and Jesus is our role model in what it means to live a life of humility.
Below are St Benedict’s steps of Humility and Pride and then Sr Joan’s reflections. Worth thinking about in this time of COVID-19 and how were are coping and dealing with isolation.
Grab a cup of tea and take time to read and reflect.
Edward Dooley (Mission and Faith Leader)
Life will become its own reward
The sixth step of humility is to be “content with the lowest and most menial treatment.” We might say, “to be content with less than the best.”
There is nothing in the sixth step of humility and its call for simplicity, authenticity, and self-effacement that speaks of attractiveness to a modern world.
“Getting ahead,” at least in a modern culture, smacks of getting things, getting power, getting status, getting noticed. But the sixth step of humility instructs us not to want any kind of special treatment at all, which implies, of course, that special treatment has nothing to do with genuine freedom. So what are we to think? Where does happiness lie in a consumer society if not in consumption?
The Rule gives us three criteria by which to assess our likelihood of ever being truly happy. Not simply satisfied, that is, but genuinely contented by life. Happy.
First, if you have not attached your sense of self to having the best of everything, you won’t be crushed when you see someone with things that cost more than yours. You’ll be happy to have what you truly need. Second, if you don’t need to be the centre of attention, you will be happy just to be part of a group of good people who do good things together. The thirst for attention is a toxic brew. If it comes—in athletics, in government, in public activities—you will be scrutinized. And if it doesn’t, you’ll be depressed. Third, if you don’t expect a constant deluge of praise, privilege, and preeminence, then not experiencing those things will not disturb you.
The Rule is straightforward: If you do not depend on exemption, advantage, and personal prerogatives to measure your happiness, your success, your life will become its own reward. A walk by the lake at night will dilute all the pressures of the day. An appointment for supper with friends will be enough to get you up happy in the morning. Then whatever the turn of the social system around you, your love of life unadorned and unaffected will sustain you.
The sixth step of humility gives us the opportunity to come to know ourselves in the raw. What we are without masks and costumes to protect us from the eyes of the world is where real happiness lies. Even more, humility allows others to know us down to the bone. It is a moment of clarity. It tells us that we are enough for ourselves. It gives us the opportunity to become everything we are, everything we can be, rather than find ourselves pinioned on the false opinion of others.
Humility punctures all the definitions of happiness a world made of plastic has to offer. It’s about authenticity, simplicity, and truth. It’s about being exactly who we are, no more, no less. It’s about being satisfied rather than being intoxicated.
Humility spares us from having to put on airs, keep up, impress, or mask. We don’t need to pretend that we are anyone we aren’t. We only need to become the best of what we are.
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