November 2020

NEWSLETTER ARTICLES

WELCOME TO THE TERM 4 ISSUE OF PARENT TALK.

Welcome to the latest edition of Parent Talk. This newsletter is the place to find out all the latest about CCSP activities and to read about items of interest to parents and carers of children and young people in Catholic schools. We encourage you to share our newsletters with your school community and we welcome feedback and suggestions for future articles of interest. If you would like to share any thoughts with us, please contact Clare Dunstan, our media and communications officer. clare.dunstan@ccsp.catholic.edu.au

We send our best wishes to families and students finishing their HSC exams, preparing for secondary school and those commencing school in 2021.

Thank you to all teachers who support students’ education journey, we hope you enjoyed World Teacher’s Day.

Pope Francis’ latest encyclical Fratelli Tutti aims to promote a universal aspiration of fraternity and social friendship. We will take a closer look at this in this edition of Parent Talk.

This term we will hold our Annual General Meeting and will welcome new Parent representatives onto the Council for 2021. See our next issue for details.

Regards,
Peter Grace, Executive Director

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BEST WISHES TO HSC STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES

HSC students and their families are in our thoughts and prayers. HSC written exams conclude on 11 November 2020. Student results are available on 18 December 2020.

This year’s HSC involves a cohort of 76,310 students who are studying one or more HSC courses in 2020. A total of 68,673 students are on track to complete their HSC program – this makes the HSC the most popular school credential in Australia this year. Most of these students started school in 2008. Around 350 students will sit HSC exams overseas.

There are 120 written exams totalling around 350 hours. 96 exam committees and around 300 committee members developed the written exam papers. Each exam was reviewed at least six times before more than 700,000 exam papers were printed. The 750 exam centres are staffed by over 7,500 supervisors and presiding officers.

Finally, here’s some HSC exam numerical trivia on 2020 HSC items: 26 km of security wrapping; 51 km of security strapping; 7,000 boxes; 17,000 consignments tracked; 35,000 papers quality checked; 40,000 return envelopes; 1,975,000 items to pack; 50 tonnes of steel cabinets; 8,200,000 exam pages scanned. Thank you to NESA for providing these details!

For more information on the 2020 HSC, including where student are studying, top student names, multiple birth numbers, and the top HSC courses and languages, go to the link below.

If you are looking for more resources to assist your HSC student stay healthy go to education.nsw.gov.au/stay-healthy-hsc

CREATING A LITTLE “ORDINARY MAGIC” OR RESILIENCE AT HOME

Have you ever thought about someone in your community who grew up in challenging circumstances, has made it through, and now leads a happy and fulfilled life? Most likely this person developed resilience to help them deal with their adversities.

Resilience is the ability to bounce back and recover after adversity. Children are not born with resilience; it is something that must be developed. Ann Masten, a developmental psychology researcher, refers to resilience as “ordinary magic” -something that can be taught.

In an article published in The Conversation, Vanessa LoBue, an assistant professor of Psychology at Rutgers University in Newark, US, explains why some kids thrive amidst serious challenges, while others are overwhelmed by them. “Researchers in my field are working to identify what helps children overcome obstacles and flourish when the odds are stacked against them,” A/Prof LoBue wrote.

Parents can help children develop resilience through a variety of methods:Listening to children talk about their fears;Trusting children to try new things and letting them fail; Developing a network of positive role models who your children can speak to - these could be neighbours, coaches, relatives or friends; Teaching them some breathing techniques to help out in a stressful situation.

Articles in both The Educator and The Conversation refer to the recently deceased Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a model of resilience. Bader Ginsburg grew up in a working class suburb, and overcame many adversities to become one of only four women to serve on the US Supreme Court. If you have access to Netflix “On the basis of Sex” is a movie based on her life. It is suitable to watch with children.

Both articles have more information about resilience.

VALUING AND APPRECIATING TEACHERS MAY ASSIST YOUR CHILD TO REACH THEIR POTENTIAL

A recent article in Spotlight written by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership highlights the influence teachers have in children’s lives as mentors and role models.

The article mentions several research projects that show there is a positive association between the value society places on teachers and student outcomes.

Unfortunately, many Australian teachers feel unappreciated. Some media coverage of teaching does not reflect wider community attitudes. World Teachers Day (Australia) celebrated on October 30 2020, is an opportunity for the community to thank teachers for the positive impact they have on the lives of children.

CCSP would like to thank all teachers for their efforts, especially this year when they have had to go to such great lengths to provide continuity of learning for our children while at the same time keeping them and their families safe.

WHO WILL BE AWARDED THE 2020 ROGER O’SULLIVAN MEMORIAL AWARD?

Judging has commenced for the annual award.

Congratulations to the school communities who have submitted entries in the annual Roger O'Sullivan Memorial Award for Family, School and Community Partnerships for Learning.

A panel of judges has commenced reviewing the submissions. Judging will be finalised and the award winner notified in late November 2020.

POSITIVE PARENT ENGAGEMENT INFLUENCES STUDENTS’ OUTCOMES

Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA) is continuing to develop their Gearing Up for Parent Engagement website. Minister for Education Dan Tehan MP launched the new case studies on 15 September.

You can visit the website

Read the full press release.

NAIDOC WEEK 8-15 NOVEMBER 2020

National NAIDOC Week 2020 celebrations will be held from the 8-15 November. The November dates follow the decision by the National NAIDOC Committee (NNC) to postpone NAIDOC Week from the original July dates due to the impacts and uncertainty from the escalating Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The postponement was aimed at protecting elders and those in communities with chronic health issues from the disastrous impacts of COVID19.

NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

For a list of events near you visit the naidoc.org.au website.

EDUCATION UPDATE

As part of the NSW curriculum reforms, NESA is consulting on Aboriginal Languages Kindergarten to Year 10. The feedback will assist in the development of the new syllabus.

You can provide feedback by completing an online survey, attending an online consultation meeting or making a written submission. Consultation will be open until 20 December 2020.

POPE FRANCIS’ LATEST ENCYCLICAL, FRATELLI TUTTI

On 3 October 2020 Pope Francis signed his third Encyclical “Fratelli Tutti”. The Pope describes it as a “Social Encyclical”. It aims to promote a universal aspiration of fraternity and social friendship.

An encyclical is the highest form of Papal communication written to clarify or command our behaviours. Pope Francis issued Laudato si on 24 May 2015 and Lumen fidei 29 June 2013. Francis reveals the Covid-19 pandemic “unexpectedly erupted” as he was “writing this letter”. The global health emergency has helped to demonstrate that “no one can face life in isolation” and that the time has come to “dream, then, as a single human family” in which we are “brothers and sisters all” (Par 8).

Vatican News has published a short summary of “Fratelli tutti” written by Isabella Piro. You can read it here:

The paragraph Recovering Kindness from Chapter Six, Dialogue and Friendship in Society may resonate with parents and carers.

Kindness frees us from the cruelty that at times infects human relationships, from the anxiety that prevents us from thinking of others, from the frantic flurry of activity that forgets that others also have a right to be happy. Often nowadays we find neither the time nor the energy to stop and be kind to others, to say “excuse me”, “pardon me”, “thank you”. Yet every now and then, miraculously, a kind person appears and is willing to set everything else aside in order to show interest, to give the gift of a smile, to speak a word of encouragement, to listen amid general indifference. If we make a daily effort to do exactly this, we can create a healthy social atmosphere in which misunderstandings can be overcome and conflict forestalled. Kindness ought to be cultivated; it is no superficial bourgeois virtue. Precisely because it entails esteem and respect for others, once kindness becomes a culture within society it transforms lifestyles, relationships and the ways ideas are discussed and compared. Kindness facilitates the quest for consensus; it opens new paths where hostility and conflict would burn all bridges. (Par 224)

COVID-RELATED MENTAL HEALTH CAMPAIGN

The federal government is again urging Australians to take care of their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, launching a new campaign that will be translated into 15 different languages. The "How's your head today?" campaign urges people to prioritise their mental health, raise awareness about how to identify when something is wrong and encourage people to seek help.

COVID-19 has had a significant effect on the mental health and wellbeing of many people across the country. The pandemic has caused isolation, job losses and financial stress for many families, with crisis organisations and suicide prevention services experiencing higher demand. Being rolled out in so many languages, this new initiative seeks to overcome the language barriers faced by culturally diverse Australians and to assist them in accessing mental health support.

COVID-19 UPDATES AND LATEST HEALTH GUIDELINES

To assist you with accurate information and the latest guidelines, we have included some links to government pages. Latest health guidelines visit

Updates about latest locations of cases

Restrictions for NSW/ACT residents are regularly reviewed and updated by the government.

Here are some helpful links for the latest information

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