Dear Families,

I hope everyone is enjoying whatever coverage of the Olympics that they can manage to watch. It’s good to see the Aussies doing well in the pool at the moment.

Whether you love the Olympics or not, it’s hard not to appreciate the time, effort, tenacity and determination of the athletes who are competing in the hope of winning Olympic gold. It’s interesting to watch how teams and individuals celebrate their successes, but also how they handle the heartbreak and disappointment of not winning.

Here at Lumen Christi, our schoolwide expectations are to be respectful, responsible and resilient and we try to explicitly teach what each of these things are and look like in practice. Resilience is an interesting skill for children to learn and a hard one to navigate as a parent because it’s hard to see our children be upset, to fail at something or be disappointed. Watching how the athletes at the Olympics handle setbacks could be a really useful tool for us as teachers and parents.

For example, athletes who don’t win often cry. It’s important that our children know that it’s okay to show emotion. When our children fail at something, feel hurt or disappointed, it’s important that as adults we help them name their emotions and allow them to feel those emotions in healthy ways like crying.

Athletes who fail or don’t win will look to the positives and engage in positive self-talk. Just this morning I heard a swimmer talking about how they were disappointed in their overall performance but how they still had so much to be proud of. In situations where there can only be one winner, this
is really important. We need to help our children develop the skills to talk positive to themselves – eg: “Even though I didn’t get chosen for the team this time, I know I trained really hard so I know I did my best”.

Athletes who fail or don’t win make a plan for the future. They analyse their performance, identify problems in their technique and then get back to their training in order to improve for next time. They remain hopeful for the future. It’s important to help and encourage our children to see that there are many other opportunities in the future and to try again.

At Lumen Christi we run a consistent, whole school program every Monday afternoon called “Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships” where our children are explicitly taught how to identify emotions, problem solve and engage in positive self talk in order to grow in their Resilience. The Victorian Curriculum calls this learning “Capabilities”, which we teach to support the learning and growth of our students to become well rounded and successful learners in order to become confident and competent young people and adults in the future.

An Athlete’s Prayer
God, let me play well but fairly.
Help me to learn something that matters
once the game is over.
Let competition make me strong but never hostile.
Always let me help my opponent up.
Never catch me rejoicing in the adversity of others.
If I know victory, allow me to be happy; if I am denied, keep me from envy.
Remind me that sports are just games.
If through athletics I set an example,
let it be a good one. Amen
Saint Sebastian, Patron Saint of Athletes, pray for us.

Have a wonderful week ahead,
Sally

Please take note of these dates for your family calendar

TERM 3 2024

Week 3: 31st July: Regional Soccer- Girls team  

Week 4: 6th August - Meerkat Productions Visiting

              8th August - Combined Parish Mass @ Sacred Heart

              9th August - P&F Disco

Week 5: 14th and 15th August- Parent/Teachers Interviews 

              15th- Distract Basketball- Churchill Lesiure Centre

Week 6: 19th August - Bookweek Dress Up Day

Week 7: 28th August- 2025 Foundation Transition session 1- 2:15pm-3:00pm

Week 8:

Week 9: 11th September - School Concert Night

Week 10: 17th September - Divison Athletics

                  19th September - Last Day Term 3, 3pm Finish

                                         - Footy Day and Hot Dog Lunch (P&F)

                                        - 2025 Foundation Transition session 2- 2:15pm-3:00pm

                20th September - Pupil Free Day (Professional Learning)

Our fabulous award winners for week 2!

Our Aussie of the Month for July going to Ashley Sheary in 4/5!

Our 2024 Book Week Dress Up Day will be held on Monday 19th August. This is a fantastic day where students and teachers celebrate books and Australian Children's Authors and illustrators by engaging in a range of activities. 

The 2024 Book Week Theme is "Reading is Magic".

CHILD SAFETY & WELLBEING

Lumen Christi Primary School is a child safe school. We are committed to embedding a culture of Child Safety, adhering to the Victorian Child Safe Standards: Managing the Risk of Child Abuse in Schools and School Boarding Premises (Ministeral Order No. 1359).

We believe that ensuring the safety of the students in our care is an integral part of who we are as a Catholic faith community. The school acts in accordance with the Ministerial Order through policies, procedures, measures and practices, staff training and, ultimately, through the strategies used in working with the students and families within our school community.

We continue to maintain and develop a safe and supportive learning environment where staff are focused on engaging students in meaningful, relevant and challenging learning experiences.

If at any time you have any issues or concerns you feel you need to raise please contact our Principal: Sally Darby or our Child Safety Officers: Kristie Smith, Elly Smith or Janelle Szkwarek on 5122 2231