Term 1, Week 2 Thursday 9th February 2017

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1 Term 1, Week 2 Thursday 9th February 2017 Our students are enjoying the Gynamstics. Lots of fun and happy faces. During the first two weeks of term we have introduced our Christian Meditation at the start of each day and have also added a mindfulness meditation. This week we have looked at and practiced a JAM meditation Just a Minute. Has your child said anything about it? Why not ask? The modern world seems to be literally and metaphorically driving us to distraction more than at any other time in history. This is contributed to by its faster pace, the overuse of technology and the unquestioning adoption of multitasking. Among other problems, poor attention is associated with impaired learning, memory, emotional development and empathy. Amidst this are also rising rates of poor mental health, stress, poor self-esteem and ADHD among children and adolescents. To prevent and manage problems such as these we need to address the root causes of the problem. This is where mindfulness comes in. There is an enormous need for children to develop the skills they will need to cope with the modern world including learning to manage attention and developing skills in stress management, compassion and resilience.

2 There is a rapidly growing research based on the positive role of mindfulness for healthy childhood development and learning. Below I have attached our JAM meditation for all the family. Why not try and do it together for just a minute or two. During this year I will be adding other mindful meditations to the newsletter for you all. Benefits of Mindfulness Mindfulness has been scientifically proven to: Decrease stress and anxiety Allow connection with the self and values Bring a sense of peacefulness and clarity Increase self-awareness Develop self-acceptance and confidence Bring emotional balance and stability Decrease worrying thoughts Allow compassion and empathy Help to view experiences positively Decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression Improve physical symptoms Improve sleep Strengthen the immune system Dramatically improve concentration and memory Mindfulness is consciously bringing awareness to you re here and now experience with openness, interest and receptiveness (Harris 2006) MINDFULNESS MEDITATION JA M Take just a minute to stop, close your eyes and pay attention what you are feeling in your body and notice as many sensations as you can. Then return attention to your breath.

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5 "Special thanks Vanessa & Vance Heredia for their inspiration and vision to make this day happen."

6 Patterson Lakes Netball Club is looking for players born 2007 & 2008 to play in the under 9 s and under 11 s competition at Sturdee St, Chelsea this season. Please contact Nathen on if interested. Training Tuesday s 4:30-5:30pm and games Saturday morning Year 6 Reunion Past students of the 1967 Grade 6 Graduation Class are planning a 50 Year Reunion for Saturday 22nd July 2017, to be held at St. Josephs. If you were a member of that class, or know anyone who might have been, please contact the organiser, Mark Dunn, on or at. More information can also be obtained by visiting

7 The Boon Wurrung Family School Partnerships (BWFSP) cluster would like to welcome back all our returning families and to extend a warm welcome to all our new families. We are a cluster of 8 catholic schools working together to improve outcomes in education for our young people, by engaging and partnering with families and community. Family participation in education is twice as predictive of students academic success as family socioeconomic status Epstein, 2005 Parents and families are children s first teachers and they continue to help their children to learn and thrive throughout the school years. When their family s love and support is combined with the expert knowledge of teachers, it can have a significant and lasting impact. The BWFSP cluster includes ALL families, staff and students across the cluster. The BWFSP will include a fortnightly feature in your school newsletter and will run a range of initiatives throughout the year including workshops for families, community conversations, learning conversations and some parent lead initiatives to name a few. We are always open to input from families. To provide feedback or suggestions on how we can work with and support our families better please either contact your school s Principal, or the Cluster Engagement Leader Justine Shachar at shaj@jpc.edu.au. If you have not already completed our brief survey distributed last year please do so via this link. Stay tuned to your school newsletter and other communication forums for our next feature. In the meantime please follow the Boon Wurrung Family School Partnership Cluster Facebook page for articles on parenting, education, health and anything that will support us to support our young people. Here you will also finds information on supports and events within your local community and hear a little bit about the other cluster schools. And finally you may view our film on partnerships here. This film was developed by two John Paul College Students Olivia Grsic and Tom Carvosso in collaboration with the primary schools for our cluster last year. Didn t they all do a great job!

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