Prep School
Prep value of the week: humility
Being humble means considering others as important as yourself. You are thoughtful of their needs and willing to be of service. You don’t expect others or yourself to be perfect. You learn from your mistakes. When you achieve great things, humility reminds you to be thankful instead of boastful.
Attribute of the week: open-minded
When you are open-minded, you understand and appreciate your own culture and personal history, and you are open to the perspectives, values, and traditions of other individuals and communities. You seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and you are willing to grow from the experience.
A Message from the School Counsellor: Exploring worry
What is Worry?
It is perfectly normal for children to experience worry, but when these feelings become overwhelming, they can impact their wellbeing. Anxiety is more than just feeling stressed or worried. While stress and anxious feelings are common responses to pressure, they usually pass once the stressful situation has passed or the ‘stressor’ is removed (Jorm et al. 2019). It’s important to note that anxious feelings can also serve a useful purpose, helping us avoid danger and perform at our best. According to the Australian Government’s Institute of Health and Welfare, one in seven Australians aged 4 to 17 experience a mental health condition, and anxiety disorders are among the most common.
Housemaster assembly
This term, our students are delving into the topic of ‘worry’ in their housemaster social emotional learning (SEL) sessions. Understanding this emotion is crucial for our young learners as it helps them navigate the challenges they face daily.
In our housemaster assemblies, we aim to complement the work being done in the classroom SWITCH programme, where students are learning to identify their emotions and independently access tools and strategies to manage their big feelings. Our focus will be on helping students understand that worry is a natural part of life and exploring ways to recognise and manage it effectively.
Students will learn about what constitutes a worry and how recognising these feelings is the first step towards managing them. Through entertaining activities, they will discover techniques to alleviate their worries and reflect on how they can support their peers and family members who might be experiencing similar feelings. This approach not only helps them manage their own emotions but also fosters empathy and understanding towards others.
SchoolTV
We encourage parents to utilise the SchoolTV resource available on myChurchie, which offers a wealth of interviews, podcasts, books, journal articles, and fact sheets. These resources can provide additional support and guidance if your child is struggling with excessive worries. Please see the link here.
Reavely NJ, Wright JM, Morgan AJ, Bassilios B, Hopwood M, Allen NB, Purcell R. A Guide to What Works for Anxiety: 3rd Edition. Beyond Blue: Melbourne 2019.
Year 3
This term, the Year 3 boys have been exploring the importance of Celebrations and Commemorations in our Unit of Inquiry – How We Express Ourselves. Last Friday, the boys built on their knowledge of this concept by interviewing parent volunteers about different celebrations and commemorations. The boys asked ‘thick’ and ‘thin’ questions to gather information about the topic and deepen their understanding.
Book Week
Book Week parade
This year’s Book Week parade is being held on Monday 19 August in The Campbell Centre, commencing at 8:40 am.
Our Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 boys will dress up as their favourite book characters for our Book Week parade. The boys in Years 3 to 6 are also invited to join the parade if they would like to. Boys are to come to school in their costumes with their blue and grey uniforms in their bags so that they can change following the parade.
We will again be presenting prizes for the best homemade costumes. In the interest of reducing, reusing, and recycling, we are encouraging boys to work with their parents to create a costume from things that they already have at home. Homemade costumes can, of course, include a shop-bought element – for example, a red t-shirt if a character needs one.
An alternative costume option for our Book Week parade is to make and wear a sandwich board costume. Sandwich boards are made using two large pieces of cardboard which are joined using shoulder straps. The boys wear the sandwich board – with one piece of cardboard at the front and the other at the back of their body. The sandwich board could be decorated by the boys to show the cover of their favourite book or characters from a book. For instructions about making a sandwich board sign, follow this link.
More detailed information about our Book Week parade will be posted on the myChurchie year level pages.
Year 4 to 6 Magic Competition
This year’s Book Week theme is ‘Reading is Magic’. During lunchtimes in the Prep Library on Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 August, boys are invited to participate in a magic competition. To enter, there is an entry fee of $10 per student. This money will be donated to Room to Read, an international charity that builds and staffs libraries and classrooms in 20 developing nations around the world. If your son wishes to enter, please register at the Magic Competition Payment Link.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Mrs Belinda Booth at belinda.booth@churchie.com.au.
Prep Support Group meeting
The next Prep Support Group meeting will be held on Thursday 1 August, commencing at 8:30 am in the Brenan Pavilion (behind the pool).
The Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) holiday
Wednesday 14 August is a public holiday for the Royal Queensland Show (Ekka). There will be no school on that day.
Mark Wyer
Head of Preparatory School