Grandparents and Special Grand-Friends Day – Friday, 25 October

We are delighted to invite all grandparents and grand-friends to a special day of celebration at St Matthew’s Primary School next Friday, 25 October. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to share their school experience with the special people in their lives who mean so much to them.

The day will begin at 10.00am on the Junior Playground, where we will come together for a prayer celebration and some musical performances. This will be followed by classroom visits, giving our guests a chance to see the wonderful learning happening in our school. Afterwards, we invite our visitors to enjoy a morning tea in the School Hall. 

In addition, from 9.30am, there will be a Book Cow book stall set up in the hall, where grandparents and grand friends can purchase and donate a book to our school library. This is a meaningful way to contribute to the joy of reading for all our students.

We look forward to seeing you on this special day as we celebrate the cherished role our grandparents and grand-friends play in our student's lives.

Event Details:
Date: Friday, 25 October
Time: From 10.00am
Location: Junior Playground (Book Cow Stall from 9.30am in the Hall)

We can’t wait to welcome you!

The School Explorers - School Transition Program

Next Friday, we welcome our future 2025 Kindergarten class to St Matthew's with the commencement of The School Explorers – School Transition Program. 

The first session, 'Solve It!' will focus on early numeracy concepts and the development of mathematical understanding and skills.

We welcome all of our 2025 Kindergarten students and those who have not yet enrolled for school to take part in this program; please spread the word.  

We ask that the students attending sign the attendance sheet in the foyer and move into the school hall for the commencement of each session at 2.00 pm. Parents and carers are welcome to stay or drop off their children and return at the end of the session at 2.50 pm.

Do you know a child starting school next year? We would love for you to encourage them to visit! Please contact the office to book a tour and learn more about what St Matthew’s Primary School has to offer. We are currently accepting enrolments for our 2025 Kindergarten and Year One classes.

Day for Daniel – Wear Red for Child Safety!

Next Monday, 28 October, St Matthew's students are invited to wear something red as we acknowledge Day for Daniel, an event dedicated to promoting child safety and awareness. Please note the red items can be accessories or clothing items; however, no red hairspray or zinc is permitted.

On this day, our students will participate in age-appropriate activities designed to educate them about personal safety, both in real life and online. These lessons will be guided by the valuable resources provided by the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, which works tirelessly to empower children and their families to adopt safe practices.

Term 4 School Fees were distributed via email earlier this week.

2024 Fees are due by Week 4 (Nov 8) unless payment is being made by regular instalments.

Please contact the front office if you haven’t received your fees or have any questions.

Friendology

St Matthew’s is proud to be a URSTRONG school. URSTRONG provides a friendship skills curriculum, Friendology 101, that helps students establish and maintain healthy relationships, manage conflict with kindness, and increase their overall resilience. 

Student conflict can be classified into two categories: Friendship Fires & Mean-on-Purpose Behaviour. Most conflicts at primary school are Friendship Fires. These are normal, low-level friendship issues like misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and disagreements. Friendship Fires occur, for example, when a friend forgets your birthday or suddenly changes the rules of a game and says, “Ha! Ha! You’re out!” or when a friend asks someone else to be their work partner. 

Mean-on-Purpose Behaviour is far less common but happens from time to time. It is intentionally rude, cruel, or malicious behaviour that’s intended to hurt feelings, and it’s important that our children know how to deal with it when it happens. Here are the steps we encourage students to use:

1. Say a Quick Comeback in a firm voice. This is a short statement that works in all Mean-on-Purpose moments. It’s not mean and is said assertively: “Not cool!” “Excuse me.” “That’s not very kind.” “Woah!” “That’s unacceptable.” 
2. Immediately walk away. If you don’t, things might escalate, and you might say/do something you shouldn’t!
3. Report to a grown-up. Give the grown-up just the facts. We don’t report to ‘dob’ or ‘tattle’ – it’s just to provide the adult with information. 

We encourage you to join URSTRONG for free and support our school by sharing the same messages and teaching the same skills that we teach here at St Matthew’s. URSTRONG provides simple but meaningful language and skills to open up a dialogue with your children. You can join URSTRONG for free at https://urstrong.com/.

Petra Cole

Assistant Principal ┃Child Safe Advocate┃Classroom Support Teacher

Gospel Reading
Mark 10:35-45 - Jesus teaches that those who wish to be great must be the servant of all.

Background on the Gospel Reading

This Sunday, we read from the section of Mark’s Gospel that reports Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. In this part of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ words to his closest disciples seem to be intended to prepare them for the events that will occur in Jerusalem.

James and John ask to be given seats of honour when Jesus enters into his glory. Once again, the disciples seem to be selective in what they hear Jesus say. They want to share Jesus’ glory but do not appear to understand that his glory will be preceded by his suffering. Jesus notes their lack of understanding and predicts the suffering they will endure for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus says that the honour they seek is not his to give. When the other ten hear what James and John have asked, Mark reports that they are indignant. Jesus takes the opportunity to teach them.

Jesus explains the importance of service and sacrifice in the life of a disciple. Jesus acknowledges that his teaching is countercultural and contrasts the dynamics within the community of disciples with those shown by the rulers of the Gentiles.

We might take this opportunity to consider our models of authority and examine our own exercise of authority. On whose example do we model our leadership?

Family Connection

In the daily routine of family life, power struggles seem unavoidable. Whenever two or more people live together, there will be occasions of disagreement and attempts to exert influence over each other. Today’s Gospel can be an invitation to consider how authority is exercised in your household. There is a temptation to exercise our authority in ways that show our power over others. Especially when conflicts emerge, many of us rely upon the power we believe our role gives to us. Jesus teaches us that there is a more persuasive form of leadership. In these daily challenges, we have the opportunity to practise and teach the kind of service and leadership Jesus modelled for us in his ministry and in his passion and death.

Discuss as a family: Does everyone cooperate when asked? What happens when someone doesn’t cooperate? How are the conflicts that emerge resolved? Observe that conflicts based on power struggles in situations such as these seem unavoidable in family life. In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches how Christians are to show their authority over others. Read together today’s Gospel, Mark 10:35-45. After reading the Gospel, talk with your family about Jesus’ unique message to his disciples about how they are to exercise authority. Talk about ways in which you might apply Jesus’ words in your family life. Conclude by praying we may receive honour in God’s eyes by learning to serve others in love. Pray together the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis. 

Crazy Sock Fundraiser 

Get ready for a fun and colourful day to support a great cause! On Friday, November 15th (Week 5), we’re hosting a Crazy Sock Day in honour of Socktober. Wear your wildest, wackiest socks and join us in making a difference!

To participate, simply bring a gold coin donation. All funds raised will go directly to support Catholic Mission Australia and its incredible work around the world. This year Socktober focuses on children who have been abandoned, who are homeless, or who come from vulnerable backgrounds in Mongolia.

Let’s get creative with our sock styles and show our spirit for this important cause! We can’t wait to see your crazy socks!

Thank you for your generosity and support!

Upcoming Events 

Internet Safety in Year Four

Our Year 4 students have been learning about internet safety in class. Here are some of their flyers promoting safe internet use. Well done, Year 4.

Welcome back for Term 4!

Canberra Raiders Northside League Tag Gala Day

Firstly, we have put together two teams for the Canberra Raiders Northside League Tag Gala Day. This is a social day where participation and having fun is the goal of the day. If your child is in Years 5 or 6 and is interested in playing, please tick the attending button on the Compass event. 

Softball Clinics

This term, students will be participating in softball clinics run by Gecko Sports. The clinic will run from Weeks 3-6. 

Sports Superstar!

Well done to Indigo Pigram in 4B! Indi competed in her ACT gymnastics competition over two weekends. 

In her first competition, she placed second in vault, third in beam, 5th in floor and second overall for her level. 

In her second competition, Indi placed second in vault, third on bar, fifth on floor, sixth on beam and third overall for her level. 

Well done, Indigo! 

Contributions

If your child has any sporting accomplishments throughout the term and is happy to have them featured in the newsletter, could you please send any information/pictures to Mr. Payne at dillon.payne@cg.catholic.edu.au?