Newsletter

Dear Families and Friends,

Last Friday we celebrated the beginning of the school year with a beautiful mass. Thank you to the families and friends and visitors from the Catholic Education Office for joining us for our celebration. At the Mass, we commissioned our School Captains for 2020. Congratulations to Jakarli Lee,

Jay Churly and Harrison Scott. They have already begun fulfilling their role as Captains by joining with me, and other students from schools across Darwin, in the Commemorative Service for the 78th Anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin. We hope that, through their attendance, the older generation has the opportunity to pass the baton of remembrance to our younger Australians, so they too may understand the significance of this historic event, and help ensure that our nation never forgets the horror of war and the value of peace.

St Francis of Assisi and Play Therapy Northern Territory have formed a partnership to support the wellbeing of our children at the school. From the Australasia Pacific Play Therapy Association (APPTA): “Play Therapy is founded on a number of theoretical models whereby the trained play therapist utilizes the power of play, within a therapeutic relationship, to relieve suffering, prevent or resolve emotional and behavioural difficulties and to achieve optimal growth and development of children (or older individuals).” If this is a service you believe could benefit your child please contact the office for further information or look at their website at www.playtherapy.com.au. Our play therapist, Heather, will begin next Tuesday at the school.

Last week I mentioned it was Safer Internet Day. I talked about the increase in the availability of online games and social media platforms. These increases and changes are happening so quickly that it makes my head spin but as a parent, I know it is my responsibility to keep up to date in regards to what is happening in this arena. The latest craze is TikTok. TikTok is the destination for short-form mobile videos and our children are using them to post images of themselves but at the same time naively sharing information about themselves. We encourage parents to supervise and check privacy settings with their children.