Bethany Christian School

Bethany Christian School

Newsletter

Week 7Term 22022

Our reception students visited the Farm Barn in Hahndorf and had so much fun.

From the Principal

Welcome to our Week 7 newsletter for Term 2. This week we began with the Queen’s Birthday public holiday which was good timing in providing a break from usual routines.

Our teachers met together last Friday to work through some resources that we have created to continue to help our students to understand and apply their knowledge of what it means to become agentic learners. This is the idea that we each have a purpose, are responsible and need to be reflective, which helps us to ensure that we grow in our learning together. These three aspects of agency help us keep moving forward while deepening our understanding of ourselves and others. One of the resources is a poster that I have included for you to see. It includes characters created by students and has language that will help remind us of who we are becoming. We have a wonderful staff here at Bethany who continue to show their professionalism and care through the way they continue to keep on learning.

This Friday we were planning on holding our Primary Athletics day however with the extreme amount of rain we have had, our oval as well as the rear oval are too wet to use. It is very disappointing to cancel such a wonderful event and I do want to thank the Sports Department for their efforts in preparing for the day.

Next Thursday our SRC are holding a Casual/Pyjama Day to raise money for Hope Village who have had a particularly challenging past two years. It is wonderful to see the generosity of our students leading the way as they chose to make a difference for others.

Our Year 1 students will be heading to the zoo on Friday 1st July as a culmination of their animal studies this term. It will be a fun way to enjoy seeing animals firsthand that they have seen in books and online. First-hand experience is so important for all of us as we learn. 

Our Year 3 & 4 students are booked in for swimming lessons in the last week of the term and we hope this will go ahead. 

Thank you to those of you who have kept your children home when they are unwell. We appreciate the care that is being expressed in our community. I am always thankful to God for you and the privilege we have in educating children in a Christian school to develop character, inspire greatness, serve communities and impact nations.

Have a wonderful weekend.

God bless,


Wendy Matear

Principal

 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Matthew 20: 28

Deputy's Corner

I trust you all enjoyed your long weekend with your family. Winter has certainly made its presence known, and with it comes the shorter days. The Winter Solstice will be on Tuesday the 21st and Adelaide will experience its shortest day of the year with only 9 hours and 48 minutes of sunlight! The good news is that our sunlit hours will increase from then on.  

Last Wednesday we had a visit from some of our old scholars in Temple Christian College, who came to advertise the Year 11 Fundraiser, open for our Year 5 and 6 students to attend on Wednesday 15th of June. They were excited to have the opportunity to purchase a range of hot and cold foods and beverages. Not even the sudden heavy rain shower dampened their experience.

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eSafety

Some of our students have been having difficulties online while using their own devices over the weekends or after school hours. Cyber safety and healthy cyber behaviour are taught explicitly during their Computing classes and in class with their classroom teachers. The eSafety Commissioner has a very comprehensive website which has a range of resources for everyone to access. I have added a direct copy of their section on ‘How to build digital intelligence’ when using digital technology. If you want to check out the website for yourself, go to https://www.esafety.gov.au

Good habits start young

Parents and carers play an important role in helping children to develop digital intelligence — the social, emotional and practical skills needed to successfully navigate the digital world.
Even for preschool children, it is never too early to instil good habits, and as your child gets older it is useful to keep reminding them of these basic digital intelligence principles: respect, empathy, critical thinking, responsible behaviour and resilience. These are also principles you can emphasise with your child when things go wrong. 

How to build digital intelligence

Promote respectful communication 

  • Encourage your child to use the same positive manners and behaviour they would use offline, understanding that others may have different cultures, backgrounds or points of view. If it is not OK to say or do something face to face, it is not OK online.
  • Remind them to avoid responding to negative messages and to tell you or another trusted adult if they receive them. Tell them it is OK to report others who are not being nice.
  • Emphasise the positives. For example, ‘I know what a kind and respectful person you are, and it makes me so proud to see you acting the same way when you're online. You are such a great friend — I can see how much everyone looks up to you at school.’ 

    Encourage empathy
  • Help your child to imagine being in someone else’s shoes, so they can relate to diverse opinions and understand what might make people behave in different ways.
  • For example, you might say something like: ‘I noticed that Sam seemed a bit sad when she came over yesterday. Have you noticed anything? What do you think is wrong? Would that make you sad? What can we do to help?’ 

    Teach them to question
  • Encourage your child to think critically about what they see online. Teach them to ask questions so they can identify content or messages that may be misleading or exploitative.
  • Talk to them about ‘fake news’, or false information that is designed to look like a trustworthy news report, and how quickly it can spread on social media. Teach them to fact check news sources and do their own independent searches on issues, so they can see the variety of opinions on a particular issue and make up their own mind.
  • Remind them to be careful when making new friends online as people may not be who they say they are. We are increasingly seeing ‘Finstas’ (fake Instagram accounts) and other impersonation accounts. So, it is important to question whether what they are seeing online from their friends is real or not. If it seems out of character, it could be from a fake account.
  • Alert your child to the dangers of meeting someone in person that they have been talking to online. Advise them to never arrange to meet an online friend unless a trusted adult is with them and it is during the day in a public space.
  • Refer to our advice on avoiding unwanted contact and grooming. 

    Encourage safe and responsible behaviour
  • Work on achieving a healthy balance in your child’s online and offline activities and set boundaries for digital device use in your home. Find out how in time online.
  • Remind your child of the importance of safeguarding personal information that can be used to identify or locate them.
  • Explain why they should be suspicious of unsolicited messages and emails, and avoid clicking on pop-up ads on websites. Some pop-ups that seem safe can lead to inappropriate sites or ask for personal or financial information. Find out more in taming the technology.
  • Help them configure the strongest privacy settings on all the social media apps and sites they use. It is best that only their circle of friends can view their information, tag them in a photo or share posts. And get them to check their settings regularly as updates can sometimes change them back to the default. Read more about privacy settings in The eSafety Guide.
  • Ensure your child uses strong passwords on devices and accounts, and explain the importance of not sharing passwords, even with friends. See protect your personal information for advice on setting strong passwords.
  • Find more advice in privacy and your child. 

    Help them build resilience
  • Keep your cool if your child experiences a negative experience online. Remember, the choices they make as they navigate difficult situations can help them learn. Our 2017 ‘State of Play’  research shows round six in ten young people were able to identify some positive impacts from a negative online experience.
  • Remind your child that they can screen who they accept as online ‘friends’.
  • Make sure they know how to block and report users or pages on the sites they use.
  • If they have a negative online experience, find out how they are feeling about it, offer support and encourage them to keep things in perspective at the same time.
  • For example, you might say: ‘What that person has done is not OK. They must be feeling pretty bad about themselves to treat you like this. How are you feeling? Let's block them to stop their messages coming through.’
  • Build your child’s confidence and encourage positive ways of thinking — looking on the bright side, thinking rationally, understanding that difficult times are a part of life but there is help and support available. 

    I am worried my child might be bullying others 
    If your child is treating others badly, is dismissive of their feelings or targeting or intentionally excluding a particular child or group, they could be seen as someone who bullies. If they also socialise online there is a chance they may be bullying that person or group online too. 
    Finding out your child is bullying others can be very painful but you can help them to change, with your guidance and positive engagement.

    Here are some strategies to try
  • Talk to your child, in a way they can relate to, about how it feels to be left out or teased. Use examples. Build empathy — what it might feel like to be the other person.
  • Encourage your child to be honest about their behaviour, take responsibility for it and apologise to those they have bullied. Perhaps show them the page for kids How do I know if I’m being mean online? or for young people I’ve been called a bully.
  • Talk about accepting differences and how to deal with people that annoy them. Give examples from your own life such as working with a difficult colleague.
  • Explain there will be consequences for them if they treat others badly — for example, if they are rude they need to apologise and lose access to something they enjoy. Remember to also praise any change for the good so they start afresh.
  • Identify activities that make your child feel good about themselves such as membership of a sports club or an art class, where they can be successful and have fun.
  • Praise your child’s strengths and any behaviour changes they try to make.
  • Practice treating others well at home and let them know when they are being kind.
  • Spend one-on-one time with your child such as watching a movie, playing sport together or cooking with them.
  • Talk to your child’s school about their academic achievement, learning style and abilities and whether they need additional support.

Work with the school on ways to develop your child’s social skills.

The ‘Keep it Real Online’ campaign by the New Zealand government shows just how important it is not to overreact and instead focus on ways to positively engage with your child to change their behaviour.

I wish you a wonderful week!

God bless you,

 

Deb Clifford
Deputy Principal

Highlights

Health Care

Thank you, parents/caregivers, for helping us to follow the guidelines provided by SA Health relating to COVID-19 and similar symptoms. As the winter season is progressing we are also seeing students affected by influenza. As the flu symptoms are similar to COVID-19, I would like to remind parents of the guidelines to be followed by us as a school community. This will help us to ensure the safety and the wellbeing of our students and staff at our school.

If your child develops any symptoms such as a fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, sore and teary eyes, loss of smell/taste, muscle/joint pains, diarrhoea, nausea/vomiting or extreme tiredness, please: 

  • Obtain a PCR test to rule out COVID-19 (You can find your nearest COVID-19 testing clinic here)
  • Keep your child at home until you receive confirmation that the test is negative

If the test result is positive to COVID-19

  • Notify the school about the positive result ASAP via email or phone for contact tracing
  • S/he must remain isolated for 7 days from the testing date and must follow SA Health instructions

If the result is negative

  • rest at home until the symptoms are resolved
  • make sure the child is fever free over 24 hours with no medication
  • If in doubt/not sure about making decisions regarding the symptoms and testing please contact the school and the staff can help you

If a family member tests positive the student can still come to school if

  • there are no symptoms and
  • Routine Rapid Antigen Tests negative

If the student develops any symptoms during this seven-day period, please follow the above guidelines.

Medication At School Policy 

  • Students are not allowed to keep any medication in their bags including over the counter medication such as Panadol
  • Labelled Medication need to be presented to the School office by a parent/carer along with a Doctors authorisation letter/plan.
     

Thank you


Priya Wilson
School Nurse

Pyjama/Casual Day

Casual Day.pdf

Open Casual Day.pdf (838.67 KB)

Reception Excursion

The Receptions had a fantastic time at the Hahndorf Farm Barn during Week 5. We were all rugged up and ready in our gumboots to get out and see the animals on the farm. It was so much fun to have a go at milking Merlot the cow. She was very big but lots of us were brave and had a try at this.

The baby animals were the cutest and the lambs were definitely the hungriest! They loved it when we gave them their milk bottles and greedily gobbled up all their milk. We had to be very careful when were patting and holding some of the animals and were amazed at how soft and cuddly the animals were.

We were even able to get out to the paddock and feed some of the bigger animals. The camel was so tall and very hungry. She loved the carrots we were feeding her. It was a bit muddy and there were lots of puddles on the farm but our gumboots and jackets kept us warm on the day. It was the best day and we learnt so much about farms and how farms are an important part of where our food comes from.

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Community News

Playgroup

Kidgo Big Birthday Bash

Grasshopper Soccer

Sports News

Representative Sports

SACSA AFL Football Tryouts

SACSA will soon be holding their annual AFL Carnival

SACSA Year 3|4 Carnival  |  Wednesday 14th September  |   Week 8, Term 3

SACSA Year 5|6 Carnival  |  Friday 16th September  |   Week 8, Term 3

Students who would like to trial, and are eligible please use the link to nominate

Year 3|4 Tryouts  |  TCC Oval  |  Separate Boys and Girls Teams

Thursday  | 04|08, 11|08  |  Weeks 2 - 3, T3  |  Lunchtime

Year 5|6 Tryouts  |  TCC Oval  |  Separate Boys and Girls Teams

Wednesday  | 03|08, 10|08  |  Weeks 2 - 3, T3  |  Lunchtime

Meet at the verandah by the oval at the beginning of tryouts.

Students enrolled into tryouts may wear their PE uniform to school.

SACSA Netball Team Tryouts

SACSA will soon be holding their annual Netball Carnival

The 3|4 & 5|6 Carnivals will be on Wednesday 24th August Week 5, Term 3

Students who would like to trial, and are eligible please use the link to nominate

Year 3|4 Tryouts  |  @ BCS Courts  |  Separate Boys and Girls Teams

Monday 20|06 & 27|06  |  Weeks 8 & 9,  T2  |  Lunchtime

Year 5|6 Tryouts  |  @ BCS Courts  |  Separate Boys and Girls Teams

Tuesday 28|06 & 05|07  |  Weeks 9 & 10, T2  |  Lunchtime

Students enrolled into tryouts may wear their PE uniform to school.

Weekly Sports

Weekly Basketball  |  Rec - Yr 6

Bethany Christian School offers a Weekly Basketball program. This is a user pay program staffed by approved volunteer coaches, with compulsory weekly after school trainings held at BCS

There are two seasons per year

Winter Season - Terms 2 and 3  |  Summer Season - Terms 4 and then 1

Age Groups as follows (must be 5 yrs old)

U08s mixed  |  U10s mixed  |  U12 Boys | U12 Girls

Saturday games are generally at the following recreation centers

Golden Grove  |  Burragah  |  Turramurra  |  Ingle Farm  |  The ARC

Weekly Netball  |  Rec - Yr 6

Bethany Christian School offers a Weekly Netball program. This is a user pay program staffed by approved volunteer coaches, with compulsory weekly after school trainings held at BCS

There are two seasons per year

S1 Season - Terms 1 and Two  |  S2 Season - Terms 2 and 4

Age Groups as follows (must be 5 yrs old)

U08s mixed  |  U10s mixed  |  Under 12s mixed

Saturday games are at the The Gardens Recreation Centre.

Match Results | Weekly Sports

Saturday 04|06

SportTeamOpponentCoach's PickMatch Result
NetballU08 Wild StarsKaleteeyaHannah PW43
NetballU10 Bright StarsHurricanesIra PW180
NetballU12 DiamondsMawson Lakes GoldMohitha SL413
BasketballU08 BullsHeccies 8aIsaac DW207
BasketballU10 BoomersKings HeatRory HL211
BasketballU12 HornetsHope Valley Heat 12cSamuel ML833
BasketballU12 CelticsModbury Animals Rossi CW409
BasketballU12 Mavericks

Saturday 11|06

SportTeamOpponentCoach's PickMatch Result
NetballU08 Wild StarsLong Weekend
NetballU10 Bright StarsLong Weekend
NetballU12 DiamondsLong Weekend
BasketballU08 BullsLong Weekend
BasketballU10 BoomersLong Weekend
BasketballU12 HornetsLong Weekend
BasketballU12 CelticsLong Weekend
BasketballU12 MavericksLong Weekend

Weekly Information

Important Dates

Date Event
Thursday 23rd June

Pyjama/Casual Day

Friday 1st July

Year 1 Excursion to the Zoo

Monday 4th July to Friday 8th July

Swimming Lessons for Years 3 and 4

Monday 25th July

Pupil Free Day

Tuesday 26th July

First Day of Term 3

Uniform Shop Opening Times

Wednesday8.15 to 10.30 am
Friday8.15 to 10.30 am
2022 Term Dates
Term 1Monday 14th February to Thursday 14th April
Term 2Tuesday 3rd May to Friday 8th July
Term 3Tuesday 26th July to Friday 30th September
Term 4Monday 17th October to Wednesday 14th December

PE Timetable

ClassDays
ELCMonday to Friday
RHanTuesday and Thursday
RHayMonday and Friday
RKTuesday and Thursday
1TCThursday and Friday
1DThursday and Friday
1PThursday and Friday
2WSThursday and Friday
2RThursday and Friday
2ZThursday and Friday
3HRMonday and Friday
3MMonday and Thursday
3TTuesday and Friday
4GTuesday and Thursday
4PSMonday and Wednesday
4WMonday and Friday
5RWednesday and Friday
5KTuesday and Thursday
5TWednesday and Friday
6SCWednesday and Friday
6TWednesday and Friday
6WWednesday and Friday

Bethany Christian School

PO Box 2125
Salisbury Downs SA 5108
37 Countess St
Paralowie, SA, 5108

P. 08 8283 0000
F. 08 8283 0101
E. office@bethany.sa.edu.au

Newsletter published: Thursday, June 16 2022

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