Dear Families of St Joseph’s,

The past week or so has been most challenging for everyone.  And it’s not over yet.  Many of us are feeling tested and stretched.  Staff are under huge and mounting pressure from a variety of external and internal sources.

I have only the utmost respect and appreciation for our staff who continue to provide for our children to keep them informed and calm.  What our school staff are being asked to prepare for is a massive undertaking, and we really appreciate that they are doing it. 

Thank you to the many parents who have emailed their support and those of you who are able to look after your children at home.  We also understand that many of you have no other option but to continue to send your children to school so that you can keep working and providing for the wider community as well.  We must band together to support each other during this difficult time.

It is imperative that we prioritise the mental well-being of students, staff and families during this time.  We all know that our children are hypersensitive to our anxiety.  As adults we must ensure that we don’t transfer our fears around the virus to our children, making them more anxious than they need to be.  They need reassurance from us adults.  After this crisis is over, teachers will spend most of their time dealing with the fallout of children exposed to traumatic events, at the same time as many are dealing with the same traumas themselves. 

More than ever, be kind to each other and please be kind to teachers and school staff. 

Teachers will use next week to prepare for the possibility of school closure or limited student attendance at school for Term 2. Smaller numbers of students supervised by School Officers, is allowing teachers to prepare the necessary work for students if we are to proceed to remote learning.

We encourage our community to take the precautions needed to protect your health and that of others. As a global community we are all responsible to help stop the spread of the virus, and to show compassion to one another.

Following is a summary of handy hints so far provided by the Australian Primary Principals Association: 

1. Our Schools

It’s been a challenging time over the past few weeks for our school communities, and for the diocesan, state and territory offices that support them, with the growing concern over the health and wellbeing of our students, staff and families.

 At this stage, our schools are expected to return next term, pending the advice of the government and medical authorities at that time.

Catholic schools are doing their best to work together and provide a consistent response across Australia to reduce this confusion.

2. Support from eSafety Commissioner

COVID-19 is likely to mean young people spending more time at home, and online. There are a lot of great ways they can use connected devices to learn and play, but there are also risks that you can help them avoid.

eSafety has a wide range of advice for parents and carers covering common online safety issues like managing screen time, cyberbullying, inappropriate content, sending nudes and contact from strangers. We also have basic online safety advice for parents in languages other than English.  Some of the tips include; starting the chat with children, use parental controls and safe search options, check smart toy settings, looking out for unwanted contact and knowing the signs of cyberbullying. 

Click below for tips for keeping schools and learning safe online.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/blog/covid-19-keeping-schools-and-learning-safe-online

3. Wellbeing Tips 

 Here are some tips to support children and young people courtesy of CEDP:

• Be available to talk and reassure:
  Children can have big questions, and it’s okay to answer them. Take cues from them and offer clear but concise answers in developmentally appropriate language. Keep the focus on what you are doing to prepare and prevention strategies that are within your control like proper handwashing and avoiding large crowds. Reassure when needed but avoid offering too frequently as this can prevent children from developing their own positive self-talk.
• Limit news exposure:
  Even when it seems like they’re not listening, children pick up on what they hear on TV and radio. Hearing unfamiliar words like pandemic and outbreak can be fear-inducing. Opt for watching or listening to news reports when your child is in bed or choose to read news articles if possible. This may also include limiting our conversations about what we are hearing on the news.
• Stick to routines and boundaries:
  Children thrive with routines and boundaries, and predictability can be very comforting in anxious times. When some things feel out of control, routines can give them a sense of security. Write your daily routine on the whiteboard or make a paper schedule together and make sure that you include fun activities in your daily routine!
• Acknowledge the worries:
  It’s completely okay to acknowledge children’s worries rather than ignoring them. Acknowledging worries won’t solidify them but it will help your child understand that worry is a protective feeling that alerts us to potential danger. The smoke alarm analogy can be helpful when explaining anxiety. Smoke alarms are really helpful for alerting us to danger when there’s a fire and we need to get out of the building. But sometimes smoke alarms go off even when there isn’t a big danger, like when we burn toast. Anxiety does the same thing, telling us that there is a big danger, even if the situation is not that big.
• Be mindful of your own worries:
  It is reasonable for everyone to have some level of worry but children do pick up on our feelings and notice our anxieties, and they will take cues from us. We need to manage our own anxiety, including how we might express this in conversations with our child or others.
• Consider opportunities for exercise:
  Make time to enjoy being active together, for example, throwing a ball in the backyard, dance to your favourite song or simply enjoy a stroll in the park.

A challenge that was put to me this week was … How can our faith tradition guide and comfort us through this troubling time?  Scripture tells us often ‘Do not be afraid!’ or ‘Have no fear!’, but fear is certainly a powerful emotion.

I think in these times it’s important for us to remember that there is enough for everyone, that we need to protect the vulnerable and that we need to love our neighbour, all of which are also key messages shared in a range of Scripture.

A colleague shared with me a snippet of a quote from Pop Francis this week that I found really encouraging.

Tonight before falling asleep, think about when we will return to the street. When we hug again, when all the shopping together will seem like a party. Let’s think about when the coffees will return to the bar, the small talk, the photos close to each other. We think about when it will be all a memory but normality will seem an unexpected and beautiful gift. We will love everything that has so far seemed futile to us. Every second will be precious. Swims at the sea, the sun until late, sunsets, toasts and laughter. We will go back to laughing together. Strength and courage

Obviously at this time one of the things we CAN do, for ourselves and for others is PRAY...

Gracious God,

We give thanks anew for your providence and presence.

We prayerfully seek your grace, amidst COVID-19 here and overseas.

We pray for those in need of healing.

We pray for your peace with those who are anxious or grieving.

We pray you will continue to strengthen and sustain

all those who are serving in response.

We pray for your Holy Spirit’s discernment

amidst the many choices and decisions

facing our national, community and medical leaders.

We pray we each might see quickly what more we can do

to help those who are vulnerable.

This prayer for our nation in the family of nations,

with all that is in our hearts,

we gather now and pray

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

This is an ecumenical prayer from the National Council of Churches, who have invited all of us to pray this prayer at 7pm each day, but especially on Sunday 29 March which we will mark as a National Day of Prayer in this time of crisis.

This Easter will be a very different one for all of us this year, with no Good Friday Stations of the Cross or Easter Vigil Mass to attend. The students have all spent time recalling the Holy Week events and there are plenty of resources available so please if you can ensure that the Easter message of love is shared.

Take care of yourselves in this difficult time.  I will continue to communicate to families on a regular basis.

Stay safe and God bless,

Megan