We are very excited to welcome the return of our students through the doors of Barbreck next week. I know our Barbreck staff members are eager to connect with students and resume teaching in the classroom environment.

Throughout the remainder of the year all staff members are planning to provide students with many opportunities to reconnect and enjoy creating memorable experiences together. After a challenging few months, I feel our staff, students and their families can look forward to a positive few months ahead!

STEM

Looking forward to more fun learning in the Barbreck STEM Lab.

I, like many of the girls I am sure, am incredibly keen to get back to Barbreck and into the STEM Lab! All classes will be participating in many exciting experiments and investigations throughout Term 4.

Students will be studying the following topics throughout Term 4:

Barbreck Co-curricular Program

Our Junior School Co-curricular program has continued throughout the lockdown period and we are looking forward to resuming in a face-to-face capacity upon our return to School. This week I would like to highlight the ever-popular Year 6 Barbreck Debating Club.

Each Monday lunchtime, a large group of Year 6 students, hosted by Mrs Susan Duffy enjoy getting together to form the Barbreck Debaters. Commencing in Term 1, students learn the fundamental skills necessary to flourish in the competitive rounds of Debating. They learn the rules of Debating, how to structure an argument and develop critical listening and analysis skills.

Recently Barbreck debaters tackled the propositions: ‘That playing competitive sport does more harm than good in primary school’ and ‘That parents should give their children pocket money’. Debaters really had to put aside their personal opinions to argue their case effectively.

Coached by a dedicated team of Year 10s, all teams exhibited great debating skills showcasing their hidden talents. We were very fortunate to have St Catherine’s Senior School Captains of Debating and Public Speaking, Victoria Patsakos and Jessica Yang as guest Adjudicators. They learnt much from the feedback which will stand them in good stead in their future debates.

Although debates have a winner and an award for the best speaker, the debates in Barbreck always conclude on a positive and constructive note. Congratulations to Mrs Duffy and all of the students!

Online Safety Reminder

As we still have most students learning online, it is timely to remind parents that, in addition to the wonders of technology, we must remain ever vigilant of the perils associated with online activity, particularly during extended periods of lockdown.

Cyber Safety expert, Susan McLean warns of the dangers posed for young people in her video to parents on the topic of Grooming and Online Predators. McLean discusses the prevalence of predators and outlines some of the strategies they use to seek out young people and gain their trust.

She notes that popular children’s apps are being targeted by paedophiles in Australia in greater numbers than ever before. She also offers strategies for parents to have safety discussions with their child from a very early age, using language they understand. Parents are also given advice about how to respond if their child has been groomed. She concludes her brief video with the important advice to “protect your children, talk to your children and be there with them”.

Other tips for online safety can be found on the Learn@Home, Wellbeing page.

Out of School Hours Care – Week 3 Activities

Upcoming activities for Term 4 Week 3 detailed here.

St Catherine’s School offers an Out of School Hours Care program to all ELC and Junior School families. The program is implemented by our provider ‘After the Bell’, and operates within the ELC building. Parents are reminded that if you need to use the Before School Care or After School Care service, registrations need to be made in advance with ‘After the Bell’. Please allow up to five business days for your registration to be processed before your child can begin attending the program. Registration is free. All families are encouraged to register so that you can use this service in the event that you are unable to pick up your child.

Before School Care – 7.00am to 8.45am

After School Care – 3.00pm to 6.00pm

Registrations can be completed via the ‘After the Bell’ website.

Please phone 9758 6744 for all enquiries.