Term 1 - Tue 28th January to Fri 4th April
Term 2 - Tue 22nd April to Fri 4th July
Term 3 - Mon 21st July to Fri 19th September
Term 4 - Mon 6th October to Fri 19th December
CURRICULUM DAYS FOR 2025 - No students required at school
Curriculum days are student free days.
Tuesday 28th January
Wednesday 29th January
Friday 6th June
Monday 3rd November
Please note that the school office may be closed on certain student free days.
School Council Report
AGM
Congratulations to the following parents who have taken on School Council Office Bearer Positions for 2023:
School Council President: Archie Mihalopoulos
School Council Vice President: Rebecca Eckard
School Council Treasurer: Dave Griffiths
School Council Secretary: Jenny Ferguson
Staff Professional Practice Day
At the last School Council meeting, the Semester 1 Staff Professional Practice Day was approved to be held on Friday 26th May. All staff will have their Professional Practice Day on this day and students will not be required to attend school on this day.
End of Term 1
A reminder that the final day of Term 1 will be Thursday 6th April. The Easter Bonnet Parade followed by the P&F Easter Raffle will take place on the netball court at 9:15am and students will be dismissed from school at 2:30pm on this day.
Term 2
We will be welcoming students back for Term 2 on Wednesday 26th April.
Monday 24th April will be a Curriculum Day with students not being required at school and Tuesday 25th April is ANZAC Day.
Farmers’ Market
A reminder that there will be no April Farmers’ Market as this is Easter Sunday. Our next Farmers’ Market will be on Sunday 14th May.
“Will I ruin my kids’ lives by working too much?”
— A note of comfort to the working mother Dr Justin Coulson
Apparently, a stay-at-home mum should earn $184 000 a year. That’s how hard the typical stay-at home mum works for her family, doing everything from being the head chef, to first aid provider, to dental hygienist (you can check out how much you’re “worth” here). While motherhood may be the most rewarding job on earth, the sad reality is that it’s also the lowest paying job on earth. And with increasing interest rates, increasing inflation, and an increasing cost of living, many women are faced with increasing mother’s guilt – either guilt for not contributing financially, or guilt for working and not being there for the kids.
Interestingly, mothers have always worked, right from our hunter-gatherer days. It’s only recently that mothers have felt guilt for working outside the home (thanks in part to societal pressure such as the ‘perfect 1950s housewife’). And with that guilt has come the question – “Will I ruin my kids’ lives by working too much?”
The reality is that there is some evidence for negative impacts on our kids when mothers jump into full-time work very early. However, most mums choose to delay getting back to work until after the first year or two of their child’s life – and the research supports this. While not everyone has the choice to stay home, when full-time work is commenced in the first year of the child’s life there are small negative effects on child development and the quality of the attachment relationship.
But long term, maternal employment seems to have a lot of benefits for children. A longitudinal study showed that there were better socio-emotional outcomes (such as increased prosocial behaviour and reduced conduct problems) for children whose mothers work. And an international survey of over 100 000 people showed that as adults, daughters of mothers who work are more likely to be employed and earn higher incomes, and the sons of mothers who work are more likely to spend more time caring for family members. The data definitely shows that you are benefiting your children by returning to the workforce, and that the benefits extend into adulthood!
However, while your kids may be thriving with a working mother, you may not be. In fact, while you may have increased feelings of self-worth and competence from being in employment, working mothers are twice as likely to experience high stress compared to their non-working counterparts. Balancing paid employment with all the demands of motherhood is not simple, and parental burnout often results. According to research, part-time employment seems to provide the best balance for mothers, resulting in fewer depressive symptoms and better health, more involvement in learning opportunities, and more sensitive parenting than full time employment.
If you’re a working mum, either by choice or due to financial necessity, full-time or part-time, here are 5 quick tips to improve your work/life balance and ditch the guilt:
Find your why behind working and embrace it.
It’s great to have a job you’re passionate about, but it’s also great to admit that you’re working to afford the mortgage repayments on your house. Own your reason.
Create more time by saying no to unnecessary commitments.
That might mean saying no to taking on another project at work, but it also might mean saying no to your child joining the soccer team. When time is limited, you don’t want to squander it. Spending time together doing nothing much at all is one of the most valuable gifts you can give your kids.
Implement rituals of connection.
Make time for daily family dinner. Or cuddle your kids and read them a story before bed. Just make sure that there are predictable moments throughout your day where you will put away distractions and focus on connections.
Start family traditions that you can all look forward to.
It can be as simple as a weekly movie night, or as elaborate as a yearly holiday to an exotic location. The enjoyment comes from looking forward to the tradition.
Take time to meet your own mental and emotional health needs.
You can’t be there for your kids if you’re burnt out. Taking time to look after you is the first and most important step in being able to look after anyone else.
You’re definitely not going to ruin your kids by working. In fact, they’ll probably benefit from it.
But I don’t think anyone, at the end of their lives, has ever said, “Gee, I wish I’d given more time to my work. I sure regret spending so much time with my family.”
Make the most of the time you have.
It doesn’t matter if you only have 10 minutes a day with your kids, make it the best 10 minutes of your whole day.
You will never regret it.
regards
Ken & Lisa
As ANZAC Day falls on the school holidays this year, we will be selling ANZAC day badges during the week of the 3rd of April. Students will be able to purchase their special ANZAC merchandise on any day during this week, with SRC students coming around to classes at 10.45am each day.
Students can purchase:
Funds raised go to the ANZAC Appeal to continue supporting veterans and their families in times of need.
PET | Caleb T |
PJC | Mickey L |
PKM | Lily D C |
JBT | Benjamin |
JFR | Lily H |
JKB | Andrew H |
JKH | Luca W |
JSB | Nathaniel A |
MBJ | Axel H |
MEI | Victoria B |
MMG | Susannah |
SJH | Alaina B |
SKM | Elwood W |
SLJ | Jake P |
PE | SLJ |