From the P&F Association

Dear Parents and Friends

Welcome back to Term 3, more than half way through the year already. We hope the break was restful and you are ready to join us for an array of exciting events this term! 

The P&F Committee have quite a few events planned in the coming weeks and we will share them with you once the final preparations are made.

Parents and Friends (P&F) General Meeting 

The next Parents and Friends (P&F) General Meeting is coming up and we would love to see as many of you there as possible!

🗓 Date: Wednesday 27 August 2025

⏰ Time: 6:30 PM 

📍 Location: Benincasa, Senior Campus, Santa Sabina College

This meeting is a fantastic opportunity for us all to come together, share ideas and discuss plans to support our school community. We’ll be covering several important topics, including upcoming events, fundraising initiatives, and ways we can all contribute to making our school an even better place for our children. 

There are also a number of positions that are opening at the end of the year. If you are interested in helping with events and building on our community, please come to the General Meeting to find out more roles.  If you have any items you’d like to add to the agenda, please send them to the P&F Secretary, Mary, via email at secretary@ssc.nsw.edu.au by COB Monday, 25 August 2025.

Father’s Day Gift Wrapping Volunteers

We are calling out to our wonderful volunteers for help at our Father’s Day Gift Wrapping. It is scheduled for Tuesday, 19 August, from 8:30am to 2:00pm in the Del Monte Hall. 

We would love your help, from wrapping presents, cutting ribbons and having a great yarn!

Join here for Father’s Day gift wrapping

Father’s Day Stall and Breakfast

With Father’s Day around the corner we will be reaching out to our wonderful community for assistance for the Father’s Day Stall and Breakfast. Please join the link below if you can help at the stall and the breakfast.

Join here if you can help at the stall and breakfast

WhatsApp Year Groups

Don’t forget that the best way to get updates about all events of the P&F and for your particular child’s year activities, is by joining the WhatsApp groups for your child’s year group. 

Please reach out to our P&F Communications Rep Jumana Commisso on 0403 355 115 and she will make arrangements to add you to the appropriate WhatsApp year group.

Warm regards

The P&F Association

Upcoming Events

🎉 Save the Date: Prep to Year 6 Disco

The Prep to Year 6 Disco is on 12 September 2025! This is the most looked forward event for all the young kids!

Details will be circulated soon.

 🗓 Date: 12 September 2025

📍 Location: Del Monte Hall

Parent Education – Debra Brodowski

Helping our young people navigate big feelings

As parents, we often wish we could shield our young people from emotional storms. The truth is though, emotions big and small, are part of growing up. We can even feel big feelings as adults. The key for managing big feelings isn’t to avoid them, but to recognise, understand, and manage feelings in healthy ways.

How can we support our young people in developing this skill? There has been some great work done by the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence who have created a framework that helps build emotional intelligence through five core skills; think RULER.

What does RULER stand for?

  • Recognising emotions in oneself and others
  • Understanding the causes and consequences of emotions
  • Labelling emotions accurately
  • Expressing emotions appropriately
  • Regulating emotions effectively.

How can parents use RULER at home?

Here are some simple ways to bring RULER into everyday parenting:

  1. Recognise

Start by helping your young person notice their emotions. Use gentle questions like:

‘I see your fists are clenched and I’m wondering, are you feeling frustrated?’

Model this yourself by naming your own emotions:

‘I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed right now, so I’m going to take a few deep breaths.’

  • Understand

Explore what might be causing the emotion:

‘I can hear that you’re upset because you didn’t feel included with your friends today. That makes sense it’s hard to feel left out.’

This builds empathy and helps kids connect feelings to experiences.

  • Label

Teach a rich emotional vocabulary. Move beyond ‘happy’ or ‘sad’ to words like ‘disappointed,’ ‘anxious,’ or ‘excited.’

If your young person is struggling to find the right word, try using an emotion wheel or chart to help.

  • Express

Encourage healthy expression, through words, journalling, music, movement, or quiet time. Help them develop a strategy that’s aligned with their interests.

Validate their feelings:

‘It’s okay to feel angry. Let’s find a way to talk about it.’

  • Regulate

Help your young person to develop learn calming strategies such as:

  • Deep breathing
  • Counting to 10
  • Drawing or journaling
  • Taking a break.

Final thoughts

Emotional regulation isn’t about being calm all the time, it’s about knowing what you feel, why you feel it, and what to do next. By using the RULER approach, we give our young people lifelong tools to thrive.

Let’s raise emotionally intelligent young people, one feeling at a time.