Head of Primary P-4
Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold rather a large amount of gratitude.
Winne the Pooh, A.A. Milne
Through our new Friendology program, the students are exploring the importance of building and maintaining relationships. One of the concepts that we are exploring is gratitude.
Just as forgiveness is an essential quality for relationships, so too is gratitude. Throughout the curriculum, the children are given opportunities to focus on gratitude. Gratitude is a form of affirmation that acknowledges the gift of others. Gratitude also acknowledges that there is a choice in how we relate to the world, and to each other.
Experiencing gratitude, and a deep sense of appreciation is one of the best ways to boost wellbeing. Attached here is a link to boosting wellbeing a paper from Harvard Medical School. Helping children learn to express and share their gratitude for their friends helps them to feel good while strengthening their friendships too.
Human beings are relational. With the children, we focus on expressing gratitude to others and God. For what are we grateful? And to whom are we grateful? How do we express gratitude? Teachers spend time with the children looking at ways they can communicate gratitude and invite them to do so in the classroom, school playground, and at home. Also, spend some time reflecting on experiences where they expressed gratitude and where they were shown gratitude.
How do we express gratitude to God? Give children experiences of prayers and liturgies of thanksgiving, e.g. a Psalm of thanksgiving.
As with forgiveness, gratitude is learned by experience. Our staff model gratitude in their relationships with the children. They model to the children the many times when we can say ‘thank you’, and express gratitude for a person’s actions or words or something that happens.
Gratitude is also explicitly taught to the children. One unit, in particular, is the Year 1 Religious Education Unit ‘love one Another’. In this unit, the children focus on the concept of relationships. It begins with the children’s experience of friendship and broadens to the Christian way of relating to others. The children explore gratitude in relationships in Gospel stories. One of these stories is the Gospel story of the 10 lepers.
…one of them turned back praising God at the top of their voice and threw themselves at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
Luke 17: 11-19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered one of the villages, ten lepers came to meet him. They stood some way off and called to him, ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.’ When he saw them he said, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ Now as they were going away they were cleansed.
Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus, and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. This made Jesus say, ‘Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’ And he said to the man, ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.‘
In the classrooms, the children explore ways to express gratitude to others and to God. This last week we have had many things to be grateful for on campus. Here are some of the things that our children were grateful for:
I am grateful for my friends because we are all kind to each other. I am grateful for my sports lessons because I love playing sports. I am grateful for my teachers because I really love learning, and my teachers show me how to write, read and draw.
Emilio Medina
K Snowy
I am grateful for my teachers because they teach me new things and I am grateful for my friends because I have someone to play with.
Elizabeth Van Hore
4 Daintree
I am grateful for my teachers because they support me in my learning to develop new skills.
Aiden Park
4 Daintree
I’m grateful for my really nice friends, I never feel lonely.
Eleanor Dann
1 Niland
I’m grateful for my teachers and our fun playground. Some students at other schools don’t have equipment like ours.
Sabrina Commisso
1 Niland
I am grateful for having a great classroom and fun playground and really great friends.
Celine Daher
2 Lindsay
I am grateful because I have a nice classroom, I have a really great teacher and I have good friends.
Brendan Kirwan 2 Lindsay
I am grateful for the playground equipment and a really fun classroom.
Henry Li
2 Lindsay
I am grateful for my school and friends.
Augustin Medina
3 Paterson
I am grateful for the teachers as they work hard to make sure we learn and understand each day.
Scarlett Ghossein
3 Thiele
Gratitude at home activity
Here is something that you may wish to do at home with your child/ren.
Communication
Please also take the time to look at our Grade pages to see what the children are learning in Friendnology this is updated fortnightly. This week in Veritas Voice our Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) classes are sharing their Friendology learnings.
As mentioned in the last Veritas Voice (VV), the Grade pages also contain information about
- Term Curriculum Overview
- Specialist timetables (when to bring Library Books and wear Sports uniforms!)
- Friendology Update: See what your child/ren is learning in our new Friendship program (this is updated fortnightly)
- Photos of your child’s class events
- Homework Information
- Music Ensembles Infomation
- Campus dates
Upcoming dates
Please note that all of the dates below and the dates for the rest of the 2023 Academic Year are available on the Parent calendar. For ease of reference, there is a parent calendar link on our Primary Veritas Online page.
For Grade updates please visit our Grade pages.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact the Del Monte Office via delmonte@ssc.nsw.edu.au.
| EVENT | DATE | TIME | Venue |
| Parent Helpers Reading Information Session | Tuesday 29 May | 9:00am | DM Hall (Please sign in via the Office) |
| St Dominic the Adventurer Award – Shelter Building & Knot Tying Year 4 | Monday 29 May | 3:30pm – 4:15pm | Strathfield Park |
| K-6 Athletics Carnival | Thursday 1 June 23 | 9:00am – 3:00pm | Senior Campus |
| St Dominic the Adventurer Award – Rock Climbing Years 3 & 4 | Monday 5 June | 3:30pm – 5:00pm | St Peters Rock Climbing Gym |
| Primary Years Assembly | Thursday 8 June Lead by Music Department | 11:30am | DM Hall The Carrington Ave gates in front of the Hall will open at 11:25 am ahead of assembly. |
| Booking Close for Three way Interviews | Friday 9 June | 5:00pm | Booking can be made Online |
| Kings Birthday Public Holiday | Monday 12 June | ||
| Three Way Interviews DM | Tuesday – Friday 13 Jun 23 – 16 June 23 | 7:30am – 8:30am 3.45pm – 7:30pm | DM Hall |
| Gala Concert | Monday 19 June 23 | 6:30pm – 9:00pm | Town Hall |
| Stage 2 Soccer Gala Day | Wednesday 21 June 23 | 8:45am – 3:20pm | tba |
| Last day of term | Friday 23 June 23 |
Joanne Gianinni
Head of Primary P-4