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SAI INSIGHTSTERM 4 WEEK 2 2019

VALUE: Right Conduct Lived As Efficiency

QUOTE: “Time is precious.”

NEWSFLASH

Sathya Sai CollegeCharacter Development & Academic

Achievement

Students are invited to join the Bird’s Eye View program starting this week.

WEEK 10PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

IMPORTANT DATES

NEWS

25 Oct World Teachers Day

4–8 Nov Intensive Swimming Program

12 Nov Kindy Orientation

19 Nov Year 7 Orientation

22 Nov Founders Day

26 Nov Heritage Lodge Visit

29 Nov Swimming Carnival

3 Dec Kindy Orientation

6 Dec Presentation Day

9 Dec Principal’s Reward Day

10 Dec Class Party

11 Dec Last Day of Term

Tues & Wed: After School Art with Kim

Efficiency  is the ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time; it is the ability to do things successfully, and without waste.

Efficiency is an important value because all inputs are precious. Time, energy and  raw materials—it is essential to conserve these precious resources while maintaining an acceptable level of achievement.

The daily practise of living sustainably at Sathya Sai College is a focus that we are constantly striving to maintain efficiently.

Our efforts towards becoming more sustainable are developing conscious awareness and lifelong habits. Our daily focus is helping us to practise right conduct and be mindful of how to love our planet by using our precious resources efficiently.

The sustainable practises that the College has encouraged are: reducing waste by creating nude food lunch-boxes and healthy habits by choosing package free food, establishing red-bin free school grounds, reducing paper waste in classrooms by using the 3 R's: Refuse, Reduce, Recycle, learning about litter, connecting with nature, and living life cleaner and making it greener.

It is because of this unwavering focus that our college has been nominated for the 2019 Tweed Sustainability Awards: People's Choice.

Obviously the more votes we receive the greater the chance we have for obtaining an award. We would appreciate you taking the time to vote and encouraging family and friends to also vote for Sathya Sai College. 

Please follow instructions given in this newsletter regarding how and when to vote. 

Cal Atkins

02 PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

03 BIRD’S EYE VIEW

04 ECO-SCHOOLS AUSTRALIA

05 AWARDS

06 SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS

07 POSITIVE PARENTING

08 SMART PHONE TIPS

TERM 4 WEEK 2 2019

BIRD’S EYE VIEWCome and join us on this great adventure. On Thursday afternoons, some students are going outdoors after school to explore and learn about birds and their habitats.

In week three our session is going to be held by marine educator Rhett Brambleby at the Marine Centre in Hastings Point. We are going to explore the rocky shores and learn about this important ecosystem. We are also going to look into the Human Value of Efficiency in the natural environment. If you would like to know more about this program please email the office.

TERM 4 WEEK 2 2019

ECO-SCHOOLS AUSTRALIAEco-Schools Litter Legend Campaign

This week we are celebrating our Eco School’s Litter Legend Campaign. We are grateful to Eco-Schools for a five-hundred-dollar grant, which enabled Sathya Sai to acquire five colourful and beautiful outdoor mats. The mats were inaugurated as our school celebrated our Outdoor Learning Day and the Eco-School’s Community Action Day.

In order to enjoy our outdoors even more, we want to make sure that our school grounds are litter-free. Year 5 students carried out the monthly litter surveys and some of their findings were:

• A reduced amount of litter in the school grounds compared to previous years, especially glad wrap.

• The largest amount of litter in the monthly surveys, even though it was little, was organic waste.

• We observed that this type of litter may attract ibis birds that scavenge in our school grounds. To solve this problem we need to find ways to avoid organic waste such as food scraps in the eating areas.

Year 5 Litter Surveys

TERM 4 WEEK 2 2019

AWARDS

Year 6Brandon Woodford

Year 1 Lachlan LaneOtis Glover

Tobias BarteskoKoa Stewart

Year 2Rosie Jones

TERM 4 WEEK 2 2019

SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS

Sathya Sai College has been nominated nominated for the 2019 Tweed Sustainability Awards: People's Choice.

We would appreciate you taking the time to vote and encouraging family and friends to also vote for Sathya Sai College. 

Voting for the People's Choice  Awards  ends at midnight on Sunday 3 November.

Vote now at www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/SustainabilityAwards or in person at Council's Tweed Heads or Murwillumbah offices.Keep up to date with the latest announcements about the awards on Council's Facebook page  www.facebook.com/tweedshirecouncil  and via the Tweed Council link above.

Vote for your favourite entry (one only) across the three categories:• Regenerative Agriculture• Wildlife and Habitat Conservation• Tweed Sustainability - Sathya Sai College

TERM 4 WEEK 2 2019

POSITIVE PARENTING TIP #5

MAKE THE HOUSE A HAVEN By Glen Gerreyn

Home should be a sacred and protected place. I know that extreme situations occur in families but, as much as possible, we should never tell our kids to “Get out”. Home needs to be a safe haven and a place of refuge.

I know my children are going to make mistakes, mess up and do dumb things. I know your children are going to make mistakes, mess up and do dumb things. How can I be so sure? Because when you and I were their age, we all made mistakes, messed up and did dumb things. But, no matter what they do,

at any age, our children need to know that, when they come home, they will receive mercy and forgiveness. Yes, there may be consequences from their actions but in the end, the goal is for your child to be healed and restored. Then together as a family we can go out and face the world together. This family unit you have created is a tribe and there should be no obstacle so great that can destroy the connectedness and harmony of this family. It’s a choice we can all make to ensure our family bond remains unbreakable.

Lastly, just in case nobody has ever told you, let me say to every parent out there, You are doing a fantastic job as a parent. Your kids may, from time to time, ignore you and berate you, but when they are sick, hurt or in trouble, they don’t want their friends, they want you, their mum and dad. Nobody can restore and empower their heart and soul like you can. You are truly the most important people in their life, even though sometimes they may not show it.

I salute and applaud all the parents out there, especially the ones taking the time to read this far on a parenting article. No matter what field we work in, we should always take the time to educate ourselves in that area. This is certainly never more true than in the field of parenting–our most important life role yet.

TERM 4 WEEK 2 2019

YOUR CHILD’S 1ST SMART PHONE

Are they old enough?

Children often have access to devices, including smartphones, from a very young age. Whether it’s watching their favourite program through streaming services on your phone, using educational apps or simply viewing photos with you and the family, they are engaging with devices in one form or another.

1. But when is my child old enough to be given their own mobile phone?

In 2012, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed children as young as five years old owned a mobile phone – two percent of children aged between five and eight years old, and 29 percent for children aged five to 14 years. This figure is likely to be higher now! For many parents and carers, five years old would seem too young. For others, it might offer them peace of mind and security to know they can keep in touch with their child—especially in an emergency. The right age for your child will depend on their level of maturity. It’s worth asking yourself the following questions before handing over a digital device.

• Does my child have a good sense of responsibility?• Are they able to stick to the rules?• Do they show a good understanding of actions and consequences• Do they come to me or another trusted adult when they are distressed or

encounter problems?

For younger children it’s best to start with a mobile phone without internet access, and introduce a smartphone when they demonstrate an appropriate level of maturity. Some younger children might argue that they are ready for a smartphone, especially if their friends already have one. But it’s worth holding out until you feel confident that your child is mature enough.

2. My child has their first smart phone – now what?

When your child receives their first smartphone it’s a great opportunity to instil safe online behaviours early on, so they can carry these skills through to their teens and beyond.

Here are some tips for getting them on board with good online habits:

Establish rules at the outset with clear boundaries

Talk about expectations and the consequences for not meeting these rules. Depending on the age of your child, you might want to set up a written signed agreement which lists the rules.

Here are some you may want to agree on:

• No phones after a certain time (i.e. 8.00 pm) – unless in an emergency.• Keep to daily screen time limits (i.e. 1 hour per school night)• Family time is a no-phone zone (i.e. dinner).• Do not share your passwords with others – apart from parents• Do not share your real name (or full name), age and address when posting,

talking to strangers or on sites where anyone can see it.• Be kind to people – treat people on the phone as you would face-to-face• Do not take or share photos of others (including friends) without their

permission.• Tell a parent or another trusted adult if anything makes you feel

uncomfortable, or if a stranger contacts you online.• Do not purchase or download an app or game without talking to a parent

first—especially as these often have minimum age requirements.

Use technology tools to help set the boundaries to keep your child safe

Use parental controls to help manage your child’s device and the types of content they can access. Most devices come with parental controls and offer a range of features:

• iPhone: Go to Settings > General > Restrictions. Here you can disable apps or features, prevent access to explicit content and specific webpages.

• Android (Google Play): Go to Play Store > Settings > Parental controls. Most Android phones use Google Play as the digital marketplace for purchasing apps and accessing content. Through Google Play you can restrict the content your child can download or purchase from Google Play.

• Google’s Family Link is an app for parents to help manage their child’s device and account and offers additional layers of protection. It enables parents to set screen time limits, review app permissions (such as their camera, location, contacts), block apps and approve downloads, block sites and filter content.

• You can also check with your mobile service provider if they offer any parental control tools. Activate any privacy settings and safety features available on the device, in web browsers and apps. In some cases you can do this through parental controls or when installing apps on their phone. Carefully consider permissions and whether apps really need to access your child’s location, contact list, messages and other features.

Help your child set up a pin or password to lock their phone. In addition to protecting their personal information, this will ensure that no one else can use their phone.

Help your child set up strong and unique passwords for their apps and websites. Even if the phone is locked, apps and websites can be accessed from other devices.

Communicate openly with your child, establish and maintain trust

Most importantly, communicate openly with your child about their phone and online use. It’s not possible to supervise your child 24/7 and no technology tool is 100 percent effective in protecting them from online risks. So it’s really important to establish and maintain trust.

• Talk openly and regularly with your child about their online activities. Show them that you are interested in how they connect with friends, who they talk with and the type of sites they visit.

• If you are using parental controls, be upfront about this and get them on board. Let them know that these can be reviewed and changed as they get older and they continue to demonstrate responsible behaviour.

• Talk about positive online behaviour and about respecting others online. Encourage your child to think carefully before they post, text or share comments or photos so they don’t hurt or upset others. Remind them there is a real person at the end of the screen.

• Encourage your child to come to you (or another trusted adult) if they are upset because of an online experience, even if they think they are to blame.