Principal's Message
Dear St Monica’s families and friends,
Special Prayers
It is with sadness I share the news that Kirralea Thompson's mother Jackie has passed away. Please keep Kirra, Scott, Charlotte, Huxley and Frankie in your prayers.
"Eternal rest grant unto Jackie, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace" Amen
COVID19 update - As many of you are aware the COVID situation is impacting on all sectors, including education. With new variants as well as the standard flu circulating, staffing is becoming a challenge in many workplaces. We were very fortunate last term as we were able to manage staffing so that continuity of your child’s learning continued. We were blessed to not have to close year groups or the school, due to staff illness. Whilst we hope we will have the same luck this term, circumstances may require the necessity to close all or part of the school. If this does need to occur, it is at the discretion of Catholic Education and we will notify families via COMPASS.
Due to the prevalence of COVID and lots of other illnesses circulating including; cold & flu and RSV and the potential impact this has on staffing, I ask you to assist us to keep the school operating as normal, by keeping your children home if they are sick.
Some of the most frequently asked questions the school has received, is around parents entering the school and the advice around household contacts:
- Essential visitors and volunteers, including parents, are allowed into the school building at the discretion of the Principal.
- Parents can enter the Front Office to sign their child in and out of the Compass portal. I kindly ask that parent do not go past the airlock doors, without prior arrangement with the Principal.
- Parents are very welcome to join us for the outside Morning Assembly on Monday and Wednesday. COVID safe practices such as mask wearing, hand sanitising and social distancing is strongly encouraged.
- Unfortunately, parents are not able to attend the Friday awards assembly or Whole School Prayer Assemblies until further notice.
- Please contact the school if your child is a household contact. Where possible, we encourage your child to study from home until the household is free of COVID. If it is not practical to study from home, students must undertake COVID-19 testing and return a negative result in the 24 hours prior to returning to school and then every 48 hours if ongoing attendance is required. Remote Learning lessons and resources are available from your child’s Classroom Teacher.
RAT kits continue to be available to families, as required, this term. Please contact the Front Office to request these.
Please find attached the letter and a video link from the Chief Health Officer with important information from ACT Chief Health Officer regarding COVID19.
A message from the ACT Chief Health Officer - Important information about COVID-19 on Vimeo
Staffing News
We have been privileged to have Qin Bao, work as a Senior Education Assistant with SMOOSH for the past 3 years. Qin very recently submitted her resignation from SMOOSH. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, Qin was not able to physically come in and say goodbye to the children. However, she passes on her best wishes to all the SMOOSH families and children she has worked with. She thoroughly enjoyed her time with St Monica’s and we in return wish Qin all the very best in her new endeavours. We are currently in the process of recruiting a new Senior Education Assistant for SMOOSH.
Compass Parent Portal Update
The use of the Compass Parent Portal, is our main source of communication between school and home and most parents are able to use the portal in a variety of ways. It is also the way parents are encouraged to send explanations of absences, give permission for their child to attend a school event (like an excursion or camp), send their child’s teacher an email, book parent/teacher interviews, volunteer to help at school events (such as the athletics carnival), receive notes and messages from school.
Most parents have embraced this communications system and are fully engaged. I strongly encourage you to check in with the dashboard regularly and allow notifications to come through on your phone or device so that you don’t miss any important information from the school.
If you are unable to access the Compass Portal, you have forgotten your login details, your password needs to be re-set or you are having glitches. Please contact the Front Office and we can assist you to rectify your issues.
Lisa
