Dear St Monica's families and friends,

Grandparents have always been important. Today, they're even more important. In busy, two-career and single-parent families, an involved grandparent goes a long way to filling a void for children. A teacher friend of mine had her grade four student’s talk about their heroes one day in class. One girl said her grandmother was her hero. When the teacher asked why, the girl explained, "Because she's the only one in the whole world who can boss my parents around!"

The special kind of love you get from a grandparent is a love you can't get anywhere else. It is an important kind of love – in fact, a very important kind of love. Parents have to worry about who children will become in the future; their role is to be providers and disciplinarians. Grandparents can just enjoy children for who they are in the moment. The love of a grandparent is often freer, more unconditional, and far less psychologically complex than a parent's love. The love of a parent and the love of a grandparent are different, and both are necessary. One study of school-aged children found that if they were in charge of family holidays, their first choice would be to go to... grandma/grandpa's house – "because it's fun." 

Extract by Susan V. Bosak from How to Build the Grandma Connection

Grandparent's Day - We are looking forward to welcoming Grandparents and Special visitors to our school tomorrow. The meeting point will be in the courtyard at 9.30am. The eldest children of each family will come and meet their visitor and show them around the school. Following classroom visits we will be providing a Devonshire Tea and entertainment from our school choir. We're so excited to welcome visitors back to our school.

School Staff Appreciation and World Teacher's Day - Tomorrow we celebrate the wonderful staff of St Monica's Primary School. Thank you to the parent community who have provided a special Morning Tea and Lunch for all staff in recognition of the dedication they give all our students each and every day.

Calendar Updates

School Fees - Fees were emailed out on Thursday 13 October and they are due on Friday 11 November unless paying by direct debit. If you are paying by direct debit please ensure that your fees are paid in full by the end of the school year. If you are experiencing financial hardship and you need to discuss your fees please contact Kirralea Thompson or book an appointment to come and see me. 

If you are leaving St Monica’s at the end of the year please ensure your fees are paid in full. The signature/s that appears on the enrolment form is the person who is legally responsible for the payment of fees. This is the person/s that we will be seeking payment from.

If you are leaving the school at the end of 2022 and the fees are not paid in full, we kindly request that you contact Kirralea to discuss an arrangement for payment of fees from 2023.

Peace and blessings to all families,