It is hard to believe that winter has come and gone and that we are at the end of Term 3. It has been a wonderful term of learning for our students and I know they would all be looking forward to a well-earned break over the next two weeks. 

I would like to thank you all for the support I have received whilst Carmel has been on leave. It has been comforting knowing how supportive and caring our community is. We have all missed Carmel and look forward to welcoming her back in Term 4!

Farewell

Tomorrow we farewell Coco T (2RD) and Sierra T (2RD). We wish them all the best in their new school.

Miles Franklin Proposed Fence

We had some exciting news during the week with the announcement from the ACT Directorate that the proposed fence surrounding Miles Franklin and South-West Evatt Oval will not be going ahead. This is great news for our families in the area who had concerns regarding use of the space and safety for their children travelling to and from school.

In addition to this, we have also been told that the Directorate and Miles Franklin are supportive of our access to the oval. We look forward to working with Miles Franklin to ensure St Monica's students benefit from the oval as an extension of our playground, particularly during our designated 'green space' time.

ThinkUKnow - Parent Workshop

Thank you to all those families who committed their time to attend the ThinkUKnow Parent Workshop on Monday evening. Our facilitator Kal was extremely impressed by our turn out and level of engagement from participants. If you were unable to attend but would like further information please collect a booklet from the spare notes stands in the corridor. 

eSafety Commissioner

Our final resource for ensuring student safety online is the eSafety Commissioner website. The website is a wealth of information for parents and carers managing our online world. It is also the site you go to if you are having trouble with content being removed from apps that may damage reputations. 

You might like to take the time to enter the 'Screen Smart Parent Tour' which includes a number of modules aimed at increasing your knowledge. Here is a quick guide with some important statistics to understand. Is your child one of the 10 to 14-year-olds spending 23 hours online per week?

Students Dating

Over the past few weeks, we have had multiple incidences of conflict in our upper primary school years, particularly in Years 3, 4 and 5, where dating has caused angst and upset for many students. 

There have been incidences where students have been told by their friends for many years that they won't play with them at lunch because they are 'going on a date'. Students have become emotionally distressed and unable to complete school work because they are going through a 'break up' and other students are confused because they don't want to upset anybody with 'rejection' when they weren't interested in a relationship with them. 

We live in a world that is moving at an alarmingly rapid pace. When we think back on our teen and early adulthood years many of us would have fond memories of the time spent dating our first loves. Are our 8 to 11-year-olds really prepared to enter into relationships with others that will inform their future decisions on love and marriage? 

As a school, we will be continuing to support our students through these conflicts by suggesting that dating each other is not necessary at such a young age. I have attached an information sheet from Parenting Ideas for your information.

Joe Maths Day

Tomorrow we will be having a fundraiser led by the SRC and Yr 6 Social Justice team to raise money and awareness for our sister school in Kenya, Joe Maths. Students are able to dress in their sports jerseys so that they can participate in games similar to those played by the children at Joe Maths. I wonder how many students will be wearing green?!

Carmel's Adventures in Italy

Carmel has continued to send photos of her time in Italy. She started her trip with a private morning Mass in the Vatican before seeing the Pope with 1000's of other tourists. After Rome it was off to the home of Puccini, Lucca onto the beauty and tranquillity of Assisi and then onto the Tuscan countryside for indulgence in cooking classes! 

Yours in Christ,

Luke Donnelly

Acting Principal