Dear Parents

The formal enrolment period for Catholic schools in Canberra has commenced. I encourage families with siblings, due to start Kindergarten in 2022 to lodge their enrolment as soon as possible. Enrolments are to be submitted online and can be accessed via our school website. 

Reporting - Semester 1 2021

Our teaching team has begun the process of creating each child’s Semester 1 2021 report.

In Semester 1:

For Kindergarten students:

• Achievement in each subject will be reported using a four-point scale (Well Above Expectations, Above Expectations, Meeting Expectations and Working Towards Expectations).

For Year 1 to Year 6 students:

• Academic grades for each subject using a five-point scale from A-E will be reported using the Australian Curriculum Achievement Standards.

For all students:

• Strand Achievement will be reported in English, Mathematics, Humanities and Social Sciences, Health and Physical Education, and The Arts using a five-point scale (Excellent, High, Sound, Basic, Elementary).
• Engagement with Learning statements, which are taken directly from the Australian Curriculum, will provide specific information about your child’s Critical and Creative Thinking, and Personal and Social Responsibility, using a three-point scale (Beginning, Developing, Consistently).
• Individual student comments will not be used in the Semester 1 Reports.

Dialogue is an important feature of reporting. The Semester Report in this format encourages parent engagement and conversation about student learning. We want the report to be the entry point for parent-teacher interviews so we can engage in a genuine conversation about your child’s strengths, challenges, effort and areas for growth.

You are encouraged to keep in touch with your child’s teacher should you have any concerns as our next formal parent-teacher meetings will occur in Term 3 Week 1.

The new approach to Academic Reporting is a developing process. Further work will be undertaken in the coming months to determine how progress and achievement is best reported based on what we know to be important information about a student’s learning and progress.

For Our Mothers 

Loving Lord,
You have created mothers in love and blessed them with children.
As they work tirelessly to support their families may they be showered with your blessings.
Give mothers strength to exercise compassion as they live each day under your care.
May those who are joined in your love, support mothers by their fervour of spirit and devotion to prayer.

We thank you, O Lord, for the gift of Motherhood.
May those blessed with children be granted the gifts of courage, perseverance and good health.
May they face each new day with faith and hope in your abiding love.
May all families find in the strength of your love
The priceless gift of peace and so bear witness to your glory.

As Mary was the model of prayer, of love, and of obedience to the will of God, by your grace make mothers holy and rich with your gifts.
Bind families together in the bonds of peace and safety so that mothers will feel nurtured by love.
May all mothers enjoy good health and spiritual well-being to enable them to care for their families.

We ask this through Christ Our Lord, Amen

Wishing our mothers and carers a very special day on Sunday and every day. 

Continue to stay safe and healthy and may God's blessing be with everyone.

Principal  

Sacramental Program 2021 – First Eucharist for Y4 students in 2021

The Sacrament of First Eucharist will be celebrated in term 2 of 2021 on the following dates:

• Tuesday 8 June at 6pm in St Michael’s Church
• Wednesday 9 June at 6pm in St Monica’s Church
• Thursday 10 June at 5.30pm in St Monica’s Church
• Thursday 10 June at 7pm in St Monica’s Church

Please keep the candidates for First Eucharist in your prayers.

Registration must be made via the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Qkr! App. Registrations opened on 30 March 2021 and will close by 16 May 2021.
No further registration will be accepted after the closing date.

Commitment Masses

Students and parents must attend one of the weekend Masses at either St Monica’s Church (6pm Saturday or 10am Sunday) or St Michael’s Church (8am or 5.30pm Sunday) on one of the dates listed below to make their commitment for the Sacrament.
Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 May
Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 May 2021

There will be no additional commitment masses beyond these dates.

Booking a Mass time for the Sacrament

Once you have decided on the date and church you wish your child to celebrate the Sacrament, bookings can be made through ‘Trybooking’ on the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth
Bookings will be open from 10 May 2021 to 21 May 2021.

COVID Restrictions - due to current Covid restrictions we can only have 200 people in the church for each celebration.
This means the number of people attending is restricted to 8 to 10 per family only. (This may include parents, siblings or other family members or friends).

Booking will close once 200 bookings are made for the service.

Purchasing a stole for First Eucharist

Purchasing a stole is optional and is not compulsory. If you wish to purchase a stole, please make a payment of $20 through the Qkr! App and send an email to sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au and arrangements will be made for delivery/pickup.

For further information please contact the Sacramental Program coordinator at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au

Please register with the Compass Parent Portal as we have now removed the absentee button on SZine.

The school's Compass portal is available through both desktop and mobile applications. 

If accessing the Compass portal on your desktop you will have to enter the school’s Compass portal URL (provided to the parents in the invitation log-in) in a web browser.

Compass has a mobile app for both IOS devices as well as Android devices.

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/compass-school-manager/id778415974  Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jdlf.compass&hl=en_AU

Alternatively, the apps may be downloaded directly from the App store or Google Play store.  Then look for/type in the school -  St Monica's Primary School 

Please Note: The mobile applications are not designed for complete use of the Compass platform; it is designed for quick access to a set of specific information and specific actions.

Parents Logging into the Parent Portal

Every family will have a separate account to log into the Compass Parent Portal. When parents log in using the credentials sent to them for the first time, they will be prompted to change their temporary password.

Parents will not be able to navigate through the Compass portal unless they have confirmed their contact information. This is to ensure that all Compass communications are sent to the correct email address/mobile number.

If a parent forgets their Compass portal log-in details, they can reset their password through the log-in screen. The link takes the parents through the password recovery process which includes being sent a confirmation code via their selected method (email/sms).

Please note: If the parent tries to recover their account information using an email address or mobile phone number which do not match the information stored in the school’s Compass Portal, they will be advised to contact the school office and not sent an account reset code.

All families to use the Compass Parent Portal -  Attendance Note

The absentee button on SZine has been removed. 

This week I have enjoyed working with a group of students in Years 5 and 6 on a piece of writing for the Gough Whitlam writing competition. This competition was previously advertised in our newsletter and there were a handful of students who either approached me or I received an email from their parents to inform me of their child’s interest.

It has been wonderful seeing the students write about topics they are passionate about and follow the writing process to deliver a high standard of work. We look forward to sharing some of these in the newsletter in coming weeks.

Next week I will be advertising a whole school writing competition (K-6) for all students. The theme will be The St Monica’s Way and we look forward to any interested students engaging in this activity. More details will be included in next week’s newsletter.

BOOK FAIR -

25 - 28 MAY 2021

To be held in our School Library

Maths Questions

Please send your answers through by Tuesday morning to Mr Matchett- ryan.matchett@cg.catholic.edu.au

Years K-2

The number 4 can be partitioned into the following addends:

4 = 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 

4 = 2 + 1 + 1 

4 = 4 

4 = 3 + 1

Find the partitions for the number 9.

Years 3-6

If 872 pancakes can be made in 1 hour, how many pancakes can be made per minute? How many pancakes can be made in 2 hours? How many pancakes can be made in 30 seconds?

Gala Days

Thank you for your expressions of interest in attending gala days this year. We will advise in the coming weeks what we are able to commit to. If any notes have not been returned please do so ASAP.

ACT Swimming Results

Results from the ACT Swimming Carnival have not been sent through to us as yet. We will share as soon as we get them.

Belconnen Cross Country

A reminder that Belconnen Cross Country notes are due back by Tuesday 11 May. Please advise me if your child does not want to attend. 

Hello everyone

A big thank you to those who helped in the Canteen last week - Rach Pentes, Chris Regan, Jane Rabbets, Katherine O'Sullivan, Lorraine Coleman and Katrina Ciampa - your time is valued. I could not put out the huge volume of food without your kind assistance.

Volunteer opportunities for "Canteen Volunteers - Term 2 2021" are still open.  I particularly need assistance all day on Fridays, but also from 11-11:30am on Thursdays.

Please click on the following web link (or copy it into your web browser if clicking doesn't work) to go to the signup sheet:

volunteersignup.org/XF84H

To sign up, just follow the instructions on the page. It only takes a few seconds to do.

Thank you for volunteering!

Walk Safely to School Day- Friday 14 May

Now in its 22nd year, Walk Safely to School Day is happening on Friday 14 May 2021. National Walk Safely to School Day (WSTSD) is an annual event when all Primary School children will be encouraged to walk and commute safely to school. It is a Community Event seeking to promote Road Safety, Health, Public Transport and the Environment. On arrival to school, students who complete their walk or ride to school will be provided with a light snack. Students may even wish to organise a group to walk or ride to school together. Please see the flyer attached or access the website below for more information.

Happy Birthday to the following students  celebrating a Birthday this week 

Austin C, William H, Joshua R, Emma S, Jade W, Beau R, Karlin O, Declan C, Logan F, Sienna R, Marley B, Caleb C

If you have any ideas or concerns please email them through to our Secretary Noel Chan at council.stmonicas@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Reminder all families: 

Catholic Education COVID-19 Website - Click to open web updates