Dear Parents

This week is a very special week for our Year 3 children who are making their First Reconciliation over the next two evenings. Many thanks to Haley Stonham, our REC, and the Year 3 teachers for their help to support the families in guiding the children's preparation. 

Drop off and Pick Up Reminder

Just a reminder to parents and carers regarding my communication earlier in the week about the procedure for drop off and pick up each day. I require parents to be very vigilant when dropping off and picking up their child/ren. In keeping with ACT Health requirements schools are required to restrict the interaction of grade cohorts as much as possible. To minimise contact between grade levels the following measures will be trialled over the next few days 

Mornings

• On arrival to school, the children will need to sit in their designated lineup areas until the bell rings.
• To reduce the number of children on the playground please drop your child/ren as close to 8.45am as possible. If using the hall car park or basketball drop off zone, parents should avoid getting out of their car as this will help to improve the flow of traffic. 
• If dropping off at Chomley Street, parents can supervise their children from the footpaths on the school boundary line. Parents are not permitted onto the school grounds or into classrooms.

Afternoons
Our afternoons are a little more challenging and require patience from everyone.

• 3.05 (Before the bell) - Drive-thru for Kinder and Year 1 and their siblings.
• 3.15 pickup – Drive-thru for children in Year 2 and their siblings.
• 3.20 pickup – Any other families wishing to access the drive-thru 
• Blacktop/basketball courts – Parents must wait in their cars until the bell. Please refrain from gathering. Once your child reaches the top of the stairs, please move to your car immediately. (I know it is great to catch up, however, your cooperation is very much appreciated at this time)
• Chomley Street – A teacher will walk the children across to the car park. Parents should wait in their cars until the children arrive. Collect your child/ren and move off quickly.

What is critical - Please tell your child where they are to be picked up as this will also prevent a hold up during pick up times.

Thank you to everyone over the last two weeks. We are getting into a good routine, just need to finetune.
Let’s keep our community safe and observe the required COVID-19 requirements. 

School fees 2022

In the coming weeks, all families will receive information regarding the 2022 School Fee Schedule. Currently, I am working with the Community Council to review all fees and ratify the budget and fee schedule. I will publish the School Fee Schedule as soon as possible.

Careful consideration has been taken in reviewing the fees for 2022 to continue to support our school’s requirements whilst keeping increases manageable for families in the current economic environment.

Our school fees combine Tuition fees (Catholic Education Tuition fees) and local school levies. Increases are considered to keep pace with rising salary and other costs and to ensure our school continues to deliver the quality education that you expect for your children.

As always, if fees create financial concern for you, I encourage you to make an appointment with me to discuss how we can help. Any discussion on fees is strictly confidential.

Classroom Support - School Audit 

Unfortunately, our Literacy Support groups, led by Jacinda Vaughan, will not be offered for the remainder of the term. This year St Monica's was selected to be part of a Price Waterhouse Cooper Audit of Learning Adjustments implemented to support our students. This is a critical audit as the information gathered will provide valuable reference data to the government on the work schools need to put into place to support students with additional needs. Jacinda is responsible for leading this audit at St Monica's.

To help in classrooms I have worked to provide additional Classroom Support Assistant time to support students and teachers to provide additional support across the curriculum.

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

Principal  

The school Community Council is an essential component of our school. Constitutional requirements for Council membership means there will be vacant positions on the Executive of the School Community Council from 2022.  

Any parent in the School community is eligible to nominate.

What does the Community Council do?

The Constitution states that the Council ‘provides opportunity for members of the community to support the mission of Catholic education in the school. Working with the Principal, Parish Priest and staff, the members of the Council and its committees provide leadership to the wider school community’

The Community Council works with the Principal, Parish Priest and staff collaboratively to ensure the smooth operation of the school. The Council takes a decision making role in areas such as developing capital and maintenance programs, promoting the school in the local community, approving school uniform, developing and monitoring school enterprises (eg hall hire) and fundraising to name a few items. The council also has an advisory role in areas such as curriculum, student welfare and educational policies for the school.  

Meetings are held twice a term and a commitment to attending these meetings is required.

How to nominate

Each nomination must be made on the Nomination Form attached and available from the Front Office (emails will not be accepted as a formal nomination).  The nomination must be seconded and agreed to by the person being nominated. All nominations are confidential.  Please send nominations addressed to Carmel Maguire in a sealed envelope labelled ‘Community Council Nomination’ by 3pm on Monday 22 November 2021.  All nominations should be placed in a sealed envelope and handed into the office to be opened by Father Loi (or a parish representative) and the Principal after this date.

Refer to the documents attached for additional information and the nomination form.

Sacrament of Confirmation

The Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated on:

Tuesday 23 November in St Michael’s Church at 12 noon and 6pm;

Wednesday 24 November in St Monica’s Church at 6pm; and

Thursday 25 November in St Monica’s Church at 12 noon and 6pm.

 3^rd Rite of Reconciliation – via zoom – Monday 22 April 2021 – 6pm 

In lieu of current Covid restrictions we have been experiencing regarding Reconciliation for candidates preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation Fr Loi will conduct the 3^rd rite of Reconciliation with the candidates and their families via zoom on Monday 22 at 6pm.

The zoom access is     https://cgcatholic.zoom.us/j/67062838298

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Congratulations to the students who celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation this week. Please keep these students in your prayers.

Home Booklets – completed books are to be handed into the schools by 19 November (Week 7). The books will be signed by Fr Loi and the schools will return them to the students.

Further Information – please contact the Sacramental Program Coordinator at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au or sue.coll@bigpond.com or check the parish website for updates at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth

Each year St Monica’s School supports our local needy families identified by our local St Vincent de Paul parish group. The local conference of the Society will assist with packing and distributing over 50 hampers to families in our parish just prior to Christmas. Over the years, the generosity of the St Monica’s School community has filled many hampers. our appeal is starting on Monday. St Monica’s School will collect items up until Friday 10 December. This year grades have been allocated a food group to collect to ensure we have a good balance of items. Please refer to the preferred items listed against your child's grade as identified in the attached document.

Year 6 - Meat and Fish

Year 5 - Vegetables, Gravy & sauce

Year 4 - Deserts (check use-by date is after 1 Jan 2022

Year 3 - Savory Treats

Year 2 - Sweet Treats - cakes, pies & biscuits ( use-by date after  1Jan 2022)

Year 1 - Sweet Treats - chocolate, lollies & drinks

Kinder - Vegetables, gravy  & sauces

Attention Parents with Children in Years 4  - 6 in 2022 - Bring Your Own Device Program (BYOD)

With technology continuing to develop at such a fast rate, it is easy to feel a little overwhelmed and unsure about its possibilities. This information aims to help parents with the transition into the BYODD program at St Monica’s.

Following a review of the current technology use at St Monica’s and changes across education, a decision has been made to move to Chromebooks in Year 4 from 2022. Many of the local primary schools have moved to Chromebooks for their BYODD program, due to cost and ease of use. Moving to a Chromebook will prepare the children as they move into high school where laptops are the preferred option.

In 2022
·       the Year 3 children will access a bank of Chromebooks available at St Monica’s. They do not need to purchase a device to bring to school. A set of iPads will also be available for specialised small groups activities including taking photos of work, Reading Eggs etc.
·       the BYODD program for Year 4 will focus on the use of Chromebooks. Please note – as we are in a transition phase any child who already has an iPad will not be required to purchase a new device to start the year. We ask that you purchase a Chromebook when replacing the iPad. Chromebooks offer access to a built-in keyboard, are cheaper and provide cloud storage for work so a child can work at school and at home with ease.
·       the Years 5 & 6 BYODD iPad program will continue. We are very conscious that many of the children in the current Year 4 group purchased new iPads so we are not asking families to purchase another new device. The children in Years 5 and 6 will have access to a bank of Chromebooks for publishing work when required.

Should the purchasing of a device place a burden on a family’s finances please speak to Carmel Maguire, as soon as possible. We do have a small bank of iPads that will be available for use by families experiencing difficulties in Years 4 to 6. Due to the limited supply of Chromebooks for use across each of the cohorts, they will not be part of our student loan program. Many children have access to a family computer at home if required.
 
Why BYOD?
With the development of the Australian National Technologies Curriculum, technology subjects have become a focus in education. Consistent with this research, industry surveys show that STEM literacy is increasingly becoming part of the core capabilities that Australian employers need. In order to carry out authentic learning tasks with technology, it is important students are equipped with the right tools. St Monica’s has a range of devices for students to access however CE has a policy that all IT hardware should be replaced every 3 years if a school wants access to technical support for school hardware. This creates a huge burden for a school budget if we want to achieve a 1:1 ratio of students to devices.

The current IT budget goes towards the purchase of school-owned devices which now includes three banks of Chromebooks, sets of iPads for use by Kinder to Year 2, specialised activities in Years 3 - 6, maintenance of classroom eboards and the ongoing purchase of other technologies including robots and STEM resources.

Technical considerations when selecting a Chromebook for use at St Monica’s for 2022?

•  11.6” Screen Size (available up to 15.6” but not required as this increases weight and space required for storage and transporting)
• 4Gb RAM (or greater)
• 32GB storage capacity (or greater)
• Built-in webcam and headphone/microphone jack

There is no preferred brand, and they all function in the same way:

• The Good Guys - Lenovo
• JB Hifi – Lenovo, HP, Asus
• Harvey Norman – Lenovo, HP, Asus

Parents can choose between a clamshell (opens and closes) or 2-in-1 (touch screen and 360-fold options).
As the device is used for school purposes, you do not need to purchase Office 365 or Google One add-ons that may be made available to them via a retailer.

The BYOD Chromebooks are not managed by the school. Parents are responsible for managing updates, breakages or technical errors.

Setting Up
The Chromebook will need to be set up with the student’s school email details for use at school. A personal or private Google account can be used for personal use at home. https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/1047362?hl=en

Due to a change in CE policy, regarding passwords, students entering Year 4 will be issued a new password in late January before school returns. The new sign-in to Google and their Chromebook will be done as part of the start of the new school year upon return to class. Passwords for students entering Year 5 & 6 will remain the same, but please note the child has 5 attempts to enter the password before accounts are locked and need to be unlocked by someone at the school.

For your information only - Specifications of the Chromebooks purchased by St Monica’s

• Dell Chromebook 3100 Touch Dell Chromebook 3100 Touch
• Intel Celeron N4020
• Camera and Microphone
•  WLAN Capable
• 4GB Non-ECC
• 32GB eMMC Storage
• 11.6" HD Touch Screen – this is optional
• Please purchase a protective cover

Benefits of the Chromebook
One of the benefits of Chromebooks is that they’re some of the easiest tech tools for both students and teachers to learn how to use. In fact, they take a lot of the intimidation out of computer learning.
A few of the many practical benefits of working (and learning) with Chromebooks.

• They can boot up and connect to the network in seconds, which means teachers and students don’t have to drum their fingers at the start of class.
• They offer plenty of cloud storage, which means even if students share a Chromebook (such as a from a Chromebook cart), they can sign in and still get a personal learning experience.
• They come with a long battery life that lasts throughout the school day, which means fewer interruptions in learning.
• They protect students from viruses and malware without requiring heavy maintenance, keeping learning safe and secure.

From basic keyboarding skills to advanced ethics in online research, Chromebooks continually allow students at almost any grade level the chance to experience and sharpen their knowledge of how technology works, and how it can be used for everything from a simple homework assignment to a semester-long group project.

Any questions please email carmel.maguire@cg.catholic.edu.au

Kinder regards

Carmel Maguire
Principal

St Monica’s Virtual Book Fair

Today we are launching our Virtual Book Fair in partnership with The Book Cow book store in Kingston. We would love to have the library full of books for families to come and view and purchase but due to restrictions at this time a virtual book fair is our best option for celebrating reading and the joy of books and building our personal library. The Book Cow has joined us for this event and we have worked together to select books from a range of categories, such as picture books and graphic novels or you can purchase any of the books on their website.

This is a significant fundraising opportunity for the library, as Book Fairs are our major fundraiser for the library so that we can continue to purchase newly released and popular books for the students. I have also visited The Book Cow to select books that we would like to have in the library. Families are able to purchase these books to donate to the library by clicking on the St Monica’s Wish List link.  All donated books have a plaque in them acknowledging who donated them. 

The links are provided which take you to the book fair with instructions on selecting and purchasing books.

Book Fair - https://shop.bookcow.com.au/c/st-monica-s-evatt-book-fair

Wishlist - https://shop.bookcow.com.au/c/st-monica-s-evatt-school-wishlist 

The books will be delivered to the school and then the students' classroom. If you are purchasing for Christmas and would prefer the books not to be sent home with students please email me to make alternative arrangements.

CBCA Readers Cup

Today we had 3 teams participating in the CBCA ACT Readers Cup. The students have been busy reading the 5 books that they have then answered a series of questions about. It has been a challenging time for the students with Remote Learning meaning that the students have had to read some of the books online but they all enthusiastically worked in their teams to answer the questions. Well done Vsevolod, Drew, Emilia, Jaiden, Paige, Sam, Rohan, Dylan, Shaye, Liam and Antonia.

T

Fees are due by Friday 12 November 2021

Term 4 fees are now due. Please contact our school Finance Officer, Kirralea Thompson, should you need to discuss your account. Any families who are leaving at the end of this year must ensure their account is settled in full.

Happy Birthday to the following students  celebrating a Birthday this week  

Liam N, Brooke D, Diego C, Zander R, Lucas B, Mia E

It seems strange to be sending this out in these crazy Covid remote learning days, but we have a school fundraiser in the wings! Family Portraits on Sunday 27 November 2021! The attached flyer provides more detail, but for the bargain price of $20 per family, you are able to sit for a family portrait and obtain a 10"x13" print, as well as a wallet photo (more poses and images are also available at an additional cost). To keep it all Covid friendly, sitting for the family photos will take place at Lake Ginninderra nearish to the Learn to Ride Park. All booking are made through Try Booking (details on the flyer). If you have any further queries after reading the flyer and checking on Try Booking, please contact the photographer directly - Kieren from Lasso Studios - on 0420 233 747.

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