Dear Parents

2022 Kinder Orientation  - Save the Date

We have set aside Tuesday 7 and Thursday 9 December, between 3.30pm and 4.30 pm, for our 2022 kinder children to visit for two short orientation sessions. Information will be sent to all families outlining drop off and pick up arrangements. 

Staff and Student Sickness

We are currently experiencing a high level of staff and student illness. Please do not send your child to school if unwell. We currently have Clare Battye and June Edwards away for the remainder of the week. 

St Monica's Uniform Shop Reminder

Our uniform shop is now open to parents in the community to drop in on a Friday morning between 8.45am and 9.15am for essential items. Please remember you are on the school grounds and so masks are required when indoors, parents must check-in at the door with the Check In CBR app and maintain social distancing requirements. Numbers in the shop must be kept to a minimum. Qkr payments are our preferred method of payment or Eftpos. 

Our uniform shop will be open for our new families on Thursday 25 November between 3.45 and 5.00pm.  

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

Principal  

T

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.

Sacrament of Confirmation

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

Further Information regarding the Sacramental Program

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

Family Portraits will be held this Saturday 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.

Happy Birthday to the following students  celebrating a Birthday this week  

Declan H, Siena D, Jaryd S, Juliana D, Finn D, Emily R, Eva A, Emanuel S, Billy K

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