Dear St Monica’s families and friends,

Tomorrow, Friday 17 February, is “Random acts of Kindness day!”

I see random acts of kindness every single day at St Monica’s Primary School, between the students, staff and students, parents with staff and students. One single act of kindness not only brings great joy to person receiving, but to the giver too!

• “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” (Mark Twain)
• “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” (Aesop)
• “Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” (Scott Adams)
• “Kind words and actions can seem so small, but their effects are truly endless.” (Author Unknown)

Kindness FAQs….

What is the most important element of being kind? There are many elements to kindness such as patience, honesty, and being a good listener. However, one of the most important characteristics of a kind person is that when they do something for someone, they don’t expect anything in return.

Can kindness be learned? Yes. While some people seem to be born with a kindness gene, others develop the ability to show kindness later in life. So, kindness can be innate and learned.

How do I teach my children kindness? One way to teach children kindness is to demonstrate it in your daily life. Let them see you showing kindness to others. Include them when you volunteer or help a neighbour, and acknowledge their acts of kindness. You don’t have to reward them, but you can let them know you thought what they did was kind.

Some Random Acts of Kindness to try….

• Pay for the coffee or meal of the person in front of you in line.
• Leave a kind note for someone, no explanation needed.
• Share words of encouragement. You never know who might need them.
• Drop off a load of groceries at the local food pantry.
• Mail a “thinking of you” card to someone you’ve not talked to in a while.
• Order a bouquet of flowers to be delivered to anyone in the hospital. That means, call the florist and tell them to pick a hospital or nursing home and deliver flowers to the person at the front desk and they can deliver to someone they think needs them the most. It could be a sick child, an elderly person with no family, or someone who is down on their luck.
• Send a thank-you note to the local emergency services personnel.
• Just smile.

School Council News - Last night our School Community Council met for the first time this year and it gives me great pleasure to welcome on to the Council - Hannah Dwyer, Madeleine Taylor, Melinda Gowty and Fr Mick MacAndrew. I look forward to working and walking with all of our Council members, as representatives of all parents, and their families, at St Monica’s Primary School.

I am pleased to announce the Executive member of the council this year:

• Chairperson: Alicia Prest
• Deputy Chairperson: Katherine O’Sullivan
• Secretary: Madeleine Taylor
• Treasurer: Kate Carey

St Monica’s Fete - “It is no joke” April 1^st is the date for our school fete!! The organisation of it is now in full swing and I thank Kirralea Thompson (Fete Coordinator) for taking on this important fundraising role for our school. Information as to how you can help at the fete has been sent home to families in the past week. Please follow and like the St Monica’s Fete Facebook Page and share this wonderful community event with your families, neighbours and friends!

Dates for your diaries:

Sacramental Program General Meeting – this is for all families who will be registering their child to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation, First Eucharist & Confirmation. Tonight, Thursday 16 February, 6.00 pm, at St Monica's Church.

Star Awards - Tomorrow, Friday 17 February, 9.10 am, in the Hall

School Swimming Carnival – (Years 3 – 6 & competitive Year 2 students) Monday 20 February, Gungahlin Leisure Centre.

Ash Wednesday Mass - Wednesday, 22 February, 9.30 am, in the Church

Get to Know You Meetings - Next week, please check COMPASS for booking availability with your child's classroom teacher.

Peace and blessings always,

Happy Birthday to the following students  celebrating a Birthday this week.

Abigail P, Kane O, Atilio R, Tony R

Religious Curriculum

Spotlight on Year 6. This term they are investigating the concept of ‘Walking Together’. To launch this investigation and learning Year 6 enjoyed an exciting Leadership Retreat last Thursday with Mr Maher and the Youth Ministry Team. They began with a backpack and considered what items we need for a journey. Their answers were varied and very thoughtful. I wonder what items we might take on a journey? Would we need a torch to light the way in darkness? Food to sustain us? Water of course. What do you need on your journey? Before we begin any journey it is important to reflect on where we have come from and Year 6 have shared this with each other.

Religious Life of the School

Whole School Prayer

Thank you to Year 6 for sharing your Leadership Ceremony with the whole school last Friday. Such a wonderful moment in your journey of growth and exciting for all of us to be able to take part. We wish you all the best this coming year in your leadership roles.

Our next Whole School Prayer will be next week on Friday 24February. Year 4 will lead us in prayer exploring our Lenten journey. All families are invited to join us in the St Monica’s Church at 9.10am  for this whole school celebration.

Ash Wednesday

Our next whole school Mass will be in Week 4, next Wednesday, 22 February. This will be at 9.30am in the St Monica’s Church. You are all invited to join us in prayer and reflection on this very special day as we begin our individual but shared Lenten journeys.

If you have a child in Years 4- 6 in 2023 this may be a Sacramental year.

A Parish Sacramental Program Information Evening will be held tonight at 6.00pm in St Monica’s Church for the families of students in Years 4 and 6 in 2023.  You are very welcome to attend the information evening where all the relevant information will be available.

First Eucharist will be celebrated on the weekend of 17 and 18 June 2023.

Confirmation will be celebrated on 5, 6 and 7 September 2023.

Reconciliation will be celebrated in Term 1 in 2024.

For further Information – please contact the Sacramental Program Coordinator at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au or check the parish website for updates at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth

COMPASS Assistance Session

On Wednesday 1 March, Campbell Sloane from Catholic Education will be here in our Front Office area to assist with all things ‘COMPASS’.  If you need any support, please place this date in your diary.  Wednesday 1 March 9.00am, Week 5. 

Spelling Mastery  

Spelling Mastery began this week for all students in Years 3-6. The nature of these groupings mean that some students are in multi-aged groups streamed across Years 3 and 4 and then, Years 5 and 6. This is often a great learning opportunity for students as they form relationships with peers of different ages, while taking on similar learning challenges. 

The Spelling sessions are based on a mastery learning model which introduces strategies with associated learning tasks to help create a deep understanding. All students remain in the same group throughout the year.  Some students may think that the spelling is easy… this is ok. It is about mastery. Rest assured that the understandings increase in number and complexity as they progress throughout the program. 

If you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s classroom teacher.   

I hope everyone has had a fantastic start to the year. I am excited for what's in store in 2023! I am taking on a different role this year as Digital Technologies teacher, which I am very excited about. I will be teaching every class K-6 each week. I am also still the Sport Coordinator and will be very ably assisted by Mrs Friend. 

Please see below some important messages and reminders for both Technology and Sport. Please contact me by email or via the front office if I can ever be of assistance. 

Sport 

• School Carnivals: A reminder to check Compass to ensure you have given your child permission to participate in the swimming carnival (Years 3-6 and Year 2 competitive swimmers). For your diary; the School Cross Country Carnival will be held Thursday 4 May (Week 2, Term 2) on school grounds and the Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 26 May (Week 5, Term 2) at Merici College, Braddon.
• Gala Days: This year as a school we are hoping to enter teams in the following gala days; Union, Soccer, League, Netball, Oz Tag and Touch Football. We will gauge interest in other sports as the year goes on and hopefully provide other opportunities for students.  
• Sporting Achievements: As in previous years, if your child has participated in an out of school sport or activity and you would like to share their achievements with the school community, please email either myself or Steph Flynn and we will include in the Newsletter and our Facebook page.
• Representative Opportunities: For parents of students in Years 5 and 6, this year your children will have the opportunity to trial for ACT state teams. These trials happen throughout the year, and we will advertise when these opportunities are happening. Please visit https://schoolsportact.org.au/ for more information or check out the School Sport ACT Facebook Page. 
• Volunteers: We look forward to many parents volunteering to coach and manage teams or help out with school carnivals. Please reach out if you are ever able to help.

Technology

• IT and Media agreements: These were due last Friday and are now overdue. Please ensure you have read and digitally signed both agreements. 
• Old technology: If you have any old or unusable technology at home that you are willing to part with, please let me know and I will happily take them off your hands to use in Technology lessons.
• Community Support: If there are any parents or community members who have expertise in the technology field I would love to hear from you and get you in to share your talents with the school community. 
• Cybersafety: While teachers and staff always discuss and enforce cybersafety at school it is vital that parents and family members discuss this at home as well. The esafety commissioner's website has a wealth of wonderful resources, tips for parents, and webinars to assist you in your discussions about Cybersafety- https://www.esafety.gov.au/kids
• Minecraft Competition: A message was sent out to Year 3-6 parents on Compass about a Minecraft Education Competition. If your child is interested in competing, please let me know via email. 

Scholastic Book Club

Thank you to the families who have ordered books from Issue 1 of Book Club for 2023.  These orders have earned reward points for the library that will be used to purchase new books for the library.  The closing date for this issue is Monday 20 February.  There will not be another Book Club issue for Term 1 as we have the school fete at the end of term.

Library Lovers Day

On Tuesday 14 February we celebrated Library Lovers Day at St Monica’s.  Staff enjoyed a pink and red themed morning tea.  Students had the opportunity during the day to reflect on what they love about the library.  These are some of the students' reflections

“I love the library because it has the plane book, swing, the tower, the Lego, the paper to make stuff with and the places to read.” 

“I love the library because of the amazing, good and great books we have.”

“I love the library because of the tower that we can read in sometimes and the big selection of books they have.”

“I love the library because of Monty."