Dear Parents and Carers, 

It is hard to believe that we are halfway through Term 3. Being witness to the teaching and learning occurring throughout the school is one of the most rewarding parts of my job here at St Monica’s. Watching our teachers teach and the engagement in learning shown by your children fills me with great pride and admiration for everyone involved. 

At times learning can be challenging. We often ask our students to push themselves out of their comfort zone to learn new knowledge and skills. Our teachers work above and beyond to ensure the learning needs of all our students are met. 

If you would like to learn more about how we are engaging our children and their learning we will be running a parent session in our school library on Tuesday 12 September from 3.30pm-4.30pm.  This session will be facilitated by Toni Hatten-Roberts who has been supporting our school over the past three years with our Catalyst journey. More information will be shared with the community in the coming weeks… add the date to your diaries. 

I wanted to personally thank all the parent volunteers for the fantastic St Monica’s Disco celebrated last Friday night. A massive shout out to Angalea for facilitating this event as well as Team Kids, Wendy and all the staff members who stayed back to ensure that it was a fun night for all. 

After watching our students having fun at the school disco on Friday I then made my way to Melba on Sunday morning to see some of the students representing the Sharks. I must admit this is another great part of my role, watching your children participate in their sporting endeavours.  It was wonderful to see the students participate and show great sportsmanship and I was impressed with so many skills on show. Next stop Saturday netball! 

Parking - a few reminders

As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure the safety and convenience of all members of our school community we kindly request your cooperation in refraining from dropping your child at the front of the school in the morning. Keeping this area clear is greatly appreciated. 

When collecting your child from the front of the school in the afternoons please ensure that you move your car right down towards the zebra crossing. This will assist with congestion and keep the traffic flowing.  Additionally, this area is designed for students to be able to independently get into the car. If your child is unable to do this you may want to consider parking up at the basketball courts. 

Your cooperation in this matter is highly valued, and together, we can continue to create a safe environment for our students, staff, and visitors. 

Whether you are resting and recharging this weekend, catching up with friends or family, doing chores or taking your children to their weekend sports, enjoy every moment and be safe. 

Thank you for your ongoing support. 

Maggie Lloyd 

Sacrament of Confirmation

Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated on:

Tuesday 5 September 2023 at 6.00pm in St Michael’s Church, Kaleen;

Wednesday 6 September 2023 at 6.00pm in St Monica’s Church, Evatt; and

Thursday 7 September 2023at 6.00pm in St Monica’s Church, Evatt.

Home Booklets

Parents should now be working through the home booklet with their child in preparation for the Sacrament.  The booklets will need to be completed ready for retreat day and the child/parent formation night on 31 August 2023.

Home booklets will then to be handed back to the school for collection so that they can be signed with the parish stamp and then be available with certificates at the liturgy celebration.

Child/Parent Formation Evening

This will be held in St Monica's Church at 6.00pm on Thursday 31 August 2023. Please bring your completed home booklet to the evening.

‘Trybooking’ for the Sacrament of Confirmation

Fr Mick would like to cap the bookings to a maximum of 20 candidates for each liturgy celebration.

Please note: When you make your booking, please only book 1 place in the name of the candidate celebrating the Sacrament – all families will be allocated a pew in the church (if you have additional guests they will be able to overflow across the aisle).

If you have more than 1 child celebrating the Sacrament, please only book 1 place and put both names of the candidates in the name spot.

The ‘trybooking’ is open and will close on Friday 18 August 2023. The links will be available on the Parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth

If you are having trouble booking a spot please contact the Sacramental Program Coordinator at sue.coll@bigpond.com or through the trybooking email.

Stoles for Confirmation

Purchased stoles have now been delivered to the schools.  If you purchased a stole and have not yet received it please send me an email - sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au

Alternatively, if you did not order a stole and would still like to purchase one please email Sue at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au

Note: It is not compulsory to order a stole, you can borrow one on the night.

Sacrament of Reconciliation will be celebrated in Term 1, 2024.

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

Upcoming Author Visits and Book Preorders 

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Nat_Amoore_Student_orders_Flyer_Before_visit.pdf

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Sami_Bayly_School_Visit_Flyer_St_Monica_s_Primary_School.pdf

Sami_Bayly_School_Visit_Flyer_St_Monica_s_Primary_School _pdf 1.78 MB

Belconnen Athletics Carnival

On Tuesday 15 August we had over 40 students attend the Belconnen Athletics Carnival at the AIS. Congratulations to the following students who placed in the top 10 of their event(s).

Polly D- 8^th 9 years 70m, Milla F- 9^th 10 years 200m, Arabella A- 3^rd 11 years Long Jump, 2^nd Shot Put and 2^nd Discus, Ella K- 7^th 12 years shot put, Emma O- 9^th 12 years shot put, Sonny S- 4^th 9 years 70m, Karlin O- 1^st 10 years 100m, 3^rd 200m, Nikolas H- 6^th 10 years 100m, 4^th 200m, 8^th 800m, 1^st Long Jump, Paddy K- 2^nd 11 years 100m, 1^st 200m, 2^nd Long Jump and 2^nd Shot Put, Ater A- 8^th 11 years 100m, 3^rd 200m, 4^th 800m, Nicholas P- 1^st 12 years 100m and 200m.

Congratulations to Arabella, Sonny, Karlin, Nikolas, Paddy, Ater and Nicholas who will now progress to the ACT Championships (12 September at the AIS) by placing in the top 4 of their event. Special congratulations to Nicholas P who broke the Belconnen record in the 200m. 

Special thanks also to Mr Currie, Mrs Patterson and Miss Murphy who attended on the day to support our students and assist with the running of the carnival.

Cybersafety and Responsbile use of Technology

This a reminder of the upcoming Cybersafety Session for parents on Monday 23 October. Please mark this date in your diaries. Parents from all grades are encouraged to attend.

Being Safe Online

This year I have been undertaking Cybersafety lessons with all students in K-6. It has been extremely interesting to see the different levels of understanding that children have and what students have access to. Safe on Social has some great resources for parents to access that break down important information in various areas of social media, gaming and cyberbullying.  https://www.safeonsocial.com/parents-program

As parents, it is important to consider the following when allowing your child on social media, gaming apps and online programs:

• Is my child old enough to use the program?
• What are the terms and conditions that are being agreed to?
• Have I set up parental controls or what are my rules/expectations of my child sharing what they are accessing?
• What are the expectations of my child if they see or access something inappropriate?
• What environment and when is my child accessing their device? 
• Have I set up anti-virus software on my child's device?

As a school we have strong rules and expectations around access and online safety. It  is vital that these conversations continue at home. Please contact me if you would like to discuss further or require support with your children.

We are excited to announce our upcoming Father's Day Stall event taking place on Friday,  1 September 2023. We  are looking for volunteers who can spare a few hours of their time starting from 9.00am  on the day to assist with the stall set up and selling at the stall. At this stage purchasing times will be from mid morning until the end of the school day. Specific timings and volunteer time slots will be confirmed once known.

If you are available to lend a hand, please reach out to Sarah Clark at stmonica.stalls@gmail.com. Your support means a lot and we appreciate any assistance you can provide.

To assist on the day of the event you will need a current WWVP card.

I am an established tertiary trained and long time singer, singing teacher, performer and theatre maker!  I would like to offer singing lessons as an option for our students here at St Monica's.  I am also a parent at the school. 

Voice Lessons for Years 4-6

Half hour sessions where we learn to sing, breathe, read and sing music at sight, and cover the basics of music theory and learn to perform!   We will start to work on technique and developing vocal tone - $40.00 per lesson.

Vocal Basics for Years 1-3

For our younger students I would like to offer small group classes (2-4 students) at a reduced rate of fees - $23.00 per lesson.

In these classes we will learn to breathe, sing together, learn some basic sight reading and scales, work towards a group performance and most of all have fun!  

To make a booking or for any more information please email me - alpprideaux@gmail.com

Many thanks - Alira Prideaux