Dear St Monica’s families and friends,

It was an incredible St Monica's Feast Day celebration on Monday! We started the day with Mass where we opened our hearts to the Lord and gave thanks and praise to our special patron, St Monica. Thank you Ms Younger for preparing this beautiful celebration for us.

Following Mass, it was straight down to the oval for our annual 'Walking the St Monica's Way' walk-a-thon. Along the 3km walk, each of the checkpoints added some excitement with bubbles, funky tunes and even a nerf gun target activity. We were greeted back at school with an icy-pole, fresh fruit and more dance tunes. Thank you to Mrs Lloyd, and the Kinder and Year 2 teachers for your preparation and facilitation of this event. Thanks also to Kaylee, John and the team from TeamKids who shouted our volunteers a coffee, cut up the fruit and manned a number of the checkpoints.

After lunch it was surprise time! There were a few rumours going around about what this event was, that only Mrs Harris and Mrs Lloyd knew about... "the whole school was going on a bus to the movies?", "McDonald's was being shouted for lunch?", "A Lego Masters competition?", "Parents were picking their children up at 1pm for an early mark?" It was none of the above and all students were treated to a magic show, with Magic Mike https://www.michaelwebbmagic.com.au/canberra-magician

It was all fun, laughter and wonder as Mike brought great joy and entertainment to our community.

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.

Please keep the 62 candidates in our parish who are celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation in your prayers.

Child/Parent Formation Evening

This will be held tonight in St Monica's Church at 6.00pm. Please bring your completed home booklet with you.

Home Booklets

The completed home booklets can be handed in tonight at the child/parent formation evening. The home booklets will then be signed with the parish stamp and then be available with certificates at the liturgy celebration.

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

Sami Bayly Author Visit  

Last Friday we had author and illustrator Sami Bayly visit St Monica’s and spend time with Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 6. She shared fascinating stories about some of the animals in her books. The students loved learning about the Marabou Stork including how it escapes predators and cools itself. Sami then stepped the students through drawing fish.

Parent Tips- Cybersafety

Credit: Safe On Social

Parents, as we stand on the cusp of the metaverse era, our children are already pioneers, exploring the first of the Metaverse games like Roblox. It's not a time for fear but empowerment. By immersing ourselves in their online life journey, we can be their guiding light, ensuring their safety. The online world might be vast and unpredictable, but we can steer towards a promising and secure digital future with mutual trust and collaboration. It's not all bad. It is not all doom and gloom. If you know what to do, you can create a safe world of online wonder. Here is how to start.

Good job that you are here reading this! The online world is ever-evolving. Make it a point to stay informed about the latest apps, platforms, and trends. This helps you understand the risks and gives you a common ground to start a conversation with your child. Instead of formal lectures, initiate casual conversations. Ask about their favourite online games, videos, or influencers in the car or when out for a walk. This will make them more comfortable sharing their online experiences with you.

Open up about your own online experiences. Whether it's a funny meme you saw or a phishing email you received, sharing can be a way to educate and bond. It's essential to establish clear online safety rules. But instead of imposing them, involve your child in the decision-making process. This ensures they understand the 'why' behind each rule.

Be mindful and use real-life incidents as teaching moments. Share news or stories about online incidents, discussing the consequences and how they can be avoided. If you are in the kitchen paying a bill on your phone or ordering their school lunch...show them! they seriously think you are on Facebook. While monitoring your child's online activities is crucial, it's equally important to respect their digital space. Trust, combined with open communication, can be more effective than surveillance.

While the online world offers endless entertainment, balancing screen time with offline activities is essential. Encourage hobbies, sports, or even simple family outings. Children often mirror their parents. Exhibit the online behaviour you wish to see in them. If you prioritise cyber safety, they are likely to do the same.

Turn the tables and ask your child for advice on your online habits. This makes them feel valued and gives you insights into their knowledge. If your child approaches you with an online concern, stay calm. Listen, understand, and then discuss potential solutions. Panicking can deter them from sharing in the future.

Want more? Free is free for a reason, and we need to pay people to make sure you get the best and most up-to-date information...so if you want to stay up to date with internationally relevant and constantly updated information, access to exclusive content, email support, videos, online learning and 160+ "cheat sheets" for less than a coffee a month? Your child's safety online is guided by your up-to-date knowledge.

Sign up today for immediate access: https://www.safeonsocial.com/parents-program

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.  

Compass

Campbell Sloane from Catholic Education will be here on Tuesday 19 September at 8.30am to assist families with any COMPASS issues.  If you are not familiar with Compass this would be a great opportunity for you to come along to.

Clinical Psychologist Andrew Fuller, in conjunction with Catholic School Parents Association of Canberra and Goulburn, invite you to attend this parent workshop "Support your child in Learning" For further information and how to register, please see the attached flyer.