Achieve - all that you can

Jesus said therefore

‘What is the Kingdom of God like?  And to what shall I compare it?  It is like the mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches’.    

Luke 13: 18-20

St Monica - A Model of Patience

School - Patience, Stewardship, Acceptance

Dear Parents,

Today is the Feast Day of our only Australian saint, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Mary MacKillop was instrumental in bringing Catholic Education to children all around the world through her work in Australia and as the founder of the Sister's of St Joseph. Her mantra 'Never see a need without doing something about it' is timeless. Let's all make an effort to do something about the needs we see.

Open Council Meeting

Last night the Community Council welcomed members of the community to our open meeting. It was a wonderful opportunity for parents to hear what has been happening in our school and contribute to discussions had. A summary of the meeting can be read below.

Science Week

Next week we celebrate National Science Week with our special Science Day on Thursday. Our Year 6 students will create space-based learning experiences to showcase at our Science Fair in the hall. The timetable for the fair will be:

Kindergarten - 10:30am -11:00am

Year One - 11:30am - 12:00pm

Year Two - 12:15pm - 12:45pm

Year Three - 12:30pm - 1:00pm

Year Four - 12:45pm - 1:15pm

Year Five - 1:00pm - 1:30pm

You are most welcome to join us to experience the excitement of the Science Fair.

OzTag Gala Day

Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side this morning and the OzTag Gala Day for many students from Years 3-5 was postponed. The day has been rescheduled for next Friday 16 August. This date now clashes with the 4M Assembly. We have decided to move 4M's Assembly to Week 9 of this term so that they are all available to participate. A new permission slip for next Friday will be sent out tomorrow. 

Yours in Christ,

Luke Donnelly

The annual satisfaction surveys of parents, students and staff are currently being conducted in all Catholic School in our Archdiocese. The surveys are designed to gather feedback from parents, staff and students about our school and will be used to inform school improvement and the development of the St Monica's 2020 - 2022 Strategic Plan. Responses are confidential and individuals can not be identified. 

Parent surveys were launched via email on Monday 29 July using the parent email addresses supplied to the school. If you do not receive an email with a link to the survey please email the school office and we will send you a link. Children will be provided with the link to the student survey at school.

The survey closes on 9 August 2019. To date, 54 parents have responded to the survey. Your feedback is important so please make this a priority.

Sacrament of Confirmation

The Confirmation Retreat Day is being held today at St Francis Xavier High School. We look forward to our session with the Youth Ministry Team. A reminder that the $30 dollars can be paid via Qkr! or cash in a labelled envelope.

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop - 8 August 

St Mary of the Cross was a very courageous woman who met every challenge she faced with great dignity and graciousness.  Her feast day is celebrated today.

Mary was born in 1842 in Melbourne, the eldest of eight children. The family was extremely poor and suffered many hardships over the years. At the age of 14, Mary began work as a governess giving her wages to the family. Mary worked in many different positions until 1860 when she went to Penola, South Australia as governess to her aunt’s children. It was here that Mary met Fr Julian Tenison Woods and the dream of establishing a religious order began. In 1865 Mary established a school in Penola using a disused stable. On March 19 1866, Mary became the first Sister of St Joseph. The order continued to grow, teaching and making outreach to the poor, orphans, prisoners, the homeless – a significant difference to other religious orders of the time. Pope John Paul 11 beatified Mary MacKillop on January 15 1995. She was canonised on October 17 2010. Mary MacKillop was an extraordinary Australian whose legacy continues today across the globe.

Mary MacKillop Prayer

Ever generous God, You inspired Saint Mary MacKillop to live her life inspired by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and constant in bringing hope and encouragement to those who were lonely, disheartened or needy. With confidence in your generous providence and joining with St Mary MacKillop, we ask that you grant our request…………….We ask that our faith and hope be inspired afresh by the Holy Spirit, so that we too, like Mary MacKillop may live with courage, trust and openness. Ever present God, hear our prayer. We ask this through Jesus Christ Amen.

On Saturday 12 August the Archdiocesan Pilgrimage will take place. Archbishop Christopher will lead a procession of cars from the Cathedral to Star of the Sea Church Eden. Eden has special significance to Mary MacKillop as her mother was on board the Ly- ee-Moon when it sank off the coast at Eden in 1886 with only 15 survivors. Mrs MacKillop did not survive. She was buried at Greencape until she was taken to Sydney for reburial. Mary always valued the care extended to her mother following this disaster and sent Sisters from her Order to live and work in Eden, which continues to this day.

Feast of the Assumption

The school will celebrate this Feast day of Mary next week with a whole school mass. You are most welcome to attend.

This week the learning intention for our protective behaviours unit is for students to name the people in their safety network. You might like to have a conversation with your child/ren about who they have in their safety network by tracing their hand and naming five people, remember to include people from school, home and the community.

You can view the books by clicking on their image below. The video is a review from Cath Hakanson, a consultant for material on protective behaviours, who provides practical advice for parents and teachers using the books.

Kinder	Years 1 - 4	Years 5 and 6

The overview of the program below includes links to resources to support you and the conversation you might like to have with your child before tomorrows lesson.

What is anxiety? Anxiety is more than feeling stressed or worried. It can be difficult to cope, but with the right support, things can get better.

Internet based therapy is not new anymore. Many studies have shown great success with online cognitive behaviour therapy. It is convenient, cost effective, confidential and easy to access for busy families. The BRAVE Program is an interactive, online program for the prevention and treatment of childhood and adolescent anxiety. The programs are free and provide ways for children and teenagers to better cope with their worries.

The BRAVE Program can be used on any computer or tablet device and includes up to 10 sessions that you can work through at your own pace. 

There are interactive activities on:

• anxious body signs and relaxation
• activating helpful thoughts
• victory over your fears
• finding solutions to your problems
• rewarding yourself
• preparing for the future.

There are also programs for parents. Please visit https://brave4you.psy.uq.edu.au for more information.

To assist parents with the teaching of reading we are offering the following workshop at St Monica's on Wednesday 21 August between 9.15am - 11.00am.

The workshop will be presented by James Lyra. James is a registered early childhood teacher and a paediatric occupational therapist. He has held roles as a classroom teacher, an occupational therapist and literacy specialist.

Overview

• How does our English writing system work?
  
  • What are the sounds (phonemes)? 
    
  • What are the spellings (graphemes)?
• ​​What is Sounds-Write and how does it fit within our literacy teaching?
• Walkthrough of the Sounds-Write lessons and parent practice
  • ​Lesson 1 - Word Building
  • Lesson 2 - Symbol Search
  • Lesson 4 - Word Reading
• ​Reading with children at home
  
  • ​Selecting books to read with/to your child
  • How can parents help when their child reads a take-home reader?

Click the link to register

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/sounds-write-kinder-and-year-1-parent-workshop-tickets-66799313545

Safe Parking Behaviour

Unsafe driving and parking behaviours increase the potential road safety risk for children around schools. Road safety is a shared responsibility, it is important the road rules are followed near our school to ensure the entire school community feels safe.

Please remember children are more at risk than adults around schools because they are smaller and less visible to drivers. They are also less predictable and less experienced, which makes them more likely to make errors of judgement.

Failing to follow simple road rules like parking on the verge, in no-stopping zones, in bus stops, near children’s crossings, on footpaths or across driveways increases the risk to children around schools. Please do the right thing to create a safe environment around our school.

Enforcement Around Schools

Parking Operations use a Licence Plate Recognition vehicle (or electronic chalking), which regularly patrols school environments to increase safety for children. Motorists that commit an offence will receive their infringement notice in the mail (rather than on their windscreen) 5-7 days after the offence.

While the school can become congested during peak times, illegal parking should be avoided at all times as it creates an unsafe environment for children and local residents. Parents are welcome to park on side streets around the school, but please remember to park legally. Infringements for parking on nature strips, footpaths, verges, street corners and near children’s crossings start from $114.

More information is available on the Transport Canberra website to promote safe behaviours around schools. Please help to make our school community safe.

Dress Up as a Book Character Day

Dress up as a Book Character Day will be held on Thursday 22 August. The theme of Book Week this year is Reading is my Secret Power.  This theme lends itself to students thinking about books and characters that have inspired them, challenged them or taught them a lesson that has changed them for the better.  In the next few weeks spend time talking and reflecting with your children on characters that have had a positive impact on them. Choose one of these characters rather than a superhero such as Spiderman.  There will be a parade in the school hall at 9.30am.  Prizes will be awarded for the best dressed in each year level.

Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge Ambassador Visit

This year St Monica’s is participating in the Chief Minister’s Challenge.  The challenge involves students reading 30 books before 21 September.  Information about the challenge can be found at this link The Chief Minister's Reading Challenge. The students have received their Individual Student Reading Record.  When the students finish a book, it must be initialled by their parents or teacher.

On Friday 16 August the Chief Minister Challenge Ambassador, Jack Heath, will be visiting St Monica’s to share a story and his experiences as a writer and reader. It would be great for students to have their updated reading record ready to show Jack.

   Tomorrow night is Movie & PJ Night - Instant Family (PG)

Year 5 & 6 only -  6:00pm – 8:30pm

Information and Parent Assistance Request Form and Value Ticket and Glow Sticks Order Forms have been sent home with the eldest child in Kindy - Year 4 today.

Term 3 School Fees Due: Friday 30 August

Fees are being invoiced this week. Full payment of fees is due within four weeks each term, except for families on Direct Debit payment arrangements.

We have over $90,000 outstanding in past fees. Please settle your account as a matter of urgency.

A reminder to families that

Enrolment of children at a Catholic diocesan school in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn carries with it the undertaking by parents/guardians to accept the obligation to pay all school fees. It is, however, a matter of Catholic Education Commission policy that inability (not unwillingness) to pay school fees should never exclude any child from a Catholic school.

Please contact the School Finance Officer, or Principal should you be experiencing genuine hardship and will not be able to pay your fees in full by the due date.

Boorowa Touch and Netball Carnival

Permission notes for the Boorowa Touch and Netball Carnival were sent out last week. This carnival is on Friday 25 October. Permission notes and payment are due by Tuesday 19 August. 

Belconnen Athletics

A reminder for students who are participating in the Belconnen Athletics carnival that permission notes are due back by tomorrow, Friday 9 August. 

AFL

Congratulations to Riley H (6E) who is currently in Mandurah, WA representing ACT at the Australian Under 12's AFL championships. I will share results from this carnival in next weeks newsletter.

Catholic Schools Netball

Expressions of interest for students in Years 2-6 who would like to attend the Catholic Schools Netball Carnival were handed out this week. Please return by Monday 12 August. 

Notes for Boorowa, Belconnen Athletics and Netball can all be found on the school app.

Congratulations to the Year 3 and 4 students who attended the Touch Football Carnival at Amaroo last week. They worked cooperatively in their teams and showed great sportsmanship throughout the games. There was lots of running, passing, dodging,  try-scoring and after seven games it is no wonder they were all exhausted.

Thank you to our coaches Melissa & Dale Wrenford, Matt Brown and George Lovrincevic. The staff, parents and children are very grateful for the time and effort you put into helping on the day.

The annual St Monica's Chess Tournament was held on 2 August – well done to all the students who played in this competition. There were some very tough games of chess played but all our students demonstrated strategy, critical thinking and good sportsmanship.  

Leading final scores after 7 rounds for the Seniors (Years 4-6): 7 points (1^st) - Mary   D-H (5F); 5 points (equal 2^nd) – Angelino S (5F) and Matthew M (6M); 4 points (equal 3^rd) – Gabriel J (4M) and Charlize S (5W); 3.5 points – Rohan G (4M) and Darcy B (5F).

Leading final scores after 7 rounds for Juniors (Years 1-3):  7 points (1^st) Sarah D-H (3M); 5.5 points (2^nd) Annalene L (3M); 4.5 points (3^rd) Annalise S (3L); 4 points Jett S (2R).

The St Monica’s staff are organising our Neighbourhood Walkathon for Friday 13 September. Parents, carers and grandparents are invited to join the teachers and students on a walk around Evatt and Melba. The Neighbourhood Walkathon is an annual fundraising venture for our school and we ask students to obtain sponsorship for their walk. Information including Permission notes and Pledge Card have been sent home with children today.

Happy Birthday to the following students - 

Caelan A, Sophie C, Phoebe D, Alex A, Elliott B, Alexandra O

Canteen Roster - Term 3, Week 4

Monday - Vacancy

Tuesday - Evelyn David-Hoole

Wednesday - Alyson Barnes, Rachele Pentes

Thursday - June Manning

Friday - Wilma Hird, Jenny Fulivai, June Manning, Wendy Regan

Samantha Manning - Canteen Manager - 62584687

Community Council Open Meeting 

The Community Council had their open meeting last night.  Council discussed the positive responses to the new Home Learning Policy, concerns around the safety of children due to unsafe driving and parking behaviours of parents, the resources available to parents for the new Protective Behaviours lessons being taught across the school and the opportunity to hear from the students in the upcoming review of School Wide Positive Behaviours. 

Trivia Night
St Monica's Annual Trivia Night was on last Friday night.  A fun night was had by all with over $2000 raised (final figures to be confirmed) for the school.  There were plenty of laughs, interesting costumes, some displays of immense knowledge, aeronautical challenges and plenty of prizes.  It was great to see some new faces and a lovely opportunity to have a bit of fun. A big thank you to the organisers Emma Howlett and Bronwyn Edwards and to all who donated prizes.   

If you have any ideas or concerns please email them through to our Secretary Fiona Steinberg at Council.StMonicas@cg.catholic.edu.au  

Masses with Holy Anointing

St Monica's Church - Wednesday 14 August - 9.30am

St Michael's Church - Saturday 10 August - 9.00am

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Solemnity - Thursday 15 August

This special day is a Holy Day of Obligation. Mass times in our parish are 9.30am at St Michael's with the school

6.00pm at St Monica's. Mass times at St Thomas Aquinas parish, Charnwood, will be 9.30am and 7.00pm.