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Pentecost Prayer
Come Holy Spirit
Come Spirit like rain, refresh, renew, revitalise.
Come Spirit like fire, embolden, enlighten, enable.
Come Spirit like a mighty wind, move, challenge, enkindle.
Come Spirit like wave, move, tear down, lift up.
Come Spirit, come Breath, draw us close, make song, bring intimacy.
Come Spirit, come Love, make one, make justice, make peace.
Come Spirit, come Kingdom, come Love.
I cannot believe that we are already into Week 4 of Term 2! There is a lot happening this term so please make sure you keep up to date with the calendar through COMPASS. I know how busy life can get, and with winter sport in full swing our afternoons and weekends can be jam packed.
I was able to get down to Melba to watch the mighty ‘Sharkies’ on Sunday. I must admit it feels rather strange barracking for the ‘blue and white’ rather than the ‘blue and gold’ but I do love the opportunity to watch our students in action in all sporting domains. I endeavour to get to as many sporting events as possible to support our students. It was wonderful to see so much positive sportsmanship on display.
We celebrated National Simultaneous Story time yesterday. I loved seeing the students and teachers wearing a dash of blue to celebrate the book Bowerbird Blues. Thank you to Veronica Melville for all her work sharing her resources to support this special day. This story was listened to by 2, 359, 147 students in 21,969 locations across Australia.
Today a number of children participated in the Belconnen Cross Country at Stromlo. The students and community was in high spirits, with lots of excited runners ready to test their endurance. Well done for making us all proud!
The 2024 National Reconciliation Week theme this year is Now More Than Ever. It is a reminder to all of us that no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will – and must - continue. NRW is held each year from 27 May – 3 June. Monday 27 May 2024 is our Reconciliation Day public holiday. Students will be participating in Reconciliation Week focused activities throughout Week 5. We thank Alissa Pearson for all her work to support and share knowledge.
This Semester our Parent Teacher Interviews will take place in Week 8 and student reports will be rolled out to families via Compass in Week 10. Communication about Parent Teacher Interviews will be sent out shortly.
Enrolment period is still open. If you have a child starting Kindergarten next year please make sure you have your enrolment lodged by Friday 31 May. If you know of any local families or friends who are considering St Monica’s, please let tell them about our school. They are always welcome to give Steph a call in the Front Office and book a tour to see this amazing school.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend… think of me as I stand on the sidelines in Cooma!
Maggie
Flourishing in the Footsteps
Year of the Holy Spirit
This is the Year of the Holy Spirit in the diocese of Canberra Goulburn. Last Sunday Catholic leaders from across the globe gathered here in Canberra for the Feast of Pentecost. Pentecost is also known as the Church’s birthday because it is the day the disciples were given the superpowers they needed to go out into the world and share Jesus’ message of love and salvation. In our modern church we can often be shy about professing our love for Jesus and openly sharing about our relationship with Jesus. Jesus only comes into our lives through invitation. He never imposes himself. Although he is not here now in body, he has sent his spirit, The Holy Spirit, to be with us. The Holy Spirit wants to work with us to flourish and lives the lives God created us to have. We just need to invite him in. I wonder what The Holy Spirit will do in your life this week?
Our Lady Help of Christians Feast Day
You are invited to join us this Friday for our Whole School Prayer being led by Miss Melville and students from classes across the school at 9.15am in the church. Our Whole School Prayer focus is on Our Lady Help of Christians, which is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church. In the early days of the Catholic Church in Australia there were no priests and Catholics developed a special love for Mary as they prayed the Rosary to keep their faith alive.
First Holy Communion
Please continue to pray for our children preparing for the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. Last Thursday evening we gathered for our parent formation session in St Monica’s church. Parents, please ensure that you have the important events in your diary. These are communicated each week in the Sacramental Information part of our newsletter.
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Term 2 Liturgical Life of St Monica’s Primary School |
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Whole School Prayer |
Grade Masses |
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Week 4 |
Whole School Prayer Focus: Our Lady Help of Christians |
Buddy Mass Wednesday 9.30am: Year 4
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Week 5 |
Whole School Prayer Focus: Flourishing Resilience God led by 5 Maroon Friday 9.15am |
Buddy Mass Wednesday 9.30am: Year 4 and 2M
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Week 6 |
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Buddy Mass Wednesday 9.30am: Year 4 and 2B |
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Week 7 |
Whole School Prayer Focus: Flourishing Resilience Surroundings led by TBC Friday 9.15am |
Buddy Mass Wednesday 9.30am: Year 4, 1W and 3W |
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Week 8 |
Whole School Prayer Focus: Flourishing Resilience Others led by 2 Maroon Friday 9.15am |
Buddy Mass Wednesday 9.30am: Year 4, 1M and 5M
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Week 9 |
Whole School Liturgy Focus: Our Lady of Perpetual Help Feast Day |
Buddy Mass Wednesday 9.30am: Kinder and Year 6 |
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Week 10 |
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2024 Parish Sacramental Program – for students who are baptised and in Years 4-6 in 2024.
Sacrament of First Communion
Sacrament of First Communion will be celebrated during the four Parish weekend Masses on 15 and 16 June 2024.
Trybooking is open and will close tomorrow Friday 24 May 2024 - to book the Mass service for your child to celebrate the Sacrament.
As these Masses will be regular Sunday Masses (includes parishoners) we will try to limit 20 candidates at each of the 4 Masses.
The TRYBOOKING links are listed on the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth
Please note: The Saturday 5pm Mass is fully subscribed.
Sacrament of Confirmation – will be celebrated on 17, 18, and 19 September. Registrations will open on 24 June 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
National Simultaneous Storytime
Today St Monica’s joined over 2 million children, teachers and caregivers across Australia and New Zealand at 12pm for the reading of Bowerbird Blues by Aura Parker, for ALIA’s 24th National Simultaneous Storytime. Thank you to all the students and staff who wore a splash of blue to celebrate this special story and event. Students have completed activities around the story during the day. The students will get to meet the author Aura Parker when she visits in August.
Last Wednesday Year 1 travelled to Calthorpe’s House and Mugga Mugga Cottage as part of our History unit called Old World’s and New World’s. We have been exploring how there are similarities and differences in family life that we can see and explore from the past. We enjoyed looking at the simple and cosy structure of Mugga Mugga Cottage built in the 1850’s and created art works from natural materials we found around the cottage. Calthorpe’s House was a treasure trove of original furnishings and appliances from the 1920’s. We played old fashioned games such as hopscotch, marbles, and quoits in the beautiful gardens. It was a fabulous day of learning and fun.
I loved doing the craft at Mugg Mugga Cottage. – Vincent A
I liked playing with the marbles at Calthorpe’s House. – Matilda R
It was all about sensory play in our Monstar’s Playgroup yesterday. We explored sounds during painting with elastic bands to create prints with a TWANG! Lots of fine motor skills and eye hand coordination was used to explore reactions with bicarb soda and vinegar and moving trucks around the paint and sand. We also had some fun with magnets and counting. Next week we will be celebrating Reconciliation Week.
School Student Broadband Initiative - Free internet until December 2025
To find out more call: 1800 954 610 (10am – 6pm AEDT Monday to Friday) or visit https://www.anglicarevic.org.au/student-internet/
The Australian Government has announced that they are extending the School Student Broadband Initiative until 31 December 2025. The extension means that the SSBI nomination period will remain open until 31 December 2024 with free National Broadband Network (nbn) internet service for all new and existing families on the SSBI until 31 December 2025. For existing SSBI families who have already signed up, this means their SSBI service will automatically be extended until 31 December 2025 (no further eligibility checks will be required). For eligible families who connect before the end of this year, they will get up to two years of free nbn broadband.
How can the School Student Broadband Initiative help your child? - Children who can access online learning at home as part of their education are more likely to engage in classroom activities. Access to fast internet at home can also support children to build their digital skills, learn how to safely use the internet and participate in a world that is more dependent on digital technology.
Is my family eligible for the School Student Broadband Initiative?
To be eligible, families must:
Have a child living at home that is enrolled in an Australian school (up to year 12 including Prep in Qld/Vic/Tas, Kindergarten in ACT/NSW, Reception in SA, Transition in NT and Pre-Primary in WA).
Not have an active National Broadband Network (nbn®) Internet service at home. Having a mobile internet service does not affect eligibility.
Live in a premises that can access the National Broadband Network via a standard connection – this will be checked for you.
Not have had an active nbn connection during the previous 14 days.