St Monica’s Primary School - Evatt eNewsletter

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

Friday 16 August	No Assembly Author Visit by Jack Heath Oztag Gala Day North - Years 3-5 Boys and Girls
Monday 19 August	School Prayer - 9am - led by KRC. Value Awards for Week 3 will be presented. Belconnen Track & Field Carnival
Tuesday 20 August	Special Lunch Day
Wednesday 21 August	Year 5 Excursion - SFX Grease Production Sounds-Write Workshop (Kinder-Year 1 Parents) - 9:15am-11:00am
Thursday 22 August	Book Week Dress Up Parade - 9:15am

Dear Parents,

St Monica's was transformed into an amazing space hub of learning to celebrate Science Week. This year's theme Destination Moon: more missions, more science is a way for teachers and students to discover past missions to the Moon and space programs that have solved some of the seemingly unsolvable problems—and current and future space programs, operations and missions. Many of these use big picture thinking in science to solve problems, and technology, engineering and mathematics to design new solutions. This will help forge our future paths in the areas of space operations, space science, Earth observations, positioning systems and communication. Thanks to Monika Richards who coordinated the event with the help of our Year 6 students. St Monica's was successful in receiving a National Grant to support the many activities enjoyed by the children.

Some of the questions answered today.

How do telescopes work? What are lenses and how can you make a telescope? Find out at the Telescope Table

What’s it really like in space? Come and find out at our Virtual Reality table, where you can experience space in 3D!

Have you ever wanted to know what it feels like to be an astronaut? Try out our fun science experiment and have fun racing against your friends! But there’s a twist - you only have 2 minutes to beat your opponent. If you do win you can pick something from our lucky dip and win a special prize. GOOD LUCK!!!

Do you want to see 3 Year six girls get humiliated as ice cold water splashes over their heads? Or will they???? Witness centrifugal force first hand!!

Don't forget to enter our design a rocket competition to win a Moon Telescope. See flyer for details. Entry is due Monday 19 August.

Design_a_rocket.pdf

Staffing

Just a reminder that I will be taking leave from Monday 26 August until the end of the term. I will be undertaking a pilgrimage "The Walk of St Paul" through Greece with several other ACT Catholic Principals. During my absence, Luke Donnelly will be Acting Principal and Liz Foster will be Acting Assistant Principal. Emma Russell will be covering 2RD for most of the days as Luke will be released from his teaching commitments. Miriam Hilton will provide Liz foster with an additional day to fulfil her administrative duties during the 5 weeks.

Council Meeting

Last week Council approved the purchase of an amazing set of African drums for $1550 to support our classroom music program. This term the children will engage in an African Drumming Incursion planned for Thursday 29 August, the cost is covered by the Curriculum Levy.

The Council have very kindly agreed to purchase 20 gym mats to replace our very old and worn-out mats. This was at a cost of $2780.00

Neighbourhood Walkathon - Four weeks to go!

Thank you to all the families who have begun seeking sponsors and collecting money. As of Tuesday this week we had raised $530.65. Our first incentive goal is an extra afternoon of classroom sport when $1000 has been raised. If you would like to walk with your child’s class on the day, please let your child’s teacher know. All adult walkers will need to have their WWVP card. Keep bringing the pledge card in to school each Tuesday to allow class totals to be updated. We will announce the school total at the Wednesday morning’s Courtyard Gathering each week.

Years 5 & 6 Movie Night

Thank you to Lisa Simpson and volunteers for all your effort in organising the Movie Night for our Year 5-6 students. The children had a wonderful time.

God bless

Carmel Maguire

Principal

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.

Places are limited to 30. (10 places already booked)

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

Stewardship

We must all respect, care for and share the resources of the earth, which are vital for the common good of people. Care for animals and the environment is a common and universal duty, and ecological problems call for a change of mentality and the adoption of new lifestyles. Pope Francis in Laudato Si, says “All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.” (

Paragraph 14) and “Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change.” (#202)

https://www.caritas.org.au/learn/cst (worth exploring)

The Feast of the Assumption

August 15 is a major feast day in our Catholic faith. It is the day that we commemorate and celebrate the Assumption of Mary into Heaven, body and soul. The Feast of the Assumption remains a holy day of obligation. In 1950 Pope Pius XII solemnly proclaimed as a divinely revealed truth "that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, on the completion of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven." Even in the early church, this feast has been celebrated on August 15. We gathered yesterday to celebrate Mass in honour of this special feast day. Fr Loi spoke to the children about Mary’s love for her son- and his inability to refuse her pleas.

Sacrament of Confirmation

Last Thursday the Students of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish travelled to St Francis Xavier High School to participate in the Confirmation Retreat Day. We gathered (out of the rain) in the Middle School building- which was a wonderfully open, welcoming space. The day began with prayer, then there was an exploration of the text Galatians 5:16-17, 22-25-the fruits of the spirit. Following morning tea we were joined by our parish youth worker- Monica Coulas and the youth ministry team from St Francis Xavier. These young people (from Yr 7, 8, 9, 10) had prepared four different activities for the students to enjoy. Guided meditation, Hidden Keys, Holy Spirit Bingo, Fruits of the Spirit craft. Following a pizza lunch - yum, and some time outside, we continued our day with a reflection on our letters of affirmation from parents and sponsors. Fr Loi and Sr Kate joined us for a time. What a wonderful day! Many thanks to all involved.

REMINDER- Parent and Child night St Michael’s School Thursday 22 August 6:00pm

Social Justice Sunday

We celebrate Social Justice Sunday on 29 September. This year, the Australian Bishop’s Social Justice Statement is titled: ‘Making it Real: Genuine human encounter in our digital world.’ It shares Pope Francis’ challenge to us to ‘boldly become citizens of the digital world.’ It points out that we are called not just to be inhabitants of this world, but active citizens shaping it.

For further details visit www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au

Whilst we have returned to face to face teaching, we will continue to publish the sequence of lessons for those families who have been having protective behaviours conversations at home. This week the is for students to name their early warning signs. What are your child/ren's early warning signs? Do they get sweaty? Say the feel sick in the tummy? Have wobbly knees?

You might like to go around the dinner table one evening and share what your early warning signs are.

St_Monica_s_Protective_Behaviour_Parent_Overview.pdf

St_Monica_s_Protective_Behaviour_Parent_Overview _pdf 369.56 KB

RESILIENCE

Being resilient is associated with better academic performance and school behaviour and, over the longer term, fewer mental health issues and greater life opportunities, including employment and relationships. Individual resilience, as well as family and community resilience, is something that can be fostered and developed over time.

A child or young person who is resilient might:

be optimistic
use positive self-talk for encouragement
have a positive sense of self
identify and express their feelings and thoughts
not hide away from strong feelings
have helpful, age-appropriate strategies to manage their emotions
rearrange their plans to work around an unexpected situation
have a sense of responsibility
keep on trying if something doesn’t work out
actively ask for help if they need it
feel a sense of attachment to family, their learning community and to learning

Children and young people need resilience

Children and young people need resilience to manage ups and downs, both during and after difficult or challenging situations. Ups and downs can range from everyday challenges like conflict with friends or falling off a bike. They can be emotional experiences such as loss, rejection, disappointment or humiliation. Some children and young people face serious challenges like disability, learning difficulties, family separation, family illness or death, or bullying.

Read more about Building Resilience in Children at https://healthyfamilies.beyondblue.org.au/healthy-homes/building-resilience

On Wednesday, Year 5 students have been invited to attend the Saint Francis Xavier performance of Grease. This will be a great opportunity to see a quality student performance.

Book Week 2019 - Reading is my Secret Power

There are a number of activities planned to celebrate Book Week next week.

Dress Up as a book character day on Thursday 22 of August. There will be a parade in the hall at 9.15. Prizes for the best dress in each year level
Storytellers in the library during lunchtimes
Buddies Class Activities: Buddy classes will come together during the week for a story and a craft activity around the story
Guess the teachers’ favourite book: There will be photos of teachers hiding behind their favourite book for students to try and match the books to teachers.
Meerkat Productions Performance Thursday 29 August. Incursion covered by the Curriculum Levy.
Children’s Book Council of Australia Book Awards Announcement: On Friday 17 August at 11.30 at the National Library of Australia the winners of the Book of the Year in a number of categories will be announced with local authors present and performance by local schools. Parents and students are most welcome to attend

Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge Ambassador Visit

On Friday Jack Heath, one of the Chief Minister’ Reading Challenge ambassadors will be visiting St Monica’s to talk to students in Years 3-6 about his books and his journey as a reader and writer.

There are approximately 4 weeks left for students to complete the challenge of reading 30 books. When the students have finished the challenge they can return their record sheets to the library.

The Australian Reading Hour

Claim the Date: Thursday 19 September, The Australian Reading Hour from 8.15 to 8.50 in the Library.

Term 3 School Fees Due: Friday 30 August

Fees invoices were posted last week - usually, they are emailed however we experienced technical difficulties. Full payment of fees is due within four weeks each term, except for families on Direct Debit payment arrangements.

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.

	Value Award Stewardship	Class Award Mathematics
KGH	Stacey L	Liam M
KRC	Ruby M	Lachlan P
1B	Natalia S	Cooper R
1E	Lucas B	Lachlan D
2D	Eamon J	Mitchell C
2R	Aiden H	William S
2RD	Sierra T	Alexandra T
3L	Maragaret S	Marley B
3M	Jessica M	Patrick S
3/4C	Maddison C	Alissa H
4H	Mia M	Paddy P
4M	Samuel G	Alex C
5F	Jessamine A-C	Mary D-H
5MF	Tulli H	Claire H
5W	Isabella C	Jesse H
6E	Sean B	Samuel C
6M	Dita S	Nellie B
St Monica’s Stars - Lane D (2R) - 1st star, Aidan H (2R) - 1st star, Patrick H (2R) - 2nd star, Tessa S (2D)
Pride Badges - TBA

Boorowa:

Boorowa Touch and Netball carnival note are due by Tuesday next week, 19 August. There are copies in the front office or the note can be downloaded from the school app.

Catholic Schools Netball:

Expressions of interest have now closed. Permission notes have been sent home with students who submitted their interest. Money and permission forms must be returned by next Friday 23 August.

2019CSNC_Permission_Note.pdf

ACT Sport:

Congratulations to Riley H (6E) who represented ACT at the under 12's Australian Primary School Championships in WA last week. Riley and his teammates placed 8th and had a great time. We wish Olivia S well as she heads to Bendigo next week to represent ACT at the Under 12's Australian Primary School Hockey championships.

Students in Years 5 and 6 who are interested in trialling for ACT boys and girls cricket are asked to register their interest online. Information notes were sent home today and are available on the school app as well.

ACT_Cricket_U_12.pdf

Belconnen Athletics:

Good luck to the 43 students representing St Monica's at the Belconnen Athletics carnival on Monday. Mrs Brown and Mrs Moir will be accompanying students. A reminder note and maps were sent home today.

OzTag Gala Days:

A massive thank you to Mrs Melinda Brown for all of her organisation of our school OzTag teams. A reminder for students in Years 3-5 attending the Gala Day tomorrow that you must return your new permission note.

Canteen Roster - Term 3, Week 5

Monday - Vacancy

Tuesday - Evelyn David-Hoole

Wednesday - Vacancy

Thursday - June Manning

Friday - Sam Cox, Katrina Ciampa, Jane Rabbets, June Manning

Samantha Manning - Canteen Manager - 6258 4687

Happy Birthday to the following students -

Sean B, Nathan M, Adrian S, Aidan H, Amelia H, Stacey L, Amour A, Isla B

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

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.