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

• Luke Donnelly - Acting Principal 
• Liz Foster - Acting Assistant Principal
• Melinda Brown - Acting Coordinator 

Looking forward to sharing photos and stories about my adventure on my return. 

God bless

Carmel Maguire

Principal

Late last week it was brought to my attention that there is a proposal to not only erect a fence around Miles Franklin Primary School but to also include an adjoining oval that is used by families in the local community. Consultation has been lacking and as a consequence, I urge families of St Monica's to rally to prevent the fence being erected around the local community section of the oval. As a school, we would also like to have access to the oval as we do with the area we refer to as the 'Green Space'; an area we currently take the children to at lunchtimes, several days a week, as a reward for positive behaviour.

Refer to the flier attached that indicates where the fences will be located should the plan be approved. This flier was circulated by a concerned resident.

oval_issue.pdf. 

The following email was received today by one of our St Monica's parents in response to the concern raised with Elizabeth Kikkert MLA, Member for Ginninderra,

Shadow Minister for Families, Youth and Community Services & Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs.

Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about the proposed fencing of the South West Evatt Oval. The Canberra Liberals understand and share your concerns.

During Question Time this week, I asked the Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development about the lack of consultation. Ms Berry attempted to distance herself and the Education Directorate, and seemed to contradict the information provided to the school’s P&C.

Based on these statements, I feel it is essential that we place the feelings and thoughts of local residents on the record to ensure they are heard and respected.

I will be hosting a petition on my website and will also be looking to distribute paper copies at local shops. You can sign the petition online and share it with your neighbours using the following link: https://www.elizabethkikkert.com.au/save-evatt-oval.

I will present this petition in the Assembly. I believe it is important that we make sure the Minister and ACT Government hear what Evatt residents really think about this proposal.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. I am also very happy to help with any other local issues.

I will ask Luke Donnelly to keep you well informed as we hear more about this issue in the coming weeks.

Kind regards

Carmel Maguire 

Regretfully, this year is the final year for the ACT Catholic School Soccer and Netball Carnivals.

This decision was carefully considered and was made unanimously at the recent ACT Catholic Primary Principal’s Meeting.

Although these are great community days and have been going for many years, the huge workload on staff, increasing costs, complexity of indemnity and insurance and a lack of volunteers to assist has necessitated the decision to no longer host these events.

Schools are rostered on to coordinate, run and volunteer these events and are run, entirely, by the host school, irrespective of the school size. Parents volunteer on the day and staff work all weekend on these events. In the past few years, some executive staff have worked nearly fulltime in the lead-up to pull off these carnivals, along with many staff who commit their time to support the planning and preparation, all of which is impacting on the teaching and learning agenda of the host school. 

ACT Principals acknowledge that there may be some parents and students disappointed by this decision, however, we have agreed that the future of hosting and leading an event such as this is untenable.

This year, Holy Rosary Watson will host the final ACT Catholic School’s Netball Carnival.

ACT Primary Principals

The next learning intention for protective behaviours unit for students to understand where their private parts are and that there is safe and unsafe touching. 

You may like to use these books to discuss the learning intention with your child/ren. 

Kinder	Years 1 - 4	Years 5 and 6

Children’s Book Council of Australia Book Week 2019 Reading is my secret power

The students have had a wonderful week with books, we have had Drop Everything and Read, Buddy Class activities and storytelling in the library at lunchtime. Today we were visited by Cruella (Ms Markovic) for some fun stories. A highlight of the week was the Book Character parade this morning the creative and thought that has gone into these costumes is amazing and demonstrates the wide range of books that students at St Monica’s engage in and enjoy. The winners for the most creative costumes were:

Kindergarten: Lachlan                     

Year 1: April                                       

Year 2: Arabella                               

Year 3: Willem

Year 4: Ainsleigh and Jye

Year 5: Archie

Year 6 Joseph

Book Week Performance

Next Thursday Meerkat Productions will be performing adaptations of the book “Room on Our Rock” for Kindergarten to Year 3 and “The Peacock Detective” for Year 4-6.  The students have been reading these books in class to prepare them to engage with the performance of these stories.

Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge Ambassador Visit

Last Friday Jack Heath, one of the Chief Minister’ Reading Challenge ambassadors, visited St Monica’s.  He had the students from Years 3-6 captivated as he talked about his journey as a reader and writing his first book “The Lab” as a teenager.  He shared with the students some of his tips for writing a great story that I am sure the students with be trying in their next story.

There are approximately 3 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

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.

Boorowa

Nominations for the Boorowa Touch and Netball Carnival will close tomorrow (Friday 23 August). Please see the alert sent out earlier this week on our school app. We are looking for more players and parents to help with coaching, managing and umpiring. 

Catholic Schools Netball

Payment for the Catholic Schools Netball Carnival is due by tomorrow (Friday 23 August). We need helpers in the following teams:

• Year 3 and 6 require an umpire
• Year 5 require a coach and umpire ​

Unfortunately, teams will not be registered unless we receive assistance from our school community. Please contact me if you are able to help.

Belconnen Athletics

• ​Congratulations to our students who participated at the Belconnen Athletics carnival on Monday. In very cold conditions, students achieved some fantastic results and were extremely well behaved. Thank you to Mrs Brown and Mrs Moir who supervised and supported our team and to Miss Perry who assisted with discus. Thank you also to parents for supporting our students.​
• Ribbons for students who placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd at the Monday's carnival will be handed out tomorrow (Friday 23 August) at assembly beginning at 1pm in the Hall. 
• The following students placed in the top 3 of their events out of approximately 40-45 students: Nicholas P 1st 8 years 70m (New Belconnen Record) and 1st 100m, Brock S 1st 9 years 100m, Adrian S 1st 12 years shot put and 2nd discus, Ryan K 1st 12 years 100m and 200m, Will C 3rd 12 years 100m, Katie R 2nd 12 years shot put, Annabelle F 3rd 10 years 100m, Emma B 3rd 11 years 800m and Dita Singer 3rd 12 years 800m. Other top 10 results included: Jade W 6th 10 years 100m and 5th 8-10 years shot put, Alani A 5th 10 years 200m, Lucija P 6th 8-10 years 800m, Isabella C 8th 11 years long jump, Remy D 5th 8-10 years discus, Samuel C 10th 11 years 100m and 8th 200m, Fletcher B 8th 10 years 200m, 6th 8-10 years long jump, 9th 8-10 years long jump and 4th 8-10 years discus, Will C 6th 12 years 200m, Ryan K 5th 12 years long jump, Annabelle F 10th 10 years 200m and Dita S 10th 12 years long jump. 
• St Monica's placed 8th out of 26 schools in the Belconnen region. A fantastic achievement!
• Students who placed in the top four of their event have qualified for the ACT Carnival on Tuesday 10 September. More information and permission notes will be sent out next week. 

There were 85 students who represented St Monicas in the recent Oztag Gala Days.

Our Year 6 students travelled to Deakin on Wednesday 7August to play against schools from South Canberra. Under the guidance of their coaches, the students showed many skills in both attack and defence. They displayed excellent team skills and won many of their games. The girls were lucky enough to make it through to the semifinals but were unfortunately knocked out.

 The Year 3, 4 and 5 students eagerly boarded the bus last Friday morning after the first Northside carnival was postponed due to bad weather. We had six teams representing our school and all of the children should be proud of their efforts. All of the teams did extremely well and four of the teams make Quarter Finals.

Congratulations to one of the Year 3/4 Girls teams who made it through to the Grand Final which will be played on Monday 2 September at the Battle of North vs South Carnival. We wish them all the best on this day.

Thank you parents for coaching, Mr Carey, Mr McPhillips, Mr Clynk, Mrs Hansen, Mr Solomon, Mr Reid, Mr Howarth, Mr Connolly and Mr McPherson. You helped make this day a fun and memorable experience for the students. Thank you to Mrs Carswell and Mr Fletcher for helping out on the day.

The smiles in the photos say it all.

Canteen Roster - Term 3, Week 6

Monday - Vacancy

Tuesday - Evelyn David-Hoole

Wednesday - Rachele Pentes, Alyson Barnes

Thursday - June Manning

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

Samantha Manning - Canteen Manager - 6258 4687

Happy Birthday to the following students - 

Cooper D, Jack R, Mason Mc, Riley Mc, Isabella P, Joshua R

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

We have reached our first reward level of $1000! Teachers will be organising with their classes an extra sport session in the next week.

Our wonderful prize fairies were out busily collecting the major prize last weekend.

Wow! I’d like to win this amazing collection!

Some of the items include:

• 1 Roger Federer Wilson Tennis Racket
• Pkt 3 x T.I.P. Tennis Balls
• 1 Kookaburra Cricket Bat
• 2 leather cricket balls
• 1 Family Pass at ‘KingPin Zone Bowling’
• 1 family Pass at ‘Canberra Indoor Rock Climbing’
• The only sure way to be in the draw is to collect some sponsors!

St Monica’s Primary School

Kindergarten - Year 4 (only) 

Friday – 30 August 2019

K-Yr 1  - 5.30pm-7.30pm

Yr 2 – Yr 4 – 6.00pm – 7.30pm

Pre-Paid Value Ticket $7.00 includes: entry, sausage (gf) sizzle, chips, drink (water or fruit juice) + 1 x Glow Stick

 Pre-Paid Glow Sticks can be purchased $2.00 x 3

 Entry (only) on the night $4.00

 Available for purchase on the night:

Sausage (gf) sizzle - $2.50, Ice Cream Cup - $2.00, Drinks - $1.00,

Chocolate Bars $1.00 - $1.50, Lolly Bags $1.00, Chipss - 50c

Glow Sticks – 1 for $1.00 or 3 for $2.00

2019_School_Disco_Note.pdf

Trivia_Sponsorship_Booklet_2019_Final.pdf

Introducing the Belconnen Youth Ministers - Here is a brief introduction to the Belconnen Youth Ministers:

Eoin Garton - Eoin is a Youth Minister at St John the Apostle Parish and St Francis Xavier College. Although it’s his first year as an official Youth Minister, he established a fortnightly youth group at St. John’s almost 3 years ago and has assisted in running it since. Eoin is passionate not only about faith but also about helping people in need and is studying International Development. You can contact him via Eoin.Garton@cg.org.au

Jake Wenger - Jake just started working as the Youth Minister at St Thomas Aquinas Parish and Primary School in Charnwood. He previously worked at St. Francis Xavier College in 2018 and has enjoyed the move to primary ministry. He assists in the South Belconnen Youth Group and is looking forward to the year ahead. Contact Jake.Wenger@cg.org.au

Monica Culas - Monica works at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish and alongside Eoin Garton at St. Francis Xavier College. Having come from Singapore this is her first time experiencing such a form of Youth Ministry and she is excited for what is in store. She is doing a teaching degree at the University of Canberra. Contact Monica.Culas@cg.org.au

Sarah Larkin - Sarah currently works at St Vincent's Aranda, St Matthew's Page and the South Belconnen Parish. This is her first full year of Youth Ministry after piloting the CSYMA junior program for the latter half of 2018. She runs a monthly Junior Youth Group and Mass for primary aged students in the parish and loves being in the schools throughout the week. She is also studying a double degree in nursing and paramedicine at ACU and is excited to be working as a Youth Minister again this year. Contact Sarah.Larkin@cg.org.au

There are also a number of other wonderful people who help the four Youth Ministers at Belconnen Youth Ministry events.

What's Been Happening?

The first Youth Group of the term was held on Saturday 27 July. We have a number of students who regularly come to the group from all over Belconnen and we even had a few new faces.

Deacon Alex Osborne showed us a number of different vestments and items used throughout the Mass during our Youth Group session and explained to us their use and importance. The students really enjoyed it and the parents who were there learnt a lot too.

Agape is continuing to grow led by Eoin. The youth group for Years 7-12 high school students is currently run on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the Month, after the 6pm Mass. Eoin also runs a monthly movie night every 2nd Friday, held at the Parish Library with the upcoming one on 13 September.

Youth Minister Monica has been working at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish and organises a Youth Mass at 5.30pm on the 3rd Sunday at St. Michael’s Church. She actively looks out for young people interested to participate in the liturgy so contact her if you would like to be a part of it.

Social Media - The Belconnen Youth Ministers have been refreshing our social media platforms. We currently have a Facebook and Instagram page that are regularly updated with all of the  happenings in the Belconnen region and around the archdiocese. For frequent updates and wholesome content, follow @belconnenyouthministry on Instagram and Facebook.

Belconnen Youth Ministry

Junior - Inviting all students in years 3-7 to join us for an afternoon of faith, friendship and fun at South Belconnen Parish's Junior Youth Group and Youth Mass. Join us in Marian Hall just outside of St Matthew's Church, Page on Saturday 24th August at 4:45pm for Youth Group then stay on to celebrate Mass at 6pm. Contact Youth Minister Sarah for more information at Sarah.Larkin@cg.org.au

Senior - Agape is a youth group for students in years 7-12 who are interested in learning more about their faith with friends. Join us at St John's Parish, Kippax on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month following the 6pm Mass from 7-9pm. Contact Youth Minister Eoin for more information at Eoin.Garton@cg.org.au

Prayer Intentions  

We ask that you continue praying for the success of our ministries as this then contributes to the greater good of Australia’s young Catholic future.

Please pray that the families and youths of the churches feel inspired and called to serve God with no hesitation and fear, especially amid our country’s current trials and tribulations.

Please pray for all the CG Youth Ministers that we do not lose faith and continue to courageously share God’s love with all.

Thank you for all your support thus far for the Belconnen Youth Ministry - please keep it in your prayers! Peace and God bless us all.