Dear St Monica’s families and friends,

I highlighted to our families the importance of engaging with their child’s learning and working in collaboration and partnership with the school. I asked the parents to turn and take a close look at the people they were sat next to. I said to them “the people you are surrounded by in this room are your village for the next 7 years. They are the people who will travel on the same path as you and help you out on WhatsApp when you need to check if you’ve met the due date for that excursion permission note or what uniform your child is supposed to be wearing”!

You too have your village and support networks here at the school. Thank you for always making our new families feel welcome and thank you for always walking the St Monica’s Way.

Did you know there are only 17 school days left this year? We give thanks for the days and weeks that have preceded us and look forward to the many exciting events in the coming weeks! I want to take this opportunity to remind you of some important dates and to express my sincere gratitude for your continued support of St Monica’s Primary School. Take a moment, if you haven’t already, to note down these important dates on your calendars.

Last Day of Term 4 – Monday 17 December is the last day of Term 4 for all students. TeamKids OSHC is available from Tuesday 18 – Friday 21 December 2024 for any families who need this service.

End of Year activities – There is lots on for everyone! Hoping you can make it to as many of these events as you can…

Friday 6 December

• St Vincent De Paul Giving Mass – 9:30am

Monday 9 December

• Year 6 Graduation and Awards Ceremony – 9:30am

Wednesday 11 December

• Meet your 2025 Classroom Teacher/s – 9:30am
• Kinder – Year 2 Nativity – 2:00pm
• Reports home to families – 3:30pm

Thursday 12 December

• Wear Christmas clothes to school
• Community Carols Evening – 6:00pm

Friday 13 December

• Passing of the Light and Final Awards Assembly – 9:15am

Staffing News… Mrs Emma Russell will be leaving St Monica’s at the end of this year and moving across to our sister school, St Michael’s Kaleen, in 2025.  Emma has taught a countless number of your children and she has connected with hundreds of families during her time here.  We wish Emma all the best in her new role as Classroom Teacher and look forward to catching up with her at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Feast Days.

Mrs Lennie Blinksell will be leaving St Monica’s after a short period of time with us this year. Lennie has taught 4M on Fridays, in partnership with Mrs Lustica and the Year 4 teaching team. She has had a positive influence on the students in this class and has been a valuable member of our staff as well. We are going to miss her freshness, smiles and laughter as she bounces through the door on Fridays.

Advent 

As we step into the beautiful season of Advent we begin our journey with the theme of Hope. This week we light the first candle on our Advent wreath known as the Candle of Hope. It symbolises the hope we have in our hearts as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas. 

What is Hope? Hope is the feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. It is like a light in the darkness, guiding us and giving us strength to move forward, even when times are tough. In this season, hope reminds us of the joy and love that Christmas brings. 

We encourage families to take a moment each day to talk about hope. Ask your children what they hope for and share your own hopes with them. This can be a wonderful way to connect and support each other during this special time. Let's embrace the spirit of hope this week and spread its light to everyone around us. Together, we can make this Advent season a time of hope, joy, love, and peace. 

Social Action and Justice 

We are supporting the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. Each class is invited to donate a specific item which will be combined to create a Christmas Hamper for families in our local Evatt community in need. Each classroom will have a basket to place donated items into. Please see the table below for the donations your child’s class is allocated. 

We will also have a Christmas tree in our Front Office with a gift tag to represent each child in our local Evatt community in need of a Christmas gift. Families are invited to take a gift tag and return it attached to the outside of a wrapped gift. We thank you in advance for your generosity. 

 

2024 St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal Donations
Kinder White	Nibbles: nuts, dried fruit
Kinder Maroon	Dessert: Ice Magic, jelly
1 White	Sweet Treats: chocolates, lollies/confectionery, candy canes
1 Maroon	Sweet Treats: ginger bread, shortbread, chocolate biscuits
2 Blue	Dessert: tinned fruit – berries, mango, peaches
2 Maroon	Dessert: tinned fruit – plums, cherries, fruit salad, passionfruit
2 White	Dessert: Zooper Doopers
3 Maroon	Marinated antipasto- olives, sundried tomatoes, smoked oysters
3 White	Sauces: cranberry sauce, apple sauce, mint sauce
4 Blue	Dessert: UHT custard, UHT cream
4 Maroon	Dessert: fruit mince pies, brandy sauce
4 White	Dessert: fruit cake, fruit pudding
5 Blue	Drinks: Coke, Fanta, Lemonade, Pepsi
5 Orange	Drinks: orange juice, apple juice, pineapple juice
6 Blue	Savoury Treats: chips, corn chips
6 Maroon	Savoury Treats: pretzels, crackers,
6 Lime	napkins, bon-bons, decorations

 

Term 4 Liturgical Life of St Monica’s Primary School
	Masses	Whole School Prayer
Week 7	Buddy Mass Wednesday 9.30am: 1W and 3W
Week 8	Buddy Mass Wednesday 9.30am: 1M and 5M	Whole School Prayer Focus: Advent

Sacrament of Confirmation 2024

Congratulations to all the Confirmation candidates and God’s blessings to you on this special occasion.

2025 Sacramental Program – for students who are baptised and will be in Years 4-6 in 2025.

Sacrament of Reconciliation will be celebrated in Term 1, 2025. Information Evening will be held on 13 February 2025. Retreat Day and Parent Prayer Night will be held on 20 March 2025. Sacrament will be celebrated on 25, 26 and 27 March 2025.

Sacrament of First Communion will be celebrated in Term 2, 2025. Information Evening will be held on 1 May 2025. Retreat Day and Parent Prayer Night will be held on 12 June 2025. Sacrament will be celebrated on 22 June 2025 (Corpus Christi).

Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated in Term 3, 2025. Information Evening will be held on 31 July 2025. Retreat Day and Parent Prayer Night will be held on 4 September 2025. Sacrament will be celebrated on 10 and 11 September 2025.

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

On Monday St Monica's held it's 10th Annual St Monica's Chess Tournament. We had a record-breaking 53 students play 7 rounds with 27 in the senior tournament and 26 in the junior tournament. It was lovely to see so many young students participate and have fun during the day. A special congratulations to Cooper D (Yr 6) and Emanuel S (Yr 6) who tied for first place with 6 points in the senior tournament and Ella F (Yr 3) who won the junior tournament with 6 points. In the senior tournament in second place was Alessandro S (Yr 4) with 5.5 points and in third place there was a tie between Kobe B (Yr 6), Iyin A (Yr 6) and Lachlan Pinkerton (Yr 6) who all scored 5 points. In the junior tournament in second place it was a tie between Flynn P (Yr 2), Leo S (Yr 3 and Liam R (Yr 3) with 5.5 points and Tobias C (Yr 3) coming third with 5 points. Well done to all our participants who showed great skill and sportsmanship.

Student Movement Register requirements for all students leaving ACT schools (including Year 6 and Year 12)

Under the ACT Education Act schools are required to obtain details of all departing students for the ACT Education Directorate’s Student Movement Register.

For Year 6 students schools must obtain details of the student’s future school from parents or carers.

Parents or carers of students in other years who are departing an ACT school must also provide details of the student’s future school. This includes families who are moving interstate.