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,

How did you go with your quiz above? Could you name all of these apps? Did you know which one wasn't an app for social media?

What if I told you they were all social media apps? Yes, even Youtube.

We know that technology is moving at an alarming rate and that the majority of the adults in our community were born well before the internet. This newsletter article is very fitting given it is National Child Protection Week.

I had always seen myself as tech-savvy and being able to keep up with the times. That was until I realised that there is a messaging app called Discord (the blue logo) that I could not intuitively navigate thereby being unable to tell who the students were talking to and the content of their discussions. It alarmed me to learn that many students come to use apps such as Discord through their online presence on Youtube, which they use as a social media platform.

In the past week, we have had a number of incidences involving our students and their use of social media, including Youtube, to engage with strangers. These incidences have been distressing for our families, staff and students and can be avoided with some education for the adults in our community. 

Over the coming weeks, I will be sharing various resources to support you as parents, and our staff as teachers, of the iGeneration. I would urge you all to critically reflect on the time your child spends being 'left to their own device'. Is it literally their own or do you have parental controls set up? Are they left in a place that is unsupervised? Are devices left in their bedroom overnight? 

We would never allow our children to talk to strangers in a shopping centre, open any magazine they like in the newsagents, watch any film at the movies or accept a gift from someone they don't know. However, all of these concepts are able to be explored in the comfort of our own homes through the use of a backlit device and a connection to the internet. 

Please spend 5 minutes finding out what your child/ren are doing online and put measures in place to support their safety. 

This week I'd like to share a Youtube information sheet prepared by the team at ThinkUKnow. ThinkUKnow is a crime prevention program run by the AFP aimed at supporting families with online use. We are hoping to book a ThinkUKnow session for our 3-6 students and a Parent Information Night before the end of this term.

Walkathon

Yesterday we reached over $3,300 which means we will be having a UNIFORM FREE DAY TOMORROW! 

There are only 7 more sleeps till the Walkathon. Don't forget to spend the weekend finding sponsors for your child/ren so that they have the chance of taking out the grand prize. Due to WWVP legislation, ALL ADULTS attending the Walkathon need to have a WWVP card. If you are planning to come on the walk you will need to sign in at the front office. You can obtain a volunteer WWVP card by visiting the Access Canberra website and taking a completed form to a shopfront. You can then show your receipt to the front office before your card arrives.

Fletcher Allen

A huge congratulations to Fletcher Allen who was named runner-up at the 45th Annual Primary Schools Public Speaking Competition - Rostrum on Monday night at the Ann Harding Conference Centre, University of Canberra. Fletcher gave a newly written speech on the topic; To climb or not to climb. He can be very proud of the fact that he prepared the speech without any assistance. What a wonderful achievement for our school community. Well done Fletcher!

Parent-Teacher Interviews

The booking details for Parent-Teacher Interviews have been distributed today via the school app. The site can also be accessed here:

Uniform Reminder

With the warm weather this week some families have had confusion and angst getting ready in the morning. This year the Community Council updated the uniform policy to say that all students from Kinder to Year 6 are able to wear shorts or skirts and short sleeves during Terms 2 and 3. So if this glorious weather continues for the next 3 weeks feel free to send your children in shorts, skirts and/or short sleeves. The girls will still wear their winter tunic until the end of this term.

Special Prayers

We would ask that you keep Christine Richards, mother-in-law of Monica Richards, in your prayers at the moment. Christine has been unwell and took a turn earlier in the week. We pray that God shines upon Christine and her family during this difficult time. 

Yours in Christ

Luke Donnelly

Acting Principal

This week the learning intention for our protective behaviours unit is for students to know where their private parts are and that there is safe and unsafe touching.

K-4 will continue to read their allocated books and complete lessons appropriate to the learning intention.

Year 5 and 6 will be reading their new book titled 'Some secrets should never be kept'. The book is a narrative about a boy who experiences an uncomfortable event with the king and experiences his early warning signs. He decides he shouldn't keep the secret and tells his mum which results in him getting the help he needs. We would encourage you to view the book and decide if you feel your child would benefit from previewing it before it is read in class.

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.

Last week students and staff at St Monica’s were entertained by an African band and were excited to sing, dance and drum along with them. Students have been preparing for this incursion in Music by studying the rhythms in advance as well as learning the djembe and other percussion instruments which were generously purchased by the Community Council.

On Wednesday Mrs Pearson and Mr Fletcher took members of the choir to participate in the Big Sing at St John Vianney’s school in Waramanga. The day was full of singing, playing and performing and was a great opportunity to learn new songs and meet students from other Catholic schools from all over Canberra.

Destination Moon

On Thursday two weeks ago our Year 6 students hosted our St Monica’s Science Fair to celebrate National Science Week. This year’s theme was Destination Moon and our hall was transformed into a space wonderland full of amazing experiments, robots and displays. Our school was very lucky to receive a national grant to fund the event and students, parents and teachers were all very impressed with the scientific knowledge of our Year 6 students.

Some of the space experiences included virtual reality tours of space, moon rovers, Oreo moon phases, space mining on Minecraft, teabag rockets, balloon rockets, centrifugal force experiments, telescopes, virtual stargazing, astronaut training and much more! Students also entered into a Design a Rocket competition to go in the draw to win a Moon Telescope.

Thank you to the Year 6 teachers Kathy Moir and Christopher Evans for their organisation and guidance of the students. They did a fantastic job.

Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge

The Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge finishes tomorrow Friday 6 September. All Reading records need to be returned to the Library by Friday 13 September.

The Australian Reading Hour

On Thursday 19 September we will be participating in the Australian Reading Hour from 8am to 9am.  We will be starting the hour watching Noni Hazlehurst read Leigh Hobbs’ yet to be released book “Mr Chicken All Over Australia”.  There will be lucky door prizes of limited edition books written especially for Reading Hour. This is a wonderful way for parents and children to start the day by sharing a story in the chill out space in the library.   Please email your RSVP to our school email - office.stmonicas@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Thanks again to Franca and the fabulous team of volunteers who ran our K-4 Disco!

 ACT Primary Schools Chess Final

Well done to the following players who represented St Monica's at the 2019 ACT Primary Schools Open Chess Final last week – Mary D-H (5F), Angelino S (5F), Charlize S (5W) and Sarah D-H (3M). Whilst the team played well, there was extremely tough competition, and we finished 12th out of the 26 schools that qualified for the finals. 

All parents volunteering at our school must have a current WWVP card.  When your card is due for renewal please ensure you have your updated card copied at the Front Office.

Term 3 School Fees Due:  Friday 30 August

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.

Canteen Roster - Term 3, Week 8

Monday - Vacancy

Tuesday - Evelyn David-Hoole

Wednesday - Alyson Barnes, Rachele Pentes

Thursday - June Manning

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

Walkathon Helpers

Samantha Manning - Canteen Manager - 6258 4687

Happy Birthday to the following students - 

Chloe D, James G, Lewis G, Harry C, Indiana H, Drew G, Pyper M, Ainsleigh M

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

The school holiday clinics are being held 9-11 October at the Hawker Football Centre. The clinics are for new and existing players aged 4-11 years. We believe the best way to learn football is by playing football and our curriculum is designed to cater to all skill levels. Our qualified coaches are there to guide players through fun and football relevant activities and games, which are stimulating and challenging for all involved.

What To Bring

Players are advised to bring a hat, full drink bottle, football boots, shin pads, healthy lunch and snacks to fuel them throughout the day and to wear weather appropriate clothing. Football boots are not compulsory and players are welcome to wear joggers. Shin pads are compulsory for safety.

Please be aware that players attending the clinics may have allergies (e.g. nut) and we ask that you consider this when packing your child’s food. We also have a no sharing food policy.

Additional Information

Basic first aid and sunscreen will be available to participants throughout the clinic, as well as a drink station/taps for players to fill up their drink bottles. Mandatory breaks are scheduled throughout the day for players to eat, re-apply sunscreen and stay hydrated. Participants who require medication will also need to provide the clinic director with an action plan and show that required medication has been packed each day/where it is kept in the bag. Alternatively, you can leave it with the clinic director each morning when you sign in.

The program runs from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm each day. Parents/Guardians MUST sign their child/children in and out each day. If someone other than a parent is doing the pickup and drop off please notify the clinic director in writing.

Program Fees

$175 per 9-hour clinic for all participants.
Family Discount of 10% is available when registering more than one sibling per clinic.
Daily rates available upon request.

All participants will receive a Canberra United Participation Pack and Aldi Miniroos Certificate as well as an exclusive Canberra United Kids Club Membership which gives your child access to all Canberra United home games and a chance to high five the players in the tunnel after their warm-up.

Wet weather policy

Please note that in the case of field closures Capital Football are not notified until 8:45 am at the earliest. If grounds are closed staff will notify registered participants ASAP and will do their best to find an alternate venue. Clinics go ahead in the rain unless there is excessive rain predicted, thunder, lightning, hail or grounds become unsafe.