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

We seem to have had four seasons this week with one staff member even receiving the snow day they've always dreamed of. Luckily, the sun was shining, and there was warmth in the air on Friday when we headed off on our Walkathon. The students, parents, grandparents, teachers and Fr. Loi smiled excitedly as they walked between 3 and 5kms. We were thrilled to return to school to hear that the grand total of our fundraising efforts came to:

$10,291

Thank you to all the families who rallied up sponsors for their children. The money this year will go towards much need curriculum resources with some additional funds to go towards our electronic street signage.

These events are not able to happen without the commitment of an organising committee and many volunteers. Thank you to the Kinder Team and Mrs Russell for organising the event and to all the volunteers on the day.

ThinkUKnow - Parent Workshop

We look forward to welcoming you to the ThinkUKnow Parent Workshop this Monday 23 September from 6:30-8:00pm in the Library. Childcare will be provided for families who would like to attend but are unable to find care for their children. The workshop is an important opportunity for you to ensure your child/ren are safe online and that the right parameters are set in place in your home. Please RSVP via the School App.

We have been consulting with Apple in the hope that they would be able to send a representative to the workshop to support families with device settings. Whilst they are unable to attend on Monday they were able to send through some quick links to support parents. I would urge all of you to take 5 minutes to ensure the settings on your child's iPad are appropriate to their needs.

Joe Maths Day

Next Friday we will be having a fundraiser led by the SRC and Yr 6 Social Justice team to raise money and awareness for our sister school in Kenya, Joe Maths. Students are able to dress in their sports jerseys so that they can participate in games similar to those played by the children at Joe Maths.

Congratulations - Highly Accomplished Teacher Certification

Congratulations to Liz Foster and Jacinda Vaughan who have been successful in the first module of their application for Certification as a Highly Accomplished teacher against the National Standards for Teachers. Liz and Jacinda are engaging in a pilot program which splits the certification process into 3 modules. Next year they will submit modules two and three before being officially certified.

Carmel's Adventures in Greece

Carmel has been having a wonderful time on her pilgrimage in Greece and Italy. Over the past few weeks, she has been following the journey of Paul who travelled from Israel to bring Christianity to the Europeans. Whilst there were so many wonderful experiences shared, Carmel tells me the highlight was the opportunity to renew her Baptismal promises in the river in Philippi where Paul baptised the first European Christian, a woman named Lydia. Next week we will travel to Italy to see more of Carmel's adventures!

Yours in Christ,

Luke Donnelly

Acting Principal

Dear God,

Help the children and adults at St Monica’s to be accepting of others. Help us to include others at playtime, be quick to notice people being left out and invite them in. Help us to stand up for someone who is being teased. Give us hearts of love that warmly accept others just as they are. Amen

By KGH

Overdue Fees

Please make every effort to bring your school fees account to balance as soon as possible. Full payment of fees is due within four weeks each term, except for families on Direct Debit payment arrangements. The school is running on an extremely tight budget, every cent of fees income is expended on students curriculum, resources and school running costs. 

Families are reminded that due to technical issues, statements were posted home early in August. Please contact the office to request a copy should you need one.

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.

This week we have our final lesson for Protective Behaviours. The learning intention is for students to know what to do when they are not feeling safe. 

Each student will participate in role plays for displaying the skills they have learnt. In addition to this, they will also complete an individual task regarding body boundaries.

We would like to thank our families for engaging in our learning through the Protective Behaviours unit this term. It has been a valuable time for all in our community.

Recently we have provided families with the ability to access and complete permission, volunteer & RSVP forms online in our Schoolzine app and school website. You can find these notes in the app under General & Permission Notes. On the school website, they are under the Communication tab, General & Permission Notes.

Currently, the K-2 Swimming Lesson permission form and the ThinkUKnow Parent Workshop RSVP form are available online. We will endeavour to upload all of these types of forms in future. Try it out and let us know if you come across any issues so we can iron out any teething problems.

Australian Reading Hour

We had 30 students and parents join us from 8:00am this morning for Australian Reading Hour. The library was a calm, peaceful environment with people developing their love of literature.

Overdue Library Notices Emails

I will be sending out overdue notices to parents on Friday via email. This is a reminder that children need to return their books and get new ones for the holidays.  This will give families the opportunity to read the stories over the weekend or spend time locating hard to find books.

The Uniform Shop is selling off all Winter Second-Hand items. There are racks of clothing in the hallway at school available to purchase. All items are $1 each. Please make payment at the Front Office.

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.

Happy Birthday to the following students celebrating their birthday during Week 10, the holidays, and Week 1 in Term 4 - 

Zoe K, Lola B, Matthew M, Archie N, Ante B, Sarah R, Paddy P, Lisia F, Lexi R, Natalia S, Joseph J, Jack P, Charlize S, Angelino S, Ella K, Mia D, Ruby S, Giorgia M, Flynn G, Alexis B, Annie R, Jacob P, Ella S, Amber M, Nicholas, M, Coco T, Sierra T, Cooper B

ACT Athletics Carnival

On Tuesday 10 September we had 10 students represent St Monica's and the Belconnen region at the ACT Primary Athletics Championships. Well done to all of the students who achieved the following results:

Annabelle F- 12th 10 years 100m

Emma B- 7th 11 years 800m

Dita S- 12th 12 years 800m

Olivia S- 13th 12 years 800m and 8th 1500m

Katie R- 10th 12 years shot put

Nicholas P- 1st 8 years 70m and 100m (ACT Champion)

Brock S- 2nd 9 years 100m

Will C- 13th 12 years 100m

Ryan K- 14th 12 years 100m, 11th 200m and 4th high jump

Adrian S- 3rd 12 years shot put and 8th discuss

Students will be acknowledged and ribbons presented at Assembly tomorrow at 1.00pm in the Hall. 

Riley Mc (5F) and Tyler S (5MF) played in the AFL Grand Final for the U11’s Magpies on Saturday and their team won 23-20. Congratulations boys, a great effort!   

Canteen Roster - Term 4, Week 2

Monday - Vacancy

Tuesday - June Manning

Wednesday - Alyson Barnes, Rachele Pentes

Thursday - June Manning

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

Samantha Manning - Canteen Manager - 6258 4687

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