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 Praise

School - Forgiveness, Service & Thanksgiving

Dear Parents

Carols on the Oval  

What a wonderful community night! Our annual 'Carols on the Oval' brings the community of St Monica's together to share the Christmas spirit. Congratulations to Alissa Pearson, our Creative Arts teacher, who led the preparation for our evening gathering and inspired our little ones who performed the Christmas play - The Shiniest Star. The children were adorable. Thank you to Evelyn David Hoole who coordinated our BBQ and the many volunteers who assisted throughout the evening.  

Reports home next Wednesday 12 December

Reports will be distributed next Wednesday.  I am currently reading all 403 reports and they are a real celebration of the children’s learning. I hope that you find your child’s Semester Two Report beneficial in providing information related to their learning and progress at school. Thank you for working in partnership to support your child’s education. This partnership between home and school will be healthy and enhance our children's learning if it is fostered in a positive way. 

We are not holding formal parent-teacher interviews this term. Parents and carers are most welcome to make a time to meet with your child’s teacher if you have any queries following the report. Please contact your child’s teacher, next week, if you would like to make an appointment.

Thank you also to the staff who have literally spend hours and hours over the past few weeks writing reports. They are a very committed and dedicated group of people.

Student Attitude

Recently it’s become more and more apparent to me that many young people are not very good at taking responsibility for their actions. Too often, students are not prepared to take the consequences for their misbehaviour or for when they break the rules. At worst students with this type of attitude can be argumentative, even belligerent and resentful. It’s the small minority of students who respond like this, yet their attitude affects people, particularly when they go home and tell their parents a version of events which colours things in their favour. Unfortunately, teachers (and myself) are then a target for those parents who are defensive and overprotective of their children. Such a bias is unhelpful for the child and for the effective partnership, required by the school and home, for the children to grow and develop into fine young students of character who accept when they’ve done wrong and take the consequences of their actions.

Young people do not just become people of character when they turn 18, nor because they one day decide they want to be that way. Rather we know that, through the challenges of life, growing up comes by learning from the many varied experiences that confront us as we grow.

'Kids will be kids' but I know families send their children to St Monica's because they like the standards, the rules and the care we give. We work hard to be fair. Our rules are well known by the students. Yes, at times there is inconsistency in how teachers enforce rules but we work hard to ensure there is consistency. We remind the students regularly of school expectations. They are explicitly communicated verbally and in writing.

If we are going to do the right thing by our children, if we are going to help form them into great teens and adults then it’s something we must do together. School and home must work together to teach children how to be responsible.

One area we can focus on and teach our children is to teach them to make the right choices, take the responsibility for those choices and ensure they know that if they make a mistake, there are often consequences to assist them for next time.

Holiday TLC for our school gardens 

Special Prayers

Please keep the Lawless family - Eden (1E), Jye (4H) and Skyla (5F) in your prayers as their grandmother passed away. 

Please keep the Newman family - Maddie (6E) and Emma (2RD) in your prayers as their great grandmother passed away.

Baby News

Congratulations to the Houliaras family - Nikolas (1E) on the arrival of Stefanos born last week.

Citizenship

Congratulations to the Kolesnikova family who all recently became Australian Citizens. This was a very special occasion for the family. 

May God's blessing be with you 

Carmel Maguire

Principal

For the past 11 years, St Monica’s has received a grant of $20 000 initially from the Australian Government and now through the National School Chaplaincy Program 2015-2019 - ACT National School Chaplaincy Program. The funds currently received cover the cost to employ Mr Bob Fletcher, a qualified teacher, for 20hrs a fortnight. Your feedback and support for the program is essential. Once again, we are required to submit an application for continuation of the grant funding. Parental support is a critical part of the application.

The main areas of focus for the program at St Monica’s are to

• facilitate the connection of students within the school community and the wider community through positive learning experiences that have meaning and relevance for young people and their families;
• enable the school’s capacity to care for its members by having an added individual who offers pastoral care and specialised programs;
• attend to the social and emotional wellbeing of students in collaboration with the Principal.
• provide additional support to families particularly during times of stress;
• assist and mentor staff on issues relating to peer pressure, bullying, anger management;

As part of the Chaplaincy program the Chaplain 

• coordinates our Seasons for Growth program,
• delivers student resilience and wellbeing programs to class or small groups of students,
• assists with the supervision of lunchtime games and providing adult guidance with playground rules and decisions,
• facilitates activities to connect students who struggle to maintain friendships or have a poor self-image,
• provides mentoring support to students with behavioural issues and skills to deal with conflict.
• recommends students to the counsellor or other organisation via the principal should the need be identified
• is an attentive listener/support for all students including those students with emotional and related needs; and
• coordinates programs with other staff to assist students to develop their communication and resilience skills and to manage peers issues and run programs for grief ie Seasons for Growth

The St Monica’s staff and Community Council value the program and strongly support the continuation. I now need to hear from our wider parent community and those families whose children have accessed support via our Chaplaincy Program to ensure we are providing the best service possible.

Please complete this short survey to show your support for the program.

https://forms.gle/BojrJ7TLbZm9D6wLA

We value your comments. Please complete by Monday 9 December 2019.

Term 4 School Fees

The school is running on an extremely tight budget, every cent of fees income is expended on students curriculum, resources and school running costs. 

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. 

All fees must be settled by the end of the term. 

Families experiencing genuine financial hardship are invited to apply for fee concession for the 2020 school year. Fee matters are treated in the strictest of confidence.

Application forms have been sent home to families currently on a concession. Forms are available from the Finance Officer if required. 

Forms and all supporting information need to be submitted by Friday 6 December, please. Applications will be reviewed and processed in time to commence the new school year.

The Principal and Finance Officer are available should you need assistance completing the forms.

Restorative Practices at St Monica's

The children in Kindergarten have learnt the three important questions they can ask and answer when something goes wrong.

We are building, repairing and maintaining healthy relationships in our school.

 Read more at https://www.restorativepractices.org.au 

Year 3-6 Gala Day participation at St Monica's

As a school leadership team we are seeking feedback from parents about our participation in sport gala days in 2020. So we can offer opportunities for students please indicate what sport(s) your child(ren) may like to be involved in. Please also keep in mind that as of 2020 there is no longer a Catholic Schools Soccer or a Netball Carnival being offered. 

Years 3-6 will also be offered the opportunity to attend the Boorowa Touch and Netball Carnival. Please note that gala day participation is for students in years 3-6 ONLY. 

Gala days are when nominated students in Years 3-6 have the opportunity to attend a round-robin day of competition. These days require a teacher or teachers to attend, as well as parent support, depending on numbers. Responses will close on Tuesday 17th December at 3 pm. 

 Please complete the survey by clicking on the link below.

 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1H8etPRxEk2B_NbSswbFSdng58Mb5f0JF0Nr7Y-o1Pw8/edit

The following children are to receive a St Monica's Achievement Medal for representing ACT at a National Event or Australia at an International Event. The presentation will occur at the last assembly in Week 10 - Tuesday 17 December commencing at 12.00pm.

Please check the list and advise Ms Maguire if a name has been omitted.

Carols and Canteen Thank You

Thank you to the helpers who assisted at this evening's Carols BBQ - without your help  we would not have been able to feed our school community.

Thank you also to the helpers who have assisted in the canteen today and Friday - you have helped us keep the canteen open in Mrs Manning's absence.

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

CHRISTMAS SALE! -  The St Monica's 40th Birthday Family Cookbook - now just $10!

With Christmas fast approaching why not purchase one of our St Monica’s Family Cookbooks, filled with delicious recipes from our school community. Cookbooks are available from the Front Office or via QKR. What a great gift for family and friends! 

Our SMOOSH care has released their enrolment details for the January Vacation Care program. All families need to ensure that accounts are brought up to date by Friday 13 December to secure their care enrolment for the 2020 school year. Any concerns please direct to Molly, our SMOOSH Director, or raise with Carmel Maguire.  

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 -

Anneliese L, Marquez P, Kelly K, Eamon J, Luca S

Canteen Roster - Term 4, Week 9

Monday - CANTEEN CLOSED

Tuesday - Evelyn David-Hoole

Wednesday - Vacancy

Thursday - June Manning

Friday - Samantha Cox, June Manning, Wendy Regan, Katrina Ciampa, Jane Rabbets

Canteen News

The Canteen will be closed on Monday 9 December.

Week 9 is last week for Lunch Orders. Week 10 is counter sales only.

In Week 10 there will be a Special Lunch. Information to follow soon.

Samantha Manning - Canteen Manager - 6258 4687

Congratulations to Lisia F (2R) who received a high distinction of 95% for her piano exam which was the top mark out of her musical school. There were 11 students sitting the exam. What a great achievement!! Well done Lisia.