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

Staff Farewells

Next week we farewell Hannah Dewey, Serae Love, Katarina Markovic and Samantha Manning.  Sam, our Canteen Manager, has accepted a full-time position starting next year at John Paul College. Sam has been managing the St Monica's Canteen for the past 13 years which has provided a wonderful service to our community. On behalf of the community we wish them all the very best in their new schools. 

Classroom Teachers 2020

Kinder 

Clare Battye

Natalie Currie (3 days) + Helen Houghton (2 days)

Year 1

June Edwards 

Yvette Rosenfeld

Year 2

Emma Russell (3 days) + Monika Richards (2 days)

Sarah Corkhill (3 days) + Kirsty Price (2 days)

Year 3

Mira Lustica (4 days) + Cerryanne Kelly (1 day)

Susan Carswell (4 days) + Luke Donnelly (1 day)

Kirsty Godschalx (3 days) + Melinda Brown (2 days)

Year 4

Ryan Matchett (3 days) + Bob Fletcher (2 days)

Carmel Rheinberger

Year 5

Amanda Winne

Christopher Evans

Haley Stonham (3 days) + Michael McFadden (2 days)

Year 6

Kathy Moir

Brendan Hague

Elizabeth Foster (3 days) + Miriam Hilton (2 days)

Next Wednesday at 9.15am the children will have the opportunity to meet their 2020 teacher/s. The children will engage in an activity sharing their interests and getting to know their new teacher. A great deal of time and effort has gone into forming the new class groups.

There will be no multiage class groups in 2020 due to numbers across each cohort. When forming a multiage class group we endeavour to have a balance of students from the various grade levels. Unfortunately, this was not possible when considering alternatives across Year 3 and 4. With larger class groups in Year 4 next year, additional support will be provided to foster focused learning opportunities for the children.

School Reports

Yesterday the Semester 2 reports were sent home with the children. Where a child lives between two homes a second report has either been sent home or posted. Please contact your child's teacher or the school office if you have not received your child's report.

As mentioned last week 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 spent hours and hours over the past few weeks writing reports. They are a very committed and dedicated group of people.

Families Leaving

Next week we farewell the Watson family - Gabi (4M) and Millie (2RD). The family is moving overseas and will return in a few years.

Welcome 

We have a number of new families joining our community in 2020 - the Scholtes, Haughan, Sams, Sutherland, Murphy families. We also look forward to the return of the Turnbull family to St Monica's.

Year 6 Fun Day

On Wednesday18 December, Year 6 children will enjoy a “Fun Day”. They will spend the morning at Hoyts in Belconnen watching a movie starting at 9.30 am. They will leave Hoyts at 12.15 pm and bus to Zone Bowling in Tuggeranong where they will have 2 games of bowling. The bus will bring the children back to school by 3.00 pm.

Candy Canes

While the custom of giving Candy Canes with Christmas Cards is a lovely gesture the giving and sharing of lollies at school is not permitted.

The school magazine will be sent home with the eldest child on Thursday next week. One copy is allocated per family. Additional copies will be available for purchase from the front office until sold out.

Chaplaincy Grant

We received 43 very positive responses to our current chaplaincy program. This week I was required to reapply for funding, for the next three years, and hope to hear by the end of next week. The funding of $20 800 per year allows us to employ Bob Fletcher for 20 hours a fortnight to support the emotional and social needs of our children. Fingers crossed we are successful. 

May God's blessing be with you 

Carmel Maguire

Principal

Over the course of the past term, we have been engaged in the process of reviewing our School Wide Positive Behaviour approach. Based on student voice it came to our attention that the use of M&M's was inconsistent across the school. The staff and parents were then surveyed regarding the use of M&M's and the future direction of their use at St Monica's. The results from parents mirrored those of the staff with both of these groups split three ways.

What these results do tell us is that 62% of our community no longer believe in the use of M&M's as a reward for positive behaviour. 

We have therefore made the decision to cease the use of M&M's in 2020.

We can understand this may create angst for students who were looking forward to receiving a St Monica's Star and Pride Badge. We would like to assure you that these badges will still be handed out in a new school wide approach linked with class awards.

In 2020 teachers will implement appropriate rewards to encourage positive behaviour based on the needs in their classroom. We will then make decisions regarding any additional school wide approach, beyond classroom awards, towards the end of the year. 

Thank you for your contribution to this review.

I am pleased to advise the P&F Community Council have approved the fees schedule for 2020. The schedule of fees is attached for your reference. Every effort has been made to keep the overall fee increase to 3%.

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. 

With technology developing at such a fast rate, it is easy to feel a little overwhelmed and unsure about its possibilities. This information sheet aims to help parents with the transition into the BYODD program at St Monica’s.

In 2020, the BYODD program will continue being implemented in Years 4-6.

Should the purchasing of an iPad place a burden on a family’s finances please speak to Carmel Maguire, as soon as possible. We do have a small bank of iPads available for use by families experiencing difficulties in Years 4 to 6.

Year 3 students will have access to a bank of iPads to be shared throughout the week. As we did this year the students in Year 3 will have an option to bring their own device if they wish however this will not be required until early Term 1 following a parent information session. Students in the multi-age will be given the opportunity to access an iPad regularly to complement the class program, should they opt not to bring their own device. Parents will need to discuss this option once the class lists are published.

Why BYODD?

With the National School STEM Education Strategy (2015) and the development of the Australian National Technologies Curriculum, technology subjects have become a focus in education. Consistent with this research, industry surveys show that STEM literacy is increasingly becoming part of the core capabilities that Australian employers need. In order to carry out authentic learning tasks with technology, it is important students are equipped with the right tools. The school has iPads available to students however the CE has a policy that all IT hardware be replaced every 5 years if we want access to technical support for hardware. This creates a big cost to the school and still does not provide the ideal 1:1 ratio of students to devices. Our school IT budget is also going towards apps for school owned devices, new laptops, Wi-Fi and other technologies like robots and STEM resources. By implementing the BYODD program, students have the tools they need to engage in individualised learning and having access to school work at home. We will also be reporting on Technology outcomes from the Australian Curriculum in our school reports in 2020.

What apps will my child need for school?

The school does not provide apps for BYODD devices. Parents will need to download school required apps at home. This will mean the app is licenced to the child and not the school. The list below outlines the current apps that we use regularly at school. Please note this list will change as more apps are added throughout the year. Students are also permitted to use apps outside of this list if they assist with completing educational tasks. We try to use only free apps. At this point the teachers have only identified three apps that will need to be purchased.

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.

Updated List  - 12 December

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

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

On Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1 December, the St Monica's Girls Primary School team represented the ACT at the 2019 Australian Schools Teams Championships.  Our team played against teams from all over Australia across the weekend playing a total of 5 long play games (2 hours).  Congratulations to Mary D-H (5F), Sarah D-H (3M), Charlize S (5W), Annalise S (3L) and Annalene Lena (3M) for their efforts over the weekend.  Well done girls!

Yaroslava K (6M) and Vsevolod’s (3/$C) team “Gungahlin Lakes” came second in 2019 Tyro Shield/Junior League Golf ACT. They have won 6 games out of 8. A wonderful achievement. Well done!!

Happy Birthday to the following students -

Ado A, Sienna H, Mia M, Lucas W, Elijah L, Isaac P, Isabella L, Geordie T, Lachlan M, Xavier M, Lachlan P

Canteen Roster - Term 4, Week 10

Wednesday - Help needed for Special Lunch

Canteen News

Week 10 is counter sales only.

A Special Lunch for children in Kinder - Year 5 will be held on Wednesday 18 December. Orders can be placed through Qkr and must be submitted by 10.00am Monday 16 December.

Samantha Manning - Canteen Manager - 6258 4687

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.