Dear Parents

Yesterday was a very busy day as we worked with families to link everyone up through Teams. Thank you for your patience, we are getting there. Life was much more settled today now we understand Teams and can connect with the children via the video conferencing facility. There was lots of excitement as the children saw their classmates and teachers. A reminder to parents that all conferences, involving the children, are videoed and must occur through Teams. This is a requirement by Catholic Education.

While we have sent out lots of information regarding working online I cannot stress how important it is to ensure

• your child has dressed appropriately for their video conference,
• the background to a video conference is acceptable, 
• the student group check-in sessions are not dominated by parent questions as they are a time for teachers to interact with their students, and
• school protocols for remote learning must be followed at all times.  

Staffing Term 2

Like many of our families, we have several staff working from home for personal or care reasons. To accommodate staff needs the following arrangements have been put into place, for the next few weeks, until current arrangements change for Catholic Primary Schools in Canberra.

1R  Monday & Tuesday - Mrs Jodie May, 

        Wednesday to Friday - Mrs Yvette Rosenfeld

3LK  Monday - Friday - Mrs Mira Lustica

6FH - Monday - Friday - Mrs Liz Foster

Condolences and very sad news

The following is a letter from the Principal of SFX College sent to families last week. Mitchell is an ex St Monica's student.

Dear Parents, Carers and Students

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I write on behalf of the Williams family to inform you that Mitchell Williams, 11D6 passed away on Wednesday 22 April 2020.

You may be aware that Mitchell had been courageously fighting cancer for a few years. He is now in peace and pain-free.

Mitchell’s parents, Bronwen and John,  his sister Jess (9I2) are very appreciative of the support from the College since he has been at SFX.

When speaking with Bronwen yesterday, she shared these sentiments from the family:

“Mitchell was a truly beautiful soul, he was a deeply caring individual who placed the highest possible value on the relationships he formed in life.

He was totally dedicated to his family and he valued the love of both his immediate and broader family so highly. He loved going to family functions and gatherings and spending time with his cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.

He formed so many wonderful friendships with school mates and also established so many friendships with team mates from the various sports he played.

Mitchell lived life to fullest and just loved having fun and enjoying himself. He loved to laugh and had a fantastic sense of humour which was infectious. He was such a genuine, loyal and honest young man.

The strength, courage, resilience and mental & physical toughness he displayed not only over the last 2 years but throughout his entire life has been absolutely amazing and so inspirational.

Mitchell really thrived at St Francis Xavier and loved the learning environment the school provided. He was deeply grateful for everything the school did for him and for all of the great times he had there with his class mates and teachers.”

Please keep the Williams’ family in your prayers.

May his soul and all the souls of the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Stay safe and healthy 

Principal  

‘Growing Together – even we are apart!’

This term we are continuing to grow together, even though we are apart as a school community. We could never have thought back in January how fitting this term’s overarching theme would be. Perseverance – ‘continued effort to do or achieve despite difficulties, failure, or opposition’ (Merriam-Webster).

We will draw on St Monica's example of perseverance - persevering in prayer and how we treat others regardless of the difficulties she faced. She is an excellent example for us to persevere when faced with situations of pain and frustration - which we have all been experiencing in varying degrees due to the bushfires and now the current pandemic.

Our focus for Weeks 1-3 is Resilience - ‘an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change’ (Merriam-Webster). Resilience is the ability to bounce back from stress, adversity, failure, challenges and even trauma. It's not something children have or don’t have; it’s a skill that children develop as they grow. How are we as a school community developing resilience in our children during remote learning? At home, do we model resilient behaviours?

Tip #1: Teachers are busy planning for opportunities for their students to engage in independent learning during remote learning - solving problems and creating solutions independently

Tip #2: Discuss how you have been resilient during the changes that have recently occurred - ask your children to identify ways your family has been resilient during the current situation. 

Here are two little clips you could watch as a family to help discuss resilience.

A cool little clip from Kid President: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o  (3-6)

A cute clip from Olaf - could also be used for Perseverance

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An2OaIbPSII&list=PLNYMIWJWpaYr0r3iwO376e5WbOJHpdwst

(K-2)

Our family prayer bags were created as a special resource to support each of our beautiful St Monica's families to continue the prayer life of our school during remote learning.

It would be wonderful to see how your family is using the prayer bags at home! If you would like to share with the community, please send your pictures to haley.stonham@cg.catholic.edu.au

Next week, during your child’s whole class connect meeting, encourage them to bring their olive wood heart to prayer. This would be a great way to connect through prayer with the whole class.

Lastly, here is a link to one of my favourite songs at the moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_83KqwEEGw4 

‘Sunday Best’ by the Surfaces. It is a happy, fun and positive song, I hope you enjoy!

Haley Stonham

Some lovely photos of Anzaz Day 2020  from the Steinberg family - Lexie S (KCH), Freya S (3CD) and Ruby - ex St Monica's student and photos of Firman family - Milla (1R) and her little sister Ava.

Code a Treasure Hunt!

Coding doesn’t always need to be done on a computer. Take a break from the screen and try this fun coding treasure hunt at home!

What you will need: Something that is the treasure e.g. a stuffed toy, drink bottle or even a delicious cupcake!

Players: 2 or more

How to Play: One person hides the treasure item somewhere in the house or the backyard. They are the ‘coder’. The other person needs to follow the instructions from the ‘coder’ to reach the treasure. They need to use clear directions so that the treasure is found as quickly as possible. For example, take 10 steps forward, take 5 crab walks to the left, jump once with one arm raised above your head.

You could time it to see how well you are giving the directions. The coder with the fastest set of directions to find the treasure wins!

Laura R (3CD) and Noah P (2CP) have been busy through the holidays creating their wonderful Lego displays.  Well done!!!

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Join one of Australia’s favourite parenting authors and educators Maggie Dent on Parental As Anything, to get tips and answers to your real-world parenting dilemmas.

Maggie talks to parenting experts from around the world to find practical solutions to the challenges every parent is facing today.

She’ll help you be the parent you really want to be and give you ideas on how you can raise healthy boys and girls who thrive.

Go to this link to find more information and topics such as the one below. click here

Scholastic Book Club

Scholastic have provided a virtual catalogue so that students can continue to have access to some great reads. Below is a link to the catalogue. Books can be ordered through Loop by clicking on the shopping cart. Orders close on Monday 18 May 2020. Books will be delivered to the school and I will contact parents to organise pick up of orders.

https://scholastic.com.au/book-club/virtual-catalogue-1/ 

Japanese Jottings

Prayers for Healthy and Strong Children

Children's Day is a national holiday on 5 May in Japan that celebrates the healthy, happy growth of children. Families with young boys fly colourful, carp-shaped streamers called koinobori in front of their houses in the hope that they will grow up healthy and strong.

Koinobori fly in front of a house. The carp-shaped streamers below the five-coloured fukinagashi represent the father, mother and two children in the family (© photo courtesy of AFLO).

Happy Birthday to the following students

Maddison C, Paige H, Ava P, Eliana D, Josephine H, Scarlett B, William H, Emma S, Austin C, Jade W, Beau R

SECRET KIDS BUSINESS - NOT TO BE SEEN BY MUMS

Hey kids (and Dads)

This year we are doing our school Mother’s Day stall online (just like everything else!!)

We have made awesome gift packs for you to buy for your lovely mum, nanna, granny, aunt or special person in your life.

Take a look through our Mother’s Day catalogue, and when you are ready to order get Dad (or someone??)  to log in to QKR!  Find the Mother’s Day stall section and choose your gift pack. EASY!!!

We will have a drive through collection service on Thursday 7^th May, 1pm to 3pm. Please drive through the staff carpark with the surname in the car window to collect your order.

Please note that products in gift bags may not be identical to those in the pictures. Colours and wording will differ between the gift packs. Please appreciate that this was the simplest way to be able to bring you a virtual Mother’s Day stall.

We wish all our lovely mums and special people in our community a happy and healthy Mother’s Day filled with love and laughter.

Please contact Michelle Bowman if required (0416162543)

Pack A - $30  Stoneware Mug, Snowglobe, Inspirational Cards, Mints, Family Photo Frame, Baking Set, Scented Diffuser. Note - colours and captions will vary from the picture.

Pack B - $25 Mums Wine Glass, Nature Design Necklace, Mini Chalkboard, Mirror, Cute Jigsaw Puzzle. Note - colours and captions will vary from the picture.

Pack C - $20 Head Massager, Mug and Fluffy Socks, Scented Candle Pot, Calendar. Note - colours and captions will vary from the picture.

Pack D - $20 Fairy Lights in Jar, Soap Petal Rose, Glitter Bangle, Colour Changing Mug. Note - colours and captions will vary from the picture.

Pack E - $15 Light Up Star Box, Magnetic Notepad, Special Mum Pen, Key Ring - "20 Reasons I Love You". Note - colours and captions will vary from the picture.

Pack F - $10 Mug and Fluffy Socks, Snowglobe, Soap Petal Rose. Note - colours and captions will vary from the picture.

Pack G - $10 Mirror, Soap Petal Rose, Snowglobe. Note - colours and captions will vary from the picture.

Pack H - $10 Family Photo Frame, Scented Candle Pot, Snowglobe. Note - colours and captions will vary from the picture.

Pack I - $15 Fairy Lights In Jar, Baking Set, Head Massager, Keyring - "20 Reasons I Love You". Note - colours and captions will vary from the picture.

Pack J - $20 Mums Wine Glass, Mini Chalkboard, Calendar, Keyring - "20 Reasons I Love You". Note - colours and captions will vary from the picture.

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

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.