Dear Parents

It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of June and I am sure you will agree it has been a very demanding Semester One on everyone due to the impact of the fires and COVID-19 on the community. We are noticing the children are tired and still struggling to get back into the daily routine. I know the staff are looking forward to a well-earned break. The Semester One reports will be sent home in the first week of next term as we have tried to maximise the learning time since the return to face to face teaching and learning. 

Kinder 2021 Interviews

This week I commenced our Kinder interviews for 2021. As indicated last week I have prioritised our new families for this term and will interview all our siblings early next term. It has been a real joy to meet our new little ones and their families. Letters of offer will be sent out to all families mid next week.  

Families Leaving 

To help with class planning for 2021 please advise the school in writing if you do not intend returning to St Monica's in 2021.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) Feast Day

Today as a Parish we celebrated Our Lady of Perpetual Help Feast Day. Whilst we couldn't join as a whole Parish community (including St Michael's School), we celebrated simultaneously through prayer, liturgy and art at each school. We used MSTeams to video across to other classes at St Michael's.

Parish Sacramental Program Update

On Friday Haley Stonham and I will attend a Parish Sacramental Team Meeting. We will be mapping out the plan for Term 3 and Term 4 regarding students receiving the Sacraments. 

At this stage, and we will confirm dates in next week's newsletter, the timeline would be as follows:

Term 3, 2020 - Sacrament of Reconciliation (First Rite) - Year 3 students

Term 4, 2020 - Sacrament of Confirmation - Year 6 students

Term 1, 2021 - Sacrament of First Eucharist (which was missed this year) - Year 4 students from this year (they will obviously be in Year 5 next year when they receive this Sacrament)

From Term 2 2021, we will be back on a normal timeline.

We apologise for any issue this may cause. The decision for Sacrament of Reconciliation for Term 3 was because it is the easiest Sacrament to limit crowds and follow the physical distancing requirements etc. The decision for Confirmation in Term 4 was to still be able to support our Year 6 before they head off to high school. 

Further information will follow next week with exact dates and timeline. 

Late Arrivals - What you need to know!

Children arriving after the 8.55am bell MUST walk through the foyer to access their classroom. Children arriving late are to be signed in by a parent/carer at the Front Office. Do not just drop them off. The information documented on a late slip is now transferred to our new student roll data system to accurately record all arrival and departure times. The class roll is now taken each morning by 9.05am. Any child arriving after 9.05am will be documented as arriving late for school.  Eventually an automated SMS notification will be added to our system which will advise a parent when a child has not been accounted for at school. 

Dont Forget!

General Reminders 

• Children need to bring their water bottle every day.
• Packs of wipes are available from the office for $1.00.
• Shoulder length hair to be tied back.
• Black shoes should be worn with the winter uniform.
• Blue or maroon beanies are permitted.
• Parents are still not permitted into the school building unless authorised. 
• Social distancing is still required in the school car parks with the children being dropped off and picked up at the designated areas. 

Continue to stay safe and healthy. 

Principal  

We would like to extend our gratitude to our school community for their generous donations to the Mary Millar Library Fund.

To date, we have received $1,430 to our Library Fund. This money will allow us to purchase some new big cushions and furniture for the students' use during library sessions.

We encourage families to consider making a donation to the Library Fund before 30 June. Donations over $2.00 are fully tax-deductible and receipts will be issued so that you can claim the amount on your tax return.

School Fees were due on Friday 12 June.

This is a friendly reminder to families to please settle accounts as soon as possible, except for families on Direct Debit arrangements.

We currently have over $140,000 outstanding. 

Every courtesy has been extended in relation to family circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the CE offering those families experiencing hardship the opportunity to apply for fee relief for Term 2 fees if needed.

Please make every effort to settle your account before the end of the term. The school cannot bear the running costs alone.

Thank you to families who have paid their fees. 

We will be closing our surveys on Friday so please share your thoughts. 

St Monica's Canteen Survey - 142 responses received so far

We are keen to hear from the St Monica's community regarding the future and use of our canteen. We are planning to reopen in Term 3 on Fridays. This will increase depending on the demand for the service and ensuring we balance our income and expenditure. 

Please take a few minutes to respond to our canteen survey. Thank you for your support. 

https://forms.gle/pm2bXhpSCHrNo8ZW9

St Monica's Remote Learning Review - 93 responses received so far

As we have completed nearly four weeks of return to face to face teaching and we return to a 'new' normal, it is now time to conduct a review into the remote learning program. 

The Power of Gratitude

Gratitude is all about being thankful and focusing on the good around us. When you learn to be thankful for everything and have an attitude of gratitude, you’ll feel more positive, peaceful and happy each day. This Gratitude Scavenger Hunt is perfect for kids and adults to start finding little things to be thankful for. Use this scavenger hunt as a bucket list, or just to enjoy with your family. Have fun!

Code a Song

Try this fun website that teaches you how to code a song on a piano.

It has step by step instructions and builds on harder skills as you go. At the end you will have a complete song you can play for your friends! Scan the QR code to get to the website or visit https://mobile-csp.org/hourofcode/q/apps/tunes/

Happy Birthday to the following students

Annalise S, Brando B, Rose O, Joseph F, Freya S, Annalene L, Dale S, Emmet J, Annabelle F

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

With the easing of restrictions in place  from Friday 19 June for 100 people, we are moving forward with commencing Weekend Masses starting this coming weekend (20 and 21 June).

In order to follow the strict observance of the 1.5m or 4 square metres distancing, St Michael's Church can hold 75 people and St Monica's Church can hold 90 people.

A TryBooking system has been set up and the links will be on the Parish website, Facebook and Instagram accounts from Friday midday. They will also be shared on the school’s newsletter and social media accounts.

To ensure as many people can attend Church as possible, two additional Masses will start. The times and locations are as follows;

St Michael's Church

      Saturday 6.00pm (additional)

      Sunday 8.00am & 5.30pm 

      Saturday 6.00pm

      Sunday 10.00am 

      Sunday 5.30pm (additional)

If you are in a position to help with Church cleaning, reading etc. please contact the Parish Office.

We look forward to welcoming everyone who would like to back to Church to pray and worship as a Community.

Our SMOOSH care is taking enrolments for the July Vacation Program 

VAC_plan_April_2020_UV.pdf

Enrolment_Form_VAC_July_2020_updated_15.6.20.pdf

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.

From Saturday 18 July 2020, Transport Canberra will be updating timetables for bus services.

These changes will help make public transport in Canberra easier to use by providing more services and increased frequency, to ensure that people have greater opportunity to spread out their travel across the day as we recover from COVID-19.

Transport Canberra has worked closely with the school community and we are providing increased frequency and additional services for school students across Canberra.

As a new timetable is being introduced, there will be minor changes for all students travelling to and from school on public transport across Canberra from the first day of Term 3, 2020 (Monday 20 July 2020). In most cases, this will mean that students will catch the same service from the same stop, but the times that services arrive and leave may change.

In addition, Transport Canberra has made the following changes:

Bus stop re-opened at St Monica’s Primary - Our very exciting news!

• From the beginning of Term 3, 2020, a bus stop on Moynihan St, Evatt will be reopened. This stop is adjacent to St Monica’s Primary School.
• This will address an issue raised by the school about the safety of students walking to stop further away from the school.
• In the morning, students will be able to catch one route 41 service to this bus stop. While most route 41 services will no longer travel down Moynihan St, one bus each morning will divert to provide a service from St Monica’s Primary and Miles Franklin Primary to Flynn and Melba.
• In the afternoon, students will be able to use a new school special (school route 1068) to make the return journey, leaving from the same bus stop.
• Students catching other buses stopping at the school (Rapid 3 and route 43) will be able to continue to use bus stops adjacent to the school on Copland Drive. Students crossing Copland Drive at these stops can use the pedestrian underpass.
• There will be no changes to services in Term 2, 2020.

• checking the information packs for each school, which are online at transport.act.gov.au
• checking timetables for each route (including school specials), which are online at transport.act.gov.au
• calling 13 17 10.

Please find information for Junior Winter Touch Football in Flyer.