Dear Parents

It is hard to believe we are in the second half of the term. Over the weekend I was speaking to my brother in Denver, Colorado and his two boys aged seven and eight are returning to remote learning for their new school year. My two nephews have not attended school since March with no possibility until at least November. I count my blessings every day that I am living in Canberra and our children are able to attend school daily. Be sure to start planning your family activities for SABBATH week next week. 

Conscious that many families would like to see the St Monica's play areas fenced I have been working, over the last twelve months, to develop a proposal to extend the boundary line of the school grounds. This would increase the current play spaces before outlaying on the cost of a fence. The attached draft plan indicated the proposed land acquisition areas. I feel we need to explore every possibility as the cost of installing a permanent fence will be expensive and will need to be met by the school community.

This week the teachers have been connecting with families for a Term 3 Parent-Teacher interview. These interviews provide an opportunity to review student goals, discuss your child's progress and engagement with their learning and set new goals for the coming weeks. There is an expectation that all families will make an effort to connect with their child's teachers either via zoom or over a phone conversation. Please refer to the attached flier for the link to book a Zoom meeting. 

Families Leaving 

This week we say farewell to the Davies family - Lane (3LK). We wish the family all the best.

We have had a number of enrolment enquiries in the last week. 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. 

Kindergarten Health Checks

Just to let Kindergarten families know that Canberra Health Services is offering a targeted kindergarten health check concentrating on vision and hearing.

These health checks are performed in clinics at the City Health Centre Mondays and Fridays and there will be appointments most days in the school holidays.

An appointment can be made by phoning the Central Intake Line on 51249977.

Don't forget to come dressed tomorrow

as something beginning with the letter 'M'

Continue to stay safe and healthy. 

Principal  

For the past two weeks we have provided families with resources from Safe on Social. Catholic Education is working with Safe on Social to access further resources to be shared with the community.

In the meantime, we would strongly encourage our families to sign up for the eSafety Commissioners Parent Webinars that are being held in September. The webinar in September is on the topic of popular apps.

Information and sign up can be found here:

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars

Descriptive Feedback

Once students are aware of the Learning Intention and Success Criteria the next stage of assessment that will support their learning is Descriptive Feedback from the teacher. Whilst it's always nice to hear a teacher say 'good job' or 'well done', the students at St Monica's receive Descriptive Feedback related to the Learning Intention and Success Criteria. Students can then use these elements to assess themselves and their peers and set individual goals.

Take a look at some of the Descriptive Feedback our students received during remote learning:

On Monday students and staff at St Monica’s were entertained via the internet by the Musica Viva in Schools group The Rhythm Works.  The interactive, digital music incursion allowed us to hear new musical artworks composed with interesting and unusual instruments such as rain sticks, thunder drums and plastic tubes called boom whackers. Some students were invited to have their own sound included in a composition about a storm with the use of a laptop microphone and the musician’s loop pedal. The students impressed the performers with their knowledge of the elements of music and their ability to interpret the musical images that were presented to them.

Here’s what some of the students had to say about it: I liked it when the drum went bang! - Molly KB. I liked the music about the storm -  Stela KB. I liked how we were able to interact with the performers by typing questions and answers into the chat - Alex 6F. The oop machine surprised me because you need electricity and leg power to record sounds -  Hamish 3CD.

Reminder all families: 

Catholic Education COVID-19 Website - Click to open web updates

Respectful relationships is currently a topic of conversation in schools across Australia and New Zealand. Encouraging children and young people to develop relationships with each other based on mutual respect and equality is at the heart of gender quality.

In a recent wide-ranging interview I asked prominent Australian psychologist Collett Smart to identify the impediments parents face when teaching kids about respectful relationships. Collett identified pornography as the biggest challenge parents had to overcome when developing respectful attitudes to gender and sexuality.

Open this article to read on

Happy Birthday to the following students 

Isabella P, Riley Mc, Hamish H, Pasquale A, Geeza J, Mitchell C, Lily H, Patrick S, Fraser C, Alexandra T

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

This is a reminder to help our children understand the importance of stranger safety and the need to report any unusual incidents or approaches to staff immediately.

If you become aware of an incident or notice anyone acting suspiciously around a school or child, contact police immediately on 131 444. In the case of an emergency, call 000. If you witness an incident or if you have any information that could assist police, you can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Information can be provided anonymously.

Please support us to keep our children safe by having conversations with your child about moving safely around the community and what to do if they ever feel unsafe. You may wish to visit the Australian Federal Police website that contains child safety information. In addition, Safety4Kids is a non-government website that has useful information and links. The Constable Kenny website also has a number of child safety tips for parents.

Catholic Education will continue to work with ACT Policing on issues of child safety.

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.

Passion & Purpose Academy is Canberra’s fastest growing dance school with the most affordable hip hop classes for 3 - 17 year olds. To arrange a free trial at our Melba Copland Secondary School studio, please enrol online at www.passionandpurpose.com.au