St Monica’s Primary School - Evatt eNewsletter

Thursday 5 November	Tennis - Year 5
Friday 6 November	Crazy Sock Day
Friday 6 November	Hockey - Kindy - Year 2
Friday 6 November	Mission Week School Prayer over Teams - 2:30pm
Wednesday 11 November	Confirmation Night - 6.00pm - St Monica's
Thursday 12 November	Confirmation Night - 5.30pm and 7.00pm - St Monica's

Dear Parents

Last week the Principals gathered for our Annual Conference with the CE Director, Ross Fox. Friday was a very informative day reviewing the Archdiocesan System goals for the next few years. The two bold goals all schools will be working toward are -

1. Every student is a competent reader

2. High impact teaching practice is visible in every classroom

To achieve these goals the Catalyst Program, informed by the science of learning, will focus on four key initiatives

1. High Impact Teaching Practices

2. K - 2 Literacy

3. Curriculum improvement through high-quality resources

4. Instruction leadership to support the implementation of evidence-based instruction leadership techniques.

The key initiatives will drive professional learning for teachers next year and guide the formation of the 2021 Annual Improvement Plan for each school. Further detail about Catalyst can be found at https://catalyst.cg.catholic.edu.au/.

Respect

Over the last week we have had to remind a number of children of the importance of respect, particularly towards others. This is the time of year when we often see an increase in a lack of patience in games and disrespect towards their peers and even teachers when a decision does not go their way. Please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher should your child express concerns.

Archbishop's Visit

Thank you to the Youth Ministry Team from St Monica's and the school leaders from St Michael's for making the Archbishop feel so welcome last week when he visited the Parish.

Drink Bottles

There are a lot of students who are coming to school without their drink bottles. As the weather is now starting to warm up it is important that children come to school with a labelled full bottle of water each day. Unfortunately due to a COVID-19 requirement the bubblers are still closed off for use by the children.

Kinder Orientation

While beginning school is a very exciting time for all, it can also be rather intimidating for the little ones. To help the child settle into the routines of school life, our orientation program will include the attendance of all 2021 Kindergarten students at two afternoon sessions on

Wednesday 18 November (3.30pm – 4.30pm) and

Thursday 19 November (3.30pm – 4.30pm) 2020.

This is a change to our traditional approach due to COVID-19 restrictions and protocols. Letters have been sent home to the parents involved regarding the afternoon arrangements. Parents will be required to register their attendance on arrival via the Canberra app.

Families Leaving

Over the last two weeks we have received a number of enrolment inquiries. As we have a number of classes at capacity I ask that any families leaving please advise the school as soon as possible.

A Very Big Thank You

A very special thank you to Evelyn David-Hoole and the Community Council for coordinating the special lunch for the teachers on Friday for World Teachers Day. It was very much appreciated and enjoyed by the staff.

Continue to stay safe and healthy.

Carmel Maguire

Principal

FRIDAY IS CRAZY SOCK DAY!!

Wear your craziest socks and bring in a gold coin donation to help fundraise for Catholic Mission!

Catholic Mission Week

Why do we support the works of Catholic Mission Australia at St Monica’s?

This is a very good question! As a Catholic School we are charged with teaching and living the mission of the Catholic Church. Catholic Mission Australia is ‘The international mission agency of the Catholic Church in Australia’. Together, we are called to live the message, life and love of Jesus through raising awareness and funds for our brothers and sisters who are in the most need –

‘TRULY, I SAY TO YOU, AS YOU DID IT TO ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE MY BROTHERS, YOU DID IT TO ME.’ Mtt 25:40

Over the next three weeks, as we continue to Grow Together as a school community, we will be Discovering how to Serve – serve others and serve ourselves. This week, we are learning about how our generous donations can support Catholic Mission’s outreach to communities in Cambodia.

So, for a gold coin donation, we are all going to be wearing our craziest socks this Friday for Crazy Sock Day! Let’s come together to sock-it to poverty and help Catholic Mission continue to live Jesus’ message of love.

Sacramental Program – Confirmation Liturgy 2020

The Sacrament of Confirmation is to be celebrated on:
Tuesday 10 November in St Michael’s Church at 6pm
Wednesday 11 November in St Monica’s Church at 6pm
Thursday 12 November in St Monica’s Church – 2 liturgies at 5.30pm and 7pm.

Please arrive at the church/liturgy that you have booked for at least 15 minutes prior to commencement of the sacrament.

Home Booklets

If you have not returned your home booklet to the school please do so as a matter of urgency. The completed booklets will be signed by Fr Loi and will then be returned to the candidates on the night of the Sacrament liturgy along with their certificates.

For further information please contact the Sacramental Program coordinator at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au

In preparation to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Candidates are to attend the Sacrament of Reconciliation before being Confirmed. This is a great opportunity for the children to renew their heart, mind and spirit, with the support of their family, as they continue their preparation to be a confirmed member of God’s family.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish offer times for Reconciliation. The times are:

St Monica’s Church every Saturday 4:30pm - 5:30pm
St Michael’s Church every Sunday 4:30pm - 5:15pm

There will be opportunities for candidates to attend Reconciliation at school, over the coming weeks, if families are unable to attend on a weekend before the Sacrament. These sessions will occur during the school day and supervised by a Year 6 teacher.

Restorative Practices have been developed with one specific goal in mind; to support and facilitate the building of healthy relationships.

These questions form a basis for our interaction, especially when things go wrong in relationships. Try the Restorative Questions next time you are confronted with an issue where someone has caused harm to another. Note what happens.

St Monica’s staff see Restorative Practices as assisting us to enact our core values in the school. Our shared vision will assist us to repair harm and build healthier relationships and as a result help our children to be more resilient and better connected to significant others.

Please continue to support our Online Book Fair which runs until Monday 16 November 2020.

In class, students will complete their wish lists which they will take home. It is just a wish list, not an order form. The wish list has the link. Students in Years 3-6 have received the link in Google Classroom. The site can then be accessed and browsed from home with all orders then entered online.

Our Library will receive a commission for our sales which we will take in the form of new books for our Library so don’t forget to nominate our school when you make a purchase.

This is a wonderful opportunity for students to own new books and parents or grandparents to do some early Christmas shopping.

On behalf of our students, we thank you for your support. It is much appreciated.

In School Sport Week 3 Results

3/4 Netball

Swifts 2 defeated Giants 0

3/4 Touch

Titans 0 lost to Sharks 5

3/4 Soccer

Wolves 3 defeated Red Devils 0

Victory 2 defeated Dragons 1

5/6 Netball

Diamonds 8 drew with Sapphires 8

5/6 Touch

Storm 5 defeated Tigers 2

5/6 Soccer

United 2 defeated Glory 1

Wanderers 5 defeated Roar 2

St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal

Each year St Monica’s School participates in the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. The local conference of the Society packs and distributes over 50 hampers to families in our parish just prior to Christmas. Over the years, the generosity of the St Monica’s School community has filled many hampers. The Appeal will launch again shortly. St Monica’s School will collect items up until Friday 11 December. This year classes have been allocated a food group to collect. Donations are not limited to the listed items but providing these will enable the Conference to provide a Christmas dinner to their clients.

6H - Minced pies and fruit tarts

6FH - Long life custard and packets of jelly crystals

6M - Sweet and savoury biscuits

5W - Packets of muesli bars/fruit bars

5E - Tinned vegetables beetroot, potatoes

5SM -Tinned vegetables – carrots, peas, corn,

4R - Tinned fruit – pineapple, peaches, pears

4MF - Packets of pasta

3CD - Packets of chips/pretzels/etc

3LK - Packets of coloured popcorn

3GB - Boxes/packets of chocolates (without nuts)

2CP - Christmas Bon-Bons

2RR – Drinks – Fruit juice 1 litre

1E - Cordial - 1 litre

1R – Tin salmon

KCH - Sponge jam rolls – check expiry date is after Christmas

KB - Packet of sweet or savoury biscuits

Staff - Tinned hams

Many thanks for your generosity.

"The Canteen is now open for orders on both Thursday and Friday. Most items are available for both days, with the exception of hot dogs, which are only available on Friday. There will also be a new option added to Thursday's lunch menu - a piece of oven baked, Birdseye crumbed fish - just $1.50 a piece.

Exciting news for those who need to be careful with food additives. I have just bought some Icy Stix, they are a frozen stick ice block made by The No Nasties Icicle Project (Sugar Free-Zies) and will be available for just $0.50 each.

"Thanks everyone for supporting our School Canteen."

Fees are due by Friday 13 November

Term 4 school fees invoices have been issued. Statements were sent home with the eldest child as we are still unable to email them. Statements were posted to any families who have a split account.

Please let us know if you have not received your fees statement. Statements were not issued to families with a direct debit arrangement in place, however, please let us know if you wish to receive it.

Please make every effort to settle your account on time, and get in touch with our School Finance Officer, Allison Walsh should you need to discuss your account.

Any families who are leaving us this year must ensure their account is settled in full, please.

Reminder all families:

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

insights_give_kids_a_thumbs_up_for_the_right_things _pdf 170.67 KB

insights_parenting_in_challenging_times.pdf

insights_parenting_in_challenging_times _pdf 178.93 KB

Happy Birthday to the following students celebrating a Birthday this week

Abigail N, Jack R, Patrick I, Malcolm S, Tyler B, Cooper W, Polly D, Niko M, Liam N

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.