Dear Parents

Our Year 6 had a beautiful celebration on Tuesday to mark the end of their primary school years. The morning commenced with a very special liturgy prepared by the Year 6 team that involved the children's parents. During the liturgy the children shared their special memories and received their graduating certificates. The occasion was followed by a wonderful lunch prepared by Wendy Regan, our Canteen Manager. Thank you to the Year 5 parents for your generous donations that contributed to the day coordinated by Alicia Prest, Louise Dykes and Melinda Wrenford. The hall restaurant looked fabulous and the children really felt very special. Thank you to Luke Donnelly for the beautiful slideshow of student photos that added a very moving touch to the liturgies. It was a very memorable occasion. 

School Magazine

The school magazine will be sent home with the eldest child early next week. One copy is allocated per family unless a second copy has been arranged via a split billing arrangement. As the cost of the magazine is included with the fees please ensure you are updated with your payments. Additional copies will be available for purchase from the front office for $30.00 until sold out. Payment will be accepted via Qkr from Friday.

Principal  

Reflection of My Primary School Years - Angelino S (6H)

Over the years I’ve made many memories. Some were good, some were bad. In this text I’m just gonna write funny and good things that have happened to me.

Kinder  - The Discovery Stage

Kinder was… I’d say it was a year of discoveries. I would discover that I shouldn’t pull my pants down all the way when I’m peeing. I would also discover that I couldn’t trust myself, I would always trip over, run into poles and throw up on people. Surprisingly I was actually pretty smart, my teacher at the time Mrs Sydney, she would make me sit in a corner if I finished my work early. Ah yes kinder, the best year of primary school. 10/10.

Year 1  - The Year of Reckoning

Yes! This was finally the year that I would… Finally, make friends! The first friend I ever made was Luke Brasnett. This was also the year I would start my rain of terror getting two gold stars in a year… oh and I managed to accumulate 20-30 orange cards but that doesn’t matter. Anyway year one, pretty solid year. 7/10.

Year 2  - The Wannabe Year

This year was interesting to say. I made two new friends that I would hangout and play with, they were Max and Brian. We even made a group called the… this is so cringe we called our group the gangsta gang. We did all sorts of things such as, ummm I don’t remember what we did, but just by the group name you would think we did all sorts of stupid things. I only had two achievements in year two they were winning the school junior chess tournament and gaining another gold star that I wouldn’t get till year three.

Year 3- The Old Year

If I could sum up year three I’d have to say it was the year when I started feeling like a big kid. This was the year that I was finally going to be an older buddy, except that never happened, instead of being the older buddy we got year five as our buddies. Atiya was my buddy and even though I wanted a younger buddy I felt that Atiya really helped me grow as a person and I’m very thankful for that. Anyway, this was the year that I finally made a solid friendship group and that group is still together today. This was also the year that I started getting really good at soccer and would make the ACT team for my age, this year I would also represent St. Monica’s at Belconnen level for chess. Year three another solid year. 8/10.

Year 4 - The Okay Year

Year four was okay. The teachers we had were Mrs Brown and Mrs Verrier. The achievements I made were okay. I would get a pride badge and another star. I would also make the ACT team for soccer again, this year I would also make the Belconnen chess team. Year four, okay year. 7/10.

Year 5 - The Great year

Year five was great. My teachers Mrs Foster and Mrs Hilton were great. Mrs Foster really pushed my learning and Mrs Hilton was just a great teacher. Anyway, year five was great. There were funny moments such as Max pretending to be a pirate captain and running around the oval. There were also some achievements I made including coming second in the chess tournament and scoring the goal of the season in soccer for my age group. I was very proud of that goal. Year five was a great year. 9/10.

Year 6 The Final Year

Year six was the absolute last year of primary school. It also happened to be one of the most interesting years with COVID-19, we had homeschooling. It was extremely fun because you would finish all your work at the start of the day and then just play video games for the rest. We were living the luxurious life. Until we had to go back to school. Because of COVID-19 there wasn’t any out of school events such as the oz tag carnival or the catholic school soccer carnival, but towards the end of the year I was able to try out for the Belconnen United MPL under thirteens team and I actually managed to get in. Year six, an interesting year. 8/10.

Summary

To summarise my primary school life I’d say it was the years of discovery, reckoning, wannabe, old, worst, best and the final year. Primary school was some of the best years of my life and I can’t wait for high school. Bonus flex: I ended up with nine gold stars and three pride badges, while M and M’s were still a thing.

The things I remember the most about primary school aren’t my biggest achievements but the times spent with my family, my friends, my peers and my community. I clearly remember my first day of school back in 2014, I already had many friends I had made in daycare or preschool. My best friend at the time was Isla Brazel. I have this adorable picture of us on our first day of school with our huge backpacks and name tags.

Reflection of My Primary School Years - Josephine H (6M)

In kindergarten, my teachers were Mrs O’Rourke and Mrs Houghton (we had Mrs O’Rourke every day except Thursday). To this day they remain my favourite teachers plus Mr Mac. One embarrassing moment I remember clearly about kindy was: we were doing maths learning ‘friends of ten’ and I went to get a drink of water. At the time me and Giorgia had the same drink bottle and I accidentally drank out of hers! Another time I remember about kindy was the nativity play, I was a narrator. I remember getting ready in our classroom, there was tinsel everywhere. The nativity play is one of my best memories from kindy.

Year 1:

In year one we all felt like we were such big kids, we were no longer the little kids of the school. One of my main memories of year 1 was visiting Calthorpes’ House. I remember all the old kitchen appliances and the bike in the back shed. It was so exciting because my mum was helping out and was in my group. As well as that another memory I have of year 1 was one day we were doing maths assessments with Mrs O’Rourke. When she called my name I walked over determined to take as long as I could. She asked me to show 7:30 on the clock. I pretended I didn’t know what I was doing until she said, “ oh Josephine, I know you know what to do!”

Year 2:

In year 2 I was in Mrs Lustica’s class 2L. Year 2 was a big year as it was the first year we got to participate in the swimming carnival. I remember going to the carnival with a few others. I didn’t go very well but it was fun. Another memory I have from year 2 was a fight between me and Giorgia. It was over a skipping rope. I can’t even remember what started it. I still remember standing in the corridor outside the classroom trying to sort it out with Mrs Lustica.

Year 3:

By year 3 we finally got to join in house meetings it was so much fun screaming our lungs out chanting. In year 3 I had Miss Markovic. She even sent us a letter before school started to introduce herself as she wasn’t here when we found out about classes. I loved year 3 so much, we read a lot of books including: Once, Then, Now, After, Soon, Maybe and Blossom. Another amazing time from year 3 was our whole grade assembly, we had been learning about different islands. The idea of the assembly was there were 2 travel guides and a family looking for a holiday. I remember writing the script with Miss Markovic.

Year 4:

Year 4 wasn’t that different to year 3 except for the extra homework. One memory is the ‘around the world’ maths game. I would do this weird clicky thing and get really nervous. My other main memory of year 4 was the 2nd last day of school doing Xmas craft. I had finished mine and was helping clean. Until I saw the glitter table. I ran over and sat underneath it and rubbed glitter into my hair. I then went and cleaned the steam room but there were already people there. I went back to the hub and hid behind the interactive whiteboard. I hurt my neck in the process and had a dance performance that night.

Year 5:

I remember at the end of year 4 when we started talking about year 5 camp. That’s literally all everyone would talk about, the days leading up to camp seemed to take forever. I packed my bag 2 weeks before I left. The wait was definitely worth it. On the bus ride to camp I sat next to Ella K. We spent the whole time eating lollies and trying not to get caught by a teacher. When we arrived we got our cabin number and ran and set up our cabin. All the activities were so much fun and it was amazing spending time with my friends. When we got back from camp the rest of the term went so quickly. Yr 5 was an amazing year. We did so many cool things including: concert, mediators, leadership shirt design and our assembly.

Year 6:

Year six started with catastrophic bushfires and then COVID but I still had a wonderful year. The only sad part was Ella K and I weren’t in the same class after being together since preschool. Camp was an amazing time of year 6, the activities were incredible. It was great spending time with my friends before corona. COVID was interesting, remote learning was fun and stressful. It was great to get back to school though. Term 3 was filled with lots of work, same with term 4. The last few weeks have been great working on grad (and sitting next to Maddie).

Overall my time at St Monica’s was amazing, I’ve enjoyed it so much and I’ve made some lifelong friends and memories. I am also excited for the next chapter of my life - high school. St Monica’s I’ll miss you. SFX here I come!

Reflection of My Primary School Years - Skyla L (6FH)

My St. Monica's Primary School Journey
My St.Monica’s Journey Started in Kindergarten and will end in year 6.
Throughout my Primary School years, I’ve had lots of ups and downs. My journey started in Kindergarten which is where this letter starts.
In Kindergarten, Mrs Sydney was my teacher, Ellie Petroukowski, was my buddy, and my best friends were Gabby, Sarah, and Zoe. My Friendship group was very quiet, calm, respectful, nice, and kind. Since my friendship group was very calm and quiet, I got the first M&M and the first white and maroon wristbands. I was so proud of myself. In Kinder I turned 6 years old and threw a big birthday party downstairs in my house. I invited the whole of Kindergarten over and had a massive party with cake and silly string. During the year we went to the Canberra Theatre to watch the play Mr Magee and the biting flee. I loved watching it with my friends, it was soo fun. My favourite moment in Kindy was when we were out for sport and SOMEONE- not naming names, went over to go pick up the mama bird while it was protecting its Baby, and the bird didn’t like it so it started to chase him away.

Year 1. In year one, my teachers were O’ Rourke and Mrs Houghton. One of my favourite teachers was Mrs O’ Rourke. I was still Best Friends with Gabby, Zoe, and Sarah. In year 1 I got my first Star Award . For our year 1 excursion we went to Calthorpes House and we played some of the older games/ activities like: Marbles, Hopscotch, We stripped the Peas, Egg and Spoon race, potato sack racing, and throw the ring on the hoop. We also had a tour of the house, and found out what Calthorpe used to play with and how he played it. For book week I came dressed up as ‘Lola the Lollipop Fairy’ and I had a massive lollipop.

My Year 2 Journey started in 2D with Mr Dunstan as my teacher. He was/always has been my only male teacher apart from relief teachers. Year 2 Book week. I won but this year I went as………... an Ompalompa from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. For our year 2 excursions we went to go see the gum nut babies play and we also went to Tidbinbilla. My most favourite memory of year 2 was watching the St. Monica’s Got Talent tryouts for our class 2D. There were so many funny dances and speeches and songs.

Year 3 was my favourite year. Which one of my four favourite teachers was teaching me. Mrs Winne. We went to Lanyon for our Convict Day, and I got assigned a dude that stole some mustard, and got caught. In year 3 I became Best Friends with Ava S, Jess, Emma, and Isla, who I am still Best Friends with this very day. My favourite thing about year 3 was when Mrs Winne would say her three sayings. 1, ‘No Ifs, Not Buts, No Coconuts’. 2, ‘Off you go, SpaghettiOs’
3. ‘Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater’

Year three I also got my first pride badge, and got to have pizza lunch with Ms Maguire up in the teachers/ staff room with all the other kids with their pride badges!

Year 4, With Mrs Carswell and Mrs Kelly. I got put in a ¾ Class with Ava S, Isla , Jess and Emma, But…. we became friends with Lucija, Emily, Anica, and Maria. Emily, Anica, and Maria were in year 3 the rest of us were in year 4. We all sat at the same table and played a game called ‘Poof’, which is when Ava would go into Maria’s bag and grab out a couple of squishy’s without Maria knowing and later Ava would go ‘POOF’ and Maria would see the Squishy and would say “ How did u get that”. It was super fun and funny. That was my favourite part of year 4. We didn't go on any excursions, so the year was a little bit boring, but I still loved it just like all the other years!!

Year 5, I had Mrs Foster and Mrs Hilton which are my other favourite Teachers. Our year 5 excursion was to the botanical garden, which I wasn’t there because we were at Uluru for a week with a couple of my cousins. My friendship group got split into 2 classes.

Me, Isla, and Jess in one/ this class and Ava, and Emma in the other/ Mr Mac and Mr Fletchers. In year 5 we found out our leadership groups. I got put in Social Justice. My Favourite things about year 5 are when; Max ran around the oval, with his hat like a sailor and two rulers in his hand, and also when Mrs Foster was playing with Maxes hair, and when Max would make Mrs Hilton nearly pee herself with laughter because Max would say funny things/do funny things. At camp I was in Mrs Foster’s group and we came first place. During the leap of faith it was Darcy’s turn and he jumped and got stuck on the bar for like 20 minutes!!

Let’s Move onto year 6 my leadership year. This Year/ 2020 COVID-19 happened. We
went into lockdown at home and had to do Home Learning, for a whole term, term 2. In Term 3 I went to Victoria to go see my Nan and……we happened to get stuck there. I missed about 6-7 weeks of school. Then we went into 2 week Isolation at home with my 3 siblings. In term one, week 6 we went to camp. When my group/ Mr Hague’s group did the big swing, Tulli was the only one who swore! My group came second place overall. Year 6 camp was sooooo much more fun than year 5 camp. Due to COVID we didn’t go on any excursions, and we weren’t able to do the sports carnivals, so we did an in school-sportcomp. I loved year 6.

These were my primary school years. This year/2020 went way too fast for me to know what day it actually was. I’m really thankful for all my teachers, family and friends that helped me and made my life better throughout my primary school years.

Sacramental Program 2021 – First Eucharist for catch-up students from 2020
The Sacrament of First Eucharist for the students currently in Year 4 in 2020 will be celebrated in term 1 of 2021 on the following dates:

• Tuesday 23 February at 6pm in St Michael’s Church
• Wednesday 24 February at 6pm in St Monica’s Church
• Thursday 25 February at 6pm in St Monica’s Church

Registration for the Sacrament of First Eucharist is open with registration made via the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Qkr! App. Registrations will close by Friday 11 December 2020 and no further registration will be accepted.

Commitment Masses
Students and parents must attend one of the remaining commitment Masses listed below to make their commitment for the sacrament. 

Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December
Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 December 2020

There will be no additional commitment masses beyond these dates.

The Sacrament is available in 2021 for the School of Religion. Any queries can be made to sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au

For further information regarding the Sacramental Program for 2021 please contact the Sacramental Program coordinator at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au

During the school holidays

Updates regarding the sacramental program will be on the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth

At the beginning of the term, we notified families that we would be conducting the 6 Star Wellbeing Survey with our Years 3-6 students. The survey is an opportunity to proactively measure the wellbeing of students across six categories. It will be implemented every 12 months to track our strategic goal of creating equitable outcomes for all students. The six categories are:

Here are the results for the students at St Monica's in Year 3-6:

In School Sport Week 8

3/4 Touch - Bulldogs 8 defeated Titans 5

3/4 Soccer - Victory 5 defeated Red Devils 1, Dragons 3 drew with Wolves 3

5/6 Touch - Tigers 9 defeated Raiders 5

5/6 Soccer - Roar 3 defeated Glory 1, Wanderers 4 defeated United 0

Attention Parents with Children in Years 3 – 6 in 2021

BYODD – Bring Your Own Device Program Year 4 - 6

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.

With changes in technology we will undergo a review of technology at St Monica’s in 2021. With many of the high schools moving to laptops we need to evaluate our curriculum needs and explore the devices that best serve our needs for learning.  We will be considering iPads, laptops, Chromebooks or a combination of all three for use across the school.

In 2021 the Year 3 children will access the iPads available at St Monica’s. They do not need to bring an iPad to school.

In 2021, the BYODD iPad program will continue in Years 4-6. Any future changes will be via a transition program coming in 2022 from Year 4.

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.

Why BYODD?

With 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 3 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 going towards apps for school owned devices, new laptops, a trail set of Chromebooks, 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 continue to report on Technology outcomes from the Australian Curriculum in our school reports in 2021.

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. We are in the process of refining our list of apps and will advise once finalised. Students will be permitted to use other apps at school only if they assist with completing educational tasks.

What are the technical requirements of BYODD at St Monica’s?

Minimum Specifications if purchasing in Year 4  in 2021

We are asking students to bring Apple iPad devices only.  If purchasing, we are recommending 10.2” iPad WIFI 32GB Retina display. This is the newest model for education however other iPad models will be compatible. The iPad must have a durable cover, preferably with a keyboard. Earlier iOS will work, but may limit the effectiveness of some apps.

Cut off for orders for the Christmas Picnic Morning Tea being held on Wednesday 16 December is close of business on Friday 11 December. Orders for this event are via Qkr! only - no cash, so don't miss out on the Christmas fun!

The Canteen was proud  to participate in the Year 6 Farewell function yesterday.  The children were offered a menu and we catered lunch for 71 students, plus involved staff.  I certainly would not have been able to do this without the help of my amazing volunteers. Thank you so much to Lorraine C, Katherine O, Katarina P, Nerida L and Emma R for your wonderful assistance.  In the Canteen space I am very lucky to be supported by wonderful volunteers.

St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal

Each year St Monica’s School participates in the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. We will launch again shortly. St Monica’s School will collect items up until Friday 11 December.  Thank you for your generous donations

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.

I am pleased to advise the P&F Community Council have approved the fees schedule for 2021.

The schedule of fees is attached for your reference. Every effort has been made to keep the overall fee increase to 3.5%.

If you have older children at Systemic Catholic Schools other than St Monica's, please complete the attached form as soon as possible, by Friday 4 December 2020, please.

This information is required by us to ensure you are charged the correct amount for fees. If you have older children at Systemic schools you are entitled to various discounts on your school fees here at St Monica's, if you do not provide this information you will be charged the full fees.

Happy Birthday to the following students  celebrating a Birthday this week

Eamon J, Harley T, Luca S, Ado A, Mia M, Lucas W, Isaac P, Elijah L

Congratulations to the following students who placed in the 2020 Intra-School Mathematical Olympiads Competition -

1st place - Laura G (6FH), 2nd place - Josephine H (6M), Rohan G (5SM), Max W (6H). The Most Improved place went to Caitlin M (6M).

Congratulations to the following students from the Year 3/4 Maths Challenge group -

1st Place - Annie L (4MF), 2nd place - Vsevelod K (4R), Mitchell B (4R), 3rd place - Sian S (3LK), Indiana H (4R).

Chess News

The 2020 Australian Schools Teams Chess Championships was held over the weekend (5 - 6 December) as an online event due to COVID-19 related border restrictions. Each state established a 'hub' where their teams played games online against teams from other states, under the supervision of two FIDE qualified arbiters.

Congratulations to ACT Primary Girl champions Mary D-H, Sarah D-H, Charlize S and Annalene L who represented ACT and came equal fifth in the Australian Primary Girls division. They were a credit to St Monica – well done girls!!!

Reminder all families: 

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

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.

On The Line Tennis will be running a Summer Holiday Camp from 18 - 22 January and from 25 - 29 January with Tuesday 26 being Australia Day Public Holiday.

Register Now - School Holiday Program - Canberra Cricket Academy

When: 11-12 (Mon-Tue) January 2021

Where: Harrison Cricket Nets and Ground, 86 Katoomba St., Harrison

Cost: $100 Only per Player (same for One day)

Details and Registration at

http://canberracricketacademy.com.au/school-holiday-programs