Dear Parents

Yesterday our Archdioceses celebrated 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia with a special Mass at St Christopher's Cathedral. Principals, RECs and two students from each school were invited to attend this event. Anica P and Jye L were our Year 6 student representatives.

 Pope's Lenten Message

Sick Children

The Sick Bay room has been full to overflowing lately. Some children admit that they were sick the night or morning before school. This might indicate that a day at home would have been a better choice than spending time in Sick Bay, plus the necessity of calling a parent to come and pick up a sick child. If your child is unwell please do not send them to school. Sick children also take up a great deal of the office staff's time.

Head Lice

Please check your child's hair each day. There have been a few cases of head lice reported to the school. If your child has head lice they need to be treated before returning to school.

Chess Opportunity

Commencing next Friday we will be offering 20 interested chess players the opportunity to take part in a series of lunchtime coaching sessions. More information to follow next week.

Kindergarten Health Checks

A reminder to all Kindergarten parents that questionnaires are due back to school by tomorrow Friday 26 March.

Next week I will be attending our Annual Principals' Retreat and will be away from midday on Tuesday until the end of the week. In my absence please refer issues to Mr Luke Donnelly or Mrs Haley Stonham in my absence.

Continue to stay safe and healthy and may God's blessings be with everyone. 

Principal  

Sacramental Program 2021 – First Eucharist for catch-up students Year 4 from 2020

Congratulations to the candidates who have celebrated the Sacrament of First Eucharist this week.  Please keep these candidates in your prayers.

There will be a further celebration for First Eucharist in Term 2, 2021 for students in Year 4 in 2021. More information will be available in the school and church bulletins next week and also on the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth

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

The Year 2 Team 

Mrs Emma Russell

Mrs Monika Richards

Mrs June Edwards

Hi St Monica’s! My name is Diane, and I am the new Youth Minister for 2021.

My role is to bring a positive prayer life into the school and guide children in their journey of faith.

St. Monica’s Year 6 classes had their Journey with Jesus retreat Friday, Week 2, and what a beautiful group of kids we had. Their focused attention and courageous answers, especially in regard to questions about God’s love, were astounding. The day consisted of many games, unpacking of 3 special objects and dramas. The kids ADORE dramas - super entertaining particularly when their classmates got involved. Together we uncovered the deeper meaning behind a water bottle, flashlight, and first aid kit, to understand how God’s love, salvation and reconciliation is present in our lives. One of my favourite parts of the day was seeing how much thought went into the Year 6 letter writing in our small groups. Such a calm and prayerful moment. I am pleased and excited to be working with this group of kids this year and cannot wait to help be their guide in faith.

 If you have any questions about youth ministry or are in need of extra help supporting the kids, my email is down below.

Reminder: Youth Ministry meetings are held on Friday’s at lunchtime in the library for the Year 6 team.

On Monday 22 February we held our school swimming carnival at Stromlo Leisure Centre. We had approximately 70 enthusiastic students ready to swim in their races and cheer on their housemates. Throughout the day we saw excellent skills, sportsmanship and encouragement on display. Special thanks to our parent helpers who helped make sure our carnival ran smoothly. Special thanks to Mrs Foster for all her preparation of the day. Thank you to Mr Donnelly, Mrs Jenner, Miss Rheinberger, Mrs Russell and Mr Dalton for their support in running the day. 

Congratulations to the following students who have qualified for the Belconnen Region Carnival to be held at Stromlo Leisure Centre on Wednesday 17 March based on their placing and times in events: Fletcher B, Arina M, Rohan G, Annabelle F, Joel M, Jack G, Gus O, Nicola B, Laura R, Zak D, Jaryd S, Annalene L, Madison R and Patrick P.

A permission note with further information will be sent out in due course. 

House Points

1st- Buru 180

2nd- Walga 169

3rd- Mugga 120

4th- Mirri- 110

Congratulations to Brando B (4SG) who was selected as a recipient of the NAIDOC Medal of Excellence (one of 25 awarded across the state) as part of last year's initiatives. Brando was selected as a winner for his colouring in competition he submitted. Well done Brando!

As the term gets underway your child would have brought home their Home Learning.

An important component of our Home Learning Policy is for students to read every night. Kindergarten to Year 2 will be bringing home readers each week to practise their reading skills. Older grades have access to Wushka, an online Reading Library, or they may choose to read their library books or other material at home.

A positive attitude towards reading is crucial for success at school. Encourage your child to read to you each night. If your child is reluctant to commence reading, try one of the suggested adventures below.

BRAVE – Online

Helping young people overcome anxiety

What is Brave?

Brave is an interactive, online and evidence-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) program for the prevention of anxiety for children and teenagers, with complimentary programs for their parents. Young people and their parents can complete the program either on their own or with the guidance of an ‘online therapist’, who assists them where necessary.

Brave for Young Children Parent Program

The Brave Team have recently introduced a new program designed to help young children aged 3 – 7 years who are experiencing anxiety or who are showing early signs of becoming anxious. The program is completed by the parents, who in turn can help their children. It involves 4 sessions that cover a range or strategies that parents can use to help their child to learn coping skills, and to face their fears.

What kids say about the Program

• “I liked that basically no one knew about me doing it”
• “I liked the way it taught me the skills to overcome my fears”
• “I liked the bright colours, pictures and sounds”
• “It was easy to understand”
• “I liked the stories about other kids having a similar problem to me and solving them”
• “It helped me to get to sleep easier

What parents say about the Program

• “The format is really easy to understand”
• “User friendly!”
• “It was good for my son to know that he wasn’t the only child feeling anxious”
• “Great practical solutions”
• “The simple way it could be accessed in our own time over the internet”

Find out more information go to https://www.brave-online.com

Parents will often hear teachers refer to a child's personal plan. The following article provides a brief overview of the areas an individual plan covers. Plans are developed with a family as they are our avenue to apply for additional funding to support the learning and social and emotional programs offered at St Monica's.

Proposed activities for camp 2021. These are subject to change. 

 Year 5  

• Archery 
• Leap of Faith 
• Slingshot 
• Assault Course (water based) 
• River Day at Dalgety River (water based) 

Year 6  

• Lake Day at Lake Jindabyne (water based) – first day of camp. All children in Year 6 will need to be wearing their swimmers under their clothes on the bus. 
• Big Swing 
• Team Manoeuvres 
• Mt Bikes 
• Low Ropes 
• Survivor (water based) 

A friendly reminder to families that the final instalment payment of $200 for camp is due by Friday 26 February. Payment must be received in full prior to departure for camp. Please contact the office if you are not sure of your balance.

FYI, the first instalment of $140 was due on 4 December 2020, total cost is $340.

***Attention families with older children at other ACT Catholic Systemic Schools***

Do you have older children attending St Francis Xavier College, John Paul II College, Merici College, St Clare's College or Mary Mackillop College? Or another ACT Catholic primary school? You are entitled to a discount on your school fees here at St Monica's but you must submit the form below please, so I have your correct information.

Family circumstances change therefore you must notify the school at the commencement of every school year. Please do not assume that if you received this discount in previous years that it carries over to the next year. This information is wiped from our database at the end of every year.

If you have not submitted this information, please do so as a matter of urgency. Term 1 school fees are being invoiced this week - if we haven't received your information we cannot provide the discount for you.

Link to complete & submit form online: 2021 Fees Systemic Sibling Discount Form

Information related to school fees is available in our school app, under Forms & Documents. You can access the 2021 fee schedule, Direct Debit forms, remission application forms and other fee-related information.

Term 1 school fees were invoiced last week.  Invoices were emailed where possible, otherwise sent home on Monday with the eldest child, as Australia Post is not delivering efficiently.

Full payment of school fees is required by Week 4 each term, except for families who have a formal Direct Debit arrangement in place. Fee concession may be available to families experiencing genuine financial hardship. A remission application form and supporting information will need to be submitted. The application form may be downloaded from our Schoolzine app - under Forms & Documents. Applications for fee concessions are treated in the strictest of confidence.

Applications for a 2021 fee concession must be submitted no later than Friday 26 February.

Happy Birthday to the following students  celebrating a Birthday this week 

Ramia B, Billy B, Jack G, William Mc, Aria G, Emilia H, Lucy O, Jade A-C, Imogen S, Kobe B

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

Reminder all families: 

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

On the evening of Wednesday 3 March, St Edmund’s College has the privilege of hosting a book launch for well-known and respected author Robert Falzon.

Robert is a husband, father, businessman, published author and co-founder of menALIVE. He has been awarded many business accolades.  In 2007, Robert sold his primary manufacturing business to focus in a full-time volunteer capacity on working with men through menALIVE – a National Catholic Ministry to Men. Since the founding of menALIVE in 2003, this work has delivered 450 events across 26 dioceses and numerous schools in Australia and New Zealand, reaching more than 30,000 men.

Robert will be launching his new book, Raising Fathers. “In an age where there is a training manual to do almost everything, there is still no manual, map or compass to do one of the most important and impacting task on earth – Fathering!”  This event is open to anyone (not just fathers) interested in families, raising children and establishing positive family relationships.  Join us for this free evening event as Robert unpacks practical advice and stories that are powerfully important, impacting, informative and instructional for fathering in today’s world. I sincerely recommend Robert Falzon’s work to you and hope to see you at the book launch.

Please register for this event by following this link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1088585198280632/

Bedwetting Programme

Based on Sydney Children's Hospital Programme. Suitable for children from 5 years of age. Margaret O'Donovan, Physiotherapist, Level 2, City Plaza Building, 222 City Walk, Canberra City. Enquiries - 62485066.