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- Weekly Happenings
- Cyber Safety Workshop - SAVE THE DATE
- Principal's Message
- RE News - Haley Stonham
- Parish Sacramental News - First Eucharist
- Cross Country - Emma Russell
- Bump It Walls - Melinda Brown
- NAPLAN News
- Mathematics - Ryan Matchett
- Canteen News - Wendy Regan
- Library News - Veronica Melville
- Sport News - Ryan Matchett
- SRC Members
- Awards - Pride Badges
- Happy Birthday
- Community Council News - Evelyn David-Hoole
- New School Parent Portal - Will launch Early in Term 2
- SMOOSH Care
- Parent Corner
- School Fees
- Enrolment Time
- COVID-19 Updates
- Holiday Happenings
| Tuesday 20 April |
Term 2 begins. Students to wear Winter Uniform |
| Thursday 22 April |
School Athletics Carnival - Merici College |
| Friday 23 April |
School Prayer 1pm - ANZAC Day |
| Monday 26 April |
ANZAC Day Holiday |
| Tuesday 27 April |
Gym Kinder to Year 2 Life Education - Year 6 |
| Wednesday 28 April |
Life Education - Years 4 - 5 |
| Thursday 29 April |
Life Education - Years 4 - 5 First Eucharist Parent Formation Evening via zoom at 6pm |
| Friday 30 April |
Life Education - Year 3 School Prayer - 2.30pm |
Dear Parents
This week we have gathered as a school community to remember the Easter Story; a very special time and central to our belief as a Catholic faith community. The reenactment of the various events was led by the children who were very reverent and prayerful, as they walked in the footsteps of Jesus from the Last Supper to the Resurrection. On behalf of the staff, I wish everyone a very safe and prayerful Easter break.
Kinder Playdate
The kinder families had a wonderful playdate around the school grounds last Thursday afternoon. It was lovely to catch up with our new families and provide an opportunity for them to connect and meet existing families. We were blessed to have a perfect Autumn Canberra afternoon for this gathering.
Pupil Free Day
Monday 19 April 2021 has been set aside as a pupil free day. The Front Office will be closed. Please contact our SMOOSH Care team should you need to arrange care on the Monday.
Term 2
Term 2 commences for the children on Tuesday 20 April 2021. Children are to return to school in their full winter uniform. Sport Day changes will be advised when school returns.
Staffing
Fortunately, Allison Walsh will be with us for a little longer. I have managed to negotiate with CE for her to return for the first two weeks on Thursdays and Fridays. Friday 30 April will be Allison's official last day at St Monica's.
Medications
It was highlighted, after our Cross Country Carnival, that some children who suffer from asthma and use ventolin at home were presenting to Sick Bay requesting ventolin. If there is a need for your child to have ventolin at school please send medication in along with a copy of their current Asthma Action Plan.
Uniform
Our uniform shop will be open tomorrow morning from 8.45am - 9.15am for families who are unable to get in on Wednesday 14 April between 1.00pm - 5.00pm. Remember Qkr payment is our preferred method to order and pay.
School Banking
School banking will resume on Friday 23 April (Week 1, Term 2).
Our raffle will be drawn just prior to morning tea on Thursday morning (tomorrow). This is the last call for children to bring in money for tickets. The Year 6 children have done an amazing job writing out over 1500 tickets. Parents can still purchase via Qrk, under the school payment tab until Thursday morning at 9.00am when we will close off Qkr payment.
Continue to stay safe and healthy and may God's blessings be with everyone during this Easter season.
Carmel Maguire
Principal
Holy Thursday Mass, 7.00pm - St Michael's, Kaleen
Good Friday, Stations of the Cross 10.00am - St Michael's, Kaleen
Passion of the Lord 3.00pm - St Michael's, Kaleen & St Monica's, Evatt
Holy Saturday, Reconciliation 10.00am - St Michael's, Kaleen & St Monica's, Evatt
Easter Vigil Mass 7.30pm - St Monica's, Evatt
Easter Sunday Mass 8.00am - St Michael's, Kaleen & 10.00am - St Monica's, Evatt
Our parish now has an ACT government QR Code which means that we can apply the 2m² rule to our churches. Please check in with the Check In CBR app as you enter the church, or ask someone with a smart phone to check you in. The latest Archdiocesan protocols state that wherever possible, the Check in CBR app should be used. Only for those who absolutely cannot, the Mass Register Sign-In can be used. A number of approximately 200 people will be allowed in the church.
Holy Thursday – What is special about Jesus washing the feet of the Apostles?Tomorrow is Holy Thursday. Lent ends with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper and signals the sacred paschal Triduum.
Only in John’s Gospel does Jesus get up from the table, take off his outer robe, tie a towel around his waist and pour water into a basin, and “wash the disciples’ feet”, drying them with the towel.
In the ancient world, instead of welcome mats at the front door, most people kept a pitcher, basin, and towels for guests to wash their feet. Normal hospitality dictated that a slave or disciple wash the feet of others. But, when Jesus takes the basin and towel and washes the feet of his disciples, he acts as if he is the slave or disciple.
If washing feet in Jesus’ world is a sign of hospitality, what does it mean to wash feet today? Since there is no Last Supper in John’s Gospel, washing feet is Eucharist in action. It is another way of saying: “This is my body that is for you,” and, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this in memory of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). In short, we give away ourselves-body and blood like Jesus-to others.
The Johannine Jesus states it this way: “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do” (Jn 13:15).
Last Friday, the Social Justice Team collected the donations from each class for the last time this Lenten season. DRUM ROLL PLEASE……
Our school community has raised $835.50!!!! The money that we have raised will go to help communities in need in Tanzania, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Solomon Islands. Our money can help purchase material to make face masks, help construct a water point to provide clean, reliable water for a community in Tanzania, or even help provide beds in a refugee camp in Bangladesh to an entire family, including their elderly grandparents so they don’t have to sleep on the ground.
Congratulations to 5E who raised the most this year with a class total of $116.30!!!! They will be enjoying a nice Zooper Dooper on the last day of school!
Thanks so much for supporting Project Compassion again in 2021! We wish all our families and friends of St Monica’s a safe and happy Easter!
The Social Justice Team and Haley Stonham (RE Coordinator)
Sacramental Program 2021 – First Eucharist for students in Year 4 from 2021
The Sacrament of First Eucharist will be celebrated in Term 2 of 2021 on the following dates:
- Tuesday 8 June at 6.00pm in St Michael’s Church
- Wednesday 9 June at 6.00pm in St Monica’s Church
- Thursday 10 June at 5.30pm and 7.00pm in St Monica’s Church
Please keep the candidates for First Eucharist in your prayers.
Information Night for First Eucharist – Term 2
The parent information night will be held on Thursday 29 April 2021 at 6.00pm via zoom (zoom address to be provided closer to the night).
Commitment Masses
Students and parents must attend one of the commitment Masses listed below at St Monica’s Church 6.00pm on a Saturday and 10.00am on a Sunday or St Michael’s Church at 8.00am and 5.30pm on a Sunday to make their commitment for the sacrament.
Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 May
Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 May
Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 May 2021
There will be no additional commitment masses beyond these dates.
The Sacrament is available in 2021 for the School of Religion.
For further information please contact the Sacramental Program coordinator at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au
On Thursday 25March we held our Cross Country Carnival from school for the first time. After many days of rain, we were blessed with a dry day and good conditions for the event. The children were excited to be running and there were lots of smiling and red faces at the end of the morning. A very big thank you to all the parent volunteers who assisted on the day. An event like this can only happen with the support of our parent and friend community. Congratulations to all the children who ran and tried their very best on a cross country course that had hills, bumps, grass, and dirt trails to navigate. Well done!
Emma Russell, June Edwards and Monika Richards - Cross Country Coordinating Team (Congratulation team on a great day!)
2021 Cross Country ResultsCongratulations to the students who came in the top placings for their race. Students selected for the Belconnen Cross Country will be announced shortly. Ribbons will be handed out tomorrow to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners, just prior to morning tea.
|
Age Group |
1st Place |
2nd Place |
3rd Place |
4th Place |
5th Place |
6th Place |
|
Girls 8 Yrs |
Nellie R |
Phoebe D |
Savannah L |
Milla F |
Adeline B |
Aya T |
|
Boys 8 Yrs |
Nikolas H |
Charlie G |
Lucas C |
Mitchell C |
Giorgio P |
Kobe B |
|
Girls 9 Yrs |
April Alston C |
Alexis B |
Chloe W |
Aria G |
Isabella H |
Maggie P |
|
Boys 9 Yrs |
Ater A |
Lachlan F |
Paddy K |
Lachlan P |
Jett S |
Ivan P |
|
Girls 10 Yrs |
Lily H |
Lisia F |
Laura R |
Ester Lam Shang L |
Violet P |
Sienna R |
|
Boys 10 Yrs |
Charlie D |
Mitchell B |
Billy S |
Jack G |
Joseph J |
Patrick I |
|
Girls 11 Yrs |
Sam S |
Leila W |
Sophie C |
Millie H |
Arina M / Lucy O |
Anica P |
|
Boys 11 Yrs |
Sebastian P |
Drew G |
Lucas S |
Will M |
Eamon F |
Jack R |
|
Girls 12/13 Yrs |
Jade W |
Annabelle F |
Madison R |
Emma S |
Shae A |
Emily R |
|
Boys 12/13 Yrs |
Aiden S |
Finn D |
Jye L |
Bailey S |
Archie S |
Jeremy R |
Cross Country House Points
|
1st |
MIRRI |
273 |
|
2nd |
WALGA |
237 |
|
3rd |
MUGGA |
222 |
|
4th |
BURU |
210 |
A Bump It Up Wall is a visual display in the classroom that helps learners know how to improve, or ‘bump up’ their work to the next level of achievement. The students collaboratively build this wall with their teacher and then use it to visually track their progress. Combined with peer and self-assessment and feedback from the teacher this is an excellent learning tool that is being used at St Monica’s.
Our practice test was a great success on Friday. Whilst there were some technical difficulties we were able to log all students in to complete the practice. Our Year 5 students completed their writing practice today.
Here is the timetable for the completion of NAPLAN next term
|
|
Mond 17 May |
Tues 18 May |
Wed 19 May |
Thurs and Fri 20 & 21 May |
|
9.30am Yr 3 |
Writing Paper version |
Conventions of Language |
Numeracy |
Make Up for absent students |
|
9.30am Yr 5 |
Writing |
Conventions of Language |
Numeracy |
|
|
11.30am Yr 3 |
Reading |
|
|
|
|
11.30am Yr 5 |
Reading |
|||
As a parent, you can become familiar with NAPLAN Online tests by visiting the public demonstration site, http://bit.ly/naplanonline. The purpose of the site is to familiarise students with the type of items they will see on NAPLAN Online and related functionalities. This level of familiarisation is worthwhile to help students understand and be comfortable with the format of the test.
NAPLAN Parent Checklist
- Read the NAPLAN letter from Carmel Maguire
- Read the parent information brochure
- Ensure the NAP Lockdown Browser app is installed on your child's BYOD device. N.B. Students without their own device will be issued one by the school.
- Visit the NAPLAN Demonstration Site to familiarise your child with the online platform.
- Contact Luke Donnelly if you are considering withdrawing your child from one or all of the tests.
Maths Problems
Please find below this weeks Maths questions. Please email your answers to ryan.matchett@cg.catholic.edu.au.
K-2
Harper needs exactly 5 L of water. All she has is a 7 L and a 3 L container. Explain how she can use these containers to measure exactly 5 L of water.
3-6
The average person's heartbeats 60-75 times per minute. How many heartbeats would you have:
- Per day?
- Per week?
- Per month?
- Per year?
Thank you to all the families who have supported the Canteen this term. It has been a very busy but successful and enjoyable term.
The Fish and Chips Lunch we held last Wednesday was well supported and enjoyed by all who participated. An event like that could not have happened without lots of help. I am very grateful to my volunteers on that day - Tracy D'Ambrosio, Katherine O'Sullivan, Lorraine Coleman, Rach Pentes, Sarah O'Connor, Cristina Simoncini, Franca Field, Kirra Thompson, Neridda Leen and Jane Hocking. A big shout out to George and his team at the Evatt Takeaway & Pizza Bar. He certainly looked after our community with a great deal on our chips and just kept them coming, fresh and super delicious! If you are after some takeaway for your family, please consider this wonderful family business and let them know that you are from St Monica's community and how much the children enjoyed their special lunch!
Lastly, thank you to my loyal and hardworking team of volunteers. I would not be able to manage without you - Kate Carey, Esme Rolleston, Katherine O'Sullivan, Rach Pentes, Evelyn David-Hoole, Tracy D'Ambrosio, Lorraine Coleman, Jane Rabbets, Angela Hose, Simone Hogan, Katrina Ciampa, Sam Cox, Katarina Pilatic and Chris Regan.
Holiday Reading and Sora
The holidays are a great time to relax with a book so students have been able to borrow extra books for the holidays. If they read all these books they can access eBooks and audio books. Your ACEN Overdrive and Sora eBook/audiobook online system is accessible to you with your CE network login over the school holidays 24/7.
The ACEN OverDrive website is located at http://acen.lib.overdrive.com or by searching in the Apple store or Google Play for the OverDrive app. (link). When asked to search for a library, click to search by ‘Name’, not location, and then search for ‘ACEN’.
Children's Book Council of Australia Shortlist for 2021
Yesterday the Children's Book Council of Australia announced the Shortlist books for 2021. The list can be viewed at
https://cbca.org.au/shortlist-2021
There are some great quality stories that students will enjoy if you are looking for a good read.
For those of you thinking ahead to Book Week 21 -27 August the theme this year is "Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds".
Athletics Carnival
A Permission Note for our school Athletics Carnival has been sent out. We will be holding our carnival at Merici College on Thursday 22 April (Week 1, Term 2). We will require helpers on the day. Please consider helping out if you are able to. Thank you to the Year 3 and 4 teachers who have been preparing the carnival.
Congratulations to the following students who are the SRC Members for 2021.
Well done to the following children who have been acknowledged by their teachers.
|
Class |
Term One Pride - Respect |
Term One Pride - Respect |
| KB | Hugh B | Zoe P |
| KCH | Elijah L | Ashlee H |
| 1BH | Elijah G | Liam N |
| 1R | Matilda G | Adele M |
| 2E | Mitchell C | Phoebe D |
| 2RR | James G | Ruby S |
| 3CF | Sophie P | Adelina S |
| 3LG | Nicholas K | Abigail N |
| 4M | Olivia B | Natalie R |
| 4R | Patrick H | Laura R |
| 4SG | Charlie D | Massimo S |
| 5EM | Isaac B | Sophie C |
| 5MM | Alex A | Violet P |
| 6H | Jacob M | Zoe O |
| 6J | Paige H | Patrick P |
| 6M | Grace R-F | Archie S |
Happy Birthday to the following students celebrating a Birthday this week and throughout the school holidays
Fletcher B, Elizabeth D-H, Will A-C, Mia M, Zak D, Charlotte F, Sam G, Matilda G, Zarah L, Zoe O, Thomas S, Lachlan F, Charlie G, Anica P, Ashton Mc, Zane Mc, Dominic G
If you have any ideas or concerns please email them through to our Secretary Noel Chan at council.stmonicas@cg.catholic.edu.au
Getting ready for a change with our new parent communication app to occur soon. We are not live yet! We are looking at launching early in Term 2.
Please read the attached two documents and download the Compass School Manager App to access the Compass Parent Portal soon to be released.
To ensure you will receive school information, via the Compass Parent Portal, you must provide the school with your correct email and contact numbers. This will not be an opt-in system as we currently have with the SZine app. Please continue to use our SZine app until I formally advise we have changed over.
Our April VAC program will run from Tuesday 6April to Friday 16 April, and also Monday 19 April 2021 which will be a Pupil Free Day.
The cost of our holiday program is $75 per day for early bird enrolment before 26 March 2021, excluding an extra charge for the daily special program, incursion day and excursion days. This is inclusive of morning tea and afternoon tea.
Note: For any families who do not have an enrolment with SMOOSH you will need to go to the https://stmonicas.act.edu.au/smoosh and click register to be able to enrol in for the Pupil free day.
Once enrolment is received we will then be able to enrol you in for Monday 19/4/2021.
Any concerns or enquires please do not hesitate to contact the centre on the below details
Phone: 02 62581014
Mobile: 0467 655 418
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.
If you have not yet made your school fees payment, please do so urgently. Please contact our School Finance Officer if you are experiencing difficulty meeting this commitment.
