Principal's Message Term 1 Week 2 - 2023
Dear Parents
As a Catholic learning community,
all at Mother Teresa School are called
to care, to dream, to innovate, to inspire!
There was a great buzz and real energy around the school this morning as families visited classrooms and met various staff and their child's teacher/s. Thank you for your patience with the car park; it has been a long time since the school has been able to open its doors to all families at once. We were blessed with a beautiful morning to once again gather to share our school prayer following the bell.
School Mass
It was very special to be able to bring the children and staff together for our opening school Mass, celebrated by Fr Eden. Fr Eden will be working closely with our community this year visiting classrooms and celebrating class Masses. We welcome Fr Eden and look forward to working with him throughout the year.
Accidents around the neighborhood
In the last week, I have been advised of several accidents involving children on their way home from school.
The first involved a parent supporting a child who had fallen. Unfortunately, the child was not carrying any emergency contact details in their bag, which made it difficult to ring the parents immediately. Please check that your child is carrying emergency contact details in their bag if walking or riding to and from school.
The second incident involved a Year 5 STM student who was knocked over by a passing motorbike while riding home. Fortunately, he did not suffer any serious injuries but it did leave him shaken. On behalf of the family, I would like to extend their thanks to the very caring and thoughtful MTS parents and children who stayed with our student, to comfort him, until his parents were contacted.
Delays in compass messages
During the week I have discovered that several of my Compass messages sent via email have arrived much later than the time they were set to be delivered. During the week I received a message at 11.00pm when it was to be delivered at 6.00pm. Sincere apologies as I have raised the issue with our CE IT Division who manages the program.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
| Before School |
8.20 Ukulele Music Room |
||||
| 1st Break | Defence Club |
Choir Music Room Yr 1 - 6 |
Sustainable Garden + Defence Club |
Dance Club - registrations closed | |
| 2nd Break | Japanese CLub | Chess - registrations closed |
Morning School Drop off
The school gates leading into the basketball courts will be opened at 8.00am so parents can drive in to drop their child/ren near the play area. Please note staff supervision does not commence until 8.15am. Children requiring supervision prior to this time should be booked into the school care program. Gates are locked by 9.00am.
Afternoon School Pick up
The school gates leading to the basketball courts will not be reopened until 2.40pm as the area is use by the children and teachers. From 3.00pm the children will wait near the artificial turf and covered walkway next to the basketball courts to be collected until 3.20pm. Any students not collected by 3.20pm will be walked to the front of the school. Any children still not collected by 3.30pm will then be taken to the office as that is the time staff supervision concludes. Parents will then be contacted.
School Parking
Parking is an ongoing issue and I wish there was a simple solution, we just don’t have the land! Parents should never park in the no parking area outside the preschool. This creates a bottle neck at the main entry to the school during peak times. Once the Preschool refurbishment starts in mid-February, the area will be blocked off. Please park on the gravel car park areas or the basketball courts and avoid using the parking areas in residential homes near the school. Delaying pick up to after 3.10pm is worth considering for older children.
Don’t forget there is no right turn on exiting the school car park area during peak times as this helps with traffic flow.
Basketball Courts for Parking
With the new year, I would like to see the traffic arrangement on the courts improved. A clear flow of traffic coming in and going out. The gates at the oval end of the fence (that divide the basketball courts) will be open to allow for a better flow of traffic both morning and afternoon. Please do not park in front of the gates and block the traffic flow.
Uniform Shop Opening 2023
2023 School Fees for Term 1 are to be issued next week
Due to our Office Manager being away, we have had to delay emailing our invoices for the Term 1 school fees. We are hoping to issue the fees by the end of next week (Week 3). Families wishing to re-apply for a fee concession for 2023 must complete the required application and return it to the office for consideration by the Mother Terease Fee Committee. The committee is to meet at the end of February.
NAPLAN Dates for Years 3 & 5 in Term 1
Parents wishing their child to participate in NAPLAN need to note the following NAPLAN testing dates - 15 March to 27 March. More information to follow soon.
Looking forward to a great year of learning.
God Bless
Carmel Maguire
