Mother Teresa School Harrison eNewsletter

Principal's Message Term 1 Week 3 - 2023

Dear Parents

As a Catholic learning community,

all at Mother Teresa School are called

to care, to dream, to innovate, to inspire!

Sacramental Retreat with Year 6 Teachers

On Thursday Fr Troy led a retreat day for the Year 6 Teachers and RECs of Mother Teresa School, Good Shepherd Primary School and Holy Spirit Primary School at Gungahlin Lakes. It was a great day of discussions and a good opportunity for both priests to get to know the teachers who will be guiding the Confirmation candidates. Thank you to all the teachers for being there and participating in the day as they begin their journey with the children preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Catholic Schools Youth Ministry Australia (CSYMA)

The 2023 school year is only 3 weeks old but already our Year 6 students have participated in a Journey with Jesus Retreat, the first phase of the CSYMA Junior prorgram. This retreat was a first for the students and staff at Mother Teresa School. The students were very excited to be participating in their retreat. A fabulous day was had by all.

We are extremely blessed to have Luke Maher and his team of Youth Evangelisers who minister to our schools in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn facilitate the day.

Year 4 Amethyst & 4 Indigo Prayer Focus

4 Amethyst and 4 Indigo will be hosting their Prayer Focus on Courage on Monday 20 February at 1pm. Parents from those classes are able to attend if they wish.

Shrove Tuesday

Next week on Shrove Tuesday teachers will provide a small store bought pancake for the students in their class. If your child has allergies, please provide an alternate option for them on the day and inform their class teacher.

Kindergarten Health Check Forms

Last week all Kindergarten families should have received an envelope for the Kinder Health Checks which are to be conducted later in the year. Forms are due to be returned no later than Tuesday 21 February 2023. If you have not already done so, please return the envelope to your class teacher.

School Clubs/Activities Update

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Before School		8.20 Ukulele Music Room	Extra Group Advanced Ukulele Yrs 3 - 6
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

Lots of children have taken up the opportunities offered during lunch or recess breaks. Unfortunately, there are no more places available for the Term 1 chess or dance sessions. Mrs Curbishley has decided to run an advanced Ukulele group on Wednesday mornings - for more information see the flyer later in the newsletter.

School fees

School fee statements have been now been issued to all families via email. If you did not receive your statement please contact the front office. Fees are payable by Friday 17 March 2023.

Lost!

We have had something valuable handed in to the front office which was found near the bike storage near the hall on Thursday afternoon. If you have lost something please contact the front office.

Compass App

A reminder to parents that we use the Compass App to communicate with families. This includes excursions, newsletters, school reports, absentees, general information, electronic permissions etc. If you have not already downloaded this app, please do so as soon as possible so that important school messages are not missed. All user names and passwords were sent out via email in week 1. Please ensure that when searching for the school you search "Harrison - Mother Teresa School".

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

Our uniform shop volunteers have advised that they will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 8.30am - 9:00am. Access to the uniform shop is from the side sliding door (car park side) of the Hall.

Year 6 Camp

Our Year 6 students head off to Camp next Wednesday, will be an early start so do not be late. Mr Hart has sent out all final reminders and necessary information. Please contact your child's teacher should you have any last minute questions . All outstanding payments must be finalised as we are required to pay for camp prior to departure.

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