Dear Parents,

It has been a challenging week across the school for a number of staff members. On Monday we had six staff represent the  MTS community at Maryanne Hawes' mother's funeral in Braidwood. Sophia Caputo's grandmother passed away last Saturday surrounded by family, with the funeral occurring on Tuesday. Rebecca Hunter's mother passed away on Tuesday with Rebecca at her side; the funeral arrangements are still to be finalised. Please keep all the staff in your prayers as they grieve the loss of a loved one.

+ Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and may perpetual light shine upon them +

Maryanne and Rebecca will be away for the remainder of the term and Sophia will be away next Tuesday.

Staffing News

Congratulations to the following staff on their recent appointments to Mother Teresa School.

• Mr Jason Smith and Mrs Kathleen McGuire have both been granted permanency as we begin our recruitment rounds for 2025. 
• Miss Paris Morris and Miss Monica Couger have just completed their final practicum experience in Year 4 and Year 1. They are just waiting on their TQI Permit to Teach to enable them both to take up teaching positions from Term 4, at Mother Teresa. Both girls are very excited to be joining the team.
• Mrs Amy Slaven will leave her beautiful Kinder Crimson children on Monday, her last day, as she prepares for her new role as Director of our ELC. Miss Monica Couger has been assigned to take over from Amy at the commencement of Term 4. Fortunately, Monica has had the opportunity to meet the group during the week. Sincere thanks to Amy for her care and commitment to the children and for sharing her expertise with the Kinder team over the last 15 months.

Special Visitor 

Throughout this term, various political candidates have been asked to visit local schools in the area. On Tuesday a group of Year 6 Mother Teresa School leaders and Ms Carmel Maguire, the Principal, met with Mr John Mikita, Candidate for Yerrabi. John shared with the children why he chose to become a candidate, our voting system, and heard from the children what they saw as local issues in the Gungahlin area. John enjoyed an informative tour of the school and observed high-impact teaching strategies in action.

Year Book 

Our Year Book is now on sale. Please visit the Qrk! app to place your orders. Books cost $25.00 each

Grand Friend's Day

This year our special day will be on Friday November 15 (Week 5 Term 4). At this stage we can't confirm the makeup of the day, due to the planned hall refurbishment. More details will follow early next term, as we may still have access to the hall.

Do's and Dont's

• Term 4 means a change to the summer uniform.
• Hats are required when outside.
• Shoulder-length hair or longer should be tied back, with no jewellery except studs and a watch.
• Children to move to their designated areas once the afternoon bell goes and stay off the equipment.
• If waiting to be picked up from the basketball courts car line, children should be seated under the covered walkway. Devices and balls are to be stored in school bags. 
• The front drive-thru is for the ELC families.
• Parents, please monitor your child's use of social media. 

Last day for Term 3 is Friday 27 September with school returning on Monday 14 October for all students at MTS.

God Bless,

Carmel Maguire

Principal