Mother Teresa School Harrison eNewsletter

Principal's Message Term 2 Week 2 - 2022

Dear Parents

This week is a special time in the life of our Parish as many of our Year 6 students will be confirmed. For those of you new to the Sacrament of Confirmation - this is a Catholic Sacrament that completes the series of sacraments known as the Sacraments of Initiation - Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation. Confirmation strengthens us as sons and daughters of the Church with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit - Wisdom, Courage, Awe and Wonder, Reverence, Right Judgement, Understanding and Knowledge. The Holy Oil of Chrism is used to anoint the candidates and to seal them with the gift of the Holy Spirit. Congratulations to all the students and families involved.

Enrolment Time

Our official enrolment period has commenced. Please let families and friends know that they need to submit an enrolment online if considering Mother Teresa ELC or School for their child/ren in 2023. School tours, led by the year 6 students are available by appointment.

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NAPLAN

Year 3 and 5 students will participate in NAPLAN assessments next week. Please ensure students are at school for a 9.00 am commencement time.

Tuesday - Writing
Wednesday - Reading
Thursday - Language Conventions
Friday - Numeracy

Good luck to the students involved and to the teachers overseeing and administering these nationwide tests.

Mother's Day

We wish all our mothers, grandmothers and significant mother figures in our lives a wonderful Mothers’ Day this Sunday! We hope you are spoilt and have a great day with your family. We pray for all our mothers and grandmothers who cannot be with us or who have passed away.

Have a great day Mums!

Mother Teresa School Dates for Additional Pupil Free Days

Following consultation with the other Catholic Primary Schools in the Gungahlin area, we have nominated the following dates for our additional Pupil Free days granted to school by the CE Director.

Tuesday 31 May & Friday 24 June

During these days the teachers will be engaged in additional PL to support our Catalyst program and provide time for class preparation and student assessment. KidsBiz will be open on these days.

Unexplained absences for Term 1

Our school rolls are an official legal document and must accurately account for a child's attendance and the reason why a child is not at school. Today a letter has been sent home, via the children, indicating if you have not provided a reason for why your child was not at school. Please process the absences through your Compass Parent Portal so that it automatically links to the class roll. You can find the absentee note through the "Shortcuts" button located in the middle at the bottom of the home screen. If you are having trouble completing the online absence please contact the front office for assistance.

Students absent for 25 Days or More

Families electing to take holidays for more than 25 school days (consecutively) must complete an "Application for Exemption from Attendance or Enrolment" form, which is available from the office and seek formal permission from the Principal. This is a legal requirement as parents are required to carry the letter of authority when travelling.

Media Update

Last week a Media Permission form was sent home with each child. We are updating our media permissions for use on social media. Thank you to those families who have returned their forms. If you have lost the form please contact your child's teacher so a new form can be sent home.

Afternoon Mother Teresa School Pick Up

Following the success of using the courts for parking and afternoon pick up, the staff have asked to continue to use this area for pick up. The traditional car line will not be reintroduced which has made the front of the school a much safer pedestrian area for everyone. The teacher on duty will remain in the pick-up area until 3.20pm and then bring those children not collected through the gate.

Parents are permitted on the school grounds while they pick up their child from the designated area outside. A reminder that children are NOT permitted on the play equipment following dismissal.

Critical Request Regarding Local Parking

Early in the week, I received a letter requesting I ask parents not to park in the Gungaderra Homestead car park, which is located on Otway Street, Harrison, just across Mapleton Avenue. This is a private parking area and is only for people using the Homestead. Guests who use the Homestead require ease of access to their facilities. I also would like to remind parents that the car parking spaces in the unit complex opposite the school are for the residents. I know parking is a key issue for our school, however, I ask that parents and carers please respect these requests.

Working With Vulnerable People Cards

A reminder that any visitor or volunteer (when we are able to have volunteers back on site) must carry a valid ACT Working With Vulnerable People Card. This is available from Access Canberra and is free for all volunteers. It is also a reminder for those who have a card to check the expiry date and action a renewal if needed. A copy of cards must be maintained at the front office. Both sides of the card must be provided.

Compass Excursion Notifications

With the opportunity to once again engage in sporting and school excursions we will commence introducing the Compass online permission form for attendance at these events. This week we released the North/Gungahlin Regional Cross Country Carnival permission and information to successful entrants, via the Parent Portal, as our first attempt at online permission forms. We are currently exploring an effective and efficient online payment method which we hope to introduce later in the term. Please do NOT use Compass pay.

Uniform Update

Our volunteers from the uniform shop have advised that they are running low on smaller sized winter uniform items. If you have any uniforms that you are no longer using and no longer need, they can be donated to the second-hand uniform shop by dropping them into the front office.

Canteen News Week 3, 4 & 5

Only Open Wednesday to Friday

Following discussion with our canteen provider they will only be open on Wednesday to Friday for online lunch orders Please note that students from Years 4 to 6 will collect their lunch orders at 10:20am, while Kindergarten to Year 3 will collect theirs from 11:00am.

Building Update

Our rooms are starting to take shape and we are expected to be in by mid-June.

Term 2 school fees have been emailed to all families this afternoon. Fees are due for payment by Friday, 27 May unless you are paying by regular instalments or alternative arrangements have been made with either myself or Mrs Betts.

God Bless

Carmel Maguire