Congratulations Fr Mark

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of taking Fr Mark to visit each year level so the children could acknowledge his 25th Anniversary of Ordination into the Priesthood. With a little humour to mark this special occasion each grade present Fr Mark with something small. 

Our gifts included

• ELC - a box of Cadbury Favourites as Fr Mark is our favourite!
• Kinder - a pumpkin from our sustainable garden - from little things big things grow
• Year 1 - rhubarb also from our school garden to cook his favorite dessert
• Year 2 - tea and biscuits to relax after a big day in the Parish 
• Year 3 - a jar of jam to represent the love and kindness you have spread over the past 25 years 
• Year 4 - treats for his favouite canine friend - "Mo" - a man's best friend 
• Year 5 - a plant to symbolise how much Fr Mark helps us grow and a jar of honey to help spread the Good News and make it stick
• Year 6 - a pair of tracksuit pants to keep you warm and comfortable as you comfort and support us 
• The Staff - a case of dry ale as we very much appreciate you dry sense of humour

STUDENT LATE PASS 

This week we have introduced a system where the children must collect a late pass from the office once they have been signed in by a parent.  This will notify a child's class teacher that they have been formally signed in through the front office.  A reminder that school starts at 8.45am and any student arriving later than 9am must be signed in with a parent.

NAPLAN

Well done to our Year 3 and 5 students who participated in the NAPLAN assessments this week. Special thanks to Brooke Jeffries, our NAPLAN Coordinator, and the staff involved. The children were very settled as they commenced each day. Over the coming week, we will endeavour to provide time for children to complete any missed assessments. The NAPLAN site will be closed from Friday 20 May and no further time can be given to catch up on missed assessments.

Sports Congratulations

Congratulations to all of our participants who played at the ACT School Futsal Titles on Monday.

Mother Teresa School sent 8 teams of year 3 & 4 students, many of whom had not played Futsal before. Their willingness to give something new a go and their support of each other as teams moved into finals was wonderful to see!

A big shout out to Eva, Georgia, Olivia Y, Olivia H, Luciana, Paige, Clara, Sochikaima, and their coach Giulia Ruberto who brought home the U10 Girls Shield.

A big thank you to all of the parents who coached teams and supported staff throughout the day!

COVID Update

It has been a welcome relief to Principals not to have to send out the daily COVID updates via Compass. We do still need families to advise the school should a child be at home with COVID via our specific email address, covid.motherteresa@cg.catholic.edu.au then followed up with a Compass absentee notification through the Compass Parent Portal.

Unfortunately, COVID has not gone away; while numbers are low across the school we are experiencing cases across all grade levels. With the change in the weather, we are seeing an increase in the number of children presenting to sickbay with colds, headaches and generally not feeling well. While I understand the frustration parents are feeling, when they receive a call from the school to pick up their child, we are working extremely hard to avoid a return to remote learning; as has occurred in several neighboring schools. There are days when we need to split classes as a result of staff illness or their need to care for their own child/ren who may not be well. Thank you for your understanding as we work through this very difficult time and continue to provide your child with meaningful and focused learning experiences. 

RAT kits are still available from the office should you require kits for regular testing, particularly if your child is a close contact. 

We are considering a return the original morning tea and lunch timetable from Week 6 with some level of cohorting to restrict the transmission of infections. This change will depend on the number of cases reported across the school in the next few weeks. For our new families, I will communicate what the "old normal" will look like when we are ready to change over. Like you, I am still to find out. 

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 schools 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.  

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.

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. 

Working With Vulnerable People Cards

A reminder that any visitor or volunteer must carry a valid ACT Working With Vulnerable People Card to assist around the school.  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. 

• Last 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. Please pay via the envelope provided 
• This week we released the Year 2 - 6 Athletics Carnival information via Compass for parents to access. A hard copy of the permission note was sent home last week. By releasing the information through Compass parents have easy access to refer to details and a program once it is finalised. 

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. 

School Fees

Term 2 school fees have been emailed to all families last week.  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