Dear parents,

Welcome back to school Years 3, 4 and 5!  Again, I thank everyone for their cooperation and patience as we deal with the consequences of splitting our student body into cohorts. The biggest impact is afternoon pickup which, while inconvenient, seems to be working well even in wet weather.  The strategy of splitting students into cohorts and minimizing interaction between students, particularly when inside the building has meant that at St Anthony’s, Wanniassa, they only had to isolate a small proportion of the school population after a COVID close contact entered the school.

Swimming Survey

During the week I presented the results of the swimming survey to the Community Council. One hundred and fifty people responded to the survey with 58% voting not to continue with swimming lessons and 42% voting for the continuation of the school swimming program.

From 2022 the school will not be organising swimming lessons for students in Kindergarten to Year 2.  This follows a decision several years ago to cease these lessons in the middle and senior primary sections of the school.

Asian Languages

Mother Teresa School currently offers Indonesian as part of our teacher release. Next year this will be changing to Japanese.  While the children do learn some spoken language, learning about Japanese culture will also be a major focus.

In the ACER review this year the school was encouraged to establish more partnerships with organisations outside our school. As none of the high schools our year six students feed into have Indonesian as a language, we looked at what language may offer the opportunity to link with a local high school. A large number of our students move to Daramalan. They have a Japanese program so having Japanese as a language at MTS allows students who enjoy the experience to continue with Japanese beyond year six. We aim to set up a relationship with them to enrich the program we intend to offer.

Studies show that studying any language in a primary setting builds the confidence and attitude that allows them to more successfully undertake studying any language in high school.

We thank Mrs Jacqueline Ramesh who been teaching Indonesian at MTS for the past three years and wish her the best for the future.

Compass Parent Portal

A reminder that we are now only using Compass as our communication app.  If you have not already done so, please download the Compass app to your phone.  Individual parent logins have been sent with a temporary password.  Please search for "Harrison - Mother Teresa School" when prompted for the school.  If you have any issues with logging in please contact the front office.

Uniform Shop

The uniform shop be open Monday, Wednesday & Friday mornings from 8.30am with Covid restrictions in place as follows:

• The Wimmera Street large sliding door on the side of the hall will be unlocked and one parent at a time can enter through the door to the uniform shop door
• Masks must be worn at all times when/if entering the building
• No parents will be allowed into the shop with the volunteers
• If there are lots of parents waiting you will be provided with a piece of paper to write down what you are looking for and your contact details, the items (if available) will be sourced and then left at the front office for you to collect.

Maths Problem

I have managed to catch up with all the students who correctly answered the math’s problems during lockdown and given them their prizes. This week’s problem is below.

Two numbers multiply to make 360. One of them has a zero on the end. What might the two numbers be?

How many solutions can you find? Can you see a pattern between the two numbers?

God Bless

Peter Hughes

WHOLE SCHOOL FOCUS The Whole school focus theme for this year is:

‘We Are Bee-Attitude Keepers”

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

7 November 2021 - Year B

“This poor widow has given more

than all the others.”

Something to Think About

What does it mean to be generous? Think of some generous people you know, and ask God to bless them.

The Story

There was an offering box near the temple where people came to give money. Many rich people put a lot of money in the box. A poor widow, a lady whose husband had died, had only two coins left to live on. She put both of those coins into the offering box. Jesus said these two coins were worth more than all the money the rich people gave since they had given their extra money that they didn’t need.

Reflecting on the Gospel

Think about the things that you have plenty of that you could share with others. Perhaps you could share some of your lunch with a friend. Perhaps you could give some of your clothes or toys to the poor. What is something that you would find very difficult to share?

Group Activity

MONEY BOX CUBE

You will need: a template for each child on cardstock or paper, coloured markers, glue, scissors. Optional: other decorating items eg. stickers.

1. Decorate your money box.
2. Cut out the template and money slot.
3. Fold along the dotted lines.
4. Glue the tabs to create your money box.
5. After you have some coins in your money box, think about who you might like to share your money with. Maybe there is a poor box at your church.

Reconciliation & First Eucharist

Please pray for our Year 3 teachers and students who are currently preparing for the Sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Eucharist. Thank you for your patience and commitment during the past few months.

We were delighted to be able celebrate the Sacrament of First Reconciliation on Thursday 4 November. It was a beautiful and moving liturgy with Fr Mark and Fr Thonn celebrating with the students and their teachers.

First Eucharist will be celebrated on Thursday 11^th at 6pm & 7:15pm and 18^th of November at 6pm &  7:15pm. 

Changes to Mass, Liturgies and Parish Events

Churches are able to have one person per four square metres of usable space in each indoor and outdoor space (excluding staff) up to a maximum of 100 people, provided they are using the Check In CBR app.

Mass Times

• Saturday Vigil 5:00pm
• Sunday 8:00am
• Sunday 9:30am (via zoom) Click on this link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/824036573 or use meeting number 824 036 573 to join our Mass.

           
Peace and best wishes

Anne Leet

Religious Education co-ordinator

Mathematics Competitions

This year, over 100 Mother Teresa School students participated in The Australian Mathematics Trust competitions: The Mathematics Challenge and The Australian Mathematics Competition.

The Maths Challenge

In Term 2, over 50 Mother Teresa School Year 3-6 students were invited to participate in The Maths Challenge. This competition was conducted over four consecutive weeks with the support of Mr Hart, Ms Watt and Mr Hughes.

The Maths Challenge is designed to help motivate, stimulate, encourage and develop mathematically interested students. It introduces students to extended problem-solving questions. 

We are proud of our budding mathematicians who embraced this extra challenge. Many of them chose to work on their solutions during their class breaks. Yesterday, these participants were presented with an official AMT certificate and thanked for their commitment to The Maths Challenge.

The Australian Maths Competition

The Australian Maths Competition is an annual international competition, held in Term 3, in which all Year 3-6 students at Mother Teresa School are invited to participate. There is an emphasis on problem solving, and the problems become increasingly complex, so that by the end of the competition, even the most gifted students are challenged.

Pleasingly, over 25% of our Year 3-6 student cohort chose to register and participate in the online competition. These students also received official AMT certificates yesterday. We congratulate all of our students we joined in this Maths adventure. We make special mention of Aarush Kornepati, in Year 4 Amethyst, who was awarded ‘Best in School’ by the Australian Maths Trust for his excellent results.

For more details regarding the competitions and programs offered by the Australian Maths Trust, go to https://www.amt.edu.au/

“ Thank you to all those that entered the Wellbeing Wednesday Colouring In Competition. We would like to congratulate each entrant as it was a very hard decision. The entries were Amazing!!

The Winners are:

Kinder

Zara Twyerould Kinder Ruby

Sanushi Bandara Kinder Rose

Year 1

Evelyn Huynh 1 Coral

Zachary Burgess 1 Ochre

Year 2

Hamish McCarroll 2 Mint

Aiza Shariff 2 Lime

Year 3

Alyssia Smith 3 Turquoise

Year 4

Piyushi Bandara 4 Indigo

The winners can collect their prize Thursdays either before school or during break times from my office located next to 2 Emerald.   

All the entries will be on display outside my office in the Year Two area.

Again, Well Done and keep having colouring fun!!!

Mrs Christina Page

Student Welfare Officer