Parent Information Sessions

With parents unable to come into the school to meet the teachers we are planning a series of short MS Teams meetings next week to enable parents to meet the grade teams and hear about specific programs relevant to that grade level.  The sessions will run between 30 to 40 minutes.  Meeting invites will be sent out on the day of the meeting so that you can have the invite loaded onto your phone or computer ready to go.  We are exploring ways to ensure you a well informed about your child's learning.  The sessions will only be offered once but we are planning to record the sessions for parents unable to connect at the times nominated below 

Meeting times 

Copies of the Parent Overviews for Term 1 have been published via the Compass Parent Portal. They can also be accessed via this newsletter.

Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT)

RATs for Week 3 will be sent home with the children again on Monday. 

COVID Cases at School

Through ‘Compass’, we will advise you daily of the current situation at Mother Teresa School.  We will inform you about the cohort (group) of students and staff who worked with this group who may have had contact with a person who was infectious with COVID-19.

You are reminded that staff and students cannot attend school if they are showing any symptoms of COVID-19.  These include fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, loss of smell/taste, muscle/joint pains, diarrhoea, nausea/vomiting, extreme tiredness, unexplained chest pain or conjunctivitis (eye infection).

If symptoms occur at any time, you should not attend school and should undertake a Rapid Antigen Test. If a Rapid Antigen Test is positive, you/your child should isolate as someone who has tested positive to COVID-19.  If you cannot access a Rapid Antigen Test, you can attend a PCR (nose and throat swab) testing clinic.

Please remember that masks must be worn when on the school grounds and entering the office area. 

Canberra Check in (Check in CBR App)

A reminder that schools and early childhood centres still require check-ins with the Check in CBR App when entering the front office.

Morning Bell

This is a reminder that our morning bell goes at 8.45am.  Anyone arriving after 8.55am must be signed in at the office by a parent as they will be considered as a late arrival or could be marked absent by their teacher.  Teachers are required to complete the rolls by 9.00am.

Afternoon Parking - Basketball Courts Gate

As the teachers require the use of the basketball court in the afternoon the gates will not be opened until 2.30pm.  Please refrain from arriving too early.  Parents will be required to wait in their cars until closer to when the bell goes.  

Playground equipment

Unfortunately, young children should not be accessing the play equipment before or after school.  It is an issue as it encourages parents to stand around and chat, at a time when we have been asked to minimise contact.  

Canteen 

The canteen will be open for online lunch orders in Week 3.  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. 

There will be no over the counter sales at this stage.

Kindergarten Health Checks 

Kindergarten Health Checks will take place around Term 3 this year.  Kindergarten Health Check envelopes have been sent home this week. Please complete the questionnaire and return in the envelope provided to the Kindergarten teacher.  Questionnaires are due back to school by Friday 4 March.

Special Prayers 

We continue with our thoughts and condolences for the Pham family and students in our school.  We will continue to support them during this difficult time.

God Bless

Carmel Maguire

WHOLE SCHOOL FOCUS

The Whole school focus theme for this year is ‘Do small Things with Great Love’ and the Bible reference that supports our theme is Ephesians 2:1, in which St Paul says:

“We are God’s work of art,

Created in Christ Jesus to live the good life

As from the beginning he had meant us to live it.”

At Mother Teresa we will share our gifts and talents with each other throughout the year. The value we will be focussing on is: Compassion

At Mother Teresa we are going to show compassion towards those we meet in our class and on the playground by:

• Empathising
• Expressing care
• Describing feelings
• Taking action to assist others
• Responding to other’s needs
• Giving generously to Project Compassion.

FOCUS ASSEMBLY

Thank you Ms Weston and 5 Silver for presenting a beautiful Focus Assembly on Compassion via Teams. They explained what compassion looks like, sounds like and feels like at Mother Teresa School. They interviewed some of our students and to top it off they added actions to a great song the school has been learning, ‘Fear Not’.

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

13 February 2022 - Year C

“Happy are the poor.”

The Story

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells the people about the things that God values. God gives special blessings to those people who are hungry, sad, or poor. People who are rejected or insulted by others, and who feel sad or unloved, can look forward to a reward in heaven. Jesus is reminding us that the ways and values of the world are not necessarily the ways and values of God.

The Scriptures

A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke 6:17, 20-23

Jesus and his apostles went down from the mountain and came to some flat, level ground.

Many other disciples were there to meet him. Large crowds of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon were there too.

Jesus looked at his disciples and said:

"God will bless you people who are poor. His kingdom belongs to you!

God will bless you hungry people. You will have plenty to eat!

God will bless you people who are crying. You will laugh!

"God will bless you when others hate you and won't have anything to do with you.

God will bless you when people insult you and say cruel things about you, all because you are a follower of the Son of Man! Long ago your own people did these same things to the prophets.

"So when this happens to you,

be happy and jump for joy!

You will have a great reward in heaven."

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Video

This song was our ‘Go To’ in 2021. Watch the video and sing along together:

Something to Think About

Think about the many ways in which you are blessed.

Can you name some of your blessings?

What do you value?

What do your parents and grandparents value?

What values have you been taught at school?

Which of these are the same values that Jesus talks about in the gospel today?

HOLY SPIRIT PARISH

Please click on the link below to stay connected with Fr Mark, Fr Thonn and the Team at Holy Spirit Church.

https://www.holyspiritgungahlin.org.au/category/parish-newsletter/

Peace and Best Wishes.

Anne Leet (Religious Education Co-ordinator)

Mother Teresa  School is provided with the services of a school counsellor from Catholic Care. This year Bronwyn Whyatt and Ryoko Koyasu will be working in the school.  Either Bronwyn or Ryoko will be available on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.  Their work is supported by our Student Welfare Officer and our Defence Service Mentor.

Parents who feel their child would benefit from seeing the school counsellor need to fill out a referral form which is available by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page.  

The work of the counsellor is also supported by the school’s student wellbeing team which runs programs such as Kool Kids, Seasons for Growth and organises activities linked to our Mental Health Week every year.

Link for online referral:

https://catholiccare.force.com/housing/s/school-referral-form

The Link is also available via a QR code

Several families have asked for support with learning to locate appropriate activities should they find themselves at home quarantining with their child/children. The following resources are designed to assist parents and students who may be learning from home. These various websites contain links to learning activities for your child that can be completed online, with some printable activities, to assist with the continuation of learning at home. The links cover a broad range of topics in different subject areas across all year levels.

As a starting point, I encourage families to explore the links to the NSW and ACT Education resources for learning from home. You may need to download the document for the links to work.

Special Guests on ABC Breakfast Radio

Tune in to the ABC breakfast radio show tomorrow morning at 9.00 am, Saturday 12 February, to hear from Olivia and Emma Harris about their commitment to divert 10 000 socks to Upparel, for recycling. Congratulations girls on the wonderful initiative, that is a lot of socks!