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Parent Information Sessions
Thank you to all the parents who joined the online parent sessions during the week. I found the session very informative as they provided an excellent insight into the various programs on offer across the years. Recordings will be made available next week for families who were unable to attend.
Building works
Our building project is commencing on Monday to create additional offices and learning support space near the music room. It is hoped this project will be completed in time for the commencement of Term 2. There should be minimal disruption to class learning.
Safety Around The School
A reminder that the footpath areas at the front of the school are walking zones. Children and parents electing to ride their bikes and scooters to school must dismount and walk their vehicle through the school. Let's keep this area safe for everyone.
Helmets - Did you know?
The ACT helmet law came into effect on 1st July 1992. It applies to all ages.
The law requires all cyclists and their passengers to wear a helmet when travelling on a public street or in a public place. In 2000, the ACT (along with the other jurisdictions) adopted the Australian Road Rules. This had the effect of replacing the original law by Australian Road Rule 256 which is of similar effect.
The teachers on duty have raised their concern over the number of children arriving and leaving school without a helmet or a helmet that is poorly fitted. This is a serious safety concern knowing how busy the school area is where the children are riding.
Hair Accessories & Uniforms
A neat and tidy school uniform is very important at Mother Teresa School. Please remember that shoulder-length hair needs to be tied back; this rule applies to both girls and boys.
Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT)
RAT Kits are to be supplied to families for another 4 weeks. The next supply will be sent home on Monday.
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 and mask wearing is still compulsory when entering school grounds.
Morning Bell
This is a reminder that our morning bell goes at 8.45am. Anyone arriving from 9.00am 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. I encourage parents to please make every effort to be on time.
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 4. 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 were sent home last 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.
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.”
Our value for next week is: Courtesy
This is how we show courtesy at Mother Teresa School:
- We say hello to our peers and teachers.
- We put our hand up in the classroom and listen to others when they are speaking.
- We remember to use our manners by saying please and thank you and look at people when we speak to others.
- We hold the door open for others and let them go first.
- We show kindness to others.
FOCUS ASSEMBLY
Thank you to Mrs van der Sanden and 4 Magenta who presented a fabulous Focus Assembly on Courtesy. They shared their thoughts on what it means to be courteous at Mother Teresa School and shared the ‘World’s of the Text’ about the Gospel story of the 10 Lepers and how only one came back to say thank you.
Confirmation 2022
By now all families should have received their information pack. Thank you to those families who attended the Year 6 Parent Information Meeting and were able to be informed about what is happening. We look forward to supporting you and your child on the next step of their faith journey. Hope to see you all this Saturday at the 5pm Mass. Don’t forget to bring the ‘Pray for me Card’ & your item of food for the ‘Food Pantry’.
Commitment and Enrolment Mass:
Saturday 19 February at 5:00pm
Sunday 21 February at 8:00am, 9:30pm or 5:30pm
YEAR 4 GRADE MASS
This coming Tuesday 22nd February at 12:00pm Year 4 will be celebrating their first Grade Mass for the year in the hall. Unfortunately, parents and families are unable to attend.
7th Sunday Year C
20th February
“Be merciful as your Father is merciful."
The Story
The gospel today tells us about the amazing generosity, compassion and forgiveness of God. Since we are God’s children, Jesus tells us to act in the same way. Jesus tells us to love everyone, even the people who hurt us.
He tells us to give things to people, even if we won’t get anything in return.
He tells us to forgive people and be good to them, even when they are unkind or cruel to us. Loving people is not always easy, but we need to keep trying to be kind and helpful even to those people we may not like.
Can you think of a time when you have found it hard to love someone?
The Scriptures
A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke 6:27-37
Be merciful as your Father is merciful.
Jesus said to his disciples:
"This is what I say to all who will listen to me:
Love your enemies, and be good to everyone who hates you.
Ask God to bless anyone who curses you, and pray for everyone who is cruel to you.
If someone slaps you on one cheek, don't stop that person from slapping you on the other cheek.
If someone wants to take your coat, don't try to keep back your shirt.
Give to everyone who asks and don't ask people to return what they have taken from you.
Treat others just as you want to be treated.
"If you love only someone who loves you, will God praise you for that?
Even sinners love people who love them. If you are kind only to someone who is kind to you, will God be pleased with you for that? Even sinners are kind to people who are kind to them.
If you lend money only to someone you think will pay you back, will God be pleased with you for that? Even sinners lend to sinners because they think they will get it all back.
"But love your enemies and be good to them. Lend without expecting to be paid back.
Then you will get a great reward, and you will be the true children of God in heaven.
He is good even to people who are unthankful and cruel. Have pity on others, just as your Father has pity on you. "Don't judge others, and God will not judge you. Don't be hard on others, and God will not be hard on you. Forgive others, and God will forgive you."
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Watch the video and sing along together:
Something to Think About
The kingdom God wants is a kingdom of love, compassion, forgiveness and generosity.
This is quite different from the world we live in. So what needs to change?
Imagine that you are in charge of the world. What would it look like? How would people treat each other?
Would there be any people living in poverty? What would the environment look like?
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)
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.
To(e)tally sustainable! Saving Canberra socks from landfill
(News extract taken from ABC Radio news)
Cheryl Harris along with her two daughters, Olivia aged 9 and Emma aged 7, are asking Canberrans to save their unwanted socks. They have made it their mission to reduce the amount of textiles that are sent to landfill.
Through drop-off's and postal donations, the girls have so far amassed nearly 2,000 socks.
When the collection reaches 10,000, the unwanted socks will be sent to Australian textile recycler, Upparel.
If you would like to contact Cheryl to donate socks or other materials for recycling, email: cheryl.l.harris@hotmail.com
Let's Go Go-Karting with Joel!
(written by Joel's dad Brian)
Joel from Year 6 has been karting for past 12 months, mainly here in Canberra, but has also ventured to Eastern Creek and country NSW for a couple of races. It’s certainly not your traditional school sport, but Joel has been into cars since an early age and this was something we thought we’d encourage. It does make it a little challenging at school as it’s not something his friends can really associate with.
The weekend before last, Joel competed in the first round of the Canberra Club Championship, and showed some real dedication in the 3 heats, finishing 3rd , 3rd and 4th after starting from 13th, 6th and 3rd respectively. In the final, he started 4th and battled the entire race to finish 3rd. There’s a short mashup of the final race here taken from his front camera:
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
