Dear Parents

Congratulations to the following students who have received class awards this week.

This year we had five teams participating in the Long-Term Challenge for Tournament of Minds (TOM). Four teams who chose to compete in the regional section of the Australasian Tournament of Minds (TOM) Competition. These teams will compete against other ACT schools this weekend at ANU, Canberra. Successful teams move onto interstate and international rounds.

We thank all the teams for their commitment, dedication, critical and creative thinking and enthusiasm. We wish the competing teams all the very best this weekend, we know they will do themselves, their families, their teachers and our school proud!

Our School Team members are: Emily U, Lucy W and Aarza J.

Our competing teams are:

MTS 1: Raeland L, Gavin S, Isabella M, Selina L, Naomi C, Aarush K.

MTS 2: Isabelle O, Candice L, Charlotte B, Eve H, Annabel F.

MTS 3: Darius M, Lam T, Lorrelle R, Chole H, Jessica B, Gabriella R.

MTS 4: Noah P, Justin Z, William T, Catherine P, Danica Z, Grace M.

All five teams worked on a Long-Term Challenge for six weeks. During this time they were not allowed to ask for any outside assistance, they had to rely totally on each other to solve a challenging problem, write a script and prepare a performance, ready to present to the judges. Competing teams will perform their solutions to a judging panel.

On competition day teams are also required to complete a Spontaneous Challenge. This is an unseen lateral thinking problem with which they have around four minutes to discuss the problem and determine a solution, that they then convey to the judges.

The children will be encouraged to buy a $5 golden ticket that gives them the opportunity to engage in a range of fun activities on offer during the day.  This $5 ticket cost will be a donation to support Global School Partners and Catholic Missions.

Golden Tickets to be distributed on the day.

Students please wear sports uniform for photo.

Students can purchase more than 1 ‘Golden Ticket’.

The more tickets purchased the more chances to win a lucky draw prize of $50 Visa card.

Tickets are available now through QKR! 

To make it easier for payments to be made at Mother Teresa School, we have introduced the use of Qkr! by Mastercard, a secure and easy way to order and pay for school items from your phone at a time and place that suits you.

Please refer to the attached document for instructions on how to download the app to your phone. I have also included several screenshots from my phone so you will know what it looks like once registered.

This will become our preferred option for many school payments in the future. Additional payment options will be added as required eg, sporting events.

The Attitude of Gratitude

It can be easy to spend a lot of time worrying about the various stressors in our lives. We worry about our families, our health, world events, what we need to achieve tomorrow, how we look and much more. Young people also have a myriad of worries related to school, friends, appearance, and the future, and teaching them to actively practice gratitude can improve their stress levels and allow them to enjoy the here and now. Having an “attitude of gratitude” is something both adults and young people can benefit from.

Why is gratitude important?

When we feel gratitude, we focus on being thankful for the good things we have in our lives. Practicing gratitude is a great way to improve our mood and to destress.

Practicing gratitude helps us to:

• Feel positive emotions
• Deal with adversity and build our resilience
• Build strong relationships
• Enjoy good experiences
• Re-gain control in our lives

It is important to remember that just because a child has a lot to be grateful for, this doesn’t mean they are not allowed to feel sad or worried. If we don’t give children space to talk about their negative feelings, they will not learn to express themselves and can bottle up their emotions. Practicing gratitude is important to build into an everyday routine and is also useful when reflecting after a young person has expressed their worries and concerns.

Ways to Practice Gratitude at Home

Journalling/gratitude jar – encourage your child to write down something they are grateful for each day in a ‘gratitude journal’. You could also have a ‘gratitude jar’ where they can write on a small piece of paper one thing they are grateful for. At the end of the week, you could empty the jar together and reflect on the things you are thankful for.

Appreciate the little things – ditch the idea that you or your child are going to be grateful for absolutely everything in life. Don’t criticise yourself for not being grateful all the time for everything you have. Sometimes, it’s the littlest things that lift our spirit. A simple feeling of gratitude for a pet or for a favourite home cooked meal can make the world of difference.

Positive role modelling – it may not always seem like it, but children learn from the actions and reactions of adults. If you are practicing gratitude, chances are your child will follow along (whether they admit it or not!).

Play the Gratitude Game – name: one person you are thankful for, one place you are thankful for, one food you are thankful for, one thing you are thankful for. This can be during dinner, a car ride, a walk, or when you are just relaxing at home. This is a great way for all the family to practice gratitude.

For further gratitude prompts, look at this image https://headspace.org.au/assets/gcattachments/149570c7169b2df39c6548052a8253e3.jpeg

School Student Support Referrals and Counselling

To direct our families to access the best support available through Mother Terese School, we are setting up the following process to assist with referrals and the most appropriate use of our resources.

1. Enquiry (teacher or parent) – Request a referral form from the office
2. The principal will talk with you and guide you to appropriate support

Support types:

• • • • Diverse Learning Teacher and team,
      • Student welfare officer (individual or small group guidance and/or mentoring support),
      • Defence School Mentor,
      • School counselling (individual or small group)
      • External agencies

If school counselling is recommended the School Counsellor will contact the parents and go through the online CatholicCare referral process if school counselling is suitable. Once the online referral has been submitted and consent is signed, the School Counsellor can begin working with the student.

Recently the MTS cheerleaders in team Mini Magic (K - yr2) competed in a virtual competition and competed against teams from interstate. Mini Magic filmed their cheer routine and submitted a video entry to a competition run from Townsville, QLD. They were amazing and placed 3rd.

In addition, earlier in the month they performed for family and friends as part of the Sirens Cheerleaders mid year concert.

Both the Mini Magic and the scholastic team (yr 3-6), Luminosity, are now working hard on learning both cheer and pom routines in preparation for their upcoming competitions later in the year.

It would be fabulous if you could help us celebrate the achievements of the Mini Magic team by including something like the following and the attached photo on the Mother Teresa Facebook page and/or newsletter:

Congratulations to MTS Mini Magic on their fabulous 3rd placing in their recent competition.

Scholastic Book Club

The Issue 6 catalogue is now available. The cut-off date for orders is Thursday 8^th September.

Please ensure your child’s profile includes their full name with surname rather than an initial to aid in sorting of books to correct children.

Parents can order online via the LOOP parent portal on the Scholastic website, no orders or cash will be accepted by the school. Late orders are charged a flat rate for home postage.

Books will be delivered to children in their classroom once they arrive at the school. A reminder that missing or damaged orders can be reported to Scholastic using their online contact information, and that out of stock items already paid for are usually credited to the LOOP account. Parents concerned about missing, misplaced or damaged orders are advised to wait until the catalogue is closed and use the home postage option. MTS Community Council parent volunteers will be running the Book Club, so please ensure any inquiries are directed to them via the office email, rather than to school staff, teachers or librarians.

TerraCycle has partnered with Colgate® and Chemist Warehouse to give seven schools the chance to win a community garden kit for their school grounds. Between 24 February - 31 October, Australian schools are invited to join the Terracycle recycling program for oral care waste. Each unit of oral care waste (toothpaste tubes and caps, manual plastic toothbrushes, electric toothbrush heads, toothbrush plastic packaging, floss containers) equals 10 garden points, the more units of oral care waste recycled the better chance of winning. There are seven grand prizes to be won and each is valued at $4780. 

The grand prize pack contains:  

* Two garden beds made from TerraCycle recycled materials

* Bench with planter boxes made from TerraCycle recycled materials 

* Bug Hotel

* $100 Bunnings Warehouse gift voucher

* $100 Australian Seeds Voucher

* Plantastic! A to Z of Australian Plants Book

A collection point for parents has been placed out the front of the hall which has already collected over 200 pieces of oral care waste. Children are also encouraged to bring their waste to school as a collection point will be located near the student reception desk. Toothpaste tubes don't need to be empty but please ensure everything is dry.