Dear Parents

Staffing News

We have two staff members leaving at the end of this term, the first is Hayley Shelley.  Hayley has been a teacher in various Catholic Schools throughout the ACT and overseas, for almost 30 years.  She has been a valued and highly respected part of the Mother Teresa School community for the last nine years, sharing her expertise and commitment to create wonderful learning experiences for the children.  Hayley has contributed to a highly successful Rostrum program at MTS, giving the children opportunities to shine in public speaking.

We are currently in the process of filling Hayley’s position for Term 4 and hope to advise families of her replacement next week.

While this news is very sad for the 6 Onyx students, the year 6 team and our community, I know you will join with me in wishing Hayley all the very best as she takes up her new position in the coming weeks.

The second staff member leaving is Jackie Broch who works with our Diverse Learning Team.  Jackie joined MTS in February and while she has enjoyed working with the children she has decided to do relief work as she explores her studies, 

Public Holiday

As per the announcement made by Prime Minister Albanese, Thursday 22 September has been gazetted as a one-off public holiday a National Day of Mourning for the death of Queen Elizabeth II.  All CECG schools and the Catholic Education Office will be closed on this day.  Business will return to normal for all CECG schools and the Catholic Education office on Friday 23 September.

Semester Two Reports

Catholic Education Canberra and Goulburn (CECG) has communicated to schools informing them that general comments will not be required on the Semester 2, 2022 reports. This is in line with other educational jurisdictions and systems. Given teacher workload at present, including staffing pressures across the profession, CECG’s position is to prioritise parent/teacher conferences occurring during Term 4. These meetings provide an opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, their strengths, challenges, and future areas of focus. A Semester Report will be sent home as in previous semesters providing A-E grading and attendance information. There will be an opportunity to meet with teachers toward the end of Term 4, prior to the release of the reports in Week 9.

Community Council Update

This week our Community Council met and the following issues were discussed:

• Purpose of Community Councils and the MTS response to the CECG Survey
• Community Grant and possibilities
• Clarification was provided around our fortnightly school gatherings. The school gatherings for our Values Assembly/Prayer, unfortunately, cannot be moved to outdoors due to the need to access audiovisual material. The school does not have the facilities to live stream the event. 
• Discussions are currently in place as to what we are permitted to do, in line with CE restrictions. We hope to be able to advise parents, early next term, on the dates for various celebrations and locations.  
• The success of our Scholastic Book club and thanks to the coordinating team.
• Looking at a date for our school community Christmas gathering
• Planning for a Sunday grounds working bee for early Term 4 - proposed date 23 October. 
• Chaplaincy review 
• Trivia night plans

Year Book Cover Art Competition

The 2022 year book team have asked me to pass on that they were thrilled with all the wonderful entries into the yearbook cover completion and would like to thank all the talented artists for their submissions. 

This year MTS was lucky to secure Senator David Pocock to judge and announce the runners up and winner of the competition.  Due to a few absences David was only able to present two of the runners up with a small prize each on the day but we have now presented all our other runners up and winner with their prizes.  Congratulations everyone!

Winners are:

Runners up who will appear on the back page are

Siena K (Year 2)

Aria B (Year 3)

Lily V (Year 6)

Lachlan H (Year 6)

Winner of the cover is Natasha D (Kindergarten)

We look forward to including everyone’s artwork through the year book.

Future of Education Equity Fund - Helping with the cost of schooling and everyday needs

The ACT Government is committed to helping all children and young people participate in programs and activities that support their educational and well-being needs.

The Future of Education Equity Fund can provide financial support to eligible families, helping students access everyday essentials at school.

The Future of Education Equity Fund provides a one-off, annual payment to low-income families to help cover the costs of education expenses such as school uniforms, school excursions, sport equipment and activities and music lessons.

The Equity Fund has replaced the Secondary Bursary Scheme, expanding its support to families with students in years P–12. It supports low-income families with students enrolled in an ACT preschool (attached to a school) or school (as well as independent students), who meet the eligibility criteria.

More information can be found here.

Second Hand Uniform Shop

Our uniform shop hours are:-

Monday 8.30am-9.00am and Wednesday 8.30am-9.00am and Friday 8:30am-9.00am.

We would like to welcome Dieuwke who has joined Kristy and Natalie in our uniform shop on a Friday morning.  Thank you for your continued support.

God bless and have a lovely weekend.

Carmel Maguire

As mentioned in our previous newsletter, Year 5 MTS students entered a competition to map our school and see how much shade we have here on school grounds.  The students won first prize!  See the link below to the WIN TV school of the week article which featured last night.

Congratulations again to everyone involved!

How Cool is our School - Win News Article

Successful Communication

Communication with our children changes over time.  Successful communication involves an understanding of their developmental stage, as well as an awareness that communication is as much about what we don’t say as what we do.  It is also as much about listening as it is about speaking.  As a child’s brain develops, so too does their ability to understand more complex issues, regulate their emotions and partake in two-way conversations.

Here are some tips from Parentline to aid in developing positive communication with our kids:

• Empathise with your child and try to relate to how they are feeling.
• Take an interest in what they are saying and in the things that interest them.
• Encourage face to face communication, rather than electronic communication.
• Notice when your child is more open to talking. Sometimes doing a task together such as cooking, going for a walk or a drive can bring about unexpected communication opportunities.
• Allow yourself time to think before responding if needed. This is a great way of modelling thinking before speaking.
• Try not to avoid conflict. Instead, calmly take the lead in addressing it.
• Summarise back to your child what you are hearing. This can help convey that you are listening and offer them a chance to clarify if needed.
• Ask questions and share concerns.
• When your child reaches out, offer your complete attention.

Parentline also reminds us of some common communication mistakes to be aware of:

• Alienating messages: Try to avoid making statements starting with ‘you’. These can be interpreted by the receiver as blaming statements. For example, ‘You’ve upset me’.
• Interrogating: Try to avoid asking lots of closed questions. Where possible, ask open ended questions that offer a chance to share.
• Avoiding: Sharing our thoughts or feelings can limit opportunities to communicate.
• Labelling: Try to avoid judging or assuming your child will think a certain way. This can limit opportunities for sharing of opinions and identity.
• Mind-reading: Try to avoid assuming your child will know your thoughts without explaining them.
• Interruptions and distractions: Try to offer your child your full attention when they are speaking.

Taking the time to develop positive communication can not only enrich our relationship with our kids, but it can also help kids to develop the skills they need to develop their own strong, healthy, and respectful relationships. 

For more information, please visit Communication Tips For Parents | Parentline

Or contact your school counsellors Bron or Ryoko for any further support. 

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.

BYOD Chromebook specifications - Years 4 - 6

The transition of BYOD (Bring your Own Device) to Chromebooks will begin in 2023. If purchasing a new device, we ask that it is a Chrombook. A Chromebook is a kind of laptop running Chrome OS, an operating system made by Google. Chromebooks are made by a range of known technology brands like Lenovo and ASUS. There often is not a lot of difference between brands. You may like to shop around and see if there are student or education deals around.

When purchasing, please be aware of the following specifications:

• 4GB Memory (RAM) minimum
• 32GB Storage for use in primary school is fine, many will have 64GB anyway
• 11-13 Inch screen minimum - personal preference
• At least 8 hour battery life 
• Must have the ability to connect to headphones, whether it be via a port or bluetooth - whatever your student has access to
• A touchscreen can be useful for some students (but it's optional) 
• Stay away from the Chromebook tablets. These are not recommended.
• In terms of price, don't spend too much on the Chromebook. A budget of up to $500 is reasonable. One of the deciding factors in moving from iPads to Chromebooks was the comparable/cheaper price.
• Warranty should be a consideration when purchasing a device
• A protective case or cover for the Chromebook is required
• Headphones or earphones are required
• Must have a camera
• We recommend that you consider adding the device to your insurance policy

Chromebooks do not require active firewalls, or anti-virus and anti-malware software. When the Chromebook is connected to the school network via specialised BYOD WiFi, it will utilise the online security settings set up by Catholic Education.

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.