Dear Parents

The term has come to a close and I hope everyone enjoyed the extra public holiday yesterday to reflect on the amazing life of Queen Elizabeth II.

With learning being the key focus for the children and the staff, much has been achieved but everyone is very tired. It has been almost two years since we had a 10 week term of face-to-face teaching.

On Tuesday the school was treated to an amazing musical "Star Warts" presented by the Year 3 and Year 4 children. Congratulations and a very big thank you to Mrs Susan Curbishley for her coordination and the many, many hours of preparation she put in to produce this fabulous show. While the production was videoed, I am currently waiting on the link and need to confirm with several families regarding sharing the video. The video is not for sharing on any form of social media.  

Staffing News

Today we farewell Hayley Shelley (6 Onyx) and Jackie Broch (Classroom Support Assistant).  During the week the children in 6 Onyx were introduced to Miss Annabel McInnis who has been employed to replace Hayley for Term 4.  Annabel recently completed her Bachelor of Education and is in the process of completing her ACT teacher registration with the Teacher Quality Institute. We are hoping all goes through in time for the first week of Term 4. 

Next term we also welcome back Kate O'Keefe who is returning from maternity leave to work three days a week. Kate will be covering various roles during the term.

Next term the following arrangments will be in place:

2 Lime	Change to the days Sophia and Kari will be working Miss Sophia Caputo - Monday to Wednesday  Mrs Kari Turnbull - Thursday & Friday
2 Jade	Mrs Penny Brown will be on LSL for the first 5 weeks Mrs Lauren Maher will be covering the class each day
3 Turquoise	Mrs Lauren Pye will be on LSL for the first week of next term Mrs Lyanh Thai will be the relief teacher taking the class for the week
6 Ebony	Mrs Kelly Boyton will be on LSL for the first two weeks next term Mrs Kate O'Keefe will be covering the class from Monday to Wednesday  Mrs Jodie Tanchevski will cover her regular days - Thursday and Friday

Chess Sessions Term 4
Chess will continue in Term 4 with bookings opening at the end of Week 1.  Lessons will be on Thursday at recess.  Yesterday's missed session will be made up next term on Thursday in week one.

Concern when exiting the school driveway

On two occasions, between 8.30am and 9.15am, an elderly gentleman claiming to be a retired police officer has stopped cars turning right from our school driveway. After questioning the gentleman I followed up with the ACT Police in our area. This is not an authorised person and I have been asked to contact the Police immediately, should such a situation occur again. Please, if you see an elderly gentleman directing traffic near the school, contact the school office, so we can request a patrol car can be dispatched immediately. 

Term 4 Change of Uniform

With spring in the air the children should now move into their summer uniform for Term 4.

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 workloads 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.

Save the Date - Grounds Working Bee 
Sunday grounds working bee for early Term 4 - proposed date 23 October. 

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.

Have a lovely holiday, I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday 10 October.

God bless.

Carmel Maguire

Congratulations to the following Kindergarten students who have received an award this week.  Keep up the great work!

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.