Dear Parents

Welcome back! It was lovely to see all the smiling faces at our morning gathering on Monday, both children and teachers.  

With COVID restrictions now lifted we are once again able to welcome parents back into the school as helpers and for face-to-face meetings. This is a welcome relief for everyone. We must still observe COVID safe practices regarding access to hand sanitiser, keeping areas clean, avoiding overcrowded areas and, when a child is not well, they should NOT attend school. Parents are reminded that they must check in via the office to enter any areas of the school.  We still have a supply of rapid antigen tests available at the front office should you wish to check if your child is sick and/or has COVID symptoms.  This is particularly important if children are around elderly grandparents.  

Our current challenge is now the rain. The children were very disappointed to learn that Boorowa had to be cancelled due to the grounds being too wet.  Thank you to all the parents who had volunteered to assist and especially Mrs Justine Henshaw for all the preparation she has put into sporting events that have had to be cancelled. 

With a change in the seasons and the warmer days, we are receiving reports of snakes in the grassy areas outside the school grounds.  Please speak to your child if they walk home about the dangers of snakes and to please let you know if they do encounter a snake. 

A friendly reminder that payments for the Year 5 and Year 6 camp are now overdue. We must submit the final numbers on Monday so payment must be received. Payment can be made via Qkr! Any concerns regarding payment, please contact Carmel Maguire urgently.

We have also seen a big increase in the number of students presenting to first aid this week with hay fever symptoms.  Unfortunately, we are unable to give any medication to students unless you have provided it to us and you have completed and signed an authority for us to do so.  If possible, please try to give medication before school and if you would like to send some tablets/liquid or eye drops in to the office (which we can give during the school day if needed) please call in and sign an authority.

Staffing News

This week we welcomed the following staff:

• Miss Annabel McInnis will be teaching in 6 Onyx for the remainder of the year.
• Kate O'Keefe is returning from maternity leave for three days week.

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
6 Ebony	Mrs Kelly Boyton will be on LSL for the first two weeks of 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

Staff Farewell

Next Tuesday we will be farewelling Christina Page. Christina held our Welfare/Chaplaincy position and was part of our Learning Diverse Team. I would like to thank Christina for her contribution to our school community to support children with anxiety and the Seasons for Growth Program. We wish her all the best in her future endeavours. 

Chess Sessions Term 4

Chess will continue in Term 4 with bookings opening in Week 3. The missed session in the last week of term will occur in Week 3 before the new sessions commence. 

Term 4 Change of Uniform

With spring in the air the children should now move into their summer uniform for Term 4.  Don't forget to label all uniform items and bring a hat!

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  - 23 October

We are planning a working bee for early Term 4 - proposed date 23 October (weather permitting).  We will be focussing on weeding and cutting/trimming back.  Please bring along any tools you may have to assist with this.  More information will be available on Monday - please keep an eye on Compass!

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.

Message of Thanks - Loving Memory for Ava O'Brien

Looking forward to seeing lots of you at the Trivia Night on Saturday.

God bless.

Carmel Maguire

Today Mother Teresa School hosted a Let's Decode professional learning day with Associate Professor Lorraine Hammond from the School of Education, Edith Cowan University WA. This will involve 30 teachers from several schools including a number of our staff from Kinder to Year 2.   This day is part of the Catholic Education Catalyst initiative to foster high-impact teaching practices and improve reading across our school system. 

During the day the participants engaged with a number of our Kinder children as they practiced and develop the skills to implement Let's Decode, a Synthetic Phonemic approach to supporting the literacy development of young children.  

Last week a High Impact Teaching Practice Primary Intensive professional learning course was held at St Thomas the Apostle Primary School in Kambah. Sarah Campbell, Janene Sadlier and Lauren Maher attended the three days to build their knowledge, observe demonstrations, apply techniques in their own practice, and receive coaching feedback from Dr Lorraine Hammond and her teacher colleagues. 65 teachers from primary schools in our system attended. They were joined by  25 teachers from as far afield as Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania. The Canberra Times reported on this in Saturday’s paper 

Mother Teresa School will be hosting a ThinkUKnow presentation on Wednesday 26^th October at 6pm and all parents, carers and teachers are encouraged to attend.

ThinkUKnow Australia is an evidence based education program delivered nationally to prevent online child sexual exploitation.

ThinkUKnow Australia is a partnership between the Australian Federal Police, Microsoft Australia, Datacom and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The program is delivered in collaboration with policing partners New South Wales Police Force, Northern Territory Police, Queensland Police, South Australia Police, Tasmania Police, Western Australia Police, as well as Neighbourhood Watch Australasia.

The presentation will be delivered by a local law enforcement member and an industry volunteer. The presentation is pro-technology and addresses topics including self-generated child abuse material, online grooming, image-based abuse, sexual extortion, and importantly encourages help seeking behaviour.

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to learn more about young people and the online environment, and how you can help them to be safe and responsible users of technology.

Students will be also engaging in a relevant presentation during school hours at a date to be confirmed.

For more information, you can visit www.thinkuknow.org.au or contact Sarah MacArthur sarah.macarthur@cg.catholic.edu.au.

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.

MindMap  is a dedicated portal for children and young people (up to 25 years of age) to help navigate Canberra’s mental health system and to find the right service and support.

You can navigate the portal yourself, anytime, to find information about mental health services and helpful information. If you prefer to contact someone about finding the right service or information you can talk them via phone, email, or webchat.

MindMap is available Monday to Sunday between 11AM to 10PM, 7 DAYS/WEEK.

Mind Map ACT

• Phone 1800 862 111
• Email support@mindmap.act.gov.au
• Webchat(available on the bottom right-hand side of the Mindmap browser window)

MindMap understand that some services may have long waitlists, so they are here to help support children and young people while they wait. They can offer to call or email you while you wait for a service and provide you with some helpful information. MindMap can also offer some counselling sessions to keep you supported until you are able to access the right service, which are free for you while you wait.

CatholicCare_Journey_Through_Adolescence_flyer_v2.pdf

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.

Scholastic Book Club

The Issue 7 catalogue is now available. The cut-off date for orders is Thursday 27^th October.

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.