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- Principal's Message Term 4 Week 6 - 2022
- MTS Community Council Executive Nominations
- Religious Education - Term 4 Week 6
- MTS Class Awards - Term 4 Week 6
- School Student Support Referrals and Counselling
- Tech Talk with Mrs Macarthur - Week 6
- Student Spotlight - MTS Cheerleading
- Counsellor's Corner - with Bronwyn Whyatt
- Cool Kids Programs 2023
- Celebration for Father Mark - Saturday 3 December 2022
- Qkr! - New Payment Option
- MTS Community Council News & Events
- Community Service Announcements
Dear Parents
Staffing News
While ever so sad for Mother Teresa School, I would like to congratulate Brooke Jeffries on her appointment as Religious Education CoOrdinator at Good Shepherd Primary School from 2023. Brooke has contributed so much to the life of the school over the past 11 years through her passion to make a difference in the lives of the children and her involvement in Tournament of Minds.
At the end of this month, we will be farewelling Georgina Hetherington who has been a member of our Diverse Learning Teamand ELC for the last eight years. Georgina is moving interstate to be closer to her extended family. We will all miss the wonderful support Georgina has provided in the classrooms to both the teachers and the children.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Commencing on Monday 21 November the teachers will be available, over the next two weeks, to meet with parents for a face-to-face 10-minute parent/teacher conference. Due to various commitments, each teacher has developed their own schedule for the conferences. Conference bookings can be made via your Compass Parent Portal.
This parent conference is a valuable opportunity for you to connect with your child’s teacher/s and for the teachers to provide feedback on how your child has progressed over the semester.
I encourage parents to attend a conference to hear about your child's successes and possible goals for the commencement of the 2023 school year.
Should you require a phone or an MS Teams meeting, please email your child's teacher to set up a time. The teachers are looking forward to meeting with you over the next two weeks.
Reports will be issued in the last week of the term.
MTS Community School Picnic and Christmas Carols
and the O'Christmas Trio from 6.00pm - 7.30pm
If any family operates a street food van/truck and would like to set up on the night please contact me ASAP. Must hold a food licence and public liability insurance.
School Fees for leaving students
For all families leaving MTS at the end of 2022, it is imperative that fees are settled by Friday 25 November.
A reminder that the Year 6 student farewell money is now overdue. Please arrange for payment of $20 via QKR as soon as possible!
It was wonderful to meet all our new 2023 Kinder children and parents for our first orientation session on Wednesday. There were lots and lots of smiles and not too many tears as the children engaged in an afternoon of fun activities. How they have all grown since their interviews! I am very much looking forward to their second visit next Wednesday.
God bless.
Carmel Maguire
Calling for ‘Expressions of Interest’ to the Mother Teresa School Council Executive.
Dear Parents
The school Community Council is an essential component of our school. Constitutional requirements for Council membership means there will be 3 positions on the Executive of the School Community Council from 2023 open for renomination. Any parent in the School community is eligible to nominate.
What does the Community Council do?
The Constitution states that the Council ‘provides opportunity for members of the community to support the mission of Catholic education in the school. Working with the Principal, Parish Priest and staff, the members of the Council and its committees provide leadership to the wider school community’.
Meetings are held twice a term and a commitment to attending these meetings is required.
How to nominate
Each nomination must be made on the Nomination Form attached. The nomination must be seconded and agreed to by the person being nominated. All nominations are confidential. Nominations must be received at the school office, addressed to Carmel Maguire and labelled ‘Community Council Nomination’ by 3pm on Friday 25 November 2022.
Points to note:
- We currently have 3 parent member positions available with someone with the expertise to take on the Treasurer’s role
- If the required number of nominations are received, the nominees will be declared elected to the community.
- Only if there are more nominations than the possible 3 positions available, a parent community election will be held.
- Existing members wanting to serve another term of membership, can re-nominate.
- A term of membership shall be for a period of two (2) years.
- Members of the council may be elected for a maximum of three (3) consecutive terms.
- At the first meeting of the new year, the Executive will appoint the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer from the elected members.
Criteria for Membership
- A demonstrated commitment to Catholic values and the ministry and mission of Catholic education.
- A genuine desire to be of service to the school community.
- Having the necessary skills to contribute to the Council’s work.
- The ability to work collaboratively and constructively with other members of the Council and School Community.
- Adequate time to give to Council duties (including two meetings per Term) and Council and Community activities.
- Willingness to act within the code of ethics for Council members.
Current Elected Council Executive Members – Damien Kelly (Chair), Lindsey Hackett (Deputy Chair), Simon Morgan (Secretary), Lisa Murphy (Treasurer), Tanya Bolton, Natalie Zanko, Kristy Mellor & Amelia Grace (Parent Reps), Janene Sadler (Teacher Rep). Invited Members include Craig Hart (AP), Amy Thomas (ELC Director) and Carmel Maguire (Principal)
2023 Membership
- Council member happy to renominate – Damien Kelly
- Members continuing to complete a two-year term – Lindsay Hackett, Simon Morgan, Natalie Zanko, Kristy Mellor
- Members stepping down – Lisa Murphy (Treasurer), Tanya Bolton (Parent Rep), Amelia Grace (Parent Rep)
Please feel free to approach Damien Kelly, Council Chair, or any Council Executive Members should you wish to find out more about the role and the operations of the Mother Teresa School Community Council Executive.
Yours sincerely,
Carmel Maguire
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.
- Enquiry (teacher or parent) – Request a referral form from the office
- The principal will talk with you and guide you to appropriate support
Support types:
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- 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
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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, 5 and 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 Chromebook. 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
- Must have a camera
- 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.
- A protective case or cover for the Chromebook is required
- Headphones or earphones are required
- Warranty should be a consideration when purchasing a device
- 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.
I am very pleased to share with you the results of the cheerleading competition the Mother Teresa scholastic cheer team, Luminosity, attended over the weekend.
Luminosity competed at the Cheerbranz Nationals cheerleading competition in Sydney in the primary level 1 division. They were absolutely amazing and represented themselves and Mother Teresa school proudly. They came away with second place in their division.
They were also third scholastic grand champion which means they scored the third highest score of all the scholastic teams (18 teams including high school and university teams).
Both MTS cheer teams (Luminosity and Mini Magic) have one more competition this year. This is a virtual competition to be streamed in December.
Supporting your Child with Self-esteem
Self-esteem is feeling good about ourselves, that we belong and that we have an important place in the world. We aren’t born with self-esteem, but rather it is something we learn and develop as we grow. Self-esteem is a major factor in feeling confident to try new things and develop new skills. It is also an important factor to building healthy relationships with others and feeling able to participate in social activities.
In the primary school years, self-esteem is about managing learning new tasks, making new friends, participating in sport and other activities, and having a positive body image. Home stressors or changing dynamics, challenges with schoolwork and problems with bullying can all affect a child’s self-esteem.
Parents and caregivers play a vital role in the development of a child’s self-esteem. Children develop self-esteem from the way important people in their lives treat them. Parentlink offers some great tips to support parents in supporting their children’s self-esteem:
- Tell your child that you love them and do so at random times not just in relation to a specific achievement
- Spend time playing with your child and take an interest in their interests
- Show respect for your child and listen to their views and opinions
- Encourage friendships and welcome your child’s friends into your home
- Include your child in family activities and help them to understand their roots, culture and history so they have a sense of belonging
- Celebrate your child’s successes and keep special mementos of their achievements
- Get involved in your child’s education and school community
- Keep little family rituals such as story time or walking the dog together
- Show your child you have faith in them. Support them to build problem solving skills rather than solving things for them
- Teach your child to trust their instincts
- Teach your child about personal safety and that it is always okay to say ‘no’ to protect themselves
For more information, please visit Self-esteem - Parentlink (act.gov.au)
Or contact your school counsellors Bron or Ryoko if you feel your child could benefit from any further support.
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.
Scholastic Book Club
The Issue 8 catalogue is now available. The cut-off date for orders is next week on Saturday 26th November.
We are unable to advise an exact delivery date for this order, but it may be in the last week of term. Orders for children who have gone on holiday early when books arrive will be handed out next year. Unfortunately we are unable to offer a gift option as all books will be handed out in the classroom. If you prefer your child doesn’t know about the order, please wait until after school orders close and use the home delivery option.
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.
