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- Principal's Message Term 4 Week 7 - 2022
- 2023 New School Fee structure
- Religious Education - Term 4 Week 7
- MTS Class Awards - Term 4 Week 7
- Celebration for Father Mark - Saturday 3 December 2022
- BYOD Program 2023 and Beyond
- Sports Shorts - Student Spotlight
- School Student Support Referrals and Counselling
- Cool Kids Programs 2023
- Qkr! - New Payment Option
- MTS Community Council News & Events
- Community Service Announcements
Dear Parents
Staffing News
Next Friday we will be farewelling Janet Williams, our Librarian, who is moving overseas for two years due to her husband's recent appointment to the Cocos Islands. On Wednesday we will farewell Georgina from our Diverse Learnng Support team as she is moving interstate.
Community Council Open Meeting
There will be a Community Council open meeting on Tuesday 29 November at 5:30pm in the staff room, everyone is welcome.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Teachers are now available 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 lovely to see everyone again for the second day of kindergarten orientation this week. We look forward to seeing you all in 2023!
God bless
Carmel Maguire
SCHOOL FEES FOR 2023
On behalf of our school community, I wish to provide you with information regarding our 2023 School Fees and thank you for your continued support of our school. Despite the disruptions wrought by the covid pandemic, we have appreciated families meeting their financial obligations in 2022 to ensure our school continues to thrive.
We are very mindful of the impacts any fee increase incurs on families and have therefore carefully considered what would be most appropriate for the year ahead. In setting 2023 fees, we have worked hard to strike an effective balance between our essential work of providing an excellent education for our students and keeping any increase manageable for families – especially given the current economic environment.
You also will notice that the fees look a little different this year. The names associated with our school levies will be changing across Catholic Education Canberra and Goulburn (CECG). This is to ensure consistency across all schools in support of the rollout of a new finance system which is expected to be deployed to our System over the coming year.
Our fee for a single student in 2023 will be $1,109.00 per term. Included in this amount are both Tuition and School Levies. This amount represents an increase of 7.8% on last year, in line with rising salaries and costs required to ensure our school continues to deliver quality education. Please see attached the schedule of 2023 fees, including sibling discounts, for further details.
We are committed to our policy in the Archdiocese that no student should be refused enrolment, excluded, or disadvantaged because of their inability to afford the fees. If you are experiencing financial hardship and the 2023 fees are a concern for your family, I would encourage you to arrange a meeting with me to discuss how we can help and the financial assistance available. Any discussion on fees would be strictly confidential.
If you have any questions regarding school fees for 2023, please contact me.
Yours sincerely
Carmel Maguire
Overview of the costs the various levies will cover in 2023
School Resource Levy:
- Major 2023 projects – Seating under covered walkway, shade structure, ninja obstacle course, shirts for representative sports, other
- Teaching & Library Resources
- Administration Office – advertising, bank charges, auditor, postage, stationery, phone, fax, photocopier rental
- Cleaners’ salary, cleaning materials, waste removal, gas, electricity, security, water & sewerage
- Copy equipment and asset replacement
- Equipment maintenance including playground equipment, electrical tagging
- Grounds maintenance – grounds person, oval, gardens, pest control, watering system, landscaping
- Staff Professional Development – course costs
- Extra staffing for excursions & sport days when required
- General consumables –first aid, office supplies
Student Resource Levy:
- Student and class stationery supplies
- Art and craft supplies including glue, paint, paper, etc
- Athletics, Cross Country & Swimming Carnivals
- Sporting Clinics eg AFL, Tennis, La Crosse, Hockey, Dance
- Visiting performers & special activities (Incursions)
- Online learning programs essential assessment Years 4 - 6
- Annual Subscriptions
- School Sport Association fees
- Local Excursions
ICT Levy:
- Purchase of new hardware – laptops, interactive boards, STEM equipment
- Software upgrade and apps for school iPads
- Hardware maintenance
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. We do not expect parents to be purchasing a new device if they have an iPad.
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.
Congratulations to the following students who have represented the ACT in school sporting events this year.
Cooper Evans - 12 years & under Hockey Championships
Nikos Vassiliotis - 12 years & under Cross Country Championships
Olivia Jose - 12 years & under Football Championships
Piyushi Bandara - 12 years & under Tennis Championships
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.
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.
