Dear Parents

Updated information on the Year 6 Events:-

Wednesday 7 December commencing at 9.30am – Candle Ceremony 

The Year 6 students will gather in the school hall for the traditional Passing of the Light to Year 5 students.  Due to the size of the group and the capacity of our hall, only Year 6 students accompanied by two parents and the Year 5 students accompanied by two parents, will be permitted to attend this ceremony. For this occasion, the Year 6 students are to wear their leadership shirt.

Wednesday 7 December commencing at 6.00pm - Certificate Presentation and Disco

The Year 6 students are to gather with their parents and immediate family at 6.00pm at the school hall. We need to restrict numbers due to the capacity of the hall so extended family will not be able to attend.  Once settled the Year 6 students will be presented with their certificates. This will be followed by the cutting of the cake. At this point families will be asked to leave, so the disco can commence. The children will be provided with a light dinner. The evening will conclude by 8.30pm. The teachers will be responsible for the supervision of the disco.

For this evening event the children are to wear neat casual clothing.

A reminder that the Year 6 student farewell money is now due.  Please arrange for payment of $20 via QKR as soon as possible if you have not already paid!

Year 2 Questacon Excursion

What a wonderful time our Year 2 students had a Questacon this week!  It was lovely to hear about all the interesting things they saw and questions they asked.

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

Congratulations to the following students who have received a class award this week.

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.

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.

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.