Dear Parents

As a Catholic learning community,

all at Mother Teresa School are called

to care, to dream, to innovate, to inspire!

There was a great buzz and real energy around the school this morning as families visited classrooms and met various staff and their child's teacher/s. Thank you for your patience with the car park; it has been a long time since the school has been able to open its doors to all families at once. We were blessed with a beautiful morning to once again gather to share our school prayer following the bell.

School Mass 

It was very special to be able to bring the children and staff together for our opening school Mass, celebrated by Fr Eden. Fr Eden will be working closely with our community this year visiting classrooms and celebrating class Masses. We welcome Fr Eden and look forward to working with him throughout the year. 

Accidents around the neighborhood

In the last week, I have been advised of several accidents involving children on their way home from school.

The first involved a parent supporting a child who had fallen. Unfortunately, the child was not carrying any emergency contact details in their bag, which made it difficult to ring the parents immediately. Please check that your child is carrying emergency contact details in their bag if walking or riding to and from school. 

The second incident involved a Year 5 STM student who was knocked over by a passing motorbike while riding home. Fortunately, he did not suffer any serious injuries but it did leave him shaken. On behalf of the family, I would like to extend their thanks to the very caring and thoughtful MTS parents and children who stayed with our student, to comfort him, until his parents were contacted. 

Delays in compass messages

During the week I have discovered that several of my Compass messages sent via email have arrived much later than the time they were set to be delivered. During the week I received a message at 11.00pm when it was to be delivered at 6.00pm.  Sincere apologies as I have raised the issue with our CE IT Division who manages the program. 

Name: Fr Eden John Langlands

Birthday: 1^st August

How many siblings: 6 (4 brothers & 2 sisters)

Ordination date: 24^th June 2022

Previous parishes: St. Bernard’s Batemans Bay & Sacred Heart Moruya

Favourite food: I enjoy just about anything: Japanese and Korean are my favourite Asian cuisines. Some of my closest friends are Lebanese so I have grown to love their food too! I also really like German and Polish food

Tea or Coffee: Coffee in the morning and tea throughout the day

Favourite band/song/genre: My Spotify Wrapped last year showed a very eclectic mix of my favourite music. I enjoy 70s/80s rock and some modern pop music but I also love classical music: Chopin, Bach and Vivaldi are favourites

Favourite movie/book: I am a huge fan of Michael O’Brien’s novels, Fr Elijah would be my favourite

Favourite sport/team: I enjoy watching NRL – I am not as loyal as most but I I’ve always had a liking to the Penrith Panthers and Melbourne Storm I also enjoy watching Tennis

Favourite Season: Autumn

Least favourite household chore: Ironing

Hobbies: I enjoy bike rides, going to the gym, playing tennis, catching up with friends, good food and wine

Favourite person from the Bible (other than Jesus): The Blessed Virgin Mary but St. Joseph and John the Apostle are also favourites of mine

Favourite Saint: I have a few: St. Joseph, St. John the Apostle, St Therese of Lisieux, St. Padre Pio, St. Alphonsus Ligouri… there are more but these I ask for their intercession very often!

If I wasn't a priest, I would be.... I couldn’t imagine myself as anything else, but I enjoyed my job in accounting before I went to the seminary

Life motto: “Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12) 

Favourite quote or prayer: “Thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. (Isaiah 43:1)

Name: Troy Joseph Bobbin

Birthday: 28 October

How many siblings: 4 (2 brothers and 2 sisters)

Ordination date: 17 May 1996

Previous parishes: 2000 – 2006 Our lady help of Christians Ardlethan and St Therese Barellan 2006 – 2010 Western Mission incorporating St Mary’s West Wyalong and St Joseph’s Ungarie and taking back Our lady help pf Christians Ardlethan and St Therese Barellan 2011 – 2022 St Gregory’s Qyeanbeyan

Favourite food: Italian

Tea or Coffee: Expressos

Favourite band/song/genre: Supper tramp, Redgum and the bands of the 60’s and 70’s musicals  

Favourite movie/book: author Jeffery Archer

Favourite Season: Autumn and spring

Least favourite household chore: vacuuming

Hobbies: traveling planes and trains

Favourite person from the Bible (other than Jesus): Jeremiah

Favourite Saint: St Ignatius

If I wasn't a priest, I would be.... architect, teacher

Fun fact about yourself: I like to wear fun socks

Life motto: live life to the full 

Favourite quote or prayer: Jesus came is that I may have life and have it abundantly Jn 10:10

Anything else you would to share about yourself: I have a little dog named Junie

WHOLE SCHOOL FOCUS

The Whole school focus theme for this year is ‘Walking Together’ and the Bible reference that supports our theme is Luke 24:13-35. The Emmaus Story.

We will show the value of Compassion towards those we meet in our class and on the playground by following 

‘The Mother Teresa School Way’:

• Empathise
• Include others
• Recognise and respond to others’ needs
• Express care
• Describe feelings
• Take action to assist others
• Allow others to be themselves

6^th Sunday in Ordinary Time 12 February 2023 - Year A

“Be reconciled before you offer your gift.”

The Story

Jesus’ message in today’s short reading is simple: if we are to be true disciples, it’s not so much what we say, but what we do that counts. He is saying to the people, “Don't pretend to be something you are not”. Being a peacemaker is one way of showing a commitment to God’s Kingdom. Jesus wants us to be peacemakers.

Video

https://youtu.be/GZUh_DwmLuI

OPENING SCHOOL MASS

On Tuesday 7 February we had a wonderful Opening School Mass. All the children participated well with the various readings and processions and as always sang beautifully.  Thank you to Fr Eden who celebrated the mass with us.

CONFIRMATION ENROLMENT & COMMISSIONING MASS

• Parent Information Session - Tuesday 14 February – 1pm or 6pm
• Fr Troy & Fr Eden are Looking forward to meeting you all at one of these important meetings.
• Saturday 18 February @ 5pm Mass & Sunday 19 February @ 8am & 9:30am. There will be an enrolment and commissioning for students preparing to make Confirmation.

STAFF COMMISSIONING MASS

• Saturday 18 February @ 5pm Mass there will be a commissioning for staff from the Gungahlin Catholic Schools.

SHROVE TUESDAY

The day before Ash Wednesday, is often called ‘Pancake Tuesday’. Older people might remember it as ‘Shrove Tuesday’. To prepare for Lent’s fasting some people cook all the meat they have. Another custom on this day is to ‘feast’ on pancakes.  This year the classroom teachers will be providing pancakes for their class.

ASH WEDNESDAY

22 February @ 10pm. Whole School Liturgy of the Word, in the Hall. All parents and friends are welcome to come along and support the children for this special occasion. 

Peace and Best Wishes.

Anne Leet (Religious Education Co-ordinator)

SCHOOL FEES FOR 2023

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

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.

Dear Parents,

Thank you for providing your student with a Chromebook for their learning.

In order for the Chromebook to be used at school, please set up the following:

• Personal Account

We recommend parents to sign into the Chromebook using a personal account first. It can be their own account, or the account they created for the student.

The first account will automatically be the owner account of that device. By doing so, the family will still have full access when they can't access their school account. 

How to Set up your Chromebook

• School Account

Once the Chromebook is set up with a personal account being the owner, please add the student school account as a user. Please do this at home.

The student needs to use their school account to sign into the Chromebook. In this case, the student account is still managed by CE, but the device isn't. 

Instructions: https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/1059242?hl=en

Your child has a record of their school account. It is in the form of their school email address

Eg. mrobin02@cgstudents.catholic.edu.au and a password they nominated with their teacher. For Year 4 students, this password has been changed this year to something they nominated.

If parents would like to apply extra supervision, they can set up Family Link.

However, at this stage CECG ICT are not in the position of supporting parents with Family Link on BYO devices. Some information and instructions are below:

https://support.google.com/families/answer/7101025?hl=en

https://support.google.com/families/answer/7680868?hl=en

https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/9900467

Starting a new school year can be a time of excitement and nerves. Big feelings can often emerge as children process and adjust to their new environment and kids can often become more emotional and more tired during this time of transition.

Families and schools can work together to support children in making a smooth transition into the new school year.  Parents and caregivers play a big role in helping kids to feel supported to try their best, to navigate challenges and to solve problems when they crop up.

If emotions start to run high during this time, below are some tips to support kids to adjust and embrace this new beginning.

• Make time each day to hear about your child’s day. Ask open ended questions and show an interest in their experiences and discoveries during their day.  Demonstrate excitement and interest in the new experiences they are having. 
• Praise your child for trying and celebrate success.
• Support your child to form positive relationships with peers and with their teacher.
• Make time for some quiet down time each day. Processing new experiences can be tiring.  Where possible, slow down other commitments to allow for some recuperation and some free play.
• Create an environment in which it’s okay to talk about not just the highs in a day but also the challenges. Support your child to believe in their ability to overcome hurdles and let them know it’s okay to ask for help if they need it.
• Talk about your own learning with your child. Share with them what you are currently learning about and discuss your own thinking about how you plan to face challenges and solve problems.
• If your child is feeling overwhelmed or nervous about the new year, help them to reflect on times they have faced change in the past.
  • Reflect with your child about what helped before and use this as evidence that they can do it again.
  • Discuss times you yourself may have felt uncertain or unsure in a new environment and reflect with your child the things that helped you.

Each time that we face new challenges and beginnings, we grow in our resilience and our self-belief.  As children navigate these new experiences, demonstrating our belief in their ability to succeed will further support them to feel able to step into new environments. 

For more information about supporting children to engage in school, the below article provides some further helpful tips or please contact your school counsellors Bron and Ryoko if you feel your child could benefit from any further support. 

What you can do at home Parental engagement in primary school (act.gov.au)

School Student Support Referrals and Counselling

To direct our families to access the best support available through Mother Teresa 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 the 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 1 catalogue is now available. The cut-off date for orders is next week on Friday 17^th February.

Issue 1 has a free book offer – spend over $30 to receive one free book, over $50 to receive two free books or over $70 to receive 3 free books!

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.