Dear Parents

As a Catholic learning community,

all at Mother Teresa School are called

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

Parent Teachers Interviews - Week 9

Teachers will be holding Parent Teacher Interviews/Conferences in Week 9 either before or after school.  Information will be released, early next week for parents to make a booking, via Compass.  This is a great opportunity to discuss your child's current progress and set goals for Term 2.

As many Kinder parents have regular contact with their child's teacher, formal interviews are not required - except for Kinder Crimson. Our beautiful Mrs Sarah Campbell will be leaving Mother Teresa School at the end of the term.

X Country Results

Congratulations to our Cross Country competitors and the Jackman (Yellow) Sporting House, who were overall winners on the day. Thank you to Kieran Russell, staff and parents for making the morning run so smoothly. 

Place winners for each competitive age group.

Sri Chimnoy Peace Run Visit

On Thursday students from Years 2 and 4 had the opportunity to meet the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run team as they completed the global torch relay leg through Canberra having begun their Australian journey in Brisbane on February 23. Since its founding in 1987, the Run has visited almost every country on earth - over 150 nations and territories.

Mother Teresa School would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to Stacey and her fabulous team of runners who shared their unique experiences and important message of Global Peace. A very timely visit with Mother Teresa School celebrating ‘World Harmony Day’ on Tuesday, March 21.

Netball

Congratulations to our Year 3/4 netballers who attended the netball gala day on Tuesday.  A huge thanks to parents and staff who have attended. 

Community Council - Open Meeting Tuesday 21 March 6pm

Next Tuesday (21 March) there will be a Community Council open meeting for anyone who would like to come along.  It will be held in the staff room so please enter via the main office building.

Community Council - Position Vacant Treasurer 

The Mother Teresa School Community Council is urgently looking for a parent volunteer to manage the day to day financial activities of the Community Council accounts. This includes receipting money from fundraising activities including the uniform shop, parent community events and then arranging payments as required. A monthly Income and Expenditure report must be prepared for Council meetings and end of year documentation prepared for Catholic Education in December. 

Book keeping or accounting skills are required. A detailed handover will be arranged as our current Treasurer no longer has a child in the school.

If interested or for more information please email carmel.maguire@cg.catholic.edu.au as soon as possible.

Carmel Maguire
Principal

WHOLE SCHOOL FOCUS

The Whole school focus theme for this year is ‘Walking Together’ Every family will receive a beautiful prayer card today supporting the theme. Please place it in a prominent place so it can be share with those in your family.

‘The MTS Way’:

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

• Saying hello to our peers and teachers
• Put up our hand in the classroom and listen to others when they are speaking
• Remember to use our manners by saying please and thank you and look at people when they are speaking to others
• Holding the door open for others and letting them go first
• Showing kindness to others

 FOCUS ASSEMBLY

Thank you to Mrs Maher, Mrs Di-Pofi, Year 2 Mint and 2 Emerald for a fabulous Prayer Focus on Courtesy. They shared their thoughts and ‘Freeze Frames’ on what it means to be courteous at Mother Teresa School and sang a great song on good manners.

Confirmation 2023

Please pray for our Year 6 Confirmation Candidates, their teachers, and families as they embark on this important time in their faith journey. This weekend when you attend mass you will notice a display of all our Confirmation Candidates at Holy spirit Parish in the foyer. Don’t forget to bring your item of food for the ‘Food Pantry’.

Year A | Sunday 19th March | purple

 “The man who was blind went off and washed himself and came away with his sight restored.”

The Story

The gospel story today is a miracle story. Jesus meets a man who was blind from birth.

Jesus used 'spittle' on the man's eyes as a form of cure. This seems strange to us but in Jesus’ time and culture, the spittle of a distinguished person was believed to have the power to heal. The blind man was then instructed to wash in the pool of Siloam. The word 'siloam' means 'one who is sent'. This means that the cured man was now a disciple of Jesus, someone who put his faith in Jesus.

Video https://youtu.be/X4qZ2KSbdxI

LENT & PROJECT COMPASSION  

At Mother Teresa School, we are trying to reach out to others and bring hope to those who are less fortunate than ourselves during this time of Lent by raising money for Project Compassion.  We encourage you to talk to your child about the importance of giving to those in need and to give generously.  Each class has a Project Compassion box available for the children’s donations. 

We invite all families to contribute by sending in the envelops each week.  Please talk to your child/ren about this important project and aspect of Lent. Let us remember though that it is not how much we give, but the compassion that accompanies our giving.   This week we raised $595.00 a total of $1,708.45. Thank you for your generosity!

Thu's story - Vietnam

Thu lost his leg after stepping on a land mine in Vietnam. With your generosity, Thu can now earn extra income and support his wife as she recovers from a stroke. 

HARMONY DAY

Tuesday Week 8:

• Wear something orange and bring a gold coin.

It is an annual celebration held in Australia that aims to promote social cohesion, cultural diversity, and respect for different cultures, traditions, and beliefs.

• https://movingforwardtogether.org.au/poster-competition/
• Enter a poster or song writing competition. The theme for the 2023 competitions is 'Living in Harmony' and the deadline is 14 April. Entry is free and financial prizes are awarded at a ceremony at NSW Parliament House.

Peace and Best Wishes.

Anne Leet (Religious Education Co-ordinator)

Congratuations Kate O'Keefe on a wonderful achievement

So many children have gained from your time and commitment to Junior hockey

Let’s try to get as many students as possible to ride to school on National Ride 2 School Day on Friday March 24. Riding to school is great for our bodies, our minds and the environment and it will also be a great way to earn extra points for your house! Every child that rides to ride to school on National Ride 2 School will receive a token for their house. The house with the most bike riders on this day will receive bonus house points! So why not get on your bikes or scooters, prepare your bodies and brains for a great day of learning, look after the environment and earn some points for your house on Friday March 24.  

Apply now for the Future of Education Equity Fund 2023.

Apply now for the Future of Education Equity Fund for the 2023 school year.

Eligible low-income ACT families can receive one-off payments for financial assistance to help cover the costs of their children’s educational expenses such as sport equipment and activities, music lessons, school uniforms and excursions.

The Fund is open to eligible students enrolled in preschools (attached to a school)
through to Year 12 in the ACT.

Further information and the online application form is available here.

Supporting Children with Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety is the fear of being separated from a parent or carer, and is sometimes accompanied by stranger anxiety, or wariness and distress around unfamiliar people.   These anxieties are a normal part of your child’s early development.

By the time children reach preschool and school age, they will generally be comfortable leaving their parent or carer, particularly in situations with familiar environments and people, although new situations may still cause some initial anxiety.

If your child is still experiencing regular and significant anxiety upon separating from you, they may need some extra support. 

Below are some helpful ideas to support your child to cope with separation anxiety:

• Ask yourself if you are anxious about leaving your child. Children are very quick to pick up on anxiety from caregivers, and your anxiety may be sending a message to your child that it is not safe if you leave them.
• Teach yourself and your child some breathing exercises to help you relax.
• Practice saying goodbye – eg. Have your child stay with your partner or a friend for 5 minutes at a time while you go outside to hang out washing, put out the bins etc. Say goodbye to your child each time, and don’t allow your child’s distress to delay your leaving.  Let them know that they are safe, and that you will be back. 
• Introduce your child to new environments and people in advance whenever possible.
• Always say goodbye – tempting as it is to sneak out when your child is occupied, this could result in an increase in your child’s anxiety.
• Keep goodbyes brief - it could be helpful to talk to your child’s teacher and have a plan in place to distract your child with a fun or comforting activity while they settle after you have left.
• Consider using the ‘stepladder approach’ to managing anxiety (see “Raising Children Network” in the online resources list below)
• If the anxiety is causing regular distress, or interfering with daily life, it may require some specialist support. Consider visiting your GP to discuss your concerns or contact your School Counsellors, Bron and Ryoko. 

Helpful online resources for separation anxiety:

http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/anxiety_stepladder_approach.html

http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/separation_anxiety.html/context/734

http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/worrying.html

Scholastic Book Club

The Issue 2 catalogue is now available. The cut-off date for orders is next week on Thursday 23^rd March.

There has been a delay receiving the paper catalogues, they will be handed out as they arrive, in the meantime please feel free to order using the online catalogue.

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.

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.