Dear Parents,

This week the school came together on Thursday to celebrate the Assumption of Mary. The Assumption of Mary is a beautiful story of love and trust in God, and teaches us important lessons about faith and hope. Mary, the mother of Jesus, who loved Him so much always followed God's plan. After Jesus died Mary continued to live a life of love and prayer. The Assumption of Mary is a special day in our Catholic faith. 

Staffing 

Unfortunately, I require further surgery which I was unable to have done while away last term. An opening has come up and I have accepted the appointment for this coming Tuesday. I am hoping I will only be on leave for no more than two weeks. While away I will continue to be in touch with the school and respond to the parent emails I have received in the last week. Please direct your immediate concerns during my absence to Mr Craig Hart who will continue as Acting Principal with Mrs Julie Douglas, also Acting Principal. Julie will be providing support to the leadership team from Mondays to Wednesdays. She is an experienced Principal who has recently retired but is keen to support schools. For those who had the opportunity to meet Mrs Lina Vigliotta, while I was away last term, she is currently enjoying the birth of her first grandson, born two weeks ago. 

I am aware that staff absences have impacted several of our classes creating concern for parents. While no teacher likes to be away the level of illness experienced across the school has been particularly high for both staff and children. Finding casual teachers is proving extremely difficult due to the current teacher shortage impacting all schools, not just MTS. Our CECG recruitment team is working extremely hard to secure teachers by negotiating with the authorities (TQI) to recruit university students in their final year of training and recruitment staff from overseas. Currently, the number of people graduating from teaching just does not meet the demand. 

I am sincerely grateful to the MTS staff for all the extra responsibilities they are taking on during the day ie covering additional classes, missing assigned planning time, or covering extra playground duties. Please take a moment to let your child's teacher know how much you value their efforts via an email, a card, or a quick 'thank you' when you see them next.

Annual School Survey - Tell Them From Me

The Annual parent survey was released via Compass during the week and is due next Friday, 23 August. The survey provides parents with the opportunity to reflect on the positive aspects of the school and offer feedback on areas for growth. The more surveys we receive the more authentic the feedback to support the development of our 2025 Annual Improvement Plan. 

Protective Behaviour

To prepare families for our Week 5 Protective Behaviour topic involving the naming of private body parts by their anatomical names, I have included a link to an educational book that may help parents with the conversation. I strongly recommend parents make themselves familiar with the content before reading and discussing various aspects with your child. Having this discussion would be extremely helpful before the teachers teach the body parts lesson with your child/ren. Apologies I could only access an English version of the book.

My Body What I Say Goes! by Jayneen Sanders

Book Week Parade - Are you ready?

The Book Week Parade will commence at 8:45am on Friday 23 August. Have you chosen a book character with your children to create a costume for them to wear to school. 

Boorowa Touch and Netball Carnival

Just a reminder that entries for the Boorowa Touch and Netball Carnival for Grades 2-6 close on Monday 19 August. While children do not need to be experienced players to participate, parents will need to ensure they know the rules. No late entries can be accepted due to team entry requirements. All the information can be found on the events page in the Compass app.

North Gunghalin Track and Field Carnival 

This carnival will be held on 5 September. Mr Kieran Russell will advise students and parents early next week who gained a place in our school squad. Please look out for the Events notice midweek. 

Compass Alerts

Sincere apologies if our Compass messages come through at random times at night. We are experiencing delays with your timed messages, with many being released much later than planned. We are endeavouring to get the issue solved.

Families Leaving 

We continue to receive enrolment requests for places at Mother Teresa School for 2025. If you are aware you are leaving, please advise the office as soon as possible. Thank you to those parents who have notified the school that they are leaving.

Uniform  

A reminder for our students to be wearing the correct uniform. It is a sign that we are proud of Mother Teresa School. Please refer to the MTS Uniform Policy for more information.

God Bless,

Carmel Maguire & Craig Hart

Principal & Acting Principal

WHOLE SCHOOL FOCUS

The Whole school focus theme for this year is ‘COME HOLY SPIRIT’

This term at Mother Teresa School we will use the theme that:  We are called to Innovate.

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:14

At Mother Teresa School the value we will be focusing on is Sustainability, this means:

1. Reduce, reuse, recycle: Practice the 3 Rs to minimise waste and conserve resources.
2. Choose sustainable products: Opt for items made from recycled, biodegradable or sustainably sourced materials. Look out for ‘greenwashing’ — where brands claim to be eco-friendly but don’t actually deliver meaningful impact.
3. Conserve energy and water: Turn off lights and appliances when not in use, and fix leaks to prevent water waste. Insulate ceilings and double glaze windows to reduce heating requirements in winter.
4. Support local and organic: Buy from local farmers and choose organic products when possible to reduce your carbon footprint and support sustainable agriculture.
5. Pick up plastic and other rubbish: Actively participate in cleaning the environment, with particular attention to removing plastics that could be consumed by birds or fish.

RECONCILIATION 2024

Please pray for our Year 3 teachers and students who are currently preparing for the Sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion.

This weekend the students are invited to bring their forgiveness hearts along to share with the congregation as they prepare to make their First Reconciliation. Don’t forget to bring an item for the Food Pantry and collect your jigsaw puzzle piece.

• Date: Saturday 17 August at 5:00pm and Sunday 18 August at 8:00am, 9:30am or 5pm.
• Where: Holy Spirit Church – 93 Burdekin Avenue, Amaroo
• What to bring: Reconciliation Hearts

Please contact anne.leet@cg.catholic.edu.au  or mel.unwin@cg.catholic.edu.au  if you have any questions.

Something to Think About

Spend a moment thinking about the wonderful gifts God has given you. What would you most like to thank God for today?

The Story

In today’s reading, St Paul is telling the people to be sensible and use every moment of their lives to do good things. He encourages them to come together to sing songs of praise to God and to thank God for everything with all their heart.

Video

Click to watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=433rOj7777k

Peace and Best Wishes,

Anne Leet
Religious Education Co-ordinator

This term our school will be teaching Protective Behaviours to students using current resources from the Daniel Morcombe Curriculum and Education 2 Empower Publishing. We understand the content of Protective Behaviours can be confronting for some students and we are therefore keen to ensure there is an opportunity for families to engage with the contact before lessons are taught. To achieve this an overview of the program is attached and weekly updates will be provided.

FREE WEBINAR FOR PARENTS AND CARERS

Consent and online boundaries: how to support your primary-aged child

Tuesday 20 August 2024

7.30pm - 8pm

We hope to you see online at our upcoming Term 3 eSafety Commissioner cybersafety talk for parents and carers.

As children begin to navigate the online world, they need to know how to make decisions around consent and boundaries. This 30-minute webinar will outline strategies for parents and carers, as well as support those hard-to-have conversations.

Please register here:

https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1244428795787444059

Second Hand Uniform Shop
The Second Hand Uniform shop is run by the MTS Community Council in the school hall.

This term the shop will be operating Wednesday and Friday from 8:45am to 9:15am, with payment by QKR! app and cash. The QKR! by Mastercard app can be dowloaded via Apple or Google store.

Please ensure your car is off the basketball court by 8.50am as we must close and lock the gates for safety. 

Donations of uniforms that have no rips or stains and are freshly washed are always welcome to be dropped off at the front office.

The following document outlines the term days and pupil-free days for 2025.

The teachers will engage in professional learning and preparation during the additional professional learning days next year. 

Years 1 to Year 6 will commence on Tuesday 4 February 2025.

Our Kindergarten classes will commence on Wednesday 5 February 2025, in line with our other Catholic Gungahlin schools.

Water Polo ACT have started up a schools competition.

The competition runs on a Friday night from 6-8:30pm. Students from years 3-6 are eligible to play. Please see the attached flyer for details.

If you are interested please contact kieran.russell@cg.catholic.edu.au