Dear Parents,

On Monday 11 November, we will hold our Remembrance Day gathering at 8:45am,  following the morning announcements. 

Orientation Sessions

This week we welcomed many new families to MTS for orientation sessions. The first was held on Monday when our new Year One students for 2025 spent the morning familiarising themselves with our school, while on Wednesday afternoon our 2025 Kindergarten families participated in their first classroom visit and parent orientation session. These sessions are essential to welcoming families into our community, ensuring they are ready to go in the new year. Thank you to all of the staff who facilitated these orientation sessions. We look forward to seeing our 2025 Kinder families and children again on Wednesday 20 November at 3.30.

Year 5 Camp

The Year 5 Campers have enjoyed three fabulous days at the AGH Camp in Picton. We look forward to hearing many great tales and no doubt the usual camp food reviews from our young food critics! Thanks to the staff who have coordinated this event and spent time away from family to ensure that our children have had a wonderful experience. 

Grandfriend's Day

A reminder that next Friday 15 November is our annual Grandfriend's Day celebration. Gates will open for parking from 11:30pm, with the concert beginning in the hall from 12pm. Following the concert grandfriends are invited to visit classrooms,  have their photos taken and visit our Book Fair. A reminder to please complete the consent on COMPASS if your child/ren are leaving early with a grandparent. The teachers will tick off their lists on Friday as people leave to minimize the numbers in the office. 

Book Fair

MTS Carol Picnic Evening - Claim the Date

On the evening of Wednesday 11 December, families are welcome to gather on the school oval to enjoy a time catching up to share Christmas Carols and Christmas cheer. The children will be sharing Christmas Carols to get everyone into the Christmas spirit as the school year draws to a close. Further details will be shared next week and if we are able to source our pizza van. As this is a child-focused event please refrain from packing alcoholic picnic drinks. 

Community Council Meeting

Early next week information will be circulated to families calling for nominations to fill the vacant Community Council positions.

Maths Workshop for K - 2 Parents and Children - 5 places left

We are hosting 3 consecutive Maths workshops for Kinder and Year 1 parents and their child, commencing in Week 5 on a Tuesday morning starting at 8.00am. Older siblings can sit in the Kinder Courtyard until the duty teacher commences at 8.15am Information has been shared via Compass to book a place. Any questions please email Penny Brown.

Families Leaving MTS

A reminder that if your family is not returning to MTS in 2025 please email the front office ASAP as we have waiting lists for many of our year levels.

As I will be away next Tuesday and Wednesday attending a special Principals' gathering in Galong, please direct any concerns to Craig Hart in my absence.

Have a lovely weekend and 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 inspire.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Our value for the next week is: PEACE

We can show this the Mother Teresa School way by:

• Christian Meditation
• Positive relationships
• Managing conflict
• Effective communication
• Identifying peaceful practices
• Reflecting on our behaviour

Something to Think About
What does it mean to be generous? Think of some generous people you know, and ask God to bless them.

The Story
There was an offering box near the temple where people came to give money. Many rich people put a lot of money in the box. A poor widow, a lady whose husband had died, had only two coins left to live on. She put both of those coins into the offering box. Jesus said these two coins were worth more than all the money the rich people gave since they had given their extra money that they didn’t need.

Video
Click to watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GivTS-DBBWI

Peace and Best Wishes,

Anne Leet
Religious Education Co-ordinator

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Holy Communion, Reconciliation and Confirmation Program for 2025

We invite all Parents of Year 2, 3, and 5 Catholic Students

Please note that there will be a Sacrament Information Session at 6.00pm on Tuesday 12 November, at Holy Spirit church.  Parents are strongly encouraged to attend this session, as important information will be presented by our Parish Priest, Fr Troy.

To help us plan for the 2025 Sacraments, we invite you to complete a Google form to indicate which Sacraments your children will be receiving in 2025.

Please follow this link:  https://forms.gle/EfkV5q9ayunnS2EHA

Opportunity to prepare for missed Sacraments

If you or your child have missed having preparation for or missed receiving the Sacrament of First Reconciliation, First Communion, or Confirmation here's the news you've been waiting for...

Fr Troy and the Sacraments team will be hosting an Information Session on

Tuesday 12^th of November at 6.00pm in the Holy Spirit Church

at which you can find out exactly how the process of 'catching up' missed Sacraments works. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from Fr Troy about the importance of all our Catholic Sacraments.

Book donations to JPC high school

The MTS Community Council and library staff are proud to have been able to support our local systemic high school St John Paul II College in collecting books for their new library. Year 6 students made a selection of books using our Scholastic Book Club rewards scheme, which were then accepted by JPC students who attended MTS in the past. Additional books were also donated by the library. JPC students and staff are extremely grateful and looking forward to opening their student library next year. We thank everyone who purchases books through our Scholastic Book Club, as the rewards earned allow us to generously support both our school, and on this occasion our wider parish community, by donation of a significant amount of books each year.

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.

Romeo has had a full on soccer schedule since September, to date he has had 8 tournaments all over Europe, they played against some of the biggest teams in Europe - AS Roma, Bayern Munchen, Lazio Italy etc. 

He has training daily for 3 hours. If he does not attend training he does not get selected to play games (the same rules apply for all players),  games are held 3 times a week, weekdays included. He has to undergo a full medical examination every month to determine if he is fit to play. There is no fair play rule here. It is determined on attendance, performance and commitment. 

At their recent tournament they achieved 3rd place and Romeo was awarded Player of the Tournament. He was so happy as teams from Germany, Romania, Hungary, Sweden, Bosnia and many more were in attendance. 

Part 4 - Welcome Defence Families

My name is Carly Flemington,

I am the Defence School Mentor (DSM) here at Mother Teresa.

With my husband in the ADF and a mother of 2, I know first hand the challenges and impacts the ADF life can have on our families, from postings, changing schools, deployments, living away from loved ones and making new connections.

As DSM, my role is to advocate for you and your family within the school environment. I am here to assist your children and family with any issues that may arise during your time at Mother Teresa School, by providing assistance and guidance to your children as they settle in to our school and support them during challenging times such as deployment, changes in family circumstances, friendship issues and any other situation where they just need a friendly ear and someone to chat to. 

I am also here to support the family, so if there is something I can help you with please reach out.

I run a Defence Kids Club once a week during at lunch time, after eating time. This is open to all the Defence students, from Kinder to Yr 6.  It’s an opportunity to meet and mix with the other Defence children and gain support from our community. We do art / craft activities, play board games and active games. Most weeks the Defence children can bring along a non-Defence friend if they wish. This club is not compulsory. 

It is a pleasure to welcome you to our school and I look forward to meeting you and your family very soon.

About The Defence School Mentor (DSM) Program

The DSM program provides funding to schools to minimise the impact of the mobile lifestyle on Defence students' education. This funding provided by the Defence Forces allows for the employment of a DSM to work within the school to raise awareness of the Defence lifestyle and to support students of Defence families.

The program, administered by Defence Member and Family Support (DMFS) (formerly known as Defence Community Organisation), reflects the commitment by Defence to support its members and their families and recognises the partnership between education authorities, Defence and schools.

Mother Teresa School is a proud participant of the Defence School Mentor Program and our DSM provides support in the following key areas:

• Welcoming
• Integrating
• Support during absence
• Farewelling

The Defence School Mentor may provide support in the following areas: 

• Assisting new children and their families to integrate into the school and local community,
• Monitoring the social and emotional wellbeing of Defence students,
• Assisting students develop self-confidence, self-reliance and resilience,
• Supporting teachers to monitor Defence student's transition and any personal challenges they may face (such as friendship, peer group or classroom difficulties)
• Referring students to services, or school and community programs that meet their needs,
• Enhancing awareness and appreciation of the unique Defence lifestyle in schools and communities, and
• ​Providing support to children during times of parental absence.

Part 3 - Maths

At Mother Teresa School we use the Australian Curriculum and current research to ensure children grasp and apply concepts that are required by the end of the year. We use a hands-on approach with concrete materials to help embed these concepts as well as daily reviews.

How you can help – activities and games

Numeral recognition and counting

• point out numbers on letter boxes and houses.
• Play card or board games that involve numbers such as snakes and ladders.
• Counting races – forwards and backwards.
• Practise counting to 10 on your own portable number line your hands. Face your palms towards you with the left thumb always being number 1 and count all the way to the right thumb which is 10.

Subitizing

The capacity to visually recognise the size of a small set of objects without counting – dominoes and dice games.

Measurement

Kitchen work – which is heavier or lighter, which container holds more? How can we work this out?

Outside work – which stick is longer? Which tree is taller?

Who can build the tallest tower?

Patterns

Play with beads, blocks, and stamps. Create patterns with craft work. Look for patterns in nature.

Position

Play games using positional language such as Simon Says put your hands on top.

Part 2 - Literacy Ideas

Welcome to the Mother Teresa School Kindergarten Orientation News Centre. We have set up this platform to reach out to all families, especially new families, with all the relevant information about our orientation process. We would love all members of the families to get involved in their child’s preparation for the first day of school. Over the coming weeks, there will be games and activities for the whole family to enjoy and information about the school, school readiness, and upcoming dates. Check the newsletter weekly via Compass or the school website. 

Orientation Dates

I look forward to meeting you, please look out for our next update in our next newsletter.

Carmel Maguire 

The enrolments for 2025 are now open at the Canberra Chinese School (CCS). The CCS is a non-profit community language school run by parent volunteers. We offer a comprehensive curriculum, dedicated teachers, and a supportive environment to the local students in Belconnen, Woden and Gungahlin. We welcome new and returning students to join our school to learn Chinese. To learn more about our programs and how to enroll, please visit our website or contact us at:

·         http://www.canberrachineseschool.net

·         https://www.canberrachineseschool.net/2025-student-registration-form

·         admin@canberrachineseschool.net

We look forward to welcoming your child to the Canberra Chinese School.