Filter Content
- Important End of Year Dates
- Principal's Message Term 4 Week 8 2024
- Religious Education News - Anne Leet
- Parish News
- Community Council News
- Class Awards - Term 4 Week 8
- MTS Cheer
- Tech Talk with Mrs MacArthur
- Local Community Events For Families and Students
- Jets Junior Come and Try Nights
- Extra Curricular Activities at MTS
- Canberra Chinese School Enrolments
- School Holiday Activities
- Monday 9 December, 12:30pm - Year 6 Certificate Presentation
- Monday 9 December, 6.00pm - Year 6 Graduation and Farewell Dinner
- Wednesday 11 December, 6.00pm - 7.00pm- School Christmas Carols, Picnic on the Oval, and a visit by someone special
- Thursday 12 December - Year 6 Fun Day Out
- Thursday 12 December - Reports released via Compass
- Friday 13 December - Meet the teacher for 2025 (students only)
- Friday 13 December, 12.45pm - Final Assembly and End of Term awards
- Friday 13 December, 2.40pm - Year 6 Final Walk-through
- Monday 16 December - Last day of school for students
Dear Parents,
It is hard to believe we only have one week to go with lots still happening around the school including a number of staff farewells. It has been a busy year with so much to be thankful for, let's not lose focus on the the true meaning of this Christmas period.
A reminder that if you know that you are leaving MTS to please let the office know ASAP. This will allow us to fill any vacancies we have for 2025 with students who we have on our waiting list.
Staffing and Meet and Greet
I am hoping to advise the community of our staffing for 2025 early next week. The children will be given the opportunity to meet their new teacher/s next Friday morning to complete a 'getting to know you' activity. Families will not be provided with class lists for confidentiality reasons, however the children will take home an introduction sheet to display on the fridge.
School Reports
The reports will be released via Compass on Friday, 13 December. I will advise once they are released. Families leaving the school as asked to please download you child's reports as access to our Compass Portal will close on Monday afternoon, 16 December, for families not returning in 2025. Any issues after the end of the term you will need to email the school office.
Parent Interviews
As the Semester Two reports provide detailed comments we are not running formal interviews for the end of the term. Should you have any last minute questions please contact your child's teacher. The teachers have put aside Tuesday afternoon, should any family wish to book in to meet their child's teacher.
Thanksgiving Liturgy and Light Ceremony
This week we held two very important school events - our Thanksgiving Liturgy and Passing of the Light from Year 6 to Year 5, and our beautiful Kinder Nativity. Both occasions were very special.
As advertised, our annual Christmas Carols Concert will take place on Wednesday, December 11 from 6pm. Bring a picnic dinner and enjoy the festivities or you can purchase dinner from the food vans at the event. A coffee van will also be on site. We look forward to a great evening of caroling! The children have all been learning carols to share.
Last Community Gathering for the Year - Carols on the Oval - Save the Date
Finalising Fees
I am reaching out to all families who have not finalised their 2024 school fee accounts. Please do so as soon as possible so the school can finalise all our school invoices by the end of Week 9. Your help in settling outstanding fees is much appreciated.
2025 School Fees Increase
Catholic Education and Mother Teresa School are very conscious that cost of living pressures is ongoing and have worked hard to keep fee increases to a minimum. However, only 80% of our school income comes from ACT and Australian Government funding which will not keep pace with rising education costs next year.
To provide a reasonable level of resourcing for the coming year, and to ensure our school can continue to deliver excellent learning opportunities and quality facilities, an increase in fees is required. It is a policy of the archdiocese that no student should be refused enrolment, excluded or disadvantaged because their family is unable to afford fees.
The transition to a single fee structure for ACT primary schools will continue next year with the full transition to have occurred by 2027.
Full 2025 fees information
Our Yearbook will be distributed from next Wednesday so please check with your child. The book looks amazing.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.
This Term as We are called to inspire.:
- we believe in and love Jesus.
- Live with honesty and integrity.
- Be patient with others and make peace.
- Give our unique talents, time, and money and
- Be consistently kind.
Something to Think About
In today’s story, John tells the people to “Turn back to God!” What do you think this might mean?
The Story
John the Baptist told all the people that they should start leading good lives and be baptised. He told them that Jesus was coming and that they should get their hearts ready.
Video
Click to watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OO84K9RuF0
As part of the Holy Spirit Parish, we support SVDP Giving Appeal annually as an important link to help those in need in our local community.
The Christmas Appeal also provides a tangible way for our students to be involved in helping others; and to see that Christmas is not just a time for receiving, but a time for reaching out and giving too!
Your child will be bringing hope a slip of paper this week informing you of the item they are to purchase. Please ensure that your items have not passed the used by date and are non-perishable.
We hope you can support this appeal in some way. Donations will need to be at school by Friday 6th December in readiness for the Christmas Giving Appeal.
SACRAMENTS 2025
Holy Communion, Reconciliation, and Confirmation Program for 2025 Sacrament Online registration for the Sacraments for 2025
Please follow this link:https://forms.gle/EfkV5q9ayunnS2EHA
Early registration is greatly appreciated.
Anne Leet
Religious Education Co-ordinator
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.
Luminosity - 1st place (Scholastic Primary level 1)
Mini Magic - 2nd place (Scholastic Novice)
The girls performed amazingly and showed amazing support for fellow competitor's and demonstrated the 5C’s often. Well done girls, we are all super proud!!
Family Technology agreements
With the possibility of new devices entering your home and an increase in screen time over the Christmas holiday break, it is an excellent time to create or revise your family's expectations around device use. This can include where devices are used and for how long, where devices go overnight and what to do when something goes wrong. It can include computers, TVs, gaming consoles and tablets.
There are several resources to support you in setting these boundaries.
The eSafety Commissioner has downloadable customisable family tech contract templates for pre-schoolers to primary-aged children. They include discussion points about how to be a responsible user of technology and develop digital intelligence. Click here for more information.
The ThinkUKnow and Carly Ryan Foundation family online safety contracts are suitable for older students and the whole family. Click here to see an example and a blank contract.
Education and Support
Further education and support around devices, apps, cyberbulling, gaming, deciding age-appropriate entertainment and reporting abuse is available at the following websites:
eSafety Commissioner resources
Family online safety in more languages
Guides to popular social medica and gaming apps and websites
Reporting Harm with eSafety Commissioner or
Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation
Setting up your child's device for safety and success
BYOD - Bring your own device - Chromebook for students in Years 4-6 in 2025
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.
The preferred device is a Chromebook laptop. Unfortunately other makes like Samsung/Android tablets are not supported and do not reliably work with the Catholic Education systems.
You may like to shop around and see if there are student or education deals around or keep an eye out for upcoming shopping events like Black Friday (October/November), Cyber Monday (November), Boxing Day (December), even the January sales.
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
- please consider the size and weight of the device - your child is transporting the device to and from school each day - not too heavy or large
- consider if the device fits into their school bag
- 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)
- Please do NOT provide Samsung/Android tablets - these are not recommended and do not operate well on Catholic Education systems.
- 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
- Some students have a mouse (optional)
- 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.
The life of most hardware is three years. Please be realistic when purchasing a device, especially regarding cost.
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.
