Dear Parents and Carers,

Please keep the Year 4 children preparing to receive their First Eucharist on Sunday, 21 September at 3.00pm in your prayers. The children will be attending a special retreat day on Friday 19 September at the Holy Spirit Parish Church at Amaroo for a retreat day as they prepare for the sacrament. 

Changes to the BYOD program for Year 4 2026

From 2026 we are changing our approach to BYOD for Year 4. As we have been working to build our bank of Chromebooks for use across the school, we now have enough laptops to provide a 1:1 program in Year 4 in 2026. This means that families in the current Year 3 cohort of 2025 will no longer need to purchase a device at the end of the year. An internal review has also indicated that the children in Year 4 do not require a device at home to complete set work. I am hoping this decision will reduce screentime at home, and the use of social media on a device. 

KidsBiz Relocation due to the hall refurbishment project

From Monday, 15 September 2025 Kids Biz OSHC will be relocating due to the planned building work that is about to commence.

Kids Biz OSHC will operate from the following new locations from Monday, 15 September 2025:

• Before School Care (BSC)  will be in the Kinder breakout space and courtyard
• After School Care (ASC) will be in the Kinder breakout space, the school library, and the Senior space.
• Sign-in/out station and office: will be located in the Kinder breakout space.

Please see attached a map with the new location of the sign-in and out station.

Relocation_Map_KidsBiz.pdf

Relocation_Map_KidsBiz _pdf 538.75 KB

The usual entry point (the black gate near the car park) will still be the entry point that is used for families; however, as there will be no access to the hall during this time, families are required to make their way to the Kinder breakout space to use the sign-in and out station. The main Kids Biz office will also be relocated to the Kinder breakout space, next to the canteen.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend, and may the best team win!

Carmel Maguire

Principal

The Sports Spectacle

This week, we proudly handed out ribbons to our superstar athletes who triumphed at the Regional Track and Field Carnival! A big shoutout to Lachlan, Dash, Zoe, Jameson, Coby, and Will for snagging those coveted ribbons. And let's not forget Leah McIntosh, who's qualified for the ACT Carnival next Wednesday! If any of these athletic prodigies want to throw their hat in the ring for the ACT School Sport Track and Field, check out the School Sport page to register—because who wouldn’t want to be part of this athletic extravaganza? Registration Link

Next Tuesday, we're sending 22 brave Year 5 and 6 warriors to compete in the Wally Masur Tennis competition. They'll be battling it out against North side schools to claim the title of North side's best tennis players. The Wally Masur Cup, a competition that debuted in 2021, is part of the Tennis Hot Shots junior pathway. Named after the legendary Wally Masur—Canberran, Tennis ACT Hall of Fame inductee, and all-around tennis guru—this event will feature Wally himself making guest appearances to inspire our young athletes. So, get ready to serve up some fun and maybe a few aces! ??

Upcoming Events

● ACT Track and Field (16 September)
● Wally Masur Tennis Cup (17 September)
● Boorowa Netball and Touch Football Carnival (24 October) - Rego has closed and teams finalised

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 content before lessons are taught. To achieve this, an overview of the program is attached and weekly updates will be provided.

Additional Resources

DMCSC_ParentGuide_P_2.pdf

DMCSC_ParentGuide_P_2 _pdf 1.27 MB

DMCSC_ParentGuide_3_6.pdf

DMCSC_ParentGuide_3_6 _pdf 2.04 MB

The Mother Teresa School Yearbook has been confirmed for 2025, but this year, we are going to need your help to get it across the line.

Families that have been with us for a few years would know that each year, with the help of our school committee and dedicated parents and our amazing teachers, we have produced a 200 page, professionally printed yearbook featuring all classes and highlighting the momentous occasions and experiences throughout the year.

The Yearbook has always been wonderfully received in the school community and are great keepsakes for the children to reflect on their journey here. To help in that undertaking we are hoping for your assistance  

We would specifically like to request any photos from the events that have occurred in term 1 while they are fresh on your memories  

-swimming carnival 

-Reconciliation

-Harmony day

- Excursions 

If families have any photos or if you’re attending school events (sporting, social etc) and you take any photos we’d love for you to snap and send a few back to us to use in the yearbook (appropriate permissions will be sought).

If you can help us with the above, please reach out and contact the Yearbook team via the yearbook email MTSYearbook00@gmail.com

Kind regards 

Lindsay Hackett

• Using safety equipment including seatbelts and helmets.
• Safe behaviours walking or riding on, or near, roads.
• Road rules.

• How to keep yourself safe.
• Dealing with strangers.
• Who to speak to if you get into trouble or feel unsafe.

• Thinking about every day choices.
• Immediate consequences of actions and decisions.
• How actions can affect yourself and others.

• What the internet is.
• Importance of parent/carer supervision
• Identify adults who can help if something goes wrong.

• Thinking about consequences before acting.
• Immediate and long-term consequences of actions and decisions.
• How actions affect others and your future

• If you are a Childcare Centre, please remember that presentations are only available for ages three and up (preschool aged). As stated above, we have found that the limited attention span of children under the age of three impacts the important safety messages children receive through the Constable Kenny class presentation.
• Constable Kenny can attend your school for single sessions or for a full day booking, with individual sessions running from 30 to 45 minutes. We can only do six presentations within one day.
• Bookings can only be made within your particular school zone. You must enter a school zone for your bookings.
• Please note: The only class presentation whereby we may require a smartboard is the ‘Stay OK Online’ presentation as we may show the children a video at the end. If a whiteboard is available for ‘Stay OK everyday’ and ‘Stay OK for life’ sessions, this would also assist in our delivery.