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Dear parents,
Last Friday we conducted interviews for several part-time positions to fill gaps left by the shuffling of staff to cover the late departure of one of our Kinder teachers at the start of the year. We would like to welcome our new staff who will all start next week.
- Mrs Claire Bobinskas who will work one day a week (Friday) with Mrs Van der Sanden in 4 Magenta.
- Mrs Allana Grant who will work 2 days a week (Thursday and Friday) in 5 Silver with Mrs O’Keefe.
- Mrs Serena Cramond will work two days per week (Thursday and Friday) in 3 Sapphire.
Staff Movements
We have a number of staff who are either leaving MTS or taking extended leave during the first half of the year.
Ms Amy Armour and Mrs Vanessa Robinson, who worked as assistants in the ELC, have taken positions in the public service. Both ladies were long time employees at Mother Teresa and will be missed by all. We send them our best wishes as they embark on their new career paths.
Mrs Hazel Hayden who leads our highly successful EALD program is moving to Queensland. She will finish her work at MTS at the end of week eight this term. Hazel has worked in the primary component of MTS for the last few years and prior to that was a highly regarded teacher in the ELC. We wish Hazel and her husband all the best in their move.
Mrs Stacey Walters will be taking leave from MTS to move to the south coast to help care for her family. Originally this was going to be term two only, however, she will now be on leave from MTS until the end of the school year. We hope her move goes smoothly and the family settle into their new environment quickly. We will advertise her position in the coming weeks.
Mrs Kelly Boyton will be taking Long Service Leave for all of term two. Mrs Tanchevski will continue to work in 6 Ebony and Kelly’s position will be advertised.
Mrs Boyton’s role of literacy coordinator will be filled internally and this means a further change will be made to staffing once the successful candidate is selected.
Mrs Kari Turnbull has indicated she will take maternity leave from the beginning of week seven, term two. We will advertise her position in term two.
Literacy Mornings
Over the last few years we have run Mini Maths Mornings and these have been very popular. This year our focus is on literacy and is aimed at parents with children in the younger years.
Our first Kindergarten session is next Tuesday from 8.00am to 8.30am in the library. The date was chosen because Kindergarten students will soon begin taking home readers.
For more details of the other sessions please see the flyers in this newsletter.
Maths Problem
Congratulations to George Almond who was last week’s winner. This week’s problem is below.
Happy birthday!
Your class is celebrating birthdays with a square cake that measures 60cm on each side. If candles were placed 12cm apart, how many candles would you need to go around the perimeter of the cake? Illustrate you answer.
What if the candles were placed 6cm apart? Compare your answer to your solution when the candles were 12 cm apart. Explain the difference.
WHOLE SCHOOL FOCUS
The Whole school focus theme for this year is:
‘We Are Bee-Attitude Keepers”
Our value for the next two weeks is:
Compassion
At Mother Teresa we are going to show
compassion towards those we meet in our class and on the playground by:
- Empathising
- Expressing care
- Describing feelings
- Taking action to assist others
- Responding to other’s needs
- Giving generously to Project Compassion.
Thank you to those families who attended the information session on Tuesday. We look forward to supporting you and your child on the next step of their faith journey. We look forward to seeing you this weekend at one of the masses.
Commitment and Enrolment Mass:
¨ Saturday 20 February at 5:00pm or 6:00pm
¨ Sunday 21 February at 8:00am or 9:30pm
ASH WEDNESDAY & LENT
Fr Thon celebrated a beautiful Mass on Wednesday with the teachers and students. It was a particularly different way of receiving the ashes being sprinkled. Fr Thon commented on how the students responded and sang. He especially enjoyed the final song of The Beatitudes.
This week the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to alleviate poverty, hunger, oppression and injustice.
We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent through your prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion. On Wednesday each student took home a set of envelopes for their weekly donations.
Saint Oscar Romero is our inspiration for Project Compassion 2021, so in his words let’s “Aspire not to have more, but to be more".
God Loves a Cheerful Giver
As we teach our children to know and love God and follow in His ways, encouraging them to honor God with their money is an important task that cannot be neglected. Here are some basic strategies to help get our kids off to the right start.
How well do your children understand the value of hard work and the value of a dollar? Do they give generously and save for the future?
In order for parents to be united in teaching their children biblical money management, they must first practice what they preach. No wonder the Bible contains over 2300 verses instructing us on how to handle money and possessions!
I highly recommend Dave Ramsey: Junior’s Adventures Story Time Book Set. This six book collection introduces the concept of budgeting through the ‘envelope system,’ where all money received is divided into envelopes marked Give, Save, and Spend. They teach young children to pro-actively find extra work to do when they want something they cannot afford, save up for it, and pay cash for it rather than going into debt because they cannot wait to have it. They teach responsible spending, delayed gratification, the joy of sharing with others, and the importance of honesty and integrity.
It is our responsibility to prepare them to recognise these negative influences and stay the course toward Biblical stewardship and financial freedom. Even if you were not taught sound money management principles growing up (they were rarely taught in schools) there are resources to help guide you, and you have the ability to potentially change your family’s legacy for generations to come.
Peace and best wishes
Anne Leet REC
K-2 Mini Literacy Mornings
During Term 1 and 2, we are offering some literacy workshops for parents of Kinder, Year 1 and Year 2 parents. These workshops will focus on some practical ideas and activities that will help boost your child's engagement and interest in literacy. Please see the attached flyers for dates and information for each of the grade levels. Places are limited so please email kelly.boyton@cg.catholic.edu.au to register your interest.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Kelly Boyton
(Literacy Coordinator)
- A reminder that school fees are overdue. If you have not already done so could you please contact the office to make arrangements for payment.
- Term 1 Chess Club fees of $56.00 are now overdue. If you have not already done so could you please contact the front office to pay.
Remember to STOP for our supervisor
A school crossing supervisor is supporting our school each morning and afternoon to increase safety for children. Please support this initiative by driving safely near the school and encouraging children to use the supervised crossing.
Our crossing supervisor is responsible for controlling a busy environment, which includes managing the flow of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists during peak times. It is important for motorists to drive at a speed which allows them to safely stop when the supervisor enters the road. Please be patient and allow the crossing supervisor and other pedestrians to safely clear the road prior to proceeding.
The school community is encouraged to familiarise themselves with the basic crossing supervisor procedures:
- The supervisor will ask pedestrians to wait in a safe location by the side of the road
- When it is safe, the supervisor will stop traffic
- The supervisor will blow their whistle twice to indicate it is safe to cross.
The School Crossing Supervisor program is delivered by Transport Canberra and City Services’ School Safety Program. If you have any feedback about the program, please contact TCCS.
Please be patient, polite and respectful to our supervisor, they are committed to keeping our students safe.
