Dear parents,

Congratulations to a large number of year six students who received the sacrament of Confirmation last Tuesday. The two liturgies were meaningful and reverent. I am sure making their Confirmation meant a lot to the students who have been preparing for a long time.

Again I thank all the staff and parish workers that assisted with the preparation of the night and to Fr Thonn and Fr Simon for celebrating the liturgies.

Reporting

At the end of this term parents will receive their child’s report which will be sent home on the Friday of week nine. The reports will follow the same format as last year in that there will be no written comments.

For a number of years Catholic Education has been developing a new report format that will be introduced when our new administration package ‘Compass’ is rolled out. We have introduced the attendance function linked to Compass and hope to have the reporting function working in time for semester two reports.

In light of the new reports, we will be reviewing how we report to parents from 2022. This may involve moving our parent-teacher interviews from the end of term one to the end of term two depending on the new reporting format.

Sending reports home in Week 9 allows parents to organise interviews in Week 10 should they wish to seek talk to their child’s teacher about their child’s report.

What semester one reports for 2021 will contain.

For Kindergarten students:

• Achievement in each subject will be reported using a four-point scale (Well Above Expectations, Above Expectations, Meeting Expectations and Working Towards Expectations).

For Year 1 to Year 6 students:

• Academic grades for each subject using a five-point scale from A-E will be reported using the Australian Curriculum Achievement Standards.

For all students:

• Strand Achievement will be reported in English, Mathematics, Humanities and Social Sciences, Health and Physical Education, and The Arts using a five-point scale (Excellent, High, Sound, Basic, Elementary).
• Engagement with Learning statements, which are taken directly from the Australian Curriculum, will provide specific information about your child’s Critical and Creative Thinking, and Personal and Social Responsibility, using a three-point scale (Beginning, Developing, Consistently).
• Individual student comments will not be used in the Semester 1 Reports.

Maths Problem

Congratulations to Brody Press who again was the first correct answer drawn out. To encourage a few more entries this week’s problem is a little easier.

Pancakes!

How many different ways can you arrange 17 pancakes into 3 stacks? Record your working to submit with your answer. I would say zero would not count as a stack.

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: Consideration

At Mother Teresa we are going to show consideration towards those we meet in our class and on the playground by:

• Including others
• Listening attentively
• Showing good sportsmanship
• Treating others equitably
  
  
  

FOCUS ASSEMBLY

Thank you to 5 Pearl & 5 Ivory along with their teachers, Mrs Trees Williams, Mrs Carly Reeves and Mrs Alanna Grant for a fabulous focus assembly on ‘consideration’.

The symbol of the heart with helping hands reminds us that when we welcome Jesus into our lives and consider the people in our lives and the world we live in, we are Bee-Attitude Keepers.

The students did an amazing job at presenting what consideration at MTS looks like by sing ‘You Can Count on Me’ using Auslan sign language.

The Eagle and the Owl

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

There was an eagle that liked to fly very high.

A wise old owl asked the eagle, "Why do you fly so high?"

The eagle replied, "I want to see the great Creator of the birds of the sky. I want to see God."

With that, the eagle looked to the sky and flew as high as he could. Higher and higher he flew, up and up until he could not pump his wings any more.

Down and down he soared gliding his way safely back to the trees in exhaustion.

"I will work harder and become stronger," he said to himself.

He spent many days flying fast and long distances to strengthen his wings. He did this for a very long time until, indeed, he was much stronger.

He looked to the sky again. He launched himself into the air and with renewed strength flew higher than any bird had ever flown before.

He looked around with his keen eyes but he saw nothing but blue sky and the clouds below him. He could not see God.

He tried to fly even higher but his wings gave up with exhaustion once more and he soared back down to the trees.

There he saw the wise old owl once more. "Eagle," he said to him. "Have you seen what you hoped to see?"

"No," replied the eagle. "There is nothing to see up there but blue sky and clouds."

The owl paused for a moment then asked, "Must you fly in the sky to see God?"

The eagle stared at the sky but did not reply.

"You have been blessed with strength that took you higher than any other bird before. Who made you to be an eagle? Who made you to become so strong?"

The eagle's eyes came down from the sky and looked to the owl and realized that God was here all along.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8)

Confirmation 2021

Congratulations to our Year 6 students who were confirmed this week. Their sense of reverence and awareness of the importance of the sacrament in their lives was very insightful. Our sincere thanks to Fr Thonn and Fr Falk for their gentle and inspiring presence; Katrina Battilana for her unfailing support, and to our Year 6 teachers for their dedication in preparing the children so well.  Lastly, to the Year 6 children who did not make their Confirmation but walked the journey with their peers.

May the enthusiasm of the Holy Spirit leap incessantly within you and help you to live a vibrant life.

May the warmth of the Holy Spirit’s fire be extended through your concern and care for all those who need your love.

May the blaze of the Holy Spirit’s courage enable you to speak the truth and stand up for respect, dignity and justice.

May the steady flame of the Holy Spirit’s goodness within you convince you every day of the power of your presence with others.

May the joyful fire of the Holy Spirit dance within you and set happiness ablaze in your life.

Joyce Rupp

"No one can have greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.”

Year B | Sunday 9 May | white, and I in them, bear much fruit

Click on the link below to go to the readings and activities for this Sunday.

https://www.prayingwithchildren.org/j98prsr41n.html

Peace and best wishes

Anne Leet

Religious Education Coordinator 

A culture that promotes learning

The school is driven by a deep belief that every student is capable of successful learning. A high priority is given to building and maintaining positive and caring relationships between staff, students and parents. There is a strong collegial culture of mutual trust and support among teachers and school leaders and parents are treated as partners in the promotion of student learning and wellbeing. The school works to maintain a learning environment that is safe, respectful, tolerant, inclusive and that promotes intellectual rigour.

Our partnership with the University of Canberra has been underway for a term now. It's exciting to work with and learn from each other. The OT students and their Clinical Educator have been very impressed with the range of activities already implemented by our wonderful Kinder and Year 1 teachers; and they are eager to commence work within the classrooms.

Recently our Kindergarten students enthusiastically participated in a screening assessment which focused on their fine and gross motor skills. We have now selected a number of students to participate in weekly small groups run by the OT students, to further develop the children's fine motor skills. 

In addition, our teaching staff also participated in an excellent workshop to further develop our understanding the of role of an OT. Strategies and tools were shared to support the crucial skills of handwriting, fine motor and sensory needs in the classroom.

The University is offering two workshops for parents 'Helping your child with their fine motor skills and writing' and 'Understanding sensory processing and regulation'. Please see the attached flyer for more information.

Karen Garrity
Diverse Learning Coordinator
Mother Teresa Primary School​

Social and Fundraising 2021

A quick hello from the Social and Fundraising Committee, we have welcomed three new members to our team this year – Alejandra, Adelle and Belinda.  We have been working away behind the scenes to set our fundraising priorities and come up with some fun activities to run throughout the year.  All the events and activities are being planned with our goal of continuing to build a strong school community.

Social Events

This year we’ll be once again running our usual social event each term, along with a fun day for the kids. On top of this we’re looking at incorporating some extra fun activities that will allow people to meet up with other MTS family members.  These are likely to include things like Painting nights, biscuit decorating, a zumba party and wellness event.  Stay tuned for more information on these, if you have a special skill/interest and would like to run an event please get in touch.

Fundraising priority

We’ve been considering our fundraising priorities for 2021. After doing some consultation with school, committee members, Yr6 students and the people who attended our Wine and Cheese night in Term1 we have a key fundraising priority to implement a Sensory Walk.  Sensory Walks have many benefits to assist students in their school work as well as being great fun.  The Sensory Walk will be an activity that is accessible by all students and we're looking at having it located in indoor and outdoor spaces. We need to raise $4000+ to fund the first stages of the Sensory Walk. 

We’re also looking to fund some additional sports equipment for the school. 

We look forward to your support in reaching these goals. 

Behind the scenes

As well as working hard on all of the above we are also:

• Selling the Entertainment Book – you can buy your ‘online’ book and support the school.
• Set up the ReturnIt (Bottles and Cans) system - return your recyclable containers to the Fundraising account using the school’s phone number “0262415604”
• Running a Bunnings BBQ on Sunday 27^th June – put it in your diary now to come and buy a sausage and/or give us a hand.

If you’re interested in working with us to achieve some of these goals or have some great ideas we’d love to hear from you at MTSCommunityCouncil@mail.com. New people are always welcome to join our committee (no set time commitments) and at present we particularly need people who are great at engaging with sponsors & gathering donations.

Thank you!