Newsletter 28th February 2024
From the Principal
In week 8 & 9 of this term, our Year 3 & 5 students will sit the annual NAPLAN tests. Classes have been building their familiarity with NAPLAN Online Testing platform and the test layouts. The online testing window will run from 13th March until 26th March. It is important that students are in attendance during these testing weeks. The Public Demonstration site has useful information that parents can access, including examples to build familiarity with types of questions. Public Demonstration Site - NAP - Public demonstration site
The final testing schedule is below. If parents require any additional information in relation to the testing program, please come in and see me.
On the 11th of March, we will commence our Prep enrolment interviews for 2025 for our current and new families to our school. Our official enrolment drive has commenced, so I encourage families who are looking to attend St Monica’s in 2025 to get their applications in as soon as they can.
Our first Enrolment Information event is coming up on Saturday 23rd March. This is an opportunity for current Kindy students to “Come and Try” a morning of Prep, where they can participate in a morning of wonderful learning opportunities and Prep based activities. A flyer will be sent out in the coming weeks, however if any current families are interested in attending, please register your interest at the school Office.
From the APRE
The APRE edition will return next fortnight.
From the Classrooms
Prep
Wow, Time Flies! We have officially passed the halfway point of term 1.
At this stage of the term, we have become very familiar with the routines, rules and expectations of school, which is fantastic to see. This past fortnight the students received their first homework and readers. I was very impressed with the number of students who returned their homework on Thursday and expressed how much they enjoyed doing it.
A reminder that Family Mass is this Saturday night, I am looking forward to seeing lots of you there.
As you can appreciate, before school is a very busy time for teachers preparing for the day. If you need to discuss your child’s progress, please email and we can organise a mutually agreeable time so that the issue can be given the appropriate time. Nicole.hoffmann@twb.catholic.edu.au
Looking forward to another wonderful fortnight ahead in Prep.
Year 1
Last week, we finished our English unit involving Nursery Rhymes. Each student changed the characters and/or setting in a chosen Nursery Rhyme to create a new one. We started our new English unit this week, focusing on author Alison Lester's books. In this unit, the students will develop their decoding, retelling and rhyming skills while learning about nouns, verbs and adjectives. The students will continue working on their sentence structures when writing and creating character descriptions.
A reminder that our class is on Assembly presentation this week.
Year 2
Wow! I can’t believe we are already in week 6 of our first term of Year Two! Time is flying by!
In Maths, we have been looking at skip counting and extending our knowledge by starting at different numbers.
In English, we have been learning about the features of a narrative. These last two weeks have been focused on characters and how to describe them.
In Religion we have been looking at the 3 different creation stories and what important or repeated words are throughout.
The Year Two’s did an amazing job at their persistence assembly last week and had such a great time!
Year 3
Welcome to week 6!
I can't believe how quickly the term is going.
In year 3 we have been very busy creating narratives and persuasive texts. We are working toward including interesting sentence types and following the correct structure of texts.
A reminder that we have fruit snack and to remind your child to include a healthy fruit or vegetable snack in their lunch box every morning. Homework and library bags are also due back every Thursday.
As always please feel free to contact me if you have any queries or concerns.
Have a wonderful week,
Year 4A
The students in 4A have been exploring the language features of ‘The Twits, focusing on the way Roald Dahl uses imaginative language to describe the characters of Mr and Mrs Twit. The students will use these language features to write their own chapter of ‘The Twits’.
In Science we have been investigating force and what happens if too much force is applied, as well as, what happens if not enough force is applied.
4A is continuing our Caritas challenge, up until the end of Term 1. Thank you to all those families that have supported this challenge and supporting those who are less fortunate than ourselves.
4A will be presenting their assembly item NEXT FRIDAY 8th of March. We hope you can make it to see our assembly item.
God Bless
Year 4M
Welcome to Week 6!
We are well and truly underway in our learning now. In maths, we have been looking at fractions and place value. We have been reading 'The Twits' for English and will be writing our own chapter in the coming weeks. Rules and laws have been discussed in HASS, and in Science, we have been learning about forces and friction. The students are demonstrating amazing Learning Dispositions, and I am very proud of the choices they have been making in and out of the classroom.
We have Clean Up Schools Day on Friday and Family Mass on Saturday (with free pizza!) The P&F Bush Dance is on next week, and I am looking forward to seeing you there.
Have a great week!
Year 5B
Thank you to the many family members who attended our recent Assembly presentation on one of our You Can Do It! keys to success, Confidence. I was very proud of all of the Year 5B students - they certainly did a wonderful job! Some students have parts in the Easter Play and are encouraged to practise their lines regularly.
In HASS, we have been investigating Australia and discovering many of the special places in our great country. In English, we are reading The Wild Robot and the students are fine-tuning their narrative writing techniques, particularly focusing on sentence and text structure and the inclusion of descriptive language. I hope to see many of you at the Bush Dance next Friday night.
Have a great week!
Year 5R
As we step into the latter half of the term, excitement is building up at 5R as we gear up for the upcoming NAPLAN assessments in Week 8. Our diligent students are putting in their best efforts to ensure preparedness for these assessments.
Mathematics: In our math classes, students are delving into various learning strategies aimed at mastering multiplication, including the lattice method. Additionally, they are revisiting essential concepts such as fractions and decimals to reinforce their understanding and problem-solving skills.
English: Our English curriculum is focusing on the development of sentence structures, progressing from simple to compound and complex sentences. Students are also transitioning from narrative writing to exploring persuasive texts such as debates and letters of persuasion. Emphasis is placed on refining skills like the correct usage of quotation marks to enhance their writing prowess.
Science: Exploring the wonders of the natural world, our science lessons are currently centered around tectonic plates and the continental drift theory. This engaging topic is sparking curiosity and encouraging critical thinking among our students. Moreover, during our HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences) sessions, we are deepening our understanding of global geography through the study of maps and the globe.
In 5R, I believe in providing a well-rounded education that not only fosters academic excellence but also nurtures curiosity and a love for learning. We welcomed Mr. Cosh in our classroom sharing in his enthusiasm and knowledge of prehistoric discoveries from near and far. I appreciate your continued support in partnering with us to ensure the success and growth of our students.
Year 6
The Year 6 students are well underway with their Leadership responsibilities all ready. The Good Samaritan Ministry leaders have been doing a fantastic job coordinating and running the Guess the Dream Meal fundraiser for Project Compassion. It has been wonderful to see so many students taking up the challenge to guess the staff members' dream three course meal in the hopes of winning a special lunch dining experience in the staff room.
Keep an eye out for more Project Compassion fundraisers to come in the following weeks.
From the Library
From Music & LOTE
During Indonesian lessons. students have enjoyed using the following website
Languages Online - Indonesian - Greetings (education.vic.gov.au)
Feel free to log on at home to practise the Greetings.
Music lessons have been focusing on preparations for the Holy Week play on Tuesday 26th March in the hall. It has been wonderful to see those people with a speaking part learning their lines confidently.
Students attending Mass on Saturday night are welcome to be part of our Mass Choir. See you there.
Mini Monnie's Playgroup
Be Well at St Monica's
The Importance of Sleep
According to the Sleep Health Foundation, sleep is vital for children’s wellbeing as it supports healthy development of the body and mind. Evidence shows that children who do not get enough sleep have more trouble learning. They are less attentive and motivated, have poor problem solving, more confusion, increased irritability, reduced memory, impaired communication, slower processing of information, poorer judgement, diminished reaction times and more indifference. Lack of sleep can also lead to behaviour and mood issues, impacting negatively upon relationships, empathy and leading to mental health difficulties such as anxiety and depressed mood. In Australia, the number of children who are sleep-deprived is rapidly growing due to our lifestyle behaviours.
How much sleep do children and adolescents need?
As with adults, every child is different in terms of how much sleep they need. The amount of sleep your child needs also changes as they age. Children aged 6-13 years should ideally be sleeping for 9-11 hours, although anywhere from 7-12 hours may be appropriate for some children. Teenagers aged 14-17 years should ideally be sleeping for 8-10 hours, although anywhere from 7-11 hours may be appropriate for some teenagers.
What are some signs that your child or adolescent isn't getting enough sleep, perhaps through overusing technology?
● Moodiness and irritability
● Hyperactivity at school
● Reluctance/arguing about getting off phones/devices and going to bed
● Reduced academic performance
● Changes to communicating/social interacting at home and/or school
● Difficulties waking up for school and sleeping in late on weekends to ‘catch up’
● Getting to school late or missing school days
How can I encourage safe, healthy technology use to improve my child’s sleep & wellbeing?
- Put in place guidelines surrounding technology use at night.
- Ideally, no mobile devices should be allowed in the bedroom.
- Establish a nightly ‘wind down’ routine with your child.
- Model healthy sleep and technology use behaviours.
If you are concerned about your child’s sleep patterns, please access the below resources below or visit a GP. Visit the Sleep Health Foundation (SHF) https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/
In challenging times, help is just a phone call away! Who can you call 24/7?
Lifeline 131114, Kids Help Line 1800 551800, Beyond Blue 1300 224636
Uniforms
School uniforms are now available at School Locker online theschoollocker.com.au or Intersport in Ruthven St Toowoomba.
Research has shown that one of the real advantages of an education at a Catholic School is that a special and unique pride is developed. One significant way to foster such pride is the enforcement of strict uniform guidelines. All children are expected to wear the school uniform as listed below:
School Uniform - Years 1 to 6
Girls – Formal - Monday, Tuesday & Thursday
- St Monica’s School Dress Uniform
- Dress: Pattern, Sutton no 346(B)
- Dress: Fabric, Check 8021
- Collar: Cesarella 1301, Zip: Birch 265 Bottle Green
- St Monica’s School green school bucket hat
- Short white socks – (no ankle socks)
- All black shoes – may be leather or jogger.
Girls – Sports - Wednesday and Friday
- St Monica’s School Sports Shirt Yr.1 to Yr.5
- St Monica’s School Leader Shirt Year 6
- St Monica’s School Navy Blue Skort
- St Monica’s School green school bucket hat
- Short white socks
- White sandshoes/joggers
Winter Variation
- As Above
- St Monica’s School Bottle Green Fleecy Pullover with embroidered crest
- Green fleecy track pants with sports uniform only.
- Navy Blue Tights (optional)
Boys – Formal - Monday, Tuesday & Thursday
- St Monica’s School Dress Shirt with tartan collar
- Shirt: Pattern, Simplicity 5581
- Fabric: Bottle Green Poplin 8021
- Shorts: Navy Blue Long Shorts (Ruggers)
- St Monica’s School green school bucket hat
- Short navy-blue socks – (no ankle socks)
- All black shoes – May be leather or jogger.
Boys – Sports - Wednesday & Friday
- St Monica’s School Sports Shirt Yr. 1 to Yr. 5
- St Monica’s School Leader Shirt Year 6
- St Monica’s School Navy Blue Shorts (Stubbies)
- St Monica’s School green school bucket hat
- Short white socks
- White sandshoes/joggers
Winter Variation
As Above
- St Monica’s school Bottle Green Fleecy pullover with embroidered crest
- Green fleecy track pants with sports uniform only.
- Long navy-blue pants - Ruggers – Formal uniform (optional)
It is expected that the correct and clean school uniform will be worn at all times. A school uniform can help instil in the students a sense of pride and identity. It also signifies unity and equality.
Prep students wear the sports uniform 5 days per week – Monday to Friday
All Students
Hair: Collar length hair or longer must be tied back with a green band or green ribbon. Natural hair colour is expected. Rat’s tails and tracks are not permitted.
Earrings: Girls: Sleepers and plain studs are the only acceptable earrings.
Boys: No earrings.
Other: Clearly mark all clothing with your child’s name.
From the P&F
St Monica’s P & F Bush Dance
Just a reminder that the bush dance is next Friday, 8th March with the BBQ starting at 5pm and dancing from 6-9pm. We are looking forward to welcoming new and returning St Monica’s families to our first event of the year!
Look out for the flyer that will be sent home tomorrow with all the details for our Cow patty Bingo which will be held on the night!
We are still looking for volunteers to assist on the night. Please reply on the flyer and return to the office if you can help out or please email the P & F at OAKPandF@twb.catholic.edu.au.
Looking forward to a wonderful night building community together.
Thank you to our Tuckshop helpers, these ladies are doing an amazing job. If you can contribute in any way please see Kylie McCormack or the school office.
Friday 1st March: Amanda Scheuerle and Toni Herrod
Friday 8th March: Leah Chicken and helper still required
Clothing Pool
The clothing pool is currently located in the OSHC, if you require anything please contact the school office or see Lauren in OSHC room near the Prep Classroom.
Outside School Hours Care
Community News
Joey Scouts are boys and girls 5 - 8 years old.
Life as a Joey Scout is full of discovery and excitement! We participate in a variety of activities from cooking and craft, to paddling, climbing and day-hiking in the great outdoors.
Joey Scouts commence for 2024 on Tuesday 22 January at the den in Stanley Street 5-6pm.
Come along and meet the Joey Scout Leader and start the year hopping!
