Newsletter 17 July 2024

100 Days of Prep!

Today our Prep students celebrated 100 Days of Prep!  This year the theme was '100 days brighter' - students and staff dressed in their brightest clothing to celebrate this milestone.

From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back for Term 3.  I hope you all had a wonderful mid-year break.

Term 3 is shaping up to be a very productive and engaging term with a lot of key events and activities for our students. From Catholic Education Week to St Monica’s Got Talent and everything in between, Term 3 will be a busy but fun term here at St Monica’s.

Last Friday, we had over 40 students represent the school at the annual Toowoomba Catholic School Athletics Carnival. The staff were extremely impressed with our students’ sportsmanship, persistence and overall enthusiasm. Well done to all. This carnival was a good warmup for our students who will be competing at the Inner Downs Athletics Trials. Thanks to our parents for coming along and supporting the children.

NAPLAN 2024:

Tomorrow, students in Year 3-5 will receive their individual NAPLAN reports for the tests they undertook in March this year. The front page of the student report provides general information about the tests and an explanation of how to read the report. The second and third pages show the student’s result in each assessment area. The results are classified into one of four proficiency levels:

Exceeding: the student’s result exceeds expectations at the time of testing. 

Strong: the student’s result meets challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing.

Developing: the student’s result indicates that they are working towards expectations at the time of testing.

Needs additional support: the student’s result indicates that they are not achieving the learning outcomes expected at the time of testing and are likely to need additional support to progress satisfactorily.

The report shows the student’s achievement against the national average for their year (shown as a black dot) and the range of achievement for the middle 60% of students in their year level (shown as a light shaded rectangle). The final page of the report provides a brief summary of the skills typically demonstrated by students at each proficiency level.

These results help the school shape our Teaching and Learning priorities for the rest of the year and into early 2025. Overall, our Year 3 & 5 students showed some very strong results and improvement in our focus areas of Writing, Reading and Numeracy. Across the 5 domains, our Year 3s were 9.4% above the State Mean and our Year 5s were 6.5% above. Well done students on your results.

Communication:

A reminder to parents that you can stay up to date with what is happening at St Monica’s through our various communication platforms, namely, Facebook, the school website, newsletter and Sentral Parent Portal. The calendar on Parent Portal has now been updated.  If you are looking for any term events, please check the portal calendar, or alternatively the School Website Calendar - St Monica's School, Oakey for more details.

In relation to the Parent Portal app, if you haven’t downloaded this app yet, we strongly encourage you to do so. If you require any assistance, the office staff and I are more than happy to set it up for you. Please see the attached document on how to access the app. 

As mentioned in the P&F Update, parents will now be able to submit a P&F agenda item request through the Parent Portal app. This is another avenue for parents to be able to table items for discussion at the P&F meetings. Please see the screenshots below for how to access this through the app, or the link can be found here:

https://forms.office.com/r/gLG8DFxics

From the APRE

Catholic Education Week 2024

Celebrated annually in Week 3 of Term 3, Catholic Education Week is an opportunity for all 313 Catholic schools in Queensland to celebrate and promote their distinctive mission and ethos.

Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.

The theme is ‘Communities of faith, hope and love’.

At St Monica’s, we will be celebrating Catholic Education Week with the following events:

2024 Catholic Education Week Awards

This year, we are thrilled to have three St Monica’s School staff recognised in the 2024 Toowoomba Catholic Schools Excellence Awards and QCEC Spirit of Catholic Education Awards. Congratulations to the following staff members:

Miss Nicole Hoffman

• Nominated for the Spirit of Catholic Education Award.
• Nominated and finalist in the Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award, Early Career Teacher Category.

Mrs Sarah Malone

• Nominated for the Spirit of Catholic Education Award.
• Nominated in the Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award, Primary Expert Teacher Category.

Mrs Lyndell Gillam

• Nominated in the Excellence in Education Support, Administration Support.

How lucky we are to have such dedicated and talented staff supporting our students.

Congratulations ladies and thank you for everything you do for the St Monica’s community. You are all a winner in our eyes!

House Days – Fromelles, Kokoda and Beersheba

This Friday, students in Fromelles will come together for a liturgy to reflect on the events that took place on the western front in Fromelles in 1916, the Australian soldiers who fought for freedom, and the value of mate ship. On Monday the 29th of July, members from Kokoda will participate in their special liturgy. A reminder that students can wear their house shirt on their special day.

Term 3 Whole School and Class Masses

Listed below are the class and whole school Masses for the term. During these Masses, the students participate through singing, presenting the readings and Prayers of the Faithful, and participating in the offertory. All parents and families are warmly welcome to attend.

From the Classrooms

Prep

Welcome to Term 3!

We have certainly hit the ground running in Prep. We have a few busy weeks ahead with some notable events such as Mass and Grandparents Day. We had a wonderful time celebrating 100 days of Prep. I am sure you all loved the amazing shirts we made to celebrate the day.

A reminder to all Prep families that if you arrive at school before 8:25am, all students are to sit on the silver seats undercover in the Quad. Students are not to be in the Early Years area until a teacher is on duty.

Finally, a reminder to students who have speaking parts - do not forget to practice for the Grandparents Day assembly!

Wishing you a wonderful fortnight!

Year 1

Welcome back to Term 3; here we are in week two already. We’ve been busy during the first week back at school beginning our news units of work, while still getting to know one another. The class are settling very well into life in our room with Mrs Hughes and myself as their new teachers. You would have received the letter home outlining core content for this term and student login details for Decodable Readers Australia. Please don’t hesitate to come and see us regarding any questions you may have.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our day of activities last Wednesday to celebrate NAIDOC Week, I know we enjoyed teaching the children to plait and how to make rainmakers! The children are also enjoying returning to their specialist lessons. All in all, a very happy week of learning in Year One.

Year 2

What an awesome start to Term 3 we have had in Year 2! We have already jumped straight back into learning. 

In English, we have started our unit “The Best Toy Ever”. We get to learn all about persuasive language as we work our way through this fun and engaging unit. Our unit has started by going through toy catalogues and finding toys that we would have loved in the past and toys that we love now. We also described what we love about toys. During this unit, we also get to do some show and tells about our favourite toys now or from the past.  

In Maths, we were learning all about dot plots. We had lots of fun thinking of questions we can use to gather data and then comparing them on a dot plot. So far, we have dotted number of children in households, number of pets and number of lost teeth. I wonder what questions they can think of next? 

Until next time, 

Lauren  

Year 3

Welcome back to another busy term.  We hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and had a lovely relaxing time with their family.

This term is already shaping up to be very exciting with our excursion to Cobb and Co as part of our HaSS unit. In the following weeks students will participate in a Year 3 retreat and lead assembly with a liturgy on The Transfiguration of the Lord.

English and Mathematics groups are well underway to enhance student learning. During Science lessons students are exploring features of operation of our solar system. Towards the end of the term students will be asked to bring in an old shoebox or box a similar size.

Chris Conneely

Year 4A

Welcome back, we have certainly hit the floor running into Term 3! Last week, the students enjoyed our NAIDOC week celebrations and engaged positively with all the rotations. Next week we celebrate Catholic Education Week. There will be several events happening during the week, including Mass on Monday at 9 am, Grandparents Day on Wednesday, and Friday will be a pupil-free day.

We have begun to investigate the First Fleet and the reasons that convicts were sent to Australia. The students have interacted positively with this investigation, and they will work towards putting themselves in the shoes of a convict and write a letter from the perspective of a convict on the First Fleet.

Just a reminder, homework is due on Thursday. Homework folders need to come to school every day. Library borrowing happens during library lessons on a Thursday, please ensure your child brings their library bag to school each Thursday.

 God Bless

Mrs Anderson

Year 4M

What a great start to the term!

Last week we celebrated NAIDOC week and rotated around some very engaging and informative activities to learn about Indigenous culture. We have a fairly quiet week this week so we can really get into our classroom learning. Next week, though, will be Catholic Education Week. We will celebrate many events throughout the week, including Grandparent's Day on Wednesday. I am looking forward to meeting all the Grandparents who are able to make it.

We have transitioned to online homework this term. It is pleasing to hear that the students are enjoying the homework and are eager to complete it. If you have any questions about the homework, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Please return the St Helena Island excursion forms as soon as possible.

Have a great week!

Year 5B

Welcome to Term 3! We certainly got off to a busy start in week 1 with our NAIDOC Week rotations last Wednesday. All of the students enjoyed engaging in a wide range of activities including playing Indigenous games, music and dance and testing their tastebuds, trying kangaroo, emu and crocodile.

On Friday, Aida, Lil, Mason, Zack, Andrew and Talon participated in the Catholic Athletics Carnival. Congratulations to all of them for their wonderful effort! This Friday, Fromelles’ students need to wear their house shirts for Fromelles Day and a reminder that sports uniforms are now to be worn on Mondays and Fridays.

Last week, I emailed out the Term 3 overview which includes reminders and the curriculum outline for all classroom subjects. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Have a wonderful week!

Year 5R

 5R have been exploring the colour wheel theory and blending with pastels!

Year 6

Welcome to Term 3! It's hard to believe that we are already moving into the second half of the year! Last week a note was sent home detailing important information, including important dates and the learning that will be taking place in Year 6 this term. If you have not already done so, can you please make sure to read this. Notes regarding high school preferences are also due back to the office so we can begin our transition planning. 

Next week we will be celebrating Catholic Education Week. This is always a fantastic opportunity to come together and celebrate as a school community. A reminder that next Thursday the Year 5 and 6 students are attending the Catholic Schools Touch and Netball Gala Day and following that, on Friday it is a pupil free day for Bishop's Inservice Day. 

From the Library

From Music & LOTE

During NAIDOC week last week, students enjoyed listening to My Island Home and making their own musical instruments to take home (rainmakers).

St Monica's Got Talent (S.M.G.T) update:  A reminder that all NOMINATION FORMS for our annual talent show are due back at school by Thursday 25^th July.  Students in Year 1-6 are welcome to nominate as individuals or small groups.  

Please remember to include the $2 nomination fee which is a fundraiser for the Year 5/6 camp.

Auditions will be held the following week during Music lessons. Judging criteria is:

• Performance quality
• Confidence
• Audience Appeal
  

It's wonderful to see so many students having-a-go!  

Mini Monnie's Playgroup

Be Well at St Monica's

Persistence

Persistence is one of the keys to success in the You Can Do It! Program. The younger students have been introduced to Pete Persistence who encourages them to keep on trying even when things are hard or not fun, and to not give up until they have finished. Students learn that sometimes when they are learning something new, they have to practise a lot and not give up. Sometimes it can be very challenging and not fun, but they need to keep on trying. They are taught that even when things go wrong or when something feels hard to do, they need to persist. 

The older students have been presented with the following attributes of persistence:

• Trying hard and not giving up easily when they are doing schoolwork that is frustrating, hard or considered to be boring.
• Trying to complete an assignment rather than becoming distracted.
• Choosing to play after doing their work, not before.
• Not giving up when they have a lot of work to do in different subjects but making the additional effort to do it.

As parents, you can help to develop your children’s persistence by:

• Not taking over when tasks become difficult
• Giving examples of times you failed, but then succeeded, in a difficult task
• Praise their effort when they display persistence
• Help to break tasks into small steps
• Encourage your children to try new and challenging tasks.

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.

Exciting P&F Success Story

Thanks to the fundraising efforts by the St Monica’s P&F, our students in Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 now have access to Decodable Readers Australia on-line library and more take home decodable readers. This has allowed our school to be early adopters of this fantastic resource.  This is what the St Monica’s P&F is all about - providing opportunities for all of our children in all areas of school life – sports, the arts and in this case, academics. By working together, we can ensure that our children have the very best schooling experience possible.
 
All parents and friends are warmly encouraged to join the P&F and share in discussions at our monthly P&F meetings held at 6pm in the school library.  The next meeting is on Tuesday 13th August.

From the P&F

Are you looking for some delicious, easy winter meals?  Forms for the annual pie drive have been sent out with students this week!  Stock up on yummy pies and goodies from our local Great Country Pies and support this great fundraiser for our school.  Extra forms can be collected from the school office.  We are looking for two volunteers to assist with the distribution of pies on Thursday 15th of August -please contact the office if you are able to help.

Tuckshop is back on this week!  We are still after some volunteers to fill the roster for Term 3.  If there is a Friday that you could help out, please see Lyndell at the school office.  No experience needed!

Our next P & F meeting will be held on the 13th of August.  We would love to see some new and old faces!  If you have an agenda item that you would like to put forward for the next meeting, you can now fill out an online agenda form located on the parent portal under the links section (link below).  We want to hear from you!

https://forms.office.com/r/gLG8DFxics

 You can also keep updated with all the P & F news as the minutes from our meetings will now be included in the newsletter.

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

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