Newsletter 31 July 2024
From the Principal
What a week we had last week to celebrate Catholic Education Week. From our whole school Mass, class workshops with Mrs Inskip from St Vincent de Paul and the annual Touch and Netball Carnival, it was a fantastic week of celebrations. I’d like to thank all of our staff for their ongoing commitment and dedication to Catholic Education and for always going above and beyond in their role as educators at St Monica’s.
One of the highlights of the week is our annual Grandparents morning. This event is particularly special to our students as they appreciate the opportunity to show their grandparents their classrooms and have them involved in some fun learning activities. Thank you to our grandparents who made the trip (many travelling great distances to come) to attend our day. It was wonderful to have you as part of our school for the morning. Well done to our Preps for leading such a prayerful and moving Liturgy dedicated to Grandparents.
On Thursday, our Year 5 & 6 students participated in the annual Touch & Netball carnival. All staff were extremely impressed with our students’ participation. There were many examples of our students displaying great sportsmanship and persistence. It was very evident that our Year 5 & 6 students were putting into practice our school wide learning and behaviour philosophy. Thanks to our wonderful staff for taking the time to train up and coach our students for this event.
From the APRE
Catholic Education Week in Reflection
What a wonderful Catholic Education Week we all shared last week. Students showed that we are truly a community of faith, hope and love, by participating in Mass, a shared BBQ lunch, St Vincent de Paul charity workshops, Grandparents Day, sporting competitions and art events.
On the Friday, staff from all 33 Catholic schools and colleges in the Toowoomba Diocese gathered for a day of spiritual growth and professional learning in Religious Education. Our keynote speaker, Australian country music star and proud Catholic, Graeme Connors, shared his journey from his days as a student in QLD Catholic schools, to getting married, becoming a father and sharing the Gospel values secularly through his songs. We were all left with a quote from one of his hit songs – “In times of trouble and hardship, remember, love works”. We were also led through a reflection by the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Executive Director, Dr Patrick Coughlan, who challenged all staff to ensure that every child in our schools firmly believes “I am safe here, I am valued here, I can be successful here”.
It was a wonderful day of networking and learning, and all staff have returned with a refreshed sense of purpose on the important roles we all play in modelling and teaching the gospel values to our students, ensuring we continue to build communities of faith, hope and love.
Term 3 Class Retreats – Bringing to Life the Benedictine Values
This term, each of the classes will be participating in a class retreat based on the Benedictine values, which is the foundation of our Good Samaritan tradition. The first of these retreats begins this week with the Year Four class. Their focus is on the value of hospitality. The students will participate in games, stories, scripture and reflections aimed to answer the question ‘How do we truly show welcome to others?’
I-CAS Competitions Begin
A reminder that I-CAS Competitions begin next week. Please find below a list of the testing dates.
Monday the 5th of August: Writing
Wednesday the 7th of August: Digital Technologies
Wednesday the 14th of August: English
Monday the 19th of August: Spelling and Science
Monday the 26th of August: Maths
Please note that if your child is absent on this day, we will do our very best to organise a resit during the short test window. However, once the test window closes, the school will be unable to access and therefore supervise the test. If this occurs, parents will need to contact I-CAS directly to see if a refund is possible.
From the Classrooms
Prep
What a wonderful fortnight we have had in Prep. We have been extra busy celebrating Catholic Education Week and Grandparents Day. I would like to take this time to congratulate all of the students on an exceptional Grandparents Day Assembly. They all worked so hard on their roles and on their poem. It was wonderful to see how much their confidence has grown over the year.
This term in English, we are exploring Fairy Tales. This is a wonderful unit that all the students enjoy. One of the upcoming assessments for this unit is an oral, based on the student's favourite fairy tale / character. We conclude the unit with a fairy tale banquet, where the students dress up as their favourite fairy tale character and we take part in a shared lunch. Please keep an eye out for letters relating to these events.
Enjoy the following fortnight!
Year 1
Our days have been busy ones in our classroom over the last two weeks. We have well and truly gotten used to one another and have been hard at work on our term three units.
Our study of the Creation stories continues in religion classes, with us exploring both Genesis accounts. Unlike when I was a child, we now explore the idea of them being sacred myths and, as one student asked recently, ‘what about the Big Bang theory?’ That too shall be explored in addition to what our Indigenous Australians believe.
During English, we have continued with our phonemic awareness and our phonics to spelling program, while integrating our DRA reading scheme into our literacy block each day. Further to this, we have continued on our English unit, 'Is it Real or Imaginery', “Down by the Creek” and have begun writing information about animals that are found in and around creeks.
During Maths lessons, we have been exploring place value and multiples of ten, before moving onto strategies that help us to make the counting of large collections more efficient. We have used ten frames and counters to reinforce their knowledge of tens. In addition to this, we have continued to consolidate our skip counting patterns to 100, then 200.
Mini beasts and identifying their features has been the focus of our study during science lessons, which integrates well with our investigation of animals found at creeks. We are all finding out facts about common garden mini beasts that are often overlooked, quite fascinating.
Keep warm and stay well.
Jenny and Kate
Year One Teachers
Year 2
What an amazing fortnight we have had in Year 2 full of learning and fun.
In English, we have been learning all about persuading. This week, Mrs McGregor took us for a writing session and we wrote about their favourite food. Mrs McGregor was so impressed with all their writing that she showed Mr Barrett. Mr Barrett then came for a visit to our classroom to congratulate us on our amazing writing and reward us with some stickers and chocolate. We were so excited!
In Maths, we have been learning about 3-digit numbers. We have been doing an awesome job at reading, writing, recognising, representing and ordering 3-digit numbers. Our next topic is multiplication and we are so excited for this!
This week we have also started to prepare for our assembly item on Mary MacKillop. We get to do a play about her life, and we are so excited! Just a reminder to bring in costumes ASAP in a named zip lock bag please.
Until next time,
Lauren Grant
Year 3
Students had a wonderful time at Cobb and Co today where they celebrated the history and culture of the First Australians with storytelling, hands on activities and demonstrations. As a reflection, students will be creating a brochure on their knowledge and experiences from the excursion.
For English, students are working on developing their understanding of information texts and writing using ‘ing’ starting sentences.
During Mathematics students are developing their understanding of place value of numbers up to 10,000.
We would like to take this opportunity to say farewell and best wishes to Miss Harvey who is completing her practical teaching experience on Friday.
Year 4A
The Year Four students enjoyed the activities they participated in for Catholic Education Week activities. I would like to extend a thank you to all the grandparents who attended Grandparents Day, it was a great morning.
This week, we have started to get back into the normal school routine. Our English is linked with our Hass unit, and we are investigating the reasons for the First Fleets voyage to Australia and the impact it had on both Indigenous Australians and those who travelled.
In Religion we are exploring the early Catholic Church in Australia and the important people who shaped the Catholic Church at that time.
God Bless and have a great week.
Mrs Anderson
Year 4M
Welcome to Week 4! We have been busy creating our convict characters and writing letters to the judge trying to convince them not to send the convicts to Australia on the First Fleet. The children have really engaged with this, and I am looking forward to seeing the finished product.
On Thursday we will participate in Mass and then we will engage in our Year 4 Retreat on the Benedictine Value of Hospitality on Friday.
The students have also been enjoying the online homework this term and we have a record number of students completing it. Thank you for your ongoing support with this.
Have a great week!
Year 5B
It is hard to believe we are already up to Week 4.
What a wonderful time we had last week celebrating Catholic Education Week. Please pass on my thanks to the many grandparents who came along last Wednesday for Grandparents Day. It was very special for our students to have their grandparents join us at assembly and in the classroom.
I was very proud of all the students for their efforts at the Catholic Netball and Touch Carnivals on Thursday. For many, it was the first time participating in these sports and it was great to see them getting out of their comfort zone, trying something new, growing in confidence throughout the day and experiencing success.
Have a great week!
Year 5R
Thank you to all the grandparents who joined us for Grandparents Day! Your time and wisdom made our morning activities special. We celebrated Catholic Education Week with meaningful activities, and our Year 5 students shone during the Touch and Netball Gala Days, displaying excellent sportsmanship and teamwork.
We're now back to our curriculum in full swing, exploring the impacts humans have on our world. Year 5 are deeply engaged and there's so much to learn in so little time. Your continued support is appreciated.
Warmest regards from
Mrs. Roberts
Year 6
The Year 6 students enjoyed the many opportunities to extend themselves over the last couple of weeks within the various sporting, academic and cultural activities that have taken place, particularly as part of Catholic Education Week. The students did a fantastic job representing our school at the Touch and Netball carnival last Thursday. They should all be proud of the growth and determination that they displayed throughout the day.
From the Library
From Music & LOTE
Tomorrow, we have auditions for our talent show. Please be organised and ready to go!
Sports News
Year 5/6 Catholic Schools Netball and Touch Carnivals
Last Thursday, our Year 5 and 6 students attended the Catholic Netball and Touch Carnivals in Toowoomba. Well done to all students who attended and represented St Monica's School with pride.
Darling Downs Trials - Rugby League
Congratulations to Arabella Long who represented Inner Downs in the Darling Downs trials!
Mini Monnie's Playgroup
Be Well at St Monica's
How to build your child’s self-esteem
A healthy self-esteem helps children try new things, take healthy risks and solve problems. It gives them a solid foundation for their learning and development. It can be extremely hard to hear your child putting themself down with comments such as “I am stupid!” or "I can't do anything right!" In order to help build your child’s self-esteem, Big Life Journal offers this advice.
Whilst our immediate reaction can be to deny these negative statements, it can be more beneficial to empathise with them:
“I am sorry you feel this way. It must be very hard. I wish you could see yourself just like I do: beautiful, kind, loving, caring child…”
“I'm sorry to hear you feel that way. What makes you think that?”
Get them talking instead of telling them what they should be thinking and feeling - validate their feelings instead of pushing their negative feelings away.
What else can you do to build up your child's self-esteem?
Here are three creative, non-traditional ideas to affirm your child and boost their self-esteem.
- Play the Growth Mindset Pep Talk by children.
This growth mindset pep talk is especially great for children who are hard on themselves or fearing mistakes. The pep talk is FUN and it brings a BIG dose of encouragement, positivity, and inspiration! Play it for YOUR kids today and anytime they feel down, unmotivated, bored, or discouraged. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YISCPrOcOl0
- Be creative in affirming and encouraging.
Try something different next time and write affirmations and love messages to your child on post-it notes, bookmarks, etc. Remind them they're strong, brave, and capable.
- Create an uplifting environment.
Surround your children with uplifting and encouraging people, books, movies, and podcasts. Decorate their rooms with inspirational posters, tape encouraging messages to their bathroom mirror (or use a marker to write an inspiring quote every morning), create a positive family manifesto together.
Remember .... our words become their inner voice.
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
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
