Newsletter 10th May 2023
Enrolment Information Evening
From the Principal
Dear Families,
The past two weeks at St Monica’s have been filled with learning and cultural opportunities for our students. It is a real please to walk around classrooms and see children demonstrating patience and persistence as they attempt new tasks. Amazing artwork is being created in visual arts, verse speaking has come alive in years 4 to 6 and children are developing their athletics skills in preparation for the school athletics carnival in week 8!
This past week, I have been completing enrolments for next year’s Prep class. One of the questions I ask families is why they have chosen St Monica’s School? The answers from parents are very much about what they’ve heard from other parents regarding the positive school culture, the excellent teachers and how much learning happens here for every student. While listening to families I am reminded of one of the very important purposes of a Catholic school today. And that is how we meet the dignity of every child through their learning, how we treat each other and how we respect those around us.
On Tuesday night, we welcomed families to the school for a Parent Information Evening. Enrolments across the school are growing for 2024. If you know of families wishing to be a part of our vibrant learning community next year, please ask them to contact us or visit the school website for an enrolment application.
And finally, I would like to wish our mother’s and important care givers, a very wonderful Mother’s Day. We are reminded through the actions of Mary, the mother of Jesus, of the importance a mother- her patience, understanding and constant love. I hope that this Sunday, you are very much appreciated by your family.
From the APRE
Mother’s Day
With joyful love and gratitude, we celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday. We honour our mothers, and all who are like mothers to us. Through the love they show, the way they nurture and care for us, mothers help us to understand God’s love.
A Mother’s Day Prayer
Loving and faithful God,
We thank you for our mothers and the women who show us the way to you.
They nurture us, care for us and love us just as you do.
We place our mothers in your tender care
and ask you to help us to support them when they are weary,
to show them compassion and kindness when they need it,
and to show them constant love and gratitude.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.
Amen
P&F Mother’s Day Stall
A reminder that this Friday is the P&F Mother’s Day stall. Each class will be taken to the Parish Hall to purchase their items. All gifts are $5 each.
Be a Preppie for a Morning
On Monday and Friday of Week 6, children who are eligible for Prep in 2024 are invited to partake in our fun and exciting ‘Be a Prep for a morning’ sessions. They run from 9am to 11am in the Prep Classroom and Playground. All are welcome to attend.
Family Mass
This term, Family Mass will be held on Sunday the 11th of June at 8:00am. During this Mass, children in Sacramental program will receive First Holy Communion (Eucharist). All are warmly invited to attend.
From the Classrooms
Prep
This Friday we have the pleasure of honouring all the amazing women in our lives through the presentation of our Mother's Day assembly. The students have been working extremely hard to ensure all the mums know just how special they are.
In English, the Preppies have continued to explore the letters, and the most common sounds they represent. We are continuing to work on our handwriting, each and every day.
In Math's we are explore numbers to 10, focusing on how to write and represent them.
Looking forward to another wonderful fortnight in Prep.
Year 1
This fortnight in the Year One classroom, we have been creating patterns using objects and numbers during Maths. The students have enjoyed challenging themselves to create unique patterns for their peers to explore.
Last week, We went on our Listening Walk as part of our English unit and will share our experiences by planning and writing our recounts.
I want to thank you again for your help with collecting information for our HASS assessment this term. I look forward to the students sharing their journals in the coming weeks.
Year 2
Year Two have continued to explore places in the world. They have been learning about the 7 continents and have begun to build knowledge of these areas. Using their family history information, students worked together to find where their family originates from and how this may be the same or different to others in the class.
In Maths, students have been learning about positional terms to help interpret simple maps. We hope to use this knowledge in our HaSS lessons to better understand where places are in the world and describe this to others.
Year 3
Students are continuing to learn about the text structure and purpose of fables. They are locating key words, sequencing events, and comparing information during reading group activities.
During Mathematics students have been identifying categorical and numerical data collections questions and using tables to record various data information.
Our You Can Do it lessons are focused on ‘Getting Along Thinking’ such as, accepting everyone, following the rules and thinking first.
I would like to wish all our wonderful mums a Happy Mother's Day; may your day be filled with lots of love and laughter.
Year 4/5 AQ
Welcome to our first full week of Term 2!
In Year 4/5 AQ we have been engaging in a number of exciting activities, including a Step into Stories workshop from Gus Gordon on Monday morning. The students were so inspired by Gus’ work that they created their own short stories accompanied by beautiful illustrations. We look forward to another engaging presentation by Lucinda Gifford later on in the week.
A reminder that homework is due on Friday and Library books need to be returned every Wednesday.
Year 4/5 B
Term 2 is flying by and here we are in Week 4 already. This week we have been very fortunate to participate in 'Step into Stories', a wonderful opportunity that enables us to engage with published authors. The students are excited to be taking part in another session tomorrow. In Science, we have been exploring adaptations, firstly, looking at humans' adaptations over the years. We conducted an experiment to determine the importance of having opposable thumbs and discovered how much more difficult it is to do simple activities without them. I have been assessing reading comprehension and it is very pleasing to see the growth demonstrated by our students.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our wonderful mums a very Happy Mother's Day for Sunday. Thank you for everything you do!
Year 4/5 M
Welcome to Week 4.
I was very proud to hear that the 4/5M class behaviour while I was away was amazing! It is lovely to know that they can continue being diligent and focused students in my absence. The course I attended was very informative, and I look forward to implementing some of my learnings in the classroom. This week we are enjoying some Step into Stories sessions where real authors discuss their writing process and how books are created. Don't forget the Mother's Day stall on Friday and I hope that all the mothers have an enjoyable day on Sunday.
Have a great rest of the week.
Year 6
The Year 6 students have begun studying our class novel, Boy Overboard. They have been really enjoying engaging in the reading as a class and have participated in some fantastic conversations around human rights and character development.
Next week we have Julie Inskip from St Vincents de Paul visiting our class to present a one-hour workshop on inclusivity with an emphasis on refugees. This workshop links perfectly with our Boy Overboard unit and learning in HaSS, and is a fantastic opportunity for the students to make connections to real world experiences.
From the Library
From Music and Lote
Thank you to those year 4,5 & 6 students who nominated to be part of the St Monica’s Voice Speaking ensemble for the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office inaugural Arts Fest.
Mrs Rillie had the difficult task of choosing 25 students from across the 4 classes who demonstrated skills of articulation, projection and facial expressions. A note will go home in the near future with more details.
Mini Monnie's Playgroup
Be Well at St Monica's
Uniforms
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 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 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)
- School track top with embroidered crest (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 hat (Slouch hat style)
- 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 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)
- School Track top with embroidered crest (optional)
The uniform including the special school hat is available locally at Oakey Craft and Saddlery. If you are buying parts of the uniform elsewhere, please check that you are buying the correct style, colour, and material. 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.
NB: The school fleecy pullover must be worn first. The spray jacket may only be worn over the top of the pullover.
From the P&F
P & F Meetings
Thank to everyone who came to the monthly P & F meeting last week, it was a wonderful turn out!
The next P & F meeting will be the 1st June 2023, at 7-8.30pm in the school library, as always a warm welcome is extended to all of our school community who wish to join.
Tuckshop
The P & F is happy to announce Kylie McCormack was voted in at the last meeting as our new Tuckshop Convenor- welcome Kylie! Kylie is a parent at St Monica’s and a busy mum, she is looking forward to the convenor role and welcomes any feedback suggestions or help for the tuckshop, please reach out to Kylie through the main office or on the following email address, oakpandf@twb.catholic.edu.au
This week you will notice an addition to the menu, the much loved Chicken Wrap (Wrap, Chicken Tender, lettuce & mayo, optional Cheese, Carrot) makes a return this week.
In the coming weeks, there will be a 5 minute survey sent out through Sentral for parents and carers to have their say on changes to tuckshop’s menu, this will allow the P & F to better their menu for students.
The P & F would like to thank the following volunteers for their time in the tuckshop
- Week 4 - Gemma Roberts & Carmel Cooper
- Week 5 - Amanda Scheuerle & Fiona Martin
Mother’s Day Stall
The Mothers Day stall letter was sent home last week with students, a reminder of the following information is below. Thank you to the wonderful P & F volunteers for setting up and delivering the stall on Friday.
- Students will be taken in their class groups through the stall
- Each student has the opportunity to purchase two products from the stall, there is absolutely NO expectation that your student has to purchase anything from the stall
- Students will have the option to return at lunch time to purchase more items stock pending
- Each items in the stall is priced at $5
- The stall is CASH ONLY, if you would like your student to participate in the Mother’s Day Stall please
- All student purchases will be placed in a bag and put into their class basket for collection at the end of the day with teacher assistance
- All items sold in the stall are sourced from local Oakey Businesses, unfortunately Oakey SHS was unable to assist with supplying stock this year
- If you would like to be a part of the Stall or have any questions please get in touch with Meg 0423690197 or email oakpandf@twb.catholic.edu.au
A big thank you to the following businesses for their time and support of the Mothers Day stall
- KP Naturals
- Miss B’s Bands
- Henry Lorrimer
- Little Aud
- Stitched Up
- The Bradford & The Mahony families
2023 St Monica’s P&F Race Day
As mentioned in the last newsletter, it is with great excitement that we can announce further details to our school community about the 2023 St Monica’s P&F Race Day. The committee welcomes any sponsorship enquiries at this stage, Meg 0423690197 or email oakpandf@twb.catholic.edu.au
- Race Day Event Saturday 7th October 4-11pm, Clifford Park Race Course Twmba
- General ticket sales will open second week of Term 3
- Tickets sales will be advertised to the St Monica’s Community first
- Limited tickets available
- More info to follow
- Please see the Save the Date Poster below
Clothing Pool
Please send Tricia Brownsey a text on 0408 675 945 and she will be able to let you know if what you require is available. Tricia is also happ to package up orders and leave them in the school office.
Please only text Tricia, as she has work commitments.