Newsletter 19 March 2025
From the Principal
This week saw our Year 3 & 5 students complete their tests for NAPLAN. I want to congratulate our students on their work throughout this time. It was wonderful to see our students drawing on our Learning Behaviours, showing persistence, and trying their best.
Last Saturday was the annual Oakey Show. It was great to see families out supporting this great community event. Congratulations to all our students on their entries for the individual art pieces. It was great to see a number of students receiving recognition for their work.
Thanks to members of our school community for coming along to our first P&F Meet and Greet. The weather may have kept a few of you away, however there will be other opportunities throughout the year for families to link in with the P&F. One of the key messages that we spoke about was that there are many ways in which parents can be involved with the school and the P&F outside of formal meetings. One such example is through volunteering at the school and community events. Other avenues for involvement are also laid out in the St Monica's P&F Strategic Plan which was developed last year.
If you are interested and would like to know more, please reach out to one of our P&F executive members or myself.
President – Stephen Martin – Year 4 parent
Vice President – Amy Phillips – Year 3 & 6 Parent
Secretary – Lauren Mahoney – Year 3 Parent
Treasurer – Ben Johns – Year 1, 3 & 5 Parent
I’d also like to thank our 2025 executive for taking on these roles for another year. There were many things to be proud of last year and I thank the executive and our regular members for their ongoing support and commitment to the school. I encourage to please read the P&F Presidents report, which highlights a number of these successes.
From the APM&I
Project Compassion 2025
Now in the third week of Lent, we continue to raise money for Project Compassion 2025 to ‘Unite Against Poverty’. Our Year 6 Good Samaritan leaders today began our next fundraiser - “Hoops of Hope”. For $2, on Wednesday and Thursday this week and next week, all students from Prep to Year 6 are invited to shoot 3 hoops. A successful hoop in receives a lucky dip prize, with a grand prize per year level for the longest hoop shot. There is also a staff and parents division occurring tomorrow afternoon in the hall. Students can enter as many times as they like, with all proceeds going to Project Compassion.
Lots of Socks 2025, Friday March 21
This Friday, March 21, is World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD). It is a day of global awareness which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. On this day, students will learn more about Down Syndrome and celebrate what people with Down Syndrome bring to our community.
In recognition of this day, students will participate in the ‘Lots of Socks’ Campaign. We ask that students wear their brightest, most colourful socks to school and bring along a gold coin donation. All funds raised go towards local Down Syndrome associations to continue their work supporting and empowering people with Down Syndrome to have full access to social and economic inclusion.
Harmony Day, Friday March 21
Friday, March 21, is also Harmony Day. Harmony Day is a day to celebrate Australia's cultural diversity and promote respect and understanding between Australians. It coincides with the United Nations' International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
On this day we wear orange. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect. By choosing to wear orange on Harmony Day, we show our support for cultural diversity and an inclusive Australia. In the lead up to this day, it may also be beneficial to talk to your children about your own family ancestry.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Beginning next week (Week 9), all classroom teachers will be conducting parent-teacher interviews. This is an opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher and discuss your child’s achievements, progress and areas for development. Please ensure you book your interview time via the Parent Portal of Sentral. It is in effective parent/teacher relationships that our students will thrive both academically and socially.
End of Term 1 Mass
On Thursday the 3rd of April, students will attend Mass to give thanks for the wonderful term we have had together, and to recognise the commemoration of St Benedict, for who our founding Sisters, the Sisters of The Good Samaritan, base their values. All parents are warmly welcome to attend. Students who have completed the Sacramental program in previous years are also invited to stay after Mass for Reconciliation
Holy Week School Prayer Celebration
As we are approaching the end of Lent, we turn our hearts and minds to the most important week in the Church’s year, Holy Week. Holy Week commemorates Jesus’ last week on earth and the events leading up to His resurrection on Easter Sunday. Our Holy Week Prayer Celebration is on the last Friday of Term 1 – Friday the 4th of April at 9:00am in the hall. All families are warmly invited to attend.
ICAS COMPETITION 2025
St Monica’s School, Oakey, is once again participating in ICAS 2025! ICAS gives your child the chance to shine in an internationally-recognised gold standard academic competition that inspires, celebrates and challenges 10 million+ students across the world. These tests also allow you to compare your child’s academic abilities against other students across the nation. The tests are fully online and sat at school in Term 3. To enter your child, register them at shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps. The school access code is BKG947. Then return the form that was sent home earlier this week.
From the Classrooms
Prep
We are having so much fun in Prep we have hardly noticed the term whizzing by! Week 8 already!
This week students have participated in activities to commemorate Saint Patrick’s Day and Saint Joseph’s Day. Now that we are in the third week of Lent, we are continuing to support those in need as part of our Alms Giving. On Wednesday and Thursday, for a small donation we are invited to shoot 3 hoops in our Hoops of Hope Project Compassion fundraiser.
On Wednesday, is also International Read to Me Day. A special thank you to Mrs. Tindal who read a wonderful story about ducks for us.
We look forward to catching up with everyone next week for Parent / Teacher interviews.
Looking forward to an exciting few weeks before the end of term!
Year 1
In English, we began writing and illustrating our stories this fortnight in the Year One classroom. Just like Alison Lester, we have created illustrations and character descriptions. We are so excited to share these with you during parent teacher interviews!
In Maths, we have continued to learn about reading, writing and representing 2-digit numbers. This week we continued to work on our skip counting skills, practising counting in 2s, 5s and 10s.
Year 2
I can’t believe how quickly this term has flown by! The Year 2’s have been doing some amazing hard work and this is evident in their learning so far!
In English, we have been continuing learning about narratives. Last week we focused on settings and how to use noun groups to describe different settings. This week we are going to start our assessment and come up with an idea for our narratives. We have also been doing some reading tests and I am so impressed with how much the Year 2’s have improved since last year!
In Maths, we have been learning all about calendars. We have revisited seasons, months and days of the week and now we are focusing on the structure of a calendar and how to read them.
In Religion, we have been learning all about our creation stories from the bible. This links in well with our Science/HaSS unit as we are learning how to be sustainable and look after the earth.
Year 3
The Year 3 students demonstrated outstanding effort and dedication in their recent NAPLAN testing. Their hard work and perseverance was evident, and I couldn't be prouder of their efforts. Each student approached the tests with a positive attitude and gave their best, showcasing their growing skills and knowledge.
Reminder: Year 3 will be presenting at the assembly this Friday. We look forward to seeing you there as they share about what it means to have persistence!
Year 4
Throughout the term, we have been reading ‘The Twit’s’ by Roald Dahl. The students are now becoming authors and writing their own chapter of the book, in the same style as Roald Dahl. We have been investigating sentence structure, language features and the structure of a narrative leading up to this task. I am looking forward to reading the final draft of their extra chapter.
There is only a couple of more weeks left until Easter. We are 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.
I look forward to meeting with you and discussing your child’s progress at our parent teacher interviews next week. Please book in if you haven’t yet done so.
Thank you.
God Bless
Year 5M
It has been a busy couple of weeks in 5M! Last week, we presented an assembly on organisation, where we introduced the school to "Oscar Organised" and shared tips on how to stay organised at school. We have also been working diligently on our NAPLAN tests.
A gentle reminder: Please ensure that permission forms for the Year 5 field trip to Highfield Pioneer Village on March 27th are completed and returned to the office as soon as possible.
This week, our focus has been on assessments. To support students' learning, please make sure they are getting plenty of sleep and eating healthy, brain-boosting food. Thank you for your continued support!
Year 5R
Year 6
The Year 6 class creates some amazing and engaging quick writes. Each week, it is nearly impossible to choose one Writer of the Week!
From Music
Wanted: Committed and enthusiastic students in year 4, 5 & 6 who would like to join our School Choir!
New recruits are currently welcome!!
Choir rehearses each Thursday at Big Lunch in the Music Room.
Mrs Hughes & Mrs Malone would love to see some new faces.
Library
We have been so busy in library lessons! Students in years 3-6 continue to develop their skills in research, using Accessit to find physical resources and Encyclopedia Britannica for other information. EB is a subscription, so students have to log in to accessit to use it. The link to Accessit is here. Students may find they need to log in at home. They do this by using their school username (OAKxxxxxxx), then @twb.catholic.edu.au, then they will use their school password. Please bookmark the page so it is easier to find. This is also how students access to ClickView. They reach it by clicking on the link on the home dashboard of Accessit. Students have been shown where this is located. It would be great if these were made use of at home as they are fabulous resources.
Students in the lower years are developing their knowledge of nonfiction texts, and how to use the library collections. We are learning about contents pages, indexes, glossaries, titles, subheadings, fact boxes and other parts of the text that will help students understand how nonfiction texts work.
Sports News
Be Well at St Monica's
From the P&F
Term 1 Special Lunch - We are still looking for 2 parents of students from years 5 or 6 to assist with the special lunch on Friday 4th April. This will be a fundraiser for the year 5/6 school camp. If you can help out, please put your name down at the school office.
2nd Hand Uniform Shop - If you are looking for extra uniforms at an affordable price, please visit our 2nd hand uniform shop located at our after-school care facility. Additionally, if you have any uniforms that students have outgrown, we welcome any donations. Currently we are quite low on formal dresses and winter items. Your donations are greatly appreciated.
Uniforms
School uniforms are now available at School Locker online theschoollocker.com.au
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, Wednesday & 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 - Tuesday 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, Wednesday & 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 - Tuesday & 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.
Mini Monnie's Playgroup
Outside School Hours Care
St Monica's were this year's winner of the Oakey Show Society Best School Display.
A huge congratulations to everyone at Outside School Hours Care who helped make this possible! Congratulations!!
Community News
