St Monica's Primary North Parramatta Newsletter

Term 2, Week 6 - 4 June 2020

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

What a fabulous Parent Involvement Committee last night!  We had lots of parents participate and contribute to decisions around Fun Food Days, Fundraising, Kiss ‘n’ Ride safety and parents provided some great feedback on remote learning.  Thank you so much for those who could attend - it was lovely to see so many St Monica’s parents want to be involved in our school.  We will continue to use Zoom for our committee meetings to enable as many parents as possible to attend.

Last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday, 50 days after Easter Sunday, recognising the birth of our Catholic Church.  The Holy Spirit came to the disciples on Pentecost and filled them with courage and faith, empowering them to share the Good News with others.  

The gifts of the Holy Spirit have been in action here at St Monica’s this week.  

  • Our Stage 3 students have shown fortitude, or courage, as they have looked within themselves to be responsible leaders within our community.

  • Our teachers have demonstrated knowledge, as they have differentiated lessons, adapted their teaching to suit all students and continued to use assessment to guide their teaching.

  • Our Leadership Team have shown wisdom, as they make decisions, always in the best interests of our students at St Monica’s.

  • Our parent community have shown understanding, as they acknowledge the successes and sometimes challenges of remote learning and work together to make decisions for our students.

  • Our school community showed reverence, as we gathered in our spaces to reflect on Pentecost Sunday, where the disciples received these gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The children have settled back into learning seamlessly and teachers are reporting students’ increased engagement and renewed enthusiasm for learning.  The upcoming long weekend is a time for us to rest and rejuvenate for the last four weeks of term.  

May the Holy Spirit be with you.


Lisa Howell
Principal

 

School Starting time

School start time is 8:50 am.  Gates will be closed after the morning bell. Students arriving after 8:50 am will need to be signed in at the office via Daking Street.   

Work Health and Safety at St Monica’s

At St Monica’s, as in all schools and workplaces we follow specific processes to keep our school safe for all students, staff, community and visitors.

Our WHS committee this year includes all staff members. We are all responsible for monitoring and reporting any issues that may impede the safety of the members and visitors to our community. WHS is addressed every week at our Briefing meeting on Tuesday mornings. Items that need attention are recorded in our minutes and reported for attention and maintenance. Issues that need attention are recorded and addressed immediately by the appropriate staff member or contractor.

Yesterday we were involved in an external WHS audit which was an excellent opportunity to take a closer look at what we have in place in regard to WHS and any areas that could be improved. The external auditor onsite was from Minerva Consulting Group. Their experienced professionals are qualified in health, safety, scientific, engineering and educational disciplines and have been working in safety for many years; they are qualified, certified, highly trained and sought after for their expertise and knowledge.

Following yesterday’s audit, we will receive a WHS Action Plan in the coming weeks which will address our first , second and third priorities. We will then work together and with CEDP personnel to attend to any items. This will ensure that all members of our community and visitors are as safe as possible when on the premises of our school.

Mary-Anne Stenning
Assistant Principal

PBS4L

At St Monica’s, we are safe, respectful learners. 

This week, we launched our Bee Boxes on the playground!  Students earn “bees” for demonstrating safe and respectful behaviour on our playground.  Examples include inviting someone else to play in your game, taking turns with equipment, looking after our environment by putting rubbish in the bin, lining up quickly, quietly and safely and being a good sport in a game.

When the Bee Boxes are filled up to the line, the grade or stage receives a reward!  Rewards are chosen by the students and may include wearing crazy socks, having extra play time on the playground, playing a game or watching a movie!  

Numeracy

This week in Numeracy, St Monica’s have shown some amazing problem-solving and creative thinking. We have had an amazing attitude towards learning within all stages to continue the return to teaching and learning after such an interesting time away. We know this will continue as our teachers continue to incorporate more fun activities that help the children develop these skills. 

Lauren Hartz
Leader of Learning

Numeracy at St Monica's

Merit Awards

Congratulations to the following students who have recently received Merit Awards.

ES1Aarna Jagasia and Will Michael
Year 1Kyra Adlakha, Koey Mwangi, Isla Siemsen, Alexandra Corin, Olive Duffy
Year 2Abigail Corera and Skylar Noronha
Stage 2Onur James Unver, Isabella Younes, Juo Choi, Maan Patel
Stage 3L'lysse Puyat, John Sadek, Riana Arredondo, Charbel Sadek

St Monica's Lifesavers

This term, in Stage 3, we have put into place a positive initiative called the St. Monica’s Lifesavers. The purpose of this initiative is to help develop our Stage 3 students’ leadership and discipleship skills whilst providing our younger children with peer support on the playground. Our Lifesavers also assist with jobs such as setting up technology for our infants’ classes, library borrowing and returns and creating games for the younger children whilst providing peer support on the playground. 

We are extremely proud of the students that have been our Lifesavers this week as they have taken on their roles with enthusiasm and dedication. 

We would like to thank Tiara, Parmida, Charbel, Liam, Kenzh, John, Ashleigh, Jessica, Kristian, Nathan, Michael, Max, Theresa, Sara, Lola, L’Lysse, Maureen, Sanoy, Peter, Menuk, Simon and Manson. 

Therese Coutinho and Lauren Hartz

Religious Education Coordinator and Leader of Learning

Meet some of our Week 6 St Monica's Lifesavers!

Public Holiday

A reminder that Monday 8 June 2020 (Week 7) is a Public Holiday.  Students do not attend school on this day. 

Welcomeasy Winter Menu

Welcomeasy's new Winter Menu is now available. 

Parents can order student lunches online.  Lunches are delivered to school each  day.

 

Kiss ‘n’ Ride

Kiss ‘n’ Ride

Our students’ safety is our priority.  Please follow these procedures to ensure all students are safe in the morning and the afternoon.


MORNING 8:20 - 8:50am

  • There are 2 gates open in the morning - the hall gate and the playground gate.  2 cars can drop off children at the one time - one at each gate.  If you are the first car (at the hall gate), please move forward so that the 2nd vehicle can approach the playground gate.

  • Students are to exit out of the vehicle on the driver’s side ONLY.

  • Parents ARE NOT to get out of their car.  If your child is unable to get themselves out of the car with their bag, please park.

  • An extra staff member will be on duty each morning from 8:30am to monitor this procedure from Monday.

AFTERNOON 3:00 - 3:30pm

  • From Monday, we will revert back to Kiss ‘n’ Ride commencing at 3:00pm for all students.  I strongly encourage parents to delay their pick up times to reduce traffic on Daking Street.  If too many people arrive at 3pm and the traffic is considered unsafe, we will need to consider other options once again.  

  • Parents and students are directed to Bay 1, 2 or 3.  Please do not move from your bay until the car/s in front have moved off.

  • Students are to enter the vehicle on the driver’s side ONLY.

  • Parents ARE NOT to get out of their car.  If your child is unable to get themselves in the car with their bag, please park.

Thank you to the majority of parents who continue to adhere to these safety procedures.

Reporting

At St Monica’s, we believe that you, the parents and carers of our students, have made a significant contribution to your child’s learning this year and as such, are taking the opportunity to involve you in the reporting process for your child.  Flexibility in this process for Semester 1, 2020 has been provided by the Minister for Education.  However, this opportunity is one in which we anticipate will continue at St Monica’s in 2021 and beyond.

Assessment and reporting at St Monica’s in 2020 is a year-long, collaborative approach, where all major stakeholders are involved:

· In Term One, we established learning goals with every student.  

· In Term Two, we will invite parents to participate in a Progress Learning Conference (via Zoom) with their child and their child’s teacher.  This conference will include students demonstrating evidence of learning, and teachers and parents collaborating to report on progress in Religion, English and Mathematics.  New and/or revised learning goals will be established for every student.  As grades, comparative data and a written report are not a requirement for Semester 1, 2020, reporting will be via the collaborative conference only.  

· In Term Three, students will work with their teachers and parents to continue to meet their learning goals and regularly evaluate and co-construct new ones.  

· Finally, in Term Four, a cumulative written report will be prepared and distributed to students and their parents as an artefact of the year’s learning, including grades from A-E, comparative data and written comments.

The proposed changes to our reporting processes have been developed in consultation with our teachers and we will also be seeking parent feedback after the conclusion of the Progress Learning Conferences.  These conferences (via Zoom) will be held during Weeks 9 and 10 of Term Two with further details regarding times and bookings to be provided soon.

We look forward to meeting with you and continuing the sustainable learning partnerships between students, teachers and parents.

 

Communicating with Teachers

Now that we are teaching all day face-to-face and teachers are accessing their emails less frequently through the day, please contact the office via phone or email if there is anything urgent we need to know.  Please note that teachers may not read emails until the end of the day.  Thank you.

Staff Development Days

   Term 3    to be advised 

   Term 4    Thursday 17 December 2020
                    Friday 18 December 2020

 

2021 Kindergarten Enrolments

First Round Letters of Offer have now been emailed to parents who have submitted enrolment applications for children commencing ES1 in 2021. 

There are limited vacancies still available for all grades K-6.  ENROL NOW!

School Fees Relief

We understand that many families are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of loss of income. Please do not hesitate to contact us as there are many ways that we can provide support to families.

Fee Relief information and procedures to apply for Fee Relief can be accessed by clicking this link.

Alternatively you may contact Mrs Lata Rebello, School Finance Officer on 8832 4100 who will be able to assist you.   All conversations will remain strictly private and confidential.

Drink Bottles

A reminder that every student needs to bring a drink bottle to school every day.  Please label your child's drink bottle.

Due to the current guidelines, the bubblers will not be in use until further notice.   

NO GLASS BOTTLES PLEASE.

Fun Food Day

Thank you to the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) who will be organising our Fun Food Day on Friday 26th June (Week 9). More information will be provided closer to the date. 

2nd Hand Uniform Sale

2nd hand uniform sale will be held in the hall on Wednesday 10 June  and Wednesday 17 June from 8:30 - 9:00am and 2:30 - 3:15pm.

Social distancing procedures for adults apply.

Uniform Supplier - Oz Fashions

All school clothing requirements are available for purchase through Oz Fashions  

 Oz Fashions location:   115-127 Parramatta Road, Granville                           Phone:  9897 3121

 Opening Hours:        Monday-Friday   9:00am - 5:30pm                         Saturday  9:00am - 4:00pm

 Parking is available on site.              http://www.ozfashions.com.au

Year 6 Farewell Committee Meeting

    Year 6 Farewell Committee - please email the school (stmonicasnparra@parra.catholic.edu.au) if you are interested in attending and we will send you the zoom link. 
    Wednesday 24 June (Week 9) at 6:30pm via Zoom.

    Family Habits during COVID-19

    The Healthy Children’s team in your Local Health District (NSW Health) would like information about the health habits of Western Sydney families with children aged 0-12 years during COVID-19. This will help us plan to better support Western Sydney families in the future.We want to ask families some questions like “have you been eating more or less, have you been more active than usual or less? Have you been cooking more or getting more take-away?” 

    The SkoolBag app is the easiest way keep up with school events, last minute notices, newsletters and all school communications.