Term 3 Week 6

What an amazingly busy but fun last two weeks we have had! We started with Book Week on Monday 14 August, and it was just a joy to see so many students come to school as one of their favourite book characters. I have always loved Book Week and over the years have accumulated a wide range of costumes. Each year since 1945 the Children’s Book Council of Australia has brought children and books together across Australia through Book Week. Over the years it has become more widespread, but the message has remained constant – the joy of reading or being read to. Whilst my children are adults now, I still remember with fondness reading to them before bedtime each night. My husband Max would make it far more exciting than me, but the enjoyment of a good story has stayed with them throughout the years, and they still love their reading. Each year they wonder what costume I will wear for the parade.

Not only was it Book Week parade day but we also celebrated Italian Day with activities celebrating the magnificent language and culture of Italy. The gelato that was provided by Marcus Nardone (old scholar) from Gelato Bello was molto delizioso! Thank you for your support of our community and thank you Mrs Eden for overseeing our celebrations. 

Learning Expo

Last week we opened our doors to so many families and friends for an exciting Learning Expo on Wednesday afternoon. Guests were invited to complete a passport as they moved through each space to see and experience the learning that occurs daily at St Monica’s. Our student hosts were very proud to explain their work and encourage the visitors to experience how to code a Sphero or Bee Bot or use Scratch, a coding program or discover more about maths tasks or dabble in the Italian language and culture or discover how we use enquiry-based tasks to research more about a topic that a student is interested in. The musical performances at the back of the library were certainly a high light and very popular with the audiences. I am so proud of the student hosts who spoke with enthusiasm and confidence. If you have any feedback that you would like to provide to us, please send an email to me or touch base with me at the back gate. The winner of the completed Passport draw was Elodie and Harrison E. Congratulations and hope you enjoy the movies!

St Monica’s Feast Day and Fair

We had such a great day celebrating St Monica on her Feast Day.  We were part of a special mass with Fr Justin and Deacon Andrew.  This was followed by the St Monica's fair where students ran stalls selling all sorts of fun things!  We had crazy pencils, books, grass heads, pet rocks, key chains, handball competitions and many delicious food/ice-cream/drink stalls expertly run by the Year 6 students. We made nearly $1700 for the Mary MacKillop Foundation.  

Front of School Development

As you will have noticed our front of school playground reimagining has begun. The children have been fascinated watching the landscapers take the old one down methodically and have shown great concern about what is happening to the old equipment especially the green (ish) frog. The other big wondering is will there be monkey bars in the new playground. The answer is yes. The new fit out will take the remainder of the term and during the next school holidays the front entrance will be modified too. I will keep the community informed about any changes of entrances as required and we will make regular posts on our socials to show you our progress.

Living Learning Leading Survey

At the start of this term, I invited all families to contribute to the Living Learning Leading survey from Catholic Education Office. The data from this survey provides us with important information about how the families think St Monica’s is going. What are our celebrations? What are the areas for improvement? The first year we participated in this survey, 17 families responded. Last year there were 24 families and this year I am proud to announce that 40 families contributed to the survey. A new record. As a thank you for your time, you were encouraged to take a screen shot of the completed survey page and send it to us for a thank you raffle. The winner of the raffle was Cindy Rajcic and she will soon be receiving her movie voucher.  Congratulations and thank you for your time and input. Next year, my goal is 60 families!

Tournament of Minds (TOM)

Congratulations to the following students who were selected in this year's TOM team! 

Adela, Annabelle, Gabriel (Year 6), Aria, Brielle, Charlotte, Zara (Year 5)

We wish them all the very best with at the competition on Sunday 10 September at Adelaide High School.

Little Lightbulbs Breakfast - Olivia Savvas MP

On Thursday we welcomed back an old scholar, Olivia Savvas who spoke to us about her journey from St Monica's to becoming a Member of Parliament (Member for Newland).  We loved hearing her story of resilience and determination and we are very proud of her!

Student Led Learning Conversations

Please be aware that our Student Led Learning Conversations will be held in Week 8 of this term. I will be sending home a letter to help explain the process of these conversations and there will also be a video to help support parents and carers. Bookings will be soon released.

Finally, I would like to wish all the Dads, Grandads and father like figures a very Happy Father’s Day on Sunday. When I think back on what some of my favourite memories of time spent with my Dad, it would have to be our story time together when I was young. I think my love of reading has certainly come from him. Enjoy your day and hope that you have some lovely time just to relax.

God’s blessings,

Emily Sayer

Principal

Congratulations to the students who celebrated their First Holy Communion over the last few weekends. This weekend all students and families who were involved in this year’s Sacramental Program are invited to Mass to celebrate the completion of their Sacraments of Initiation and receive a small memento from the parish. Mass times are:

Saturday 2^nd Sept, 6pm St Monica's Church OR Sunday 3^rd Sept, 9.30am St Martin's Church.

Scholastic Book Club

Thank you for your support of the Scholastic Book Club which enables us to purchase extra resources for the Classrooms and Library.

Overdue Library Books and Readers– a friendly reminder

Please check at home for any overdue library books and return them as soon as possible.

2023 Premier’s Reading and Premier’s be active Challenges

Congratulations to the students who have already completed this year’s Challenge. The 2023 Challenges conclude on Friday 8th September 2023. Please send all completed forms to the Library. The Certificates and Medals will be sent to the school in November.

2023 Book of the Year Award Winners

Below are Book of the Year Award and Honour Book winners. We have copies of these for loan in the library.

Younger Readers

Winner – Runt by Craig Silvey. Honour Books – Evie and Rhino by Neridah McMullin and The Raven’ Song by Zana Fraillon.

Early Childhood

Winner – Where the Lyrebird Lives by Vikki Conley. Honour Books - Bev and Kev by Katrina Germein and Snap! by Anna Walker

Picture Book of the Year

This category is for outstanding books of the Picture Book genre in which the author and illustrator achieve artistic and literary unity or, in wordless picture books, where the story, theme or concept is unified through illustrations. Ages 0-18 years (NB. Some of these books may be for mature readers).

Winner – My Strange Shrinking Parents by Zeno Sworder. Honour Books – Dirt by Sea by Tom Jellett and Paradise Sands: A Story of Enchantment by Levi Pinold.

Eve Pownall Award – Non-fiction

Winner – DEEP: Dive into Hidden Worlds by Jess McGeachin. Honour Books – Come Together: Things Every Ausie Kid Should Know about the First Peoples by Isaiah Firebrace and Wild Australian Life by Leonard Cronin.

School uniforms are worn to represent community but also equality. We aim to work with all families to ensure that the correct school uniform is worn by all students. We recognise that at times, there may be some unavoidable challenges, and in these cases, we ask you to be in communication with your child(s) teacher. For further information in regard to the school's uniform policy please refer to our website. We thank you for your support with this matter. 

Regards

Emily and Bronwyn

The parent community has established a private group on Facebook that facilitates the trading of second-hand uniform items.

Please visit www.facebook.com/groups/stmonicasbuyswapsell and request to join the group if you are interested.

The page is ideal for selling items in good condition that your child has outgrown, or to sell items if your child is moving on. Simply post images and your contact details. Alternatively, you can join the group to take advantage of the pre-loved items that become available.

For those of you who are not on Facebook, please contact the P&F pandf.stmonicas@gmail.com and they will assist you with the sale of items.

Please note the sale of old-style uniform items is not allowed. St Monica's Parish School does not manage this page and takes no responsibility for any private sales.

We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the land upon which St Monica’s learn, work and play.

May we walk gently on this land acknowledging the Kaurna people's deep spiritual connection with their country.

We pay our respects to Kaurna elders past and present and commit to the ongoing journey of Reconciliation.