St Monica's Primary North Parramatta Newsletter

Dear Parents and Carers,

Holy Week reminds us of our calling to be active Christians in the way we lead our own lives.  If we are harbouring hurt within us, through the actions or words of another, Jesus’ actions can encourage us towards forgiveness and away from grudges and bitterness.  

Forgiveness is a decision to let go of resentment.  As we let go of hurt and resentment and don't allow them to define our life, we open ourselves to find compassion and understanding.  Slowly, we embrace forgiveness and begin once more to live a truly Christian life.  Jesus’ example to us on Good Friday clearly defines for us the extent of God’s forgiveness and the encouragement for us to do likewise in our own limited human way.   

Then, when Easter Sunday arrives, we can join in Psalm 117, saying, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad”. We can rejoice and be glad, because Jesus, through his humanity, has given us the opportunity of true resurrection. However, as the resurrected Jesus said to the once doubting Thomas, “You believe in me Thomas, because you have seen me; happy are those who have not seen me, but still believe.” (John 20:29).  That’s us.

Happy Easter!

Lisa Crampton
Principal

Congratulations to Mrs Lisa Crampton, Miss Jowelle Chahine and Miss Armani Barakat, who were Commissioned as a Beginning Principal and Beginning Teachers (postponed from 2020) at the Commissioning Mass held on Thursday 25 March.  Mass was celebrated by Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv at St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta.

We congratulate you all on this very special occasion!

Welcome to Miss Rachelle Atike who will join the Kindergarten team on Mondays and Tuesdays commencing in Term 2.   Thank you to Mrs Magdalene Skamvougeras who has been working with Kindergarten this year.

Our Staff Development Day for Term 2 will be held on Friday 4 June 2021 (Week 7). 

Students do not attend school on this day.

Kindergarten 2022 Enrolment Application packs are available from the school office. 
Enrolment Forms were due to be submitted by Wednesday 31 March 2021.

Kindly let your family and friends know that we are now accepting enrolments for Kindergarten next year.

Enrolment Forms may also be downloaded from our  website www.stmonicasparra.catholic.edu.au

Due to COVID-19 restrictions , completed Enrolment Applications, together with all supporting documentation, may be emailed to the school email address stmonicasnparra@parra.catholic.edu.au

Please note that the original Enrolment Application, together with original supporting documentation, will need to be submitted at a later date.

Families who have submitted an enrolment application will be contacted in Term 2. 

A big THANK YOU to our generous families for donating to our Fundraiser held on Monday 29th March. 

We raised an impressive $879 which will be sent to Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion appeal. 

Mr Andrew Baker
Religious Education Co-ordinator

On Monday 22 March (Week 9), St Monica’s students celebrated Harmony Day. Students were able to wear a touch of orange to show their support for our culturally diverse society.

This year’s theme was ‘Everyone Belongs’ and throughout the day teachers ran various activities including art, writing, friendship games and other activities. 

Students acknowledged the contributions of multicultural communities to Australian society. They took away knowledge of how various different cultures celebrate with many community festivals, local events, food, music and traditional dress.

Lauren Hartz
Leader of Learning 

We are requesting that parents PLEASE ensure that every child has their water bottle EVERY DAY. 

Many students are still attending the school office requesting cups of water each day.  

As the bubblers are not in use, it is most important that students bring at least one bottle of water each day so that they are not dehydrated.

NO glass bottles please.

Thank you in advance for your assistance. 

Parents are advised that the school is no longer able to accept cash. All payments to the school will now be accepted via the Qkr! app.

Introducing Qkr! (pronounced 'quicker') by Mastercard, the secure and easy way to order and pay for school items from your phone at a time and place that suits you.

Please follow the instructions carefully when downloading the Qkr! app.   

Parents are requested to download the Qkr! app in readiness for future Fundraising and other School Events.  Cash will no longer be accepted as payment.

Instructions to download the Qkr! app can be found here.

Thank you to those families who have paid their fees. If you have not yet paid your fees we ask you to do so as soon as possible otherwise you might receive a reminder letter from Head Office.

If you have paid your fees and receive a reminder letter, please inform Mrs Rebello in the school office. 

Any families who are experiencing financial difficulty are asked to please contact the school immediately so that a confidential meeting can be arranged with Mrs Crampton or Mrs Rebello.  

Mrs Lata Rebello
Senior Finance Officer

Morning Borrowing from 8.30am - 8.50am

Students who want to borrow will go upstairs with Mrs Davino at 8.30am.

Please encourage your children to come & visit the library (located at the back of Stage 3) during their class’s borrowing time.  

We have a great range of books to borrow and a “class bee” is given when books are borrowed and then another when it’s returned!

The St Monica’s message bag or a material/cloth bag can be used to protect borrowed books.

Mrs Rita Davino
Teachers' Assistant / Library Assistant

Each term we will be looking for the student in each class/stage who borrows & reads the most books from the library.

CONGRATULATIONS to these students who have been crowned our 2021 Term 1 'Bookworm of the Term':

These students will win a prize and have their name & face displayed on our Bookworm Farm in the Library!

Mrs Rita Davino
Teachers' Assistant / Library Assistant

 “We are SAFE, RESPECTFUL LEARNERS”

CLASS JARS
Students are continuing to work hard in class to earn "bees" from teachers acknowledging the appropriate behaviour they see. 

Each grade/stage is rewarded with a fun classroom game or an extra 5 minutes of play as soon as they fill their class jar with these green bees.

Students encourage each other to contribute to the class jar so a whole class reward can be enjoyed.

 Bees are given out freely and frequently so students can contribute to and enjoy a whole class reward often.

Bees can also be earned in the library when borrowing & returning books and even when students visit the office and display respectful behaviour.

The grade/stage is rewarded as soon as they fill the jar. 

Some of the class rewards that can be earned are:

• 5 minutes early playtime at lunch
• 5 minute game of Heads Down,Thumbs Up 
• 5 minutes free choice sport
• 5 minute game of 4 Corners/ Kahoot

PLAYGROUND CASES
Safe, respectful playground behaviour is also acknowledged with a white “bee” given out by teachers. 

Students place these bees into the class boxes in the playground which are then closely monitored by students to see who will be the next winner and what fun activity they will get to enjoy

Some great ideas for reward time might be - 

crazy sock day/jersey day/crazy hat day/class party/movie afternoon

CONGRATULATIONS to our recent winners of the Playground reward!

* Year 2  and   Stage 2

Mrs Rita Davino on behalf of the PBS4L Committee

Prayers are requested for members of our school community and for family members who are here and overseas, who are unwell at the moment.

There are a few families that especially need our prayers at this time.

NSW Health and CEDP have issued us with further guidelines and restrictions to ensure the health and safety of our students, staff and Community.

A standard email will be sent to all families who have children absent from school. 

If your child is absent from school, one of the following must be done BEFORE they may return to school: 

If they displayed flu-like symptoms during their absence or were sent home with flu-like symptoms:

● Return a negative COVID-19 test and be symptom free.   Provide us with a copy of the NSW Health or COVID-19 Testing Centre correspondence (e.g. SMS screenshot or email).

If they were suffering from a medical condition without flu-like symptoms:

● Provide us with a Medical Certificate or Letter from a Medical Practitioner, clearly detailing medical condition and clearance to return to school.

If they were absent due to a non-medical reason:

● Provide us with a detailed description of the absence.

If they were absent due to ongoing medical symptoms: 

• In circumstances where children have other medical reasons for recurring symptoms, a letter from their treating doctor is sufficient to negate the requirement for a negative COVID-19 test. 

Thank you for your support and understanding as we continue to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our community.

We remind students that there is NO SHARING OF FOOD at St Monica's. 
Parents are requested to please send only healthy food options for your children to eat at recess and lunch. 

Chocolates, lollies and lollipops are treats for home and should not be sent to school.

Thank you for your support. 

Parents are reminded that morning supervision commences at 8:20am. 
Students ARE NOT supervised before this time.
It has been noticed that a number of students have been arriving at school well before 8:20am. 

If you need your child/ren supervised before this time, please contact COSHC.  (Details below)

Phone: 0429 990 179
Email:  COSHCStMonicasParra@parra.catholic.edu.au  
Morning 6:45am to 8:45am            Afternoon 3:00pm to 6:30pm

To keep informed of upcoming events, parents may subscribe to the School Google calendar.  The Google calendar will be the primary source of information about school dates in the future.

Go to our School Website and scroll to the bottom of the calendar.

Click  “subscribe" near Parent Calendar.

Please ensure that every item of your child's clothing, lunch boxes and drink bottles etc have a clearly marked name label.

It is easy to return items that are clearly marked with a child’s name. 

We thank you in advance for your support. 

Dear Parents/Carers 

All Volunteers/Contractors who now visit St Monica's School must have a BCSC number before they will be allowed to enter the school grounds.

In Catholic Education Diocese Parramatta (CEDP), we see parents and carers as partners in your child's learning journey. Parents and carers are encouraged to become involved in our schools in many important ways such as supporting classroom learning, being part of advisory groups, mentoring programs, coaching sporting teams and supporting other extra-curricular activities, canteen support and other kinds of help.

Please see the link below for more details.

CEDP has launched a new Building Child Safe Communities form and online training module that all volunteers/contractors are required to complete. 

ALL Volunteers/Contractors  will require a  BCSC status that is APPROVED to provide services to our school.

• You must provide your BCSC number to the school prior to assisting at an event. (Please forward the automated email to the school email address stmonicasnparra@parra.catholic.edu.au or provide a hard copy)
• No Volunteer/Contractors (parents included) will be granted permission to assist with a school event without a valid BCSC number. 

Oz Fashions supply all our student uniform requirements. 

115-127 Parramatta Road, Granville  (Corner of Parramatta Road and Good Street)

Phone:  9897 3121         Fax: 9897 3222

Email:  mail@ozfashions.com.au

Website:  www.ozfashions.com.au

Opening Hours

Monday—Friday 9:00am-5:30pm

Saturday 9:00am-4:00pm

Sunday CLOSED