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Newsletter 20th November 2014 Week 7 Term 4
75 Lorrimer Street Oakey 4401
Ph: 0746911067
Fax: 0746911416
Email: oakey@twb.catholic.edu.au
Year 6 & 7 Camp
I learnt lots of new things on the beach, and I also made lots of new friends
in year 6. (Elizabeth)
Stand up paddle boarding and surfing was the
best. (Liam)
I gained mateship and I lost the fear of a shark
eating me when I am surfing. (Zane)
I loved the talent quest as we discovered hidden
talents in each other. (Cody)
I learnt to overcome my fears and just
have a go at it. (Jasmine)
On camp I learnt how to work as a team and share
experiences with all of my friends. (Kelly)
I loved learning how to surf and body board. (Lucy)
I loved tubing because
it made my
heart race.
(Morgan)
I think the food was awesome. (Jack)
I loved the food.
(Ava)
The experiences from camp have made us all grow mentally, and now we all
share fond memories of our time together. -Johannah
Year 6/7 Camp 2014
Last week the 6 & 7 students attended a 4 day camp to CYC Burleigh Heads. The students participated in activities
such as: Surf safety, body boarding, free swimming, stand up paddle boarding, raft building, surfing, canoeing, bush
walking, rock pool searching, tubing, movies, talent quests, sand castle competitions and much more. The students
are to be commended on their outstanding behaviour and enthusiasm and involvement through the entire camp.
The students have created statements to describe their time at camp.
I gained mateship and I lost the fear of a shark eating me when I am surfing. (Zane)
I learnt lots of new thing on the beach, and I also made lots of new friends in year 6. (Elizabeth)
During camp, I learnt to enjoy what I had, and to admire it while I got an opportunity to have so much fun.
(Fletcher)
It was great to have some good experience, and the memories that never can escape. (Joseph)
I learnt to overcome my fears and just have a go at it. (Jasmine)
I learnt more about team work, courage, fairness, enthusiasm and helpfulness, and I realised there was not 1 activity we did that only involved 1 person. I really loved surfing the most but it was a great last year of camp ever. (Lily)
We all had fun and learnt a lot of things, one was working together. It was great fun. (Lynkon)
I learnt on camp that cooperating as a team gets the job done faster and better, and being able to listen to other
people’s ideas. (Isabelle)
On camp I learnt how to work as a team and share experiences with all of my friends. (Kelly)
The experiences from camp have made us all grow mentally, and now we all share fond memories of our time together. -Johannah
It was a great experience to be included in the year six’s groups and to get to know different people. (Julia)
I loved learning how to surf and having the experience of tubing. (Charntel)
Stand up paddle boarding and surfing was the best. (Liam)
Tubing was my favourite part. (Ethan)
My favourite thing about camp was surfing. (Kane)
I loved learning how to surf and body board.
(Lucy)
My favourite activities were tubing and body
boarding. (Ryan)
I really enjoyed tubing. (Nicole)
I loved the talent quest as we discovered hidden talents in each other. (Cody)
I loved tubing because it made my heart
race. (Morgan)
I loved the food. (Ava)
I think the food was awesome. (Jack)
Dear Students, Staff, Parents, Caregivers and Friends,
One of the first traits I noticed when coming here to St Monica’s was the welcoming atmosphere.; and I am not
alone in this. Many visiting and new staff comment on how welcoming this community is. This is particularly pleasing when you consider that a sense of community and hospitality are strong Good Samaritan values; and we are of
course a school that was founded by the Good Samaritan sisters. Another foundational tenet of the Good Sams is
that of love of Christ and neighbour; and this was definitely to the fore last week when the call for assistance went
out for one of our families who were in need. On behalf of the Densley familyI extend a very big THANK YOU for
the gifts and support offered. I know they were overwhelmed by the response and were very appreciative of everything that was done for them. Well done St Monica’s!
Another great trait that I have discovered since last year is that parents value a say in what happens here at school.
Once again we had a pleasing response to the survey sent home about the need for after school care. It seems that
after school care is not a priority for parents at this stage and so we will not be pursuing this service at this point in
time.
Have your children been any tidier at home this past week because there has been a definite improvement here at
school? Our quad area in particular is looking so much nicer with a lack of hats and jumpers lying around. They say
cleanliness is next to godliness – I don’t know if that is true but we’re trying it anyway.
With the holidays looming closer, and the fine weather looking to be a mainstay of this summer, no doubt the
skatepark will be a popular place to visit. It is great that so many youngsters are active over the holidays but lost
belongings can be an issue. Some volunteers who work with the police as a free community service will be visiting
St Monica’s on Friday November 28 to engrave names on personal items such as bikes, scooters, skateboards and
other wheeled wonders. Even mobile phones or ipods can be engraved. Students are asked to bring these items
along on that Friday. Electronic items will be stored in the office as usual until needed.
I won’t bombard you this week about upcoming events. I am trusting that you have heeded my earlier calls for
date claimers.
In closing I would like to wish our very special Mary Lambert a speedy recovery. She has been feeling under the
weather of late and I know the whole school community wish her well.
Until next week, each night before you go to bed, pray to God and be thankful for what you accomplished today.
Teresa Woolacott
Acting Principal
P&F Info:
Cookbook Orders:
The Cookbooks have arrived and are available for purchase from the school office for $20.
Tuckshop:
A new drink is available at the tuckshop. Crazy Lemon $1:50.
Cyclone ice blocks are no longer available for the rest of this term.
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APRE
Good Deeds Make Everyone’s Hearts Grow!
Last week, The Densley family were struck with heartbreak when their house burnt down. They
have been in everyone’s thoughts each and every day as they begin to rebuild their lives. The
generosity and kindness of so many of our families have been a comfort to the Densleys in such
a difficult time.
The small meeting room near the front office was overflowing with gifts from the school community and not just once—time and time again I’d walk in and find the room once again filled
with donations.
Belinda was so incredibly grateful for your generosity and has asked us to send you all a very big thank you. We are so blessed
to belong to such a supportive school community.
Family Mass and End of Year Mass
Next Saturday night Preps will lead us in a celebration of the last family Mass for the year. We will also
have a barbeque with the parish afterwards. It would be lovely to see you all there.
Also on the last day of school at 11.00am we will have our end of year school Mass in the hall. This will
be an opportunity to farewell departing staff and families, as well as have a final farewell for our graduating Grade 6’s and 7’s. Watch for our new addition known as a ‘clap out’ – a very special Mass not
to be missed!
Active After School
This week is our last week of AAS for the year, due to our musical being on next Thursday night. What a
great year we’ve had – netball, cricket, martial arts, hockey, soccer and many more sports! Thanks to all
the children, teachers and coaches who came along with their enthusiasm and energy on a Thursday
afternoon.
Some Happy News!
I’m an aunty for the very first time as of last Friday night. My sister had a beautiful baby girl named
Bronte, 7 pound 11 and 53cm. Cutest baby I’ve ever seen if I do say so myself.
Homework Centre
There will be no homework centre for the last two weeks of term. A huge thank you to Mrs Tyrie and all the staff who have
volunteered their time to help the children of our school.
Miss Nicarla Prentice Acting APRE
Booklists:
Booklists for 2015 have been distributed to students . If you wish to order from the Newsagency you can complete the Booklist order form and either drop the form into the Newsagency or the School office by Friday 21st November 2014.
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Prep CT:
I cannot believe that we are at the end of Week 7 already! This week the students have continued practising for the school
musical. The school musical will be on Thursday 27th November. We hope to see you all there. During Mathematics this week
we have used number lines to order numbers, identify numbers that come before and after and numbers in between. We
have also used these number lines to practising jumping by 2’s and 5’s. During the Daily 5 this week students participated in
writing letters to Santa. It was amazing to see how the students have grown in their writing skills over the year. This week was
our last week of swimming. Next week students will not need to bring in their swimming bags. If you have not yet brought in
your child’s costume for the school musical could you please bring it in as soon as possible? If you require any assistance with
the costume please don’t hesitate to come and see me.
Have a great week
Mrs Charmaine Tancred
Prep EJ:
This week in Prep EJ the students have been working hard at writing autobiographies to attach to their self-portraits. They
look great! In Maths the Preppies worked on ordering daily events. They were given photos of what we do each day and
needed to order them from the beginning of the day until home time. Preppies have begun to make Christmas presents for
family members. Thank you all for your generosity for the Christmas Hamper! Our family Mass is next Saturday the 29 th of
November at 6 pm.
Miss Ellen Jacklin
Year 1:
This week the students made musical instruments with recycled materials after learning about sound in Science. We happily
performed for some classes. WOW! Some creative ideas and our band ‘Year One Rock’ sounded amazing!
Year One have almost filled our Christmas hamper for those less fortunate than us! If you have any other items that are nonperishable, please bring them in tomorrow!!!
Our trip to Cobb and Co and Queen’s Park was a fantastic day! The children had lots of fun playing with science activities and
on the playground. Thank you to Justin our bus driver, June Evans, Heidi Hardwick and Dani Khan for their help supervising.
Mrs Liliana Eckhardt
Year 2:
Things are certainly buzzing in Year 2 at the moment; there is still so much to do before the end of the term.
This week in Mathematics we explored the concept of mass. The children enjoyed using the pan balance to compare the mass
of objects and order them for the lightest to the heaviest.
The school musical is gearing up to be a spectacular night. Please make sure that your child has their costume at school, clearly labelled by next Monday at the latest. This will ensure peace of mind and help us add the finishing touches to the musical.
Thank you for all the birthday wishes for last Friday. It was lovely to come to work and be spoilt by you all. It definitely made
my day!
Enjoy your week.
Miss Lauren Devlin
Year 3:
What a crazy, busy time it is. It’s a shame we can’t move some of these end-of-year activities to a less hectic time, perhaps
July? I’ll suggest it to the powers that be, but I’d say we’d better just go with it, and enjoy it- it is after all a wonderfully, joy-
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ous time of the year.
A reminder about the costume requirements for the musical. The children need to have a navy blue t-shirt, jeans that can be
rolled up to ¾ length and a white ‘sailors’ hat. Please let me know if you are having trouble sourcing these items as we need
to have them at school as soon as possible.
Could you also please check that your child/ren have enough pencils and stationery items to last the final weeks. We are not
ready to down tools yet and so the ‘stubs’ that some have been using will need upgrading!!
Many thanks,
Mrs Annie Murphy
Year 4
No rest for the weary here in the year 4 classroom! Although assessments have been completed we are still working hard,
consolidating any areas we may still need some work on. In Mathematics, we have been converting millimetres to centimetres and metres. Did you know that there are 30 million millimetres from Oakey to Toowoomba!? We have also been putting
our brains together as we create some authentic looking pirate flags and native headdresses for the upcoming school musical. Just a reminder that the native costumes will consist of an all-black top, face paint, a head dress (made in class), and a
grass skirt for the girls. There has been a change with the boys now wearing a sarong (or something similar) instead of jeans.
Mr Dylan Philp
Year 5
The count down is on …. however in year 5 we are still working hard! On Friday (tomorrow) we are having Mike Flanigan
from the council come to our classroom to talk to us about flood awareness and disaster plans with a special focus on Oakey. This directly relates to our Geography unit and we are looking forward to his visit. We have started a mathematical project which is transforming itself into an art project. We started with designing a pattern on grid paper and then transferring
these designs onto embroidery fabric, and now the stitching will start! Musical practice will dominate next week. Please have
your child’s costume ready. It would be great if they could then stay at school so I can check them and they will be ready for
next week’s dress rehearsal.
Keep cool!
Mrs Clare Wilson
Year 6:
What a change of scenery this week!! This time last week the year 6 students were walking along the Burleigh Heads beach
with their towels and surfboards. I have never been so proud to take a group of students away from the school as I was last
week. The behaviour was tremendous and their involvement and encouragement of each other was both heart felt and compassionate.
But back to the real world. We are in full swing musical!!!! Please have all costumes to school by Monday. There will be additional rehearsals next week with our full dress rehearsal at the Cultural Centre next Thursday. Please return the ‘permission
to walk’ form and return to the school ASAP as we need everyone on deck.
We will need numbers for the Graduation night by tomorrow. Please contact the office if you haven’t done so yet and let us
know your intentions. It will be a very special evening for all students, families and staff.
Finally, this week is the last week of class swimming lessons. The swimming carnival will be on the Tuesday 2 nd of December.
Please keep swimming between now and then.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
Miss Terri-An Miller
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Year 7:
After a 3 hour bus trip we arrived at CYC Burleigh Heads. We all got to put our things in our cabins and we met the staff. On
the fiirst day we went body boarding and it was fun. The surf was a bit high and even Mr Philp had a go. After that we walked
to the spot to have a free swim. That night we had a talent quest and everyone had a go, with Max being the winner with
some awesome jokes.
Day two started early with a morning beach walk, followed by a yummy breakfast of cereal, toast, and hot breakfast. Then we
were off to enjoy stand up body boarding and raft building. Amazingly everyone managed to stand on their paddle board after
a while, and a few good splashes. We finished the day with a free swim, walk back and dinner. That night we enjoyed a campfire and sing-along along with roasted marshmallows.
Day three saw us try our hand at surfing and canoeing. While a little difficult, surfing was great fun and most of us were able to
get up on our boards. That night we had a movie night. We watched a movie called The Nut Job while we ate popcorn. The
movie was really funny.
Our final day saw us go tubing. Ms Crisp, Mrs Tyrie and Mr Philp all had a go. We all loved it and everyone really enjoyed it.
While there was a lot of chaffing and waddling happening, we all got along and had an awesome time.
My favourite thing of course was the food. There was plenty of it and it was yummy!
By Lynkon
Lynkon has done a great job reiterating the camp experience with this anecdote. It was indeed a great camp with many positive comments made by the public regarding our students behaviour and attitude. Well done everyone, you have reflected the
school principals admirably. On another note please remember to order and pay for tickets for Graduation night. I am looking
forward to seeing you there, and at the swimming carnival, the musical and final Mass. A busy time for all.
Till next week,
Kind regards.
Ms Robyn Crisp
Have you helped out in tuckshop this year? In the classroom?
Did you help out on the barbie or the drinks table at a function?
Have you sat through Principal’s reports at P&F or Board meetings in 2014?
Well it’s time to pat yourself on the back and celebrate a year well lived!
St Monica’s School Board invites Board members, P&F supporters, volunteers and their families to a relaxed
afternoon of camaraderie, catch-ups and cool drinks!
Sunday November 30
3-6pm at St Monica’s School
BYO Drinks and Nibbles
RSVP School Office
Summer Reading Club cont….
Preschool prizes
There are 6 prizes to be won. Each prize consists of 2
picture books and a $50 Coles/Myer gift card.
Primary prizes
The Summer Reading Club (SRC) is for ages up to 18.
Every book you read between December 1 2014 and January 31,
2015 gives you a chance to win prizes.
Register at your local Toowoomba Regional Council library from
December 1 for a pack and get reading!
When you read a book write it in your reading log.
When your log is complete return it to your local TRC library to
enter the prize draw. See below for prizes.
There are 6 prizes to be won. Each prize consists of a
novel, 1 set of headphones, 1 notebook, 1 Smiggle
pen and a $50 Coles/Myer gift card.
Secondary prizes
There are 4 prizes to be won. Each prize consists of 1
Canon IXUS digital camera, 1 set of headphones, 1
notebook, 1 pen and an Adventure Time keychain and
lanyard.
Can’t make it to a library to register? Email the young people’s
team at young.people@toowoombaRC.qld.gov.au
and a pack will be posted to you.
Please include the following details in your email:
 Name
 Age
 Membership Number
 Postal address
 Your closest TRC library
You must be a member to be eligible for prizes.
Each pack includes SRC reading logs, bookmark, temporary
tattoo and an activities sheet.
Oakey Library is currently undergoing refurbishment, and will be closed from Friday 21st November, re-opening Monday
1st December. Patrons can access any library in the region for a full range of services. Council apologises for any inconvenience caused.
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Weekend Masses
NOVEMBER 2014
Thurs 20th
Swimming Lessons
Active After School Program (last
day)
Helpers
for Monday
Fri 21st
Special Lunch—Pizza
Thurs 27th
School Musical
Fri 28th
Community engraving at school
Sat 29th
Final Family Mass for 2014—6pm
Prep CT and EJ
Sun 30th
Tuckshop
Volunteer afternoon 3-6pm
DECEMBER 2014
24th November
2014
St Monica’s Parish
1st, 4th & 5th Sunday – Saturday Vigil 6.00pm
2nd Sunday – 8.00am
3rd Sunday – 8.00am Celebration of the Word &
Communion
Danielle Khan
Our Lady of the Annunciation, Peranga
Gillian Cowley
2nd Sunday – 10.00am
Reeka Ringleben
4th Sunday – 10.00am Celebration of the Word &
Thank you for your
assistance
Communion
This weekend:
Tues 2nd
Swimming Carnival & Special Lunch
Wed 3rd
Oakey State High Orientation Day
Sat:
6 pm Oakey
Thurs 4th
Graduation Evening
Sun:
10am Peranga
Fri 5th
Farewell Mass 11am
Students of the Week
Last Day Term 4
Week 7 Term 4
End of Year
The students listed below will be presented their awards at
Assembly 2:30pm tomorrow afternoon
Students of the Week
Week 6 Term 4
Prep CT
Gabrielle and Avah
Prep EJ
Isabel and Gemma
Year 1:
Ellen and Tahlia
Year 2
Rachel and Alli-Georgia
Year 3:
Charlotte D and Harry
Year 4:
Taylah and Clancy
Year 5:
Breanna and James
Year 6:
Charntel and Ryan
Year 7:
Isabelle and Zane
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