Term 1 2015 Wednesday 18th February Date Claimers February 2015 Wednesday 18th February Ash Wednesday 21st and 22nd February P & F Masters BBQ Tuesday 24th February School Photos Friday 27th February Cross Country FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK Wow, what a week! Last week we celebrated our first liturgy for the year with Fr Joseph, which was a very special moment for all the new members of our community. Following out liturgy, we then celebrated our first ever swimming carnival together as a whole school community, and it was just a perfect day! Many thanks to all the teachers and parents who helped organise and run the day, and to the so many supporters we had cheering on ALL children, not just their own; thank you. But most of all, thank you to the children. Their efforts, willingness to join in and to cheer for all children was simply awesome. For me though, it is the children who aren’t great swimmers, but participate in every event, and whilst finishing a distant last, get out of the pool with a great smile of satisfaction and to the cheers of the crowd. That, for me, is one of life’s most special moments. March 2015 Tuesday 3rd March P & F Meeting Friday 6th March School Disco 6.00pm—7.30pm Thursday 12th March Liturgy of the word Tuesday 24th March First Reconciliation 5pm—6.30pm St Patrick’s Church Thursday 26th March Liturgy of the word April 2015 Thursday 2nd April Last day Term I Friday 3rd April Good Friday Today is another special moment, especially in our Church year as we celebrate Ash Wednesday. The Mother Teresa weather struck again (every Ash Wednesday!) and instead of a whole school ceremony, individual class celebrations were held. Please take the time to discuss the significance of this event with your children as we journey towards Easter. At the fantastic, informative and very social Parent Information evening last night, parents were introduced to two staff from Musicorp, who outlined to parents what their program offers. On Friday morning the instructors from Musicorp will be in the undercover area at line up time. They will then demonstrate the instruments available for the years 2- 6 children from 8:30-9:00 while they are assembled in their class lines before they move off to class. They can also speak to parents at this time. For full details and prices go to www.musicorp.com.au SCHOOL OFFICE HOURS : 8.00AM – 3.00PM I have noticed over the past few weeks a number of children arriving early and being left unsupervised and gravitating towards the new playground. Our supervised duty in the morning starts at 8.10am. If children arrive before that, they are to be supervised by their parents, or attend OSHC, which is the purpose of having such a facility. Your assistance and cooperation in this matter would be greatly appreciated. The rainy weather has been a timely reminder that the weather will soon be turning cooler, and people will be looking for warmer clothing. We have winter school uniforms (jackets and track pants) which need to be ordered by this Friday if possible, so stock can be here in time. In the past, we had issues with the quality of the uniform, particularly the track pants, but this has now been resolved. Because of these quality issues, we had allowed alternative dress (tights, navy track pants). As we have now all quality garments, our winter uniform will be the school track pants and jacket and not tights / leggings as had previously been tolerated. These are far more practical in terms of removing them during the day, and limit the variations to what is after all, a uniform dress code. We are expecting some very heavy rain and wind on Friday. Today all the gutters were cleaned (and 20 balls returned to the sports shed!) so we are hopeful of keeping the undercover relatively dry. We would encourage parents (with umbrellas) to park and collect children from the undercover area, as the library awning does not offer great protection from wind blown rain. Last week we informed you of our upcoming disco on Friday March 6. The them for the disco is to come as a figure from the past. The past can be yesterday, it can be a thousand years ago. Please make sure that the children are still able to ‘shake their tailfeather’, even in their costume. There will be a simple meal deal (sausage and bread, popper and ice block) for students, parents and toddlers and order forms for these will go home early next week. We have had a couple of near misses in the carpark last week, both vehicular and pedestrian. A reminder to all drivers that traffic in the car park is one way, in a clockwise direction, and we only have ONE exit gate. Driving against the flow or exiting the wrong gate is an accident waiting to happen. Could we also please make an effort to use the marked crossings to enter and leave the car park, especially in peak times. Remember that you are setting a pattern of behaviour for your children, and if you disregard road safety, so will they, with potentially fatal consequences when you are not around to supervise them. For the sake of the ten seconds you may gain, please do the right thing by our children. A reminder we have school photos next week (Tuesday), so please ensure the full and correct school uniform is worn. For those of you sporting tragics like myself, you will realise that footy season will be kicking off very soon. We run a FREE football tipping comp. You can tips for AFL, NRL or be in both. It is a lot of easy fun, and creates a bit of talking interest (aka sledging) around the school. If you are interested, just go to http://www.footytips.com.au/comps/ MotherTeresa and enter your details, choose the code/s and you are done! Simple. Have a great week! Peter APRE News Liturgy of the Word This morning (due to the wet weather) we prayed in our class spaces for Ash Wednesday where the children received the blessed Ashes in the Sign of a Cross on their forehead as a reminder that we have begun our journey through Lent and towards Easter. Our next whole school Liturgy of the Word will be held on Thursday the 12th March at 9am and our Year 1 classes will host this prayer celebration. School Photos Jack P Our School Photo Day will be held next week on Tuesday the 24th of February. Photo order forms were sent home last week. Please remember to send the order form to school with your child on photo day. Children will need to be dressed in full school uniform (blue shirt and shorts, blue school socks, black shoes and hair tied back/neat and tidy). Project Compassion The beginning of Lent also marks the start of Caritas’ Annual Project Compassion Appeal. This week, each child will bring home a project compassion box for your family to make donations during the 6 weeks of Lent. Children can return their project compassion box/bring donations to school and give them to their class teachers during prayer circle time any time during Lent. Ash Wednesday Caritas AUSTRALIA This week the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion appeal. This year’s Project Compassion stories focus on the ways in which Caritas Australia is working around the world to empower vulnerable people to establish sustainable food sources and develop income streams for life. Your donations to Project Compassion allow Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work towards a more just and fair world, where the basic human right for food is met and sustained. Each family will receive a Project Compassion box for their donations. You can also donate online via the website at www.caritas.org.au/projectcompassion. Please put your compassion into action this Lent by supporting Project Compassion 2015. APRE News Validation of Contact Details Please remember to return the Validation of Details form to school so that we are able to ensure that the details we have on file at school are accurate. Even if your details have remained the same, we would appreciate the form being sent back to school to confirm you have checked it. DITTO Show Next Thursday the 26th of February, the school will have a visit from the Bravehearts Education Program. The DITTO Show aims to empower primary school children with tools to keep safe and educates them with a focus on resiliency, while building confidence and awareness. It also teaches children what to do if they feel unsafe. The show is a nonconfronting and engaging way to teach children about personal safety and encourages children to speak out about any unsafe situation. The interactive performance is presented by a trained facilitator and the messages will be supported in class by classroom teachers after the show. Instrumental Music Program The school is partnering with Musicorp this year to offer instrumental music lessons for students. Parents had an opportunity at our parent night last night to hear a little about the program that is being offered. Instructors from Musicorp will be in the undercover area on Friday morning at 8:30 to speak to parents and to demonstrate some instruments to our years 2-6 students. Kathleen Crawford APRE Finance News Term 1 statement of fees and levies have been emailed out today, 18th February, could you please advise the office if you have not received your account by email and if the account holder(s) name is incorrect thanking you. School fees and levies are issued 4 times a year, at the beginning of each term, and are payable by the due date. This can be paid by either of the following methods EFTPOS, Credit Card and Debit Card at the School Office or over the phone, BPay, Direct Debit, Cheque or Cash (ensuring you have the correct amount, due to NO cash on the premises). Fees are broken up into tuition, student levy, capital levy, family levy and P&F. An additional $50.00 per family per term will be charged as a voluntary building fund contribution. Families are encouraged to contribute to the building fund in which a separate tax receipt will be issued to you at the end of the financial year in which you can then claim this expense with your tax return as its tax deductable. This is used to help maintain our beautiful new buildings. It’s still not too late to set up Direct Debit for paying school fees and levies, 2015 DD forms are available on our web site or from the Admin Office. This is easy to set up and it eliminates the concern of having to pay the School Fees and Levies in a lump sum at the beginning of each term. If you have any questions regarding fees please contact me on the school no. 5549 5000 or by email pomefinance@bne.catholic.edu.au Warm regards Helen SWIMMING CARNIVAL DO SMALL THINGS WITH GREAT LOVE Thank you Mr Peter Kerrins for leading by example. General Interest BAZZA’S GARDENING TIPS… SOME SEEDS HAVE DIFFERENT NEED FOR GERMINATION Seeds that need darkness to germinate: Calendula, delphinium, gazania, larkspur, nasturtium, nemesia, pansy, verbena, viola. Fill a seed raising tray with a good quality seed raising mix. Sow the seeds to the depth suggested on the seed packet and cover the seeds with seed raising mix. Place the tray in a dark place away from direct sunlight or cover the tray with a piece of cardboard. Check every couple of days to see if the seeds have sprouted. Move the tray into a well lighted area and gradually introduce the seedlings to direct sun to harden the seedling ready for garden planting. PLAYGROUP @ MOTHER TERESA Our schools’ P and F run a very popular and successful playgroup for non-school aged children. It is held every Wednesday between 8:30 – 10:30am for a gold coin donation. It is not exclusively for Mother Teresa families but is open to the wider Ormeau community. Our playgroup utilises the before and after school care room where there is an abundance of age appropriate games and toys. We also venture out for outside activities (sandpit, playground etc). We have music and dance time which is heaps of fun and we end with story time. I look forward to seeing new faces and of course my regulars! PCYC OUTSIDE SCHOOL HOURS If you have any questions or would like enrolment information regarding PCYC Outside School Hours Care or Vacation Care please contact: Carmen on 0417246054 or motherteresasac@pcyc.org.au or come in and see us. For a quick and easy way to enrol please follow the link https://beenleighmt.hubworks.com.au/ UNIFORM SHOP The Uniform Shop is open on Thursdays from 8.00 am to 9.00 am. If you require any uniforms outside of these hours you can simply download the order form from the school website and enter required details. Payment can be made by credit card (complete all your details on the order form) or eftpos. Please forward the completed form to the office (in person, by email or fax) for processing. Your order will be processed on a Thursday and will be sent to your child’s classroom. JACKETS AND TRACKSUIT PANTS PRE ORDER We are now taking orders for Jackets and Tracksuit pants for Term 2. All jackets and tracksuit pants will need to be pre ordered as the school does not carry extra stock of these items. However we do currently have limited stock for purchase. Orders close on Friday 20th February 2015. If you would like to discuss your order please contact Kylie Dodd by email kdodd@bne.catholic.edu.au Reminder SHOES – Students are to wear black joggers (no stripes) Monday to Friday. SOCKS – Students are to wear School striped socks only. Leggings, stockings/tights and long sleeved tops are NOT accepted school attire. JUSTICE OF THE PEACE A valued member of our Mother Teresa community would like to offer her services as a Justice of the Peace. If you require this service please contact the school office and your details will be passed on. SCHOOL BANKING School Banking is available on Friday Opening accounts for School Banking School Banking accounts can now be opened at any Commonwealth Bank branch. Just go into any branch and ask to open a Youthsaver account for School Banking. Remember to take in identification for you and your child (such as driver’s license and birth certificate), you will receive a Dollarmites wallet and deposit book on the spot and be able to start banking on Friday’s – it is that easy! If you are a Commonwealth Bank customer with NetBank you have the option to open the account online as well! When completing the deposit slip please ensure the following: Correct money is included in the deposit wallet Deposit slip is completed in blue or black pen Student id number is included on the deposit slip Rewards Claims will be forwarded to the Commonwealth Bank for redeeming. Reward items will be presented at assembly once the school receives them from the Commonwealth Bank. Reward items for 2015 from our Outer Space Savers range. ET DVD and Planet Handball, released Term 1 Invisible Ink Martian Pen and Intergalactic Rocket, released Term 2 Glow-in-the-Dark Solar System and Cosmic Light Beam Torch, released Term 3 Outer Space Savers Money Box and Lunar Light Band, released Term 4 UNIFORM ORDER FORM Students Name:______________________________ Class:__________ PREP TO YEAR 6 UNIFORM ITEM SIZE PRICE 4-14,XS,S $34.00 4-14 $22.00 School Shorts 4-14,XS,S $27.00 School Socks 8-12 13-3 3-7 7-10 $7.00 Polo Shirt House Team Shirt School Jacket 4-14 $60.00 School Track pants 4 - 16 $30.00 School Hat All Sizes $30.00 School Bag/ Padded Cushion One Size $55.00 Padded Cushion only One Size $8.00 Hair Accessories Various Styles $2.50 $8.50 TOTAL NUMBER OF ITEMS QTY SIZE TOTAL TOTAL COST Prices from October 2013 and are subject to change Please note all Uniform items are Compulsory including completely plain black Joggers Received items with thanks___________________________________ Date____________________ Method of Payment EFTPOS CREDIT CARD CHEQUE Credit Card Authority Full Name on Card:_________________________________ Contact Phone No._________________ Card type: MasterCard/ Visa/ Bankcard (please circle) Card Number:______________________________________ Expiry Date:___ ___/___ ___ Total Amount: $________________Signature: ___________________________ Date: __________