NEWSLETTER

Term 1 Issue 5 March 3rd 2016

St. Monica’s Primary School 20 Robinson Street Moonee Ponds 3039

Parish Priest: Principal: Rev. Fr. Anthony Feeney Mr. Peter Moore Parish Office: Phone 9370 5035 Mass Times: Saturday 6:30pm (Vigil), Sunday 8:00am, 9:15am

Faith Hope Love

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Children, Last Friday the Christian family opened up their home to the new families from our school - continuing the long-held tradition of St. Monica’s warm hospitality. I thank Michelle and Julian for generously hosting this event and also thank the Grade One Parents who worked so hard (preparing and serving) - ably led by organiser Abygaile Cukavac. There is an extensive report from our President Ange Horton and Vice-President Cathy McNeill but I take this opportunity to say Thank You to one and all. Welcome Mass On Sunday Mass at 10:30am the Parish will welcome new families to the school. This is open to all families - existing and new - and we look forward (as we do each weekend) to strengthening our bonds as a Parish Family. After Mass, the Symons Centre will be open for a ‘cuppa’. As this event is not a Family Mass, no catering has been allocated to a particular grade level. Instead, families who attend are invited to bring a plate. Volunteers will also be needed to serve, so don’t be afraid to take charge if you’re there. Many hands make light work. Literacy Sessions I have had some wonderful feedback about Mrs. Bremner’s parent information sessions on English (Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening). It’s not too late to register. Either see today’s Newsletter Ad or you can approach Mrs. Bremner directly. Her office is based in the Year 1 and 2 Building and she is often seen ‘out and about’ in the yard, both before and after school.

Due to Stations of the Cross (in the Church) and Senior Gala Sports (in the Senior Yard) our Assembly tomorrow will be shifted from 3:00pm to 9:00am. The Assembly will be held in the senior yard.

Why is Maria so excited?

See page 2 for the answer.

Thank you to our guest photographer

from the Welcome Lunch!

I’m excited

Let Your Light Shine No-one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all

in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and

give glory to God in heaven. Mt. 5:15-16

Two years ago, I bought this oil lamp in the Old City of Jerusalem. I spent a month there with my wife (completing a course) and the daily walks into the labyrinth of ancient laneways gave me plenty of time to find what I was looking for—a brass lamp. In Jesus’ time, these lamps were made of terracotta, but I was after a reproduction of a much later Christian version (complete with handle in the shape of a cross). I also wanted it to look nice and shiny. The shine was added when I got back to Moonee Ponds, where Rose Graham worked her magic with some Brasso.

This little lamp will one day find its way onto the wall in the Administration building, where it will proudly sit below the piece of scripture shown above. It will proudly call members of our community to celebrate the contributions that we can all make to St. Monica’s. It also reminds us to look for the skills & talents in others and give thanks for the individuality of every child in our school. Each child has something unique to be celebrated.

This page in the Newsletter will be repeated each week. You are invited to send me a photo and a few sentences for inclusion in the newsletter. It’s a way of celebrating your child’s achievements outside the school as well as inside it. It is important that we teach our children that hard work and effort are to be celebrated and acknowledged. If your child works really hard at something and you’d like the community to share your pride, the please send us along a photo (even if it’s from your mobile phone) and a

description to: newsletter@stmonicasmp.catholic.edu.au

introducing DARCY MCGRATH

Below: I was very impressed with the painting Jed recently completed at an art class. A touch of Vincent van Gogh!

The hills are alive with the sound of Music! It is very exciting to hear the announcement that Darcy (right) has been cast as one of the Von Trapp children in The Sound of Music.

I’m not sure if I will get into trouble for sneakily adding Darcy’s name to the poster above, but I’m sure you will agree that it looks good!

Grade Ones recently held a workshop to add a touch of class to each child’s “Writers Notebook”. The children added

favourite photos, football teams, singers and other

popular images. I must be getting old. I didn’t know about 90% of the singers, football players, toys, soccer stars etc. I offered some suggestions of my own ...but received some puzzled looks in return. Even my current list seemed out of date. Birdy Who? Let’s not even go near Elton or Neil?* *John / Diamond

Emergency Evacuation Yesterday we had another Emergency Evacuation Drill (see photo below) and I am pleased to report that all went well. The staff moved our children to the designated evacuation area quickly and calmly. It was a successful exercise.

Regards and best wishes,

Peter Moore

Principal

P.S. Mr Di Nuzzo will be back on Tuesday. We have missed him!

Welcome BBQ

It was a chilly evening so attendance was down but those that were there had a great time. Many thanks to Cathy McNeill for taking charge of this event and thanks to the Fathers Fraternity who helped cook the BBQ. We don’t ever specifically aim to make money from the Welcome BBQ but we ended up with a profit of around $700, so that was a lovely surprise.

Moonee Valley Festival Sausage Sizzle

This was our second year at MV Festival and we were able to learn some lessons from 2015 and make a couple of changes to how the stall was run. These included paying for a bigger site and re-structuring the staffing. We also got lucky by being allocated a fantastic site. All this meant that we had a very successful stall. It was great to be part of Moonee Valley’s biggest community event and it was lovely to see so many St Monica’s families in Queens Park enjoying the Festival. As well as all the benefits that actively participating in our local community naturally brings we also raised around $1600.

A huge thank you goes out to Nigel and Lisa Haynes from Bakers Delight in East Keilor’s Milleara Mall for supplying bread. The Haynes family has been unfailingly generous towards our Parents Association for many years and we are extremely grateful to them for their consistent support.

We would also like to thank Phoebe and John DeMaria from DeMaria’s Fruit and Veg in Moonee Ponds Central for supplying our onions, the Jones Family from Bells Pure Ice for keeping everything cool and Mario from Lombardi Meats forgiving us a good deal on the sausages.

The Festival provided a chance for some of the Grade 6 school leaders to come and help out. Thanks and congratulations on a great job goes to: Ruby Cullen, Quinton Nguyen, Oliver MacLaren, Angelina MacLeod, Hannah Lucas, Stephanie Clarke, Alana Haynes, Isabella Rumoro and Eleanor Ragg. Thanks also to their parents for supporting them by working alongside them at the stall. The following parents volunteered their time to help out setting/packing up, serving and cooking: Jess Lothian, Michael Walsh, Adrian and Cathy McNeill, Jimmy O’Connell, Paul and Carol Barlow, Justin Farmelo, David and Sarah Galea, Robert Ripa, Ann Stevens, Jane Henderson, Kylie Malcolm and Mark and Collette Blackmore and Gerry Carew. Thanks everyone!

Foundation and New Parents Welcome Lunch

The lovely tradition we have at St Monica’s where the Grade 1 families welcome the Foundation and New Parents with a lunch on the last Friday in February continued last week at the home of Michelle and Julian Christian. The organising committee was led by Abygaile Cukavac and below is a message from the committee:

2016 New Families Welcome Lunch

New families and parents of Foundation children had the opportunity to be welcomed to the St Monica’s community at the 2016 welcome lunch last Friday. Special thanks to Michelle and Julian Christian who graciously opened their home to host the event.

Many thanks also go out to the families who generously made donations in support of the day, including the McCleave Family (wine), Mecca Bros (fruit and cheese), Bongiovanni Family (champagne), Martin Synan (umbrellas and tables), Kennedy Family (chocolates) and Rebecca Jones and the Donohoe Family (ice).

This event would not be possible without the contribution of the Year One parents, many of who gave time on the day to set up the event, serve food, pour drinks, wash dishes and clean up afterwards – thankyou to all those able to help! Special thanks also to the women who helped out in the hall looking after younger siblings. This is a tough job and your efforts were much appreciated.

The welcome lunch organising committee gave many hours of time and effort to ensure the day was a success. Abygaile Cukavac, Rose Greco, Ange MacNamara, Lisa Mammola, Sharon Lourdes, Sandra Lambeth, Alma Kennedy, Lisa Saunders and Kate Leonard – thank you for all your hard work!

Finally, thanks to those parents who supported the event and came along to enjoy a lovely afternoon in the late summer sun.

We thank Meagan and Jason Bourke for volunteering their home and Laura Sharkey for volunteering her organising skills for the 2017 lunch. Laura will be in touch with the current foundation parents later in the year looking for help.

Chocolate Drive

A box of delicious Cadbury chocolates has been sent home with the eldest child in each family this week. All money and unsold chocolate is due back at school by Friday 18th March. If your family is unable, or does not want, to sell chocolates please just return the box to the office so that it can be sold by others. If you would like to take an extra box to hide and then eat when your kids aren’t looking… sorry, I mean to sell to your neighbours or at your workplace, then please contact the office. This year we are also going to put our credit card machine to work. If you would like to pay for your box of chocolates on your credit card Abygaile Cukavac will be accepting paypass and credit card payments in person at school this Friday 4th at 3:15pm and Thursday 10th at 8:30am.

Next Meeting

Due to the upcoming school holidays we will not have a meeting in April so the next meeting will be held on Tuesday 3rd May at 7:30pm. The last couple of meetings have seen some new attendees come along from junior year levels and it would be great if this could continue.

Thanks,

Ange and Cathy

As part of our aim to strengthen the partnership between our parish, our parish school and our parish families, each year level has been scheduled a Family Mass, and also a parish mass or parish & school event during the year. This will be facilitated by our Parent Class Representatives. This enables all members of our community to share the hosting of social gatherings following these Parish Masses throughout the year.

We look forward to these wonderful opportunities to foster our Family, School and Parish partnerships.

Parent Class Representative Coordinators:

F-3: Renae Walsh renae.b.walsh@gmail.com / 0427 020 879

4-6: Kelly Clark mail@clarkaustralia.com / 0417 144 263

Date Mass Class 21/02 Year 6 Family Mass Year 6 06/03 Parish/School Welcome Mass (10:30-11:30) School 17/04 Year 2 Family Mass (10:30am) Year 2 25/04 Parish Anzac Day Parish Mass (7am) Year 6 29/05 Year 4 Family Mass (5:30pm) Year 4 19/06 Year 5 Family Mass (5:30pm) Year 5 17/07 Year 3 Family Mass (5:30pm) Year 3 21/07 Grandparent’s Day Mass & Morning Tea (9am

-1pm) Year 1 & Year 4

28/08 Foundation Family Mass (10:30am) Foundation 27/10 Foundation 2017 Information Evening (7:30-

8:30pm) Foundation

Date TBC Communion Thanksgiving Mass Supper Year 2 (host sup-per)

Year 3 (provide a plate)

27/11 Year 1 Family Mass (10:30am) Year 1 7/12 Parish Anointing of the Sick (11am lunch) Year 5

You are warmly invited to attend a Literacy Information Session at St Monica's Primary School planned for: Thursday 3rd March 7.00 pm to 8.00 pm, Monday 7th March 2.15 pm to 3.15 pm and Monday 7th March, 7.00 pm to 8.00 pm. In each of these one hour sessions, English in the Australian curriculum and the strands of Language, Literature and Literacy learning will be briefly outlined and then linked to practical ways parents can continue to support their primary aged children with language, literature and literacy learning. If you would like to attend one of these sessions, please complete the form below and return as soon as possible. Yours sincerely

Trish Bremner Literacy Coordinator DipTch (Pri); BEd (Pri); PGDipEdSt(RdgRec); PGDipEarlyLitInt; MEdSt; Cert IV TAE. I've invited you to fill out the form titled St. Monica's Primary School: 2016 Parent Literacy Information Session 1. Visit the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1X6qmq004h85IXPS10cssYvMZ3cbz-rr6gLWnWOjl0u8/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link

March 2016 Friday 4th Year 6 Gala Sports Day Whole School Assembly 3.00pm Sunday 6th Parish Welcome Mass 10.30am Wednesday 9th Parish Education Board Meeting - 7.00pm staffroom Thursday 10th Class Mass 6C Confirmation Workshop 5.30pm or 7.00pm Friday 11th Year 6 Gala Sports Day Year F - 2 Assembly - Hosts 2T [in the hall] Monday 14th Public Holiday - Labour Day Tuesday 15th Enrolments for Foundation 2017 open Wednesday 16th Open Day - School Tours 9.30am, 12.15pm and 2.30pm Thursday 17th Class Mass 6M Friday 18th Year 3 - 6 Assembly - Hosts 5H [in the hall] Saturday 19th Foundation Family Picnic - Easter Egg Hunt Queens Park Wednesday 23rd Special Food Day - Details to follow Thursday 24th Class Mass 4D Whole School Assembly 3.00pm - End of Term 1

Tuckshop

Reminder - all lunches need to be ordered via QkR. Week Beginning 29th February Friday 4th Julie Bibby, Di Abdo, Jess Lothian Week Beginning 7th March Monday Kirsty Taylor , Sandra Boyle Tuesday Vicki Barresi, Sonya Coleman, Christel Mason Wednesday Kellie Jeffery, Ann Stevens, Lisa Miller Thursday Michelle Wing, Trish Baxter Friday 11th Sandra Gaunt, Julie Wibrow, Kim Murphy

 If you are unable to work on your rostered day would you please arrange a swap. Alternatively please contact the office.

2016 Year 7’s reunion All current year 7s are invited to come to the 5.30pm Sunday youth mass (6 March) and stay for Pizza in the Symons Centre afterwards. A great opportunity for those who are now spread across different secondary schools to catch up with their St Monica’s friends.

Student of the Week

Certificates will be presented at assembly on Friday 4th March, Whole School Awards Assembly (Location: Senior Yard) at 9.00am Charlotte Khoury FK For always having a smile on her face and being a warm and caring member of Foundation K. Jacob Jreige FK For being an enthusiastic and positive member of Foundation K. Keep up the great work! Katia Karagiannis FS For always looking out for others and being a helpful member of Foundation S. Orlando Vandrine FS For his valued contributions during class discussions and being a dedicated member of Foundation S. Sophia Becker FT For being an outstanding member of Foundation T and trying really hard to make good choices to reach pink on our class chart! Keep up the great work Sophia! Nicholas Blackmore FT For being a kind and caring friend to others and for always trying to include others in games and activities. Well done Nicholas! Charlize Vandeloo 1B For always working respectfully and cooperatively during group activities. She is an extremely thoughtful class member. Noah McDonald 1C For making a connection between an event in a book and a personal experience. Harry Goodear 1S For reading confidently in his reading group and for recognising our sight words quickly! Fantastic effort Harry! Sean Dent 2C For being able to collect, record and represent data in a graph. Excellent work Sean. Elizabeth Burke 2D For showing such great initiative in 2D. Well done Elizabeth. Audrey Ream 2T For remaining focused in class, and ensuring her friends are happy and included in games. Charles Barrett 3B For insightful and meaningful contributions during Religious Education Lessons. Isla Prentice 3L For always helping others with their leaning in Reading and Writing. Julia Mancini 3M For her very detailed written response to her reading. Ava Malkoun 4D For asking excellent questions to support her in her learning and the expressive manner in which she sang at our assembly. Charlize Donlan-Bravo 4P For her genuine care and concern in helping her classmates when in need. Sienna Rocci 4T For Demonstrating an excellent understanding of Place Value using MABs and always being a helpful class member. Micaela Guarnaccia 5G For thinking outside the box and coming up with interesting ideas. Julia Duggan 5H For being an enthusiastic learner and persevering in challenging maths problems. Charlotte McInnes 5M For her enthusiasm and participation in Mathematics lessons. George Chapman 6C For his willingness to assist peers and staff as needed. Gabriel Gallo 6M For approaching all activities on camp with enthusiasm and a positive attitude.

OSHClub News Before School / After School Care Program

Program Update

Dear parents and families, The flyer for the upcoming Holiday Program has been released, and it’s looking like we’ll be having lots of FUN! Check it out at oshclub.com.au -Jyoti ***Important Reminder***: Please remember to book in for Before and/or After School Care if you know in advance. It helps us to ensure we have enough staff rostered on, and also for catering purposes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YOU CAN GET YOUR KIDS TENNIS LESSONS DONE WHILST THEY ARE AT AFTER-CARE!

ST. Monica’s Tennis Club Contact – Steve Riley – Club Professional 0403 433 750 or steve@rileytennis.com.au

BOOK IN FOR A FREE HOTSHOTS TENNIS LESSON Just inform your OSHClub Co-ordinator about your tennis lesson (day & time) OSHCLUB DROPS OFF AND PICKS UP KIDS FOR THEIR TENNIS LESSONS!!!

(Children must be booked into After Care session to be dropped off and picked up.)

Next Week’s Activities…

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

 Before Care Activities

-Origami -Silent Ball

- Cooking – Fruit Kababs - ZAP!

- Kangaroo Pencil Holders - Giants Treasure

- Mystery Balloon Challenge - 4 Corners

- Paper Plate Frisbees - Everybody’s IT!

 After Care Activities

- Paper Mache Bowls - Tennis

- Sewing - Cricket

- Ice Dig - Hand print Fish

- Puppet Making -Soccer

- Group Painting - Octopus

Parent Information

OSHC program phone: 0412 616 491 Coordinator: Jyoti Assistants: Abdi, Leonie, Jarrah, Maranda OSHClub Head Office: 03 85649000 All families must be enrolled to attend the program, remember this is Free!! Please create an account online at www.oshclub.com.au all bookings and cancellations can also be managed via your online account. For on the day bookings please contact the Coordinator direct at the program.

Registrations Are Open! Welcome to Season 2016! Auskick is a great way for Boys & Girls to learn Football Skills and follow in the footsteps of their AFL Heroes. Visit www.aflauskick.com.au, click REGISTER and type St Monicas If you have any problems/queries, please email to aflauskick@afl.com.au Once registered and paid, your Auskick Sports Pack will be delivered (to your address) around March. Register and pay ASAP to receive 4 Complimentary AFL Tickets to a selected match (while stocks last)! Best Regards Vince Leone 0421 054 140 or Rosa 0402 279 094

St Monica’s Auskick Co-ordinator

ST. MONICA’S AUSKICK

If you have a Centrelink Health Care Card/ Pension Card you may be eligible for CSEF. Application forms are available from the school office. Application close on Friday 24th June 2016.

Updated Parents’ Association 2016 Class Representatives

Class  Representa ve  Child Name 

Founda on K ‐ Ms Kay       

F.K. ‐ Teacher Contact  Melissa Khoury  Charlo e   

F.K.  Terri Ryan  Charlo e (Thaus) 

F.K.  Natalie Jreige  Jacob 

Founda on T ‐ Miss Tess Morriss       

F.T. ‐  Teacher Contact  Vivian Scarpino  Anthony   

F.T  Kerrie McBeath  Alexander   

F.T  Eoin Kearns  Eimear 

Founda on S ‐ Miss Stephanie Kuc       

F.S. ‐ Teacher Contact  Renae Walsh  Claire 

F.S.   Emma O'Connell  Ben 

1S ‐ Mrs Schmidt / Mrs Gal eri       

1S ‐ Teacher Contact  Peta Goodear  Harry 

1S  Kellie Jeffery  Zoe 

1S  Lisa Mammola  Oliver (Hewi ) 

1C ‐ Mrs Coghill / Mrs O'Hara       

1C ‐ Teacher Contact  Ele Storace  Sophia 

1C  Suzie Tudor  Charlie 

1C  Tracey Perkins  Rory (Kinahan) 

1B  ‐ Miss Bianca Ogier       

1B ‐ Teacher Contact  Abbey Vandeloo  Charlize 

1B  Sharon Lourdes  Violet (Adams) 

1B  Sandra Lambeth  Hamish 

2D ‐ Mrs Dynan / Mrs Tulloch       

2D ‐ Teacher Contact  Carol Mourdoukoutas  Alexander (Barlow) 

2D  Kathi Quick  Isla 

2C ‐ Mrs Kelly / Mrs Coulter       

2C ‐ Teacher Contact  Skye Palmer  Angus (Palmer) 

2C  Sandra Boyle  Grace 

2T ‐ Mrs Tennant / Mrs Foley       

2T ‐ Teacher Contact  Christel Mason  Mitchell 

2T  Silv Pane  Nicholas 

Class  Representa ve  Child Name 

3B ‐ Mrs Barbey / Mrs Leone       

3B ‐ Teacher Contact  Joanne Barre   Charles 

3B  Melinda Hogan  Zara 

3L ‐ Miss Lucy McDonald       

3L ‐ Teacher Contact  Tracey Larobina  Lachlan 

3L  Bec Jones  Chloe 

3M ‐ Ms Mary McPherson       

3M ‐ Teacher Contact  Cathy Xuereb  Megan 

3M  Fiona Grogan  Meg  

4T ‐ Mis Elizabeth Tierney       

4T ‐ Teacher Contact  Michelle (Shelly) O'Byrne  Sophia 

4T  Gabrielle Scolyer  Tom (Traficante) 

4D ‐ Miss Janet Dobson       

4D ‐ Teacher Contact  Vikki Barresi  Sophie 

4D  Meredith DeJure  Ruby 

4P ‐ Miss Pila  / Mrs Konstandinidis       

4P ‐ Teacher Contact  Pauline Duggan  Anthony (Mathews) 

4P   Georgina Lucas  Meg (Lucas) 

5H ‐ Miss Hayley Marie       

5H ‐ Teacher Contact  Lore a Joyce  Rory 

5H       

5M ‐ Mrs Gaye Mifsud       

5M ‐ Teacher Contact  Sue Harding  Chris e 

5M        

5G ‐ Miss Burke / Mr McGuinness       

5G ‐ Teacher Contact  Renae McElligo   Keira 

5G  Tracey Perkins  Evelyn (Kinahan) 

5G  Maria Moriera  Dante 

6B ‐ Mrs Chris ne Biondi       

6B ‐ Teacher Contact  Kathi Quick  Hamish 

6B       

6C ‐ Miss Samantha Crowe       

6C ‐ Teacher Contact  Emma Collopy  Alice (Hanger) 

   Christel Mason  Sarah & Chelsea 

6M ‐ Miss Renee Morgan       

6M ‐ Teacher Contact  Darija Grgic  Eleanor (Ragg) 

        

Parent Class Rep Coord F/1/2/3  Renae Walsh  Harrison 2T /Claire FS 

Parent Class Rep Coord 4/5/6  Kelly Clark  Tom 5M