Dear St Monica's families and friends,

I feel both proud and privileged to be the Principal of St Monica’s. Each day I am reminded of how fortunate I am to visit classrooms and see the wonderful learning happening across our school. One of the greatest joys of my role, is the day-to-day interactions I share with students, staff, and families. It is these moments that truly make my job so special.

This week has been a particularly joyful one. We celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation with our Year 6 students and were blessed to welcome Archbishop Christopher Prowse to our celebration last night. Our Youth Ministry Team also led a retreat for our Kindergarten students, and I enjoyed meeting with our Year 3 classes to talk about how we welcome all to St Monica’s. Welcoming others into our community is what we do best—whether it be new babies, new families, visitors, new staff, university students, work experience students, or our neighbouring schools. This is where our Footstep of Engagement truly comes alive!

          

As we approach the end of Term 3 next week there is much to look forward to. I am heading off on camp with Year 6, Year 1 will be showcasing their projects about the local community, and Year 3 will share their learning about the Australian States and Territories. Our Kindergarten students continue to impress us with how well they have adapted to changes in their routine due to construction works. They are certainly well on their way to being ready for Year 1!

A couple of gentle reminders as we finish the term:

• The last day of school is Thursday 25 September and Friday 26 September is a Pupil Free Day. TeamKids is offering a full-day program on the Pupil Free Day, as well as it’s School Holiday program over the two week Spring break.
• Student supervision begins at 8:30am each morning. If you need to drop your children off earlier, please consider registering with TeamKids for casual or one-off bookings. Families with older children may consider a drop off at the Evatt shops, from where students can safely walk to school, without needing to cross any roads.
• Of an afternoon, please take extra care when exiting Deffell Street into Moynihan Street if a bus is parked in the bus bay. There have been a number of near misses, where drivers have not seen cars travelling up Moynihan Street, due to their view being obstructed by the bus.

As we move into Term 4 I look forward to all the excitement and joy that it will bring for our community. Many thanks to all for your continued support of me and our school community.