Dear St Monica’s families and friends,

This coming Sunday marks the beginning of Advent and whilst this is an incredibly busy time of year, I always try to take a moment to reflect on the true meaning of the season.  The Advent season is a four-week period before Christmas which celebrates the anticipation and coming of Jesus. The origin of "advent" is from the Latin word adventus, which simply translates as "coming" or "arrival." It is the Christian meaning for preparing and celebrating the coming of Jesus Christ and his birth at Christmas. Tomorrow, our Kindergarten students will begin the Advent Season at our Whole School Prayer Liturgy. Over the next two weeks our students engage in thoughtful activities and reflections to appreciate the importance of gratitude, compassion, and togetherness during this Advent time. 

The End of Year is near!

As we draw tantalisingly close to the end of the year, many of us are already turning our thoughts to how best to navigate our children through the long Christmas break, that ultimately leads into the 2024 school year. For some of us, this break is one that offers many opportunities for quality time to be spent with family and close friends, for others it can be a time that causes a degree of stress and anxiety as the pressure of keeping children occupied for such a long period of time can appear overwhelming. Listed below are a few handy tips that may prove helpful as you and your family journey through Christmas and into the New Year. 

• Set priorities - Learn to say “no” to some things - choose quality over quantity. Your main priority may simply be spending time with your children and enjoying each other’s company.
• Look after yourself - To take care of others you need to first take care of yourself. A healthy diet, regular exercise, learning to relax and getting enough sleep will also help to reduce stress.
• Laughter - Nothing reduces stress as quickly or as effectively as a good laugh!
• Plan ahead - Take charge of your holidays in advance by making lists of things to do and setting aside some time each day for them - nothing creates more stress than last minute shopping and preparations. When entertaining children, even one small activity each day will keep them excited.
• Deep breathing - Spend five to ten minutes several times a day practising the art of deep breathing. It helps to raise your energy levels.

Community Council - Following our final meeting of the year, I wish to publicly thank the Community Council for the work they have done for our school, and their support of all that we do. It has been another busy year, and our Council, chaired by Alicia Prest, has been actively involved in so many ways. Thank you to each of the members: Katherine O’Sullivan, Madeleine Taylor, Kate Carey, Melinda Brown, Melinda Gowty, Maggie Lloyd, Cecilia Willis, Erin Gilligan, Sarah Clark, Hannah Dwyer, Fr Mick.  

Community Events - We look forward to welcoming you to several end of year community events!

Wednesday 6 December: St Vincent de Paul Giving Mass, 9.30am in the Church. Thank you to all families who have donated to the Christmas Hamper appeal.

Thursday 7 December: Community Carols Evening, 6.00pm on the School oval. We can’t wait to see families at this fun family event. Please bring along picnic rugs, camp chairs, supper and snacks and… your best singing voices! The canteen will be open on the evening for light refreshments.  

Friday 8 December:

• Year 6 Graduation and Awards Ceremony, 12.00pm in the Church. Our Year 6 cohort will graduate from Primary School. In celebration of this important milestone the students will be treated to a special lunch. Thank you to the Year 5 parents for coordinating the celebration lunch for them.
• Semester Two reports available on Compass – 3.30pm

Monday 11 December: Passing of the Light, Candle Ceremony 9.15am in the Church.

Wednesday 13 December: wear Christmas clothes, 2024 Teacher Meet & Greet session – 9.30am

Thursday 14 December: Final Awards and Pride Badges Assembly and the Year 6 Big Day out!

Last Day of Term 4 – Friday 15 December is a Pupil Free Day. As such, Thursday 14 December is the last day of Term 4 for all students. TeamKids OSHC is available on the Friday for any families who need this service.

Peace and Blessings to all,