Dear Parents and Carers,

Congratulations to Mrs Lauren Maher, who will continue as Religious Education Coordinator for the remainder of the year, as Mrs Anne Leet is taking leave to care for her mother. Attached is the official CE announcement.

Welcome to New 

I am pleased to announce the following staff arrangements

• Miss Brianna Gray, who is joining our teaching team for three days a week for this term. Brianna will be working with our Year 3 team. 
• Mrs Monica Culas will be joining our staff from St Thomas Aqinance as part of the 12-month teacher transfer opportunity offered by CE.
• Mrs Alysa Bink will be joining our staff from Holy Family Gowrie as part of the 12-month teacher transfer opportunity offered by CE.

Staff Leaving

• After 10 years working at Mother Teresa, Mrs Danielle Cooper has decided it is time to explore another schooling system and share her many talents. Danielle has made significant contributions to our community, having worked as a classroom support assistant, a Defence Schools Mentor, and for the past two years as a highly capable classroom teacher. 
• Mrs Caitlin Braddick will be leaving at the end of the year, as her husband has accepted a position back in Townsville.

Expressions of Interest are now welcome for members to join the Mother Teresa School Community Council (SCC) Executive Committee 

As you may be aware, following the successful establishment of the Mother Teresa School Community Council (SCC), almost 12 months ago, the council is now an active and valued part of the school community. The SCC continues to play an advisory role in supporting the Mother Teresa School community of parents, carers, students, and staff in building an open, inclusive, welcoming, and collaborative school community environment.  

The School Community Council provides advice to the principal on important matters and supports the principal and school leadership team in their decision-making process. 

As part of our ongoing commitment to community engagement, I am inviting parents/guardians/carers to express their interest in joining the School Community Council Executive Committee.

Expressions of Interest are sought for the following positions:

• Executive Committee Chair  
• Executive Committee Treasurer 
• Executive Committee Social & Fundraising
• Executive Committee Grounds and Sustainability

Ongoing members to the end of 2026

• Executive Committee Secretariat – Kris Palmer
• Executive Committee Uniform and Book Club – Kristy Mellor
• Community Awareness and Events – Tamara Chatfield and Carla Perman

If you are interested in contributing to the continued success of the SCC, please submit via email a brief expression of interest

• outlining your connection to the school,
• your involvement in the school community and your reason for wishing to join the School Community Council Executive Committee and
• possible role involvement. 

Please email the expression of interest to carmel.maguire@cg.catholic.edu.au by Friday 31 October.

It was great to see so many of our students adorned in pink today to acknowledge Breast Cancer Awareness Month. With over 21,000 people diagnosed annually in Australia, it is important that we continue to support those who are invested in the research into this terrible disease. Encouragingly, breast cancer survival improved from 75% in 1990 to 93% in 2024. This is a statistic that clearly shows that the funding towards research has made a significant difference.

Tennis News

Congratulations to our Year 5/6 Wally Masur Tennis Team who represented the Northside of Canberra last Friday against Holy Trinity, Curtin. While defeated on the day by a very competitive team, our students played so well as a team and should feel justifiably proud of their efforts. Later this term many of these students will compete in our prestigious MTS Open!

Boorowa

Over 70 of our students from Years 5 and 6 attended the Boorowa Touch and Netball Carnival today. This carnival provides a perfect opportunity for our families to join together for a day of fun and exercise. The proceeds from this day go towards resources for our country schools.

House Winners Party

On Friday 7 November the students from Jackman House will celebrate winning the house challenge in Term 3. A notification has been sent out via COMPASS for parents or guardians to give permission for students to walk to Franklin Park for a play.

Reader's Cup

Many of our senior students have been preparing themselves for the "Readers Cup". Students were required to read 5 books in 5 weeks, building knowledge that will be essential next Friday at St Matthew's Primary, Page. We wish them all the best in representing MTS at this event.

Lots of Talent

Carmel Maguire

Principal

OCTOBER - CATHOLIC MISSION MONTH

SOCKTOBER - RAISING MONEY FOR CATHOLIC MISSION 

October is World Mission Month, which is a special time in the Catholic Church to learn about, pray for and support children and families in need around the world. To help support the work of Catholic Mission Australia, we will be raising money by participating in SOCKTOBER. 

On Friday 31st October (Week 3), children are invited to wear their craziest socks and bring a gold coin donation to school. Each grade will collect their donations in a sock and every gold coin helps Catholic Mission support children and families in need.

Weekend Mass times
Saturday – 5:00pm.
Sunday – 8:00am, 9:30am and 5:00pm.

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can all do small things with great love.”

Lauren Maher

Acting Religious Education Coordinator 

Ben Lambon rides for veterans—and he’s cycling past our school! Let’s cheer him on and ride along!

On 30 October 2025, veteran and RAAus Chief Operating Officer Ben Lambon will take on a powerful endurance challenge called Fly. Ride. Remember., raising funds and awareness for Soldier On, an organisation supporting the mental health and rehabilitation of Australian veterans.

This triathlon-inspired event includes three legs—flying, cycling, and running—symbolising the journey of resilience and recovery many veterans face. Ben’s mission is deeply personal: after being medically discharged from the military, he faced immense physical, mental, and financial challenges. This event is his way of giving back and inspiring others.

We’re thrilled to announce that Ben will be cycling past our school during his bike leg! Our students will be out to cheer him on and show their support for this incredible cause.

We’d also love to extend an invitation to our wider school community: Would you like to join Ben on part of his cycling journey? Whether you're a keen cyclist or just want to ride a few kilometres in solidarity, this is a unique opportunity to support our veterans and be part of something truly meaningful.

If you're interested in riding alongside Ben please contact Carly Flemington carly.flemington@cg.catholic.edu.au for more details.

Let’s come together to support Ben and honor those who have served.

The Sports Spectacle

On Friday, we unleashed our Four Touch Teams and Two Netball Teams on Boorowa! According to all teacher accounts, our students represented the school with enthusiasm and great sportsmanship. A huge thank you to all the parents who bravely volunteered to coach and umpire—your support is like the secret ingredient in our sports day recipe! Another shout-out to Mrs Blackwell, Mrs Matchett, Mrs Maher, Mrs O’Brien, Mr Moore, and Mrs Francis, who kept the students in check!

Next week, Grace Power is heading off to represent the SSACT U12 team in Touch Football. She’s off to the School Sport Games in Ballarat on Saturday. Also, a round of applause for our two shadow players, Lena Sgouros (Soccer) and Leah McIntosh (Netball). Well done, girls! You're the undercover agents of awesomeness!

Well done to Lena and Yianni who represented the ACT in Futsal (indoor soccer) in the AFA Schools National Championship in Brisbane. 

Yianni played for the under 9 boys and made the semi finals finishing 3rd overall.

Lena played for the under 11 girls who were undefeated and won their grand final making them champions!

Both Lena and Yianni were both also selected in the AFA Australian Futsal Teams who will tour China and the Philippines in 2026!

The Mother Teresa School Yearbook has been confirmed for 2025, but this year, we are going to need your help to get it across the line.

Families that have been with us for a few years would know that each year, with the help of our school committee and dedicated parents and our amazing teachers, we have produced a 200 page, professionally printed yearbook featuring all classes and highlighting the momentous occasions and experiences throughout the year.

The Yearbook has always been wonderfully received in the school community and are great keepsakes for the children to reflect on their journey here. To help in that undertaking we are hoping for your assistance  

We would specifically like to request any photos from the events that have occurred in term 1 while they are fresh on your memories  

-swimming carnival 

-Reconciliation

-Harmony day

- Excursions 

If families have any photos or if you’re attending school events (sporting, social etc) and you take any photos we’d love for you to snap and send a few back to us to use in the yearbook (appropriate permissions will be sought).

If you can help us with the above, please reach out and contact the Yearbook team via the yearbook email MTSYearbook00@gmail.com

Kind regards 

Lindsay Hackett

The Issue 7 catalogue for 2025 is now available. The cut-off date for orders is on Friday 31st October.Parents can order online via the LOOP parent portal on the Scholastic website, no orders or cash will be accepted by the school. Late orders are charged a flat rate for home postage.
Books will be delivered to children in their classroom once they arrive at the school. MTS Community Council parent volunteers are running the Book Club, so please ensure any inquiries are directed to them via the office email, rather than to teachers. A reminder that missing or damaged orders may need to be reported to Scholastic using their online contact information, and that out of stock items already paid for are usually credited to the LOOP account. Parents concerned about missing, misplaced or damaged orders are advised to wait until the catalogue is closed and use the home postage option.

The Good Shepherd Primary School Book Fair - This Sunday!

This Sunday 26 October, dive into the world of stories, knowledge and imagination at our neighbouring school Book Fair.

Time: 10am-4pm

Location: Good Shepherd Primary School, 99 Burdekin Avenue Amaroo

⚽ Term 4 Player Development Program:

This 8 week development program provides ongoing training and skill building led by qualified LFCIA coaches. Perfect for players looking to take their game to the next level.

 https://lfcacademy.com.au/product/st-john-paul-ii-college-player-development-program-term-4/

Thanks for helping us connect local students with this opportunity.