Filter Content
Dear Parents and Carers,
Week 10 has certainly been a week of celebrations.
Confirmation
Over the last two nights, many of our Year 5/6 students (and former students) received the sacrament of Confirmation, conferred on them by Fr Praveen. I have been to many sacraments over my years of teaching, and I must comment that the reverence and prayerfulness of the candidates and both congregations was simply beautiful and added so much to the ceremonies. A special thanks goes to Penny Vanzwol for her work in making the two nights so special for everyone involved. In addition, I would like to thank the teachers of Years 5 and 6 for preparing their students to receive the sacrament.
Congratulations to our School Leaders for 2022
This week, 17 of our fine young students in Year 5 presented speeches to the school community, pitching their reasons why they would be worthy of being on the Student Representative Council (SRC). Each one of these students were outstanding in their commitment to wanting to make a difference to the school and continue working to make St Thomas the Apostle the great school that it is. All would make excellent SRC members and the six successful candidates are to be congratulated on being voted in by the students and staff. Our SRC members for 2022 are Caitlin Penny, Cameron Le, Lilly Darcy, Artie Lipton, Eloise Byfield and Harry Keough.
We also had our speeches and elections for House Captains. Once again, we were impressed with the calibre of the candidates who gave their reasons for wanting to be the House Captains for their respective Houses. It was a close election with all those standing receiving many votes. Congratulation to the following students:
Erindale: Caitlin Russell and Poppy Statton
Riverview: Maily Ngo and Nic Masters
Lanyon: Cooper Wundersitz and Emelia Cacciatto
Cooleman: Abrylle McInerney and Rafael Regala
These praiseworthy students were voted in by the school community. I look forward to working with these school leaders in 2022.
Thank you to our outgoing SRC team and House Captains. You have been excellent in your roles and have worked hard to be exemplary leaders, particularly in such a challenging year. Our thanks and appreciation go to: Claire Van der Linden, Joshua Burt, Angela Strmota, Matthew Hoskinson, Sienna Nehme, Cameron Long, Haylee Laws, Dominque, Busa Geoffrey Olivetti, Dempsey McNally, Sophie Cameron, Lara Kirk, James Rice and Macy Moule.
Class Placements for 2022
While teachers have the main responsibility for placing their current students in the most appropriate class for next year, I have made the final decision on all class placements.
Students will be informed of their class placement for 2022 on Thursday of Week 11. The opportunity will be provided for them to spend some time with their new class teacher and the students out of the oval in a COVID safe manner. You, as parents cannot always shelter and protect your child or choose their teachers for them. Your child may not get into the class they want or be with their close friends. Life is full of disappointments, challenges and upsets. A big part of life is learning to deal with a range of people, whether it be other children or adults. It is about building skills and resilience that can be used in later life. How your child responds to the news of their class teacher for 2022 can often depend on your own response. Whether it is the teacher you were hoping for or not, you need to be positive and encouraging. If your child sees that you are upbeat, then they will be confident and optimistic about the future. I have faith and trust in all the teachers at our school and firmly believe we are blessed with the wonderful staff that we have.
Candy Canes & Christmas Cards
At this time of the year, children like to give one another candy canes and Christmas cards which is a thoughtful and giving thing to do. However, we ask children to place cards into their bags as soon as they receive them so that they don’t become lost and we ask them to take the candy canes home to eat. We inform the children that it is not appropriate to eat candy canes at school for a few reasons:
- Parents provide certain foods and expect that their children will eat these foods and not fill up on ‘other’ things;
- Parents need to know what their children are eating;
- Some children may have allergies to certain foods;
- The wrappers are often hard to peel off the cane, coming away in ‘bits and pieces’ which often don’t find their way to the
I ask that you also speak with your children about these things and ask them to bring candy canes and cards home so that you can see what they have received.
School Fees for 2022
In order to provide our Catholic schools with the resources required and to continue to meet parent expectations for a high quality education, it is important that income keeps pace with increasing education costs. Fees are set after careful consideration of the needs of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese and the resources needed to maintain and enhance quality education. We are focussed on developing high performing teachers and supporting them to create respectful learning environments that enable all our students to learn and grow, be happy, feel safe, and be the best they can be. This is an increase across the year of $172 on 2021. This equates to around $4.30 a week (4 terms) and will help to ensure our school can maintain the resources to deliver high quality education. Due to the new plan for Years 3, 4 and 5 buying a Chromebook over 4, 3 or 2 years respectively, we have been able to reduce the IT levy that is charged each term.
The fees for 2022 are as follows:
I would like to thank Michael Giacomin our SCC Treasurer and Naomi Trussler our Finance Manager for the hours of work they have both put into preparing the budget and school fees for 2022. It is a huge task and I am thankful for their professional wisdom in finance to ensure that our finances are sound.
School Fees
On the subject of school fees, a reminder that school fees are now overdue. For those who are not on a regular direct debit with us, I ask that you settle your account as soon as possible so that we are able to meet our budgetary commitments at this time of year. Payment of these fees can be made by cash, Qkr, credit card, EFTPOS, BPay or Direct Debit.
School Shirts
If you need new school polo shirts for 2022, we have just had a new shipment of our blue school shirt arrive. They are only available for purchase from the school and are not available in shops. They are for sale from the front office for $19.
End of the year
We have heard that there are some families planning to travel away for Christmas and intend on keeping their children at home for Week 11 to cut the risk of any exposure to COVID. Whilst we want every student here until the end of the year, I understand if this is a measure you need to take. If this is your intention, please go to Compass and submit an attendance note for the duration of absence and let your child/ren’s teacher know.
Christmas Fun Day
Monday is going to be fun day. We will have our “Colour Run” and children should wear old clothes to school. A white t-shirt is also a good idea as it shows up the colours. Please pack them a towel and a change of clothes for after. No need for a school uniform at all on Monday. We will have a sausage sizzle lunch and ice- creams to follow. There will also be class performances of Christmas Carols and songs. They are guaranteed to have a great day. In addition, Thursday will be a Christmas Dress up. Again it’s uniform free and we invite all the students to dress up in Christmas clothes or Christmas colours.
One week to go and we are going to make it a good one.
May God bless you and your family as we enjoy this reflective and beautiful season of Advent.
Yours in partnership,
Ursula Jamieson
Principal
RE Week 10 - Who do you say I am?
This week 48 young people received the Sacrament of Confirmation. The children were well prepared and received the sacrament with reverence and maturity. The Year 5/6 teachers are to be commended on the way they led the students through the Retreat Day and supported them through what has been a challenging journey. The music provided by the Parish Choir on Wednesday and the Kirk family on Thursday, elevated the celebration to a very special level. I was incredibly honoured to share this moment with these wonderful children. A further blessing came through a member of our Parish, the beautiful Natalia who provided the children with Rosary beads, prayer cards and an understanding of how much they are cared for and supported in our community.
Hampers
Thank you again for your incredible generosity in bringing in food for the St Vincent de Paul hampers. We have been able to make several extra hampers with all the extra food we received. I took the gifts from the Giving Tree to the St Joe’s office on Monday and they were very grateful to each of you.
Nativity
Yesterday we were able to watch the dress rehearsal for the Nativity Play presented by Kindergarten. This is a special tradition on our school and always warms the heart of everyone in the audience. Speaking with classes throughout the week, each child had a special memory of the part they played in the Nativity Play when they were in Kindergarten. This is the heart of our school.
Thank you
As the term draws to an end I would like to thank you for your continued care and support. I am so blessed to have been a part of such a special community. My experience at St Thomas the Apostle has shaped me as a person and prepared me for the next step in my life’s journey. I wish you and your families and peaceful Christmas and a gentle, fun filled break.
Penny Vanzwol
REC
Happy Birthday to the following students who will celebrate a birthday this week
Date |
Event |
Monday 13 December |
Colour Run |
Tuesday 14 December |
Year 6 Big Splash 9:20am |
Wednesday 15 December |
Year 6 Graduation Mass 9:30am |
Friday 17 December |
Candle Ceremony |
Monday 31 January |
First Day of Term 1 2022 |
Penny Vanzwol
Teacher Librarian
Can you please ensure your children have a hat at school. I don't have any spare hats to hand out (they haven't been returned) and I see a lot of disappointed children at recess and lunch asking me for a hat.
I have hats for purchase at the front office - legionnaire hat $8 and brim hat is $10.
Naomi Trussler
Office Manager
Congratulations to Rafael Regala (5/6 C) who has been selected as one of U14 Boys Basketball ACT State Representative for 2022. He will compete in various interstate basketball competitions next year.