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- Assistant Principal's Message
- eSafety Parent Webinar
- RE Term 1 Week 6 - "Year of the Holy Spirit"
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- Tommy's Tales
- The Resilience Project
- Awards Term 1 Week 6 2024
- Birthdays
- Photos - Year 5/6 Excursion National Zoo and Aquarium
- Photo - Oztag Champions
- Auslan - Alphabet (I - P)
- March Mingle - Communities a Work
- Merici College Open Days
- NAPLAN Parent Information 2024
- Parish Easter Egg Hunt
- Privacy Collection Notice for Parents Address
- School Holiday Literacy and Numeracy Program Flyer
- STTAK Book Club
- TeamKids Newsletter
- Bella Monaro Football Club Registration
- Netball in 2024
- Weston Molonglo Football Club
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are well into the year and I am finding it hard to remember the Christmas holidays! Schools are places that are extremely busy with lots going on and St Thomas the Apostle is no different. In the past six weeks many classes have been on excursions, there have been class assemblies and prayer celebrations, our opening school Mass, the beginning of Lent marked by a whole school Ash Wednesday Mass and of course exemplary teaching and learning occurring each day.
It is a privilege to work in a school where teachers are passionate and dedicated to their vocation. This is evident in the planning and teaching that they do each and every day for our students. This then of course flows to your children who are exposed to high quality teaching and to whom we have high expectations that they will always try to be the best versions of themselves. We are looking forward to getting the results of our Resilient Youth Survey that all Years 3-6 students participated in this week. The results will enable us to see where our focus should be to support your children in being grateful, empathetic and mindful of themselves, the things and people in their lives.
ESafety Parent Webinar
On 26 March between 7:30-8:30pm, you are invited to participate in a free 30-minute webinar to help you understand eSafety and parental controls. The webinar will be hosted by the Council of Catholic School Parents in collaboration with the eSafety Commissioner. If you would like to register, please follow this link:
Additional information on the webinar can be found in the poster attached to this newsletter.
Lost Property
Six weeks into Term 1 and we already have a large number of water bottles, jumpers and lunch boxes without names. We are acutely aware that you, the parents and carers of our students, spend considerable money on school items. Please ensure all items that come to school are clearly labelled with your child’s name. This helps us ensure the item is returned to its owner quickly. Furthermore, a gentle reminder to ensure your children have a water bottle at school. Taking time out of the classroom to come to the front office for a cup (which we will always allow) is not good practice as our students miss key learning – especially our frequent flyers!
I hope you have a peace filled long weekend with your family. We shall see you back at school on Tuesday 12 March.
Yours in Christ,
Susan Chant
Assistant Principal
RE Term 1 Week 6 - "Year of the Holy Spirit"
Today 5/6KP taught us about Jesus’ baptism. This was an important encounter in Jesus’ life. We do not know much about Jesus’ life before his baptism. After this encounter he travelled to many places and spread the Gospel through his words and actions. The sacraments, prayer, mass, special celebrations and interactions with other people can provide places for these encounters to happen. We look forward to celebrating these moments in life with our community.
Sacramental Information
Information for the sacraments has been sent out on Compass this week. Please refer to the post for a copy of the enrolment booklet and notes. Reconciliation will be celebrated later in the year (Term 4) to allow more time for student's preparation and engagement with this special sacrament.
Please complete an enrolment form for First Reconciliation or First Eucharist and return to Mr Ryan, or the school office, with payment by Monday 1 April.
If you are interested in baptism for yourself or any family members, please let Mr Ryan know and he will pass your details onto the Parish.
Please email Mr Ryan at geoffrey.ryan@cg.catholic.edu.au with any questions about the sacramental program.
Project Compassion
We are getting closer to Easter and the cut off for Project Compassion donations. Every donations you make helps provide an opportunity for someone else in the world.
Project Compassion provides us an opportunity to give to others and practise generosity. Please talk to your child about this throughout Lent. Students and families can donate cash via the boxes in classrooms or through the following website.
Mini Vinnies
Thank you for all the notes that have been returned for Mini Vinnies. It is always amazing to see the keen interest our students have in helping others. More information will be sent out in the following weeks as we begin activities and fundraising.
Geoff Ryan
REC
Date |
Event |
Monday 11 March |
Canberra Day |
Tuesday 12 March |
MacKillop Visit |
Wednesday 13 March |
NAPLAN |
Thursday 14 March |
NAPLAN |
Friday 15 March |
NAPLAN |
Calendar
To view the Parent and Carers calendar please follow the link below to our school website. This calendar is very user friendly and clear to view on mobile phones.
This week I joined Kinder for prayer and meditation time. I also love going to Year 2 to help them with their daily reviews and to be with Mrs Barbic. I joined the Learning Support Team in their weekly meeting and sat on Mrs. Cameron's (my mum's) lap paying lots of attention.
Love Tommy
If you are dropping your child to school, you must keep your dog in the car (harnessed and windows up) or drop them to the Kambah Oval gates which are unlocked each morning by 8:30am. If you are picking your child up, you must do so via the Kambah Oval gates. This week we had an occurrence whereby Tommy, our registered assistance dog, was attacked by a dog who escaped from a car during pick up time. In addition to this, there have been many instances where dogs have come into the school grounds.
As you would understand that, not only do we have an obligation to protect Tommy, we are also obliged to protect our students, teachers, and other visitors to the school.
Snapshot: Gratitude
Working on gratitude helps us to be thankful and appreciative of what we have in our lives, rather than focusing on what we don’t have or what we want. When we practise being grateful, we start to scan the world to look for positives – this only takes 21 days! Practising gratitude every day increases our levels of energy, and helps us to feel happier and more focused, determined and optimistic. It even helps us have better sleep, lowers levels of anxiety and depression and we are less likely to get sick. So many benefits – let’s all try to be grateful for the things and people in our lives every day!
Whole Family Activity:
Gratitude Scavenger Hunt
- As a family create a scavenger hunt list of things that make you happy or you are grateful for, you can make your own list or use the examples below:
- Something that makes you happy
- Something you love to smell
- Something you enjoy looking at
- Something that is your favourite colour
- Something you like in nature
- Something that is useful for you
- Each member of the family uses the list and has to find as many things as they can.
- You can hunt for things inside or outside, or both. You can hunt for real things, or you can also do this using magazines or pictures from the internet.
- After a set amount of time hunting, come back together, have a look at what each person collected and let them explain why they are grateful for each item.
Family Habit Builder:
Every night at dinner, have each person talk about their favourite thing about that day.