We certainly have been blessed with glorious and even warm weather for autumn. That was certainly the case for our Athletics Carnival held last Friday.  It was a spectacular day and the students competed in a day of giving their best on the track and in field events while also cheering on their fellow students.  I wasn’t the only person who teared up as the whole school clapped and chanted a student across the finish line who was a long way behind the other students in their race. It was a beautiful moment and reflected a school of caring children. Thank you to Laura Vandenbroucke for her excellent organisation. Thank you also to Barb Miels-Barrett who was a great help on the day (Barb is president of the local Little Athletics and is such a valued support for our athletics endeavours). And thank you to the group of Yr 12 MacKillop students (some former students).

School Community Council

Our Open School Community Council Meeting last Monday was extremely well supported with 30 parents and carers coming along to hear about our new model and the avenues open to become involved in the life of the school. While enjoying a wine and nibbles, there were presentations on our: proposed Ninja Playground, Garden Makeover, Winter Solstice,  October Election barbeque and of course . . . . (drumroll) Fete. There were other school endeavours  on the calendar for the year. I know that there were parents and carers who are keen to be involved but couldn’t attend on Monday. Click here for the  QR codes to link you to the current options to be involved in the school community (also see the attached flyer below). Please take the time to see what is on offer and consider committing to at least one of them. Imagine if every family signed up for one area!!  They are all important but the one where we need the most people to say they can be involved is for the Fete.  Many hands are needed to make that day the success is has always been.

Classroom Mastery

As I have reported through multiple newsletters, we are well into planning and implementing a behaviour curriculum.  We are determined to do this well, ensuring that we take it step by step. It is called Classroom Mastery and we are one of ten pilot schools in the archdiocese. The purpose is to:

• create consistently productive, safe and calm learning spaces 
• reduce disruptive and off-task behaviours 
• increase engagement in learning 

Why?  Australia has some the most disruptive classrooms in the world (ranked 69/76 countries). 

43% of Australian students surveyed said that their classrooms were noisy and disruptive. As many as 40% of Australian students are compliant but unproductive.

We know that safe, ordered and positive learning environments are the foundations for learning. Although it is common sense, this is backed up by significant research (PISA 2019).

Although we do not have significant and problematic behaviour at St Thomas the Apostle, we are committed to improving our practice, so students can learn in the best possible way.

Our implementation of this program means establishing and practicing set consistent routines. These are sequences of what to do, when and how. In short, there are clear ‘recipes’ for how to prepare for learning and how to participate in learning.

A behaviour curriculum is similar to a Mathematics or English curriculum. It means that our students learn the right behaviours so successful learning can happen, where our classrooms are safe, orderly and predictable.

We now have routines for: 

1. Entry routine: Students are to line up in a quiet, orderly and calm manner before entering the classroom. They enter and then stand behind their chair, waiting for the teacher’s greeting and instructions.
2. Exit routine: Students put away personal and class equipment, the chairs are placed under the desk and the classroom restored. The teacher farewells the students and instructs them to leave in a set manner.
3. Moving around the school: When moving from one class to another or around the school, students are silent, straight and sensible.
4. Cue to start and stop work: All students will respond to a spoken cue like ‘waterfall’ or ‘tick tick boom’. Each class will have agreed cues for starting and stopping their work. These may be verbal cues or gestures.

Teachers have been working on aligning our school values with norms, expected behaviours, routines, rules, maintaining expectations and consequences. As I said, we want to do this thoroughly and thoughtfully and we are not going to rush the process.

If you want to see Classroom Mastery in action, see this clip from the 7.30 Report:

Safe on Social

On Thursday 27 June, at 7:30pm, we are hosting an online webinar hosted by Kirra Pendergast, founder of 'Safe on Social’. This cyber safety webinar is only available for our St Thomas community and can be accessed via the Zoom meeting details below. It is specifically for audiences 18 years and over containing adult content, and as such, is unlike any cyber safe presentation that you may have heard before. It is interactive and you will have opportunities to ask questions via the chat function.

Kirra comes with a wealth of experience. The following blurb can be found on her website:

A career dedicated to Cybersecurity and Online Safety Kirra Pendergast’s career has been deeply intertwined with the evolution of the internet. From the early days of widespread online adoption, she has been a leading voice in promoting cybersecurity and online safety. With over three decades of experience, Kirra’s work has spanned from high-level government advisory roles to grassroots educational outreach. Her commitment to the field is evident in her hands-on approach to teaching internet users about the potential risks of online life. By prioritising knowledge-sharing and skill-building, Kirra has helped to sculpt an online environment that prioritises the well-being of its users. Through Safe on Social and The Online Safety Agency, she has crafted training programs and resources that offer practical solutions to everyday digital interactions, ensuring that individuals and organisations are equipped to navigate the complexities of the online world with confidence and safety.

Click this link for the flyer with details about the evening.

We hope that you can block out your calendar and join us from the comfort of your homes. 

We hope to see you online, 7:30pm Thursday 27 June! 

The zoom link is:

Join Zoom Meeting

Click here for Zoomlink

Meeting ID: 810 8593 2784    Passcode: 721528

Congratulations

A very big congratulations to two of our teachers (and one former teacher) on receiving their Masters Degree.  Natasha Pank, Tarthra Kennelly and Rachel Kennedy now hold a Masters Degree in ‘Educational Wellbeing’. They have worked hard over the past 2 years to achieve their goals. We are proud of all three of you. 

Pie and Footy Night

We are holding a Pie and Footy Night for the first game of the competition. It’s for our dads, grandfathers, uncles and other significant males in the life of our children.  This is a great opportunity for members of our school community to spend some time together over a game of footy and a pie (or 3)! There will be table tennis before and in the half time break as well.

Pies will be provided by the school (and baked fresh by Victoria) and you are welcome to bring your own refreshments to drink.  Why not come along, meet some new people and enjoy a pie or two!!!

The night will begin at 6:30pm here at school. The game kicks off at 8:00pm. We do need to know numbers so that we can make sure we have plenty of hot pies ready.

Please register your attendance by clicking on this link

As it is a school night and the game won't finish until around 10 pm, it is a strictly adults only event.

Enrolments

We are coming up to the final week of our enrolment period. We have strong enrolments for Kindergarten in 2025 which is great!  Have you seen one of the buses on the Tuggeranong routes that we are advertising on?  Keep a look out.

Well that is quite a lot for one newsletter!  Have a great weekend.

Yours in partnership,

Ursula Jamieson
Principal