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- Principal's Report
- School Community Council Report
- RE Week 10 - Our Common Home
- Birthdays this week
- Library News
- Upcoming Events
- Easter Hat Parade
- Uniform Shop
- Photos - Palm Sunday Liturgy
- Photos - Holy Thursday Liturgy
- Photos - Trials of Jesus
- Photos - Stations of the Cross
- Photos - Hot Cross Bunanza
- Photos - Easter Raffle
- St Anthony's ELC Open Day flyer
- St Clare's College Open Days
- St Edmunds Enrolment Information Year 6 2023
- St Mary McKillop Enrolment Information
- TeamKids - Autumn Holidays
- Holiday Happenings
- Code Camp
Dear Parents and Carers,
I think we can all agree that we are looking forward to a break as we come to the end of Term 1. We are fortunate to have been able to cope with the number of staff who have been away due to COVID and the isolation rules. We know that many students and St Thomas families have been affected by COVID this past term as well. As you would know from the media, many schools have not been able to cope and have had to close for some days and return to Remote Learning. As we move into Term 2 and the colder weather, we unfortunately are not expecting the situation to improve and are planning for contingency measures to ensure that we do get through the winter with a normal as possible school life. We will keep you informed as these plans are made and put into action.
Canteen opening on a Monday
Thank you for the responses to the survey on opening the canteen on a Monday. It is borderline as to whether it will be well used but we have decided to trial it for Term 2 and then make a decision towards the end of the term as to whether we make it permanent. As the first Monday of the term is ANZAC day, week 2 will be the first day on Monday trading. Victoria will update the times and menu on Flexischools.
ANZAC Day ceremony
We will be holding an ANZAC day ceremony at 10:30am on Friday 29 April after we return from holidays.
Enrolments for 2023
Enrolment time will be here again early in Term 2 (May 2 until May 27). If you have a little one ready for school in 2023 or you know of anyone interested in enrolling at St Thomas the Apostle, our open days are on Tuesday 3 May from 9am until 5:30pm and on Saturday morning 14 May from 9am until 11am.
We look forward to seeing all our students back on Wednesday 27 April, dressed in the winter uniform. A description of what constitutes the uniform can be found on the school website.
It is a shorter message from me today, as below you will find a detailed account from Angela Schacht, deputy chair of the School Community Council, of what was discussed at our most recent meeting
Yours in partnership,
Ursula Jamieson
Principal
School Community Council Report
The SCC met for the second Term 1 meeting last Monday, 28 March. A brief summary of the meeting is below:
Ongoing impact and management of COVID-19:
- COVID-19 continues to impact both children, staff and families across the school community. Teachers have continued to do an amazing job to ensure appropriate cover for all classes across Term 1. Thank you to everyone for your flexibility and dedication as we work through this challenge together.
- The school has purchased additional air purifiers and blankets to assist with management of restrictions during autumn and winter.
- Hopefully Term 2 will see some easing of COVID-19 cases and resulting restrictions. It would be a welcome change to be able to ease class separation rules, return to standard 3.10pm school finish time and to welcome parents on site again. We’re waiting further updates from ACT Government and will communicate all changes as they arise.
School environmental spaces:
- Garden club continues at lunch time and everyone is starting to see the fruits of their labour (literally), with a beautiful autumn harvest!
- St Thomas have applied for another grant to assist with development of the school grounds. This will be used to design and develop an interactive ‘food forest’ and adventure play area on the rear oval. Plans and quotes will progress in Term 2 and a school environment working bee will be held.
Fete Update:
- The Fete committee continue to meet regularly as we prepare to run our first post COVID Fete. There will be some changes to stalls and arrangements for 2022, but it will be highly anticipated by the kids and a fantastic event for the school community overall. Please join in and support the committee and event however you’re able. Save 12 Novembre in your diaries for this wonderful community event and fundraiser.
Election BBQ:
- St Thomas school will join with the Parish to put on an election BBQ and/or cake stall at polling time. This will be held outside in order to better manage COVID-19 restrictions. Further details to follow in line with election announcements.
Class parent/carer Q&A:
- School photo uniform?
- School photos are held in sports uniform as it is the most consistent uniform across class groups.
- Compass newsletter links?
- Availability of compass newsletter links will be adjusted to ensure these are accessible for all newsletters across an entire term.
- Broader canteen operation?
- An expression of interest note was released to determine interest in broadening canteen opening days to include Mondays.
- Year 6 end of year celebration – there will be ongoing discussion and consultation with students and teachers on location and nature of the event.
If this outline sparks any thoughts or feedback you’d like to contribute, please send through to your class parent contacts or direct to the school at: office.sttapkambah@cg.catholic.edu.au
Thank you
Angela Schacht
Deputy Chair
St Thomas the Apostle School Community Council
This week students have celebrated Holy Week through various liturgies. Kinder and Year 1 told the story of Palm Sunday at the beginning of the week. Year 3/4 taught us about the Last Supper and the events in the Garden of Gethsemane. Year 2 explained the trials of Jesus which led up to the Stations of the cross, presented by students in 5/6. We enter the holidays awaiting the resurrection of Jesus.
As we ponder the events of Holy Week and Good Friday, let us reflect on the question posed by Pope Francis in his letter Laudato Si.
"What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us? This question not only concerns the environment in isolation ... When we ask ourselves what kind of world we want to leave behind, we think in the first place of its general direction, its meaning and its values."
Geoff RyanREC
Happy Birthday to the following students who will celebrate a birthday this week and in holidays
Sophie Donaldson
Rufus McNally
Samuel Ballesteros
Dylan Thompson
Riley Clynch
Zack Clynch
Nixon Dean
Sofia Pearman
Teliaha Goward
Delilah Costanzo
This week the students borrowed a few additional books to enjoy over the holidays. I encourage families to create a space for them to minimise the risk of damage or loss over the next two weeks.
Maintaining regular reading routines during the holidays is essential to avoid the 'dip' in reading interest and skills that can occur during the break. Here are some tips to help encourage your child to keep reading during the holidays:
- Play word and board games together as a family.
- Set a reading challenge for the holidays.
- Create a 'Kitchen Cafe' where children can read recipes, help cook and even make a menu!
- Read together everyday for around 10-15 minutes, make it fun so they want to read again the next day.
- Visit the public library and help your child find books of interest to take home. Find your own books too and enjoy some downtime. Show your children how much pleasure you get from reading too. It is free and could be especially useful on a rainy day! If you are travelling consider choosing some books about your destination.
- Negotiate some chores and then perhaps visit a bookshop/op-shop to choose a new book to bring home!
- Write a list of movies that are also books. Choose some to view and read together as a family.
- Explore audiobooks, ebooks and podcasts.
Thank you again to parents and carers for encouraging reading, returning and borrowing and for helping with donations and book covering throughout the term.
Leah Godfrey
Teacher Librarian
(Semester 1)
Date |
Event |
Friday 8 April |
Last day of Term 1 |
Tuesday 26 April |
Pupil Free day |
Wednesday 27 April |
First day of Term 2 |
Thursday 28 April |
Reconciliation Information Night 6pm |
Friday 29 April |
ANZAC Ceremony 9:15am |
Saturday 30 April |
Reconciliation Presentation Mass 6pm |
Saturday 1 May |
Reconciliation Presentation Mass 8:30am or 10am |
Upsizing?
It is time to find the winter uniforms out and get them ready for Term 2!
We have lots of little ladies looking for small winter pinafores, and the uniform shop only have bigger ones on the rack, so if your child is ready to upsize to a size 8 or 10, we would love for you to donate any size 4 – 5 – 6 pinafores you may have,
Thank you
Victoria Town
Canteen Manager
St Edmunds Enrolment Information Year 6 2023
Attention Year 6 Families,
St Edmund's College Canberra is now ENROLLING FOR 2023!
If you are interested in learning more register now to attend our upcoming events
Information Evening - Tuesday 3 May at 6pm
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/275230440657
Open Day - Saturday 7 May at 10am
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/275223479837
Experience Eddies Day - Monday 9 May at 8.45am
https://events.humanitix.com/experience-eddies-day-2022
Any enquiries please visit our website: https://sec.act.edu.au/enrolments/ or contact our enrolments officer on 6239 0660 or enrolments@stedmunds.act.edu.au