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- Principal's Report
- RE Week 7 - Be still and know that I am God
- Library News
- Canteen News
- Indigenous Literacy Foundation
- Partners: Parenting Ideas
- Walk Safely to School Day - Copy
- Szapp - Update your classes!
- Working Bee - please return slip if you can help
- September Birthdays
- Kindergarten Health Checks
- Catholic Care Parenting Workshops
- Photos - Awards Term 3 Week 6
- Photos - Virtual Cross Country Awards
- Photos - Year 1 Artwork
- Photos - Year 2 Artwork
- Photos - Yr 3/4J Pen Licences
- Photos - Peers & Buddies
Dear Parents/Carers,
Staffing for Term 4
As advised yesterday, there will be a few changes of staffing for Term 4 at St Thomas the Apostle School. Mrs Judy Egan will be leaving us (just for Term 4) to be the Acting Assistant Principal at St John Vianney’s, Waramanga. This will be in the interim until Mrs Jo Reed returns to Australia from teaching in Hong Kong and takes up the position from January 2021. Whilst we will miss having Judy here for the term, we know she will be as asset to the St John Vianney’s community and we will look forward to having Judy back with us in 2021.
In Judy’s absence, Mrs Penny Vanzwol will act in the Assistant Principal’s Role and Mr Geoff Ryan will be the Acting REC. Miss Kaitlin Reedy will take over Judy’s teaching role in Year 3/4KE on a Thursday and Friday and Mr Mark Bazzana will be working on a Thursday and Friday in Year 5/6R.
Mrs Rachel Kennedy will be finishing at the end of Term 3 and taking maternity leave. We wish Rachel all the very best as she awaits the arrival of her second child. Miss Georgia Croker will be teaching Year 3/4K for Term 4.
All of the teachers working in these positions for Term 4 are well known to the students as they have all taught here in the past few years. I am thankful to have such competent and caring teachers joining us for the term.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding these changes.
Internet and Social Media
Students are accessing Apps such as:
- Yolo
- House Party
- iMessage
- Tik Tok and
- Snapchat
While many students are using these Apps correctly at home and for what they are designed for, others are using them inappropriately. It is our understanding that some students are using inappropriate language, posting unsuitable videos, discussing unsuitable topics, making recordings of inappropriate actions or using them as an avenue to exclude and bully other students. Sadly, this results in arguments, frustration, and unhappiness at school that teachers are now spending considerable time dealing with. These situations also impact on learning, as students are distracted by, and are thinking about what has happened or what will happen next online.
The problems aren’t confined to the upper primary students. We are also experiencing children having terrifying nightmares and showing signs of anxiety at school, triggered by what they are seeing on the internet. The ones that have caused us concern in the past few weeks are, Siren head, Slender Man and Omegle. Whilst they might look innocent at first, when you take a look and after a few minutes viewing or interacting with them, and I could see why they are having such a negative impact on our children.
The eSafety Commissioner is running a webinar next week explaining how these apps are used by children. As parents and carers, we need to keep updated on how these apps and sites work and keeping our children safe. You can join one of these webinars for parents and carers, at no cost. These live webinars explore the latest research and they are a great way to learn how you can help your child develop the skills to be safer online. The 1-hour webinar is suitable for parents and carers and will cover:
- popular apps used by young people (eg TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube
- case studies, research, and targeted advice
- where to find help and support.
Dates
- Tuesday 8 September 12:30 pm
- Wednesday 9 September 7:30 pm
- Thursday 10 September 12:30 pm
Register via the link:
The eSafety Commissioner can also be contacted for advice on how to can make sure that the devices that children use at home, have settings that block them from access to inappropriate sites and apps. For more information or to register, Click here for esafety website
I ask that all parents and carers of children who access the internet, to discuss this issue with their children and take particular note of their child’s online activity outside school hours. It may also be worth looking into the age restrictions on some of these Apps as most of them are 13 years of age.
Keeping our School Community Safe
Please support us to keep our children safe by having conversations with your child about moving safely around the community and what to do if they ever feel unsafe. You may wish to visit the Australian Federal Police website that contains child safety information. In addition, Safety4Kids is a non-government website that has useful information and links (see https://www.safety4kids.com.au/). The Constable Kenny website also has a number of child safety tips for parents. A previous newsletter this term had information on Constable Kenny (see Newsletter T3 W3).
Catholic Education will continue to work with ACT Policing on issues of child safety.
ACT Election - Saturday 17 October
There are 6 weeks until the ACT Election and I am sure you are seeing candidates from all parties at shopping centres (or even receiving phone calls from them). I encourage you to approach candidates at the shopping centres and mention or discuss the value of ACT Catholic Schools and quiz them on their party’s support for ACT Catholic Schools.
In the ACT, there are 29 systemic Catholic Schools who educate 15 000 students. In Canberra, Catholic schools are very similar to public schools, with our schools having almost exactly the same average ICSEA score (1077-1076). Our schools are inclusive, support families from all backgrounds, and operate on a modest budget.
Did you know that when you compare the total funding that Catholic schools in each state/territory receive, the ACT are the second lowest funded Catholic schools in the country? This is particularly impacted by the ACT Government’s low funding of Catholic schools.
Have a chat to the candidates and mention that you are a parent in an ACT Catholic School.
School Fees
If you have not organised any payment of Term 3 School Fees, please do so as soon as possible.
Should there be an issue regarding payment of Term 3 School Fees, please call Naomi in the front office.
God bless
Ursula Jamieson
Principal
RE Week 7 - Be still and know that I am God
Last night the children preparing to receive the Sacrament of Eucharist for the first time gathered with their families in the church for an evening of prayer. The children demonstrated their commitment to their preparation as they engaged prayerfully in a meditative walk and a reflection on The Road to Emmaus. We continue to pray for the children as they draw closer to receiving the Sacrament for the first time.
Community Prayer
This week in Community Prayer, we heard of the New Covenant. The new covenant comes from God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This covenant transforms our hearts and lives. Through the new covenant, we have a responsibility to carry on the work of Jesus in our world.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he promised the gift of the Holy Spirit. The new covenant does not leave us alone. We have the Holy Spirit living inside us to guide us and energise us and to help us to live out God’s calling.
The new covenant allows us to know God even more deeply. We pray to God through Jesus. This is why many prayers end by saying “We ask this prayer through Jesus Christ Your only Son.” Everyone can come to know God. All you need is an open heart.
So . . . how can we respond to the new covenant? We can continue to listen carefully to what Jesus teaches us and if we follow his way as members of his family. The new covenant is a universal covenant that God has made with all people everywhere. It can bring love and harmony to our world and peace to our hearts.
Penny Vanzwol
REC
Here are some photos of bread making last night's Eucharist home group night.
New feature added to Flexischools
I have been fairly lenient, or often too busy to chase up unpaid monies. However, the canteen runs as a small business covering its own costs and is not in a financial position to bear the cost of unpaid lunches.
In the instance that a child has an emergency lunch order made for them, an itemised list will be sent home with costings, amount owed and payment instructions.
I have added a category to Flexischools named 'Outstanding money'. To use this feature:
- select the next available date to place an order
- go to the outstanding money category and select the correct denominations to pay for your child's order here (preferred method) or by sending in the correct money in with your note.
When placing your Flexischools order, please ensure you follow the prompts all the way through to the end.
This is the most common reason that lunch orders don't come through!
At this stage of placing your order, you can request a confirmation email to be sent to yourself to ensure your order has been placed correctly.
If you have any questions or queries, please don't hesitate to contact me at paula.papandrea@cg.catholic.edu.au or on 6231 4144.
Thankyou for your understanding in this matter,
Paula Papandrea
Canteen manager
Indigenous Literacy Foundation
This week students from Year 3/ 4 and Year 5/6 were privileged to have Fred and Todd from Maleurindi Cultural Group share some stories, culture and dance. This was a great opportunity for students and teachers to learn about our rich first nation’s culture.
Walk Safely to School Day - Copy
Next Friday St Thomas will be participating in the 21st annual National Walk Safely to School Day. The event will take place on Friday, 11 September 2020, Week 8. This initiative aims to inspire children to lead a healthy, active lifestyle by walking to and from school. For an added incentive to walk (or ride) to school, children who participate will receive 5 house points.
PLEASE UPDATE YOUR CHILD'S CLASS ON SZAPP
NOTES MAY BE SENT TO SELECT CLASSES AND YOU MAY MISS OUT ON INFORMATION
Szapp is used for sending information and updates about the school and upcoming events. Please see the attached instructions for updating your child/rents classes on SZapp.
To update classes:
1. Open the Szapp on your mobile phone and select drop down menu "Manage"
2. Ensure that "Push Notifications" and relevant classes are selected
"Default Subscription" - this can be used if you have children at different schools that use Szapp. It allows you to set the default school when opening the App
To dowload the Szapp on your mobile device follow the instructions below:
Happy Birthday to the following students and staff who are celebrating a birthday this week
This is to let all parents and carers of Kindergarten students know, that Canberra Health Services is offering a targeted kindergarten health check concentrating on vision and hearing.
These health checks are performed in clinics at the City Health Centre Mondays and Fridays and there will be appointments most days in the school holidays.
An appointment can be made by phoning the Central Intake Line on 51249977.
Kind Regards
Judy Wilson
A/g CNC
School Health Team
Kindergarten Health Check and Immunisation Programs