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- Assistant Principal's Report
- RE Week 3 - Be still and know that I am God
- Library News
- October & November Birthdays
- School Photos - Absent Students
- Wet Weather Arrangements
- Student Achievements
- Partners: Parenting Ideas
- Will Lipscombe Award
- Photos - Questacon visit
- Photos Year 2 Excursion - National Gallery of Australia
Dear Parents/Carers,
On Friday we will celebrate World Teacher’s Day. Days like these often come and go in the busyness of the term. This year we feel that it is appropriate to ensure that our teachers are suitably recognised. At St Thomas the Apostle, we consider all members of our staff to be teachers. Each one has something unique to offer the students in the way of valuable life lessons, personal support and the delivery of engaging teaching and learning. Our teachers are not only outstanding practitioners, they are also people of integrity and faith. A significant factor in our staff’s capacity to operate as a high functioning team is the support we receive from our families and from the wider community. We know that when staff feel valued and supported they flourish both personally and professionally. I know that regardless of how the day has progressed, each member of staff, like me, leaves the building with a grateful heart, knowing that we are part of something very special at St Thomas the Apostle.
The weather at this time of year, while annoying to the teachers on duty, is wonderful for the garden! Geoff Ryan and his Green Team are doing a wonderful job of tending to our garden. We are looking forward to reaping the rewards of this very soon. Engaging with creation is well known to be a crucial aspect of child development. Geoff has carefully planned the garden to ensure that teachers will be able to hold some cooking lessons and utilise our beautiful new Garden Café. Teaching students to care for our natural resources and to cook with fresh produce is a vital life skill if they are to contribute to a sustainable future.
At this time of the year teachers are busy writing reports. This year we are focussing particularly on celebrating student growth and planning for future improvement. At a strategic level, we are assessing key improvement strategies for 2021. It is exciting to see a positive groundswell around high quality teaching and learning in all subject areas.
Thank you again for all you do to support our school. Be prepared for another weekend of indoor fun!
Penny Vanzwol
Assistant Principal
RE Week 3 - Be still and know that I am God
This week we listened to Luke 11:1-4 (Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray). Jesus’ disciples would often see Him praying. God was obviously talking to Jesus and listening to Him.
It is no wonder that the disciples asked Jesus how to pray. Jesus replied with the Lord's prayer. They were surprised that the answer was so simple. I wonder how many times you have said the Our Father? Take some time this week to stop and think about what the words mean.
Pilot School - Conceptual Inquiry
St Thomas the Apostle has been part of a Pilot Program for Religious Education in the Canberra Goulburn Diocese for the past two years. The staff have been doing a fantastic job of delivering a conceptual inquiry approach to Religious Education. Our teachers have been working with professionals to create new units of work that encourage students to ask thoughtful questions and engage with concepts at a deep level. The St Thomas Staff have been pioneers for Religious Education in the Canberra and Goulburn Archdiocese. They are a very dedicated and amazing group of people to take this on.
Remembrance Month
The month of November is nearly upon us, and this is a special month for many reasons. On the first of November, we remember and pray for our loved ones who have died. This is known as “All Souls day”. Another important day is “Remembrance Day” on November 11th. This is a day we remember and pray for all those who have died defending our Country.
At St Thomas the Apostle Primary School, we would like to dedicate the whole of the month of November to remember those special people in our lives who have died in recent times. Please read the attached note and return to school if you would like us to remember and pray for those close to us who have died in recent times.
REC
To support our commitment to continuous improvement in the teaching of Literacy, we have purchased a significant number of new readers for students in Years K-2. We would like to protect the books by covering them. This is a huge job as we have well over 100 books. They are all the same size and quite simple to cover however, the volume of books means the more helpers we have, the more efficiently we can get the books covered.
If you are willing to take some books to cover, please email me on Penelope.vanzwol@cg.catholic.edu.au. We really appreciate your help in this matter.
Penny Vanzwol
Teacher Librarian
School Photos - Absent Students
Catchup
School Photo Day
Friday 30 October
If your child was absent on School Photo Day last week the photographer will be at school, tomorrow, for individual photos only.
Please ensure they are in Sports Uniform if they are having their photo taken
With current weather conditions it would be beneficial if you could have conversations with your child regarding afternoon pickup should it be raining.
Congratulations to James Rice, Riley Masters and Bruno Grzegorzewski who have been selected (announced on Sunday) as members of the Tuggeranong Valley Australian Football Club Junior Men’s 2020 Team of The Year.