08 August 2024

Prayer for Confirmation

Ever generous God,
You inspired Saint Mary MacKillop
To live her life faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and constant in bringing hope and encouragement to those who were disheartened, lonely or needy.
With confidence in your generous providence and through the intercession of Saint Mary MacKillop
We ask that you grant our request to protect all members of the St Thomas Primary School community.
We ask that our faith and hope be fired afresh by the Holy Spirit so that we too, like Mary MacKillop, may live with courage, trust, and openness.
Ever generous God hear our prayer.
We ask this through Jesus Christ.

Amen

It was wonderful to see all our students looking their best in their formal school uniform for today’s school photos. We appreciate everyone’s effort in making the day special, and look forward to sharing the wonderful photos with you soon.

Feast of St Mary MacKillop
On Thursday 8 August, we will join as a school community to celebrate the Feast of St Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first Saint, a significant date for the Catholic community in Australia. Mary MacKillop had a dream to educate the poor and she fiercely stood up for what she thought was right. Thank you in advance, to Father Richard for celebrating Mass with us, the Year 3 students for leading us in prayer, and to Miss Antulov, Mrs Gibbs, and the Choir for leading us in song. Parents and friends are all welcome to join us for Mass in the Church tomorrow morning at 9am.

INTERSCHOOL CHESS COMPETITION
In Week 2, our Interschool Chess Team travelled to St Paul’s Primary School in Mt Lawley for the Interschool Chess Competition. This game, which fosters skills such as visualisation, critical thinking, and problem-solving, was a perfect platform for our students to showcase their talents.

Congratulations to our Year 5 & 6 students—William S., Varren, Inderpal, Luca, Ivy, Zakhar, Charlie J., and Ruby—for their impressive performance. They secured the runner-up position among seven schools and over 68 competitors. Special congratulations to Varren for achieving third place in the individual standings.

A big thank you to Mrs. Angela Jarrott for assisting Mrs. Thomson with transportation to and from the venue.

BOOK WEEK PARADE
St Thomas’ will be celebrating Book Week with a school Book Fair starting on Monday 26 August and a Dress Up Parade. The theme for this year is “Reading is Magic ‘’. On Tuesday 27 August, children are invited to dress as their favourite book characters and bring along the book or a printout of the cover page, to help our secret judges choose several award winners. Students are asked to bring along a gold coin to assist with literacy in Uganda. Parents are most welcome to join us for our parade at 8.45am on the top oval.

ASSEMBLY
Congratulations to the Year 3 class for their exceptional assembly presentation, “When I Grow Up,” inspired by Roald Dahl’s novel Matilda. The students delivered a creative and uplifting message, reminding us that it’s perfectly okay to keep dreaming and that we can become whatever we aspire to be. A heartfelt thank you to Miss Antulov and the talented Year 3 students for sharing this inspiring message with us.

PARISH MASS YEAR 2
It was delightful to join the Year 2 students as they led the Parish Mass last Saturday with their readings and singing. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Father Richard, Miss Harvey, and Mrs. Gibbs for their detailed organisation. We also thank our Year 2 parents for preparing a delicious sausage sizzle that everyone enjoyed after Mass.

We eagerly anticipate the Year 2 Assembly this Friday at 8:45 a.m. and look forward to celebrating the students’ hard work and achievements.

My God bless you and your family.

ICAS
This week students participated in the Digital Technologies test. Future tests involve English, Science and Mathematics, with practice booklets to be made available to students prior to the test. Student results will be available to parents in the weeks after the test, and certificates of High Distinction, Distinction, Credit and Merit will be presented at a Monday Gathering and parents invited.

STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT REVIEW
The St Thomas’ Student Code of Conduct is a document for students, written by students. It is a powerful reminder for students to be reminded of their rights and responsibilities, as well as the rights and responsibilities of others, when they attend St Thomas’ Primary School. To ensure this document is a relevant and purposeful as when it was created, students in Years Three to Year Six have been led through a review of the document and advised of what works well and what may need ‘tweaking’ into 2025. All students are commended on the way they have engaged with this review. More discussion will take place over the next few weeks and any changes made will be communicated for 2025.

WEEKLY FOCUS
Over the first half of the term, our school weekly focus areas discuss each of the five school values. Into the second half of the term, we look at areas of our school vision statement, outlining the important 6C’s of learning here at St Thomas’. Our term focus is Compassion in our Community, and challenges students, particularly in our upper year levels, to consider how they can make a positive impact in the lives of those in our community. Opportunities such as those afforded by St Vincent de Paul can help students experience the sense of giving to those who need help in our local community.

Merit Awards Week 3
Congratulations Harry B., Max, Levi, Eva, Harry, Xavier, Joe, Natalie & Jacob.

Catholic Performing Arts Instrumental Piano
Congratulations Eva, Billie & Javiera

Merit Award Week 4
Congratulations Audrey.

Value Awards – Excellence
Congratulations Annabelle and Evan.

Interschool Chess Team
Congratulations Varren, William S., Inderpal, Luca, Charlie J., Zakhar, Ivy and Ruby.

At St Thomas’ child safety and well-being is the primary focus of our care and decision-making. The Code of Conduct, Behaviour Management procedures and the Keeping Safe Curriculum are some of the ways that we do this.

What is the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum?
The Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (KS:CPC) is a respectful relationships and child safety curriculum, that teaches all children and young people they have the right to be safe and they can help themselves to be safe by talking to people they trust.

Year 3 Assembly
‘When I grow up’ based on the novel Matilda.

Year 3 Assembly

100 Days of School

In Year 2, this term, we have embarked on an exciting journey exploring the Olympic Games and the diverse continents that compete in this global event. We have been discovering how the Olympics bring together athletes from around the world to showcase their talents and celebrate sportsmanship.