30 October 2024

The St Thomas Primary Advisory Council is seeking two new members to join in 2025. This is due to my completion of the maximum term of 6 years. Additionally, with some reshuffling of positions, we need a new member for the grounds and maintenance team to replace Trish Coniglio, who is also finishing this year on the Advisory Council.

The Advisory Council plays a vital important role in supporting the Principal, the leadership team, and the school with a number of important responsibilities:

1. Strategic planning
2. Oversight of the financial management of the school
3. Capital development and planning.
4. Upholding culture and values of the school.

The Advisory Council meets 5 times per year. Meetings commence at 7pm (either online or face to face) and are held in the school Library.

We are only a small team, so we are seeking hands on new members:

• One role– Member of the Finance Committee, who will work closely with our current Treasurer Daniel Della Vedova. This person will aim to take over as Treasurer from 2026 as Daniel will have reached his maximum term of 6 years at the end of 2025. A background or strong interest in finance and financial management would be ideal.
• Second Role – Member of the Grounds and Maintenance committee. They will be replacing Trish Cognilio who has been an AC member for 5 years. This role will require someone who is committed to supporting the Principal on specific grounds and maintenance projects (i.e. playground development).

The terms are for 3 years, with a maximum of two terms or 6 years.

A huge thank you to Trish Coniglio who has provided enormous value through her contribution to the Advisory Council and especially as Chair of the Grounds and Maintenance Committee. Since Trish was elected, she has been critical to ensuring the works for the school have been implemented and the progress of the school from a maintenance perspective have been upheld under CEWA’s guidelines.

If you are interested in finding out more about this role, or nominating, please complete this form:
2025 Nomination for Advisory Council

Further information on the role can be provided by contacting myself, Susan Swift (Chair) on skswift@westnet.com.au or 0427778759, or Natalia Thomson (Principal) on natalia.thomson@cewa.edu.au or 9286 9500.

Nominations will close on 5pm or sooner on November 8, 2024.

As the holiday season approaches, we invite you to dig deep and support the Mini Vinnies Christmas Food Drive in partnership with St Vincent de Paul. This year, we are collecting a variety of non-perishable items to help make a difference in the lives of those in need.

From canned foods and pasta to festive treats like mince pies and bonbons, every donation counts. Please bring in items such as breakfast spreads, healthy cereal, rice, fruit cake, coffee, crackers, teabags, and other non-perishable goods.

Collection closes on Week 8 Monday, and baskets will be available in each classroom for your contributions.

Together, let’s help make this Christmas a little brighter for everyone.

Canberra 2024
In week 2, 21 students of our Year 6 class had the incredible opportunity to fly to Canberra and learn about our national capital. In Just 5 days the Year 6’s explored many important landmarks including the Australian Parliament House, the Museum of Australian Democracy (MoAD), the National Electoral Education Centre and the Australian War Memorial, plus many others listed below. The trip was made possible in part by the generous support of PACER, which provided $510 in funding per student. A special thank you to Mr. Godsall, Mrs. Thomson, and Mrs. Gibbs, who ensured that the trip ran smoothly and that everyone had a fantastic time. It truly was an unforgettable educational adventure! Enjoy reading some diary entries from the students who attended the trip!

Transport 14/10/24 – 18/10/24
Angus: At the airport while we were waiting, we saw Annabelle’s uncle who was the pilot for our flight. On the flight there were lots of things to do, including watching Inside Out 2, Bluey, SpongeBob, and Despicable Me. Just before the flight took off, we got a shout out by Annabelle’s uncle who said, “Thank you St Thomas for flying on Qantas to Canberra for their camp.” At the end of the flight, when we landed in Canberra, Annabelle’s uncle let us in the cockpit, where there were so many buttons to press.  Once we collected our bags we met our bus driver – Darren. He was better than most of the bus drives as he played music and even took song requests. On the way back to the airport, our last trip with Darren, he played our favourite song, “Apple pen”. He was probably the best bus driver we’ve ever had. At the airport we said goodbye to Canberra and took off back to Perth to see our parents.

Accommodation: Westwood Lodge: 14/10/24 – 18/10/24
James: On the first day, when we arrived in Canberra, we headed straight to the place we were staying, Westwood Lodge. Mr Godsall had already chosen our rooms and our bunk mates and made us all put our luggage in our rooms. We then were allowed time outside for a play on the equipment, so we all played on some gym equipment, a specialised basketball court and a massive oval. Lots of us played cricket on the oval but there was not a lot of bounce on the pitch. We also went to go see the animals around the farm and take in the amazing views.

Government House: 15/10/24 8:30am
Winter: On this particular day we went to Government House which was surprisingly big and is where the Governor – General lives. The Government House was really cool with how expensive all the things inside the house were. We went inside and the first stop was the biggest room in the house. The Governor-General’s security talked his way through on how she got all of her medals. It was fascinating on how he would let us look at the medals which she earned from her way up to Governor-General. He made his way through the house showing us the Governor-Generals private dining room, her study room, and the garage. Her private dining room was super amazing because of how fancy it was and how fancy the food sounded! Her study room was the place where the Governor-General signs the bills so that it would be declared a law. Something that we learnt was that the Governor-General can’t decline the bill, she can only send it back because of some minor mistakes or to change the wording. We then went to the garage which was full of expensive vehicles and one of the cars was a gift from the Queen. Our guide said that the Governor-General gets her own private jet, we didn’t see it but it sounded amazing. All of the things that the Governor-General owned in Australian dollars was around 36 million dollars. The Governor-General wasn’t in Canberra because she had important work in Sydney since the King was coming in a few days. The tour altogether was amazing for the first trip because everything was so expensive and so valuable. The Governor-General has her own golf course – which was a kilometre wide, she had her own tennis course and had her own Botanical Garden. Overall, this trip was honestly one of my favourite and most interesting.

Royal Australian Mint: 15/10/24 10:00am
William: At the Royal Australian Mint, we saw very old coins and learnt about the history of them and how they were made. Did you know, there were 1 and 2 cent coins? And that gold coins aren’t made out of gold! The reason why the 50c coin is a dodecahedron is because it got easily confused with a 20c coin when it was a circle. We got to design our own coin which was amazing. We got to, choose the shape, background, pattern, animals, plants, materials and how much it was worth. We then saw the process of making coins, where they used so many robots. They stamped the picture onto the coin and apparently the stamper needs to be replaced a lot due to the pressure put on it when it stamps the coin. We then played coin games, (for example: you had to choose if the coin was usable or not). My favourite part was seeing the coins with King Charles on them.

High Court: 15/10/24 11:30am
Karen: The High Court was incredibly big! As we walked in, we had to go through security which included taking all the items out of our pockets. Once we got through, we were asked to sit on a big black couch, all 21 of us fitted on it. Then we walked into a medium-sized courtroom, (by medium we mean: 30m high rooms). The place was huge and had seating positions for 100 guests! We then sat down in the court room, the representative answered our questions and explained how the High Court works and how people even get in there, he also explained all the seating positions. Following that we got to go to a real court case that was in session and got to listen in. We had to be silent as the court was in session. After that, we had to sit down around a big screen to watch a 5-minute video on how the High Court handles big cases, and a bit about the constitution.

Museum of Australian Democracy (MOAD) (Old Parliament House): 16/10/24 1:30pm
Chanupa: At the Museum of Australian Democracy (or known as the Old Parliament House) we explored the meaning of Democracy. Firstly, we went to a interactive place where we found facts that resemble the life of the past and present Prime Minister’s of Australia. We also went to the old Senate Chamber and discussed about how the Senate was made. Also, we saw old outfits that the past Senators use to wear and compared them with todays fashion. We also learn’t about the functions of the Senate and House of Representatives.

Electoral Education Centre: 16/10/24 2:30pm
Inderpal: After exploring the Museum of Australian Democracy (MOAD), we arrived at the electoral commission. To begin our journey at the electoral commission, we first went into this minuscule room, where we were ebulliently greeted by our tour guide, who gave us a brief  introduction, shortly afterwards taking us into another room as we watched a brief video which informed us of many various details – For instance: when you can vote, how you can vote and the rules of voting. As the video ended, our tour guide came in and questioned our knowledge. We then went into these private booths where we played a game about voting. Throughout the time, they were consolidating our prior knowledge and informing us about how our government works – with the upper and lower houses, how many representatives there are in each state and how you can win an election. We were intrigued on the different technical aspects – (the constitutions and referendums). We learnt all about how an election day works – you must enrol (need to be 18 and an Australian citizen), then show up and sign yourself in – you cannot vote twice. Then you need to vote, and the calculations are made. We also learnt various things, like there are 151 members in the House of Representatives and 76 senators in the senate, how election day is formatted, that Australia unlike other countries looks for a majority winner – which creates transfer votes, this is call preferential voting. On behalf of the Year 6’s we enjoyed the acts of doing a little voting skit, pretending it was the actual day, overall, we all relished this activity and loved all the details!

Zone Bowling: 15/10/24 4:50pm
Winter: At Zone Bowling we had a wonderful experience. It started off with the instructor, who told us all the rules and how to bowl the ball, he said we could choose which size ball that was comfortable with us. Then we were straight into the competition, we were split into different groups of around 7. We were competing against each other which was fun. After an hour we had a small dinner, which included hot dogs, chips, and a fizzy drink. What a treat! In the end Mr Godsall won with 91 pins knocked over. Our bus driver Darren was doing his own bowling and got 143 points! This was one of our most competitive but fun activities we did in Canberra.

Australian War Memorial: 16/10/24 8:30am
Annabelle: At the Australian War Memorial all of the Year 6’s got to participate in a very interesting tour. It started off with a wreath laying ceremony. This took place at the tomb of the unknown soldier, a tomb where the body of a unknown soldier lays. We then got to have a look at the honours board. This is for all the soldiers that have died in war and have served Australia. We then went into the actual museum and got to see lots of really cool dioramas and we even got to see Simpsons donkeys, medical band. We then ended the tour with looking at the statue of a soldier created by Ray Ewers, who is related to one of the Year 6 students. We learnt many things about the 1st World War including how the landing in Gallipoli happened which was very interesting.

ANZAC Parade: 16/10/24 10:30am
Karen: Our bus driver drove to the place, where we got out and walked around 10 statues relating to different wars. We walked around each statue took a photo and read the description, this was quite interesting as we learnt about the ANZAC Parade, which was a self-guided tour, so our bus driver drove a lot in a short amount of time.

Embassy Tour: 16/10/24 11:30
James: Our bus driver, Darren, took all of us around all the embassy’s surrounding Parliament. We saw the Papuan, British, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Greek, American, EU, Chinese, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Philippine, Spanish, Brazilian, Canadian, Finnish and the demolished Russian embassy. It’s hard to fathom how many countries have embassies in Australia and how important they are to Australia’s relationship with other countries.

Parliament House:  16/10/2024 1:00pm
Mattia: Situated at the centre of Australia’s politics, the Australian Parliament House was a big standout in out in the trip to Canberra. The tour started off with a mock bill proposal where we learnt about how the house of Representatives and the senate work. We also learnt about the various positions and how they vote. Then we were led to the place where all the decisions are made for our nation, the actual House of Representatives and Senate. It was great to learn about Parliament House, which included things like how the house of Representatives is the colour green, to represent a gum leaf and then the senate is the colour red, of an older gum leaf. Also, the positioning of certain buildings is intentional. The Parliament house is in line with the war memorial so when they are sending soldiers to war they know the cost. As well as that Parliament house forms a triangle with the Australian defence and the city defence connecting politics, to defence, to the people and economy. Overall, Parliament house was a really interesting place to visit and learn about connecting us to Australia’s democracy and politics.

Cockington Green: 16/10/24 4:00pm
Joshua: We then went to Cockington Green which was a miniature town. It was a very British place and had a bunch of cool things including a miniature world surrounded by flowers. Some of the funniest things were a streaker on a soccer field, a guy selling a half sunken boat saying it had minor leaks and a guy golfing that was knocked into a pond by an alligator. One of the Yr 6s favourite part of Cockington Green had to be a little Land Rover driving up a rocky, muddy hill. Something that we learnt is that the owners went over to England saw something like it and thought they should make one of their own. So, they brought it back to Australia and opened their own garden. They had two sections one was all British themed and the other was international themed.

Mount Stromlo Observatory: 16/10/24 7:15pm
Sebastian: The Observatory of Canberra was one of the best activities we did at night. After we got off the bus the group met outside an old telescope with our tour guides where they told us a little bit about the observatory and this first telescope. The first one of the two telescopes was inside a dome that burnt down during the Canberra fires so we could not go inside. The next of the two telescopes was one from Melbourne that had gone back to its home. After that, we split into two groups because we had two tour guides. We got to see part of a meteor that had landed in Alice Springs and two telescopes that actually went to space! The last thing was when the two group saw the moon and Saturn through a telescope. The Yr 6s favourite part was definitely the meteor, and I learnt that if a meteor strikes on earth, it would still be cold from being in space for so long.

Australian Institute of Sport: 17/10/24 8:30am
William: We had some breakfast and knew this was gonna be the best day in Canberra, because first off, we had the A.I.S (Australian institute of sport.) We arrived and straight away took a photo of the huge sports centre. We started by going up some stairs and into a games room where they had a basketball hoop, an AFL simulator, as well as a rugby one, they had a skiing and cycling race. And to top that off they had a penalty kickoff simulator. After that we went to the swimming pool where all the athletes practice their swimming, there were 2 swimming pools but only one of them was open to public which was not the one we went to. There where cameras above the pool for the coaches and there was one way glass under the pool also for the coaches. We went to the gym where they had lots of weights as well as a 25-metre sprint. We learnt that the gymnasts spend the most time at the gym. We saw the volleyball team; they were tall and were doing a drill where they were smashing the ball down after their partner would set the ball up. We then went to see the new athletics stadium where all the track and field athletes would practice soon as it was still being built.

Questacon: 17/10/24 10:30am
Varren: We then went to Questacon, which was like a massive version of Sci-tech in Canberra. When we walked in a gigantic Lego rocket ship was in front of us, a massive gift shop and many more. We walked into a massive technology-based room with a big screen showing us how A.I works, for example it would type up something and provide a picture of it. My favourite room was the free fall room where we climb up the stairs which was 5 metres high, then there was an instructor, who explained how to be safe while doing it. Then you had to hang on a bar for 3 seconds. Next the instructor told us to drop, and we flew down a massive slide, it was very fun. There was another room that was a house with only a living room, they made the ground shake, so that it was simulating an earthquake. After many more rooms we went to the gift shop and then left Questacon. Overall, everyone really liked Questacon and it was one of the best activities we went too.

National Arboretum: 17/10/24 1:00pm
Eddie: We then went to the National Arboretum; it was where they grow lots of plants. First, we had lunch and then we played in the playground which was based on a acorn tree. When everyone had finished, we went inside and entered the Bonsai room. A Bonsai is like a small plant that looks like a big tree. It originated in Japan.

National Archives of Australia: 17/10/2024 2:00pm
Ashley: Housing over 46 million different nation-wide documents, the National Archives of Australia held many different stories that have been collected since Federation in 1901. We ventured more into the immigration-side of Australia’s history, and we learned about Australia’s unfair immigration test that non- white people had to take when coming to Australia. We learnt that only 50 people passed the test in the first 10 years! After that, we headed to the exhibits, and we got to see the real Constitution written by Edmond Barton and signed by Queen Victoria. One of the exhibits involved us researching a story about a man living on an island whose life had been saved by pigeons delivering a message to a hospital on the mainland. This story was one of the 46 million plus stories that the archives had collected! Our visit taught us a lot about Australia’s complicated timeline of events.

Farm feeding: 17/10/24 3:30pm
Ryan: At Westwood lodge we fed some farm animals. We fed goats, sheep, alpacas, and a pony. There were three baby goats, one pony, three sheep, one adult goat, and three alpacas. We named the baby goats LeBron, Kobe, and Steph. The adult goat was MJ. One of the alpacas was too shy to get fed. The sheep were like hooks to us, whenever we fed them, they would just pull it down. We learnt that animals have feelings too and alpacas know how to kick. We found feeding the animals, naming them, and patting them incredibly fun.

Australian National Botanical Gardens: 17/10/24 7:00pm
Harry: At the botanical gardens, we did a night tour and saw heaps of cool plant and wildlife. We saw lots of kangaroos, a possum, and a snake. The tour was more fun because it was at night when there were no people other than us. The different landscapes they had were cool because some areas were tropical plants and others were desert plants, so it was all of Australia’s plants in one.

Mount Ainslie: 17/10/24 8:30pm
Miguel: Straight after the Botanical Gardens, we drove with Darren to the peak of Mount Ainslie. No of us could believe the view at night. You could see the National triangle so clear. The War Memorial view was incredible, and Parliament House stood out as the main feature.

National Gallery of Australia: 18/10/24 10:00am
Levi: When we walked into the gallery, we met our tour guides, and we picked up some portable chairs and then we went upstairs to the section which had these Aboriginal pillars. These pillars were used as a protest and memorial, the pillars are where aboriginal people put the bones of their dead relatives. Behind us there was a chalk board which had the whole family tree for an aboriginal artist. There were these places which where smudged, which represented the stolen generation or where information was lost. We then traveled to this abstract sculpture which was inspired by some religious statues in Pakistan. We had to create 3 parts of a monster, the head, torso, and legs. We then had to swap our paper with someone else’s paper and make sure they don’t see our drawing and finish the drawing. The National gallery was an amazing place with wonderful artwork.

National Zoo: 18/10/24 12:30pm
William: After a calm and relaxed time at the gallery the bus ride to the zoo was calm but there was clearly a sense of excitement building up. We arrived and had some sandwiches and cake while watching the monkeys play around. We were then split up into 3 groups led by Mrs Thomson, Mr Godsall and Mrs Gibbs. We then received maps and went on our way around the Zoo. There where various animals including bears, lions, tigers, leopards, and otters along with all the iconic Australian animals.

National Capital Exhibition: 18/10/24 1:00pm
Inderpal: We certainly finished on a high at the National Capital Exhibition where we learnt all about the creation and selection of Canberra to be our national capital. We started off observing the land before Canberra was established. Next, we learnt about how the name Canberra was chosen. It means “Meeting place” in Aboriginal because the Ngunnawal peoples had gathered in Canberra for many years. Then we moved on to why Canberra was chosen. It was chosen because it had water, was not easily attacked, in between Melbourne and Sydney who both wanted to be the capital and had lots of natural beauty. After that we watched a highly informative video about the design of Canberra and learnt that parliament house was lined up with the War Memorial so that when they were thinking about joining war, they new the cost. Also, parliament house is connected in a triangle with the Australian defence and the city centre, which connected the politics, to the defence and to the people. Finally, we saw a 3D miniature map of how Canberra is today. We all enjoyed the National Capital exhibition and enjoyed learning about how Canberra was established. I would definitely recommend it for the year 5’s in 2025.

This week in Year 1, we’ve been having a lot of fun learning how to write procedure —and what better topic to focus on than making the perfect sundae? The students started by thinking about their aim—to create a delicious sundae step by step. They then made a list of all the materials they’d need, including ice cream, sprinkles, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and, of course, a cherry for the top!

Once they had everything they needed, the real fun began as the students carefully wrote out the steps to make their sundae. They learned to use words like “first,” “next,” and “finally” to make sure their instructions were clear. From scooping the ice cream to adding all their favourite toppings, they created the perfect guide to building a sweet treat. To wrap it all up, they added a conclusion reminding everyone to enjoy their delicious sundaes once all the steps were complete. The Year 1s did a fantastic job with this activity, showing great progress in organising their ideas and writing clearly. We can’t wait to see what they write next!

RUNNING CLUB

Running Club will not be running for the reminder of the term due to low numbers and parental assistance. Well done to all of the students who have participated this year and to the parents who have assisted on Thursday mornings.

STUDENT SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS

On Friday 25 October, the following students: Hudson W, Sam J (Year 3), Maddy G (Year 4), Charlie J Ben F (Year 5) and James T (Year 6) who participated in the State Schools Cross Country Championships which was postponed from term 3. Well done to all of you and a big congratulations to Maddy G (Year 4) who came 10th overall and now has been invited to participate in the State Team Selection Trials in 2025.

We would like to acknowledge Elle M (Year 3) who participated in the State Gymnastic Championships. She is now the state junior Gymnastics champion for WA. Congratulations Elle.

BE A SPORTING HERO & SPORTS EQUIPMENT COLLECTION

Students are invited to come to school dressed as their favourite Sporting Hero on Friday 1 November 2024 in return for a gold coin donation to support Fair Game, a WA charity that recycles sports equipment and distributes it to children in remote, regional and underserviced communities across the State.

– Come dressed as your favourite sporting hero or in your team colours

– Bring any unwanted or outgrown sports equipment to donate – most needed items are runners, footy boots, footballs, soccer balls and basketballs.

Message from Fair Game:

To make sure that anything we distribute is of a quality that we would be happy to receive ourselves.

Please make sure donations are clean and in good useable condition with plenty of life left in them.

– Please no helmets or clothing.

– Your gold coin donation and pre-loved equipment makes you a sporting hero as it enables another child to enjoy the benefits of playing sport too.

– If you are unable to bring in the items to school there are other collection points – the closest to our school are:

o Revo Sports and the State Netball Centre 37 Lemnos St, Shenton Park WA 6008

o Gold Netball Centre – 200 Selby St, Jolimont WA 6014