Welcome to St.Thomas'
Prayer for Remembrance Day
Dear God,
We remember with thankful hearts all those who have served and sacrificed for peace and freedom.
We think of the soldiers, nurses, and helpers who gave so much so that we can live in safety. Help us to be peacemakers in our own lives, kind, respectful, and caring to others. May we learn from the past and work together for a future filled with hope and harmony. Bless our school, our families, and our country.
Amen.
Important Dates
TERM 4
Fri. 07 November – Y5 & 6 Surf Lessons
Fri. 07 November – PP Assembly @ 8:45 am
Mon. 10 November – STEM (Yrs 5 & 6) Incursion
Tue. 11 November – Remembrance Day Liturgy Y5’s
Wed. 12 November – Y3 Parish Mass
Thu. 13 November – Y5 Leadership Speeches
Thu. 13 November – P&F Meeting @ 6:30 pm
Fri. 14 November – Kindy Parent Orientation 9 – 10 am
Wed. 19 November – Y6 Parish Mass
Thu. 20 November – Chess Competition (in-house)
Thu. 20 November – AQWA Y5 Shark Sleepover
Fri. 21 November – Presentation Mass @ 9 am – Yrs 2-6
Mon. 24 – 28 November – Week 1 Swimming Lessons Commence (PP – Y6)
Mon. 01 – Fri 05 December – Week 2 Swimming Lessons (PP – Y6)
Tue. 25 November – Annual General Community Meeting 6pm
Wed. 26 November – Kindy Student Orientation 3:30 – 4:30 pm
Wed. 26 November – Keyed-Up Recital Piano
Mon. 01 December – Night of the Notables @ 6 pm
Wed. 03 December – Road to Bethlehem @ 7 pm
Fri. 05 December – Graduation Dinner Y6
Mon. 08 December – Transition Morning
Tue. 09 December – Christmas Concert 5.30pm
Thu. 11 December – Y6 Graduation Liturgy @ 9 am
Fri. 12 December – Y6 Adventure World Excursion
Fri. 12 December – Term Four Concludes
2025 Term Dates
TERM DATES:
TERM 1 – Wednesday 5 Feb – Friday 11 Apr
TERM 2 – Tuesday 29 Apr – Friday 4 Jul
TERM 3 – Tuesday 22 Jul – Friday 26 Sep
TERM 4 – Tuesday 14 Oct – Friday 12 Dec
PUPIL FREE DAYS:
Monday 28 Apr
Friday 30 May
Monday 21 Jul
Monday 25 Aug
Monday 13 Oct
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS:
Monday 3 Mar (Labour Day)
Friday 18 Apr (Good Friday)- in school holidays
Friday 25 Apr (ANZAC Day) – in school holidays
Monday 2 Jun (WA Day)
Monday 29 Sep (King’s Birthday)
2026 Term Dates
TERM DATES:
TERM 1 – Monday 2 Feb – Thursday 2 Apr (9 week term)
TERM 2 – Tuesday 21 Apr – Friday 3 Jul (11 week term)
TERM 3 – Tuesday 21 Jul – Thursday 24 Sep (10 week term)
TERM 4 – Monday 12 Oct – Friday 11 Dec (9 week term)
PUPIL FREE DAYS:
Monday 20 Apr
Friday 29 May
Monday 20 Jul
Monday 24 Aug
Friday 25 Sep
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS:
Monday 2 Mar (Labour Day)
Friday 3 Apr (Good Friday)- in school holidays
Monday 27 Apr (ANZAC Day 25/4 falls on Saturday)
Monday 1 Jun (WA Day)
Monday 28 Sep (King’s Birthday)- in school holidays
From the Principal
It was wonderful to return from Canberra and join our Monday morning gathering to celebrate the many achievements of our students. We acknowledged outstanding efforts through Merit Awards and Value Awards, which recognise students who consistently demonstrate our school values in their daily actions.
YEAR 6 CANBERRA TOUR
Our Year 6 students had an incredible experience on their Canberra Tour last week. They visited significant national landmarks, including Parliament House, the Australian War Memorial, and the National Museum of Australia and so many more, deepening their understanding of our country’s history, democracy, and cultural heritage. Beyond the educational opportunities, the tour helped students grow in confidence, strengthen friendships, and create lasting memories. A big thank you to Mr Godsall for his exceptional organisation and to Mrs Pitcher for accompanying the group and supporting our students throughout the trip. Please enjoy reflections from the year 6 students below.
REMEMBRANCE DAY – Tuesday November 11
Next Tuesday, we will gather as a school community to honour Remembrance Day. Our Year 5 students will lead a special prayer service, and we warmly invite all families to join us at 11:00 a.m. on the basketball court near the flagpole as we pause to remember and give thanks for those who served our country.
YEAR 3 SACRAMENT OF PENANCE
This week, our Year 3 students took an important step in their faith journey by receiving the Sacrament of Penance for the first time. Surrounded by the love and support of their families, the children reflected on forgiveness, grace, and God’s unconditional love. It was a beautiful and reverent occasion, marking a significant milestone in their spiritual development. Thank you to Miss Antulov, Mrs Gibbs, Father Garner and Sr Catherine for preparing our students for this special Sacrament.
CHRISTMAS CONCERT – Tuesday, 9 December
We are excited to invite you to our Christmas Concert, One Starry Night, on Tuesday,9 December.
· Gates open: 5:30 p.m. for a family picnic on the top oval
· Concert begins: 6:15 p.m.
This festive evening is a wonderful opportunity to come together as a community and celebrate the joy of Christmas. We look forward to seeing you there!
P & F MEETING – Thursday, 13 November
Our next Parents & Friends (P & F) Meeting will take place on Thursday 13 November at 6.30pm. You are warmly invited to join us either in person or online. A link for virtual attendance will be emailed closer to the date. We look forward to welcoming you.
Natalia Thomson
Principal
From the Assistant Principal
SLIP LANE
Thank you to the parents who are making safe use of the slip lane. Please remember to stay in your car, and move forward as far as you can to allow other cars to pick up their child also. It may be a few extra metres, but ultimately helpful for the many cars following.
HIGHWAY HEROES
Module 4 of our whole-school program is based on teaching of emotional self-management and mood regulation. As adults, we understand that self-regulation is a foundation to solving problems (or ‘bumps’) and working through difficulty towards an appropriate solution or response. Children are learning these skills, and developing the important ability of choosing how to respond and react. Explicit teaching of age-appropriate skills and strategies form a major part of these lessons across the term.
SWIMMING LESSONS
Tomorrow all PP-Y6 parents will receive a link to a form to complete that provides information to our external swimming lessons provider Rare Indigo. Please can I ask you to complete the form as soon as possible – only one entry per child is required. There will be a section for you to make notes if you wish to advise the swimming instructors of something specifically related to your child and their swimming.
LOST PROPERTY
There has been a significant amount of lost property recently. Teachers continue to work with students to independently organise and care for their belongings. The lost property container is located outside the library door. We periodically return all named uniforms and food containers to students, however, any unnamed items are located in the lost and found container. There are many items with former students’ names on them – please contact the office if these belong to your child. I encourage parents to name their child’s belongings and to remove the names of previous owners on their child’s uniform to help us better track the current owners.
ICAS
A reminder that we will distribute these certificates when they become available to the school. As soon as we have them, we will inform parents. Thank you for your patience.
Heath Nankivell
Assistant Principal
Congratulations to our Award Winners
Y6 Canberra Trip
In Week 3, 25 students from our Year 6 class had the incredible opportunity to fly to Canberra and learn about our national capital. St Thomas Primary School would like to thank PACER for providing our school with $510 per student to help fund our Canberra tour. This contribution supported our visits to Parliament House, the Australian War Memorial, the Museum of Australian Democracy, the Electoral Education Centre, and many more significant sites. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Canberra, returning with new learning experiences, discoveries, unforgettable memories, and a deeper understanding of how our capital city shapes the civics and citizenship of Australia. It truly was an unforgettable educational adventure!
Diary of a Saint Thomas Student: (Written by the Year 6 Class)
Day 1
At 10am, we all arrived at the airport and checked in our bags. We said goodbye to our parents and waited for our flight. At 12:20 we boarded our flight and played card games and watched TV. After a while, we received some lunch. We had two options which included beef and rice or chicken and salad. After what felt like forever, we finally landed in Canberra. We then picked up our bags and met our legendary bus driver, Mick. We got on the bus and drove to the long-awaited Westwood Lodge. After that, we ate spaghetti bolognese for dinner, showered, played some cards and went to bed.
Day 2
Tuesday was our first full day in Canberra. The first thing on our list was the National Arboretum where we looked at some bonsai trees and played on an acorn inspired playground. We also went to Questacon which was filled with fun, interactive science activities including an earthquake simulator and a free fall gravity slide. We had some lunch and then we went to the High Court of Australia and saw a courtroom which was very impressive. We then walked to the National Gallery of Australia and saw a painting that cost $500,000,000 called Blue Poles. The last thing we did that day was bowling where we had lots of fun and ate a delicious dinner.
Day 3
Our third day in Canberra started off with a drive-up Mount Ainslie, a mountain that overlooks Canberra with a beautiful lookout. Our second activity was Anzac Parade where we saw all the memorials and learnt about their history. During our bus ride, Mick the bus driver showed us all the international embassies until we arrived at Cockington Green where they have miniature buildings and figures on display. Our fourth activity was the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) where all the Australian Olympians train. At the AIS we were given a tour and tried out some sports simulators. Then we went back to the accommodation, had dinner and got dressed for the Mount Stromlo Observatory. We had a night tour but sadly we didn’t see any stars because it was very cloudy.
Day 4
On Day 4, we went to the Australian War Memorial where we participated in a ceremony for all the soldiers who fought in wars for Australia, and we explored the World War 2 exhibition. After the War Memorial we went to the NAA (National Archives of Australia) where we saw the original Australian Constitution. After that we went to Government House where we met the Governor-General, Sam Mostyn, which was very lucky. She spent time talking to us and even took a selfie with us. Next, we ventured to the National Zoo and Aquarium. It was very fun to be around all the exquisite animals. After that we went to the National Capital Authority where we learnt how Canberra was made. In the evening, we went to the Botanical Gardens where we saw a range of native plants and animals.
Day 5
On Friday the 31st of October, we visited the Museum of Australian Democracy (Old Parliament House) and learnt about the history of Australia’s Prime Ministers. After visiting the Museum of Australian Democracy, we made our way over to the Royal Mint where we saw the history of Australian coins and how they are made. We then took a quick bus ride to Parliament House where we saw the House of Representatives and the Senate and learnt about how a bill is passed into an official law. We then visited the Electoral Education Centre where we learnt about preferential voting and the rules around voting. After that, we went back to the airport and flew back to Perth where we arrived around 9:30 pm Perth time. Overall, our trip to Canberra was a once in a lifetime experience!
Student Acknowledgement of Country
Back in Ukraine it was always cold. I lived in a small town surrounded by a forest and a lot of lakes. Me and my friends loved to play in the snow in winter doing activities like sledding, snowball fights, or building snow men. My grandma and great grandma designed clothes for people and sold them, my great grandma was the most popular clothes designer in the whole city. My mum used to play tennis professionally but quit because of injury. Ever since I moved to Australia I had to get used to the heat. Now I acknowledge the custodians of this land who took care of it, the sea, and the rivers thousands of years ago before the school was built. I would like to thank the past and present First Nations people for making Claremont beautiful by taking care of the nature and not getting what they want, but what they need. May Whadjuk Noongar culture be continued for generations to come.
Zakhar, Year Six
School Fees 2025
As the end of the school year approaches we remind families to please settle their school fees on or before 28 November.
If you have a payment plan in place (direct debit) then this will automatically occur and there is nothing further you are required to do.
Should you have any queries please contact Victoria in Finance either by phoning: 9286 9500 or emailing: accounts@stthomas.wa.edu.au
Thank you for your continued support.
Annual General Meeting
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – Tuesday 25 November
· 6pm – Refreshments
· 6.30pm – Meeting commences
All welcome.
Wheelchairs for Kids
On Wednesday, the 5th of November, West Australian of the Year, Brother Olly Pickett, visited our Year 5 and 6 students to share the incredible work being done at Wheelchairs for Kids.
Last term, Saint Thomas Primary School proudly donated $2,366.80 raised from our Market Stalls. Thanks to this generosity, at least 8 children in need around the world will receive life-changing wheelchairs.
Kindy News
Uniform Ordering
If you are ordering new uniforms for the commencement of the 2026 school year please take note of the following dates regarding delivery from Perm-A-Pleat.
School Delivery option-
- Last order date for consolidated school delivery is Monday 8 December 2025
Home delivery option-
- Last order date for home deliveries is Monday 15 December 2025
Online orders received after above dates will be delivered from Wednesday 16 January 2026.
Christmas Food Drive
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.
VacSwim Enrolments Now Open
October and summer (December/January) school holiday vacation swimming enrolments are now open.
As we head towards summer, many families are starting to get back into the water or planning holidays by the beach, rivers or swimming pools. It is important children stay safe and confident in the water.
VacSwim provides children 5 to 17 years of age with the opportunity to develop and progress their swimming and water safety skills during the school holidays across the State. There are programs for beginner, intermediate and advanced swimmers.
Enrolments are now open, and families can enrol online.
Further information, details of locations and information on how to enrol is on our website.
Edu Sing Term 4
Extend Before & After School Care
