A warm welcome back to what is shaping up to be a very busy fourth term.  I hope that you all enjoyed some time with your children over the break. The children have certainly settled in very well to the new term.  Term Overviews will be sent home today and should give you a clear outline of this term’s work and activities. Term 4 passes so very quickly, so we are planning to make the most of the last few months we have together this year.  Events this term include a book week parade, ninja colour run, Year 6 camp to Jindabyne, graduation and leadership ceremony, just to name a few (keep a lookout in future newsletters for more details). I am pleased to say that we are also able to participate in interschool sports which I know all of us have really missed this year. I would also like to welcome Mrs Krystle Burnett who is running a cooperative sport program with students (Monday to Wednesday) this term and will also be taking 5 Blue (every Thursday), 4 Green and 6 Green (alternate Fridays). Mr Matt Moore has started in the ELC, replacing Miss Elle Heenan for the term. We also welcome Mrs Emily Rhodes back to St Thomas Aquinas, Emily will be in 1 Blue and 1 Green on alternate Wednesdays.

Archbishop Christopher Prowse visited the parish on Thursday. He took time to speak with our Year 4 students about their First Eucharist and with some of the teachers about the challenges surrounding remote learning and the return to face-to-face teaching. Archbishop Christopher spoke of his visits around the Archdiocese, and particularly his visits to our western and southern regions. Many parishes in our Archdiocese have been severely affected by drought over the last few years and are overjoyed by the recent rain. He also visited parishes affected by the fires and spoke of their continued challenges as they rebuild. It reminded us all of how lucky we are to live in Canberra, and while we have been impacted somewhat by many of these things this year, we have remained relatively safe.

Last week students participated in a re-orientation week. As a school we have decided that we will spend the first week of each term reminding students of the high expectations we have for them at St Thomas Aquinas. During this re-orientation, students looked at our fourth school rule ‘To Practise Gratitude’ and how this fits in with our school theme ‘Set your roots in Christ, grow in faith and gratitude’. I think we can all agree that despite everything that has happened this year, we have a lot to be grateful for.

Latest COVID-19 restrictions have been released to schools. As we continue to abide by restricted numbers for inside events there will be some modifications to the usual way we come together to celebrate key events. This is unfortunate but we will do our best to still make those special times memorable for all involved. I ask that you continue to respect the one person per four square metres rule. Unfortunately, parents and visitors are still not permitted in the school unless authorised. We have noticed that some parents are starting to come into the school via the side doors. We ask that all visitors to the school enter through the front door and sign in, even if you are only here for a short period of time. Regardless of these restrictions on entering the school, know that staff are always available if you wish to make a time to speak with them. The best way to Contact them is through email:  firstname.surname@cg.catholic.edu.au is preferred.

I mentioned earlier that we will be having a Ninja Colour Run this term. This will be our only school fundraiser for the year and replaces the fete, which sadly could not go ahead due to COVID. I encourage you to reach out to family and friends who may want to sponsor your child to complete the course. The course will be set up by Canberra’s very own Ninja Warrior, Lee Campbell of BFirm and should be a great fun activity for all. More details will be sent home with your child. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to have parents on site to support this event, but will do our best to flood our facebook page with photos.

I want to thank all those who are being patient and cooperative during drop-off and pick-up. Even though restrictions have eased a little more, we want to support all families by providing convenient and safe ways to drop-off and pick-up your children. If you are parking could you avoid parking on the basketball courts. This area is for drop-off and pick-up only. It can become dangerous when cars are reversing in between cars in the pick-up line and more importantly as children are trying to get into or out of cars. Could you also observe the 10km/h speed limit as soon as you enter the school driveway, we have a lot of small children walking around the school who are still developing their road sense and may not always wait for cars.

Term 4 is generally a term where we begin to learn of teachers who will be moving to other schools and new staff for St Thomas Aquinas in 2021. Sadly, we will be losing Mrs Rebecca Neberding who was successful in gaining a permanent position as the Diverse Learning Teacher at St John the Apostle in Florey, we know Bec will be magnificent in the role and congratulate her for winning this position. We will be interviewing for teaching positions today and will let you know of new staff who will be joining us next year.

As we start to think about staffing for 2021, we are also starting to think about classes. Please take time to complete the Friendship Request Form for 2021 in this newsletter. These forms must be completed by Friday, 30 October 2020, so teachers have sufficient time to place students into classes for next year.

Thank you once again for your ongoing support.

Congratulations to the Barrett Family
Congratulations to Mrs Alisha Barrett and Family on the safe arrival of Lily Madeline Barrett.

God Bless