Dear Families,

Evacuation of Brindabella Christian College
This morning, students from Brindabella Christian College were evacuated to our school, due to a fire at their school. Advice was sought from Catholic Education prior to the students and staff entering our school and COVID protocols were followed. We are pleased to report that the emergency was resolved and students and staff from Brindabella were able to return to school shortly after 11:30am.

Year 6 Camp
I had the pleasure of accompanying Year 6 students on camp last week. The students represented St Thomas Aquinas so well, with the staff commenting on how polite students were and student’s (not to mention teacher’s) willingness to have a go at everything.  They said this was one of the only groups where everyone joined in on all of the activities.  We are so proud of the leadership shown by our Year 6 students. I would like to thank Miss Sharne Vickers, Miss Madeline Evans, Mr Joshua Mackenzie and Miss Laura Mudford for taking time away from their own families to enable Year 6 students to attend camp.

Cross Country
On Thursday we held our Cross Country Carnival, and while the rain threatened, it mostly held off allowing us to get through all age groups. Thank you Mr Mackenzie for organising the event, the staff for taking on the extra jobs for the day and especially to the parent volunteers who helped us out on the day, we could not hold these events without you. It was also wonderful to see parents coming to cheer their children on throughout the event. Thank you for maintaining an appropriate distance from one another and from the groups of children, we really appreciate your cooperating with us as we continue to navigate this COVID-aware world.

St Thomas Aquinas Feast Day
Thank you to Mrs Skye McPadden for organising the St Thomas Aquinas Feast Day celebrations. St Thomas Aquinas’ Feast day is actually on the 28th January.  Since we are not able to celebrate this day with the whole school, we move the celebration to a later date. This year we decided to move the celebration to the Feast of St Joseph, since we have a history of Josephite nuns, including Sr Colleen Howe RSJ, working with the school. Students were able to learn about St Thomas Aquinas and his work, as well as have a bit of fun on the jumping castles.

Teaching and Learning
This week we have been working and will work with two consultants on teaching and learning. Leonie Anstey worked with teachers yesterday and today on developing their understanding of the Mathematics Curriculum. Leonie has been working with St Thomas Aquinas for the past 5 years to support teachers in developing their understanding of teaching Mathematics. On Wednesday we welcome Toni Hatten-Roberts from COGLearn. Toni will work with six teachers and the leadership team to ensure that High Impact Teaching Practices are visible in all classrooms. This is one of the bold goals for the whole of Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn.

Donations
I would like to thank the Belconnen Branch of the Catholic Women’s Association for their donation to the school. This money will go towards out planned fresh produce garden to be built adjacent to the cricket nets. We also received a donation from Rotary. This money will go towards supporting a family in need at the school. We are grateful to both of these organisations for their generous support.

Easter Basket Support
Thank you for your generosity in supporting our Caritas fundraiser by sending in Easter eggs, selling and buying raffle tickets and sending in cash donations. So far we have raised over $500 for the Caritas Missions with money sent in this week still to be counted!

Principal Awards
Due to physical distancing requirements, we have had to split the Principal Awards into two sessions so one parent can attend for each awardee. The awards will be held on Thursday 1st April in the Hall, with ELC to Year 2 commencing at 2:05pm and Year 3 to Year 6 commencing at 2:30pm.

Pupil-Free Days
We will finish Term 1 on Thursday 1st April. This means we will only have a nine-week term for Term 1. Students will commence Term 2 on Tuesday 20th April as Monday will be a pupil free day to allow all staff to participate in MAPPA training. This pupil free day is a designated student free day for all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn. OSHClub and ELC have extended their holiday care to include Monday, 19th April for those families who require care on this day. Please see information on how to book in provided in this newsletter. There will also be a CE designated pupil free day on Monday 12 July for further staff training.

Chicken Pox
There have been reports of chickenpox in a number of Catholic Schools across the ACT. At this stage we have no confirmed cases of chickenpox at St Thomas Aquinas. If we do ever have a case of chickenpox will will send a notification via sZapp to all families as part of our usual process. However, it is a timely reminder for all families to keep your children home if they are unwell. Chickenpox usually begins with cold-like symptoms a few weeks before spots appear. 

God Bless