Dear Families,

Reports will go home with students this Friday. While many parents and carers may share the results of these reports with your children, it is always important to remember that the grade a child receives is just part of who they are as a person. It can be wonderful to celebrate an improvement or to use the report as a way of talking about the importance of education. The Conversation released a great article a few years ago about ‘How to talk to your child about their school report’ and reminds parents that a ‘C’ means that your child is achieving ‘At Standard’.

https://theconversation.com/how-to-talk-to-your-child-about-their-school-report-99640

Families are reminded that this semester, there will be no comments on the reports and you are encouraged to book a time to speak with your child’s teacher via the sZapp online booking system.

Academic, Social and Behaviour Intervention Programs

The school currently has a large number of intervention programs occuring. Many of these support students with reading difficulties, including minilit, macqlit and reading tutor. We also have a number of opportunities provided for those students requiring extension, including the recent da Vinci Decathlon and the Maths Olympiad. However, we also have a number of programs aimed at supporting students with behaviour and self-regulation. Stewart McDonald and our CSAs run a number of small groups and 1:1 programs aimed at supporting students to self-regulate, make better choices and learning social skills through role play and social stories. As a Berry St school, we support student’s growth through trauma informed practices and by providing a safe space for children to learn. If you would like to learn more about the Berry St Education Model (BSEM) and some of the ways we work here at St Thomas Aquinas, you can take a look at their website:

https://www.berrystreet.org.au/learning-and-resources/berry-street-education-model

This year, we have also partnered with Harvard University to become part of their Caring Schools Network. We are still at the very early stages of this partnership but know that this too, will support us in providing a safe and supportive learning environment for students here at St Thomas Aquinas.

https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/research-initiatives/caring-schools-network

Hoodie and Beanie Day and the CEO Sleepout

This Friday, students will be able to wear a hoodie and/or beanie to support St Vincent de Paul. Students are asked to bring in a gold coin to go towards the St Vincent de Paul CEO Sleepout which raises much needed funds to support those in our Canberra Community who are sleeping rough. I will only be sleeping rough for one night, outdoors at the Arboretum as my small part in making our community a safer place for all. Thank you again to those who have already donated for this. If you still wanted to make a donation, you can follow the link:  

https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/fundraisers/leahtaylor/canberra

Survey
The survey is now closed, thank you to those families who contributed to the survey. In the end, we had 62 families out of 224 families participate. We will analyse the results over the next few weeks to support our strategic and annual planning. We will also be using the results of this survey, along with other data to develop a new vision for St Thomas Aquinas moving forward. We will continue to provide an opportunity for all members of our St Thomas Aquinas Community to contribute to this work.

God Bless

 
Leah Taylor
Principal