Dear Parents and Carers

“…one way of thinking about Pentecost is to see it as the conversion of a crowd into a community.”

Peter Steele SJ, ‘Crowd and Community’

I can think of no better way to describe Pentecost and its effect than the way Peter Steele has in the quote above. Prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit, the disciples were more of a crowd than they were anything else. After Pentecost, they were so much more: a community of men and women bound by a spirit and the Spirit, and united in a common belief and experience of Christ. Our school too is a community, much more than a crowd. We refer to our St Thomas Aquinas as a ‘school community’, not a ‘school crowd’. The health and wellbeing of any community depends upon the loving attention of all its members, and so all of us are called to do the same at St Thomas Aquinas.

Sullivan Shield

Last week our students in the older grades participated in the Sullivan Shield Rugby League competition. It was a wonderful day and the students were a credit to themselves and their families. My thanks to Kelly Scanlan, for coordinating the school’s involvement, and to Ashleigh van Kemenade and Sharne Vickers for looking after the children on the day. My thanks too to our excellent parent volunteers and coaches: Dale Tredgold, Melissa Povey, Tom Russell, Samantha Russell, Matt Cummings and Dan Cowan.

School Disco

Another recent event also depended upon parental good will for its success. Last Friday night, we held our semester School Disco, for all children from ELC – Year 6. It was as always, a great success and like other years also enjoyed a very high turnout of parent support. I would like to thank the parents for their coordination and volunteering to assist on the evening: Lara McCombie, Kathleen Martin, Amelia Swinbourn, Bec Stanworth, Stacey Campbell, Kristy Strangman, Tash Williams, Chris Martin and two ex-students, Audrey McCombie and Sabrina Orellana. Without their assistance, the disco would not have happened.

Wendy Rix

This week, we welcome Wendy Rix, an Indigenous artist living in Queensland. Wendy is visiting our school and working with all our students in art, teaching the children different aspects of Indigenous culture through the medium of art. Each K-6 class will be spending time with Wendy with a focus of producing four wall shields depicting the elements of our Sports Houses, Ngadyung, Minya, Dhaura and Kanbi. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will also be spending time with Wendy producing their own art pieces. We are lucky to have Wendy visit. My thanks to Anne Gowen and Naomi Wicks for their coordination of Wendy’s visit.

School Photos

A reminder to all parents that school photos will be taking place this Wednesday. Students are to wear their full school winter uniform. Class and individual photos will be taken. Families also have the opportunity for a family photograph as well. My thanks to Carmen Myles for coordinating the photos.

School Reports

Kindergarten – Year 6 teachers are currently very busy preparing, writing and editing reports. They are nearing their final stages and will be posted via mail on Friday week 9 (June 28th). You will receive your child’s report shortly thereafter.

Have a wonderful week with your family.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal