Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to Week 10 and the last week of the school term. I hope you are all looking forward to the holidays and that it is a restorative time for you and your family.

Reports

After much assessing, writing, editing and moderation, the reports have been finalised and were posted home last Friday afternoon. By now many of you, if not all of you, would have received your son’s or daughter’s report. If you would like to discuss your child’s report, please contact his or her teacher.

Staffing

Last week, we welcomed to our school Jaye Corkeron, our new school psychologist. Jaye is working one day a week at St Thomas Aquinas. Jaye will be a great addition to our school and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge with her. Jaye will be able to assess students, work with families and assist our teachers in terms of modifications for the classroom. We welcome Jaye and look forward to working with her.

Fr Drinkwater

Fr Drinkwater has moved out of the presbytery and is living in a retirement home. During the month of June, Father has been saying Mass at St Thomas Aquinas on Thursdays. This Thursday will be Father’s last Mass in the Church. It will provide the children with the opportunity to say goodbye to a man and a priest who has been monumental in shaping the parish and the school. He has served the parish and school for 45 years and contributed enormously the wider local community. He will be greatly missed, and I personally will miss him a great deal. He is, as we say in the Australian vernacular, a good bloke. All parents are invited to join us in the Church for 9.30 Mass to honour and say thank you to Fr Drinkwater and all he has done for us.

Grandparents Day

A reminder that Thursday, Week 1, the 25th of July, we are holding our annual Grandparents’ Day. All grandparents (or great-friends) of the children are invited. We will celebrate Mass in their honour at 9.30 and then invite the grandparents to visit their grandchildren’s classrooms. Morning tea will be served at first break. My thanks to Anne Gowen for coordinating the morning.

Leave

On a personal note, I am taking some Long Service Leave for the first two weeks of Term 3. My family and I are travelling to the Northern Territory and the Kimberley in W.A., and I will be visiting the Aboriginal Community in which I cut my teeth as a teacher over 25 years ago. I am very much looking forward to the visit. During my absence, Carmen Myles will be the Acting Principal and will do an excellent job. Susan Magyar will be the Acting Assistant Principal. I thank them in advance for the great job that they will do, and I ask for your support for both Carmen and Susan.

I would like to thank the staff for their great efforts this term. They are an excellent cohort of men and women who labour tirelessly for the wellbeing of the children in their care. I would like to thank the parent community too, for your great support of the school and its staff and children. Most of all I would like to thank the children of St Thomas Aquinas who are the reason we come to work and for whom we labour – their presence, their giftedness and building their capacity is the reason we exist as a school community.

Have a wonderful holiday and I look forward to seeing you all in early August.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal