Dear Families,

As many of you are aware, we experienced a large number of absences last week and students had a variety of ‘guest teachers’ in their class. I would like to congratulate all of the students on the beautiful way they welcomed Teaching and Learning Officers from Catholic Education into our school. CE staff, continually spoke of how polite, warm and caring our children were towards them and towards each other. Our school motto ‘To Care’ was being lived throughout the week as children offered to help out our visitors in whatever way they could. I would like to thank Mr Barnard, Mrs Blake, Mrs Cambrige, Mr Kemp, Ms Rayner, and Mr Wigg from Catholic Education for their support.

On Tuesday we hosted our first Open Morning for prospective families. Parents were led through the school by Year 6 leaders who talked to them about programs at the St Thomas Aquinas, what they liked most about the school and why they would recommend the school to others. The families who attended the Open Morning spoke of how confident and polite our students were and how excited they were to be sending their children to such a warm and welcoming school. Again, we are so proud of our confident and caring Year 6 leaders and how well they represent the school.

Today students in Years 3 and 5 begin their NAPLAN tests. While we know these are not the only measures of student progress, they are a helpful measure for us as we can assess the effectiveness of programs and supports here at St Thomas Aquinas. Thank you for your support in ensuring students are well rested and here on time each day. I would also like to thank their teachers for preparing them for this and Carmen Myles for all of her work in the background.

This week, we will see a return to whole school events with our Cross Country carnival. It will be wonderful to once again be able to welcome volunteers back onto the school site so you can be part of this event. Now all we need to do is pray for a sunny day!

Take care and God bless

Yours in Faith

Leah Taylor
Principal