Dear Families,

Yesterday we began our school’s celebration of Holy Week with the ELC students leading the Palm Sunday liturgy. As we prepare for Easter, we think about how God was incarnated into the person of Jesus, a carpenter from a small town who on Palm Sunday was welcomed into Jerusalem like a king. On Thursday, students will reflect on the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, where we not only remember Christ’s sacrifice, but the hope and joy that comes from His resurrection.

I am currently writing this newsletter from Hobart, Tasmania. Carmen Myles, Peter Collins and I have been attending the Teaching Matters conference, a collaboration between Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn and Catholic Education Tasmania. You may remember that last year we had several visits from principals and office staff from Catholic Education Tasmania to look at how we were teaching students at St Thomas Aquinas. The visitors were very impressed with what they saw and invited me to speak with their Principals at the Catholic Leaders day for CE Tasmania. This conference is the culmination of this partnership between CE Canberra Goulburn and CE Tasmania. We have had an opportunity to hear from Australia’s foremost experts in the Science of Learning and to build connections with these experts and other school leaders. I thank Mrs Skye McPadden and Miss Ella Barry for holding the fort in our absence.

Tomorrow we will have our Athletics Carnival. I thank our Sports Coordinator Mrs Megan Thomas, our STA staff and all of the volunteers who make this possible. The weather for tomorrow looks good and I am sure we will all have a wonderful day.

Next week, I will travel to the Holy Land on a pilgrimage with other principals from our Archdiocese. It is an absolute privilege to be able to travel to the land on which Christ walked so close to Easter. I will return to school on Monday the 8th May. In my absence, Mrs Carmen Myles will act as Principal and Mr Peter Collins will act as Assistant Principal.

I wish you all a holy Easter and safe travels if you plan to spend some time away from Canberra.

Take care and God bless.

Yours in Faith