Dear Members of the Community,

I hope this newsletter finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for your wonderful contributions to our upcoming fete on Saturday, March 23rd. Your support and dedication have truly made a difference, and I am confident that this year's event will be a tremendous success.

I would also like to take this opportunity to share with you some highlights from our recent Principal's Retreat, which was held last week. It was a truly transformative experience, providing us with a great opportunity for connection and reflection. I am grateful to all the participants for their active engagement and open minds.

One of the highlights of the retreat was our guest speaker, Fr Timothy Radcliffe. His insightful words and profound wisdom left a lasting impact on all of us. Fr Radcliffe shared his thoughts on faith and the importance of fostering faith-filled communities. His message was thought-provoking and inspiring, encouraging us to reflect on our own roles within our school community.

As we continue to move forward, let us carry the lessons learned from the retreat and Fr Radcliffe's words with us. Together, we can create a nurturing and inclusive environment where faith thrives and our students flourish.

Students in Years 3 and 5 will commence NAPLAN testing next week. NAPLAN, along with a number of other assessments we use across Catholic Education and within the school, provide us with one measure of students learning. It is a helpful measure because it allows us to assess the effectiveness of programs we are using at St Thomas Aquinas, to assess student’s learning and progress when compared with students across the country. We know that any assessment can make some students feel nervous. While we want the students to take this test seriously and try their best, it is important that our students are not stressed about NAPLAN. It is just a small snapshot of students learning. I wish our Year 3 and Year 5 students all the very best for the next week.

The fete is approaching very fast. I have been excited to hear about the various stalls, entertainment and events planned. Thank you for your support so far, our raffle books are almost completely sold, so if you wanted to buy a few more tickets, make sure you get in quick! This Friday we have our ‘Socks 4 Blocks’ day where students can dress in their favourite non uniform socks and bring in a chocolate block donation for the Fete. If you would like to become involved, it is not too late to reach out to the fete committee.

Once again, thank you for your incredible contributions to our upcoming fete. Your support is invaluable, and I am truly grateful for your continued dedication.

God bless

Tim Cleary
Principal