Dear Parents and Carers

Election Day BBQ
As you would all know, on the weekend the nation elected its new government. St Thomas Aquinas was again a designated polling booth and like all schools used in this way, we held an election day BBQ and Cake Stall. Many thanks to all the parents who volunteered their time, either in the form of making cakes or in volunteering to assist on the BBQ. Particular thanks and mention must go to Amelia Swinbourn and Loryn Reynolds, who coordinated the day and all of the parent volunteers. Thank you Loryn and Amelia.

NAPLAN
Last week, our Years 3 & 5 students sat their NAPLAN tests. The children entered into the tests calmly and were a credit to themselves in the way they went about the tests. Like almost all schools across the country, the week was not entirely smooth in terms of technology, and there were some difficulties in terms of connectivity. These were resolved, on the whole, with some children needing some make-up time this week. We look forward to the data we will receive from NAPLAN, which will assist us in identifying areas of growth, as a school, and areas that require a little extra attention. My thanks to Carmen Myles and Steph Noack for coordinating our school's involvement in NAPLAN.

Enrolment Period
This week is our second last week of our 4-week enrolment period. We have held information nights for both the ELC and the school and held open days on two previous days. All events have been well attended by both exisiting parents and prospective parents. This year, Catholic Education is introducing a new online enrolment process, which has been, on the whole, very successful. There have been some glitches, centred for the most part on the payment process. Please contact the front office if you are experiencing any difficulties and Mrs Black or Mrs Keech will assist you with the process. Alternatively, you can still submit a paper copy this year, for 2020 school and ELC placements.

Athletics Clinics and Carnival
We have been fortunate this term in having weekly athletics clinics on a Tuesday, run by one of our parishioners, Brian Daly, and organised by Kelly Scanlan, our Sports Coordinator. The clinics also serve as excellent fitness sessions for the children, as well as teaching them the finer points of the skills needed for shot put, long jump and the like. My thanks to both Brian and Kelly. Our actual carnival is on Friday, 31 May,  at the Charnwood Playing fields. A note has gone home seeking permission for the children to attend and also asking for parent volunteers. If you are able to assist, please contact Kelly via the front office.

National Simultaneous Storytime

This Wednesday, at 11am, we will be simultaneously joining schools all over the country for National Simultaneous Storytime, an event which sees all schools reading (or being read to) at the same time, with the same story. This year’s story is Alpacas with Maracas by Matt Cosgrove. Our children are gathering in the Hall at 11am and will be read to. My thanks to Steph Noack for coordinating the reading.

Jack Heath
Still on the subject of reading, we are most fortunate this week to have Jack Heath visit our school. Jack is a published children’s and adult’s author and has 40 books to his name. Jack is visiting the school to work with the children, both at a whole class level and in small groups, running writing workshops. He will also be working with staff in small groups. Having access to writers such as Jack is a great gift for the school and we are very lucky. My thanks to our librarian Steph Noack for coordinating Jack’s visit.

First Eucharist Thanksgiving Mass
A reminder that Sunday week, on June 2nd, our students from Year 4 who have made their First Eucharist this year will be attending a thanksgiving Mass at the 9am Mass. I would like to congratulate all of our children, and their families, who have taken this step in faith. My thanks to the parents, who is this area, as in all areas, are the children’s first educators. My thanks too to Kirsty-Lee Kaden, Samantha Pigram, Simon Hargraves, Anne Gowen, Sr Colleen and Fr Drinkwater, for their great support of the children.

Have a wonderful week with your families.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal