Dear St Thomas Aquinas community,

Congratulations to our ELC

I would like to offer my congratulations to our ELC Director Temi and the entire ELC team who underwent an Assessment & Ratings process by government regulators last week. Centres are given very little notice when this process will occur, based on an understanding that early childhood centres would always be operating to a high standard of safety, care and education of children.

The team welcomed the visit, were very prepared and exceptional in their professionalism. The initial feedback has been very positive and we look forward to the outcomes in a few weeks' time. 

Well done Temi and team!

Thank you

Thank you to our students, staff and parents who enabled us to celebrate a wonderful Grandparent's Day last week. Teachers organised plenty of activities for students to share with their grandparents. Thank you to 4 Green who led us through a joyful and prayerful liturgy, being thankful for the grandparents we have in our lives. Our visitors were so warm and kind to everyone. Thank you to the grandparents and other special friends who were able to attend.

Supporting young people's development

Last week we welcomed the My Body, My Life team from the Archdiocese who ran a short program with Year 5 students preparing them for what to expect in puberty. The My Body, My Life team have designed the program in a way that also provides parents with resources to help open up the conversation with their children. Having a values based, life-affirming team to help shape the conversation is a privilege. We hope that it helps set a positive tone for our students as they embark on the next stage of development.

School Visits

This week I am in Adelaide undertaking professional learning and visiting schools. Yesterday I visited two schools.

I visited St Patrick's Special School. It is a Catholic school of 50 students from K-12. Very similar to Cranleigh in Holt, it caters for students with predominantly intellectual disabilities that are the result of various diagnoses and disorders. The needs of every student were highly unique and very, very complex. The passion, dedication and work of the entire staff was exceptional. The students welcomed us warmly. Even though I have significant experience with disabilities, I walked away in awe again of the breadth of human experience beyond our own individual knowledge and understanding.

I also visited Compass Catholic Community. Situated in an an area of Adelaide that experiences high levels of community poverty and school disengagement this school caters for 17-24 year old students who are seeking support from a 'school-like' community to set goals for growth and empowerment and work towards them with the help of teaching and other support staff. Students have often disengaged from traditional school early, or lived out of home, are young parents or experienced unsafe home conditions. Beyond the compulsory age of schooling, at Compass they have the opportunity to work towards completing their schooling, achieve skill certificates and find the support to empower them in navigating the complexities of adult life.

Both schools were a testament to the mission of Catholic education, recognising that being 'made in the image and likeness of God' means that every person has an inherent dignity and deserves to be respected, loved and supported in life's journey.

Again, I was grateful to be part of a community that strives to live these same values.

Thank you.

Matthew Garton

Principal