Dear St Thomas Aquinas community,

Welcome to our new students Charlie and Felix. It's wonderful to have you and your family join our STA community! Thank you everyone for helping them feel welcome.

Happy 50th!

Today we celebrate our 50th Anniversary at an after school event that includes cake, St Thomas families, special guests and a barbecue by our wonderful SCC. There is plenty of memorabilia to look at, including the time capsule contents from our 25th anniversary celebration.

I encourage everyone to come along as part of the Learning Journeys this afternoon to stay and celebrate with us.

I would like to offer a very big thank you to Steph Cooper (Front Office) and Carmen Myles (Assistant Principal) for all of their preparation for today's celebration. Thank you to the staff and families who dug out memorabilia to share. Thank you to Barb Gaynor and other volunteers who helped with set up and the barbecue. Today's celebration is a wonderful example of our community spirit in action.

Congratulations to our ELC

Well done to Temi and the team at the St Thomas Aquinas ELC who recently underwent their assessment & review from government regulators. They received fantastic results. These will be shared with the community in the coming days.

We're very proud of the amazing work the ELC does to provide the best possible pre-school education experience for local families.

Planning for 2026

Not only is it a very busy time at school right now, we are also in the midst of the initial planning phase for 2026. This often begins with the preparation of our anticipated enrolment numbers, staffing and budget, in consultation with Catholic Education.

Having settled a little more into our school I am now in a position to look forward to the future in relation to:

• supporting excellent educational programs for students,
• refining effective strategies for diverse learning,
• developing staff expertise,
• working with families in nourishing a community of support and belonging, and
• planning building and grounds improvements that will benefit all.

It's an exciting time ahead. I'm looking forward to working together with the community to shape our future in West Belconnen.

Tournament of the Minds!

Well done to our Year 5 and 6 students who participated in Tournament of the Minds over the weekend: Marko C-C, Jackson H, Adam H, Mikayla M, Poppy R, Charlotte S, and Nella W-S.

On Saturday I had the pleasure of watching them present to the judges. They were so well prepared and creative. I was very proud. They received excellent feedback. Thank you to Mrs Olsen and Ms Wong for supporting the students over the weeks leading up to competition weekend. Thank you to the parents for supporting their participation.

Happy Father's Day

I would like to wish all of our fathers and those who play that significant role in our lives a lovely day this Sunday. There are so many different ways to be a father. It's fabulous that in 2025 our children have the opportunity to see many different ways that men love and support young people in their care. I hope this weekend you know how much you are appreciated. We look forward to seeing as many as possible at our Donuts with Dad on Friday morning.

Thank you everyone for the privilege of working with you to ensure your child has the best opportunities to learn and grow.

Matthew Garton

Principal