Dear Families,

This week you will have an opportunity to talk with your child/ren’s teacher about their learning progress so far. We know this year has been a difficult one for many, especially with the number of absences experienced by some families. Some students may receive an N/A for their assessment, while others may not have been able to demonstrate their learning fully or have had an opportunity to fully consolidate new knowledge, and so they may receive a lower mark than they usually would have. The teachers have struggled over grading this year, but have used all of the information they have available to make an balance judgement. Reports will be available to view on Compass at COB next Monday.

Vinnies CEO Sleepout
Once again I am taking part in the St Vincent de Paul CEO Sleepout, along with a number of my principal colleagues and the Director of Catholic Education, Ross Fox.  I will be sleeping outside, with only a sheet of cardboard as my mattress, at the National Portrait Gallery this Thursday. I am sure it will be cold and uncomfortable, and a far cry from my comfortable, warm bedroom at home.

Last year, this sleepout spurred on Year 3 students to find out more about homelessness and what they could do to help. They invited the makers of the Big Issue to talk about how their magazine provides not only an income, but purpose and social interaction through the selling of this magazine. Year 3 then created their own “Little Issue” magazine as a way of understanding the process the creators go through and to raise awareness of the plight of homeless people across Canberra.

I thank those families who have already so generously donated money to this cause. If you have not had a chance to make a donation, but would like to do so, please follow this link

https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/fundraisers/leahtaylor/canberra. 

We will be holding a hoodie and beanie day on Friday 24th June (the day following the sleepout) to raise money for this important cause. Students who are participating in this day are asked to bring in a gold coin. If you follow our facebook page I’ll be posting videos and photos throughout the night.

Enrolments
While the enrolment period has officially closed we still have some space available in kindergarten and preschool. If you know of families who are considering enrolling their child at St Thomas Aquinas next year and would like a tour of our beautiful school, please let them know they can still contact the front office to book a tour.

Preschool enrolment: https://staquinas.act.edu.au/elc-enrolment

Kindergarten enrolment: https://enrolments.staquinas.act.edu.au/act-primary-enrol

Take care and God bless

Yours in Faith

Leah Taylor
Principal

Please note the following days are Pupil free days:

• Friday 1 July 2022 (Week 10) - Staff Planning
• Monday 18th July 2022 (Week 1, Term 3) - Staff Training 

We look forward to welcoming students back, ready for Term 3  on Tuesday 19th July 2022. 

St Thomas Aquinas placed 12th in the Year 6 competition for this year's virtual daVinci Decathlon.  The team  performed well against many larger schools and should be commended for their work ethic, persistence and teamwork.  Certificates for the team will be handed out at Friday's assembly this week.

1 Green have reached 50 black tokens and to celebrate this achievement will be having a class party on Wednesday 22^nd June,2022.  This will also be our last day with our prac teacher, Miss Ford and is a nice way to say goodbye to her.  1 Green students are invited to wear Pjs or an oodie on the day and to bring individually wrapped food to share (if able).  We would like to watch the movie, Descendants from Disney + .  Please note that this children's movie is PG rated.  (The plot of the movie is that the kids of Disney villains are given a shot at redemption at a school.)  If you do not wish your child to see this, please send me a message. 

Thanks, Kelly Scalan  

A friendly reminder that school fees for Term 2 for 2022 are now overdue. Please contact the front office to arrange payment unless you already have payment arrangement in place

Thank you for your cooperation.

Semester 1 reports will be sent out to families via the Compass platform in Week 10. Please ensure you have parent access to Compass in order to retreieve your reports. If you have any concerns with logging in please do not heistate to contact the front office by emailing office.staquinas@cg.catholic.edu.au  

Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA) have developed a range of resources to support families. With families about to embark on transitioning their child either into a Primary School setting or Secondary School, CSPA have provided some useful information, ideas and resources that families may find beneficial. You can view these resources for Primary School here and Secondary School here. 

For further support in positively engaging in your child's learning experience please visit the Catholic School Parent Australia website https://www.parentengagementcspa.edu.au/

After receiving over 5,000 student poems and planting over 5,000 trees last year, we're thrilled to be launching the POEM FOREST Prize 2022 in celebration of World Poetry Day and International Day of Forests. 

Red Room Poetry and The Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan invite you to enter the POEM FOREST Prize and use your words to create positive climate action.

Visit the POEM FOREST webpage for full details. Your Nature poems can be entered via the online form (closing 23 September 2022)

Did you know....

• A tree is planted for every poem received
• $5,000 in prizes to win including $500 cash for each category, book packs from Magabala Books, Pantera Press and Wonderground as well as Garden tours, plants, seeds and more
• Digital publication for all entries and selected poems published in the POEM FOREST 

Thanks for helping us to grow the POEM FOREST and heal habitats for future generations.

We can’t wait to read your poems!

CANTEEN

The Canteen is open from Wednesdays to Fridays - for the first 10 minutes of each break.  We sell a limited selection of healthy canteen approved chips and ice blocks.

SUBWAY

Parents and staff are able to place Subway Orders Online.  Click on the link below to place an order and payment as well. 

Cut-off time is 9:15 AM for same day delivery.
Call on 02 6259 9101 to place your order after this time

Subway Lunch Orders can also be made, via Subway Envelope, at school.  Subway envelopes, including cash, need to be placed in the Lunch Order Subway box, located outside the Front Office,  by 9:30am on the day before the lunch is required.  For example, if you would like a lunch order on Wednesday, the lunch order needs to be manually submitted by Tuesday 9:30am.

Here is a sample of the Subway ordering envelope.  Envelopes are available from the Front Office or the classroom.

June 2022

Millie A, Maeve J, Leilani MH, Lucinda B, Maddison J, Emily M, Blake S, Anna D, Zachary M, Ivy LH, Luke S, Liam M, Angok C, Mason S, Annabelle M, Tobenna M, Emma O, Alexander W, Aleisha MA, Leo W, Georgia R, Sam D, Nella W-S, Mackenzie C, Lachlan M, Lucas G, Xavier V, Chuol C