Dear Families,

Wow what a week! Last Friday, we officially opened our new ELC Building. From the time St Thomas Aquinas opened a two room facility in two converted classrooms in 2012 to now, we have seen hundreds children and families through its doors. We are so very pleased now to have a purpose built ELC where children can learn, cook and explore the outdoor naturescape. Archbishop Christopher Prowse, Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry and Mr Ross Fox were all part of the official proceedings. The ELC building was jointly funded through a $1M grant from the ACT government as part of the Building Better Schools grant and a $1.073M contribution from Catholic Education. We were blessed to have Ngunnawal Elder and grandparent to students at STA, Stephen Mudford conduct a smoking ceremony and Welcome to country. Stephen and his family have been involved with St Thomas Aquinas for many decades and it is a wonderful gift for all of you to have someone so personally connected with the school to complete this ceremony. I thank Carla Drayton, Acting Director for MC’ing, preparing the event along with the ELC staff and students, Skye McPadden for preparing the liturgy, Loryn Reynolds for representing the SCC, and Year 5 teachers and students for taking part in the liturgy and helping to set up for the event. I would also like to acknowledge the work of John Bourke, Cameron Johns and Carmen Myles for their roles in the ELC journey and Maribel Cabezas for her tireless work throughout.

You may have noticed that the fences surrounding the new oval are finally down. As of today, students are able to use the new ovals for sport. There is still a little bit of work to do in order to finalise the ovals, including putting up some soccer and football posts, but it is wonderful to finally allow the students onto this space after such a long time.

Immediately following the ELC opening, we held our third annual colour run. The weather was perfect for the event. I am not quite sure who had more fun, the students or the staff. Once again, we had the people from BFirm come out to run the obstacle course which the children always seem to enjoy. Carmen Myles ensured that there was sufficient colour as well as organising the sponsor cards and prizes. We still have until the end of the week to finalise sponsorship cards and donations if your child wishes to be considered for a prize, so if your child still has sponsorship to collect, we ask if you can organise this by Friday.

Reports will be coming out at the beginning of week 10. Parents are invited to contact their child’s teacher via email if they would like to have a meeting to discuss their child’s performance prior to reports going out. Most teachers will be available on Tuesday and Wednesday after school, with some teachers available before school on Wednesday.

It is at this time of year that we begin to find out about teachers leaving and new teachers coming to the school. It is with some sadness that we farewell Mr Michael Prosper who will be going to Holy Trinity next year, Mrs Jessica Betterton who moves to St Jude’s Holder and Mrs Emily Rhodes who will move to Mt Carmel in Yass. We will welcome back Ms Hannah Dewey who has been working at St Claire of Assisi most recently, Miss Brittaney Ford will continue to work with us next year and Ms Bronwyn Newth will work in the primary school one day a week as well as continue working in the beginning of the week class in the ELC.

Take care and God bless

Yours in Faith

We had a wonderful day on Friday celebrating our Colour Run. It was fabulous seeing all the smiles and hearing all the laughter from the children and teachers. A big thank you to all our families for getting behind the Colour Run with many pledge cards and donations already received. 

Please note that all pledge cards and donations must be returned by this Friday, 2 December with our prize winners to be announced on Monday 5th December. Every bit counts, so please get those donations in. We have some amazing prizes up for grabs this year. You've got to be in it to win it!

Please see below for all Year 6 key events coming up.

Friday 2 December - Week 8 Assembly Year 6 hosting
Year 6 will be hosting the final assembly of the year at 2:00pm in the Hall.

Friday 9 December - Graduation Day Celebrations
Year 6 Mass and Awards Ceremony at 5pm at the Church with a student only disco to follow in the school hall immediately following Mass til 8:30pm. Students must be signed in and out at the hall doors.

Wednesday 14 December – Year 6 Big Day Out
Fun Day for all Year 6 students. Students will attend CISAC for the day. More details to follow.

Thursday 15 December – Leadership Handover
This assembly will be held at 9:30am and will welcome our incoming School Captains and School Elders. All year 5 families will be encouraged to attend.

Congratulations to all our white token recipients. It is so wonderful to see so many students striving to achieve a white token and displaying kindness, gratitude, respect and responsibility.

The White Token lunch will be held on Monday 12th December 2022 at 11am. Please note that RSVP's are to be returned by Monday 5th December for catering purposes. 

If you have any concerns please do not heistate to contact the front office. 

Thank you. 

November 2022

Amber B, Andrew M, Farrah A, Annabelle C, Taigh R, Rebecca J, Jewel J, Jett B, Niklaus T, Kuzivakwashe M, Leaniva M H, Ava G, Jadyn W, Aiden M, Harpreet S, Benjamin S, Grace S, Carys S, Ella T, Mikayla M, Faith M, Isabel P, Darcy A, Dante C

December 2022

Layla A, Zayne K, Makayla J, Piper N, Anneliese L, Flynn O, Nathaniel E, Flynn S, Georgia W, Jade J, Alena G, Tomislav M, Madeleine S-P, Aurelius F, Samuella B, Jurell C, Naomi L H, Alexander D, Anthony S, Ryan B, Orry L, Gemma M, Bonnie P, Jonathan E, Gabriel F, Herath M, Isabelle G, Adrian S 

Families may have recently received overdue notices. Please don’t panic! Send in the books that you can find and please let us know the books you can no longer locate.

Our last week for borrowing will be Week 8. From Week 9 we will be returning our books to the library for a stocktake.

Thank you for your support.

Mrs Hind and Mrs Nelson

Dear Parents and Carers

If your child/ren is leaving St Thomas Aquinas at the end of 2022 please advise the school in writing.  This does not apply to students in Year 6 this year.

Attached here is the Student Transfer Notification form which needs to be returned to the school by 10 December 2022.

Thank you

Charnwood Parish Secretary Part Time

People are invited to apply for the position Parish Secretary for St Thomas Aquinas Parish, Charnwood. This is a part-time permanent position of 12 hours per week (preferably Tues, Wed, Thurs 10am-2pm)

Essential Requirements: Experience with financial & database packages, Strong communication and liaison skills, Strong organisational skills, Ability to work on your own, and as part of a wider team and take direction, Understanding and respect for the Catholic Church and its teaching and Experience in an office environment.

Salary will be subject to equivalent Clerk Award Level 4/5 rates. 

Covering letter addressing the essential requirements and resume to be submitted by 30 November 2022.

Please phone Debbie Hofman 6258 1563 or email charnwood@cg.org.au for a copy of the Duty Statement. 

The team at AAS Cricket Coaching are excited to announce our upcoming ACT Summer Holiday Cricket Camps.

Catering to ages 6-16, our school holiday cricket programs include access to:

• A structured & enjoyable program delivered in a fun, team-based learning environment
• Coaching covering all aspects of the game including batting, fast & slow bowling, fielding, running between wickets and wicket-keeping
• Technical, tactical & game sense tuition
• Qualified & experienced coaches

Please note that clinic size is limited to ensure an appropriate player to coach ratio. Players will be grouped according to age and skill level.

Programs will be held at Reid Oval or Watson Oval from 9:00am to 3pm each day. After hours care may be available for an additional charge on request.

Register before November 30 to receive 10% off. Just use the code AASCSUMMER10 at the checkout! Book online today at https://linktr.ee/activeallsports

For any enquiries, please contact Holly Halford-Smith on 0400 125 342 or activeallsports@outlook.com

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.