Dear Families,

I hope all of the dads, granddads, stepdads, foster dads and all those who are a father figure for the children here at St Thomas Aquinas had a wonderful day on Sunday. If classroom drying racks and desks are anything to go by, I am sure there are many fridges adorned with macaroni photo frames and cards.

It was wonderful to have so many of you at school to see Andrew Fuller speaking. I thank Loryn Reynolds for applying for the grant for us to be able to host Mr Fuller, and to Stacey Campbell, School Community Council Chair and Carmen Myles for organising everything for the evening.

This week we will host a number of visitors to the school to have a look at the Teaching and Learning taking place at St Thomas Aquinas. The leadership team from a school in South Australia will visit on Thursday morning and a group from Ochre Education will visit the school on Friday. It is a wonderful testament to the work teachers are doing and the programs we have in place.

Next week I will be joining Years 5 and 6 students on camp at Fitzroy falls. This is always a great way to engage with students in an outdoor environment where they challenge themselves to take risks and try new things. I have always found that our students really step up at these times to support one another as they step out of their comfort zone.

We will also have a few of our students representing the school at the ACT Athletics carnival. I wish these students all the very best.

Take care and God bless

September Birthdays

Jade J, Hannah M, Matilda H, William B, Edison B, Luella B, Elodie A, Jacob P, Harper G, Charli C, Sebastian GR, Aden G, Jessica B, Lincoln D, Emma S, Ebadat KS, Emma F, Sarah H, Natalia R, Felicity W, Eleanor S, Chloe W, Harper E, Harrison G, Aleu D, Thomas H, Louise Q, Arianna D, Gabriel S-P

The Community Council would like to thank all the families who were able to attend the Andrew Fuller Event held at the school last night. It was wonderful to see a packed house and we hope that each of you were able to take something away from the presentation.

For those who were unable to attend, please see the links below to access Andrew's work, resources and books. In particular, the website My Learning Strengths provides student & adults with a free assessment on how to identify YOUR particular learning strength and how to fully utlise the skills you already possess. It also provides fantastic free Fact Sheets and information on where to access the best resources for your individual situation.

ORDERS DUE THIS FRIDAY

As a reminder to families, school commences at 8:50am with our morning assembly. At this assembly important messages are given and reminders for the day. Lessons begin at 9am. It is essential that all students attend the morning assembly and are ready for the beginning of their learning day by 9am. We understand that there are occasions where students arrive after 8:50am however there has been a steady increase of students arriving shortly after 9am and therefore missing the important messages for the day and the beginning of their lesson. This is not only disruptive to the teacher and class but can also impact your child’s learning if arriving late on a regular basis. 

If children are arriving late, it is required that a parent sign their child in at the front office.

We appreciate your assistance and working with us for the benefit of all students.

The safety of all our students and families is of the upmost importance and as such we take concerns with road safety in and around the school grounds very seriously. 

As a reminder, the school crossing is operational between the hours of 8am & 4pm and/or while the flags are displayed. We ask that all drivers please take care around the crossing area at all times. In addition, the bus stop area near the crossing is operational in the afternoon and is therefore not to be used for parking. We would appreciate your assistance in not parking and leaving your vehicle in this space.

We have two disabled car spaces in our school carpark. These spaces are clearly marked with signage. We continue to have parents/carers who do not have a disability parking permit utilising these spaces. It goes without saying, but motorists without a disability permit should not park in disability parking spaces. Taking or interfering with a spot, even for a short amount of time, has real world consequences for those who really need them. Please support us and our community by only parking in these spots if you have the appropriate permit. 

This term students have been introduced to Ngunnawal vocabulary. This week students will be learning "Ngali" meaning "food". Thank you Miss Evans for continuing our learning of our Ngunnawal Country.