Dear Families,

Welcome to our final week of Term 3. It is hard to believe we are here already.

On Thursday and over the weekend, many of our Year 4 students made their First Reconciliation and First Eucharist. Students were beautifully prepared by their teachers and parents for these sacraments. I would especially like to thank Mrs McPadden, Miss Dewey, Mr Mackenzie, Miss Broekhuyse and Mrs Myles who all played a role in this preparation.

It was wonderful to be able to spend the first few days of last week with Year 5 and 6 students and their teachers up at Fitzroy Falls. The camp staff commented on how polite the students were and on how well they engaged in the activities. I had an opportunity to take all but one of the groups for an activity and can attest to how well students pushed themselves out of their comfort zones. Thank you to the STA staff Miss Pigram, Mr Collins, Mr Finlayson, Mrs Thomas, Mr Moore and Mrs Snow who gave up time away from their families so that students have an opportunity to enjoy this formative experience.

It was also great to see so many of the Year 5 and 6 students back at school on Thursday, despite a busy few days. I understand the lure of hot dog day had something to do with students pushing through their tiredness. I thank Mrs Mason and the SRC students for running this initiative as a way of acknowledging R U OK Day.

Yesterday, thirty students had an opportunity to play cricket on the lawns of Parliament House. By all accounts, it was a great day. Thank you to Mr Finlayson, Mrs Barrett and Mrs Barwell to attending.

I wish everyone a safe and restful break and I look forward to seeing everyone rejuvenated and ready for the final term for the year.

Take care and God bless

To ensure the health and safety of all children it is essential that all medication be provided directly to the front office. This includes one off medication requirements as well as ongoing medication. In addition, we have a number of children on Schedule 8 medication for management of a number of neurodiverse diagnosises. If your child requires Schedule 8 medication throughout the school day please contact the front office for the relevant forms and provide medication in a webster pack to the front office.  Medication should not be administered by children during school hours. We have had two recent incidents where a sealed tablet cut from the original blister pack of a schedule 8 medication has been found on the floor in the school corridor and outside on the playground by students. We are grateful that the students that located the medication were responsible and advised a teacher immediately.  

To ensure the safety of all our students we request that you please assist us by using the correct avenues in administrating medication during school hours. 

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

We are very excited to annouce that Chloe in year 2 and Jadyn in year 6 both competed in Nationals for Jui Jitsu.

Chloe was awarded Gold and Jadyn won Silver medals.

This week they will both be representing St Thomas Aquinas at the Australian Schools Judo competition in Brisbane. 

Goodluck Chloe & Jadyn!

Transport Canberra bus timetable changes for Term 4, 2023

A new bus timetable will begin Monday 9 October to align with the start of Term 4. This timetable features more frequent weekday bus services, most of which will run at least every 30 minutes throughout the day.

A return to 30 minute daytime frequencies will ensure improved off-peak services can be provided between 9.30am and 3.30pm, while maintaining reliability.

The new timetable also includes refinements to 14 school services based on school and community feedback, and to align with updated school bell times.

There are no changes to weekend bus services or changes to light rail frequency.

School packs and timetables

Updated school packs and timetables are now available online to view and download. If your child is catching the bus to school, we recommend familiarising them with the updated morning and afternoon pickup times. 

Link to school packs.

School route changes for St Thomas Aquinas Primary School

Route 1062 – The afternoon service begins 20 minutes earlier.

For more information on school route changes, updated school packs and to view regular bus timetables visit the Transport Canberra website.

Keep in touch

Stay up to date with important Transport Canberra news, including changes to services and the latest project and event information. Sign up to our weekly e-newsletter or you can like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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

Following their success at the regional competition, our Tournament of Minds team competed on the weekend against five other finalists in the Social Sciences category at the Australian National University.  It was a big day for the team, meeting at 8am in readiness for their 3 hour lockdown challenge.  They took the challenge in their stride, working well together to come up with their response.  Taking on different roles within the team they wrote scripts, made props and costumes in readiness to perform in the afternoon.

The team received positive responses from the judges following both their Spontaneous Challenge and the presentation of their 3 hour challenge but unfortunately weren’t the winners of this round. 

We are yet to receive formal feedback but everyone at STA is so very proud of their teamwork, creativity, effort and sportsmanship. 

Well done!!

We congratulate all participating students and welcome families to join us in celebrating these students at our Awards Assembly on Friday 22 September 2023 at 2pm in the school hall

You are invited to the STA Musical Spectatular! Please note that this is a free event but tickets are required. Please note that tickets are limited to 2 per family due to space constriants. We can't wait to show you all our groovy moves and our amazing story telling talents! 

SCAN THE QR CODE BELOW TO BOOK

In order to assist with navigating the parent portal mobile app please refer to the below updated instructions. 

We have a large number of student height adjustable tables and chairs in small, medium and large sizes that we are offering to families for FREE! All furniture is in excellent condition and ready for collection. Disposal of furntiure is set to take place during the school holidays so get it now before it goes! 

Contact the front office for collection details.

The Music Bus has opened their term 4 enrolments and are inviting new students to apply. Classes offered are: Keyboard (K-y6), Ukulele ( K -y6), Drums (y1-y6)
& Guitar (Y2-y6)

Lessons are: 30 minute duration - once per week & held in the hi tech music classroom on wheels.

Cost $20 per week ($22 drums) payable by the term on commencement

If you wish to take part please complete this expression of interest form https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/ee4627a5204c46158e1ab17e7c8069c6