Dear Families,

Welcome back to Term 4. This term is always filled with events and activities right up until the very last day. It is also a time when we begin to find out about teacher and family moves. If you know you will be leaving us, please let the front office know by completing the form detailed further in the newsletter as soon as possible. We are beginning to fill up in some year levels and will be starting waiting lists. It will be wonderful if we could alleviate the anxiety of these families on the list as soon as we are able.

Many of you will have seen the news that I will be going into the central office next year to lead Early Learning for the Archdiocese. This is quite a jump for me. Some of you may know that I started my teaching career as a Highschool Science Teacher before retraining to become a Primary Teacher with the initial intention of teaching Middle School. It was a very difficult decision to make as I feel that this community has been my second family. I will have more to say towards the end of the year, but I did want to thank you for trusting me to lead St Thomas Aquinas, and with caring for and educating your children. The principal position will be advertised from tomorrow and it is expected that an announcement will be made within the next month.

Deborah Griffin will also be leaving us at the end of this year. Mrs Griffin will return to Queensland to be closer to her and her husband’s extended family. Mrs Griffin was instrumental in bringing about many of the changes at St Thomas Aquinas, particularly in the reading intervention space. The Classroom Support Position is currently being advertised and I hope to be able to let you know who will be coming into the role before the end of the month.

It is that time of year, when we are beginning to look at class lists. Please read the information regarding the school’s policy provided in this newsletter and let me know as soon as possible of any requests for 2024. On that note, while we have not allocated all teachers to their classes for 2024, we have locked in our kindergarten teachers. I am pleased to let families know that Mrs Kelly Scanlan and Miss Ella Barry will be teaching kindergarten in 2024.

Take care and God bless

October Birthdays

Sophie K, Logan M, Elizabeth H, Samantha T, Mia W, Marine T, Evie P, Benjamin G, Alana B, Lara K, Kuir K, Lucas S, Lilah W, Ivy M, Sebastien M, Manyuon C, Lily G, Santiago A,  Jayden P, Heath L, Harrison B-S, Harold M, Arleth M T, Ayla M, Daniel N

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

Class Allocations for 2024

During this term, we will be finalising our staffing arrangements for 2024. Below is a copy of the ‘Class Allocation Policy’ which aims to ensure there is a fair and just process in allocating students to classes for the upcoming school year.

We believe teachers are in the best position to decide a child’s placement because they know all the children in their classes and have a view of the ‘big picture’.

However, parents are invited to inform Mrs Taylor of anything that you feel needs to be considered, for your own child’s well-being or development.

When forming the class lists the following factors are taken into consideration:

• Gender
• Diverse Learners
• Work habits
• Cognitive ability
• Friendships
• Behaviour
• Health considerations
• Religion (to assist in achieving balance between classes, especially in Sacramental years) and
• Common names

Ideally, we aim for an equal spread of both positive and challenging characteristics. Where practical, parental requests based on educational concerns may be considered. At St Thomas Aquinas, we follow these principles and guidelines when considering placement of students each year:

• Every care will be taken to ensure that each child is placed in the best situation to enhance learning and social development
  
  
• Parents who wish to raise concerns regarding the placement of their children in particular classes for the following year, should put the concern in writing and email it to our Principal  (Leah.Taylor@cg.catholic.edu.au) by Friday of Week 4 (Term 4 - Friday 3 November). Parents cannot assume that requests from previous years will be taken into account. A new request will need to be made every year
  
  
• Parent concerns will be considered during the process. It must be clearly understood, however, that no definite guarantees can be given regarding parental concerns
  
  
• Where appropriate, advice will be sought from the Classroom Support Assistant, School Counsellor, Chaplain and current Class Teacher during this process
  
  
• Considering all the factors listed above, the current Class Teachers compile class lists from mid-term, Term 4. These are then handed to Mrs Taylor to confirm
  
  
• Children will be informed of their class placement for the following school year in December (usually the last week of school) and the opportunity will be provided for them to spend some time with their new class teacher. New students to the school for the following year are invited to attend
  
  
• Throughout this process, after appropriate consultation, the Principal reserves the right to make final professional decisions regarding the placement of children

If your child/ren is leaving St Thomas Aquinas at the end of 2023 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 8 December 2023.

Thank you

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

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.

Our SCC will be holding a 2023 Referendum BBQ this Saturday, 14th October 2023. We do not have enough volunteers to run the BBQ.

If you can help on the day, please sign up by emailing the front office at office.staquinas@cg.catholic.edu.au or by returning the hard copy form that was sent home with all students yesterday. 

The Game On events are community based, free, family friendly physical activity “pop up” events, which will see us conduct four events in eight suburbs across Canberra each year, utilising local parks, ovals, sports courts/fields. The aim of the events is to promote physical activity/60mins a day target for children through providing fun, accessible sessions and ideas for children, families and school communities. Our aim is that the events are a pre-cursor to ongoing community based physical activity and we will evaluate the sessions through a range of measures.

To confirm, we will be running four events on the following dates:

Walk, Talk, Workout: Sunday 5^th November 10am-11.30am

Run, Jump, Catch, Throw: Friday 10th November 3.15pm-4.30pm

Navigate & Participate: Wednesday 15^th November 3.15pm-4.30pm

Bike Skills & Drills: Friday 24^th November 3.15pm-4.30pm

All events will be held at Belconnen Netball Association Courts