Dear Families,

This Sunday, we celebrate the beginning of Advent. Here at school, we started this journey last week with 3 Blue leading a prayer celebration. On the first Sunday of Advent, we light the Hope candle. The lighting of this candle reminds us that with Jesus comes hope for the world knowing that the coming of our Saviour is near. This is something to remember as we start to decorate our Christmas trees and put up our Christmas lights. It can be helpful to have a talk to your children about the meaning behind some of the symbols of Christmas and ‘the reason for the season’.

Thank you for continuing to support the school in ensuring your child comes to school on time and in uniform each day. As I looked around the school, I could see that almost every student was wearing the correct uniform, well rested and ready to learn.

This time of year can be very challenging for some students. Families can become very busy with social activities and end of year events. Children can become extremely tired and this can lead them to making poor decisions. We understand that many of these events cannot be avoided and are a nice part associated with the end of the year, but it can be helpful to allow your child to rest and have some downtime wherever possible.

Last Friday the current and new members of the leadership team met to plan for 2024. We always begin this process by looking at this year, its successes and challenges, we have certainly had both! From holding our first fete for many years, to once again hosting visiting school leadership teams from around the country, to holding many wonderful community events we have a lot to be grateful for. I would like to thank Mrs Megan Thomas for looking after the school in the leadership teams absence and ensuring everything ran smoothly.

Take care and God bless

November Birthdays

Andrew M, Regan L, Taigh R, Rebecca J, Zoe P, Jewel J, Jett B, Niklaus T, Geoffrey F, Cody H, Kuzivakwashe M, Ava G, Jadyn W, Aiden M, Hudson T, Harpreet S, Benjamin S, Grace S, Ella T, Mikayla M, Faith M, Isabel P, Darcy A, Georgia B

Students are introduced to new Ngunnawal vocabulary weekly. Special thanks to Miss Evans for continuing our learning of our Ngunnawal Country.

Please keep up to date by visiting our weekly newsletter.

Further information surrounding these events will be distributed within the coming days and weeks. We hope families and students enjoy celebrating and farewelling our wonderful Year 6 students & families.

We invite parents and carers to the optional Semester 2 - 3 Way Conference Interviews. The 3 Way Conference bookings are now live and will be available to you on COMPASS.  It will remain open until Friday 1 December 2023.  If you would like to meet with your child/rens teacher please ensure that you access COMPASS to lock in a meeting time. Please note that bookings will close strictly at 3pm on Friday 1 December 2023. 

The Conferences will be held on Tuesday 5th December from 3-7 pm and Wednesday 6th December from 8:00am - 8:45am and from 3pm - 6pm. Each Conference will be for a maximum of 15 minutes.

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

Every 3 years, Government, Catholic and Independent schools participate in the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). The AEDC is an Australian Government initiative managed by the Department of Education and delivered in partnership with state and territory governments. It is a nationwide census undertaken to understand early childhood development, providing evidence to support policy and planning for children.

The next AEDC data collection will take place between 1 May 2024 and 5 July 2024.

AEDC data collected by schools, including smaller schools, schools catering for children with special needs and schools for First Nations children, helps build a picture of child development and the diverse developmental strengths and challenges children may have across all school settings. The AEDC data is included in school and community profiles, state and national reports. You can learn more about the AEDC at aedc.gov.au.

Thank you for your support of the AEDC. Our participation provides vital information to help make a difference in the lives of children, families and communities, and the nation as a whole.

More information will be provided in Term 1, 2024.