Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome back to Term!

Can you believe that there are only 42 days of school left, we certainly can’t! The teachers have worked hard over the break planning and preparing for a busy and hard working term, full of lots of fun learning experiences.

Mission Fete 2019

I was excited to experience my first STA Mission Fete last Friday.

It was an exciting day filled with fun and games. The children (and I’m sure many parents!) did a brilliant job of planning, preparing, advertising, shopping for, baking, making and running their stalls. It was great watching the children happily playing games, enjoying treats and buying items to make a real change in the world.

We raised over $2400 which will go to help communities, particularly children who are given shelter, nutritious meals, healthcare and education as well as unconditional love. The money we raised will go to local and global neighbours and will create lasting change.

Congratulations and thank you STA!

Catholic Schools Netball Carnival

Congratulations to the students who represented our school so well at the Catholic Schools Netball Carnival last Saturday. 3 teams of Year 4, 5 and 6 students spent a fun, busy and windy day at Calwell playing fields. The carnival which was hosted by Rosary Primary School was a historic one, as it was the last ever Catholic Schools Netball Carnival after the inception of the carnival over 20 years ago.

Penance Retreat Day

This Wednesday our Year 3 students will participate in the Penance Retreat Day. The children will be working on a variety of activities about reconciliation and forgiveness, they create artworks for the Church, practise for the Sacrament and share lunch together. Thank you to Sr Colleen, Ms Gowen, Mrs Rhodes and Miss Vickers for helping to prepare the students for the day and the celebration of the Sacrament during Week 3.

Please keep the students and their families in your prayers during this special time.

Staffing News for 2020

Following an application and interview process, I’m pleased to announce that we have offered positions to many current and some new staff members. Miss Maddy Evans and Sharne Vickers will be staying on with us for the 2020 school year, along with Mrs Megan Thomas who will stay with us on a 12 month transfer position. I’d like to welcome Mrs Skye McPadden who is re-joining us from St Joseph’s, O’Connor, Mrs Rebecca Neiberding who has recently completed a placement in Year 1 and Mr Josh Mackenzie who is joining us from St Benedict’s, Narrabundah.

Sadly, this is not the end of our staffing changes as Ms Anne Gowen has decided to retire from the end of this year. Anne has had an amazing career in Catholic education for nearly 30 years and she takes with her a wealth of experience and knowledge which she has shared through her role of Religious Education Coordinator and teacher. I wish Anne all the best for the exciting new chapter of her life and will keep you posted as we look for a replacement for the REC role.

STA Musical 2019

Save the date!

The STA Musical 2019 will be on Tuesday 26^th November, Week 7.

All students from ELC to Year 6 are involved in our extravaganza which will have a matinee performance in our school Hall at 12noon and an evening performance at 6:30pm to be held at St Francis Xavier College theatre.

Tell your friends, tell your neighbours, tell your family, it will be a show to remember!

Fete Crazy Hair Day

This Friday we have our Fete Crazy Hair Day.

Students are invited to come to school with some crazy hair and a bring along a gold coin donation. This money will go towards helping to make our 2019 STA Fete a successful event.

Remember save the date, our fete is on Saturday 16^th November from 10am – 2pm.

See you there!

World Teacher’s Day

This Friday is also World Teachers Day!

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of our amazing teachers, classroom assistants and support staff for their tireless efforts to create innovative and engaging classrooms and a welcoming and safe school environment.

I’m proud to be part of the St Thomas Aquinas community and thank them for all they do for our students.Have a good week,

 

Carmen Myles
Acting Principal

If you currently have children in Kinder to Year 5 classes and will not be returning to STA next year please advise the office in writing as soon as possible. This assists in our staff planning for 2020.

Please drop a note to the office or send an email to lee.black@cg.catholic.edu.au advising which school your child will attend.

Thank you!

The whole school photo will take place on Wednesday, 6 November at 12noon.

2019 STA Fete Raffle Tickets are now available to be picked up from the Front Office. 

First Prize:        $1000

Second Prize:   $500

Third Prize:       $250

Bonus $50 added to your prize money if you are at the drawing of the Raffle, Saturday, 16 November, 1:45pm, St Thomas Aquinas Fete Day.

Happy Selling and look forward to seeing you all on the 16th November, 10am-2pm for the 2019 STA Fete!

With the commencement of our new parish priest – Fr Tom Thornton –  we are endeavouring to update the parish files.  

We would be grateful if Catholic families, living within the parish area, complete the form attached here and return it to Sister Colleen by hand or via email to charnwood@cg.org.au.

Information provided will be confidential to the PP and Parish secretary.  Your cooperation would be much appreciated.

N/AMegan Millband

Community News is now located on our website.

This month on SchoolTV - Resilience

Resilience is one of those skills that all kids need and should have. It refers to their ability to cope and adapt in situations when confronted with challenges such as adversity, trauma, tragedy, or even stress. It is essential to their mental health and wellbeing as part of their journey to adulthood. It is a skill that can be learned from an early age through the support of an adult role model.

However, being resilient does not mean your child won't experience any difficulties, but it will better equip them to manage those situations. Over-protective parenting can be viewed as being unhelpful towards the building of resilience. Although this may be a natural instinct, potentially experiencing failure is all part of the process. Encouraging children to take healthy risks will help them trust their capacity to deal with uncomfortable situations and increase their capacity for courage.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will gain an understanding of how to support their child’s brave behaviour to help them adapt and build resilience. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this month’s edition, and we always welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to this month's edition https://staquinas.act.schooltv.me/newsletter/resilience

Dear past and present Cyclabilities families,

We are emailing you because we have a new Monday after school program commencing Term 4! We would love to see some familiar faces back to expand or refresh skills learnt from our core program.  Here’s what you need to know!

MONDAY CONFIDENCE AND CAPACITY CYCLING PROGRAM  

Cyclabilities will be running a Monday after school program in term 4.  Cyclabilities programs are run by highly trained allied health professionals (occupational therapists and exercise physiologists) and educators and provide individualised programs in a group setting. 

Our Monday program will be especially designed for children who just need that extra support and guidance to build their skills and capacity to feel confident and proficient at riding a bike. Our Monday program will also cater for children who are up and riding but need some extra support to go faster (or slower), manage hazards and ride together in a group with road safety.

With Summer approaching now is the time to build the capacity of your child so you can all go biking as a family together.

Sessions will be held in Belconnen.  For more information on the program or to register go to:  https://cyclabilities.com.au/  

NDIS funding can be used under capacity building (social) and we also can liaise with plan managers if required.

If you have any questions, either respond to this email or phone me on 0413139018.  We hope to see you next term!

Kindest regards,

Carol
For Cyclabilities 

OCTOBER 2019
Congratulations to the following students who will be celebrating
their birthday this month:

Edith B; Evie P; Jasneha K; Brigitte P; Yusuf D; Liam P;  Sophie K;  Logan Mc;  Elizabeth H;  Mia W;  Samantha T;  Benjamin G;  Luke F;  Athiang M;  Archer W;  Cooper C;  Alexander C;  Kate P;  Cooper M;  Keziah W;  Sebastien M;  Manyuon C;  Lily G;  Darcy N;  Damyn S;  Carrelle R;  Jayden P;  Heath L;  Savannah A;  Catherine L;  Harrison B-S;  Daniel N;  Seth R;  Nyantet C;  Thomas S;  Alana B