Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome back to another term. I trust that you and your families had a good break over the school holiday period and that Easter was a time of renewal and rejuvenation. The children have all started back very well and we have enjoyed a good start to the term.

Term 2 is a busy term, with school reports, parent/teacher interviews and the athletics carnival all on the school calendar. I look forward to another fruitful ten weeks working in partnership with you as we strive to educate your child or children to their full potential.

Catholic Schools’ Week and Enrolment Period

This week is Catholic Schools’ Week, the week our Archdiocese celebrates Catholic Schools and their contribution across our archdiocese. We are celebrating by combining it with our annual Mothers’ Day breakfast, which we are holding on Friday morning, at 8am, in the school hall. All mums/carers and their children are invited to this breakfast. The school is then having an open morning for all parents to visit their child’s class and see their work. You are then invited to join us for a picnic lunch between 11am and 11.40 on the oval. If you have time, I would love to see you there.

Catholic Schools’ Week coincides with the beginning of our archdiocesan enrolment period. Our information night for our Early Learning Centre is this Wednesday at 6.30pm. We also have an open day this Wednesday between 11.45am and 1.30pm, for all prospective parents. We have another open day on Friday, 10 May, from
9am – 11am, and a third and final open day on Tuesday, 21 May from 2pm – 3pm. The school (apart from the ELC) has its own Information Night next Tuesday, 14 May, at 6.30pm.

Book Fair

This week, St Thomas Aquinas is holding a Book Fair in the school library. It is open before and after school and is available for all parents and children to browse and buy books, if you should wish. My thanks to our librarian, Steph Noack, for coordinating the Book Fair.

Mother’s Day Stalls and Breakfast

This week, all students from ELC – Year 6 are visiting our Mother’s Day stall to buy a present for their mothers or a significant person in their lives. The week culminates with a Mother’s Day breakfast in the hall on Friday morning. Both the stall and the breakfast is solely organised by the parent body, and I would like to thank Lara McCombie (SCC Social Committee organiser), Loryn Reynolds and Amelia Swinbourn for coordinating both the stalls and the breakfast.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN tests for Years 3 and 5 will be held next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The tests cover Reading, Writing, Maths, Spelling and Grammar and Punctuation. They provide a good snapshot of areas of strength in the school and areas to focus on. For our Year 5 students, they also provide a good insight into the students’ growth from Year 3. The test is one test on the day and is not in itself a good summation of your child’s progress at school. It does provide, in conjunction with other assessment tools at our disposal, a good insight into the overall progress of your child. Please contact Carmen Myles, our Assistant Principal and NAPLAN Coordinator, if you have any questions via carmen.myles@cg.catholic.edu.au.

Uniform Reminders

A reminder that Term 2 sees the beginning of the winter uniform being worn.  Information regarding our uniform is available by following this link -  Uniform Policy. The children are to still wear their hats for this period as well. Thank you for your support.

Children’s Party Invitations

One of the joys of parenthood is watching your child grow and flourish and experiencing birthday parties and the natural and infectious excitement that goes with the celebrations. This is particularly the case for younger students. It would be appreciated if parents would give all invitations to teachers to distribute.  This will save some children from the experience of watching other children be invited to a party, and not themselves. Thank you for your support in this matter.

Roadworks

No doubt all parents would be aware of the necessary roadworks taking place at the intersection of Tillyard Drive and Lhotsky Street and again at the intersection of Tillyard Drive and Ginninderra Drive. Traffic lights are being installed at both of those worksites. This has meant inevitable delays when leaving the school at the end of the day. I would encourage patience by all as we deal with the short-term frustration of road works, knowing that it will lead to long-term benefits for all families in the area.

Impending Car Park Arrangements

We too are having some impending changes to car arrangements. Shortly, information will be sent home regarding drive through and pick up arrangements. This information will be accompanied by a map and detailed information. Suffice to say that the entrance into the gravel car par area will soon be one way only. All cars will soon exit the car park area, leaving via the side road that runs parallel to the school hall. This will also make available the possibility of a drive through student pick-up, meaning parents will not have to park their car to collect their child or children. I believe this will make procedures smoother and safer for all people, particularly students. I welcome comment and feedback.

Thank You

I would like to finish on a note of thanks, and thank our new Assistant Principal, Carmen Myles and her husband Shane, who spent much of the recent school holiday period landscaping the garden outside the school hall that faces the Church. Carmen and Shane’s work has resulted in a very attractive garden space for the school. Thank you to both Carmen and Shane.

Have a wonderful week with your families. I look forward to seeing many mums at this Friday’s Mother’s Day breakfast.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal

Congratulations to our parents who have been elected members of the School Community Council for the next 2 years.  We wish them well and thank all our parent community for their support throughout the year.  Without our volunteers we would not be able to run the community events at this school.

Amelia Swinbourn	Chairman
Loryn Reynolds	Vice Chair
Kirstin Drance	Treasurer
Anna Atibini	Secretary

Community News is now located on our website.

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

Sophie P; Cooper K; Mackenzie M; Ashan H; Cooper A; Tobias J;  Rohan T, Mitchell A;  Kohen H;  Lachlan B;  Jared C;  James N;  Nikola G;  William S;  Amelia M;  Lewis T;  Hunter B;  Hayley G;  Jacie Leven;  Mason M;  Scarlett F;  Preston N;  Dhanvi J;  Shaela S;  Patrick SP;  Lachlan R;  Mitchell R;  Nuer D;  Emily R

Below is information regarding Belconnen Road Closures.