Dear Families,

This Thursday many of our students in Year 6 will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. As they take this step in their lives, we pray that they will be able to “hear” the Spirit speaking in their lives. Please keep all the Year 6 children in your prayers as they reflect and learn about the Holy Spirit.

Send your Holy Spirit upon them to be their helper and guide.
Give them a spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of right judgement and courage,
the spirit of knowledge and reverence.
Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in your presence.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen 

Fencing
No doubt you will have noticed that some additional fencing has gone up around the school. This fencing is there as a temporary measure to prevent a small number of students from running onto the road. We noticed immediately that we needed to widen the gate closest to Ginninderra Drive and put a gate in it to allow walkers to use the pathway and reported this to CE. This should be fixed today. This fence will eventually be replaced with a permanent school fence similar to ones you would have seen around many schools in the area.

Survey
Thank you to all of those families who have completed the survey. As of this morning 58 families have responded. We would love to hear from the whole community, so if you have not had a chance to complete the survey, please use the link sent on 27th May via sZapp. This survey will help us to identify what is working well and areas for improvement. Students in the upper grades will also complete their own survey in class this week. We will use this information, along with other data to identify focus areas for our Three Year Strategic Plan, and 2022 Annual Plan.

Please find the link attached here:  Parent Survey Link

Moderation against Australian Curriculum
This year, teachers have been using work samples from the Australian Curriculum website to moderate student work for reporting. This type of moderation means that students’ work is being compared against an Australian Standard rather than just within the school. It is good for students, teachers and parents to be able to compare student work against samples from across the country and what level of work is expected for each subject area. Because of this, you may notice some difference between the grade your child receives and the grades they have received in the past. Many teachers have shown students these work samples, so students know the standard of work teachers are looking for when they assess each task. If you are interested in looking at these work samples, they can be found at:

https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources/work-samples/

CEO Sleepout
In just over a weeks’ time I will be sleeping outside, with only a sheet of cardboard as my mattress, at the National Arboretum (17th June). I am sure it will be cold and uncomfortable - it will be a far cry from my comfortable, warm bedroom at home.

As adults we often have a hard time processing Australia’s confounding homelessness situation. But it is real, so how do we explain it to our kids, and what can I do about it? To help us discuss it with our children, the St Vincent de Paul Society has produced a short brochure to guide us. Please find it attached to this newsletter.

I thank those families who have already so generously donated money to this cause. If you have not had a chance to make a donation, but would like to do so, please follow this link:  https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/fundraisers/leahtaylor/canberra

We will be holding a hoodie and beanie day on Friday 18th June (the day following the sleepout) to raise money for this important cause. Students who are participating in this day are asked to bring in a gold coin donation.

Previously some students have joined in this venture by ‘sleeping rough’ either on a couch or in a cardboard box in their bedroom or living room, for part of the evening. I’ll be posting videos and photos on our facebook page throughout the night.

Enrolments
While the enrolment period has officially closed we still have some space available in kindergarten and preschool. If you know of families who are considering enrolling their child at St Thomas Aquinas next year, and would like a tour of our beautiful school, please let them know they can still contact the Front Office to book a tour.

Preschool enrolment:      https://staquinas.act.edu.au/elc-enrolment

Kindergarten enrolment: https://enrolments.staquinas.act.edu.au/act-primary-enrol

God Bless

 
Leah Taylor
Principal

3 Way Conversations will be held in Week 10 on Tuesday afternoon, 22 June and Wednesday morning and afternoon, 23 June 2021.

This is an opportunity for you to have a 3 Way Conversation between Parents, Teachers and Students to discuss academic results.  These bookings are for ten minutes, and are optional, but we urge you to take advantage of the opportunity to meet with your children's teacher/s.

Bookings are open from Monday, 7 June at 6am and close on Monday, 21 June at 12 pm.   You can also book on your phone via SZapp.  Please see the bottom row of the SZapp Tiles.

Click Here for Parent Booking Guide

Click Here to Book

• School Fees for Term 2 are now overdue.
  Please pay asap unless you have arranged a direct debit payment.  

• Single-use plastics banned in the ACT
  Changes to single-use plastics in the ACT are officially on the way. From 1 July 2021, the ACT will become the second Australian jurisdiction to commence a ban on the sale and supply of selected single-use plastic items including: 

  • Single-use plastic cutlery 
  • Single-use plastic drink stirrers 
  • Expanded polystyrene takeaway food and beverage containers.

  Please ensure your child/ren have drink bottles and utensils for eating yoghurt, soups etc.

• COMPASS Kiosk has Arrived!!!
  Please note that our Compass Kiosk has been installed.  This requires all parents/carers to sign their child/ren IN/OUT/LATE.

Please note that all students are required to be at school by 9am each day.  If you drop your child/ren off after 9am, please enter the Front Office to sign your child/ren in.  

Parents who have dropped their children off after 9am, and not signed their child/ren in late, will be asked to return to school to sign-in their child/ren via the Compass Kiosk at the Front Office.  This is a CE compliance requirement.

• Absentee Notifications
  Whilst we await the introduction of the Compass Parent Portal, it is preferable that Absentee Notifications be advised electronically as they are now required to be attached electronically.  Notifications can be sent via:

• • SZapp portal - Choose Absentee - see menu below.  Instructions on how to install SZapp can be found here.
  • Email the teacher
  • Email the office via office.staquinas@cg.catholic.edu.au

Thank you for your co-operation.

• Enter the School via the Front Office Only
  For the safety of students and staff, all parents/carers/visitors must enter the school via the Front Office only.  Please do not enter the school via any other door, even if it is for a short period of time to talk to a teacher, check lost property etc.  Our COVID requirements also require all visitors to the school to register with the Front Office.
  
  
• Arranging Meetings with Teachers
  Just a reminder that if you wish to speak/meet with your child's teacher, please pre-arrange a time with the teacher via email as teachers often have meetings and professional development before/after school.

Online orders for Issue 4 due by 9 June 2021

Scholastic Book Club Order Forms have been sent home today.

No cash orders will be accepted at the Front Office for Scholastic Book Club.

The school will still get credits and the books will still be delivered to school for us to distribute, unless parents have requested they be delivered to their home.

Please download the INLOOP App
on your device or order from the online website.

https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent/Login.aspx

 Any questions please contact me via email ksligar@bigpond.net.au

Yes, it is that time of the year again! The end of May is when we start to witness UV levels dropping off in Canberra to levels that are considered low (under 3) for part, if not most, of the day. It is also that time of the year when confusion sets in around sun protection recommendations in ACT school settings.

To keep things simple and consistent for ACT primary schools and early childhood services, many years ago Cancer Council ACT coined the phrase End Of May is Hats Off Day to assist these busy settings with their ‘hats on’ (hats off) behaviour.

So, in keeping with the End of May is Hats Off Day tune, all Canberra primary school students (and teachers) can leave their hats off for the months of June and July due to low (under 3) daily UV levels each day in the ACT.

The End of May spells Hats Off Day for ACT primary schools, for a few months anyway because the Beginning of August is Hats On Again For All Of Us as UV levels start to rise again in Canberra putting sensible sun protection behaviour back on the radar.

Read more about UV exposure and the healthy balance for Vitamin D benefits here.

Community News is located on our website.

The attached advice from the Department of Education, Skills and Employment provides details of information that is collected from our school.

Please view the letter here.

Please ensure your address and contact details are up to date if you have moved since February 2021.  You do not need to do anything else.

Thank you for your assistance.

JUNE 2021
Congratulations to the following students who will be celebrating their birthday this month:

Anna D;  Aleisha MA;  Leo W;  Mackenzie C; Millie A;  Maeve J; Leilani MH; Lucinda B;  Maddison J;  Emily McL;  Samuel B;  Phoebe S;  Zachary M;  Ivy LH;  Luke S;  Liam McC; Mason S;  Annabelle McP;  Emma O'B;  Alexander W;  Eleana O;  Georgia R;  Sam D;  Nella W-S;  Lachlan McL;  Tyrone C;  Xavier V;  Lucas G;  Chuol C