Dear Families,

It is hard to believe that we are nearly at the end of Term 1. This term has been a particularly challenging term, especially with the large number of staff and student absences and illness. While we are still seeing some disruption, students and staff seem to be getting into a bit of a rhythm.

ELC
Firstly, I would like to welcome Linda Baird to the ELC. Linda is our new office manager and started this week. I am sure you will make her feel welcome.

Our ELC is looking magnificent! We are so excited to be so close to moving in. We only have a few compliance approvals to go and we will be able to move in. Hopefully these will happen over the next week, so we may put out a request for spare hands to help move into the new space over the break.

Oval
Everything seems to be all happening at once. For those who have driven past the school recently, you will have seen our oval almost complete. Turf has been laid and we are just waiting for it to settle so we can start planting trees and shrubs. Our new fence is being erected along Lhotsky, with the remaining fence along Ginninderra to go up soon. As with all things in this current climate, rain, Covid and a shortage of materials is slowing the timeline down.

Crossing
We would like to remind families who are dropping children off in the mornings to watch out for children using the crossing at the front of the school. Primary aged children are still developing their road sense and will not always wait for cars to stop before stepping onto the crossing. We have noticed some cars racing through the crossing to drop children off at drop off and are not slowing down or stopping to wait for children about to enter the crossing. Please be extra careful as you approach the crossing knowing that children can step out at any time.

Easter message
As we approach Holy Week students are already reflecting on this time. On Monday, students participated in an online Palm Sunday Liturgy, which marks the beginning of Holy Week. During this week, students will get a sense of the triumph with which Jesus entered Jerusalem, much like an Emperor coming in through the City gates following a successful battle. But instead of bringing war to the nations, Jesus brought peace, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” Lk 20:38.

On Thursday, they will remember the Last Supper and Good Friday. There is often a focus on Good Friday as being a time where Jesus sacrifices Himself for our sins. However, this focus often misses the point. The great ‘victory’ for Christians at Easter is that Christ conquered sin and death. God’s all powerful, all loving and magnificent response to humans torturing and killing Christ was His resurrection. Fr Richard Leonard gives a great talk of God in amongst suffering. In it, he talks about Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is also a wonderful resource for anyone who is suffering and asking “Where the Hell is God?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH6dKc-mQBE

For those who will travel (not that we can) this break, I wish you a safe journey. I wish all of you Easter Blessings and look forward to seeing you again next Term. A reminder that Monday will be ANZAC Day and Tuesday will be a pupil-free day, so students will return on Wednesday 27th April.

Take care and God bless.

Yours in Faith

Leah Taylor
Principal

School Fees for Term 1 for 2022 are now overdue. Please contact the front office to arrange payment if you haven't already done so.

We sincerely thank you for your cooperation. 

Please note that we are no longer able to source plastic cutlery. Please ensure that you provide cutlery to your children to use during the day as we are seeing an increase in the number of children requiring spoons and forks. As it becomes increasingly difficult to source plastics, we would appreciate it if you would kindly provide these from home.

At St Thomas Aquinas Primary School we encourage healthy eating. Our afternoon eating time allows children to munch and crunch on fruits and vegetables to help feed the brain for a happy learning afternoon. We ask that all children be provided with a healthy snack option in their lunchbox. We do have a small amount of fruit available at the front office but our supplies are currently not keeping up with the demand in children requiring a healthy snack. We appreciate your efforts in supporting your children's healthy eating habits. 

Further, it is essential that every child has a drink bottle filled with water only. Did you know that drinking water and staying hydrated increases a child's ability to multitask and improves their reaction times!

             

Community News is located on our website.

	Chair: Vice Chair: Treasurer: Secretary: Fete Committee: Parent Representative: Parent Representative: Parent Representative: Teacher Representative:	Loryn Reynolds Amelia Swinbourn Kirsten Clark-Drance Natasha Williamson Stacey Campbell Max Urack Aurora Lukass Simon Dixon Michael Prosper
Please contact the SCC via email:  sta.school.community.council@gmail.com

Your SCC representatives met on 22 March 2022 - our first face to face meeting of the year!  

We discussed the following items:

• Oval remediation and developments
• Upcoming NAPLAN tests for Years 3 and 5
• New ELC building progress
• Opened the SCC Teacher's Grant program for applications
• Teacher training opportunities (various)
• New furniture for senior class rooms
• Covid impacts on events - athletics carnival, school camps, etc

The SCC was excited to provide delicious cupcakes with red icing for students to celebrate Father Tom's 70th birthday last Thursday.  Happy Birthday, Father Tom!

The second hand clothing pool will continue to be open on Monday mornings before school and Wednesday afternoons until 3:30pm.

Our next meeting is in Term 2 so if you're keen or even just curious about the SCC, we'd love to welcome new council members to our cohort.  It's a great way to be part of the school community and meet other parents and teachers.

If you have any questions or would like to raise anything with the SCC, please contact us via email:  sta.school.community.council@gmail.com

After receiving over 5,000 student poems and planting over 5,000 trees last year, we're thrilled to be launching the POEM FOREST Prize 2022 in celebration of World Poetry Day and International Day of Forests. 

Red Room Poetry and The Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan invite you to enter the POEM FOREST Prize and use your words to create positive climate action.

Visit the POEM FOREST webpage for full details. Your Nature poems can be entered via the online form (closing 23 September 2022)

Did you know....

• A tree is planted for every poem received
• $5,000 in prizes to win including $500 cash for each category, book packs from Magabala Books, Pantera Press and Wonderground as well as Garden tours, plants, seeds and more
• Digital publication for all entries and selected poems published in the POEM FOREST 

Thanks for helping us to grow the POEM FOREST and heal habitats for future generations.

We can’t to read your poems!

CANTEEN

The Canteen is open from Wednesdays to Fridays - for the first 10 minutes of each break.  We sell a limited selection of healthy canteen approved chips and ice blocks.

SUBWAY

Parents and staff are able to place Subway Orders Online.  Click on the link below to place an order and payment as well. 

Cut-off time is 9:15 AM for same day delivery.
Call on 02 6259 9101 to place your order after this time

Subway Lunch Orders can also be made, via Subway Envelope, at school.  Subway envelopes, including cash, need to be placed in the Lunch Order Subway box, located outside the Front Office,  by 9:30am on the day before the lunch is required.  For example, if you would like a lunch order on Wednesday, the lunch order needs to be manually submitted by Tuesday 9:30am.

Here is a sample of the Subway ordering envelope.  Envelopes are available from the Front Office or the classroom.

APRIL 2022
Congratulations to the following students who will be celebrating their birthday this month:

Chaia L, Indie-Rose H, Riley S, Ryan S, Thor S, Charlotte S, Jessica J, Kael A, Parker W, Mackenzie S, Estelle W, Poppy R, Eric H, Zeus B, Anon Diing, Melinda M, Miranda G