Dear Families,

It was wonderful to see a few familiar faces back in the courtyard. We were all so excited to hear that we would once again be able to welcome families back onto our school grounds and volunteers back into the building. We are looking forward to presenting our first lot of class awards in the courtyard this year.

This week is Catholic Schools Week and the beginning of our enrolment period. If you know of anyone who is considering enrolling their child for 2023 in either the Primary School or for Preschool, let them know that now is the time. There is more information about open days and how to enrol in this newsletter. Our first Open Morning will be on Thursday between 9.30-11am - so spread the word.

Yesterday we welcomed back Toni Hatten-Roberts from COGLearn to work with staff on Explicit Direct Instruction and Daily Review. Toni has been working with our school for over a year now and has been very pleased with the progress made my staff in implementing this new pedagogy.

CE have granted schools two additional pupil free days to make up for lost release from face-to-face and the additional workload resulting from staff absences. We have tried to place these days as conveniently as possible and to work with St Francis Xavier to minimise disruption for families with children at both schools. We have managed to match one day, but unfortunately, due to calendar clashes, we have not been able to match both days. These pupil free days will be Tuesday 31st May (this is the Tuesday following the long weekend) and Friday 1st July (the last day of school). I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. OSHClub will be available for families who require care.

This term is already proving to be a challenging one. You may hear about a few ‘guest’ teachers in classes. We are trying to minimise disruption to learning as much as possible and ensuring planned lessons as taught. I thank you for your understanding and support during this time. Today we had three officers from the Catholic Education Office in class to support our school. You may hear your children talk about Mr Kemp, Mr Barnard and Mrs Blake. In the coming days we will have other CE officers coming into to take classes where required. As a school we are very grateful for the support provided by these officers and the Central Office to ensure that we are able to remain open and that all students are able to participate fully in planned learning.

Next week students in Years 3 and 5 will participate in NAPLAN. This nationwide assessment helps the school to track learning over the years and across cohorts. We use this information to assess the effectiveness of programs and make decisions about whole school teaching and learning. While we know there is a lot of attention paid to NALPAN by the media, we would like to reiterate that NAPLAN is only one measure of a student’s progress. Students at St Thomas Aquinas also complete other assessments including PAT Reading and PAT Maths, as well as assessments associated with the various programs we use here to assess and track learning. I wish all of the students participating in this year’s NAPLAN well.

Yours in Faith

Leah Taylor
Principal

Community News is located on our website.

Compass is our  preferred form of communication.  Teachers may also use other forms of communication for their own class.  If you are not receiving regular communication, please check with the Front Office and your child's teacher to ensure that we have the correct contact details. 

The Compass Parent Portal (CPP) is an essential online portal that allows you to interact with your child’s school and access up-to-date information.

Please ensure that all absenses are corrected entered into the Compass Parent Portal. However late arrivals or early departures will be entered by the front office once the student has arrived or departed the school. Parents/carers are still required to enter full day absences. We appreciate your assistance and cooperation.

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.

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

Jesse R, Cooper K, Rohan T, Lorelei M, Clarence G, Alice T, Nikola G, William S, Amelia M, Lewis T, Oliver H, Ariana R, Hunter B, Emily L-B, Brooklyn S, Ashan H, Jacie L, Scarlett F, Achiek A, Shaela S, Patrick S-P, Lyla M, Lachlan R, Mitchell R, Gabriel T, Chimaobi M, Nuer D