Each year Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) host a breakfast to recognise and honour staff who have completed 30, 40 or 50 years of accumulated service in our Catholic Education system. This year Mrs. Val Dragon will be recognised for 40 years of service to Catholic Education. I know you will join me in congratulating Val for achieving this momentous milestone. Well done Val!

Confirmation: Please keep in your prayers the Year Six class who are preparing for their Confirmation. This is a significant event in their faith/life journey. The Confirmation Mass will take place on Friday 7 September starting at 6.00pm sharp. The Parent Meeting will take place on Wednesday 29 August, with the Retreat for the students taking place on Friday 31 August.

School/Parish Mass: The next Parish/School Mass will take place on Saturday, 18 August, at 5.30pm. The Year One class and Mrs. Migliore are organising the Mass and sausage sizzle. Even though it is the Year One class organising this event, it would be wonderful to see the Church full with St Thomas’ families.

Catholic Performing Arts Festival: Congratulations to all students who have so far been involved in the Performing Arts Festival, both as individuals and as members of the school Choir. I have had the privilege of being able to attend some of events and have been amazed at the performances. We have some very talented students at St Thomas’. To those students yet to perform, we wish you all the best of luck for your upcoming performances.

Jesus, in the Gospels, often told parables which are a simple stories used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure-

“The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man happens to find a treasure hidden in a field. He covers it up again, and is so happy that he goes and sells everything he has, and then goes back and buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl

“Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man is looking for fine pearls, 46 and when he finds one that is unusually fine, he goes and sells everything he has, and buys that pearl.

Mathew’s passage asks us to think about the things that are truly important in life. Matthew reminds us that the kingdom of heaven is so valuable that once you find it, you don’t need anything else. Sometimes we have to give up a lot to have things that are valuable to us.

Wishing you a blessed week,

Mrs Sullivan

A VERY BIG 'Thank you' to those families who have paid their fees. A gentle 'reminder' for those yet to pay, that the third and final instalment for 2018 is due by Friday 17 August. Please see Julie or Leanne in the Office for any further queries.

The Mini Vinnies are involved with many community projects. At the moment we are busy getting ready for the Art Show and will be selling a selection of herbs in recycled tins. We are collecting tins of a specific brand called ‘Mutti' please see image. If you use this brand can you please wash out the tins and give to Mrs Sullivan or put them in the yellow bag in the AP office. With the help of Clare McIlree we are also making Hair Scrunchies out of recycled school uniforms, these will also be sold at the Art Show.

In Term 4 all music classes will be creating a “Junk Band”. The instruments will be created by upcycling your junk and rubbish around the home. Some of the instruments will be displayed at the Art Show.

So please help your child to start collecting some interesting bits of junk and rubbish that can be turned into a musical instrument. Please keep your junk at home until next term, because there is no room at school!

You are welcome to create the instruments at home, then when it gets to school it’s ready to play. There’s lots of ideas on the internet. Get creative!

New Guitar and Drum Tutor, Russell Prior, coming to St Thomas' Primary School. Russell has over thirty years’ experience in the teaching and performing of music. He is a professional who will be conducting guitar lessons with a twist. The diligent student will also receive the occasional drum kit, five to ten minutes instructional at the end of their guitar lesson. (Home kit not required).

Enquire at the front office or direct to wesprior@hotmail.com or ring Mob: 0421 155 037.

Through chatting with students throughout the school, I have come to learn that there are a number of our students on social media applications at home - Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Musical.ly, and many more that you may have never heard of. Interestingly, these apps are for ages 13+, and for good reason: adult apps can have very adult content. Instagram and Snapchat for example, have a wide range of adult and explicit content that can be accessed by anyone who has an account. Though there are many positives when adults use social media, it is important to be aware of the dangers that young children can face when interacting with these adult social apps. I would encourage you to have a conversation with your child about whether they engage with any social media apps and discuss this with them openly.

For more information and resources about young children and social media, the CyberSafety Lady has an informative Blog Post which you may find interesting. I encourage you to read this article: https://thecybersafetylady.com.au/2017/12/snapchat-musical-ly-and-instagram-8-year-old-children-on-13-apps/

Paul Litherland (from Surf Online Safe) will be talking partly about social media in his presentation to St Thomas' parents on Wednesday 12th September, and I encourage you to attend this session. You can RSVP by filling out the online RSVP form above.

Ryan von Bergheim

Assistant Principal

Green is the new black, people, because ethical fashion is higher than ever on the agenda for brands across the board from luxury to everyday clothing.

To meet demand for fast fashion, clothing producers churn out collections of questionable quality and, sometimes, ethics. The textiles used in the fast fashion industry are usually derived from man-made/synthetic material, which can be produced quickly and at a reduced cost but lack the biodegradability of natural fibres.

According to sustainability consultant Jane Milburn of Textile Beat, two-thirds of the clothes and textiles sold are made of synthetic fibres. These fibres are a derivative of petroleum and shed thousands of micro plastic particles into the environment.

Australians buy around 27kgs of clothing every year, and, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics dump about 23kgs of the textiles bought into landfill. When discarded the fibres may never break down, leaving a devastating long-term impact on the environment.

Thankfully, there are a growing number of fashion labels producing clothes that are made with the planet in mind, designing clothes that will last in our wardrobes for much longer than a few seasons.

There are also other options such as recycling unwanted clothing, shopping at Vintage or Op Shops and also considering a minimalistic approach to clothing, buying a few special items rather than consumption of many cheap items.

Nicky Sullivan

With swimming pools and beaches a big part of the Western Australian lifestyle, ensuring your children can swim competently and safely is essential.

You can now enrol your children in VacSwim swimming lessons during the October and December/January school holidays.

VacSwim is for all children - from beginners to more advanced swimmers and young people doing their Bronze Medallion. Your children can start as young as five years old.

Your children can join in the fun of learning to swim at pools and open water venues across the State. Enrol your children in VacSwim now at education.wa.edu.au/swimming

Hello friends!

Over the past two weeks, we have had loads of fun activities such as “Frisbee” making, paper plate clown and paper plate masks making, Craft Stick Picture Frame making and DIY Paper Spinner for Endless Fun. We also enjoyed making the Photo Booth props such as emojis, mustache, hat and crown.

We have had a wonderful time in “Jo’s Music Sesh with Kids” activity. We were amazed by the talent of Jo in playing guitar and we discovered that everyone can sing and we are all natural musicians. Also, we made our own “Music Shakers” which became the most popular activity of the week. In our Multicultural arts and crafts, we have had Egyptian collar, Japanese Hand Fan, Chinese Lantern and Boomerang Design. We learnt how to say “Hello” in different languages and we loved learning the Basic Sign Language too (deaf and mute- hand speak). We incorporated our sign language skills in singing the “Welcome to the Family” song.

We have had STEM Challenge: Can you build a 3D Structure? and DIY- Rain Clouds Science Experiment. It was one of the highlights of the week also when we invited a parent, Mr. Barker. We really appreciate him in sharing his time with us and giving us some techniques in playing soccer. It was indeed a fun afternoon to all of us.

KIDS CLUB ART COMPETITION – WIN A $200 COLES GROUP AND MYER GIFT CARD

Entries are now open for Extend’s Kids Club Competition! Submit your entry online from Monday 23 July to Friday 10 August, 2018.

To enter complete the sentence “Gilbert the Gecko’s Best Friend ‘_____’ the Gecko” and submit your matching art entry online at extend.com.au. For further details and terms visit extend.com.au

…BUT THERE’S MORE! Help your After School Care service win a mystery incursion! Be sure to come along to After School Care to enter.

Our Extend Superstars are:

Isaac Tham for always using his beautiful manners and for being obedient.

Rebecca Wijeygoonewardena for always showing initiative to help the educator and her friends by volunteering to be a leader of the day

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Liezel Menguito

Extend Service Coordinator