St Thomas' News
05 March 2020
Lenten Prayer
Dear God,
During this season of Lent, may you help us
to thank you for the new life you gave to our world,
to find your presence around us, in the sparkle of the sunshine,
a word given in encouragement, a smile shred in passing,
to open our hearts to your call,
to serve one another with your loving compassion,
to have the courage to ask for help as we journey to
and to know when we have gone off the path,
and to remember what Lent is all about and to turn our lives toward you.
Amen.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Friday 13 March – St Thomas' Swimming Carnival Year 3-6
Monday 16 March - P&F Meeting 7pm
Tuesday 17 March - Board Meeting 7 pm
Thursday 19 March – Harmony Day
Friday 20 March – Year 2 Assembly
Friday 20 March –National Day against Bullying and Violence
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear St. Thomas' Community,
Dear Parents and Friends,
We continue to hear the increasingly concerning situation regarding the COVID-19 Virus. Schools are in constant dialogue with the Department of Health and Catholic Education WA to ensure that we have up to date knowledge about the virus and any information regarding further protocols or procedures to follow in our school. St Thomas’ has put into place a new policy around this current situation. This policy will be available on our website shortly. The best way to protect ourselves and others against the COVID-19 is to practise good hygiene.
Mass Changes
The Archdiocese of Perth has introduced new protocols for Mass this Sunday due to the COVID-19 Virus. These directives are temporary and will remain in place until such time as Archbishop Costelloe SDB issues a revision:
· Holy Water is to be removed from stoups in all Churches and Chapels.
· Offertory gifts are to be in closed vessels or, where this is not possible, vessels should be
appropriately covered.
· The Sign of Peace is to be omitted at all Masses.
· The distribution of Holy Communion under both species is to cease.
· The Precious Blood is not to be shared from the chalice at any Masses and is reserved to the
celebrant(s) only.
· Priests are to encourage communicants to receive the Sacred Host in the hand, not on the
tongue.
· All priests and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are to wash their hands in soap and
water, or are to use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser both immediately before and immediately
after the distribution of Holy Communion.
All of the above precautionary directives are additional to our normal requirements that all sacred vessels are thoroughly washed before and after each Mass.
Full details of the information can be accessed on the below link.
Project Compassion Launch
Last Tuesday four of the Year 6 Leaders and I attended the Project Compassion Launch for 2020 at Sacred Heart College in Sorrento. Forty-four schools were represented and gathered for Mass followed by a ‘Just Leadership’ workshop. The message of Project Compassion ‘Go Further Together,’ reminds us that collectively, we can make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate.
SEDA Netball Clinic
It was lovely to see the student engagement in our recent Netball Clinic. Students from the SEDA (Senior Secondary Education) programme facilitated this clinic as part of their Certificate 111 in Sport and Recreation. The children had a fabulous time and truly enjoyed this opportunity to receive some extra training in this sport. The secondary students were full of energy and we thank them for sharing their skills.
Buddy Time
Swimming Carnival Friday 13 March
A big thank you to Mrs Seaman for organising the recent swimming trials for years 3-6 and to all parents who assisted on the day. Our swimming carnival is scheduled for next Friday 13 March for students from Years 3-6. Information on the day is available in this newsletter below and in the notes recently sent home to parents.
Parent Interviews
Staff are looking forward to sharing your child’s progress at Parent Interviews on:
· Monday 6 April – Pre-Primary, Year 2, 4 & 6
· Wednesday 8 April – Kindergarten, Year 1, 3 & 5
Interview times have been scheduled using an online platform which will go live later this afternoon. If you have any concerns or questions about this process, please contact the school for clarification.
God bless
Natalia Thomson
PRINCIPAL
ST THOMAS' NEWS
Harmony Day
Harmony Day will be celebrated on Thursday 19 March at St Thomas’ Primary School. On this day, we will gather with buddy classes to experience, explore and appreciate our cultural diversity. Children are encouraged to come to school dressed showcasing their culture or wear something Orange – the Colour of Harmony. The children will also experience a shared lunch and we ask families to donate a traditional cultural lunch item suitable for sharing. Thank you to our P&F for coordinating the lunch on the day and the wonderful donations from the families.
Anything changed?
Thank you.
Sports News
UPCOMING SPORTING EVENTS
The upcoming swimming carnival will be held at outdoor 50m pool at Claremont. Students will require sunscreen and their school hat for this carnival. All students are to come to Claremont Pool dressed in appropriate swimwear or their St Thomas’ school bathers with their faction polo, over the top. Students may also wear slip on shoes.
Students are able to be dropped off at Claremont Pool from 8.30am. The carnival is scheduled to finish around 2.30pm. Students will need to be collected at 2.30pm from Claremont Pool unless prior transportation arrangements have been made with the school. All children are required to be signed out by their classroom teacher at the end of the day.
As a reminder all children will need to bring their own recess, lunch and adequate water as they will not be permitted to leave the student faction bays to purchase items from the café.
We require a number of parent helpers on the day. If you are able to assist with the running of the carnival please or contact please contact Sharon Seaman via email on Sharon.seaman@cewa.edu.au
Swimming Training for the Interschool Team
Swimming training will commence in Week 7, after the St Thomas' Swimming Carnival. Training is scheduled for Thursday 28 February and each Thursday and Friday morning from 7.30 – 8.15 am, except for Friday 27 March.
Year 5 & 6 Tennis and Cricket Carnival
The Year 5 and 6 Tennis and Cricket Carnival will be held on Friday 27 March.
Interschool Swimming Carnival – Tuesday 7 April
If parents are able to assist with calculating results in the computer room (you get the best view of the carnival!) please contact Sharon Seaman via email on Sharon.seaman@cewa.edu.au as we are the host school again for 2020.
Sporting Communities AFL Football
If you would like to child to participate in AFL football for Claremont Junior Football Club registrations are open and you may also contact www.claremontjuniorfc.com.au.
Year 6 Report - Project Compassion
Last Tuesday, we were invited to attend the launch of Project Compassion at Sacred Heart College.
The event started with a welcoming smoking ceremony lead by an Elder, which took all of the bad spirits away from the land we were standing on. We then processed into an auditorium for a celebration Mass.
The motto of project compassion this year is ‘Go further together.’ We believe that this means that if we work together, we will go further in life to end poverty and to promote justice for everyone in the world.
After the mass, we had a lovely morning tea of pancakes to celebrate Shrove Tuesday and some delicious fruit. We joined many other Catholic School students for a leadership workshop, lead by a man called Nathan. We sang a song about using our hands to do good things. The verse that most stuck in our memory was “With my own 2 hands” because they were the words we sung while Nathan sang the sentences. In between each sentence he made us think about how important it is for us to use our hands to do good works.
We also got to watch a few videos of people telling their story about how project compassion has helped them to live a better life. One of the videos was about a lady called Shirley who was discriminated against for being an Indigenous Filipino woman. She was made to sit on the roof of the bus whenever she took public transport in the local areas, just because of her appearance.
We also watched a video about an Australian man who used the Red Dust method to help him.
We really enjoyed our time at Sacred Heart and realised how lucky we are to live in Australia. We have food, water and a roof over our heads. It is unfortunate that 75% of the world’s population do not have those three things!
As Student Leaders, we encourage everyone to use their hands to help others and to donate to the Project Compassion Project to end poverty, to promote justice and to uphold dignity in our world.
Ruby, Cayden, Grace and Nicholas
COVID-ID Virus Information
We continue to hear the increasingly concerning situation regarding the COVID-19 Virus. The best way to protect yourself and others against the COVID-19 is to practise good hygiene. Washing your hands frequently (for at least 20 seconds) with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand gel. This will kill the virus if it is on your hands. Refraining from touching your mouth and nose. Covering your nose and mouth with a tissue or flexed elbow when coughing or sneezing. Dispose of the tissue immediately into a rubbish bin and clean your hands as described above. By doing this, you are less likely to contaminate objects or people that you touch. Avoiding close contact (maintain a distance of at least 1 metre) with anyone if you or they have cold or flu-like symptoms. For more information, please click on the below link.
Fathering Project - Night on the Green
Saturday, Mar 28, 2020, 02:00 PM
8 Warden Street, Claremont WA, Australia
Extend Before & After School Care
Monday- AM: Q-Tip Painting Activity PM: DIY Chef Hats, Kangaroo and Crocodile Tag Game Tuesday- AM: Balloon Game PM: DIY Stress ball Making, Cooking Activity- Honey Joys, Pretend Play
Wednesday- AM: Magic Milk Science PM: Apron Making- Sewing Activity and Soccer Match Thursday- AM: Colouring in, Drawing PM: Musical Statue/ Talent Show, Gardening
Friday- AM: Bracelet and Necklace making PM: Dream Catcher Making, Running Race
The Extend Superstars are… Miguel Kerber Araujo for using his initiative to help reset the room! He helped others and did an awesome job to make the room look fantastic!
Mimi Grosse for volunteering to be the leader on the first day and for creating a positive environment by being cheerful, warm and friendly especially to the new faces in Extend.
Welcome Back to School! The holidays have flown by and we are excited to get back into the fun of Before & After School Care. A big warm welcome to all the new families joining St Thomas Primary for 2020; we hope to meet many of you in the coming weeks. To kick off the new term we have been doing fun games and activities to learn more about each other, including what our favourite games and foods are so we can work on incorporating these into our program. We have also been busy making paper flowers, painting, drawing and colouring in activities, slime making and playdough making. We enjoyed playing pretend play “Shops” and “Teachers” cooking activities and planting seeds, lego construction, marble race track and Pingpong tournament. Stay tuned for more info about our upcoming activities for Term 1!
If you have any queries about our school care service we invite you to pop in and say hello during one of our sessions. This is a great way to introduce your child to our educators and to what’s available to play with!
Enrol and book now: extend.com.au
We hope you have a great week!
Liezel Menguito,
Service Coordinator
St Thomas' Community Partners
St Thomas' Primary School
Email: admin@stthomas.wa.edu.au
Website: stthomas.wa.edu.au
Location: 8 Warden Street Claremont WA 6010
Phone: (08 9286 9500
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stthomasprimaryschoolclaremont
Twitter: @StThomasCPS