St Thomas' News
27 June 2019
UPCOMING EVENTS
Friday 28 June – Year 6 Assembly
Thursday 4 July – Semester One Reports to be sent home
Friday 5 July – 110th Anniversary Mass and Celebrations
Monday 22 July – Staff return for Term Three (Pupil Free)
Tuesday 23 July – Children return for Term Three
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear St. Thomas' Community,
Farewell: The end of term is a great opportunity to reflect on the marvellous things that have happened at St Thomas’. It is also an opportune time, as this is my last newsletter at St. Thomas’, to thank the many people who make our school community such a wonderful place to attend. Firstly, let me say that I have absolutely loved my four and a half years at St. Thomas. I have learnt many new things and will take this learning with me to into the future.
I wish to thank the parents for their support and trust over the years. We have dedicated and attentive parental support at class assemblies, P&F meetings, sporting fixtures, etc. It is wonderful to see parents coming into the school and positively supporting the teachers in the delivery of their programs. I thank the P&F for their support of the staff and students, in particular the three ladies who have lead the P&F in my time at St. Thomas’ – Ann Johnston, Carla Di Latte and Sarah Chatfield. All three ladies, along with their diligent executive and myriad of parent helpers, have made P&F meetings and events such enjoyable experiences. My Sincere thanks go to the School Board for their unwavering support of my leadership and in particular, the Board Chairs of David Edwards, Peter Gibbons and John Prichard.
To the students who make each and every day at school such a rewarding, exciting and enjoyable experience. You make the experience of teaching such a rewardable time for all staff. I will miss each and every one of you.
To Fr. Wayne Davis who has not only been a mentor and a sounding board but a great friend.I thank you for the sustainance of coffee, advice and meals. You are a true leader in our Parish community.
Finally, I thank the staff who have worked with me during the past four and a half years for their commitment, effort and friendship. They are truly dedicated individuals who strive to provide the very best opportunities for St Thomas’ students. We have developed a common language across the school and the flow between classes is both transparent and seamless. I appreciate them, thank them and acknowledge them and I hope you do too! I will miss them all very much!
I thank Fr. Wayne, David Edwards, and members of the panel who appointed me to St. Thomas’, for entrusting me with the leadership responsibility of this great school.
I wish each and every one of you health and happiness. No doubt we will meet again one day, so until then all the very best.
Academic All-Stars: Best of luck to: Caiden Arquiza-Relenas, Jovi Gibson, Benedict Watt, Ruby Bogoias, Ashlee Bennett, Lily Lucas, Grace Johnston and Grace Di Latte who are representing St. Thomas’ at this years Academic All Stars Competition. This takes place on Tuesday 2 July at St. Dominic’s.The areas of competition include:chess, engineering, mathematics, english, poetry, art, drama and general knowledge. Thanks to Mrs. Keatch for coordinating our team.
Year Six Assembly: Our next major assembly of the year will take place tomorrow, Friday 28 June. The Year Six class will be showcasing their learning.
Edu-Dance Concert: We hope that parents from Pre-Primary to Year Six enjoyed the Edu-dance experience last night. What a wonderful night of entertainment. I hate to say it but I think the last dance of the night again stole the show - but that is just my opinion!
School Reports: Next Thursday afternoon, 4 July, your child/children will bring home their Semester One Report. It is incredibly difficult for teachers to condense two terms’ work into such a concise document. I know that they have deliberated long and hard over the grades, marks for effort and comments to ensure that they are providing you with a clear, accurate picture of what your child can successfully demonstrate and areas that he/she requires further consolidation in, in the future.
Portfolios will also be sent home for the Pre-Primary and Kindy class. The portfolios are a snapshot of the learning journey the students have undertaken so far this year.
Term 3 Start: A reminder that Term Three starts for all students on Tuesday 23 July.
RELIGION NEWS
110th Anniversary, St Thomas Feast Day and Presentation Sisters Mass: On Friday 5 July we will be celebrating St Thomas’ 110th Anniversary.
Itinerary:
· 9.00am Mass (All welcome to attend)
· 10.00am Morning Tea in Hall / Tour of school / Choir performing
· Time in class (students)
· 10.30am Official unveiling of art work commissioned for 110th Anniversary
· 11.00am St. Thomas’ Feast Day Fun Day for students
· 12.30pm Sausage Sizzle Lunch (provided by the parish)
· 1.40pm St. Thomas’ Feast Day Fun Day for students (cont.)
First Holy Communion: Congratulations to all the Year Four students who celebrated their First Holy Communion on Sunday. Thanks to Mrs. Meyers and their parents for preparing them so well for this significant event in their catholic faith journey. Thanks to Fr. Wayne for celebrating a wonderful mass for the students and his assistance in their preparation. Thanks also to Celeste Hartfield for making the beautiful and extremely tasty cupcakes.
ST THOMAS' NEWS
KINDY 2020: We are currently taking applications for enrolments for four-year-old Kindergarten for 2020 and 2021. Your child must be 4 years of age before June 30 2020 to be eligible for 2020 intake and 4 years of age before June 30 2021 for the 2021 grouping.
Please click on the 'ENROL NOW' button on the school website to apply. Interviews will be taking place in Terms Three. If you know of any families who may wish to send their child/children to St Thomas’ please ensure you pass on this information.
The raised garden beds in the back garden of the Junior Primary area have become a well loved place for the children to explore and investigate. The children care for the plants and reap the benefits of their work by eating and cooking the produce. The children regularly water, dig around and pick the vegetables. The children in the Pre-kindergarten have expanded their sustainable practices by taking their food scraps to the “big school” composting bins, where they discovered worms and another exciting natural environment. This has helped them to enhance their critical thinking skills, develop problem solving and work collaboratively towards a more sustainable learning environment.
SPORT
LIGHTNING CARNIVAL
On Friday 21 June all of the Year 5 & 6 students with some selected Year 4 students took part in the Interschool Winter Lightning Carnival and what a beautiful winters day it was! Students participated in round robin games of either Netball or Soccer. I would like to thank those parents who gave up their valuable time to volunteer and assist the staff with the teams on the day; Chris Bennett, Oscar Dominguez and Annabel Cribb, your assistance is very much appreciated. Also thanks to Clare McIlree who sorted all of the girls Netball uniforms from our school netball teams.
I would like to congratulate all students on the amazing way they represented the school and their wonderful sportsmanship.
Results:
Soccer Team A – 1st
Soccer Team B – 2nd (equal 2nd)
Netball Team A – 5th
Netball Team B – 2nd
Well done to the staff, Lila Gibbs and Chelsea Meborn-Hubbard who alongside myself trained and coached the teams during our Friday afternoon sport session.
Congratulations to our Soccer Team A, who were champions taking home the shield for the fifth year in a row!
Runners Club
Over the past 6 weeks students from Pre Primary to Year 6 have been participating in Runners club at Rowe Park and the numbers were outstanding! This year, I used an app that calculated the kilometres students ran and these results will continue into the next year and so on. There may be students who end of running a marathon during their time at St Thomas’! Students who ran 5km or 10km will receive a certificate for their achievement during their sport lesson.
Netball – Net Set Go
Each term, Netball WA can come out to schools around the Perth metro area to run a NetSetGO program which incorporates skills, drills, activities and games. NetSetGO is a fun, safe, social and active program for children aged 5-10. It gives kids of all abilities a positive introduction to netball and teaches them important motor and social skills. The season runs for 8 weeks, 1 hour, one afternoon per week and to register it costs $115 for the 8 week program. The registration fee includes a NetSetGO participation pack (T-shirt, size 4 netball and Suncorp Super Netball player cards) as well insurance and liability cover.
All registrations and payments are done online via the MyNetball.
If your child is interested in the program can you send an email to Sharon Seaman – Sharon.seaman@cewa.edu.au
Upcoming Events
St Thomas Athletics Carnival – 6th September at UWA Sports Park
Holiday Clinics and Programs
Please see below.
LIBRARY NEWS
Please assist your children in looking for any overdue books they may still have at home. All books must be returned via the 'Monster Chute' located in the library, so that they can be correctly scanned back into the library catalogue. Books can be returned this way on any school day.
Thank you for your assistance.
Ron Wray
Library
WOMEN PROMPTING CHANGE in the CHURCH - WEDNESDAY JUNE 26, 6-9pm
Catholic women are warmly invited to a free panel discussion with: Theologian Dr Margaret Scharf OP; Anglican priest Rev Tess Milne; and Religious Studies scholar Scilla Stack discussing the role of women in the Christian Church and their thoughts on the way forward, followed by an open discussion.
Date: Wednesday 26 June from 6.00 - 9pm. Light refreshments served from 6 - 6.30pm.
Venue: Gibney Hall, Trinity College, 2 Trinity Ave Perth (parking available, Red & Yellow CAT buses travel to Hale St).
RSVP by 23 June to Kerry ph 08 93975988 or SMS to 0400 886 835 or email kerrymac4@hotmail.com
EXTEND NEWS
What’s on next week?
Monday
am: Charades
pm: Cricket Match/Colouring In/ Karaoke
Tuesday
am: Balloon People making
pm: DIY- Recycled Materials Arts & Crafts Challenge
Wednesday
am: Walking Water Science Experiment
pm: Magic Tricks with Grace J./ Snow Globe
Thursday
am: Banana, Berry and Yoghurt Breakfast Muffins
pm: Animal Day Varied Activities
Friday
am: Puppet making
pm: Puppet Show/mini party- Last Day Term 2/musical bob/karaoke
The Extend Superstars are…
Leonardo Romano Do Valle and Miguel Kerber Araujo for a fantastic effort you made in organising the Dinosaur Day - varied activities. Well-done Leo and Miguel!
Jewel Grosse and Erin Moore for your high level of interest and participation in all Extend Activities. You did an excellent job in hosting the talent show during our Open Day! Thank you Jewel and Erin!
Thank You!
A HUGE thank you to all who came to see the amazing performances of our talented children of Extend After School Care last week. Our Open Afternoon “Extend’s Got Talent” was a great success . We are truly grateful for the supportive families and for the positive feedback we have received from them. We look forward to another wonderful Open Day in Term 3.
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