St Thomas' News
26 June 2020
SCHOOL DATES
Important Dates
FRIDAY 03 JULY - St Thomas' Feast Day Celebrations
FRIDAY 03 JULY - Last day Term Two for Staff & Students
MONDAY 20 JULY - Pupil Free Day
TUESDAY 21 JULY - Students commence Term 3
FRIDAY 24 JULY - Fathering Project Dad's event
2020 Pupil Free Days: Monday 20 July, Monday 24 August & Friday 25 September
Monday 12 October
Prayer
We thank you Lord, for this term.
For the challenges, the successes,
And the mistakes from which we have learnt.
Be with us as we spend our time with family and friends.
Give us strength and courage to do what is right:
To be witnesses of our faith.
Help us to be a practical Christian these holidays,
To appreciate what others, do for us,
To give time and effort to help others.
To be peacemakers in our family.
Keep us safe in our activities; give us good rest and good fun.
Bring us back refreshed and ready for a new term.
We thank you for our classmates, teachers, parents
And a community that cares for us.
May we always be conscious of you in our lives.
Amen
Welcome to St Thomas' Pre Kindy
We know you will join us in making Xanthe and her family feel very welcome.
Animals on school grounds
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Congratulations!
Wishing all the Jarrott Family much happiness on the safe arrival of your new little bundle of joy. Welcome to the St Thomas' familiy too, Sophie!
Vale Sr Mai Delahunty
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear Parents and Caregivers
As Semester One comes to close, we thank God that we live in this wonderful state of ours. Who would have thought that we would have a semester like no other, with the challenges provided by COVID-19. Staff have all been amazed with the resilience and confidence that students have gained from this situation. We keep the people of Victoria and all over the world in our prayers as COVID-19 continues to be a challenge.
I know the students and staff are looking forward to the holidays so they can recharge their batteries and come back refreshed for the final semester of 2020. In Semester Two we look forward to many interesting and educational activities for students with opportunities for parent involvement.
Parent Interviews
It was so pleasing to see so many parents and caregivers attending parent/teacher interviews this week. These interviews provided an opportunity to share your child’s successes, and provide a focus for future learning.
Semester Reports
Next Wednesday 1 July, reports will be available online through SEQTA Engage. You will receive an email letting you know when reports are available to view. Please celebrate progress with your child and talk to them about their achievements.
St Thomas’ Feast Day
Next Friday 3 July, we will be celebrating St Thomas’ Feast Day with a prayer service followed by a special day full of fun and learning activities. The prayer service will be held at school and will be led by Father Wayne. Several Presentation Sisters have been invited, however we are unable to invite our parent group as this will take us over the COVID-19 limits. Photos from the day will be shared on social media.
Pre-Kindergarten Semester Two
We are excited to offer two days of Pre-Kindergarten for Terms 3 & 4. Students are eligible to enrol in the program once they turn three years of age. To be eligible for the second day of the program scheduled for Fridays, students are required to attend Monday. Please contact Mrs Wray in Administration if you have any questions regarding the program.
Art Show/Open Day
St Thomas' will host an Open Day in Term 3. This will align with the biannual Art Show on 11 September. More information will provided early in Term 3 as this event is in the planning stage.
Pre-Service Teachers
Next Term we welcome two pre-service teachers to St Thomas’. Miss Rebecca Lynch will be teaching with Mrs Valentine in Year 2 and Mr Jessie Dwyer will be teaching in Year 3 with Mrs Sullivan. Both student teachers are in their final year of study at the University of Notre Dame. Jessie and Rebecca have already visited our school to meet with staff and gather information for forward planning.
Term 3
Event planning is underway for Term 3. Sporting Carnivals have been scheduled along with many more events. More details will be available at the beginning of next term.
Pupil Free Day Monday 20 July
A reminder that there is a Pupil Free Day on Monday 20 July.
I wish all parents, caregivers, students, families and staff, a safe, healthy and restful holiday break, and look forward to seeing students back at school on Tuesday 21 July.
God bless
Natalia Thomson
Principal
Merit Award Winners
News from the School Board
The School Board meeting took place on 23 June in the library. As this was the first time the Board has met in person since March, everyone appreciated being together in the same room again.
Natalia updated the board on the various activities that are being phased back in as COVID restrictions are lifted. It was great to hear that chess club, and music lessons are starting back up. Karen Jones who also attended the board meeting mentioned that the kindy kids have shown considerable independence and resilience not having their mums and dads join them in the classroom at the start of each day.
Marketing activities are progressing well, including a targeted social media that received 1300 hits and an advertisement that will appear in The Post newspaper on 27 June for a planned Open Day on 11 September to coincide with the Art show. Stay tuned for further details on how you can get involved. It was also pleasing to hear that new enrolments in 2021 are tracking well, hopefully increasing overall school numbers.
Natalia informed the Board of a meeting she had with the Principal of John XXIII College, Robert Henderson, to discuss St Thomas' status as a feeder school. We have a great relationship with John XXIII and Natalia welcomed the opportunity to meet with their leadership team.
Sarah Chatfield, the P&F President, provided a detailed report to the Board on recent P&F activities, including the various projects that the P&F has approved and looks forward to seeing progressed. The Board looks forward to working closely with the P&F to implement a number of key projects and activities in the second half of the year.
The building and maintenance sub committee recommended a preferred contractor for replacement of the school’s main switchboard, and the ceiling in the grade 4 classroom will also be replaced. Both of these essential projects will be completed during the upcoming school holidays, along with gutter and downpipe cleaning.
Karen Jones presented an update on the extensive work that’s been done to develop a new nature play space to be located in the bottom corner on the bottom oval, as well as essential maintenance of our existing play areas. The board supported proceeding with these projects which, upon confirming P&F support for its generous funding contribution, is expected to commence in term 3.
Finally, the Board welcomed the news that pre-kindy will be moving to 2 days per week from Monday 27 July.
The Board is pleased to be working together with the school community to continue to build a great environment for our children at St Thomas.
Fathering Project at St Thomas'
Hi all
Hope all of you have been able to enjoy your time with the family during the pandemic. I thought I'd write a small bit to introduce the new team looking after the dad's events from now on in St. Thomas. For those of you who don't know me I'm Joep Vaessen, father of Maxwell (Y1), Arthur (Kindy) and Penelope (PK) at St. Thomas.
This year I've stepped into the footsteps of John Pritchard (JP) as leader of the fathers' of St. Thomas. I"m supported by a group of active father's including Andrew Biggs, Ross Trend, Daniel Della Vedova, Tom Curnow, Frank Di Latte, Daniel Walsh, Peter Corr, Peter Telford, Brad Howard and Paul Indaimo. We've started organising some events for the remainder of the year again. While our first planned camp-out got posponed, we'll make sure to make it up to you towards the end of the year with a new date being planned for a camp trip and some dad's night's out being scheduled.
I'm looking forward to continuing the same enthusiasm as JP and his cohort and building on the amazing community of St. Thomas and wanted to take the opportunity to thank JP for his enthusiasm and efforts. As a newly formed group we are open for ideas which bring kids and fathers (or father figures) together through joint activities which can be educational, sporty, creative and fun!
Feel free to reach out if you'd like to play a role in organising events or have ideas that we can use. Key is for father's (and father figures) to enjoy some dedicated time with their kids as well as getting to know other people within the community. That's all for now, we look forward to seeing you at our next dad's drinks or event, please keep an eye on the schools calendar which will have the respective dates in there soon.
See you all at the next event!
Regards
Joep
P & F News
On behalf of our P & F committee, I am very happy to announce that we have finally been able to get a few projects up and running.
2020 has delayed a few things, to say the least. First and foremost is the Nature Play area on the lower oval. Lots of planning and ideas have come together for what will be a great addition to the school.
The teachers are excited and the kids will love watching the transformation of their play area.
Facelifts are planned for all our other play areas and small additions will be made over the next few weeks to enhance our school. Hope you all enjoy the last couple of weeks of term 2 and are looking forward to a fun and safe July holiday.
Regards
Sarah Chatfield
Semester One Reports 2020
As the delivery of teaching and learning has been severely disrupted by COVID – 19, adjustments have been made to Semester One Reports. These adjustments have been directed by the Minister for Education.
Semester One Reports will not include grades but will include an indication as to whether students are above expected level, at expected level or working towards expected level.
This report will provide information about the student’s learning progress to date.
SEQTA Engage
Thank you to all the families who have set up SEQTA Engage. A new Welcome Email will be generated to families who have not yet created an account. Please click on Set up Account on this email and create a Username and Password and follow the prompts. Further instructions are on the St Thomas’ website if required.
https://www.stthomas.wa.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SEQTA-Engage-Instruction-Manual.pdf
It is very important for all families to set up SEQTA Engage as this will be the platform in which you are able to access your child’s academic reports.
Please note your SEQTA Engage page will contain no reports. Reports will go live and be available to view and download during the last week of Term Two 2020.
Kind regards
Mrs Lisa Meyers
Assistant Principal
ICAS Assessments 2020
A reminder that students from Years 2-6 are eligible to enter the ICAS Competition. ICAS is designed to target students’ higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science and Digital Technologies.
Information on how to participate in the assessments can be found on the following link: https://www.stthomas.wa.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ICAS-Parent-Letter-2020.pdf
Shoeboxes wanted for St Thomas' Day
For St Thomas' Day as St Thomas' was an architect one of our activities will be to build a St Thomas' Village.
Shoeboxes are needed for this activity. Can you please send in any shoeboxes. They can be put just inside the school office. Thank you to everyone who has already sent them in!
Mrs Nicky Sullivan
Assistant Principal
Digital Technology Tips for Parents
TIP: 1. Get in the Game!
Make an effort to understand the basics of the technology that your child is (or will be) using on a daily basis. Technology is such a big part of kids’ lives that no parent can afford to just step away from their responsibilities in this area.
Tip 2. Talk to your children.
Talk to your children about technology and in particular about Internet safety. Agree on a set of rules for using the computer and going on the Internet. Surf the web together. Stay involved; your child’s tech and online activity will increase and become more complex as they get older and technology continues to evolve. Keep the conversation going.
TIP: 3. Be informed
Know what technology your child uses, what games they play, which websites they visit, and with whom they are communicating. For young children, give them an approved list of web sites.
TIP 4: Be Interested
Ask your child what he/she is doing and what programs they are using. Ask your child to show you how the technology toys work and what they do with them.
Tip 5: Encourage Playtime
Similar to other activities in your home, it is essential that you set reasonable limits for media use. In addition to setting limits, encourage regular playtime and make it an everyday priority. This is especially important for your younger children as it stimulates creativity.
Tip 5: Keep devices out of the bedroom from the beginning
If you keep mobile phones and other devices out of your child’s bedroom at night, your child won’t be able to stay up late playing games or messaging friends. This can also stop your child being disturbed in the night by messages or notifications. It is important to create a bedroom atmosphere conducive to rest as many young children are in a constant sleep deficit as it is without bringing digital devices into the mix.
Tip 6: Discuss online safety and respectful relationships
Have conversations with your child about how to stay safe online, how to show respectful behaviour and be aware of the pitfalls of the internet, particularly social media applications. Each of these topics is an important issue. This kind of digital exposure can have enormous ramifications on the growth and development of young people, especially when it comes to the quality of their relationships and well-being.
Tip 7: Never give out personal information over the Internet.
Explain to your child that he/she must never give out personal information. Family e-mail addresses, phone numbers, names, birth dates, home addresses, family details, photos, are private. Although social networking sites ask for and encourage sharing this information, your child should know that protecting his own and his family’s identity should be his/her top priorities.
Tip 8. Empower yourself.
Use Internet filtering or monitoring software. You don’t have to check in on what your child is doing every day, but the fact that you can – and they know you can – helps set the right tone for responsible behaviour.
Tip 9. Set a good example.
It’s no good setting limits on your kids’ screen time if you spend all day with your eyes glued to your laptop or firing off hundreds of texts from your iPhone. Similarly, don’t ban devices from the dinner table if you reach for your smartphone every time it buzzes. Children take their lead from their parents’ behaviour and interacting with technology is no different.
10. Talk to other people about your children’s technology experiences and online safety.
Future Enrolments at St Thomas'
Enrolments for the 2021 school year and beyond are now open with limited vacancies in all year levels. If you have a child who will be turning three or four in 2021 please contact the school office to ensure that your child is included in our classes for the 2021 school year.
At this stage, we have enrolments confirmed for 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024 with limited vacancies in some classes. If you have a child that will be commencing school in any of these years, please complete an online form accessible on the website, to secure their enrolment.
Sports News
UPDATE – SPORT CARNIVALS
As the State is starting to open up from the restrictions in place see below the proposed dates for the upcoming Athletics carnival in Term 3 and Cross Country has now been moved to Term 4:
Term 3 - Athletics
Friday 4th September - St Thomas Athletics Carnival
Jumps and Throws for Years 1-6 will be held during class time in the weeks before the carnival. The student points will count towards champion points and calculated together at the St Thomas Athletics carnival.
Thursday 24th September – Interschool Athletics Carnival
Term 4 – Cross Country
Friday 16th October - St Thomas Cross Country Carnival
Friday 30th October - Interschool Cross Country Carnival
Sporting Communities
Free Soccer Coaching session – Afterschool Wednesday 12th August
Dean Evans, the Co-Owner of The Football Centre, a one of a kind indoor training, development and tournament facility based in Osborne Park is offering a free soccer coaching session clinic at our school on Wednesday 12th August. They also offer a 7 week program for interested students thereafter.
To book in for the free session please use the link below. https://footballcentre.com.au/school-sessions/
All TFC coaches have their First Aid and current Working with Children Checks.
AFL Football – Claremont Junior Football Club
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
They are having their open Day this Sunday from 9am sharp at Melvista Ave, Nedlands. See the flyer below.
Sharon Seaman
Physical Education Teacher
Lost Property
Condolences
Entertainment Books P&F Fundraiser
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