From the Principal
Welcome back to Term 2!
It has been a wonderful week as the students have settled back into the routines of school.
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter Break and are recharged for a busy term ahead. Just a note that the school will be closed on Thursday 25th of April and Friday 26th of April for the ANZAC Day long weekend.
As a Catholic community I would ask each member of our community to hold those families impacted by the events in Sydney over the weekend close to your heart. We pray they find strength in these challenging times.
On Monday we welcomed several new families to our community; I thank the wonderful P&F committee for organising a morning tea for those families. We welcome:
Avery, Grayson, Mataya (Year 2/3 class)
Ilaria, Charlotte, Sadie, Violet (Year 4/5 class)
Charlotte, Beau (Year 5/6 class)
Chicken coop - Chickens:
Thanks to Matt Anderton, Donna and Tarnia for helping put the finishing touches on our Chicken Coop. Very excitingly, our chickens are expected to arrive today at some stage. We are planning on running a "Name the Chicken" competition. Over the weekend if you could start to think of some appropriate names. We will provide some more information about how the competition will work early next week.
With Sympathies:
The St Thomas More community would like to pass on our sympathies to the Dimitriadis family after the recent passing of a much loved family member. We keep you in our thoughts and prayers.
Cross Country - Before School training:
Mrs Wicks and Mr Mc will be hosting before school training for any student in Year 3 or above who would like to train to be in our District Cross Country team. Training will start from Tuesday 23rd of April (beginning at 8:00am). Younger siblings of the children training will be welcome onsite and will be supervised by Mr Mc and Mrs Wicks. There will also be weekly training sessions during a set lunch time starting next week also.
Spencer's Potato:
Just a cool update from one of our families. Spencer (Yr 4), participates regularly in garden club. Last term students who participate in garden club go tot take a spud or radish home from our garden. Spencer turned his spud into crisps (which he cooked himself). Thanks for sharing this photo, it is great to see how some of our programs here at school are having an important impact at home. Please feel free to share any photos related to school with Declan or your child's teacher.
Term 2 important dates:
Please keep checking in on the important dates tab - new events and activities will be added to each newsletter.
ANZAC Day service:
On Monday 29th of April our school community will be walking down to the Belgrave War Memorial for our STM ANZAC service. Students and staff will be leaving school at 2pm and returning to school at 2:40pm. We will then move to the Library and conclude with a whole school assembly. Parents and guardians ar more than welcome to join us at the War Memorial for the service.
Here is a read aloud of ANZAC Ted for you to share as a family.
ART Therapy:
Please reach out to our very own parent Alice Hermans if there is interest in Art Therapy.
Teachers - First point of contact:
Just a reminder to all parents that your child's classroom teacher should always be your first point of call. This is for all incidents that occur at school. You are always welcome to cc myself or another school leader in on the email, but please ensure you converse with the classroom teacher first. If teachers require support from leadership with any situation then we are more than happy to support in any way we can.
Enchanted Garden - Day Camp:
On Wednesday 24th of April, our Year 3 and 4 students are heading to the Enchanted Garden near Arthurs Seat. This is a longer than normal school day. Students are expected to arrive at school no later than 8:25 am and will return to school around 7:00 pm. There was an Operoo sent out earlier today with more information. If you have any questions related to this Day Camp please speak to Belinda Saville, Marcia Janky or Katherine McLoughlin. Katherine McLoughlin will send an email to the Year 2 families explaining logistics for the day.
Camp Manyung - Operoo:
On Monday I sent an Operoo for the upcoming 5/6 camp to Manyung (Mt Eliza). It would be great if all families could complete this ASAP as it allows us to give final numbers to camp along with parents updating their child's medical profiles.
Portables - Parents and Friends working bee:
A huge thanks to some of our wonderful parents for the work they did over the holidays. They spent several hours of their time clearing some of the clutter that had been building for some time. There is still work to be done, but it was a great start and it is very much appreciated.
Walk to School Day:
Staff will be on duty on the 10th of May to give stickers to those students who are walking on this day. Last year we had some wonderful parents coordinate walking groups from different parts around the suburbs. It would be amazing if this can happen again to promote this day!
School Fees:
School fees are now payable. Fee payments can be set up flexibly with Tarnia in the office. We kindly ask for regular payments or if you intend to make a one off payment please just let us know when you plan to do so. All fees are due by the end of Term 3 (unless on a payment plan, these plans can run all year). If anyone has any questions about fees please speak to Tarnia or myself.
2024 School Closure Days:
Thursday 25th of April - ANZAC Day (Public Holiday)
Friday 26th of April - School Closure
Friday 16th of August - School Closure
Monday 21st of October - School Closure
Monday 4th of November - School Closure
Tuesday 5th of November - Melbourne Cup (Public Holiday)
Friday 29th of November - School Closure
Monday 2nd of December - School Closure
Tuesday 17th of December - Students Last Day
Thank you and God bless
Declan