From the Principal
Over the past week I have been paying close attention to the wonderful efforts and sporting achievements of our Olympic athletes in the Paralympic games. It is an inspiration to watch these athletes live out their sporting dreams. I know we are cheering them on all the way!
It is hard to believe we only have 2 weeks left of Term 3. Time is flying by, we have had another amazing week here at STM. The fun and learning never ends!
Last week in Art class the students, under the guidance of Mrs A and Penny Duke created pots made out of clay. A pretty cool experience, the students will bring these pots home once they are completed. Penny is also working with Mrs A to create a new whole school Art display, I can't wait to see the finished product.
Last Friday, our amazing Parents and Friends Committee (along with some other helpers) set up our Father's Day stall. The children were so excited as they purchased their gifts. I am sure there was some happy dads on Sunday morning. These events don't just happen, there is so much that happens behind the scenes to make these things happen. Thanks so much to the P&F for the huge amount of preparation and work that went into making day so successful.
Yesterday we had a big team of students represent our school at District Athletics in Ringwood. From all accounts the students did an amazing job and represented our school with pride. I thank Mrs Wicks for her hard work in preparing the students for this event and thank the other members of staff who attended on the day.
Today at school (I am away at a Principal Conference) the students are participating in our second ever Japanese Fun Day! I am sure if it is anything like last year the students will have an absolute ball. Thanks to Sensei Bawden for organising the day. We will make sure there are photos in next week's newsletter for parents.
Planning for 2025 is well underway, I have been meeting regularly with our Business Partner as we discuss budgets and other items. MACS have instructed schools that each school must increase fees to match the ongoing cost of suppliers and day to day running of the school. MACS will continue to offer the fee concession for any Concession/Pension card holders. If any family is struggling with school fees, I ask them to please come and see me. There are always options and ways in which we can support families.
2025 class structure:
(Teachers for classes to be confirmed, this information will be shared in late October):
We are very excited to be increasing our school to five classes for 2025. Although numbers have grown well and we are currently just over 100 students, once our current Year 6's leave we will decrease slightly. We are still on track to start 2025 ahead of where we started 2024, which is an amazing effort. I was hopeful of having a straight Prep class for 2025 unfortunately the strong interest have not all turned into enrolments, this is nothing to be concerned about as our school has a great track record of increasing class sizes as the years progress.
Our class structure will be as follows.
Prep / Year 1
Year 2 (Straight grade)
Year 3 (Straight Grade)
Year 4/5
Year 5/6
The Prep - Year 3 classes will be the "Junior School" and the Year 4/5 and Year 5/6 classes will be the "Senior School"
Also, if any families are planning on moving from St Thomas More, please let me know as soon as possible for planning purposes.
Junior Information Evening:
On October 22nd at 6:30pm we are hosting a Junior Information Evening for all Prep 2025 - Year 3 2025 families. This evening will unpack how the junior school will run in 2025, introduce the 2025 Junior teaching staff (Prep - Year 3) and also provide some details on the successes of our approach to reading with families, the science behind our reading approach and how you can support your child at home. The evening will also go through Prep 2025 transition details.
If you would like to discuss this evening further or have any questions please speak to myself or Deputy Principal, Danielle George.
MACSSIS School Improvement Survey:
25 of our school's parents would have received a link to complete the survey. This is a wonderful tool that schools (and MACS) use to guide future school planning. I urge you, if you received a link to please complete the survey.
Catholic Care:
I am delighted to announce that from 2025 we will have a dedicated school councillor on site one day per week. We are partnering with Catholic Care Victoria for this service. We are thrilled to be offering this service moving forward and will share more information with families as they come to hand.
Welcome to the community:
Last week we welcomed Toby F in Year 2 and his family to our community. We hope that they enjoy their time at St Thomas More.
NAPLAN achievement:
Well done to the following students on their wonderful results during the NAPLAN testing period.
Emma (Year 3)
Liam (Year 5)
Ryan (Year 5)
Kaja (Year 5)
Anna (Year 5)
STM Trivia Night:
This coming Saturday night the P&F Committee have organised our family trivia night. Please see the below flyer for ticketing information. We thank our sponsors who have donated prizes for the evening. It is sure to be another wonderful community event.
Trivia Night Sponsor Shout out!!
The STM Parents and Friends would like to say a big thank you to the following businesses that have kindly donated items to our P&F Grand Raffle and our Trivia and Games Night this weekend.
We are looking forward to a wonderful night!
About Real Life: Sexuality Education:
I have engaged the services of Sue Pain and About Real Life: Sexuality Education for a Parent workshop and then a Parent / Child Workshop for early 2025. These are age appropriate sessions that begin the conversation around Sexuality Education. I encourage all families to attend the parent workshop to learn about the content of the workshops. I have attached the 2023 Program for your reference.
Please note, these conversations are had in partnership with families and our chosen external provider. We do not engage in sessions with the children about sexuality education in school hours. More dates and times will be provided as they come to hand.
Inform and Empower Webinar:
Last week our school facilitated an online workshop with Inform and Empower. Thank you to the families that attended, I hope it was beneficial for you. For those parents that could not attend, please see a link below along with access to the parent portal.
https://youtu.be/ucDjYW500UQ (Webinar)
https://www.informandempower.com.au/parent-resources (Parent resources and Portal)
Closure Days in Term 4:
Just for parents reference, there are a number of closure days in Term 4 for various reasons (Time in Lieu days and Professional Learning/Planning). Please see below the dates of closure and mark them in your diaries.
Monday 21st of October - School Closure (Professional Learning)
Monday 4th of November - School Closure (Time in Lieu day for staff)
Tuesday 5th of November - Melbourne Cup (Public Holiday)
Monday 2nd of December - School Closure (Planning)
Tuesday 3rd of December - School Closure (RE Professional Learning)
District Athletics:
Congratulations to all of the students who represented our school at District Athletics in Ringwood yesterday. I had a few parents approach me saying it was awesome to see all of our students cheering each other on during their events. Lots of student achieved personal bests which is outstanding. A huge shout out to the students who have made it through to the Divisional Round. Thanks so much to Mrs Wicks, Mrs Jones, Mrs Cook, Mrs Glen and Miss Wicks for supporting our students on the day.
Gaga Pit / Shed / Working Bee:
The Gaga Pit has now been ordered. I will need to arrange a Working Bee early in Term 4 so parents can help assemble it. We will also be installing a small outdoor shed.
Footy Dress up Day!
On Thursday 19th of September, we are inviting students to dress up in their footy colours for the day. As finals footy approaches it is always a fun day to dress up and show our team spirit.
Free Toastie Day!
The Wonderful P&F committee are providing a Free Toastie lunch for all students on the final day of Term 3. The 4/5/6 students are out at the Wild Robot movie, however they will be back in time for lunch.
Thanks so much P&F!!
Save the Date: Grandparents Mass / Morning Activities:
Please note, on Thursday October 17th we will be holding a special Grandparents Mass / Activities morning here at STM. The mass will begin at 9:00 am. More details will follow over the next few weeks.
Fundraising Thank You
The funds raised at Thommies Market were donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation earlier this term, they have sent an email to the school thanking us for our support.
Eggs for Sale
We are finally able to put our chicken eggs up for sale. The money we receive from the eggs is being used to purchase pellets and seed for the chickens. Eggs are $7.00 per dozen, if you would like to make a purchase please contact Tarnia Hiosan in the office.
Lunch Orders - Mondays:
Subway Vermont South and Canteen Hub are very pleased to be able to offer the Subs For Your School Lunch Program.
- Every Monday
- Place your order by 4:30 pm Sunday - the day before
- If you are using a VPN please select Australia
- Please register at canteenhub.com.au
- Select St Thomas More Primary School
- If you need to cancel your order this can be done via canteenhub.com.au under your profile up to the order cut-off time.
- Need help please email help@canteenhub.com
Thank you and God bless
Declan McDermott
Principal
