We have been so blessed with some beautiful autumn weather this week, it makes yard duty a little bit more manageable. We have lots on the agenda over the next few weeks so please make sure you are all over our "Important Dates and Upcoming Events" tab.

On Saturday a large number of our Year 5/6 students will be receiving the Sacrament on Confirmation. Confirmation is the final sacrament of initiation in the Catholic Church. We wish all of our candidates all the best and keep them in our thoughts and prayers. Many of the staff will be in attendance on Saturday in support.

Tomorrow is sure to be another big hit with Hot Lunch Day, a favourite for many on the termly calendar. I hope you all enjoy the wonderful treats that will be delivered. For those interested our next Parents and Friends meeting will be on Monday 20th of May @ 7pm in the school staffroom. New faces are always welcome.

I also want to acknowledge and congratulate those students who have qualified for our District Cross Country team, these students have trained hard and will be ready to represent our school with pride next Friday (24th of May).

Please take some time to read up about all the fun adventures our 3/4/5 students have been up to lately. This can be found in the "Class Snapshot" tab of the newsletter.

Thank you!!!

Thank you to the wonderful Parents and Friends Committee for the organisation of the Mother's Day Stall last Friday. We also had some additional helpers on the day which we were very grateful for. Bernice Mahoney and Bec Heelan also helped on the day but missed the photo opportunity. I am sure we had some super happy mums on Sunday!

Chickens and Worm Farms:

Our schoolwide sustainability projects are now in full swing. It is great to see the students so engaged with the chickens and worm farms. It is purposeful learning in action. The Year 5/6 students have been excited each day as the chickens continue to lay eggs. We are now up to 3 eggs. We will be looking for families who are interested in dropping in over the holidays to feed and water the chickens. If you are interested in this can you please let me know. Mrs Jackie Glen and Mrs Hiosan will then work on a roster and process for families to follow.

Working Bee - Term 2:

Due to my family commitments on Saturday mornings our term 2 working bee will be held after school on Friday 7th of June. We will start at 3:30pm and finish around 4:30pm-5:00pm. In Term 3 and 4 I will try and offer a couple of weekend options.

St Thomas More Feast Day and Thommies Market:

On the 21st of June we will be celebrating St Thomas More Feast Day. This day is an event we celebrate in style every year and this year will be no different. We will once again be holding our Thommies Market, more information will begin to come home about this much anticipated event.

All families are invited to share in mass with us on this day. Mass will begin at 9:00am in the Parish Church.

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

Hot Lunch: Friday 17th

Just a reminder that it is hot lunch day tomorrow. A big thank you to those students/families who returned their forms. I am sure they are in for a nice lunchtime treat tomorrow.

Garden Club Photos:

Check out the latest from the Garden Club crew! They have been doing some weeding and the chickens happily take the scraps.

Camp Manyung - June 12th - June 15th

We are now just under a month until our Year 5/6 Camp to Manyung. For families with children in Year 5 and 6 we will be holding a camp information evening on Wednesday 29th of May at 7pm. This information session will take place on Zoom and the link will be shared on the Monday prior.

Please see attached a packing list for camp.

Any medications for camp will need to be authorised by a Doctor. The following form is the MACS Medical Authority form. Please note, no medication is legally allowed to be administered by teachers without this form. Hard copies of this form can be collected from the office.

Healthy Families Webinar Series - Register HERE!!

Semester 1 Reports:

As parents are aware, students receive achievement reports each semester. We are slightly adjusting these reports to be more friendly for parents to read and understand. An overview of each subject taught will be provided so parents can view what content has been covered throughout the semester. Students will then be given a curriculum progression point for each subject. This will be displayed in a graph that is easy to read, a key will also be provided. Students will also receive a teacher judgement mark on their Effort and Behaviour in class, this will be marked on a 5 point scale. Parents will access reports through their nForma portal. Printed copies can be provided on request after reports have been published and sent home.

If you have any questions about the reporting process, please let me know.

St Joseph's College:

Lighthouse Expo: (Year 6 Boys):

Victorian Premiers Reading Challenge:

If your child is interested in joining the Victorian Premiers' Reading Challenge, please let our school Library technician and LSO, Lisa Norris know.

Lisa can be contacted on lnorris@smbelgrave.catholic.edu.au

Term 2 important dates:

Please keep checking in on the important dates tab - new events and activities will be added to each newsletter.

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:

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

School Advisory Council News