From the Principal

It has been a busy few weeks (as it always is at our school). Last week many staff at our school were struck down with COVID and required to stay home as they recovered. The staff who remained at school did a great job at making sure it was business as usual and the school continued to run like clockwork. I thank all of the staff for their work in continuing to provide a stable and consistent learning environment for our students. I also thank the families for being understanding and supporting our school in these times. This week we were blessed to welcome Sara from Classroom Mastery who provided coaching and feedback to staff on their implementation of our chosen whole school routines. Danielle George has written more about this experience in our Learning and Teaching tab, make sure you check it out.

Special thanks to Owen (Abi's dad) who laid a concrete slab for us last week in preparation for our outdoor storage shed to be constructed. This shed will hold our gardening equipment and any items required in the upkeep of the chickens.

Next week our Year 5/6 students will be heading off to Camp Manyung for a 3 day, 2 night adventure camp experience. Camp Manyung is an awesome place where students will be supported to step out of their comfort zone and give some new things a try. Just for the communities information, we have also locked in our 2025 camp venues and durations.

Year 3 + 4 Camp to Sovereign Hill (2 day and 1 night); Thursday 6th of March - Friday 7th of March, 2025.

Year 5 + 6 Camp to CYC City Camp (3 day and 2 night); Wednesday 26th of November - Friday 28th of November, 2025.

If you have a child who has enrolled for Prep 2025 our awesome T-Shirts are ready for collection. Please swing past the office to collect.

RECONCILIATION WEEK REFLECTION

Last week was National Reconciliation Week, during this week we acknowledge the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations across Australia, who have had continued connection to their Country since time immemorial. We especially remember 27 May and 3 June, two dates that are important to all Australians. The first is the anniversary of the 1967 referendum when Australians voted overwhelmingly for a change in the constitution and the second is Mabo Day which commemorates Mer Island man Eddie Koiki Mabo and his successful efforts to overturn the legal fiction of terra nullius, or ‘land belonging to no-one’. We pay tribute to the Elders who have come before and used their voice for change for a better future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We honour today’s Elders who continue to advocate for Reconciliation through Voice, Treaty and Truth-telling.

Public Holiday:

The school will be closed on Monday, June 10th for the King's Birthday Public Holiday.

Staffing news:

I am delighted to announce that Wendy Clair has joined our staff on a part time basis for the remainder of the 2024 school year. Wendy has recently completed her LSO placement (with us) and she has done an amazing job. Wendy will work in the 2/3 classroom helping to support the program and the students. I am sure Wendy will love her time at STM and being part of our amazing community.

We also have Allison Munro joining us as she completes her LSO placement. Allison will be supporting the programs in Prep/1 and 4/5. We hope Allison enjoys her placement with us.

Division Cross Country:

Well done to all the students who represented our school in the Division Cross Country last week. They all did an amazing job and tried their best. Thanks also to the parents who turned out to watch and support the children from our school. Excitingly we have four students moving on to the next stage, congratulations to Issy, Wills, Eliza and Beau. These students participated on Tuesday (4th of June) at the Division Cross Country Championships at Yarra Valley Racecourse.

Winter Sports:

Tomorrow we have a big squad of athletes heading off for the District Schools Winter Sports Round Robin. We have students participating in three sport; Football, Soccer and Volleyball. We hope all the students have a wonderful day and know they will do a stellar job in representing St Thomas More with pride and excellence. A big thank you to Mrs Wicks again for her organisation and also to the parents who have volunteered to help on the day.

Working Bee - Friday 7th of June @ 3:30pm

We have a few jobs lined up tomorrow afternoon including:

Putting up our new garden beds
filling them up with soil
topping up soft fall around the chicken coop
laying some straw in the chicken coop

Taster Day for Pre-Schoolers:

Invitation for St Thomas More Feast Day Mass:

Healthy Family Series: Inform and Empower:

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 9:00 am 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

Garden Club/Art Club:

Last week Mrs Glen and the Garden club crew used some natural resources in our school to make some awesome Mandalas. Check out the photos below. Great job everyone!!

Belgrave Preschool Enrolment:

Camp Manyung - June 12th - June 15th

Campers will be leaving Belgrave on Wednesday 12th of June @ around 9:00am and arriving at Camp Manyung around 11:00am. Please find all the documents relevant to camp attached below.

Year 5_6 Camp Manyung 2024 Information Session.pdf

20200311165909-Packing List (2).pdf

Medication-Authority-Form-Schools-2023 (4).pdf

Administration-of-Medication-Policy-Template-for-Schools-2023 (2) (1).pdf

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

Graduation Dates 2024:

We have now finalised graduation dates for 2024.

Year 6 fun day - Thursday 28th of November - venue tbc

Passing on Ceremony - Wednesday 11th of December @ 2pm

Graduation Lunch - Thursday 12th of December @ 12pm (students only)