Leadership Communication

A Term of Faith, Learning and Community

As we come to the end of another very full term, there is much to celebrate and much for which we can be grateful.

Across St Thomas the Apostle, our students and staff have shown extraordinary stamina for learning. Day after day, classrooms have remained places of curiosity, challenge, creativity and growth, while so much has also been happening beyond the regular rhythm of classroom learning.

This term, our students have participated in the Australian Mathematics Competition and the Computational and Algorithmic Thinking Competition, completed the Premier’s Reading Challenge, celebrated Book Week and Science Week, and continued to develop their knowledge, skills and confidence across all areas of the curriculum.

We have celebrated National Child Protection Week and National Action Week Against Bullying and Violence, providing important opportunities to strengthen students’ understanding of safety, respect, relationships and their own voice. Our students have also represented St Thomas at District Athletics, Year 2 participated in swimming, enjoyed the adventure and independence of Year 3 day camp and continued to take part in the many experiences that make school life so rich.

Our faith life has also been at the heart of the term. We have celebrated Confirmation and First Eucharist with our students and families, gathered together for Father’s Day and continued to provide opportunities for prayer, contemplation and reflection throughout the life of the school.

If you are feeling tired simply reading all of this, that is understandable. Your children - and the staff who teach, support and care for them - have been working exceptionally hard.

What strikes me most, though, is that these experiences are not simply a collection of activities to fill a school calendar. They reflect something important about who we are as a Catholic school.

At St Thomas the Apostle, we are called to create a community in which every child is known, valued and supported to flourish. Academic learning matters deeply, but so too does helping children discover their gifts, build relationships, experience belonging, grow in confidence and understand how they can contribute to the lives of others.

Our Catholic identity gives purpose to this work. Jesus showed us a way of living grounded in love, compassion, courage and service. Our task as a Catholic school is to make that love visible in the everyday - in how we teach, how we care for one another, how we respond when someone needs support, how we celebrate one another’s achievements and how we make space for reflection, gratitude and joy.

There have been many of those moments this term: students encouraging one another, teachers helping children persist when learning becomes difficult, families gathering together, children celebrating the Sacraments, sporting achievements, performances, conversations, laughter and the quieter moments of prayer and reflection that remind us to notice what is good.

There is also plenty happening around us physically. Our new building is now closer to completion, and it is exciting to see this next stage of our school continuing to take shape.

Over the school holidays, our front administration area will also undergo a significant refurbishment. This will include redesigning the main administration desk, installing additional internal doors and redeveloping aspects of the space to further strengthen child safety and the way our administration area functions for students, families, staff and visitors.

Last week, students in Years 2–6 also successfully established Multi-Factor Authentication on their school accounts. This provides an additional layer of security for student information and further strengthens the safety of our school-managed digital environment.

As the term concludes, I want to acknowledge our staff. Maintaining high expectations for learning while supporting the pastoral, spiritual, social and emotional needs of children requires considerable energy, expertise and commitment. I am deeply grateful for the way our teachers, Education Support Officers, leaders, administration staff and wider team continue to give so much to our students.

And to our students: we are incredibly proud of you. 

Not simply for the competitions entered, kilometres run, books read, Sacraments celebrated or achievements recognised, but for the persistence, kindness, courage and effort that sit behind those moments.

As we move into the holiday break, I hope every family has an opportunity to slow down, reconnect and enjoy some time together.

May we carry with us a sense of gratitude for all that this term has held, and may we continue to be guided by the example of Jesus as we seek to be a community of faith, learning, love and service.

Wishing all members of the St Thomas the Apostle community a safe and restful holiday break.

God bless,

Peta Overbury

Acting Principal