2024 Term 4 - Week 3 - Newsletter

Prayer of the Week

Image retrieved from Prayer for Peace in the Holy Land and other War-torn countries - The Southern Cross (scross.co.za)

From our Principal

Last Friday, St Thomas More’s celebrated Grandparents Day.

Grandparent’s Day is an opportunity to honour ‘Grandparents’, while acknowledging the vital role they play in the family unit’s expanding circle of love – a circle that will continue to be more and more important to the family with the passage of time.

I was reading that the Greeting Card Association in Washington, D.C. estimates that ten million greeting cards will be sent to grandparents on ‘Grandparent’s Day’ this year, reinforcing the intangible bond that links families and generations. 

The power of that bond is not without its surprises.  The affinity between grandparent and grandchild has expressed itself through the ages, defying explanation.  Author Lewis Mumford once wrote, “The commonest axiom of history is that every generation revolts against its fathers and makes friends with its grandfathers.” 

The grandparent makes the past real to grandchildren, relating personal tales of childhood as well as Daddy’s and Mummy’s, bridging generations, and often times, nations, race or creed, depending on the family’s heritage.

Children tend to view their grandparents as a reliable source of unconditional love and approval, sometimes to the point of vexing parents.  The incidence of vexation has spawned a number of definitions, including the following:

“A grandfather is a grandchild’s press agent”;

“A grandmother is a kindly lady who keeps your mother from spanking you”;

and

“Grandparents are people who come to your house, spoil your children and then go home”. 

Any parent who has felt a twinge of envy viewing the easy relationship between grandparent and child is advised to turn to the Book of Proverbs:  “Children’s children are the crown of old men: (but) fathers and mothers are the pride of their children.”

Thanks for reading. 

God Bless,

Duane Wann

Principal

Things to remember...

Grooming Expectations

Please be mindful, hairstyles which draw attention to the individual, including but are not limited to: mullet, scullett, mohawks, tracks, tails, hair colouring etc. are not permitted.

Before School Supervision

Before school duty commences at 8:15am.  Children who arrive at school before 8:15am are kindly asked to sit in the ‘Quad Area’ until teacher supervision commences at 8:15am.

School Lunch

We are asking families to have conversations with children regarding eating requirements when at school to ensure enough lunch is packed to see out the school day.

Communication

We believe that good communication is the key to success for your child. If there is something worrying you about your child’s learning or well-being or if there has been changes at home which may be affecting your child, please ensure you contact your child’s teacher or myself to discuss this. Even if you feel it is a small issue, please let us know.

Communication Protocols

St Thomas More’s Primary School recognises and respects the right of employees to disconnect from work and not respond to work-related electronic communications outside of designated hours.  St Thomas More’s Primary School staff will reply to electronic communication within the hours of 8.00am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday. 

Where contact is made outside of this span of hours, employees will respond within two working days of the employee’s next designated working day considering weekends, leave, other non-working days, vacation periods and holidays. 

Guidelines

• No jewellery, rings, body piercings or nail polish are to be worn. One earring in each ear only, stud or sleeper.
• Hairstyles which draw attention to the individual, including but are not limited to: mullet, scullett, mohawks, tracks, tails, hair colouring etc. are not permitted. 
• Shoulder length hair or longer to be tied back, both boys and girls. Hairstyles and hair accessory colours to be sensible. Hair bands to be royal blue, navy, black or gold.
• Watches are allowed, but no liability or responsibility is accepted by the school.
• A confidential chat is the appropriate response to students not wearing the correct uniform.
• Boys' formal shirts are to be tucked in.

Technology

• Mobile phones are to be signed in at the office each morning and collected at the end of the day after the final bell.
• Student are not permitted to text or make phone calls from smart watches during the school day.

General

• Students are not permitted to bring toys, trading cards or sports equipment from home.

Student Protection

From our APRE

Welcome to Week 3! It is hard to believe we have so few weeks left for the 2024 school year!

A big thank you to 1 Gold and Mrs Walker for leading our Grandparents Day Prayer Celebration last week. You spoke so confidently and led the whole school so prayerfully. We certainly saw the results of all of your hard work!

A special event like Grandparents Day doesn’t just happen. Thank you to our wonderful staff for providing the time and space for our students to show their grandparents what school is all about and thank you to our students for so enthusiastically sharing your learning and classrooms with our special grandparent visitors. And of course, our sincere appreciation to our grandparents (and some parent helpers) for coming along and sharing the morning with us. Grandparents are such a special part of our school community and we love sharing time and learning with you.

During their Prayer Celebration, students in 1 Gold encouraged all gathered to consider the grandparents of Jesus, Joachim and Anne. I have to admit, I didn’t know too much about these very special grandparents beyond their name until my trip to the Holy Land last year. Walking in their footsteps and in their neighbourhood certainly gave me food for thought about how they would have helped and supported Mary, Joseph and Jesus during their life.

If you want to find out a bit more about Joachim and Anne, use the link below to head to a website that share some information about their life.

Mission Day Mass

Last week Service Club, along with Mrs Standfield and Mrs Deb, headed off to Pittsworth to be part of the Catholic Mission Mission Day Liturgy. Catholic Mission are the organisation behind many wonderful Church and School initiatives including Mission Sunday and Socktober. Bishop Ken celebrated the Liturgy with students and affirmed the wonderful work they are doing in this space.

Mission Sunday weekend is this coming weekend. Service Club have taken on the role of Mission Ambassadors and will be delivering the keynote speech at Mass this Saturday evening. I am so proud of them for taking on this special role and so passionately raising their voice for justice.

Following Mission Sunday, Service Club will begin to promote our next project in earnest, Socktober. Our Kick Off is next week on Wednesday (October 23). Students can come to school in their FORMAL UNIFORM on this day, with their most amazing socks for a gold coin donation. As well as our Socktober Day featuring crazy socks, it will also include a Socktober kick off. If any parents would like to volunteer to be guest goalies, please let me know via email by Monday, October 21.

Term 4 Family Mass

Our final Family Mass for this year (and my final Family Mass at STM) is this coming weekend on Saturday October 19 from 6pm in the STM Church. All STM families are most welcome to come along and join us. We are always in need of children to help make this once a term Mass extra special. If your child would like to help with a reading, carrying a symbol or singing, please let me know via email by this Friday (October 18) at 12pm so I can send information home for the weekend.

Hike for Homeless

This year, Service Club are supporting the Hike for Homeless. So far we have a great team of staff, students and parents and have raised a considerable about of money. If you would like to join our team and hike or simply just donate, please use the links below.

For families who have registered to hike … I will be collecting the BIBS on Thursday/Friday this week and will send them home with students on Friday.

APRE Review

As you know, this year is my last year at St Thomas More’s. While the usual APRE Review process occurs at the end of each 5 year appointment period, I have chosen to undergo this process a year early to gain some valuable feedback moving into my new role in Brisbane next year. Families received some information about the APRE Review process via Sentral last week. I have also included a copy of the letter below for your reference.

If you would like to engage in a face-to-face or phone interview to share your feedback, please contact me via email (Kristin.Byrne@twb.catholic.edu.au) so you can be added to the interview schedule for Thursday, November 7.

Thank you to our Lion King Jr Sponsors who made our 2024 Production so wonderful! 

Thanks to our Lion King Jr Platinum Sponsor ...

Thanks to our Lion King Jr Gold Sponsors ...

Thanks to our Lion King Jr Silver Sponsor ...

Thanks to our Lion King Jr Bronze Sponsor ...

This term is shaping up to be a busy one, so please continue to check SENTRAL for Parents for updates and messages and keep an eye on our social media platforms for updates.

God Bless

Kris Byrne

Assistant Principal Religious Education

Not returning in 2025?

Miss Byrne's Term 4 Important Dates

From Our Library

We are currently seeking volunteers to assist us with covering books. In a few weeks, we will be receiving a large quantity of books and aim to process them efficiently. We will provide high-quality contact rolls for covering the books, and if necessary, we will also offer training. If you are interested in helping us, please contact   Anna.Toye@twb.catholic.edu.au

Daring Readers Wanted Competition Winners - Week 1

In the library this term we are looking for Daring Readers in Years 3 - 6 who are willing to borrow and read books that have never been borrowed in the library before.  Students who read these books and fill in an accompanying bookmark, go in the draw to win a prize. Two winners will be drawn each Thursday.  This week’s winners are:

Thomas A – 3 Red

Zayne – 5 Gold

Congratulations!

Nature Book Week 

The 14th – 20th October is Nature Book Week and we are celebrating in the library this week.  The books we are reading during library lessons are all themed around nature including the wild, the wacky and sometimes gross!   

During lunchtimes we will be hosting different nature-based activities which will include traditional games made with natural materials, nature art and nature mandalas.  It is shaping up to be a great week. 

If you would like to extend Nature Book Week at home you might like take reading outside, read a book about nature or check out some of the resources below that help us engage more with nature. 

• The Wilderness Society 

• Laudato Si’ Week – Nature Based Activities from Caritas Australia 

• Nature Play Ideas 

A little later in the term we will have a natural art competition, more details to come soon. 

Have a wonderful week with books and the natural world. 

Catherine McAleer 

Teacher Librarian 

From our Sports Dept

Interschool Sport 

Children in Years 5 & 6 will participate in Interschool Sport this term in weeks 4, 5, 6, & 7. The sports for Term 4 are boys touch, girls AFL & mixed volleyball. Team lists have been sent through SENTRAL.  

Girls that have chosen to play AFL will require a mouth guard and a mouth guard form to be signed before they can play. Boys are permitted to wear football/soccer boots if they have them for touch. 

Buses will depart school at 10:30am and return at approx. 2:15pm. Tuckshop will be unavailable at second break for those weeks. 

Children are required to bring a hat, sunscreen, water and food.  

Term 4 Swimming Lessons 

Below is the timetable of swimming lessons for Prep – Year 2. This year we will be using the Glennie Aquatic Centre for our school swimming lessons. Children will be bused to and from their lessons. 

Monday 28th October  

Tuesday 29th October  

Monday 25th November 

Thursday 28th November  

Year 1 – 9:30am-10:15am 

Year 2 – 10:15am-11:00am 

Prep – 11:00am- 11:45am  

Please ensure your child has their swimming costume, towel, and goggles for their lessons and anything else you feel they may require. The Glennie Aquatic Centre will provide swimming caps on your child’s first visit. Teachers will collect swimming caps at the end of each session and will be given back out at the beginning of each lesson. These different coloured swimming caps are vital to the smooth running of the lessons as the different colours will indicate which group your child is in for easy organisation.  

Children will get changed before and after their lesson at the pool.  

Swimwear Guidelines: 

To ensure safety and comfort during the lessons, we request that all students adhere to the following swimwear guidelines: 

• Children should not wear rash shirts or oversized clothes. 

• If wearing leggings or full-body coverings for cultural reasons, they must be skin-tight. 

• No scuba masks are allowed (any goggles brought must not cover the nose). 

• We do not supply loan goggles, so if a child wishes to wear goggles, they must bring their own. 

If there is a problem with your child’s lessons, please speak to their class teacher and they will deal with the concern. Please do not contact the pool directly.  

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact myself or your child’s classroom teacher.  

2024 Swimming Carnivals – Save the dates 

Senior Swimming Carnival – Tuesday 26th November at the Glennie Aquatic Centre  

Junior Swimming Carnival – Tuesday 3rd December at the TAS Pool.  

All Schools Touch 

Well done to out STM Mixed and STM Boys teams who competed at the SWQ Primary All Schools Touch Carnival on Sunday. They did an amazing job! Congratulations to the mixed team who finished 3rd overall and the the boys who finished 3rd in their pool. Top effort!  

Student Awards

Week 1

Amazing work from our Term 4, Week 1 award recipients. 

From our Uniform Shop

P & F News

Tuckshop News

Opening Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

Order via Flexischools App.  If you need help to navigate the App, please feel free to pop into the tuckshop and chat to Jemma or email on jemma@archerscateringandevents.com.au 

Cut off of Online orders...
Order before 3pm Tuesday (for Wednesday), 3pm Wednesday (for Thursday) & 1pm Thursday (for Friday).

NEW Tuckshop Menu

REMINDER - IF YOU CHILD IS SICK, PLEASE CONTACT THE TUCKSHOP BEFORE 9AM TO POSTPONE YOUR ORDER TO THE NEXT DAY!

From the OSHC

Thank you!

A huge thank you to Westridge Fruit and Vegetables for their continued support with the donation of fresh fruit every week for our students!

Notice Board

Tennis Coaching