Term 2 - Week 4 - Newsletter

Prayer of the Week

Image retrieved from https://www.hathernprimary.org/school-prayer.html 

From our Principal

Last Saturday a Celebration of Life for Tanisa Norbu was conducted at St Thomas More’s Church. The ceremony was a beautiful drawing together of faiths and cultures, parish and school.

I was humbled to be asked by the family to share my memories of Tanisa during the ceremony. I have included my reflections below.

We were privileged to have a young person of the calibre of Tanisa as a member of our school community for all of her school life. Tanisa was just about the perfect student, hard-working, caring, co-operative, easy -going & never in trouble, except maybe for talking too much.

Tanisa was exceptionally strong academically, she had just earned a scholarship for high school. Tanisa was extremely creative & was a talented artist. She was recognised across the school for her love of drawing. While she did have a natural gift in this area, she also worked incredibly hard at perfecting various elements of her drawing.

Tanisa was a great storyteller & was able to entertain & amuse through her writing as well as through the stories she told to her friends.

Some of the adjectives used to describe Tanisa include confident, outgoing, unique, amazing, funny friendly, happy, witty, artistic, positive & smart.

While this is an impressive list, what was most special about Tanisa was the way she made others feel. Her happiness was contagious. She made us laugh & brightened our days when we were feeling down. You couldn’t be around Tanisa & not smile. Last week when we met with Tenzin & Sara, as we shared memories & stories of Tanisa, even in our grief, she made us smile.

Students across the school will remember her for always saying hello, for the words she used & the faces she pulled. Some of her friends will remember that Tanisa made the best brownies & hot chocolate.

My personal memories will include her shameless promotion of Copper Bench & the noisy group of students at lunchtime, always joking & laughing. Needless to say that Tanisa would always be the centre of attention. My favourite memory however, will be how, after being picked up from Stop, Drop, Go, Tanisa would have the window down as she the car drove up South Street & she would be waving & smiling at anyone in a ST Thomas More’s uniform.

At our school we endeavour to enable students to live life in all it’s fullness. Tanisa was the perfect model for this vision. The richness of the life she lived should serve as an inspiration for us all.

Tanisa will be sorely missed by everyone in the St Thomas More’s community, but she will never be forgotten.

God Bless.

Mr Michael Cash

Principal

From our APRE

Over the weekend members from our school community joined with Tanisa's family and friends to celebrate her life and share precious memories of her. Thank you to those members of our community who were able to come and be part of Tanisa's Celebration of Life. Special mention needs to be made of the staff and small group of Year 6 students who very bravely and lovingly took on roles within Tanisa's celebration, sharing their memories of Tanisa with those gathered in song and poem and leading the congregation in the prayers of the faithful.  You all spoke/sang beautifully. Thank you also to our STM P&F Care and Concern group and the STM Families who helped with the after-service tea. Tanisa so loved her STM community and it was really lovely to see the community embracing her family and showing their love and respect for Tanisa. 

Thank you to Mrs Rowling and 1 Blue for leading the whole school so confidently in our Mother's Day Prayer Celebration last week. You did a wonderful job! I hope all of our STM mums, and those likes mums to us, had a wonderful weekend!

Please note that the Whole School Mass seen in the STM Calendar for May 17th has been cancelled as we gathered together for Mass at the start of this term. 

Walk Safely to School Day

This year we celebrate Walk Safely to School Day on Friday May 20th. This year STM will be participating by walking together to school from Thoms Park (1D Garde Street, Centenary Heights). If you would like to participate, please register your intent using the form linked below so we know who to expect at the park and we don't leave anyone behind! Mr Cash and a team of teachers will meet those walking at the park from 7:30 am and will leave promptly at 7:45 am to make their way back to school.

Please make sure you check your children in with Mr Cash at the park when you arrive. Parents are asked not to leave until children are checked in.

God Bless.

Miss Kristin Byrne

Assistant Principal: Religious Education

Matilda Jnr Update

No Matilda rehearsals this week due to NAPLAN. The rehearsal schedule for Week 5 and Week 6 will be shared this week via email with all Matilda families. Singing sessions with Mrs Skinner will begin in Week 5. These are after-school sessions. If your child cannot attend their session, you will need to contact Mrs Skinner directly via email (Elizabeth.Skinner@twb.catholic.edu.au) to discuss an alternative.

From our Sport Desk

2022 Athletics Carnival  

This year our athletics carnival is being held on Tuesday 14th June at O’Quinn Street Oval.

Students will be participating in sprints, relays, field events and/or modified activities.    

Students can be dropped off at O’Quinn Street by 8:30am by private transport or they can take advantage of a free bus from school. There will be no canteen available therefore children will need to bring a normal morning tea and lunch with them. Students are encouraged to come dressed in their house colours for the carnival. 

Children in Prep-Yr 3 (born 2014) should be finished their events/activities by approximately 12:00pm - 12:30pm. The school is providing a free bus to bring your child back to school at the conclusion of their events/activities. You are most welcome to take your child home or keep your child at the carnival for the remainder of the day, however they will be under the direct supervision of a parent. Teachers in Prep – Year 3 will be travelling back with the bus.   

Children who are in Year 3 and are 9 years old this year (born 2013) will need to remain at the carnival for the entire day to participate in further events. Children in Years 4-6 will also need to remain at the carnival for the entire day. Your child/ren should be finished their events by approximately 2:30pm. The school is providing a free bus to bring your child back to school at the conclusion of the day. However, you are most welcome to pick your child up from O’Quinn Street at 2:30pm. 

To assist with the planning of the day and the booking of buses could you please use the link below to indicate how your child/ren will be transported to/from the carnival. Please ensure you have completed information for all your children.    

Please complete by Monday 30th May.    

God bless,

Stacey Hancock

HPE Teacher 

From our OSHC

Tuckshop News

Open every Friday.  Please place your childs order through FlexiSchools by 12pm Thursdays and please supply a Paper Bag for your childs order.

Awards

Great work from our Week 3 award recipients! 

Enroll Now for 2023

From our Library

Green Week

Next week we have our annual Green Week! Please see the program for the week below. 

Free Subscription for Families

As part of our participation in the Root Cause Project this year, STM families are entitled to a free subscription to the Gold Family Membership. Please see the flyer below for further details. 

Breakfast Ideas To Boost Energy, Concentration & Learning - Online Parent Event

Please find details below of a free workshop for parents available through the Gold Family Membership.

Details of the event: Breakfast Ideas To Boost Energy, Concentration & Learning

Date: Wednesday 18th May 2022

Time: 8pm AEST

Registration required to access the room: https://therootcause.com.au/go/gfm-pe22t2/

The event will cover the following:

·         Boosting Breakfast Cereal

·         5 Prepare Ahead Non-Cereal Breakfast Ideas

·         Transitioning Away From Breakfast Cereal

There will also be time for Q&A at the end.

Please remember to register for the event to receive your login details.

Cook Demonstrations

Each Tuesday at first break we will be having cooking demonstrations in the Library to show the students how easy it is to make healthy, delicious, whole food snacks.  This week Charlotte and Annebelle helped me to make Coconut Rough Bliss Balls.  The students who had a taste test agreed they were scrumptious! The recipe can be found at this link - https://www.becomingness.com/coconut-rough-bliss-balls/

Bliss Balls

God bless, 

Dr Margy Heuschele

Teacher Librarian

From our Service Club

With this week being our first full week at school this term, our Service Club groups can finally start. This term we will continue our Creative Group each Monday at second break in Miss Byrne’s Room. We will also have a Reading Club each Friday in the library at second break as well. All students are welcome to both groups.

Last week Service Club talked about the Australian Catholic Young Voice Awards. This is a great opportunity for students in Year 5 and Year 6 to have their thoughts heard on topics that are important to them. Service Club are excited to be submitting entries this year showing how social media can be used to share positive messages with communities. We can’t wait to share our entries with you when they are done!

Year 6, don’t forget Service Club is now open to all Year 6 children. We meet every Wednesday at first break in Miss Byrne’s room.

God bless.

Ava, Aimee and Makenzie from Service Club

From our Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop will be back to normal hours this term.

Monday: 8:15am - 8:45am

Wednesday: 2:45pm - 3:15pm

Friday: 8:15am - 8:45am

Email orders are encouraged. You can email your orders through to thouniform@twb.catholic.edu.au

Needs some uniform alternations?

A hem taken up?  A skirt taken down?  Some buttons adjust on a shirt?   Give Mrs Fix It a ring and see if she can help.   

From our P&F

If you can't make it in person, you can attend via Zoom. Links are provided below. 

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!

Parish News

Click on the link to download a copy of the latest Parish Bulletin.

Important Dates to Remember for Term 2