Term 2 - Week 4 - Newsletter

Prayer of the Week

Image retrieved from https://www.lords-prayer-words.com/family/school_prayers.html 

From the Principal’s Desk…

I’m sure you have heard of the saying ‘Mother knows best’. That’s probably why children, especially teenagers always go to Dad for permission to go to a party, ask for money or beg for a lift. But in most cases, when kids need real help they ask their mums.

Kids of all ages say ‘That’s my Mum!’ They don’t say ‘That’s my parent!’. I vaguely remember a certain teenager and his two brothers thinking it was a pretty cool thing to call his old man by his first name, however, Mum was always ‘Mum’.

Being a Mum is different to parenting. Mothering is instinctive & relational, whereas parenting, I believe, is more on the rational side. Teenagers can put up with their parents but they will always love their Mum. They can live without their parents, or so they think, but deep down they can’t live without the one person who will always be there and who will always overlook their faults. That person of course is their mother. Raising kids is about mothering & fathering. That’s why we have Mothers’ Day (and Fathers’ Day) rather than Parents’ Day.

Mothers are the precious treasure troves which remain an important part of one's life even after they lose contact with her. There are times you just sit back and think about the times you learnt from your mother, or suddenly after tasting a dish you prepared, you think of how your mother used to prepare it. These are some precious moments which you are reminded about incessantly even after many years. Such reflections never fail to bring a smile on your face. Mothers are such; they become a part of your psyche, as cherished memories. These reflections are usually nothing but the reasons for you to thank her. If the feelings are strong and beautiful enough, they often come out in form of a saying or a quote, which is reiterated by generations that follow. Some of these quotes are listed below, each one of these giving the word 'Mother' a new dimension.

• "The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness." - Honore' de Balzac
• "Youth fades; love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; a mother's secret hope outlives them all." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
• "Before becoming a mother I had a hundred theories on how to bring up children. Now I have seven children and only one theory: love them, especially when they least deserves to be loved." - Kate Samperi
• "Adorable children are considered to be the general property of the human race. Rude children belong to their mothers." - Judith Martin
• "A mother understands what a child does not say." - Jewish Proverb
• "A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take." - Cardinal Mermillod
• "Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother." - Lin Yü-tang
• "Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes by dozens and hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers, and sisters, aunts and cousins, but only one mother in the whole world." - Kate Douglas Wiggin

“Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short time, but their hearts forever”

“Author unknown”

So, Happy Mothers’ Day to all our Mums & Grandmothers

Thanks for reading…

Duane

For your benefit, the Winter Uniform transition will commence on Tuesday 2^nd May and conclude Friday 12^th May.  This means all children from Years 1 – 6 will be required to wear the Winter Uniform from Monday 15^th May.

Please be reminded, the Winter Uniform requirements are as follows:

• Check tunic, white blouse, long navy socks/tights and black shoes
• Long Sleeved royal blue shirt, long grey trousers, grey socks and black shoes

Please also be aware, children will be required to wear their Winter uniform for School Photos on Wednesday 17^th May.

Finally, the School Advisory Council and P&F will be reviewing both the Summer and Winter Uniform Policy throughout the year as part of their meeting agendas.

God Bless,

Duane Wann

Principal

Student Protection Contacts

From our APRE

Welcome to Week 4! What an amazing three weeks we have had to start Term 2! I hope you all had a great weekend and if you were interested you had the chance to tune in to watch the Coronation of King Charles III. It's not every day we have the chance to witness history in the making!

This term, we shift our focus to our school value of hope. Hope is a bit of a tricky value to define and sometimes to even see in the playground or classroom but I think we can draw some lessons about hope from the life of St Mary MacKillop. I have two stories to share that I believe show how hope was an important part of  Mary's life. A big thank you to Sr Dianne Phillips for sharing her stories about Mary MacKillop with Mrs Wardle and I earlier this year. We hope to share her many amazing and interesting tales about Mary as the year goes on! 

No Food in Brisbane

When the Sisters of St Joseph first came to Brisbane they did not have a great deal of money. One day, they found themselves not only without money but without food as well. Mary MacKillop turned to God in prayer and asked for help. A woman happened to be walking past where the sisters were staying and thought perhaps they might like some food. She took herself off to the supermarket and bought some groceries for them. In this story, Mary MacKillop showed great hope ... even though things looked a bit grim, she had hope that things would work out in the end and that she would get the help that she needed. 

Travelling in Europe

Mary MacKillop spent some time travelling around the world. She shared with her friends a story of her experience trying to travel back to Australia from Europe. She had managed to get herself to Italy but had run out of money and had no way to purchase her passage from Italy back to Australia. She turned to God in prayer and asked for help. An elderly gentleman approached Mary and offered to pay for her passage home. Once again, this story shows how Mary had great hope ... even though things looked a bit scary, she had hope that all would be well and she would get the help that she needed. 

Both of these stories show how hope is something that can help us all in times of need. We are very lucky at St Thomas More's to have such a kind and caring school community and I firmly believe we can all be hope for each other ... that no matter how grim things might seem, we know we have a community that will help us when we need them. 

Mother's Day 2023

Don't forget to send in your Mother's Day reflection photos before Wednesday, May 10th via email at Kristin.Byrne@twb.catholic.edu.au Each family is invited to submit no more than two photos of mums, grandmothers, and those like mothers to be included in our video reflection for our Mother's Day Prayer Celebration. Please note that photos submitted after 3:30 pm on May 10th will not be included in the reflection video this year. 

Don't forget, families are welcome to join us to celebrate Mother's Day this Friday morning at the annual P&F Mother's Day Coffee Morning. Stay around after your coffee and come and be part of our Mother's Day Prayer Celebration led by 1 Red from 8:40 am in the Sportscentre. 

2023 School Photos

As you may have seen in our School Calendar, our 2023 School Photo Day is on Wednesday, May 17. Students from Year 1 - Year 6 are expected to be in their full WINTER FORMAL UNIFORM for school photos this year. 

Please be reminded, the Formal Winter Uniform requirements are as follows:

• Check tunic, white blouse, long navy socks/tights and black shoes
• Long Sleeved royal blue shirt, long grey trousers, grey socks and black shoes

Details regarding sibling photos will be sent home early this week.

Walk Safely to School Day

This year, STM will join with schools across the country acknowledging Walk Safely to School Day on Friday, May 19th. If you are able to, we urge families to ditch the car for part of the journey and join with staff walking to school from Thoms Park (1D Garde Street, Centenary Heights). A map is provided below if you are unsure of where Thoms Park is. 

National Walk Safely to School Day is an annual event aimed at primary school kids and their parents and carers, to promote both the health and environmental benefits of walking, whilst encouraging safe pedestrian behaviour.

If your child/ren would like to participate in Walk Safely to School Day this year, please complete the form below. All necessary details are included in the form. 

Under 8s Day 2023

This year, we will be celebrating the early years of schooling with our Under 8s Day on Monday, May 22nd. Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 will have the opportunity to celebrate the early years of schooling with a fun session, complete with lots of exciting activities planned by the teachers. Parent helpers are most welcome (and very much needed), so if you think you can help out please contact your classroom teacher. 

God Bless.

Miss Kristin Byrne

Assistant Principal: Religious Education

Thinking STM for Prep in 2024 ...

Miss Byrne's Important Dates to Remember for Term 2

Mothers Day Stall is coming up!

Our Mother’s Day stall will run again on Wednesday 10th May. We are excited to announce that this year we have sourced gifts from local suppliers - we have received wonderful support and have some beautiful gifts on offer. 

Students can order for their mums, grandma’s or special adults. Orders can be placed via FlexiSchools or a cash order form. You will be able to place orders up until Monday 8th May. 

If you can help with the setting up of the stall and collating orders (Tuesday) or the running of the stall (Wednesday) please message Kylie Haywood presidentpandf@gmail.com 

From Our Library

Bee’s Knees Issue 1

Click here to check out the first issue of The Bee’s Knees for this year -  Power Point Issue 1 2023.pptm . There are some terrific stories, information reports, poems and drawings.

From Service Club

It was great to welcome Milly and Jaxson to Service Club last week. Year 6 children, don't forget everyone in Year 6 is welcome to join Service Club from this term. 

Lower school children, don't forget on Thursday at second break we have our Service Club Buddies Group. You can come to Miss Byrne's Room at second break playtime and join in some fun games and activities with Service Club. 

Over the weekend, King Charles III was officially crowned king. The ceremony may have looked a little bit like a Mass to anyone who tuned in to watch because it happened in a big church called Westminster Abbey. This big church is located in Central London. There was a big parade after the ceremony that included members of the royal family and lots of soldiers, including a few from Australia as well! 

Have a great week.

God Bless,

Mckenzie, Oliver and Anakha from Service Club

Week 3 Awards

Well done to our Week 3 award recipients. 

Classroom Newsletters

From our P & F

Can't make it in person ... you can join us online! 

From our Tuckshop

Tuckshop Menu

Open every Thursday & Friday.  Please place your childs order through FlexiSchools by 1pm Wednesday for Thursdays & 1pm Thursday for Friday. 

From our Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop Trading Hours.

Monday 8.00am – 8.30am

Wednesday afternoon – By Appointment

Friday 8.00am – 8.30am

If these times don’t work for you please email your order through to THOuniform@twb.catholic.edu.au and the orders will be at the office for collection at your convenience.

Need 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 the St Thomas More's Parish

Please find attached the bulletin for this week. 

Parish Information

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!

A huge thank you to Meat Cellar for their continued support for our school events.

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