Term 4 - Week 6 - Newsletter

Prayer of the Week

From our Principal

Dear Parents,

We are currently conducting interviews to fill teacher vacancies for 2022. Hopefully, we will be in a position to finalise appointments by early next week.

During the interview process, I always ask the applicants if they have any questions. One of the applicants asked, with regard to our school, what we are most proud of. We agreed that our students are what we are most proud of.

We are proud that our students show that they not only know our school values; joy, justice, faith, and hope; but understand them and seek to live them in their daily interactions with each other. We are proud that our students value and are able to reflect upon our school rules of Being Safe, Being Responsible, and Being Respectful.

It is heart-warming when I notice children going out of their way to look after fellow students when they might be experiencing difficulties or when they show joy and gratitude at what has been done for them.

Our students continue to amaze and inspire me and it took very little time to come with the answer that they are what we are most proud of at our school.

God Bless!

Mr Michael Cash

From our APRE

Thank you to our whole school community for getting behind our Socktober campaign this year. It was fabulous to see all the weird and colourful socks getting around on Friday and the participation of the students in our Socktober Kick-Off is to be commended. Our guest goalies were very impressed! A very big thank you to Mr. Cash, Mrs. Wardle, Mr. Briffa, Ms. Georgia, Ms. Tenisha, Cr Melissa Taylor, Mrs. Haywood, and our Year 6 Service Club. You made the morning all the more fun with your wonderful goalkeeping skills. Our school raised over $700 for Catholic Mission during Socktober this year. A very hearty well done indeed!

Our Year 5 Social Justice Club has been amazed by the number of raffle tickets they have sold for their Rosies Chocolate Raffle. As we have special visitors from Rosies coming to draw the raffle this Friday, we will extend ticket sales until Thursday this week. If you still want a chance to win the amazing Chocolate Raffle, get in and get your tickets this week. Tickets are 50c each and are available during first break. 

We have a few more weeks of our Service Club groups for this term. Don't forget ...

Monday: Creative/Art Group in Miss Byrne's Room (10:45 am)

Thursday: Study Group in the Library (10:45 am)

Friday: Junior Group in the Junior Playground (10:45 am)

Service Club has one more visit to the Kindy this term. They have represented STM wonderfully this Semester with the way they have conducted themselves on these visits and I am very proud of them. Service Club also only has one more meeting left for the year, so Year 5 children don't forget to come along this Tuesday at first break if you want a taste test!

Our Year 5 students participated in our annual Leadership Retreat last week on Monday. The children spent the day in prayer and reflection and were given the opportunity to reflect on what makes someone a hero and how heroes can influence those around them. The children had the opportunity to hear from Mr. Cash on his expectations for our 2022 student leaders and had a good think about how our Year 6 Student Leaders, School Representatives, House Representatives, and Service Club can be heroes for our STM community. Our Year 5 children will be presenting leadership speeches in the coming weeks and I am sure the whole school community joins me in wishing them the best as they prepare for this exciting Primary School milestone. 

Worship Choir has been busily preparing for Grandparents Morning over the past few weeks and will lead us in our Grandparents Day Prayer Celebration next Friday from 8:40 am. We invite all grandparents, and those who are like grandparents to us, to come along and join in our Prayer Celebration and take some time to visit our classrooms afterward. I know our students are very excited the welcome their grandparents into their classrooms and show them what school at STM is all about. 

This term, in addition to our work with the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum, our students will also be participating in Family Life lessons next week. Please make sure you read the information below and check with your children for any notes regarding this. Notes were sent home last week and will need to be returned for children to be able to participate in these important lessons. If you have any concerns about the content being covered, please contact your classroom teacher. 

Have a wonderful week!

God Bless,

Miss Kristin Byrne

Socktober 2021

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ICAS

Last term, students in Years 3-6 were given the option to participate in a number of ICAS assessments. We congratulate all those who participated in these higher-order thinking and problem-solving assessments.

A number of our students received outstanding results in these international assessments. Students will be presented with their certificates at our school assembly on Friday 12th November. Congratulations to all students who participated!

Family Life Lessons 2021

During Week 7 this term, the Sexual Health Education Program (better known as Family Life Lessons) will be taught to children from Prep to Year 6. Please have a conversation with your child/children and clarify any questions that they have after these lessons. 

These lessons are part of the curriculum of our school and all schools across this Diocese. They form part of the Personal, Social and Community Health Strand of the Australian Curriculum and follow the Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Toowoomba, Guidelines for Teaching Sexual Health.  

Please be assured that this material will be handled with sensitivity. Below is a brief overview of the content covered across the school. Last week, you would have received a note home with further details of the content covered in each year level. If you have any questions or concerns about the content being covered or your child's participation in these lessons, please contact your classroom teacher. Students will need to return their Family Life permission notes to be able to participate in these lessons.

Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum

During Term 4, classes from Prep to Year 6 have been working their way through elements of the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum. This curriculum has been developed to support Queensland schools’ delivery of key safety messages to school-aged children. Throughout the term, students have learned how to recognise, react and report when they feel unsafe or find themselves in situations that can have a significant detrimental effect on their physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing. 

We encourage you to talk to your children about what they have been learning in class this term. The following table outlines the content areas that have been covered by each Year Level this term.

If you have any questions or concerns about the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum, feel free to contact Miss Byrne or your classroom teacher. There is also some fantastic information available online. The link below will take you to the Daniel Morcombe Curriculum website. 

Grandparents' Day 2021

We are pleased to announce we are celebrating Grandparents' Day this year with a special Grandparents' morning later this term. Our Grandparents' morning will run from 8:30 - 10:30 am on Friday, November 19th. We warmly invite our STM Grandparents along for a special Grandparents' Prayer Celebration in the Sports Centre, followed by classroom visits. Due to current COVID restrictions and guidelines, there will be no Grandparents' Day Morning Tea this year, but we hope to be able to bring it back in 2022.

To ensure we are adhering to current indoor restrictions, we respectfully request that the classroom visits only be made by grandparents. Parents and other family members are most welcome to come along to the Prayer Celebration but due to the size of our classrooms, we cannot accommodate a large number of visitors in each room. Students who don't have a grandparent come along will still be able to join in the fun and may even be able to adopt a grandparent for the morning! Thank you in advance for your understanding. 

From the Office

School fees are now overdue.  A reminder was emailed out on Wednesday, 3rd November 2021.  Please settle this account as soon as possible.

If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact the office to make an appointment with Jacinta Twidale who is available Wednesday to Friday.

Just a reminder to keep the office up to date with any contact or medical detail changes. It can cause critical delays in the case of emergencies if the information is not current.

If your child is away from school for any reason, please notify the office of your child’s absence. There are a few ways for parents to notify the school of a student’s absence:

• Send a text message to 0439 457 981,
• Email the student’s teacher and the office on stthomas@twb.catholic.edu.au
• Call the school’s office on 4591 3900 and leave a voicemail explaining the absence,
• Submit an absentee request through Sentral (see instructions below),
• Ask a sibling to inform the office of the absence

If your child arrives at school after 8:25 am, they must sign in at the office at the student entrance.

Outside of the Year 6 students, if you are leaving the school at the end of 2021, please let the office know as soon as possible. This helps with the planning of events and excursions for the following year.

Sentral Parent Portal App

If you haven't signed up for the Sentral Parent Portal App yet, please do so as soon as possible.  Contact our office for more information.

Did you know you can submit student absences through the Sentral Parent Portal App?  It's as easy as 1, 2, 3

Step 1:  Open the Sentral Parent Portal App and click on the "Absences" icon

Step 2:  Click on the + to add a new absence request (this needs to be completed for each student)

Step 3:  Complete the details and hit "Submit"

Booklists

The booklists for 2022 have been sent home today with students.

Swimming Lessons

A friendly reminder that swimming lessons will be continuing this week (please download a copy of the updated timetable below to see when your child's lessons are).

Please make sure you have the following items at school for your lessons:

• Togs/Swimmers
• Goggles
• Swim Cap
• Towel
• Spare Underwear
• An extra something to eat for morning tea or lunch

Junior Swimming Carnival 2021 Prep-Year 2

Dear Parents,

This year our Junior Swimming Carnival will be held on the morning of Monday 29th November at the TAS (Toowoomba Anglican School) swimming pool, access via Wirra Wirra Street. Children in Prep-Year 2 will have the opportunity to participate at this carnival. We invite parents to attend this carnival if they wish. 

We intend to be back at school around midday. All Prep-Year 2 teachers will attend the carnival. We encourage all students to attend regardless of their swimming ability. 
Shorter lap lengths and novelty races ensure that this is a memorable day, whilst building confidence in the water prior to joining the more competitive races at the upper school swimming carnival in years to come. Some events will include freestyle/kickboard, noodle, and other novelty races.

No ribbons will be awarded at this carnival as this is purely a non-competitive carnival to encourage fun in the water. Adults will be placed in each swimming lane and will be available on the sides of the pool to assist if required. 
The school will provide busses to transport students to and from the carnival. Children will need to arrive at school no later than 8:45 am.  

Children can wear their sports uniform and wear their togs underneath. They will also need to bring a towel, goggles (if needed), swimming cap, sunscreen, morning tea, and a drink bottle. 
If you have any further queries, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s classroom teacher or myself.

Many thanks
Stacey Hancock (Year 5)  
Stacey.Hancock@twb.catholic.edu.au

Swimming Carnival 8-12 Years

The 2021 Senior Swimming Carnival will be held on Tuesday 30th November at The Glennie Aquatic Centre. This year the swimming carnival will be open to all students born from 2009 to 2013.

To assist with the planning of the carnival, please complete a form for each child using the following link.

The Central Zone and Catholic Carnival Teams for 2022 will be selected from the results of the 50m events. Correct technique is a requirement for some strokes. The Central Zone Carnival will have strict nominating times that will need to be adhered to. Children born in 2013 will be eligible to be nominated in these carnivals in 2022 if they choose to swim 50m events at our school carnival.

Please read the following information and complete the nominating form by Friday 12th November. Once all nominations have been completed a program will be created and available to students and parents.  

We will be offering a bus to and from the carnival. The school will cover the cost of the bus. If you wish your child/children to utilise the bus, please indicate on your child/children’s nomination form.

Important Information

• A teacher will be on duty from 8 am at the venue.
• Years 3-6 teachers will attend the carnival. We encourage and it is expected that all students attend the carnival regardless of their swimming ability and have a go in at least 1 event. There will be no supervision at school for these year levels. 
• Kickboard events are for competitors who are not competing in the 25m or 50m events.
• Competitors may only swim one distance per stroke. 50m Freestyle or 25m Freestyle or 25m Kickboard. Not all three.
• Students who are capable of swimming 50m in a particular stroke are strongly encouraged to do so.
• Only competitors who nominate as 50m swimmers will be eligible for age champion.
• Only 50m events will have heats if there are sufficient numbers. Otherwise, 50m events will be straight finals.
• Only 50m events will be timed.
• Ribbons will be given to 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th places of kickboard, 25m, and finals of 50m events.
• Age champion trophies will be given to 9yrs-13yrs champion swimmers who nominate/compete in 50m events.
• Some events may have to be combined due to the number of nominations but will be judged separately. 
• Open 100m Freestyle and Open 4x50m Individual medley events are for house points ONLY.

If you have any queries, please contact Stacey Hancock (Year5)

(Stacey.Hancock@twb.catholic.edu.au)

From the P&F

Tonight is our last P&F for the year - it’s hard to believe! 

To celebrate such a great year, we will be serving pizza and drinks on the deck at 6.30 pm, half an hour before the meeting. 

We will then start our meeting at 7 pm as normal. 

Our last meeting will cover:

The Christmas party

Next years Family Fun Day

And some exciting new projects! 

All parents and carers are welcome… see you there!

Dates to keep in mind for Term 4...

Due to the availability of the pool, we have had to change the date of our Junior Swimming Carnival to Monday, November 29th. At this stage, we are still waiting on confirmation from the pool regarding their COVID safe plan and will let families know ASAP if parents will be able to attend.

Tuckshop News

Tuckshop orders are due by 12 pm every Thursday (both paper bag and Flexischools)

The last day for tuckshop in 2021 will be on Friday, 26th November.  Ice Creams will be for sale on the final day at $1.20 each.  An order form will be sent home on Monday, 8th November.  Please complete an order form for each child and return it to the office in an envelope with the correct money enclosed by no later than 18th November.

Uniform Shop News

The Uniform Shop opening hours are as follow:

• Monday Morning:  8:15 am - 8:45 am
• Wednesday Afternoon:  2:45 pm - 3:15 pm
• Friday Morning:  8:15 am - 8:45 am

If you are unable to make these times, please email the Uniform Shop at:  THOuniform@twb.catholic.edu.au

Parish News

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

Tennis Lessons