|
|
|
|
A big congratulations to Brodie Anderson on his efforts at the SAPSASA Adelaide South East District Swimming Trials last week.
Brodie competed in a number of races and came very close to representing the district at the upcoming state carnival by placing 2nd in the 50m Butterfly race for his age group.
We are very proud of Brodie and thank him for his participation in the trials.
|
|
|
|
from the Principal ..........
|
|
Dear Parents,
Of late my reflections have been revolving around the inextricable link between learning and wellbeing. Whilst this is definitely not a new concept, our role as educators is to be constantly monitoring, assessing, reviewing and planning to maintain the best balance possible of learning and wellbeing. It is a moving feast!
This week sees our Years 3 and 5 students engaged with NAPLAN testing which will provide further data for us in relation to our students’ progress across English and Maths on a national level. Yet this is just one snapshot of information from one day, one moment in time for our children.
Over the last week all our students also engaged in the Pulse Check-In Survey, a wellbeing digital tool used in all Catholic schools, which also provides a snapshot of student wellbeing and engagement each term.
We add to this all the multiple examples of formal and informal data that we compile, telling us more about our children’s learning and wellbeing each day. So all in all, we have the great privilege of much insight into our children’s development. Together with all of this information, we come with the stance that every child can thrive and succeed. We believe that every child is a capable learner with limitless potential. Our part in this is to facilitate their growth, recognising and developing their capabilities. This, for us, is an honour and a privilege to share in that journey, witnessing it and contributing to it. We know of the great power of the word ‘yet’! A child may not have achieved a milestone ‘yet’, progressed to a next level ‘yet’ or succeeded in mastering a certain skill ‘yet.’ These three letters mean so much! With a positive, hope-filled and supported environment, we believe that every child can thrive, and it is our role to provide the structured approach to learning and foster wellbeing, in order for this to happen.
I read recently a post from Bill Hansbery, educator, restorative practitioner and Structured Literacy advocate and wanted to share his insights as they relate to my recent reflections. For me his words sum up nicely our own approach and rationale in the regard of a structured approach to teaching of literacy and the benefits to wellbeing that come hand in hand with this. “The highly safe, routine and predictable nature of thorough, structured literacy instruction is perhaps the best wellbeing practice I have seen in all my years as both an advocate for learner wellbeing and for evidence-based literacy instruction….. Excellent teaching has the biggest impact on student wellbeing…..Literacy is the key to the kingdom when it comes to accessing the world. Making sure we provide this key to all learners might be the greatest act of wellbeing education we can give.” Here at St Thomas we will be engaging in professional learning with Bill Hansbery at the end of this term on the Student Free Day to dive deeper into our own literacy practices and how they reflect evidence based practice and add to this enhancement of wellbeing for every student.
This week I have been holding Registered Volunteer Induction sessions in the Library. My thanks to the many generous volunteers who are keen to ensure their registration is current and I thank you for your patience and commitment as we work through this process. If you missed the last session, please try to come along on Friday at 2.30pm for an Induction session. Further inquiries can be directed to Lauren Adams if needed.
We have a number of important events coming up, so please ensure that you have the following in your calendar: Water Challenge Relay and casual day , Learning Conferences with your child’s class teacher, SACPSSA swimming and Harmony Day. This year we will be inviting our children to dress in cultural dress or wear something ‘orange’ the colour of Harmony Day. More details will be provided for Harmony Day soon.
Wishing you all a wonderful week!
Belinda Burford
Principal
|
|
|
March
Fri 17th NAPLAN (Language)
Mon 20th NAPLAN (Numeracy)
21st-24th NAPLAN (Catch Up)
Fri 24th Ride to School Day
Fri 24th School Photo Catch Up Day
Mon 27th Learning Conferences begin
Tues 28th SACPSSA Swimming
Wed 29th Harmony Day
|
|
|
|
|
BUILDING RESILIENCE
One of our goals, as part of Catholic Education South Australia and as a community wanting the very best for children’s development, is for all our students to be first and foremost THRIVING PEOPLE!
Thriving means to be living fully, with a positive spirit and strength to take on challenges. Resilience plays a large part in our journey to be THRIVING PEOPLE. Those with large supplies of resilience tend to see the bright side of situations and can manage themselves through difficult times. Many people are lucky to be predisposed with these buckets of resilience. But like many aspects of what makes us human, resilience can be developed and strengthened.
It is our role as educators, in partnership with parents, to nurture the resilience in our students and offer opportunities to further build their capacity in this essential aspect of life.
Michael Grose, a parenting expert, author and former teacher, says, ‘Resilience is the art of staying steadfast in the face of life’s difficulties. It is the ability to bungy-jump your way through life when you experience loss, disappointment and hardship. We all want our children to be resilient. It will help them deal with some of life’s smaller and bigger hurdles.
In his book “Bringing Out Your Child’s Resilience,” Michael suggests that there are 21 attributes which contribute to the development of resilience.
Follow this link to discover all 21 attributes…
St Thomas Resilience Series by Michael Grose- 00 Attributes of Resilience.pdf
We will aim to provide ongoing information and resources on these 21 attributes to support our St Thomas families in the great work of growing their children!
Follow this link to access the first attribute… Persistence….
St Thomas Resilience Series by Michael Grose- 01 Persistence.pdf
Go gently,
Paul Mensforth
Deputy Principal
|
|
|
|
|
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends,
Last week on Wednesday the Year 3 classes celebrated class Mass in the church. They used the Parable of the Lost Sheep to understand one of the messages of Lent. Fr John talked about our responsibility to help other people who “lost” even just one person. 12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! 14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.
So this year we try and help ‘the one's who are lost” with our project Compassion fundraising.
As part of our Social Justice Program, all students are participating in a fundraising ‘walk with water’ event for Project Compassion run by Caritas Australia.
Caritas Australia support many projects in Australia and around the world as you can see in their webpage. https://www.caritas.org.au/
This event will take place on Friday 31st March 2023 during school hours.
Using a QR Reader app on your phone, you simply point your phone's camera the QR Code and are instantly taken to the website it links to.
If you would like to support our school fundraising event online, you can use the QR code below to find our school fundraising page.
Thank you for your support,
Sebestyen Maglai R.E.C.
|
|
|
|
from Chair of the School Board
|
|
Tired children are like freshly tinted eyebrows.
Let’s talk about exhaustion. Tired kids, tired parents, tired everyone.
The type of exhaustion, that when you look in a mirror, you assume its poor lighting. Then sadly you realise, it is not the lighting…
Exhaustion can present in all different formats. Tears, withdrawal, school refusal, way too much energy… Be kind to yourself. Be kind to your little ones. Be kind to your community.
Whilst we remember it is only Week 7, the reality that this is the first “normal” year counts. The “are they going/aren’t they” COVID dance has gone and the cramming everything we have missed in has returned. The days of working from home may have gone and the rush to get children to school and in face-to-face meetings looking semi presentable has returned.
Life is brilliantly chaotic, but it is also exhausting. So, I give you permission to feel that it’s not just Week 7.
Remember the staff we leave our children with daily; they too are people. Who have the same pressures, same stressors and potentially the same tired children at home. They are not robots.
Be kind to yourself. Be kind on those around you. Manage the mental load. Outsource where you can. If your house is dirty, life will go on. If you cry at school pick up, life will go on. If your little one will only wear his black school shoes on a weekend, life will go on.
When the exhaustion hits you, wrap your arms around those little ones so they know being tired is ok. It will pass. Do what you need to get you through if the tired cracks are starting show now. Some weeks doing a short 5km park run is enough. You don’t need to run a marathon each week.
Think of your tired child like your eyebrows. Just after you get them tinted. They’ll come good soon, you just have to wait it out.
Keep the faith. Your great eyebrows are coming.
Trish Jarvis
|
|
|
|
|
Final Reminders
- Canberra Camp Deposit (Year 6 Students) $300 payable on Qkr by 10 March 2023.
- Term 1 School Fee instalment is now due.
- Annual payment of School Fees paid upfront in full by 17 March 2023 will receive 5% discount.
Upfront payment discounts are as follow:-
1 child $202.00
2 children $379.75
3 children $513.05
Please contact me if you have any queries regarding school fees accounts@stg.catholic.edu.au
Jodi Jansons
Business Manager
|
|
|
|
|
The Eco-Warriors are up and running again for 2023 and we welcome them to the team for this year.
Our Eco-Warriors for this year are:
Reception: Ren, Orla, Sebastian, Zahriah, Jack, Rose and Harvey
Year 1: Olivia, Flynn, Ed, Luella and Alfie
Year 2: Mackenzie, Tilda, Rose and Lucas
Year 3: Ida, Aarnav, Caylee and Lucia
Year 4: Angus, Felix, Oscar, Lacey, Lola, Thomas and Sienna A
Year 5: Sebastian, Scarlett, Game, Polly, James and Boston
Year 6: Callum, Brodie, Sasha, Josh, Leon, Petrushka and Olivia
We have a lot of projects already happening which include:
Planting a Monarch Butterfly Garden in the Pre-School to attract some fantastic Monarch butterflies for the children to enjoy.
A community herb garden for parents to pick their own herbs to use at home outside the Pre-School fence.
Our ongoing projects this year are:
Utilising our worm farms for fertiliser for our gardens - Worm Fertiliser is available outside the front office for $3 a bottle!
Looking after our chickens and educating students across the school about them.
Planting vegetable gardens across the school to sell and use for cooking.
Selling second-hand uniforms to fund school ecology projects.
Finally, we have been lucky enough to acquire the services of Anthony Mazzone from Amazon Plant Growers who has come on board to plan and provide the right plants for a space along the fence between the Mercy Hall and Chicken Coop. Thanks a lot, Anthony!
Please remember, we can all be Eco-Warriors by reducing our waste to landfill and making sure we recycle wherever we can.
We look forward to working with you all this year.
Nick Mezzino and the Eco-Warriors
Regards,
Nick Mezzino
|
|
|
|
|
Duck and Turtle is back these school holidays with 3 days during that first week.
Nick and the team have also expanded to Nazareth Catholic College for Year 5-7 students for those with older siblings during the second week. Hit the link for bookings and more information through the website.
See you out there,
Nick Mezzino
 Duck and Turtle St Thomas Flyer copy.pdf
|
|
|
|
School Holiday Activities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Please see links below to access news from Camp Australia