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from the Principal ..........
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Our school community spirit was flourishing last Friday with the arrival of over 200 Grandparents and VIP’s for our special morning. We enjoyed a most beautiful liturgy in the Church, followed by morning tea in our Mercy Hall. There was such a buzz in the yard as our guests assembled together in family groups and walked over to Church. The morning was so cherished by our guests who shared openly their sincere appreciation for the occasion. This was exactly what we were hoping for! A further delight was the sheer joy and pride we witnessed in our children as they shared the morning with their Grandparents and VIP’s. Our theme for the morning focused on the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child”. We spoke about the importance of a loving, supportive network of adults in the life of every child. The value of positive role models, carers, family members, and friends who share this most important journey with parents is so necessary for a healthy and balanced upbringing. As a Catholic faith community, the notion of eucharistic community is an important one; this is where we are:
nourished and provide nourishment for each other
loved and show love to each other
united in a sense of belonging with a responsibility to also contribute
All of this happens with the Gospel at the centre, as we strive always to be in communion with one another.
This was the first Grandparent’s Day for St Thomas in many years. We know it will now be the first of many more to come. It was a definite highlight of our expression of community. We are very grateful to all who attended and for the opportunity to meet so many wonderful and special people who are part of our St Thomas Village!
By the time you are reading this, we will have also held our very first Colour Run for Catholic Charities! Our thanks to families for so generously supporting this with donations and to Mr Maglai for coordinating this wonderful event for our school.
As we look ahead to the coming weeks of Term 4 we see a full calendar of excursions and activities that celebrate the end of a year of learning and achievements. Please keep referring to the school calendar, Audiri and Seesaw to stay up to date with information. We appreciate it is a busy time for our families so we hope to keep the communication as clear and current as possible.
During Term 2 we conducted surveys of our community, asking for feedback on four main areas: Catholic Identity, Teaching and Learning, Community Engagement, Resourcing and Operations. I am pleased to report that this information has been collated and analysed, providing valuable data for our school. Overall, the results are very affirming of our school processes and we see consistency in the results of this data. This feedback will contribute towards our new strategic plan that will be launched at our Annual General Meeting in February next year. Congratulations to the Sulema family (Adrian in Rec DH) who won our raffle, in which all families who completed the survey could enter! They won $200 off school fees! My gratitude to all who took part in this survey and for those who missed it, there will be another opportunity next year, as the Live Learn Lead surveys are an annual data collection tool.
Wishing you all a great week ahead!
Belinda Burford
Principal
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From the Deputy Principal
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The Importance of Reflection
Our St Thomas Learner Dispositions play a significant role in teaching students the important aspects of learning and becoming the best version of themselves. To be Brave, Creative, Connected, Gritty and Reflective, open doors to new ways of seeing the world and help us solve problems and make decisions about our next steps. But, we often forget the importance of Reflection.
Reflection allows us to review and discern; and it is essential for learning.
This time of the year is certainly a time of reflection. As the year draws to a close, we move through a process of reflection in all aspects of our lives. In our work, in our family routines and in our community. Without thinking, we begin this review. What have been the successes? What hasn’t work the best it could? What could be improved? What else needs to be learned? There is great benefit in formalising this process and dedicating conversations to reflection.
The daily ‘3, 2, 1’ routine can be a simple way to support reflective thinking at home with our children. Quite simply, at the dinner table or before reading the bedtime story, we can ask…
What are 3 things that were great about today?
What are 2 things that were hard or challenging (remembering we can do hard things)?
What is 1 thing you learnt, got better at or would do differently?
The more we foster reflection in our young people, the more opportunities we provide for learning and building their own agency in the world.
Our teaching staff are certainly in the midst of this time of reflection, as they are tasked with the role of compiling formal reports for each of our learners. Teachers dedicate a great deal of time and discernment to this work of reflection. And as challenging as this time of extra work can be for our teachers, it is such a joy to reflect on the development of each learner, considering how far they have grown since the beginning of the school year. I would encourage parents and caregivers to read the end of year reports with the same spirit of reflection. I would also encourage families to dedicate time to a reflective conversation with children about their report- which could be a simple as a ‘3, 2, 1!’
This time of reflection is enhanced in our Catholic community by the upcoming season of Advent. Advent draws us even deeper into reflection so we can continue to grow to become the best version of ourselves- the person we were created to be. Advent prepares us for the joys of Christmas by reminding us that we called to be the light of the world, just as Jesus’ presence brings light to all things. Reflection is central to our Advent journey.
So as we share this time of reflection, let’s take notice of its importance and be intentional in the way we create opportunities for reflection in our every day.
Go gently,
Paul Mensforth
Deputy Principal
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NOVEMBER
Tuesday 21st
Preschool Meet and Greet
Wednesday 22nd
Reception 2024 Transition Visit
Instrumental Concerts
Friday 24th
Zoo Snooze - Yr 4 Chalubek
Tuesday 28th
Marion Leisure Centre Excursion RSG & RG
Wednesday 29th
Christmas Concert
Reception 2024 Transition Visit
DECEMBER
Friday 1st
Zoo Snooze - Yr 4 Mezzino
St Thomas TERM 4 FAMILY Calendar 2023.pdf
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Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends,
Thank you to all St Thomas students, staff, and families for helping to make the 2023 Colour Run for Catholic Charities such a fantastic event and fundraiser.
What a fun and great day filled with laughter and many colourful faces and white T-shirts.
Visit our facebook page to see photos from the day!
Sebestyen Maglai
R.E.C.
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from Chair of the School Board
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I am a grown up.
I am 43-years-old.
I have a job. I clean the house. I drink coffee. I drink gin. I clean the house again. I floss. I am a mum. I am a wife. I am a sister. I have a mortgage. I test my pelvic floor if I jump on the trampoline.
I am, by all standards an adult..
I get anxiety. I worry. I wake up at 3am and make a to do list. I look at my super balance and actually think about. Albeit, briefly.
By all measures, I am a grown up.
I have forgotten what it Is like to be a child. Do you remember the first time you slept at your friend’s house? Or the last time you ate chocolate without thinking about the calories?
I did cartwheels 10 days ago. My hamstring still hurts.
On Friday at the Colour Run, I saw pure joy. Pure elation. Pure happiness.
I saw children being children. I stood back and watched on. I cried at the happiness, I laughed at laundry that was to be had. And I saw our teachers. Our staff. All covered in colour. All involved. All doing exactly what they do every day, putting the happiness of our children first.
There was colour. There was laughter. There was zero care of what people looked like. How funny they looked, if they straightened their hair or if they had the top range of shoes on.
Then I joined in. And I didn’t feel like an adult. I forgot about my super. I didn’t care if I forgot to fill up my car with petrol. I know I have to get a new roof – but it can wait. As I felt that joy then too.
At some point in the last few years, I changed my setting to “adult.” When I did so, I started missing out on many opportunities for happiness. I suspect that I’m not alone in that. Today, I got a little reset.
So again, to our community, to our staff, to our children. Thank you. You turned down the dial for me back to “child” today.
And it was needed. And loved.
Trish Jarvis
Chair of St Thomas School Board
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We are back that week before Christmas these holidays!
We are also excited to be able to offer the first drop of our kids merchandise range and can have them available to you before Christmas if ordered before December 1. T-shirts and caps can now be ordered through the website when booking your tickets and even better, if you enter the discount codes available on the booking page of the site you’ll save 10-15% off your entire order!
Obviously we won’t get our Christmas shopping done again this year, but it would be brilliant if you did 
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