St Thomas' Primary News

St Thomas’ Primary School is part of a faith community centred on the life of Jesus, as expressed in our Motto,

‘Together in Christ’

Our Vision is to 'Educate the Whole Child' and empower learners as global citizens, to be curious, collaborative, creative and critical thinkers, inspired by Christ.

Dear Lord, we remember the fallen soldiers that have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. On Remembrance Day, we come to you and ask for healing for families of lost loved ones and to help the rest of us make sure that Remembrance Day is more than once a year, but a continual act of gratitude. Amen

Please remember that the school gates open at 8:15 am with school commencing at 8:25 am. Children should not be dropped off earlier as there is no supervision. Thank you for your cooperation.

Friday 17 November - PP Assembly 9am

Monday 20 November - Swimming Lessons Commence PP - Y6

Tuesday 21 November - Annual General Meeting 6pm Refreshments; 6.30pm Meeting

Thursday 23 November - Keyed-Up Recital 3:15pm The School Hall (piano & violin)

Friday 24 November - Keyed-Up Recital 3:15pm The School Hall (Drums, Guitar & voice)

Wednesday 29 November - Night of the Notables @ 5:30pm

Friday 1 December - 6pm Year 6 Graduation Dinner

Monday 4 December - End of Year Reports Live (p.m.)

Monday 4 December - Transition Morning - Orientation for new students 9am

Tuesday 5 December - Christmas Concert 5pm Picnic; 6pm Concert

Thursday 7 December - Graduation Paraliturgy 9am

Friday 8 December - Y6 Adventure World Excursion

Friday 8 December - Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Friday 8 December - Final day of the year for students

Please remember dates of events can be subject to change

(Full 2023 term dates at the end of this newsletter)

YEAR 5 CAMP

The Year 5 students recently enjoyed a sleepover at AQWA, Australia’s largest single aquarium, surrounded by sharks, stingrays, and hundreds of stunning fish. Students discovered more about the amazing marine animals with a night of tours and fun marine-themed activities, designed to educate students on marine life. Mrs Pitcher, Mr Godsall, Mr Nankivell and I, were able to share in this exciting experience with the students. Thank you to Mrs Pitcher for the organisation of this camp.

UNWELL STUDENTS

Can we please ask that unwell students are not sent to school. This in turn has an impact on the other students as well as the staff. Your consideration around this matter is appreciated.

TRANSITION 2024 – Monday 4 December

Between 9am and 10.30am on Monday 4 December, students will spend time with their class teacher for 2024 and participate in activities with their 2024 cohort.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT – Tuesday 5 December

We warmly invite you to join us for our Christmas Concert on Tuesday 5 December. Gates will open at 5pm for a family picnic. The concert will commence at 6:00pm with all Pre-Primary to Year 6 students performing at least one Christmas item. Children will need to be delivered to their classrooms by 5:45pm. The theme this year is ‘Christmas around the World’. Parents, families, and community members are encouraged to bring a picnic rug to sit on the school oval to view the concert. Please keep an eye out for information from individual class teachers regarding any costume or prop requirements.

FROM MY READINGS: ‘Teaching children to persist’

by Michael Grose, Australia’s leading parent educator.

‘Persistence and patience have a magical effect before

which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.’ John Quincy Adams

The ability to persist at a task and see it through to the end is one of the most important success skills that you can teach a child. There are numerous times every day when children must persist rather than give in. A toddler learning to tie shoelaces must persist. A primary aged student must show determination to finish tasks and a secondary student needs to work through difficulties, particularly those he doesn’t understand or complete right away.

Parents and teachers can develop persistence in children. Research suggests that persistence is a temperamental factor that can be improved over time. Just as adults can promote persistence, they can also impede its development by making life too easy for children so that they don’t have opportunities to persist or hang in there. Parents who allow children to stop work when it gets too hard, stay home from school for a minor reason or give up on a sport because they are not succeeding straight away are not doing their children any favours. They are depriving children of opportunities to develop persistence.

To promote persistence in your children, try the following four strategies:

• 1. Develop a vocabulary for persistence. Terms like Hang Tough, Work Hard and Hang in There need to be part of their every day vocabulary.

• 2. Point out to children when they stick at a task. Let them see when they have been persistent, and that persistence generally pays off.

• 3. Help children to remember times when they experienced success by HANGING IN when they were younger.

• 4. Talk about HARD WORK with your children. They need to understand that to be successful they need to do things that are NOT fun or easy.

While it would be good if all work and learning was fun, in reality, this is not always the case, sometimes we just need to persist until we get it.

To view the full article please view this LINK.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) – Tuesday 21 November

A reminder that our school AGM will be held this Tuesday 21 November. Refreshments will be available from 6pm with the meeting commencing at 6.30pm. Please join us to celebrate the 2023 school year.

FATHER WAYNE

Father Wayne has expressed his thanks for your thoughts, best wishes and prayers. Please keep him in your prayers.

May God bless your week

Natalia Thomson

Principal

CLIMATE SURVEY DATA

Thank you to all parents who completed the School Climate Survey recently. When compared to the 2021 parent survey data, growth was achieved across every area surveyed. This is testament to the tremendously hard work of staff to ensure the school is a happy, safe, respectful and fun place for children to attend. St Thomas' is truly blessed to have a highly committed, pastoral, and enthusiastic staff, along with such a supportive parent body. Of particular note in the survey, were four areas that displayed exceptional growth: 'dealing with student behaviour', 'engaging environment', 'assessment and feedback', and 'satisfaction with the school'. This is in addition to the already high results for 'welcoming school', 'staff support', 'Catholic identity in practise', and 'communication', all achieving an average of above 4.5 out of 5. Thank you parents for your support and your feedback in this survey. We look forward to maintaining these positive results into 2024 and beyond.

SWIMMING LESSONS

Swimming Lessons will take place for the next two weeks for all students in Pre-primary to Year Six. The lessons will be split as follows:

PP, Y1 & Y2 - Claremont Pool;

Y3 & Y4 - first week at Claremont Pool, second week at Cottesloe Beach;

Y5 & Y6 - Cottesloe Beach.

Please ensure your child has everything needed for each day of swimming, including bathers, rashie, towel, goggles, bag, thongs, and anything else deemed necessary. Sleep and healthy eating will also be important during this week, as children often get tired with the extra energy exertion and also with it being close to the end of year. Please communicate with your child’s teacher anything they need to be aware of during these lessons.

1:1 iPAD PROGRAM

Next year, the current Year Two students will join the 1:1 iPad program as they enter Year Three. Parents are encouraged to determine the best course of action in the provision of an iPad for their Year Three child for next year. Students in Years Four, Five or Six may wish to purchase a new device for their child if they believe the current iPad their child uses is not fit for purpose. Winthrop Australia has a portal for St Thomas’ parents to purchase an iPad and associated peripherals such as a case and screen protector. A ‘bundle’ has been created that includes all items needed, which may alleviate the pressure of choice in this regard. Winthrop's pricing is comparable to other businesses. If any parents of Years Three to Six students have questions regarding iPads, please contact me to discuss your situation. Some resources are below that may help parents in the lead-up to holidays, where iPads may be used a little differently than during the school term.

HELPFUL iPAD / CYBERSAFETY RESOURCES

WINTHROP SALES PORTAL:

https://sales.winaust.com.au/shop/stthomas

JAMF PARENT APP:

https://learn.jamf.com/bundle/jamf-parent-guide-for-parents/page/Getting_Started_with_Jamf_Parent.html

School management software “JAMF” has a parent app “JAMF PARENT” to assist in home management of the iPad.

OFFICE OF THE E-SAFETY COMMISSIONER:

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

An excellent Federal Government cyber-safety website.

CYBERSAFETY SOLUTIONS:

https://www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au/parents/

Susan McLean – ex-Victorian Policewoman.

Website includes downloadable fact sheets, online session info and other resources.

KIDSHEALTH INTERNET SAFETY:

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/net-safety.html

Basic Guidelines to help parents get started, as well as possible warning signs of issues for parents to be aware of.

CYBER SAFETY PROJECT:

https://cybersafetyproject.com.au/families/

An online training site (paid sections) to engage parents and the wider community to assist in fostering a positive and safe digital environments in the home.

Kind regards,

Mr Heath Nankivell

Assistant Principal

To the students, parents, teachers, and staff of St Thomas Primary School.

I would like to send you a brief message to ‘thank you’ for all your prayers, love and concern whilst I battle with Cancer. The past 2 months have not been easy for me or my family, nor for the parish/school community. But knowing that you are there has made the burden lighter. So ‘thank you’ from my heart.

Please know that you are all in my prayers, and I look forward to returning to active ministry as soon as the specialists allow me, sometime in 2024. I cannot attend neither the school Christmas carols nor the graduation this year, know I will be there in spirit.

God bless and keep you safe.

May St Thomas bless our school and parish.

Fr Wayne

Parish Priest

The Jesse Tree holds a special significance for us.

The Jesse Tree and the Advent calendar are both linked to the Advent season, but they are different. Although both are associated with Advent and used to mark the days leading up to Christmas, they have distinct purposes and practices. The Advent calendar is often used to count down the days with small treats, while the Jesse Tree is a way to reflect on the biblical narrative leading to the birth of Jesus.

The Jesse Tree holds a special significance for us, as it is a meaningful and spiritually enriching practice during Advent, allowing us to deepen our faith, reflect on God's plan of salvation, and prepare our hearts to welcome the newborn Saviour on Christmas day.

The Jesse Tree is a visual way to journey through the Old Testament and reflect on the biblical events, prophecies, and figures that foretold the coming of the Messiah. It serves as a symbolic representation of history. It helps us to connect the dots between the Old Testament and the New Testament, showing how God's plan for salvation unfolded over centuries and ultimately climaxed in the birth of Jesus.

During Advent, you can meditate on a different Old Testament character or event represented by a symbol or ornament on the Jesse Tree each day. This practice will allow you to reflect on the significance of each particular story and its connection to the fulfilment of God's promises in Christ.

Parents can use the Jesse Tree as part of their Advent traditions. It offers an excellent chance to gather together daily, read from Scripture, and discuss stories of hope and faith from the Old Testament. It can be a precious tool to teach children about the biblical narrative and the significance of Jesus' birth. Just as Advent is a season of anticipation and waiting for the arrival of the Christ Child, the Jesse Tree reinforces the sense of expectation and hope. Each day, as a new symbol is added to the tree, we are reminded of the growing anticipation of Christ's coming into the world.

By Christmas, the Jesse Tree is fully adorned with symbols and ornaments, symbolising the complete story and celebration of Jesus' birth. It helps us to transition from the season of Advent to the joyous celebration of Christmas.

We are thrilled to share some wonderful news from our Pre-primary students who have been actively involved in planning and transforming their garden into a magical space filled with creativity and nature's beauty.

The Pre-primary students recently embarked on an exciting journey of envisioning and planning what they wanted for their garden. After thoughtful deliberation, they decided that their outdoor space needed more greenery, a vegetable garden, stepping stones, and, of course, some homes for the fairies.

We are delighted to express our gratitude to Bunnings Claremont for their generous support. They not only ran an engaging workshop with our Early Childhood students but also generously donated all the necessary supplies to bring the students' dreams to life.

The Pre-primary students enthusiastically engaged in various activities, including painting, and constructing charming fairy homes. Their hands-on involvement extended to planting a vibrant vegetable garden and an array of colourful flowers.

As part of our commitment to providing a high-quality early childhood education, we align our activities with the Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) second edition curriculum. This framework directs the fostering of agency, participation, and voice in young students, playing a role in shaping their learning environments.

For those interested in exploring the EYLF curriculum further, you can find the second edition document here.

Since 2021 Saint Thomas’ has embraced the Highway Heroes program to improve student resilience and social intelligence. We have already seen huge improvements at Saint Thomas’, as students use strategies taught in class to deal with difficult social situations that arise in everyday life. Evidence of this improvement can be seen in the 2023 School Climate Survey where trends indicated an improvement from students, parents, and teachers in areas of wellbeing, student behaviour and students' ability to seek help when they deem necessary.

This Term Year 4 have embarked on making the strategies used in Highway Heroes real! The program constantly refers to using “tools” from your “toolbox” to deal with social situations. So, this term the Year 4 class were all given a strategy previously taught with the task of creating a small, tangible object that reminds students of a Highway Hero strategy. The strategies are displayed in a fun and child-friendly manner. Our aim is that these tool boxes will be left in the playground for students to use when they find themselves in a difficult social situation.

Charlie said, “I really enjoyed building the 3-D models and doing STEM in class."

Ha said, “I really enjoyed making the tangible tools for Highway Heroes. Ewa and I did the CPR method. CPR stands for Confidence, Persistence and Resilience.”

Mr Liam Godsall

Year 4 Teacher

It was wonderful to acknowledge and say thank you to all our volunteers this year with a morning tea. Your time and support is greatly valued and appreciated.

We have a very limited number of positions available across the school in a variety of year levels. Please contact the administration office for further information.

We are currently undertaking enrolments and conducting interviews for 3 Year Old Kindy 2024. Please make sure that you let your family and friends know and if you have a sibling, please ensure that you have completed an enrolment form. There are very few spaces for 2024 remaining so please make this a priority for your family. Please contact the office if you require more information or refer to our school website.

Term Four is upon us and Christmas time is fast approaching. This is the time when we start collecting for the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Hampers. The Mini Vinnies Team led by Mrs Pitcher and Mrs Sullivan are coordinating the Christmas Appeal.

The VDP society helps to provide hope, comfort and dignity to families who require extra assistance during the festive season. 2023 has been a difficult year and Christmas will be especially challenging. All our donations are distributed to families in our local community.

Due to the nature of the season, Christmas can be a particularly emotional time of year where feelings of disappointment, failure and isolation can be heightened. We hope you will help bring ’Christ into Christmas” and generously donate non -perishable items to our appeal. Baskets are placed in each classroom and in the Front Office.

The Advisory Council met for its final meeting of 2023 on 7 November.

We were joined by Clare McIlree and Sarah van Bockxmeer for an update on the P&F. After a three-year hiatus due to COVID, it was great to hear that the Grandparent’s day was a such a great community-building event with over 150 grandparents and parents attending the liturgy, followed by morning tea and classroom visits. We were also informed that the P&F’s financials are in a healthy state, and that the 2024 committee has already been established.

Mary Courtney provided an update on the school’s finances which are also in good order. Our 2024 enrolments are currently at 235 kids including pre kindy. The 2024 budget has been set following a rigorous consultation process with CEWA and discussions with the finance sub-committee, and was endorsed by the Advisory Council.

A highlight of the principal’s report was the success of the inaugural Year 6 Canberra Tour. Students participated in guided tours of many Canberra institutions including Parliament House, The National Gallery, the War Memorial and the Australian Institute of Sport. These hands-on learning opportunities brought classroom concepts to life and deepened their understanding of the topics covered in the Western Australian curriculum. A big thank you to Mrs Lila Gibbs for organising the tour.

The Grounds and Maintenance sub-committee updated us on steps being taken to fix the Lower Primary entry/playground area. More details will follow in the new year.

Finally, it was wonderful to hear about the very positive response to the 2023 Climate Curvey. The results showed an improvement against the 2021 survey in the categories of (i) catholic identity, (ii) the childrens’ experience (which include staff support and engaging environment) and (iii) parents’ experience (which include communication and overall satisfaction with the school).

Overall, the Advisory Council feels that St Thomas is finishing 2023 in great shape. We have welcomed many new students and parents to the school, we have an engaged teaching staff and a strong P&F community, and St Thomas continues offer of a wide array of extra-curricular activities for such a small school.

Finally, it was the last Advisory Council meeting for two members, Paul Indaimo and myself, as our kids finish grade 6 and move on to high school. It has been a pleasure to sit on the Advisory Council over the last five years and to collaborate with other parents who willingly offer their time and experience to assist the school’s leadership team in providing the best possible education for all the students at St Thomas. Paul and I wish the Advisory Council all the best on its future deliberations under the very able leadership of our chair, Susan Swift.

Peter Lorbeer

Chair of Finance, Advisory Council

We have two members of the School's Advisory Council who will be finishing at the end of 2023. So we will therefore be asking for nominations to join the AC from 2024.

The Advisory Council plays an important role in supporting Natalia, the leadership team and the school with a number of responsibilities

1) Strategic planning

2) Oversight of the financial management of the school

3) Capital development and planning

4) Upholding culture and values of the school.

The advisory council meets at least 6/7 times per year. Meetings commence at 7pm (either online or face to face) and are held in the school library.

We are only a small team, so we are seeking:

One role- Secretary, who will replace Paul Indaimo, who has been the secretary for the past 5 years.

Second position will be vacated by Peter Lorbeer who has also been a member for 5 years. Ideally someone from a legal or finance background would be welcomed as Peter is Chair of the Finance Committee plus provides governance advice to the council.

The term is for 3 years for a maximum of 6 years.

A huge thank you to both Paul and Peter who have provided enormous value through their contribution to the Advisory Council and the progress of the school, since they were elected to the AC in 2018.

If you would like to nominate then voting will occur at the school's annual AGM on November 21st at 6pm. Nominations can be made by completing the form below:

ADVISORY COUNCIL NOMINATION FORM

Nominations will close on November 20th at 5pm.

If you are interested in finding more about the Advisory Council, then please contact Susan Swift (Chair) on skswift@westnet.com.au or 0427778759 or Natalia Thomson (Principal) on natalia.thomson@cewa.edu.au or 9286 9500.

Please note the following important dates:

• Last delivery to schools is Friday 8 December.
• Last delivery date for home deliveries for orders received up to Friday 15 December is Tuesday 19 December
• Online orders received from Monday 18 December will be delivered from Monday 17 January 2024

All children commencing Pre Primary will need to wear the St Thomas' Primary sports uniform and children moving from Pre Primary to Year One will commence wearing the formal school uniform. Please ensure you are aware of uniform requirements, prior to purchase.

https://www.stthomas.wa.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Uniform-Policy-2023-2.pdf

If you have a Kindy child moving to Pre Primary or a Pre Primary child moving to Year one and would like to try on uniforms for sizing prior to purchase please contact the Uniform Shop Coordinator on: mailto:8205svc_uniform@cewa.edu.au

The P&F uniform shop is also always happy to receive any good quality secondhand uniforms for resale. Please leave items with the front desk. The secondhand uniform shop will be open closer to the commencement of the 2024 school year. The date will be advertised in future newsletters.

Sharon Seaman

Physical Education Specialist Teacher

Instrumental music lessons are available at St Thomas' Primary. Children can learn voice, keyboard, piano, violin, drums, guitar and flute. Please contact the school office for a music form if your child is interested in commencing music lessons in 2023.

At St Thomas', we are keen to start a school community directory to support the family and friends of our school. If you have a small business that you would like to share, promote and support, please complete the form on this LINK

• TERM 1
• Wednesday 1 February - Thursday 6 April
• TERM 2
• Wednesday 26 April – Friday 30 June
• TERM 3
• Tuesday 18 July – Thursday 21 September
• TERM 4
• Monday 09 October – Friday 8 December

Pupil free days:

Monday 24 April

Friday 2 June

Monday 17 July

Friday 18 August

Friday 22 September

Public Holidays

Monday 6 March (Labour Day)

Friday 7 April (Good Friday)

Tuesday 25 April (ANZAC Day)

Monday 5 June (WA Day)

Monday 25 September (Kings birthday)

Email: admin@stthomas.wa.edu.au
Website: stthomas.wa.edu.au
Location: 8 Warden Street Claremont WA 6010
Phone: (08 9286 9500
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stthomasprimaryschoolclaremont
Twitter: @StThomasCPS