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St Thomas' News
17 June 2021
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.
Important Dates
TERM TWO
18 June - Winter Lightning Carnival Yrs 5 & 6
18 June - St Thomas' Quiz Night
22 June - Talent Show hosted by Year 6 - students only
23 June - Academic Allstars Y5
24 June - Crazy Sock Day- gold coin donation
25 June - Sacrament of Eucharist Y4 @ 5:30 pm
29 June - Yr 3 Firefighters Visit
30 June - EduDance Concert
01 July - St Thomas' Feast Day Mass 9am
02 July - Final day of Term Two
03 - 18 July - School Holidays
TERM THREE
19 July - Staff PD - Pupil Free Day
20 July - Students Commence Term Three
First Holy Communion Prayer
Dear God,
I know that You give me many gifts. The gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ in Holy Communion is the greatest of all. How can I ever thank You enough for this special gift? We are called to be like Jesus, by loving and serving one another in the world. As I become more like Him, please continue to help me. Show me the places and ways that I can bring Your love, kindness, and peace to others…. in my family, in my neighbourhood, in my community, with my friends. I ask this in Jesus’ name.
Amen
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear Parents and Friends
Dear Parents & Caregivers
Every day I am amazed at the wonderful talents of the students at St Thomas’. Seeing the auditions for the Talent Show and the wonderful work in the classrooms is inspiring. This week, we have been fortunate to have Catholic Education photographers in our school taking photos and video to update our website and promotional material.
First Holy Communion
Sr Catherine Warner, one of our Presentation Sisters, facilitated the Sacramental Retreat for our Year 4 students on Wednesday. I ask that you join me in praying for all the Year 4 students who are about to receive the Eucharist for the first time. May they know Christ’s love and joy everyday of their lives and may the light of Christ always shine upon them and their families. A big thank you to Father Wayne and Mr Nankivell for preparing the students throughout the semester.
Interschool Chess
Twelve students ranging from Years 2-6 represented St Thomas’ at the Interschool Chess Competition recently. Hosted by St Pauls in Mt Lawley, it was fascinating to see the mastery and skills of the students throughout the competition. Students placed a creditable third with only three points separating first and third position. Congratulations to all our Chess Champions and thank you to Mrs Keatch for teaching and leading our Chess program.
Year 5 Assembly
Congratulations to the Year 5 students for an amazing performance in their class assembly. The theme ‘We can all be heroes!’ was valuable message to us all. A big thank you to Mr Godsall and Mrs Herbert for preparing the students and to our Year 5 parents for your support and attendance at the assembly.
Introducing ‘Tiny Toms’
In our early years’ programs at St Thomas’ Primary, we aim to cultivate a love of learning and discovery. In addition to our Pre-Kindergarten to Year 6 programs, we are introducing a ‘Tiny Toms’ 0-3 years program to introduce children and their parents to the school environment.
Children will be offered the chance to explore the classroom environment whilst also participating in a wide range of sensory learning and play experiences. designed and facilitated by our Early Childhood Trained Educator Mrs Brianna Kirkbride. Children aged between 0-3 years old, and their parents/caregivers are invited to join us.
‘Tiny Toms’ will run each Wednesday morning from 9:00am – 10:15am in the Pre-Kindergarten classroom commencing on Wednesday 21 July. The program is offered to our St Thomas’ families and families from the wider community. Please call Mrs Wray on 9286 9500 or email admin@stthomas.wa.edu.au to register your interest.
ICAS Assessments
St Thomas’ Primary School will again be participating in the world-renowned International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) this year. ICAS is designed to target students’ higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science and Digital Technologies. Students from Years 2-6 are eligible to enter the ICAS Competition. Please see details below on instructions on how to participate.
St Thomas’ Feast Day Mass
We are celebrating our Feast Day on Thursday 1 July with a Mass in the Church commencing at 9am. The Year 2 children will be leading us in prayer. All parents and friends are welcome to attend.
Quiz Night
A big thank you to Bianca Della Vedova and the P & F team for organising the Quiz Night on Friday evening. This promises to be a fantastic event with money raised going towards our Robotics program.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend
God bless
Natalia Thomson
Principal
Pre-Kindergarten/Kindergarten 2022 & 2023
Enrolments are now being taken for siblings and new students wishing to commence Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten at St Thomas’ in 2022 and 2023. Kindergarten places are limited so it is important that parents within the St Thomas’ School community submit their applications as soon as possible. Application forms can be obtained from the office.
ICAS Assessments 2021 Participation
ICAS Assessments are online. This allows greater accessibility for students and faster delivery of results.
You are invited to choose all or any of the competitions for your child to sit.
In 2021, payment for the online assessments can be done via the Parent Payment Portal.
If you would like your child to participate in any of the subjects listed below, please visit the online Parent Payment System to make a direct payment to UNSW Global and to nominate the assessments you would like your child to participate in. The Parent Payment System is a simple and secure online payment service specifically for parents to purchase ICAS Assessments.
The web link is: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps
Our school’s unique access code is: MXG109
Online payment closes Friday, 2 July 2021.
IMPORTANT: Please enter your child’s name accurately into the System as it will appear on their ICAS certificate.
Subject Year Levels eligible to sit the assessment sitting dates @ St Thomas’ Primary School
ICAS Science
Years 2-6 (Online) 24/25 August
ICAS Digital Technologies
Years 3-6 (Online) 10 /11 August
ICAS English
Years 2-6 (Online) 17/18 August
ICAS Mathematics
Years 2-6 (Online) 17/18 September
Parents are also encouraged to visit the ICAS website unsw.global/ICAS to gather more background information on these competitions and to access practice items to help your child prepare for the competition. You may purchase practice papers or Mrs Keatch and I have past papers you are welcome to borrow.
Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have any questions.
Natalia Thomson
Principal
School Jumpers
If you have a child in years 1 to 6 who is reluctant to wear the jumper this may be a good option for you.
Bishops' Religious Literacy Assessment (BRLA)
At the request of the Western Australian Bishops, Year 3, Year 5 and Year 9 students in Catholic schools across Western Australia will take part in The Bishops’ Religious Literacy Assessment (BRLA) from 4-6 August in Term Three. The assessment is taken online in a similar manner to NAPLAN assessments. The BRLA is a large-scale, standardised assessment developed by Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA).
The purpose of the BRLA is to measure student learning of the content in the WA Religious Education curriculum. Formal school and student reports are produced by CEWA and will become available later in the year. The BRLA provides a ‘point in time’ snapshot of students’ knowledge and understanding of the content of the RE curriculum. Students’ faith is not assessed.
The use of the BRLA complements the school-based assessment programs of Religious Education units of work. If you would like further information, or you believe your child should be exempt from this assessment, please contact Mr Heath Nankivell to discuss further.
SACRAMENT OF EUCHARIST
Year Four students have been busily preparing to receive the Sacrament of Eucharist next Friday, 25 June in St Thomas the Apostle Church. The mass will begin at 5:30pm, all school community members are welcome to attend this special occasion. Yesterday, Wednesday 16 June, all Year Four students took part in a Eucharist retreat in the school hall with Sr Catherine. The purpose of the retreat was to explore the Eucharist at a deeper level and engage with bible stories, an understanding of the sacred vessels used at Eucharistic celebrations, and to grow along their individual faith journey whether receiving the sacrament or not.
Sr Catherine Warner facilitated the discussions and activities, and was most complimentary of the students’ willingness to engage in these discussions, particularly the question and answer session amongst each other regarding the bible stories studied. The knowledge and understandings the students had developed through the previous few weeks’ Religious Education unit of work concerning Eucharist had set them up well to take their learning further, at their own individual level. Thank you to all those involved in the day, particularly Sr Catherine for leading the Year Fours in this important content.
TRAMPOLINE STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Hamish Lorbeer, Year Four, recently qualified for, and competed in, the State Championships for Trampolining. Hamish placed 1st in ‘Double Mini Trampoline’; 1st in ‘Trampolining’; and 2nd in ‘Synchronised Trampolining’ in the Under 11. Well done Hamish!
Kind regards
Mr Heath Nankivell
Assistant Principal
Our Student Leaders
On Thursday, 20th of May, the Student Leaders attended the GRIP conference at the Perth Convention Centre. There were five speakers from ECU that explained leadership. They learnt about the 5 I’s to make a plan and played fun games. They talked about bright ideas and made plans to make a change in our school. Some brilliant ideas were re-doing the toilets, having a talent show and interacting more with the junior kids. They enjoyed it and wished to go again.
Sophie, Erin, Anthony, Christian (School Leaders)
Edudance Concert
Edudance lessons are in full swing preparing for the concert at Loretto Performing Arts Centre on Wednesday 30th June. Children will need to be dropped off at 5pm for the rehearsal. There will be Tea, Coffee, and refreshments served in the Undercover area for parents during this time. The concert will start at 6pm. The Edudance Costume List is included in this week's newsletter. Any queries please contact your class teacher or Mrs Sullivan.
St Thomas Day Celebrations 1st July.
We are looking forward to celebrating mass at 9pm in the church for St Thomas' Day. The mass is being led by the Year 2 students and we look forward to welcoming the Presentation sisters who will be attending this special occasion. We warmly welcome parents and the community to join us.
The children will them be having an exciting day of rotation activities- bouncy castle, sport, art and music stations with their buddies. We thank the P & F for providing a sausage sizzle( Gluten Free options are available) and juice box lunch. The school will provide Icy Poles. This will be a wonderful way to celebrate the end of Term 2.
We are keeping in our thoughts and prayers the children in year 4 who are preparing for the Sacrament of Eucharist on Friday 25th at 5.30pm. Children who are attending can join the choir for the event( you don't have to be a member of the choir, younger siblings are welcome).
Wishing you a blessed week,
Mrs Sullivan
Assistant Principal
Mini Vinnies Winter Appeal 🌟
Thank you to the St Thomas community for your generous donations! We have donated over 60 blankets, and lots of socks, scarves and gloves to Vincent de Paul and Homeless WA.
With the recent cold weather, they will very much be appreciated by those in need.
Congratulations to our Merit Award Winners
Value of the Week - Truth
Every week at Monday morning gathering, students are reminded of our school values and how we can make them visible throughout the school and in our daily lives. This week, students are being rewarded for showing Truth. Congratulations to all our students who continuously live out our school values:
EXCELLENCE
INCLUSIVITY
TRUTH
COMPASSION
COMMUNITY
UN Youth Listening Tour
On 25 May, we were invited to attend the UN Youth 'Listening Tour' This was an excellent opportunity for students like us to provide feedback on important local and global issues.
We got to an inspiring person who represented the Australian Youth for the United Nations. Lucy Stronach is travelling all around Australia to give children like us an opportunity to voice our concerns about our planet and how our world is being governed. Ms Stronach inspired us to think that we can make a difference by talking about what we want for the future.
Eight other schools joined us. It was fantastic to have the opportunity to listen to the concerns of the other school leaders. We found it interesting to know that we shared the same problems for our environment, the economy, human rights, and children's rights. We all agreed that it was important that children should have opportunities to share their concerns for our world.
On the day, we shared the following concerns:
• What do we do about the overfishing and poaching in our oceans?
• How do we make sure that all First Nation children get a good education?
• How do we stop relying on the export of our natural resources for paying our debts?
• Are we able to deal with future pandemics?
We want to thank Mrs Thomson for allowing us to be part of the United Nations Youth gathering to represent our school.
Year 6 Student Leaders
Christian L., Anthony C., Erin M. & Sophie C.
The P&F All Out '80s Quiz Night is here!
You can still donate to our St Thomas Robotics Program even if you are not attending the Quiz Night. Here is some helpful information for those coming along.
What are we raising money for?
Robotics is a key part of our St Thomas STEM program. An ambitious $24,000 new program has been designed ensuring all our students have access to the latest technology and teaching, as well as keeping student to robot ratios low. Each robot costs between $240 - $290 and the School is hoping to purchase 10 robots for our Pre Primary and Year 1 classes, and 15 robots for every class from Year 2 - 6.
Can't make it but would like to donate?
If you are unable to attend the Quiz Night but would like to make a donation, a direct donation can be made via Direct Deposit to the following account:
Account Name: St Thomas P&F
Account Number: 456601832
BSB: 086-006
Reference: Robot [Surname]
If you would like your donation to fund or partly fund a robot for a particular year group, please email stthomas.rsvp2021@gmail.com with your family surname and the relevant year group/s. Donations made via Direct Deposit directly to our Robotics Program are tax deductible. Please email stthomas.rsvp2021@gmail.com if you require a tax receipt.
Some reminders for the Quiz Night
- Doors to the Quiz open at 7pm this Friday, 18 June at the Claremont Bowling Club. The Quiz will kick off at 7.30pm.
- Tables are welcome to BYO food. No BYO on drinks. Drinks are available at the bar at Member's prices.
- Dig out that 80s gear and channel your favourite 80s fashion, pop stars, movies and bands! Prize for Best Dressed!
- In between rounds there will be some fun games to buy into. Please bring some smaller notes and change on the night.
Silent Auction
There will be a Silent Auction held on the evening with a range of fantastic items up for auction. Eftpos will be available. Deepest thanks to those within our School community who have generously donated prizes or Silent Auction items.
Thank you!
We are so grateful for the support this initiative and event has already received from our community both financial and otherwise - thank you! So let's dig deep for our kids this Friday night and have some fun while doing so!
St Thomas P&F
How to give kids feedback for improvement
It can be tempting to allow children to continue to behave badly or to perform chores, homework or sports practice poorly when they argue or resist feedback. Parents need to be part coach, teacher and counsellor so that kids learn how to behave well, develop healthy attitudes to learning and know how to get the best out of themselves. Feedback is one of the most effective tools we have to achieve this. Give it poorly and it will at best be ignored and at worst, rupture relationships and damage self-worth. If you provide feedback effectively, you’ll see improvement in behaviour, attitudes and learning, even among feedback resistant teens.
Here’s how to deliver feedback to make sure it sticks.
Make it specific
It’s absolutely essential to give feedback about one behaviour, skill or attitude at a time, if you want improvement. “Jai, if you make eye contact with your brother when you talk to him, he’s more likely to listen to you.” The feedback needs to be specific rather generalised so that a child or teen knows exactly how to do better. It also needs to be delivered in a non-judgemental way.
Ensure it’s descriptive
“That’s not the way to behave inside” doesn’t help much. “Use your quiet voice when you play inside the house” cues a child into how to behave. Use phrases and terms that have real meaning for kids rather than vague, non-descriptive language such as ‘be a good girl’, so kids not only know what’s expected but they understand how to meet your expectations.
It’s got to be timely
Providing feedback to a toddler half an hour after they’ve thrown a tantrum in public will ensure there’s no impact. On the other hand, providing behavioural feedback when a teenager is angry will ensure one thing – you’ll have an argument on your hands. Feedback needs to be fairly immediate for young children and if possible, provided before an event or activity. “When you set the table put the fork on this side and the knife on the other.” Choose the time and place to provide feedback to older children, remembering that angry tweens and teens generally don’t listen.
Give from a place of calm
Angry parents generally deliver feedback poorly to kids. Regardless of how well you choose your words and how accurate your feedback may be, feedback delivered angrily will prompt the flight/fight response from a child or young person. They will ignore you or start an argument, but they won’t take your message on board when you’re mad at them.
Give sparingly
When children require approval for every scribble, homework problem and picture they draw, it’s probably because they have always been offered feedback on every scribble, homework problem and picture they draw. It’s vital that children develop their own internal sense of validation and honest self-assessment, because as they grow up and face hardship, they need to be able to look to themselves for strength and approval. If they can’t, they will be much more vulnerable to superficial external approval that comes their way in the form of peer pressure, bullying and the usual social jostling. As you wean them off of your feedback, turn their “Mummy, is this picture good?” or “Dad, did I do a good job?” back on them, and ask them how they feel about their work.
Feedback is a wonderful parenting tool that requires attention to detail, sensitivity and a willingness to respect the dignity of the child or young person who is receiving it. It’s also most effective when given sparingly, rather than like a nervous tic, which keeps kids anchored to you for approval.
Source: Parenting Ideas, Michael Grosse.
Lets meet the staff at St Thomas'!
Position: Year 5 Teacher
Interests: Liverpool, anything sport related and hiking
Football Team: West Coast Eagles
Favourite Food: Spaghetti Bolognese
Currently Reading: The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
Favourite Holiday Destination: Japan or New Zealand (anywhere you can ski!)
Favourite Movie: Inception
Favourite Quote: "It's a trap" - Star Wars
SPORTS NEWS
WINTER LIGHTNING CARNIVAL - Friday 18th June
Information
· Bus departs at 9.00am, please ensure you child arrives to school on time and bus returns for 3pm, traffic permitting.
· Each team will be accompanied by an adult and there will be a staff member at each venue. Thank you to those parents who are assisting on the day as coaches, Oscar Dominguez, Jacob Burns, Gemma Grosse and Melissa Trend.
· This is a winter carnival and will proceed as planned unless weather is forecast to be dangerous. Students need to be prepared to play in the rain and should ensure they bring warm clothes/waterproof jackets as required for between games and for the journey home at the end of the day.
· There are no canteen facilities at the venues – ensure they bring plenty of water, food and snacks for the day.
Uniform and footwear
o Students will wear interschool sport uniforms that has been provided to the child. Those that play Netball on Saturdays are to wear the St Thomas Netball dress.
o ALL UNIFORMS (Unless playing in the Saturday Netball competitions) are to be retuned washed and returned back to school the week after in the bag that was provided to them to either Mrs Wray or Mrs Seaman on Thursday and Fridays. Damage or loss of a uniform will incur a fee for a replacement.
o Students playing soccer or AFL may choose to wear football boots
o Mouthguards are compulsory for AFL, optional for soccer
o Shin guards – Soccer, students can borrow a pair and they are to be returned at the conclusion of the day.
o Netball – nails cut and all jewellery removed
· Presentations – at the conclusion of the day at 2pm. It is expected that all students remain at their venue until the conclusion of the presentations.
· Collecting students – If parents are taking home their child directly from the venue they must speak with the teacher in charge and get their name ticked off. We appreciate parental support with this as it causes concern when we can’t locate children who have not been ‘ticked’ off the list.
· Do not bring valuables – no iPad, phones etc. Please leave them at home.
Looking forward to a wonderful day of shared competition.
SPORTING SCHOOLS – GYMNASTICS YEARS K-2
Over the past 4 weeks students from Kindy to Year 2 have been participating in Gymnastics sessions run by qualified coaches from Northern Districts Gymnastics Club using the money we have received from the government through sporting schools. The children have thoroughly enjoyed the sessions building on skills they have learnt previously. If you are interested in further improving your child’s Fundamental Movement skills, body posture, strength and core please visit their website at https://ndgc.org.au
They also have a winter holiday program as well during the school holidays https://form.jotform.com/211088713712856
AFL Holiday Clinics and Programs Please see the flyer below.
Mrs Sharon Seaman
Physical Education Teacher
2021 Term Dates for Students
Term 2
Tuesday 20 April to Friday 2 July
Term 3
Tuesday 20 July to Thursday 23 September
Term 4
Tuesday 12 October to Friday 10 December
Pupil Free Days
Monday 19 April
Friday 4 June
Monday 19 July
Friday 24 September
Monday 11 October
St Thomas' Primary School
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