Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father
As we come together as a school community,
we pause to offer our heartfelt thanks.
We are grateful for the gift of education
and the opportunity to learn and grow each day.
We thank you for the dedicated teachers and staff who guide and support us with wisdom and patience. We appreciate the friendships we form, the challenges that help us grow,
and the successes that inspire us. For the safe environment that nurtures our minds and spirits, we are deeply thankful. May we continue to embrace each new day with curiosity and courage,
always striving to be our best selves. Let our gratitude shine through our actions,
bringing kindness and respect to everyone we encounter. In Your holy name, we pray.
Amen.
.
Important Dates
TERM 2
Friday 21 June - STPS Disco - PP to Y3 @ 5 - 6:15pm - Y4 to 6 @ 6 - 7:45pm
Saturday 22 June - Dads & kids WAFL Event
Monday 24 June - Semester Reports live to parents
Tuesday 25 June - Drama Production Matinee
Tuesday 25 June - Drama Production 6:30 pm
Wednesday 26 June - Founders Day Mass 9 am
Wednesday 26 June - St Thomas' Feast Day & Founders Day Mass 9am
Wednesday 26 June - Drama Production 6:30pm
Friday 28 June - Term 2 concludes
TERM 3
Monday 15 July - Pupil Free Day
Tuesday 16 July - Term 3 commences
Please remember dates of events can be subject to change
(Full 2024 term dates at the end of this newsletter)
As we journey through another wonderful term, we reflect on the many blessings that fill our school community with joy and purpose. Gratitude is at the heart of our everyday experiences, teaching us to appreciate the countless ways we are supported and loved. In our classrooms, playgrounds, and homes, we see the spirit of Jesus made real through acts of kindness, compassion, and respect.
On Tuesday, we were blessed to have Mr Marty Ogle from ‘Keeping Jesus Real’ facilitate sessions with our students on gratitude and compassion. Students were asked to recognise ‘Spirit of Jesus’ in everyday moments. Please view a summary from Marty Ogle below.
Interschool Debating
We are thrilled to congratulate our Year 5 & 6 students for their outstanding debating skills showcased in the recent school and interschool competitions. A big thank you to Mr Liam Godsall and Mrs Penny Pitcher, for preparing our students. Competing against such strong opponents, our students demonstrated remarkable critical thinking and confidence, making us incredibly proud of their achievements. Well done to all participants for their impressive performances and for representing St. Thomas' Primary School with such excellence.
Academic Allstars
Congratulations to our Year 5 Academic Allstars for being crowned 2024 Interschool Champions. Academic All Stars is a competition where teams from various schools compete in an array of different and complex team challenges. The teams work on engineering, dramatic performance, geographical knowledge, puzzles, logic problems, as well as high level literacy and numeracy tasks. A big thank you to Mrs Lila Gibbs, our Enrichment Co-ordinator for preparing our students for this challenge.
EDUDANCE Concert
Our recent EduDance Concert concluded a nine-week dance program linked to the curriculum. The excitement and energy on stage were contagious, and it was heart-warming to see the smiles and confidence on the smiles of each performer. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Bree, our EduDance educator, for her tireless efforts in organizing and rehearsing with the students, and to our P & F, for organising refreshments prior to the concert. Thank you, parents, for your support with costuming and for ensuring this event celebrated our students' talents and hard work and was for a truly special occasion for everyone involved!
Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company
On Monday afternoon, the Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company visited St Thomas’ with a play titled, “Boodjar Kaatijjin”. Students from Pre-primary to Year 6 were in awe as the performers told a collection of four stories based on Noongar knowledge and storytelling, using mime, puppetry, and actions.
Based on the creation stories, in and around the Perth metropolitan area, the company shared stories from our local region giving students a glimpse into the cultural significance of the places in which we live. Student's learnt about:
· the first sunrise
· the creation of Kings Park
· how the Kangaroo got its colour
· how the Echidna got its spikes, and
· the creation of Wave Rock and the stars.
Founders Day Celebrations
Next Wednesday, we will celebrate Founder's Day at St. Thomas' Primary School, honouring Nano Nagle, and the Presentation Sisters for founding our school in 1908. We will also acknowledge our school namesake, St. Thomas the Apostle, whose Feast Day is on July 3rd. A day of celebration has been organized, where students will participate in activities with their buddies after celebrating Mass with our Presentation Sisters and the school community. Please join us for Mass in the church at 9am.
End of Term 2: Friday 28 June.
As we wrap up another successful term, I extend our heartfelt thanks to all parents and friends for your amazing support and involvement in our school community. Your contributions have been invaluable, and we are deeply grateful.
We wish you all a wonderful and restful holiday. Please note that there is a pupil-free day on Monday, July 15. We look forward to welcoming students back to school for Term 3 on Tuesday, July 16.
May God bless you and your family,
Natalia Thomson
Principal
2024 ICAS
We are delighted to inform you that St Thomas’ Primary School will be participating in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) Assessments again this year.
What is ICAS? ICAS is an online academic competition that gives students the opportunity to challenge their higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, and Digital Technologies.
Every student who participates is celebrated and recognised with a printed certificate in each subject area, and an online results report to track development each year. Top performers are eligible for one of the highly coveted ICAS medals. Students from Years 2-6 are eligible to enter the ICAS Competition.
Details available here: 2024/06/2024-ICAS.pdf
Make Jesus Real (MJR) with Marty Ogle at St Thomas' Claremont.
What a privilege it was to recently work with staff and students thinking about COMPASSION, ‘Making Someone’s Day’and striving to bring JOY to those around us by making good choices. Sadly, many of the students shared that they back chat or talk back at home. We discussed how this can become a habit that creates hardship for parents and carers – AND I reminded them that parenting is a hard job! A few teachers stated that this habit is one that they don’t want to see in the classroom, but sadly it does occur sometimes. The students heard that this behaviour makes both parents and teachers very sad.
Some of the children would have come home with ‘OK’ written on their hands – this is to remind them that when they are asked to help with a chore, stop gaming, going to bed etc that by getting into the habit of saying ‘Ok’ (with a smile), it can create a positive atmosphere at home. This is a much more desired response rather than answering back or saying ‘No!’ We also spoke about ‘Choices’ and that everyone has choices and we must get into the habit of making GOOD decisions based on the values Jesus constantly taught and spoke about. The students were forth-coming with great ideas on how to do this at home, school and in the communities they are involved in with sport, hobbies etc.
We spoke about ‘Spirit of Jesus’ moments that occur all around us – there are so many, we just have to look for them and name them up. Please ask your children about ‘THE MAGIC’ they can create because we had many magic moments during the sessions with the students.
I also had the opportunity to work with the staff in a staff session called ‘Making Jesus real’ and it was amazing to hear and see how much they strive to improve those in their care. They shared many times they had seen the ‘Spirit of Jesus’ moments during the day, week and term and many of us shed a tear on hearing how they want those in their care to fulfil their potential and dreams.
Finally, as a visitor, I must say how impressed I was with the listening and interaction of the students and your school certainly has amazing staff and leadership that strive to bring out the best in your children.
God Bless
Marty Ogle
National MJR Co-ordinator
Sport News
Winter Carnival Results
Congratulations to our Year 5 and 6 students for their participation in the Winter carnival last Thursday. The students displayed outstanding sportsmanship and teamwork throughout the day. Well done to the Year 6 AFL Team who were the overall winners for 2024.
Thank you to Mrs Pitcher, Mr Godsall and Mr Nankivell for their guidance, support, and encouragement on the day and in the lead up with trainings during our Friday Afternoon Sport.
Special thank you to our parent assistants Nick Leather (AFL team 1), Matthew Crofts (AFL Team 2), Irini McGoldrick (Netball), Mario Faguno (Soccer Team A), Nooshin Gorgabi, Thara Karunaratna and Baichin Sun (Soccer Team B) who coached and/or guided the students on the day.
Results:
AFL Team 1 – 1st
AFL Team 2 - 2nd
Netball B – 6th
Soccer team A – 2nd
Soccer team B – 3rd
SPORTING SCHOOLS – GYMNASTICS YEARS PP-2
This term students from Pre Primary to Year 2 have been participating in Gymnastics sessions run by qualified coaches from Starmites 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://www.starmites.com.au
St Thomas’ Netball Club – International Friendly matches against Singapore Netball Academy
On Sunday 9 June a number of our year 3-5 students participated in an International Friendly matches against Singapore Netball Academy which were played at Lords Sports Complex. The year 4 team played against the 11s and under team. Our mixed year 3 / 4 / 5 team played against their 10s and under. The scores were significantly in favour of Singapore Netball Academy, but the girls enjoyed the experience and the competition.
Important dates for Term 3:
St Thomas Athletics Carnival – Friday 30 August (Week 7)
Interschool Athletics Carnival – Tuesday 17 September (Week 10)
Kind regards
Sharon Seaman
Physical Education Specialist Teacher
What has been happening in Year 3?
The Year 3 class have been busy this term! In Health, we have recently been looking at emergency situations, keeping safe and how to respond to unsafe situations.
The Year 3 students were lucky enough to have a visit from the Claremont firefighters to help us learn more!
Firefighter Brian and his team came in two firetrucks to St Thomas’. They gave us a tour of them and even showed us how the siren worked.
The firefighters outlined what the role of a firefighter is, showed us their protective gear and equipment and taught us both how we can play a part in preventing fires and how to keep safe if we are in an emergency. The firefighters provided us with activities to help us revise our school fire drill plan and map out a safe fire emergency plan for us to know in our room and at home. A highlight for the Year 3 students was being able to all take a turn in using the fire hose! Students got to spray these onto the grass and saw how long they can extend to with the help of the firefighters.
We also had some letters and drawings to gift to the firefighters to thank them for their hard work and for keeping the community safe. After the incursion, we wrote recounts and created posters of our learning to display and share with other students.
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
