St Thomas' News

Lots of creative and colourful creations! Raising money for the Leukaemia Foundation.

TERM FOUR

Thursday 29 October: Cyber Safety Information for parents 6-7 pm

Friday 30 October: Y6 Confirmation 5:30 pm

Tuesday 3 November - Board Meeting

Wednesday 04 November: Interschool Chess Competition

Saturday 07 - Sunday 08 November - Y6 - Ledge Point Weekend

Friday 13 November: Yrs 5 & 6 Cricket & Tennis Carnival

Saturday 14 November: St Thomas' Party

Monday 16 November: Night of the Notables - selected Y4-6

Tuesday 17 November: Volunteers Morning Tea - by invitation

Monday 23 November - Friday 04 December: Swimming PP - Y6

Thursday 26 November: AGM 7 pm

Friday 27 November: School Disco

Tuesday 08 December: Christmas Concert

Wednesday 09 December: Graduation Mass & Graduation Dinner

Monday 7 December: Reports issued

Friday 11 December: End of school year for students

Lord, You send out Your Spirit to touch the hearts of all people,

so that they may believe in You and in Jesus whom You sent.

Look kindly on all candidates for Confirmation

as they listen to Your voice.

Open their hearts to Your Spirit and bring to fulfilment

the good work that You have begun in them.

As we prepare these children for Confirmation,

make each of us an instrument of Your love.

Teach us to appreciate what is holy in others,

and to be patient with what we do not understand.

Deepen our faith in the Gospel and help us to pass it on by our example.

We pray that You will continue to guide us and sustain us.

Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

World Teachers Day

Today we celebrate ‘World Teacher’s Day’.

World Teachers’ Day celebrates the work of teachers, acknowledging the important contribution they make to the community. The day allows students, parents and community members to show their appreciation for teachers and the positive impact they make on society. I am extremely proud of our teachers and staff for the way they adapted to the needs of our students during the uncertainty earlier in the year.

Congratulations Mrs Valentine!

Mrs Valentine was recognised for her service to teaching in Catholic Education at a recent award ceremony at Crown Perth. She was presented with a certificate recognising 30 years of service by the Minister for Education and Training, the Hon. Sue Ellery BLA MLC. We are so proud to have Mrs Valentine on our St Thomas’ team. Her dedication and passion for educating the whole child is exemplary.

Welcome Mr Nankivell - Assistant Principal 2021

On behalf of the school community, I am pleased to announce that Mr Heath Nankivell will be joining St Thomas' Staff as Assistant Principal in 2021. Heath has a wealth of experience across a number of schools including Mary Mackillop College and Aquinas College.

Welcome Mrs Billingham - Finance Officer

Mrs Penny Billingham will be joining our Finance Team next week. She has a wealth of experience in Finance and working in schools. Penny will be working with Leanne Hancock and Julie Wray in the front office. We welcome Penny to St Thomas'.

Sacrament of Confirmation

Our Year Six Students participated in a retreat on Wednesday in preparation to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation this Friday 30 October. We are grateful to Sr Catherine Warner, one of Presentation Sisters for facilitating this Retreat. Confirmation marks the continuation of the journey first begun at Baptism. During Confirmation candidates receive the gift of the Holy Spirt and are strengthened in their faith. A big thank you to Mrs Gibbs for preparing our students.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Congratulations to our Year Three students who received their First Reconciliation earlier this week. This sacrament is one of love, forgiveness and healing, marking a significant step in the spiritual journey of our students. Many thanks to Father Wayne and Mrs Sullivan for preparing our students.

Interschool Cross Country Carnival

Congratulations to our Interschool Cross Country Team who placed 1st Overall, 1st Overall Girls (Years 3-6) and 3rd most improved school in 2020, a massive achievement. Students and staff were so excited. A big thank you to Mrs Seamen for preparing and organising the event and to all the helpers on the day.

Please view results below.

iPad Program 2021

On Tuesday, our Year 2 parents were invited to a meeting to outline the 1:1 iPad program for Year 3 students. Parents have the option to buy or lease their iPads which will be managed by the school. Specifications and requirements will be forwarded to parents.

Dad’s Camp Out

A wonderful weekend was had by all at the Dad’s Camp Out in Dwellingup. A big thank you to Joep Vaessen for co-ordinating the Campout and to all the Dads who who assisted with the organisation. Please view photos and information below.

Annual General Meeting (AGM) - SAVE THE DATE

The 2020 AGM will be held on Thursday 26 November at 7pm. At this meeting, staffing for the 2021 school year will be announced. All parents and friends are invited to attend.

Expressions of Interest for 2021 - St Thomas’ School Board

We are seeking nominations for the 2021 Board. Please consider if this is something you would like to do. Board meetings are held once a month and the Annual General Meeting is held in November. Nominations will close on Friday 14 November. Interested Parents can nominate themselves by using the link below to complete the Expression of Interest Form.

https://bit.ly/37OrPpJ

May God bless your week

Natalia Thomson

Principal

Christmas Hampers

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 society helps to provide hope, comfort and dignity to families who require extra assistance during the festive season. 2020 has been a very 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.

Romily House

Romily House is a hostel that provides supported accommodation to adults with a severe and persistent mental illness. They have 90 residents at present (65 males, 25 females). We collect items to give each resident a Christmas present. We hope that the School Choir will again present a Christmas Concert to the residents in Week 7 (subject to Covid requirements). The concert is a highlight of the year for the residents. Each class has approx. 10 large snap lock plastic bags to collect items. If families could join together to fill a plastic bag named Male or Female each family would only need to bring in a couple of items. These are some suggestions: Roll on deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, soap, beanies, socks, moisturizer, other personal items or a little Christmas gift (please note: no razors).

Donations are voluntary, we thank you in anticipation of your kindness and generosity. The last date for collection of items will be Friday 27th November.

Thank you

Colour and creativity were a feature of the Book Week Dress Up parade last Wednesday. With the theme 'Curious Creatures, Wild Minds', students were able to articulate why the character of the book they portrayed and participated in Book Week Activities during the day. A big thank you to Mr Wray, Mrs Gibbs and our Year 6 students for organising the parade.

After a missed opportunity in March to get our camp-gear out for the school oval the dad’s took the kids to a magnificent farm property in Dwellingup provided by Deliah Cassidy’s parents. On the 17th of October at 10:00 am the first guests arrived to quickly pitch their tents before going to explore the property, have a dip in the river, go and meet the farm animals, play some footy or mountain bike in the area. While people were arriving the welcoming committee of Tom Cassidy gave everybody instructions at the gate. The Saturday afternoon was filled with activity and relaxation.

Afternoon tea was provided by Peter Telford in his campervan which was filled to the brim with quality food including fresh fruit provided by Chris Adams. Pete you’ve really outdone yourself for this camp-out, well done!

The paper airplane competition was next. Joe Coniglio and John Prichard were the clear winners of this competition with JP setting an inaugural record which will be hard to beat for future camp-outs.

Time for the BBQ and the movie. The shed was the perfect spot to provide a great meal of burgers and sausage in a bun that were well received, gourmet meals at the camp-out!

After the movie we had a small campfire with marshmallows which was fantastic for the kids before it was time for bed. Remarkable effort by the dads on having all the kids asleep at 7:30pm, I’m really proud of the combined effort there all (J)!!

The Sunday morning was crisp but amazing, especially when there is delicious coffee waiting for you including a bacon/egg roll + cinnamon bun from the North Street bakery! What a treat Peter Telford!

We look back at a safe, relaxing and very engaging weekend which has set the standard for camp-outs to come.

We want to thank Deliah Cassidy’s family enormously for their generosity of opening up their property to this group and we hope we are allowed back some day again in the future.

Thank you to all the committee members who have been crucial in making this weekend a success, specifically: Frank DiLatte for organizing the portaloos and audio for the movie, Andrew Biggs for taking care of the movie set-up, Tom Curnow for support in the bbq and managing the tug of war match, JP for being JP (you will be missed!), Tom Cassidy for welcoming everybody and Peter Telford for arranging the most amazing food for the camp!

Thanks to all the other dad’s that have helped out through the day, we hope you enjoyed it. See you next year!! Same date, maybe same place!

Joep Vaessen

Congratulations to the Mimi (Year 4) and her family for organising the North Cottesloe Cold Water Classic to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation. Mimi's inspiring journey can be viewed on https://www.perthnow.com.au/community-news/western-suburbs-weekly/little-girl-who-inspired-north-cottesloe-cold-water-classic-wants-to-enter-the-race-one-day-c-1370032

INTER SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS 2020

This year our Interschool Cross Country carnival ran in Term 4 after we missed it in Term 2 due to COVID. We had 38 students represented the school on Monday 26th October who participated in the Interschool Cross Country Carnival at Dianella Reserve. Students ran as a team in their respective year group.

For the first time in a long time St Thomas’ came 1st overall, 1st Overall Girls (Years 3-6) and 3rd most improved school in 2020 a massive achievement. Well done at all participants as you performed so well as a team on the day and in the lead up training the week before. Thanks to Helen McLennan and Elisabeth Chantler for assisting me at both trainings on the course.

Congratulations to these students who were placed in the top four in their respective year group;

Saskia Brogan (Year 3) – 2nd

Allegra Howard (Year 4) – 4th

Jack Hurst (Year 4) – 3rd

Bastian Dominguez (Year 5) – 2nd

Placings in Years Groups:

Year 3 Girls – 2nd

Year 3 Boys – 3rd

Year 4 Girls – 2nd

Year 4 Boys – 3rd

Year 5 Girls - 5th

Year 5 Boys - 3rd

Year 6 Girls – 3rd

Year 6 Boys – 1st

Congratulations to everyone an awesome team effort, super proud of you all.

UPCOMING EVENTS

JUDO – Friday 6th November

All students in years 1-6 will participate in a Judo session that has been organised on Friday 6th November. Can all students wear their Physical Education uniform on the day please.

Year 5 & 6 Tennis and Cricket Carnival – Friday 13th November – Notes have gone home today.

We require an extra 5 parents who are able to supervise a teams on the day. Cricket require 2 parents and Tennis require 3 parents. All information will be provided to you and if you are able to assist please indicate on the permission form that has gone home or email.

Sharon.seaman@cewa.edu.au

A message from Tess Thuang, event organiser:

Our brave Year 4 students completed the charity bike ride this afternoon and endured
the heat to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House. The students raised $500 and we very enthusiastic about giving back to this wonderful community and helping sick kids.

I was so impressed by the students’ positive attitudes and willingness to make a difference by participating in the charity event. They all displayed great drive and determination to reach their goal and encouraged each other throughout the bike ride. We are all very proud of them!

If you would like to donate for this worthy cause, please access the following link:

https://give.everydayhero.com/au/riding-for-sick-kids-22-september-2020

This term St Thomas' will be taking part in the sustainable recycling incentive,

'Containers for Change'.

Students of the Green Team will be running this as a competition between each class over the course of Term 4, beginning in Week 4.

Containers will be collected in the undercover area in blue buckets and must be rinsed clean before being donated. Only eligible containers are accepted.

Your generosity and effort in contributing to this sustainable competition is greatly appreciated.

The Green Team

We have some places available for 2021 in Pre-Kindergarten. Students can commence in Pre-Kindergarten as soon as they turn three. Please spread the word if you know of other families who are interested in coming to our lovely school.

Thank you to all our families who have paid their 2020 school fees. For those who are not on a authorised payment arrangement we would appreciate payment as soon as possible.

Should you be experiencing financial difficulties please ensure you contact Leanne Hancock on finance@stthomas.wa.edu.au to discuss payment options. All arrangements are strickly confidential.

Enrol in tennis for term 4! The sessions are held before-school (typically 7.45-8.30am) and are a great way to introduce your child to tennis. Book online at www.tennisfactory.com.au/enrol/ click on GROUP LESSON > ST. THOMAS PRIMARY or email us at admin@tennisfactory.com.au

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