Prayer
O God of unity
We thank you for the variety of cultures in this world.
Enrich our lives by ever widening circles of friendship and show us your presence in those who are most different from us.
Help us to love and care for each other just as you care and love each one of us.
You call us to live in peace and harmony within our beautiful multicultural country, and may we show true justice as we are called to recognize and respect the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Cultures and societies.
As we walk together, strong in faith on this Harmony Day, let us turn to God with our hopes and prayers.
May all peoples live in peace!
Amen
Important Dates
2023
Term One
Thursday 23 March NAPLAN
Thursday 23 March Interschool Swimming Training
Friday 24 March NAPLAN
Friday 24 March Interschool Swimming Training
Friday 24 March National Ride to School Day
Saturday 25 March Postponed - No Parish Mass/BBQ this week
Monday 28 March - Homework Club
Wednesday 30 March - Drama Club
Thursday 30 March - Interschool Swimming Training
Friday 31 March - Interschool Swimming Carnival Years 3-6 (selected squad)
Monday 03 April Holy Week
Monday 03 April Homework Club
Tuesday 04 April Teacher/Parent Meetings KG, Yrs 1, 3 & 4
Wednesday 05 April Teacher/Parent Meetings PP, Yrs 2,5 & 6
Wednesday 05 April - Drama Club
Thursday 06 April Stations of the Cross 9 am
Thursday 06 April Term One Concludes
TERM TWO
Monday 24 April Pupil Free Day (Staff PD)
Tuesday 25 April ANZAC Day
Wednesday 26 April ANZAC Day Prayer Service
Tuesday 02 May EduDance
Wednesday 03 May Parish Rosary 12 pm - Y6
Wednesday 03 May Parish Mass 12:30 pm - Yrs 3, K & 6
Wednesday 03 May P&F Meeting - all welcome
Friday 05 May - Cross Country Carnival - Years 1-6
Please remember dates of events can be subject to change
(Full 2023 term dates at the end of this newsletter)
Change of Date: Pupil Free Day in Term 2
There has been a change in date for one of our pupil free days in Term 2. This day was originally scheduled for the Tuesday 6 June however, this Pupil Free Day has now moved to the week before, Friday 2 June. This change has been made to accommodate the EduDance program on Tuesdays.
From the Principal
Everyone Belongs
Celebrating diversity was the message of Tuesdays Harmony Day celebrations. Harmony Day was created in 1999 to celebrate unity and diversity. It was originally an Australian celebration, but it is now marked worldwide. Harmony Day is great opportunity for children to learn about the various cultures we have in our school community and a time to reflect on how we are inclusive of all.
Students dressed in their national costume or orange, the colour of Harmony Day, with activities centred on prayer, inclusiveness, and respect, fostering a sense of belonging for everyone. Commencing with a prayer service led by Mr Godsall and the Year 4 students, the day’s activities included a rotation of buddy activities culminating with a treat provided by the P & F.
NAPLAN
Congratulations to the Year 3 & 5 students who have participated in National testing over the last two weeks. Normally scheduled in Term 2 of the school year, NAPLAN testing has been brought forward this year, in the hope that results are available to schools much earlier.
Swimming Carnival – Years 3-6
The recent Year 3-6 Swimming Carnival was a huge success. Congratulations to all students for their participation and encouraging spirit throughout the carnival. A big thank you to Mrs Seaman our Physical Education Specialist for organising this event and to all our staff and parent helpers on the day. Students are now preparing for the Interschool Swimming Carnival on Friday 31 March with before school training several times per week.
POSTPONED – Year 4 Parish Mass/BBQ this Saturday 25 March
Due to the increasing number of students with COVID in the school community, the Parish Mass on Saturday night at 5.30pm will not be led by the Year 4 students. This will be postponed to a later date. Saturday Mass will go ahead as normal however, the school will not be leading this Mass.
New Slip Drive Thru on College Road – 11-25 April
Over the holidays between 11 – 25 April, the Town of Claremont will be installing a slip road outside our school on College Road. This is exciting as it will enable parents to enter the slip road to drop off their children rather than enter onto the basketball courts. Staff will be on duty to assist with pick-ups and drop offs to ensure that all students are safe. More information to follow.
Parent Teacher Meetings – Week 10
These meetings will be held online using the Microsoft TEAMS platform and will enable parents to discuss individual student progress. Parents will be invited to book online and information on this can be viewed below.
From My Readings….
How to encourage kids to be resilient problem-solvers
(By Michael Grose)
If we want our children to grow into resilient adults, we need to stop solving their problems for them. Parenting educator Michael Grose gives his tips to help make kids courageous problem-solvers.
Personal problem-solving is an under-rated skill shared by resilient children and adults. First, identified alongside independence, social connection, and optimism by early resilience-researchers in the US, the ability to solve your own problems is the basis of a child’s autonomy and self-efficacy.
When parents solve all children’s problems, we not only increase their dependency on adults, we also teach kids to be afraid of making mistakes and to blame themselves for not being good enough.
There are ways to raise kids to be courageous problem-solvers rather than self-critical, low risk-takers? Here are six practical ideas to get you started:
1. Turn requests for help into problems for kids to solve.
2. Ask good questions to prompt problem-solving.
3. Coach them through problems and concerns
4. Prepare kids for problems and contingencies.
5. Show a little faith.
6. Applaud mistakes and use these as a learning experience.
To access the full article with further information on the six practical ideas, view HERE
Thank you and God bless
Natalia Thomson
Principal
COVID Reminder
A friendly reminder to keep your child at home if they are feeling unwell. There have been an increasing number of COVID cases within the school community so please monitor your child for any symptoms. If your child does test positive, please keep them at home for at least five days, or until their symptoms disappear. More information on COVID may be found on the WA Health website HERE.
From the Assistant Principal
Interim Reports
On Monday 3 April, parents of students in Kindergarten to Year Six will receive an Interim Report for their child. Kindergarten and Pre-primary reports will be slightly different to the Years 1-6 reports, given the curriculum and development level of these age groups. The report will indicate progress in Religious Education, English/Literacy and Mathematics/Numeracy. Several Personal and Social indicators will also be reported, along with some strengths and future focus areas for your child. It is intended that the report will guide the discussion at the upcoming parent-teacher meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday of Week Ten this term. More information about booking these meetings will be emailed to parents this week.
NAPLAN
Thank you to all parents for ensuring all Year 3 and Year 5 students were ready to participate in NAPLAN testing last week. A big thank you to Mrs Hurst, Mrs Keatch and Mrs Mulholland for the preparation of their students, and the extra work, including online training, that was required. The results will be forwarded to parents as soon as we receive them. Students who were absent for one or more tests, will have an opportunity to catch-up over the next few days.
Enrolling now for Kindergarten 2024, 2025 & beyond
We are currently interviewing students for Kindergarten 2024 & 2025. There are limited vacancies. If you wish to enrol your child, please email Mrs Julie Wray our Administration and Enrolment Officer on admin@stthomas.wa.edu.au asap.
P&F Sundowner 2023
Thank you to all parents who attended the St Thomas' P&F Sundowner on Friday 10 March. It was especially exciting to see so many of our new families in attendance. A relaxed evening with fantastic paella and wonderful company was enjoyed by around 140 parents and staff. A special thanks to PK Spears, Sarah van Bockxmeer and Cars Penberthey for all the hard work, planning and attention to detail that went in to creating such a special evening.
Clare McIlree
P&F Chair 2023
Sports News
St Thomas Swimming Carnival 2023
Well done to all the students in Years 3-6 who participated at the swimming carnival on Friday 10th March. It was pleasing to see all the students’ congratulating others and cheering them on in events even if they were not in your faction. Everyone displayed true St Thomas spirit and the children’s behaviour was immaculate. Many thanks to the parents who assisted with the running of the carnival. Without your support these carnivals could not happen.
Congratulations to Forrest who were winning faction and to Gittens winning the Spirit award.
Results:
1st Forrest 1292 points
2nd Gittens 1275 points
3rd Sheridan 1144 points
Below are the Champion and Runner up Champions for each year group:
Year 3
Champions: Billie B and Arthur V
Runner Up Champions: Maddy G and Cruz L
Year 4
Champions: Joseph C and Ruby R
Runner Up Champions: Ewa K and Frankie P
Year 5
Champions: Arielle P and Parker D
Runner Up Champions: Ignacia C and Levi L
Year 6
Champions: Miriam S and Hamish L
Runner Up Champions: Emily C and Jett E
Individual Records
Year 3 Boys 50m Breaststroke and 50m Backstroke – Arthur V
Team records
Junior 50m Freestyle Relay – Gittens: Joseph C, Frankie P, Billie B, Cruz L
Year 4 and 5 Faction Medley Relay – Gittens; Levi L, Parker D, Arielle P and Joseph C
Interschool Swimming Training
Training has commenced on Thursday and Friday mornings 7.30 – 8.15am. Parents are to drop and collect their child from Claremont Pool and students need to be picked up by 8.25am as staff have classes to attend to.
It would be beneficial to all students to attend especially those in relay teams attending as this is an important part of the Interschool swimming program. Only Interschool squad members are invited to attend swimming training.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Interschool Swimming Carnival – Friday 31st March – HBF Stadium, Spectators $2.60 entry
Tennis and Cricket carnival CANCELLED – Unfortunately this carnival will not be going ahead and therefore it has been cancelled. Students have been provided an opportunity to participate in the ‘St Thomas Cricket Blast Carnival’ where students are in a cricket team, playing games against one another during Friday afternoon sport.
Sharon Seaman
Physical Education Specialist Teacher
What's been happening in Year 3!
WeDo
LEGO WeDo is a robotics hardware and software platform specifically designed for Primary School Students. It follows the 4 C’s process – Connect to a story, Construct a model, Contemplate its function, and Continue improving its design. WeDo programming platform also allows for mathematical operations and display effects, as a stepping-stone to game design and entertainment. We have been exploring the motion sensors and will move on to the tilt sensors.
Science
We have been recognising the Sun as a source of light and heat. Our investigation proved that the colour black absorbed the most heat so we used this finding to make solar ovens. What a success! The ovens cooked amazing miniature smores!
Technologies and HASS
In HASS we have been looking at the way our community has changed over time. We examined photographs of Perth from the present and past to identify changes and the possible reasons why. We used the green screen to superimpose ourselves into a scene from the past and added these to our class timeline.
Green screens. Shooting with a green screen involves filming a person or adding visual effects in front of a solid colour. Then, by digitally removing or “keying out” that colour, you can drop that scene onto the background of your choice in post-production.
Treasure Hunt
St Patrick’s Day found us looking for the pot of gold by following directions. Unfortunately, there was no gold to be found but we all know that ‘One pearl of wisdom is worth more than ten nuggets of gold!’
Meet our staff
Position: Year 4 Teacher
Interests: Sports (Soccer, Cricket, Volleyball and AFL), Camping and spending time with my dog Milo.
Football Team: Fremantle Dockers
Favourite Food: Spaghetti Bolognese
Currently Reading: “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaka and Sharon Lechter
Favourite Holiday Destination: Margaret River and New Zealand
3 people you’d invite to dinner: My Wife Amy, Steven Gerrard, and Jordan Henderson
What would you do with your last $50? Invest or buy $50 worth of hot chips
Favourite Movie: Inception or Top Gun Maverick
Favourite Quote: "It's better to burn out, than fade away."
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