Important Dates
TERM ONE 2022
Friday 1 April - Disco K-6 now postponed
Tuesday 5 April - Parent Interviews Kindy, Years 1,3 & 5
Thursday 7 April - Parent Interviews Pre-primary, Years 2, 4 & 6
Friday 8 April - Last day of Term One.
Interschool Swimming Carnival – postponed
Swimming training – postponed
TERM TWO 2022
Tuesday 26 April - First day of Term Kindergarten to Year 6
Wednesday 27 April - P & F Meeting
(Full 2022 term dates at the end of this newsletter)
Easter Prayer
Lord, the resurrection of Your Son
has given us new life and renewed hope.
Help us to live as new people in pursuit of the Christian ideal.
Grant us wisdom to know what we must do, the will to want to do it,
the courage to undertake it, the perseverance to continue to do it, and
the strength to complete it.
Amen
Dear Parents and Caregivers
We are fast approaching the end of the term, and the final weeks of preparation for the Catholic liturgical event of Easter. Next week, the Year 5 students will re-enact Jesus’ journey to the cross through speech and mime and will share this journey with all classes.
Harmony Day
The excitement on the faces of our students was evident on Harmony Day as students showcased their culture in national dress or wore orange to represent Harmony.
Traditionally the colour orange relates to social communication, stimulating two-way conversations. It aids in the development of new ideas, giving us the freedom to be ourselves. Through the generosity of our Parents and Friends (P & F), students were provided with a ‘taste of Italy, France and China.’
Marketing at St Thomas’
Our school has created a five-year marketing plan targeted at:
· Prospective families – parents of children living and working in Claremont and the surrounding areas.
· Interstate and overseas families relocating to Perth
· Past and prospective students /alumni
At the core of this marketing plan is our social media campaign across several different platforms: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. These platforms have been managed by our Early Years Educator Miss Nicola Ward, who ensures the amazing opportunities that we have in our school, are showcased regularly across all platforms. Thank you, Miss Ward, for your endless time and energy in this role, promoting our wonderful school.
Parent / Teacher Interviews
Next week we have parent/teacher interviews at St Thomas’. These meetings enable parents the chance to catch up with class teachers and discuss individual student progress in the year so far. On Monday, parents will be emailed a copy of the interim reports which will be the focal point for discussion at this meeting.
COVID Update
The government has announced an easing of COVID restrictions for the commencement of Term 2. Information on the easing of COVID restrictions will be forwarded to parents and caregivers prior to the commencement of the school term.
Self-reporting Portal
Thank you to all parents who have entered the results of COVID testing for their child on the CEWA self-reporting portal. To assist the school in monitoring COVID, we ask all parents to continue to enter their child’s positive results on the CEWA Self Reporting Portal during the school holidays.
P & F Meeting – Wednesday 27 April
The next meeting for our P & F group is scheduled for Wednesday 27 April at 7pm. After the success of the previous online meeting, we will be offering parents a dual platform for attendance. The meeting will be face to face in the school Library but will also have the option to attend virtually via Microsoft TEAMs. An invitation to the meeting will be sent out prior to the meeting.
Term 2
We have several exciting initiatives for the students in Term 2. Edu-dance will commence every Wednesday, starting in week 1, and after school co-curricular clubs will commence in week 2.
We wish every family a peace-filled Easter, and a safe and enjoyable holiday break. We look forward to seeing students return to school on Tuesday 26 April.
May God bless your week.
Natalia Thomson
PRINCIPAL
Self-Reporting Portal for COVID-19
It is vitally important that parents and caregivers inform the school if your child tests positive for COVID-19. To help streamline this process a COVID-19 Self-reporting Form for Students and Staff members has been developed by Catholic Education WA (CEWA). Parents and caregivers can now inform the school of their child’s positive or negative COVID result via this LINK. The information will go directly to the Principal, prompting our COVID response.
Please do not underestimate the importance of informing our school of a positive COVID case. Your actions will ensure the risk to others is minimised and that we do our very best to limit the spread of the virus across our community.
From the Assistant Principal
CLUBS
We are excited to announce that as of next term, we will be reintroducing after school clubs to our extra-curricular program. Details of the three clubs on offer are below. For before and after school clubs, registration is important. Clubs that occur during the school day, do not need parent registration and students can attend if they wish.
CODING CLUB (Year 4-6) – Monday 3pm-4pm – Mr Nankivell – Register at: https://forms.office.com/r/6Jps0JXgNh
E-SPORTS CLUB (Years 4-6) – Wednesday 3pm-4pm – Mr Evans – Register at: https://forms.office.com/r/HKNNS0Kwrr
DRAMA CLUB (Yeas 4-6) – Thursday 3pm-4:30pm – Mrs Herbert – registrations for this club are now full
PARENT-TEACHER INTERVIEWS – NEXT WEEK
A reminder that parent-teacher interviews will be held online during Tuesday 5 April (for Kindergarten, Years 1, 3, 5) and Thursday 7 April (Pre-primary, Years 2, 4, 6). These opportunities offer parents and teachers the opportunity to discuss student progress so far this year with a view to celebrate strengths and identify some future focus areas of growth for your child. Class teachers will now email the Interim Reports to parents by Monday 4 April. Previously, we have informed parents that teachers will send home a hard copy of the Interim Report. It is intended that the Interim Report will form the basis for conversations at the interview.
To access the interviews on the day, please click the link through the PTO website at https://bookings.parentteacheronline.com.au/?school=tkanz where your existing booking can be seen. Once you click on the link, select ‘Join as Guest’ and write your full name when prompted. You will then be directed to a ‘lobby’ or ‘virtual waiting area’ until the teacher invites you into the meeting.
If you haven’t booked already, please book through Parent-Teacher-Online website, information was provided in an email last week to all Kindergarten-Year Six parents. The booking website will close on the day prior to the scheduled interview day. If you have any issues with these bookings, please email heath.nankivell@cewa.edu.au for assistance.
Heath Nankivell
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
State Champions
Sports News
The following carnival’s have been postponed until Term 4:
· Year 5 & 6 Tennis and Cricket Carnival
· Interschool Swimming Carnival
Be a Sporting Hero Free Dress Day and Sports Equipment
Collection in support of FAIR GAME
On Friday 18th March, students were invited to come to school dressed as their favourite Sporting Hero in return for a gold coin donation to support Fair Game, a WA charity that recycles sports equipment and distributes it to children in remote, regional and underserviced communities across the State.
Thank you to everyone who donated equipment, dressed up and donated a gold coin to a wonderful charity.
We raised $236 and this money will go towards children who need equipment to stay healthy and active in the community.
Sharon Seaman
PHYSICAL EDUCATION SPECIALIST
Project Compassion Week 4
SHANIELLA’S STORY – SOLOMON ISLANDS
Shaniella from the Solomon Islands was determined to forge a path out of poverty, moving away to a rural vocational school. With your support, she was able to overcome the challenges of natural disasters and gain the skills she needs to create a brighter future for herself.
Shaniella grew up in a remote village in the Solomon Islands in a province which has limited educational and job opportunities -and one of the country’s highest poverty rates. After leaving school, she decided to move closer to the capital city, Honiara, to study hospitality and tourism.
However, her vocational training school was hit by a landslide and cyclone in quick succession, destroying its water supply system and the vegetable garden that it relies on for food. The landslide destroyed the school’s main source of water, damaged school buildings and devastated the garden which the school relies on for food.
With your kind support, Caritas Australia Solomon Islands (CASI) was able to help the school to install eight water tanks. This restored students’ access to clean drinking water and the tanks also supply water to nearby schools, health centres and the wider
community.
CASI also supported the school by providing it with improved planting materials, 200 chickens, and training in agricultural skills and poultry management, to help it to boost its food security.
To ensure that the school is better prepared to respond to future disasters, CASI ran Disaster Risk Reduction training workshops, raising awareness about evacuation procedures and how to respond during an emergency. It provided additional support when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, by helping the school to improve hygiene practices to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Shaniella can now complete her job skills training and the school has enough food and water for its students. She is also better prepared when disaster strikes and can share her knowledge with her community back home.
Your generous support can help young people in the Solomon Islands to build bright futures for themselves -and for future generations.
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