St Thomas' News

Pentecost Sunday: 31 May

Public Holiday: 01 June

Pupil Free Day: 02 June

Sporting Colours Day: 12 June

LAST DAY TERM TWO: Friday 03 July

TERM THREE: Tuesday 21 July to Thursday 24 September

Pupil Free Days: Monday 20 July, Monday 24 August & Friday 25 September

TERM FOUR: Tuesday 13 October to Friday 11 December

Pupil Free Day: Monday 12 October

Lord God, bring us together as one,

You made us in your likeness.

You gave us your Son, Jesus Christ.

He has given us forgiveness from sin.

Lord God, bring us together as one,

Different in culture, but given new life in Jesus Christ:

Together as your body, your church, your people.

Lord God, bring us together as one,

Reconciled, healed, forgiven,

Sharing you with others as you have called us to do.

In Jesus Christ, let us be together as one.

Prayer by Bishop Arthur Malcolm taken from APBA.

National Reconciliation Week

This week is National Reconciliation Week. Throughout the week, students have participated in learning together about reconciliation. The 2020 theme– In this together – is now resonating in ways we could not have foreseen when it was announced last year, but it reminds us whether in a crisis or in reconciliation, we are all in this together.

Future Enrolments at St Thomas’

Enrolments for the 2021 school year and beyond are now open with limited vacancies in all year levels. If you have a child who will be turning three or four in 2021 please contact the school office to ensure that your child is included in our classes for the 2021 school year.

At this stage, we have enrolments confirmed for 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024 with limited vacancies in some classes. If you have a child that will be commencing school in any of these years, please complete an online form accessible on the website, to secure their enrolment.

Uniform

A big thank you to parents for ensuring that students are wearing the correct uniform. It has been pleasing to see students wearing their jumpers in this cooler weather. Students may wear their school rain jackets to and from school however they are not a substitute for the formal school jumper.

Sporting Colours Day - Lifelink Fundraiser

On Friday 12 June we are raising funds for Lifelink 2020. Lifelink provides a wonderful opportunity for students attending Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of Perth, to join together to show their collective support for people in need. Students may choose to wear the colours of their favourite football team, netball, soccer team etc. instead of the school uniform for the day and bring a gold coin donation.

Flu/Sickness

If students are unwell, they need to stay home. Please ensure that students are recovered and well before returning to school.

Public Holiday

A reminder that Monday 1 June is a public holiday and Tuesday 2 June is a pupil free day.

Have a safe and happy long weekend.

God bless

Natalia Thomson

Principal

Please find attached some parent information from CEWA regarding supporting your child’s wellbeing during COVID-19 and self-care for parents during COVID-19.

Students from Years 2-6 are eligible to enter the ICAS Competition. ICAS is designed to target students’ higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science and Digital Technologies.

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition. Every student will receive a printed certificate and an online result report. Top performers will be eligible for medals and are invited to attend special award ceremonies to have their academic excellence publicly recognised.

The assessments are suitable for students wishing to extend themselves academically and take up the personal challenge of competing in an international assessment. Your child will be presented with high-quality, expert-developed questions, allowing them to apply their learning without the need for prior study or revision.

Information on how to participate in the assessments can be found on the following link:

Thank you to all the families who have set up SEQTA Engage. A new Welcome Email will be generated to families who have not yet created an account. Please click on Set up Account on this email and create a Username and Password and follow the prompts. Further instructions are on the St Thomas’ website if required.

https://www.stthomas.wa.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SEQTA-Engage-Instruction-Manual.pdf

It is very important for all families to set up SEQTA Engage as this will be the platform in which you are able to access your child’s academic reports.

Please note your SEQTA Engage page will currently contain no reports. Reports will go live and be available to view and download during the last week of Term Two 2020.

Kind regards

Lisa Meyers

Assistant Principal

National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. Now in its 20th successful year, it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children's book that explores age-appropriate themes, and addresses key learning areas of the National Curriculum for Foundation to Year 6.

By facilitating NSS we aim to:

• promote the value of reading and literacy,
• promote the value and fun of books,
• promote an Australian writer and publisher,
• promote storytime activities in public libraries and communities around the country,
• and provide opportunities to involve parents, grandparents, the media and others to participate in and enjoy the occasion.

NSS receives positive media coverage, generates a great deal of community interest and is held annually as part of Library and Information Week. 2019 was our biggest and most successful NSS to date with over 1,138,000 participants at over 11,550 locations, including participants from New Zealand, Thailand, UK, Canada, Singapore, Vietnam and Hong Kong.

St Thomas is proud to support this event by joining together with our buddy class on the day, listening to the story and then joining in activities together. I'm sure your children will love to tell you all about it!

Kind regards

Nicky Sullivan

Assistant Principal

Sharing positive experiences with your children of their day at school

Why talking about school is important?

Talking with your child about the school day shows you’re interested in what’s going on in his life. This interest boosts his/her mental health, happiness and wellbeing. It can also have a very positive effect on your child’s behaviour and achievement. It shows your child that you value school and education, which encourages him/her to value it too.

Talking together about school also helps you get to know more about what’s expected of your child at school, how he/she learns and how he/she handles challenges. It can help you understand when he’s/she’s feeling less interested in school or having problems. When you’re in touch with your child’s feelings about school, you’re more likely to see problems before they get too big. This way you can work on overcoming challenges together.

And talking about school issues – like school projects or friendship problems – is also a great chance for you to express your family values about things like teamwork, respect for self and others, friendships, relationships, problem-solving and so on.

Strategies for talking about school with your child

Your child will probably be tired and hungry or thinking about other things when he/she first gets home. So easing the transition from school or after-school activities to home can help your child feel more like talking. It’s best to avoid asking her/him lots of questions straight away. You can just let your child know that you’re glad to see her/him, and talk about non-school topics for a while. Younger children will probably also like unpacking their bags and going through any notes before you ask about school.

Saving questions about homework for later on can also take the pressure off! Every afternoon or evening will be different. Even if your child usually likes to share his/her day with you, there’ll be days when he/she doesn’t want to talk. Sometimes it’s a matter of sensing his/her mood and picking the right moment. Some days there might not be a right moment at all, and that’s OK.

Simple, positive and specific questions about parts of the day can get your child talking. For example:

• What’s the news from school today?
• What was fun?
• What did you like best at school today?
• What does your classroom look like at the moment?
• What subjects did you do today?
• What projects are you working on at the moment?

Congratulations to the following students who participated in the Net, Set, Go program during Term 1:

Pre Primary – Beatrice B, Vivienne C, Madeline G, Elliana L, Angelica V

Year 2 – Levi L B

Year 3 – Emily C, Ava F, Lily G, Amelie G, Elea I, Freya M

Year 4 – Charlotte H, Natalia R

Year 5 – Jewel G

All students received a letter for their participation and were awarded with their medallion from Mrs Seaman last week.

UPDATE – SPORT CARNIVALS

As has been the case in recent times, things have needed to change here and there. Due to circumstances there has been a need to cancel the upcoming sport carnival which would have occurred in Term 2 which included the St Thomas Cross Country Carnival, Interschool Cross Country Carnival and the Year 5 and 6 Winter carnival.

It has been proposed that we may be able to have the St Thomas Cross Country carnival in late Term 3/early term 4 with the Interschool Cross Country Carnival in Mid Term 4. A proposal has been made for the Tennis and Cricket carnival that was cancelled in Term 1 to have this later in the year in term 4.

For St Thomas' Day as St Thomas' was an architect one of our activities will be to build a St Thomas' Village.

Shoeboxes are needed for this activity. Can you please send in any shoeboxes. They can be put just inside the school office. Thank you!

Mrs Sullivan

Assistant Principal

JK Rowling is publishing a new story called The Ickabog, which is free to read online to help entertain children and families during the coronavirus pandemic. Although our children, unlike many throughout the world, are very lucky not to be housebound, it could be fun to read with your children:

www.theickabog.com/

Thank you

Ron Wray

Library

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