Prayer
We thank you Lord, for this term.
For the challenges, the successes, and the mistakes from which we have learnt.
Be with us as we spend our time with family and friends.
Give us strength and courage to do what is right; to be witnesses of our faith.
Help us to be a practical Christian these holidays, to appreciate what others do for us, to give time and effort to help others, to be peacemakers in our family.
Keep us safe in our activities; give us good rest and good fun.
Bring us back refreshed and ready for a new term.
We thank you for our classmates, teachers, parents, and a community that cares for us. May we always be conscious of you in our lives.
Amen
Important Dates
TERM TWO
Friday 30 June - Founders Mass 9am & Celebrations
Friday 30 June - Last day of Term Two
Monday 17 July - Pupil Free Day
Tuesday 18 July - First Day of Term Three
Friday 21 July - 9am NAIDOC Week Liturgy
Tuesday 25 July - School Photos
Friday 28 July - Year 6 Assembly
Friday 4 August - Sporting Hero dress-up day
Please remember dates of events can be subject to change
(Full 2023 term dates at the end of this newsletter)
From the Principal
Dear Parents and Caregivers
As we move into this last week of Term 2, I would like to thank all the parents and friends who have volunteered their time over this semester to help us in any way. Whether you have donated your time at sporting events, on the parent help roster, in the School Advisory Council, Parents & Friends, assisted with fundraising events, or even just attended assemblies, I sincerely thank you for supporting our school to provide the best opportunities for our amazing students.
EDU DANCE CONCERT
Last night’s EduDance Concert was a true celebration of the children’s talents. It was so lovely to see so many parents and family members at this event. There are so many benefits to EduDance. It is not only a curriculum-based dance fitness program, but it also focuses on physical fitness, dance confidence, developing self-esteem in students, and teamwork. We were so proud of the efforts of all our students.
ACADEMIC ALLSTARS
Congratulations to our Year 5 students who participated in the Academic Allstars Competition on Monday. Hosted by St Thomas’ and organised by Mrs Keatch, the competition included students from six different schools competing across six disciplines. Our students scored first place in the Chess, Mathematics and General Knowledge disciplines, scoring an admirable second place overall.
ICAS ASSESSMENTS
St Thomas’ Primary School will again be participating in the world-renowned international Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) this year. ICAS is designed to target students’ higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science and Digital Technologies. Students from years 2-6 are eligible to enter the ICAS competition. Please see details below on instructions on how to participate.
WINTER CARNIVAL
The Winter Carnival for Years 5 & 6 students is always an enjoyable event. Students participated in soccer, football, and netball competitions across three different venues, against six Catholic schools. Organised by Mrs Seaman, a great day was had by all. It is always encouraging to hear of the wonderful team spirit displayed by our students. Special thanks to Mrs Seaman, staff and all the parents who helped coaching and umpiring on the day.
ST THOMAS' FOUNDERS' DAY – Friday 30 June
This Friday we celebrate Founder’s Day, a special day where we celebrate the Feast of St Thomas the Apostle and the Founders of our school, the Presentation Sisters. Please join us for Mass in the Church at 9am. All family and friends are welcome.
Students will need to wear their formal winter uniform for Mass on Friday.
After Mass, students have some fun activities planned. One of these includes a Lego Incursion by the BRICKS 4 KIDZ team, for all students with the theme: ‘Brick City Engineers’.
STAFFING TERM 3
At the end of this term, we farewell Mrs Lisa Keatch, who has been the Year 3 class teacher on Thursdays and Fridays this year. Lisa has been a member of the St Thomas’ Team for the last eleven years and has made an outstanding contribution to our school, and the lives of students throughout the school in her roles as Science Specialist, Gifted & Talented Specialist and Classroom Teacher. Lisa is moving south for family reasons. On behalf of the staff and students, we wish Lisa all the best on her life journey, and look forward to welcoming her back to St Thomas’ in the future.
Staffing changes for Term 3 include:
· Mrs Nicola Hurst will be increasing her teaching days in Year 3 to full time.
· Mrs Lila Gibbs will be taking on the Gifted and Talented teaching role and continue to teach in Year 6.
· Mrs Natalie Cloud will be joining our staff as a specialist teacher in Science.
Prac Teachers
Next term we will be joined by three prac students from the University of Notre Dame who are completing their final year of their teaching degree:
· Miss Hannah Antulov in Year 2 with Mrs Nicola MacDonald
· Miss Natasha Lomma in Year 4 with Mr Liam Godsall
· Miss Denica Spear in Year 5 with Miss Penny Mulholland
FROM MY READINGS:
FIVE FORGOTTEN SKILL SETS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO STUDENT SUCCESS
by Michael Grose (Parenting Ideas)
At a time when we hear a great deal about growth mindsets, good mental health habits and creating digitally savvy students, we can easily overlook the skill sets that form the building blocks of long-term school success. These are skill sets that are also easily forgotten when
we narrow our focus onto numeracy, literacy, performing arts, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and other academic areas. While all these other mental skills and academic areas are important, the skills I want to focus on here are ones that can be taught, or at the very least drawn out, alongside every other skill when we as parents and teachers know what to look for.
Following are five skill sets that contribute massively to overall student success and contentedness at school:
1. Friendship skills
The ability to get along with others is hugely important for children and teenagers. Those students with a strong set of friendship skills are easy to like, easy to relate to and easy to play with. The skills they possess include knowing how to win and lose well, how to approach others to join in a group and how to lead rather than boss.
2. Organisational skills
The ability to organise your time, your space, your items, and other aspects of your life is a massive plus for any student. The best way to help children who are organisationally challenged is to introduce them to systems and processes to help them organise themselves. These processes include the use of visual reminders, anchoring (i.e., linking new behaviours to habitual behaviours) and the mapping out of activities.
3. Optimism skills
It may seem strange to see optimism as skill set, but as leading psychologist Professor Martin Seligman discovered through his research, optimism can be taught. Seligman found that while some children are more inclined by nature to see a glass as half empty than half full, all children can develop an optimistic explanatory style through exposure and direct teaching. The skills of optimism include being aware of self-talk, reframing negative events into positive events and the practice of perspective-taking.
4. Coping skills
Kids will generally face several challenges during their school lives including overcoming the disappointment of not being picked on a team, working their way through difficult learning situations, and dealing with rejection. The impact of these challenges will depend on each kid’s own spirit, the support they receive and their coping skills. The good news is that coping skills can be taught or, at the very least, encouraged if adults know what to focus on. Coping strategies include parking problems for a while, normalising difficult situations and accepting and moving on. Some kids will use coping strategies quite naturally, while others need parental and teacher input to help them cope with even seemingly minor challenges.
5. Relaxation skills
The ability to relax and get away from it all is vital for the maintenance of mental health, which in turn affects a student’s ability to perform. Many of today’s kids live with pressure. That pressure needs to be released through relaxation and play, otherwise it can lead to anxiety and other mental illnesses. The ability to relax and unwind is paramount to your child’s school success. Relaxation techniques include mindfulness and meditation, participating in hobbies and enjoying creative pursuits. These skills are part developmental and part environmental. That is, kids will naturally develop many of them as they mature
but the skills also need to be nurtured environmentally. They need to be recognised, encouraged, taught, and modelled by adults who children and teenagers respect and admire. That makes parents and teachers ‘Very Important People’ in the process of acquiring them.
TERM 3
We look forward to welcoming students back to school on Tuesday 18 July.
Have a safe and enjoyable holiday break.
Natalia Thomson
Principal
From the Assistant Principal
PHOTOS
School photos will take place on Tuesday 25 July. Every student from Kindergarten to Year Six will have their photo taken, whether they are purchasing photos or not. Your child has been given an online ordering instruction slip and a unique student shootkey. Log onto www.msp.com.au and follow the prompts to place your order. If you lose your shootkey, please contact Julie or Marta at the front office to quote back to you. The expiry date for online ordering is Tuesday 1 August. Any orders received after this date will incur a $30.00 archive fee. Spare order envelopes (green) are available at the front office if parents prefer to pay with cash.
Specialty Group Photos (clubs etc.) will be available for purchase after the main photo day packs are delivered to the school. Orders will be open for four weeks and ordering slips will be included in the students' photo pack.
Family Photo envelopes can be obtained from Administration. Family photos are taken in the morning before the class photos take place. Please ensure that your family envelope and payment are handed to the photographers on photo day. If you do not have the correct money, change will be provided when photos are delivered to school. Family photos cannot be ordered online.
Late orders can be placed via the website www.mspreorders.com.au. Individual and Family Photos are not available to view online for students' security. If for any reason you need to contact MSP regarding your child's photos you will be asked to provide your child's shootkey.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ASSESSMENT
The Religious Education Assessment will take place for Years 3 and Year 5 students early in Term Three. Practice tests are scheduled for Thursday 27 July (Week 2), whilst the Assessments will occur the week following on Wednesday 2 August. If you have any questions regarding this state-wide Catholic Education WA assessment, please contact myself or your child’s teacher.
TERM THREE CLUBS
There will be slight changes to the clubs offerings and timings next term. This information will be distributed early Term Three, or the club coordinator may email current club participants with more information regarding Term Three arrangements.
REPORTS
An email was sent to all Pre-primary to Year Six parents advising that the Mid-Year reports are now available for parents to download through the Seqta Engage website. These documents are an important marker on your child’s learning journey. If you have any problems downloading your child's report, please contact me. Thank you to the teaching staff for their hard work and the time taken, often outside of work hours, to complete these reports and communicate student acheivement to parents.
I wish you all a restful and relaxing school holiday break!
Mr Heath Nankivell
Assistant Principal
Congratulations Hamish!
Hamish (Year 6) represented Western Australia in the Australian Gymnastics Competition last month in the Gold Coast. He competed in the under 13s international stream, placing in all three events he entered.
3rd - Synchronised tramp (the competitors in first and second place were under 15s)
3rd - Tramp
1st - Double Mini Trampoline
Congratulations Hamish!
Melville Street Gate
Friendly reminder to all parents and visitors to please not keep the gate on Melville Street open as this is allowing unattended children to exit.
We have had a report of one younger child who was let out unattended in the past week.
Melville Street is a busy street during drop offs and pick ups. Please ensure you only have your child/ren with you and that you don't prop open the gate without supervising who is exiting.
We thank you for your vigilance in this matter.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS
Saturday Children’s Parish Liturgy
Huge thank you to Mrs Mulholland and the Year Five students who were able to play a role in the Saturday Children’s Mass held recently. Seeing so many families, staff and parishioners celebrating the liturgy was fantastic. It is always encouraging to see the Church's future leaders, our children, taking on roles such as readers, choir members and collectors alongside many parents.
NAIDOC Liturgy Invitation to our Parents and Grandparents.
NAIDOC Week's a time to celebrate the histories, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It’s held each year during the first week of July and is an important annual event where everyone’s invited to join in the celebrations. This year the 2023 theme is For Our Elders.
Pope Francis reminds us that the culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is precious, with much to offer the Catholic Church around the world. He says, “Your culture, which shows the lasting genius and dignity of your race, must not be allowed to disappear. Do not think your gifts are worth so little that you should no longer bother them. Share them with each other and teach them to your children. Your songs, your stories, your paintings, your dances, your languages, must never be lost.”
Parents and Grandparents, you are invited to join us at 9 am in the hall to pray for the strong relationships and spiritual connections we want to uphold and pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians of this land.
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
The Sacred Heart of Jesus, celebrated last week in our classrooms, has one of the deepest meanings in the Catholic church. The symbol represents Jesus Christ's physical heart as His love for all of humanity. Other symbols may have a flame or light surrounding them, which signifies the divine light of love. We all prayed to the Holy Spirit and Jesus to ask for our hearts to be filled with love and kindness and share our love with all those we encounter as we live out our school motto of ‘Together in Christ.’
Founders’ Day Mass
Come and join us for our very special final Mass for term two!
Where: St Thomas the Apostle
Time: 9.00 am
Join us to celebrate Founders' Day to honour the legacy of St. Thomas' Primary School. It is a wonderful opportunity for us all to reflect upon the remarkable journey that has brought us here today. Our school started with only two Presentation Sisters and 43 students. It is always a beautiful opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to the Presentation Sisters for their immeasurable contributions.
Lila Gibbs
Religious Education (RE) Co-ordinator
Advisory Council
The Advisory Council’s second meeting for 2023 in Term 2.
We welcomed Natalia back from her Long Service Leave and we were keen to hear about her extensive trip overseas and in particular to the other presentation schools in Ireland- an amazing opportunity.
The Advisory Council is committed to supporting the school with a Capital Development Plan which forms part of the school’s four-year strategic plan. Natalia organized for Victor De Vicente Ferrandez (who is in charge of the Capital Development department at CEWA) to come and present to the AC at our meeting. The presentation gave the Advisory Council a clear understanding of the best way to determine how the school can succeed in a capital development submission with CEWA. We will now work with Natalia in preparing and planning for a strategic approach to the capital development needs of the school for future generations.
Marketing and promotion of the school is always a critical and important item on the agenda and in this meeting the AC specifically discussed the progress on a number of marketing initiatives and success of social media activity for promotional projects. Natalia presented results of two strategic surveys (exiting families and new families) that were discussed at our last meeting as important ways to collect data for the marketing committee.
Heath presented the principal’s report at this meeting and we thanked Heath for doing an outstanding job as Principal whilst Natalia was on long service leave.
Our two subcommittees Finance and Grounds and Maintenances, gave the members an update of the key matters for those areas.
Finance- the report of progress of actual expenditure against budget for the past three months, and that the school is tracking extremely well for 2023. The extra enrolments for 2023 has put the school in a strong financial position. Fee payments are now all either by Direct Debit payment plans or paid in full.
Grounds and Maintenance has been working through their annual plan and will focus on the key projects (guttering and soak wells) in readiness for the wetter months.
The P&F report gave an account of all P&F activities in the first term Q1 and success of events throughout the summer months. The AC very much appreciates the collaboration with the P&F to help progress the school and its key strategic areas of development from a community perspective.
Paul Indaimo (the secretary of the Advisory Council ) kindly agreed to attend the two yearly Advisory Council conference held by CEWA on behalf of the council held in June. We look forward to hearing his update at our next meeting.
Susan Swift
Advisory Council Chair
Uniform Ordering
The Perm-A-Pleat Schoolwear annual mid-year break commences on 8 July 2023. Our office and warehouse will re-open on Monday 24 July 2023.
Please place online orders by close of business on Wednesday 5th July to ensure they can be despatched by Friday 7th July. Thereafter, orders will be despatched from Monday 24 July 2022.
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.
Thank you to Ms Mulholland, Mr Godsall and Mr Nankivell for their guidance, support and encouragement. Special thank you to our parent coaches Libby Crawford (Netball) and Steven Dunn (Soccer) who coached and guided the students on the day.
Results:
Netball – 2nd
Soccer team A – 2nd
Soccer team B – 3rd
AFL – 2nd
SPORTING SCHOOLS – NETBALL YEARS 3-6
This term students from Years 3-6 have been developing their AFL skills which have been run by Josh Wladyka from netball WA using the money we have received from the government through sporting schools.
West Coast fever clinics – school holiday program https://westcoastfever.com.au/clinics
SPORTING SCHOOLS – GYMNASTICS YEARS K-2
This term students from Kindy to Year 2 have been participating in Gymnastics sessions run by qualified coaches from Northern Districts 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://ndgc.org.au/programs/
Important dates for Term 3:
Be a sporting hero day – Friday 4 August – During the holidays, search the garage and cupboards for sport equipment that you do not need to donate to Fair Game https://www.fairgame.org.au
St Thomas Athletics Carnival – Friday 1 September
Interschool Athletics Carnival – Tuesday 19 September
Kind regards,
Sharon Seaman
Physical Education Specialist Teacher
Enrolments 2024 & 2025
If you have a child who wishes to join St Thomas' Primary in 2024 or 2025 and you haven't already submitted your application please do so as soon as possible. All applications are currently being processed and places are being offered. Waitlists already exist in some year groups.
Special Event JTC
Exploring the Indigenous Voice to Parliament
John XXIII College is hosting a panel discussion on the Voice to Parliament ahead of the upcoming national referendum.
The event offers the College community and the wider public the chance to learn about the Voice from leading experts in Indigenous rights and cultural understanding.
Tuesday 18 July, 6:30pm–8:00pm
Gonzaga Barry Lecture Theatre
RSVP at www.trybooking.com/1075683
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