St Thomas' News
30 April 2020
Loving God, at the beginning of this new term,
help us to keep the Easter message in our hearts
and to give witness to it through our lives.
As a Resurrection people we always
set our sights on hope for the future.
When all seems dark and uncertain
draw our attention to the rising of Jesus your Son.
When we reflect on the challenges brought about by COVID-19
guide us to celebrate the new growth that is being cultivated in us
by working together as a Christ centred,
student focused community of learning.
Open our eyes to the new and exciting opportunities
that this new term will bring.
Amen
SCHOOL DATES
School Dates for Students
Public Holiday 01 June
Pupil Free Day: 02 June
TERM THREE: Tuesday 21 July to Friday 25 September
Pupil Free Day: 24 August
TERM FOUR: Tuesday 13 October to Friday 11 December
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear parents and caregivers
Welcome to the beginning of a new term at St Thomas’ Primary School.
Pope Francis speaks of these uncertain times as ‘being a time for inventing, for creativity.’
In the past few weeks staff have demonstrated a wonderful spirit of inventiveness and creativity in designing remote learning experiences for students. A significant amount of work has been done to prepare for the complexities of the commencement of Term 2 and once again we have been called to think laterally, to be inventive and creative, in preparing for an educational environment in which some students will learn at school and others in their homes.
As our newsletter prayer reflects, we are still in the liturgical season of Easter, a time of hope and joy and of course, new beginnings.
Educational Delivery
Term 2 has commenced with students learning from curriculum prepared in the remote learning packages. This one mode of delivery is to ensure that there is a fair and equitable cover of content for students learning at school and at home.
Teachers will be sending home an overview of the curriculum that will be taught throughout the term on Monday 4 May. As all masses, prayer services and events are on hold at this time, we look forward to adding events to our term planner as soon as whole class teaching resumes at school.
We will be monitoring the COVID-19 situation and will be guided by direction from Catholic Education WA in making the decision to resume whole class teaching at our school.
Anzac Day
Our school leaders prepared an Anzac Day Service to view online this year in the absence of the cancellation of Anzac services across the country. A big thank you to Mrs Gibbs and the Year 6 students for taking on this project.
Winter Uniform
As Term 2 commences, parents are reminded that students are required to wear full winter uniform. Given the current circumstances, we ask that all students transition to winter uniform by Monday 11 May. Please see notification from Uniform Shop in this newsletter.
Thank you for your continuing support.
God bless
Natalia Thomson
Principal
Attendance Survey
As we move forward to the second week of Term 2, we are keen to know how many students will return to school in Week 2 commencing Monday 4 May.
Please complete this form https://bit.ly/3f4fG0T
to indicate your child/children's attendance by 4pm Friday 1 May.
You can use this form to indicate the attendance of all children in your family. Thank you.
ST THOMAS' NEWS
ANZAC Day
As we mark ANZAC Day, we remember all who lost their lives through Australia’s involvement in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. On ANZAC Day, we especially remember the courageous actions undertaken by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the First World War. On this national day of commemoration, we pray for the airmen, sailors and soldiers who died in battle, sacrificing their lives while on duty. We commemorate their bravery and pray for the families who lost loved ones. As we strive for peace in our country and world, help us to become instruments of your peace.
We Pay Our Respect to All Service People
Congratulations to our student leaders, Ruby, Nicholas, Cayden and Grace, for helping us to commemorate all those brave people who wear uniforms to take care of us. Celebrating bravery and taking the time to pay our respects to all soldiers of past and present has been particularly important as role models of courage and resilience to deal with our present situation.
Helping students to build understanding about Anzac Day and relate with empathy to the events of war and the bravery of the service men and women is always best achieved by building their knowledge of the occasion.
Above is our commemorative video if you missed it on Facebook and below Ruby shares her special family connection to Anzac Day.
What does learning look like this term?
Staff handing out St Thomas' Remote Learning Packages
In class
Remote learners joining their class
St Thomas' Prayer Book
I hope all families had a relaxing holiday and discovered hidden talents that were enjoyable and helped pass the time. I enjoyed board games, jigsaws and cooking.
In this time of uncertainty and with the building for our community the St Thomas the Apostle Church not open, it is important for us to create the church in our homes. Prayer can provide grounding and solace to quieten our minds and help us focus. In the St Thomas’ Toolkit, we sent home there is a copy of the St Thomas’ Prayer Book we use at school. It has the prayers that we use in each year level. I encourage all families to use this as a resource to join in prayer together. May you all be blessed with the love of Christ in your lives.
Thank for your support of Caritas Project Compassion. It is wonderful that we display generosity to those less fortunate in the world. Can you please return Project Compassion Boxes to the school as soon as possible. Thank you!
Kind regards
Mrs Sullivan
Assistant Principal
School Fees
A BIG thank you to families who have already paid fees or instalments and have also sent their "Payment Option Form" back as requested.
A gentle reminder for those who have yet to do so, please return the payment option form (that followed your statement in February). It is imperative to our new software to manage our income.
I understand the difficulty Covid19 has already placed on some families financially and encourage you to make an appointment with Natalia Thomson to discuss the possibility of an alternate payment plan that differs from the current options available.
Thank you
Leanne Hancock
Finance
Library News
Each Wednesday is library day here at St Thomas'. Please ensure all library bags are sanitised and all books are returned.
Library bags or an appropriate substitute must be bought in order for new loans and returns to occur.
Children are encouraged to use the School’s Orbit catalogue for making selections at home before attending on Wednesday. They should write their choices on a piece of paper with the Dewey location code ( eg 372.86 GEO) and place inside their library bags. This will ensure their visit is as contactless as possible and avoid multiple handling of books.
https://stthomasps.softlinkhosting.com.au/oliver/home/browse/list
Thank you for your continued support and assistance.
Ron Wray
Library
SEQTA Engage
Over the coming term St Thomas’ Primary School will be setting up SEQTA Engage. SEQTA Engage provides parents/guardians with access to student reports.
Academic reports that are generated by St Thomas’ Primary School will be made available as PDF documents to parents/guardians on SEQTA Engage. Families with multiple children at a school will be able to view their children’s information from the one SEQTA Engage account. Parents/guardians can only view students reports relating to their own child/children.
During the next couple of weeks, you will receive a welcome email to SEQTA Engage. This email will provide you with step by step instructions on how SEQTA Engage can be accessed. By following the prompts, you will be able to create your own username and password.
Lisa Meyers
Assistant Principal
Secondhand Uniform Shop OPEN
Entry will be through the gate located at the back of the church. Please do not try to enter any other way. Parents must practice social distancing and cannot remain on the grounds or near the gate after their purchase.
Items can be paid for by cash or card. Stock is very limited. You can contact the coordinator on 8205svc_uniform@cewa.edu.au with any queries regarding what is available.
Thank you.
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