TERM 4 - WEEK 1
Front Cover - 1/2 DV
Adelaide Zoo Excursion
On Tuesday 27 September, 1/2DV headed into the city via bus for a very exciting day at the Adelaide Zoo. We were also joined by 1/2SM and 1/2TM.
Even though it was raining, very heavily at times, we didn’t let this stop us from having a great day and visiting as many animals as we could!
We saw meerkats, giraffes, lions, monkeys, alligators, tigers, lizards, snakes and so many more.
We looked very carefully at the Australian animals we have been learning about in class, including dingoes, koalas, kangaroos and wombats.
It was a fantastic day of fun and learning!
Mrs D’occhio.
Leadership
Dear Parents, Caregivers, Students and friends of St Thomas More,
Welcome to the final term of the year which, once again, will be busy with all of the activities that make St Thomas More the place that it is. We hope that during this final term of the 2022 academic year, we continue to be a Catholic community of welcome, connecting faith, family and education, and a school that encourages and supports our young people to achieve their personal best. Term 4 will also be the final term of primary schooling for our Year 6 students.
Catholic Schools Music Festival
Congratulations and thank you to Mrs. Rosemarie Villano and the choir for your preparations, dedication and commitment to the Catholic Schools Music Festival. Our school choir was part of the mass primary schools choir that performed at the Adelaide Festival Theatre in the last week of Term 3. Congratulations to choir members Andrew, Heidi, Harper, Annabelle, Antoinette, and Izabella for a wonderful performance at the festival.
World Teachers Day
Friday 28 October we celebrate World Teachers Day. This is an opportunity to acknowledge the great work that all of our teachers and co-educators do with our children. Our staff does a tremendous job at St. Thomas More School and it is important that we express our gratitude for the role they play in educating the students and also for providing such a happy, safe and supportive environment for learning.
Medical Care Plans
If your child has a medical plan can you please ensure that the Front Office staff have a copy of this. It is also important that the medical plans we have are current and up-to-date. Thank you for your support with this important health matter.
Sports Day
Traditionally we have held Sports Day at the beginning of the year, however, due to COVID 19, we have scheduled Sports Day to be held on Friday 18 November (Term 4, Week 5). Please place this date in your diary as it promises to be another special event for our school community.
Staffing News
Mr Mihail Lochowiak and Mr Anzac Lochowiak conclude their service to the St Thomas More School community. Mihail and Anzac held roles as curriculum co-educators during this time. Both Mihail and Anzac have been valued and important members of the school community, always friendly, caring and welcoming to students, parents and visitors. On behalf of our school community, we thank Mihail and Anzac for their work and commitment to St Thomas More School and wish them every success and blessing as they embark on their new chapter in their lives.
2023 Class Placements
Staff have begun to plan for next year and will soon begin to consider class allocation for students. At this time of the year parents and caregivers may become anxious about their child’s placement for the ensuing year. Our experience suggests that children do adjust to their new teacher and settle into a productive year in that class. Our views on class placement are relatively simple and are premised on the following principles:
The Child’s Needs Come First
These needs include:
- Social - maximising each child’s potential to be happy and have positive self-esteem is essential. Consequently, there may be reasons for ensuring that certain children are, or are not, placed in the same class.
- Educational - different children and teachers have different learning and teaching styles.
- Other considerations might include whether children have previously had certain teachers, the mix of learning needs in a class, etc. The ultimate responsibility for assigning class placement rests with the school.
The staff spends much time considering the social, peer group and learning needs of the children and, within the practical constraints of the number of children, the number of teachers, etc. allocate children to classes.
Parents and caregivers, you are welcome to write to the school regarding particular learning needs or particular social and peer group needs your child may have. All correspondence regarding information for 2023 class placements should be addressed to the Principal and be received by Monday 24 October, 2022.
Getting the Most Out of School
Within each class, teachers work in partnership with families to develop students’ social skills specific to their needs so that each student has the opportunity to maximise their learning. There are five foundations that support this success. They are Confidence, Persistence, Organisation, Resilience and Getting Along. Research has shown that each student’s positive attitude to learning enhances their achievements and rate of learning.
Students need to be able to:
- Be confident in beginning new work or continuing with difficult work
- Be persistent to complete all tasks
- Be organised to manage their classwork and homework
- Get along and work cooperatively with others by managing conflict and following important school rules
- Be resilient to bounce back and keep issues in perspective.
Each of these key skills needs to be reinforced equally at home and at school.
School Uniform
Please make arrangements to ensure your child is prepared to wear the correct uniform in Term 4 and beyond.
A list of St Thomas More School’s uniform requirements is available from the Front Office if you have any queries.
St Thomas More School uniform items can only be ordered and paid for using the St Thomas More School QKR app. Ordered items will either be left at the school front office for you to pick up or we will have them delivered to your child’s classroom.
School Hats
During Term 4, hats will again become compulsory for all playtimes and learning activities outdoors for all children and staff. No Hat - No Play will apply to children not wearing a hat for playtimes and they will also have to be under shelter or in the shade during outside activities.
2023 RECEPTION ENROLMENTS
Places are available. If you have or if you know of anyone who has a child turning 5 before May 1, 2023, please complete and lodge an enrolment form at the Front Office.
2023 TERM 3 RECEPTION ENROLMENTS
Places are available. If you have or if you know of anyone who has a child turning 5 before October 31, 2023, please complete and lodge an enrolment form at the Front Office.
END-OF-TERM ARRANGEMENTS
Year 6 students – Monday 12 December 2022 at 1.30 pm
Reception to Year 5 students – Wednesday 14 December 2021 at 2.30 pm
Working in Partnership,
The Leadership Team
Religion
Liturgical Events and Special Celebrations
Welcome back to Term 4!
As always, we have many celebrations that occur each term. Some of these we celebrate as a whole school community and some we highlight in our classroom morning prayer.
Every Wednesday this year, students, and staff from St. Thomas More and St. Mary Magdalene’s have been joining together via Microsoft Teams for morning prayer. This was an idea that began during Covid when we were unable to gather as a whole school community. Staff across the two schools have taken turns each week to lead this prayer. A highlight for students has been seeing each other on the TV screen.
United Nations Day occurs on October 24. This is a day to remind people everywhere of the need for peace between all people, races, and nations.
World Teachers Day is celebrated on October 28. This is a day to stop and think about the great resilience our teachers have shown during challenging times, all so they can give Australian students the best future possible. We will celebrate this day with a morning tea for our teachers.
Our Mercy Day celebrations in the last week of Term 3 were enjoyed by all! Students raised a total of $150.60 for Catherine House. We thank all of you who joined in with the Lolly Jar Guess and congratulate Zachary in R/1 CC for winning the jar of lollies!
Staff Reflection Day
Yesterday staff from St. Thomas More and St. Mary Magdalene’s schools gathered for a reflection day. Robyn Mercer who facilitated our day and who has previously worked at both of our schools engaged us in a series of activities to reflect on how we as staff working in a Catholic School can reflect a contemporary understanding of Scripture stories. The day titled, ‘Wondering with the Word’ gave us an opportunity to consider how we pass these stories on, not just with words but with our lives and how these stories written thousands of years ago, can be relevant and meaningful to our lives today.
Sacramental Program
The Sacramental Program for 2022 is now complete. If you would like your child to be involved in the Program in 2023 or would like more information about the program, please email Melissa Musolino.
mmusolino@sttmore.catholic.edu.au
Classroom Learning
Ms. Maiello, Ms. Docchio and Mrs Villano’s Year 1/2 students have been learning about Service and thinking about how they can ‘serve’ others in their daily activities through completing ‘acts of kindness’. As part of their learning in this unit of work, they created a ‘Tree of Kindness’. Students said,
‘This is our tree of kindness. Every time we are kind to someone our tree grows. There are so many ways to show kindness and we have drawn them on our hearts. We hope our tree helps you to think of ways to be kind too’.
Melissa Musolino - APRIM
Sporting Carnivals
During term 3, St Thomas More had the opportunity to participate in the Catholic Schools Cross Country, Northern Areas Basketball and SAPSASA Athletics Carnival. Some of the students had little experience in these events but the carnivals are about experiencing a team environment and trying out a new sport. Throughout each event, the students displayed great sportsmanship and represented our school proudly. The boys' basketball team proved to be very competitive amongst strong opposition, winning every game in the playoffs to place runner-up in the grand final. The encouragement our students showed at cross-country as the competitors reached the finishing line is to be commended. Not only cheering and supporting our own school runners but those from other schools as well.
Thank you to all staff and volunteers who help support these events.
Well done everyone!
PE Co-ordinator
Fabian Chevalier
Basketball
Basketball
Basketball
X-Country & Athletics
Kelly Sports Program
Installing SZapp
Please click on the link below for instructions on how to install SZapp on Apple and Android products.
Canteen
Playgroup and ELY
Postponed until further notice
Out of School Hours Care
Daily: 6:30am to 8:45am and 3:00pm to 6:00pm Wednesday: 2:30pm to 6:00pm
School Access
8:30am to 8:50am
Access via the main front courtyard gate at the school crossing.
8:50am to 2:45pm
Access via green front pool gate in front of the administration building. You will need to lift the pool gate lock at the top of the gate to open and please ensure the gate is closed securely.
2:45pm to 3:15pm
Access via the main front courtyard gate at the school crossing.
Children dropped off before 8:30am and not collected by 3:15pm will be sent to OSHC and caregivers will be invoiced for the service.
Advance Notice
Every Tuesday
Parent Coffee/Tea chat 8:30am in Jubilee Hall - Postponed
ECC Playgroup 9:15am to 11:15am - Postponed
Principal's Tour (first Tuesday of the month) 10:00am - By appointment only
Every Wednesday
Early Learning Years (ELY) 9:15am to 11:15am - Postponed
October 27
T-Ball Carnival
October 28
World Teachers Day
October 1 - 31
Nude Food Month
November 1
All Saints Day
November 2
All Souls Day
November 4
Whole School Assembly
Raising Hearts and Minds
