TERM 1 - WEEK 7
Cover Page - 3/4 Morgado
As part of our Science this term in 3/4 CM we have been using the Inquisitive Program to learn about the Classification of Living Things (Biological Science). In this unit, students will learn that living things all have certain characteristics. They will use these characteristics to differentiate between living and non-living things. They will group plants and animals by their observable features. This unit involves the students working scientifically and using scientific thinking.
Scientists at work
Leadership
Dear Parents, Caregivers, Students and friends of St Thomas More’s community,
Student Arrival time and Attendance
It has been brought to my attention that several children are arriving at school after the morning bell. This is very disruptive for classes and not a good beginning for the child. We understand that on an occasional day things do not run smoothly at home or travelling to school but we stress the importance of arriving at school between 8:30am - 8:45am to ensure that classes can begin promptly at 8.50 am. Parents too should be clear of classrooms by 8.50 am. If we truly value children’s learning then we must make the most of every minute of their classroom learning time! Gates will be opened at 8:30am and locked at 9:00am in the morning and re-opened at 3:00pm and locked at 3:20pm in the afternoon.
When children begin school they develop learning habits. These learning habits continue to develop throughout each learning year and these habits can affect learning achievements. Two important habits and life skills are attendance and punctuality. Very few people can argue with the correlation between attendance and school achievement. There is empirical evidence at a state, national and international level to prove that this relationship is true but, closer to home, our own achievement data and student report information clearly demonstrate that, as a general rule, the more time students spend at school, the better they will do.
We need to maximise every day to get full value – this means turning up to school every day and on time. When students arrive late and take time to settle, valuable learning time is lost. When students are absent from school they miss work (which they seldom makeup) and also miss important interactions with their peers.
It is now commonplace for children to stay away from school for reasons that would have been unheard of 20 years ago. These include:
- Their own or a sibling’s birthday
- Stayed up too late watching TV
- Going shopping for clothes
- An extended long weekend
- Not wishing to participate in a sports day, special school event or excursion
This sends a strong message to children that their parents neither value learning nor the school experiences. It is difficult to resist the persistent pressure that children can exert on parents, but parents need to be strong and send their children to school every day, on time and ready to make the most of school experiences.
In conclusion, it is reassuring to know that parents increase their children’s chances of future success just by making sure they turn up to school every day. This important habit and regular school attendance also prepares young people for the workforce where it is expected that they turn up each day ready for work! Absentee notification – please ring the front office by 9:00 am.
Traffic Alert
We need to re-visit the dropping off and pick-up of your child/children each day. Very often Staff on yard duty and some concerned parents witness incidents on the road and pick-up areas involving parents and caregivers before and after school.
Sometimes we see:
- Parking where there are no designated car parks. This means that students and parents who wish to cross the road do not have a clear vision of oncoming traffic.
- Parents stopping their cars in the middle of the road and calling their children to come to the car and holding up traffic behind.
- Parents parking on the opposite side of the road and calling their children to cross the road. Remember there are no lights there and children crossing without parents are at risk because of the illegal behaviour of some parents. Children are dodging illegally parked cars and the cars stopping at random in the middle of the road.
- When dropping children off parents allow them to get out of the car on the roadside instead of the kerbside thus stepping into traffic.
- Parking at an odd angle so that there is an obstructed view of traffic trying to turn the corner again causing a hazard for the children.
Please take the time to drop your children off safely.
While it will take an extra minute or two on some days, it is the safest way for the children to be collected from school. If your child is not ready to be collected please do not block up traffic waiting for your child. Either drive around the block and go to the back of the queue or park and come into the school.
We constantly talk to the students about making good choices that keep themselves and others safe and we appeal to all parents to follow safe driving practices so that all the children are kept safe. It is also about parents setting good examples for their own children about obeying road rules and responding to requests from the school about engaging in safe practices. Where the safety of all children is concerned, staff on yard duty will be insisting that all in our community follow these safe practices.
We thank you for your support in this.
Sports Day – 9 April
This year’s Sports Day will be held on the last day of Term 1, Friday 9 April (Week 11). Mr Chevalier will provide families with further information about Sports Day leading up to the day.
Pupil Free Day - Friday 12 March
This is a friendly reminder that we have a Pupil Free Day coming up on Friday 12 March. During this day our staff will be participating in Professional Development. OSHC will be available on this day for families requiring it.
Harmony Day - 21 March
Harmony Day is a day of cultural respect for everyone who calls Australia home – from the traditional owners of this land to those who have come from many countries around the world. By participating in Harmony Day activities, people can learn and understand how all Australians from diverse backgrounds equally belong to this nation and enrich it.
2021 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, 2021, please complete and lodge an enrolment form at the Front Office.
2022 RECEPTION ENROLMENTS
Places are available. If you have or if you know of anyone who has a child turning 5 before May 1, 2022, please complete and lodge an enrolment form at the Front Office.
2022 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, 2022, please complete and lodge an enrolment form at the Front Office.
Working in Partnership,
Chris Platten, Vicki Rubino, Melisa Musolino, Leah Williams
Survey
PARENT/CAREGIVER SURVEY
IDEAS is a whole school revitalisation project developed by the members of the Leadership Research International (LRI) at the University of Southern Queensland. Based on extensive research in school improvement, this project has developed over more than 20 years in conjunction with teachers, school administrators and school systems. The project aims to enhance school success by enabling school communities to work together to clarify direction, develop a shared pedagogy and attain school alignment. This unique professional partnership is captured in our vision:
To inspire IDEAS schools to engage in a journey of self-discovery which will ensure that they achieve sustainable excellence in teaching and learning.
IDEAS has been implemented in schools throughout Australia and three schools in Singapore and a school in Sicily. Below is a link to a survey. It is called the IDEAS Survey (Innovative Design for Enhancing Achievements in Schools) and will inform school improvement. The survey is completed by parents/caregivers, staff and students.
Your participation in this is so important in helping us know what it is you want for your child at St Thomas More School; what we do well and where you would like to see change.
The survey is anonymous.
- Click on the link below
- Choose Parent Survey (bottom left corner)
- Submit when completed
https://disasurvey.acelleadership.org.au/survey/1f1a79b5
Thank you for your time in completing this, it is most appreciated.
200 Years Young
Religion
Third Sunday of Lent
We are now in the third week of Lent with the Project Compassion story of Oliva, a 22-year-old woman from Tanzania. She did not have the opportunity to go to school and was embarrassed that she was unable to read, write or count. As an adult, her business was losing money because she couldn’t add up her money and give the right change to customers.
Then Oliva enrolled in Caritas Australia’s literacy and numeracy classes. She also set up a home classroom to teach her neighbours, for free, because they were too shy to attend larger classes.
Oliva has now graduated, attendance at her classes are growing, her kiosk is thriving and she is helping her children with their homework. She aims to become a pastor and run for leadership in the next local election - to help her community to ‘Be More.’
Approximately 260 million children don’t have the chance to go to school.
Elizabeth Catholic Parish Sacramental Program
On Friday February 26 we held a Parent Information Session for the 2021 Sacrament Program. If you were unable to make this meeting and would like your child to be involved in this program, please contact Melissa Musolino for more information.
For students enrolled in this program, please remember that the Commissioning Mass will be held on Saturday March 13, 6:00pm at St Ann’s Church or Sunday March 14, 10:00am at St Thomas More Church. You only need to attend one Mass.
Feasts of St. Patrick and St. Joseph
Our Catholic faith has lots of heroes whom we can admire and try to be like. We call them ‘saints’. St. Patrick and St. Joseph are two people who loved God deeply. Each saint has a feast day, a day on which the Church honours them. In the coming week, we will celebrate the feast days of St. Patrick and St. Joseph.
St. Patrick’s Day
Celebrated on March 17, St. Patrick is celebrated in the Australian Liturgical Calendar as a Solemnity, the highest rank of liturgical celebration. The beauty of this special day can be found in the celebration of the Irish charism, one that has spread throughout the world and is very much alive in Australian history. The following prayer is based on St. Patrick.
St. Joseph’s Day
Saint Joseph was the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster-father of Jesus. All we know about Joseph comes from the accounts of the nativity in the New Testament. He was a tradesman, commonly he is said to have been a carpenter, but it's possible he may have been a stone worker. He was said to have been a direct descendent of David, the great king of Israel. St. Joseph’s Feast Day is celebrated on March 19.
Andrew Chinn Concert
On Thursday March 18, Australian religious songwriter and singer, Andrew Chinn, will be visiting our school to share his songs with our students. Andrew’s songs, such as “These Hands”, “Rainbow”, “An African Blessing” and “Rise Up!” are used in classrooms and liturgies around Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada.
Andrew will run a workshop with all classes throughout the day and we will gather for a whole school concert at the end.
Today I ask for
God’s strength to show me the right things to do…
God’s power to help me get through all the things I have to do…
God’s wisdom to help me make the right decisions…
God’s vision to show me the right way to go…
God’s ear to help me listen to exactly what others are telling me…
God’s word to speak positively to those I meet…
God’s hand to point me in the right direction…
God’s pathway to take me there…
God’s shield to keep me safe…
God’s presence to give me comfort…
Amen
Catholic Schools Cricket Carnival
On Friday February, 26 St Thomas More participated in the Catholic Schools cricket carnival at Karen Rolton Reserve. We entered 2 teams involving 16 students from years five and six. The students played in a round-robin competition involving 4 games. The carnival provided a great opportunity for students to implement their skills and knowledge taught in Physical Education lessons.
Teams started strongly, with a clear understanding of the game. Throughout the day it was great to see students improve their bowling and catching skills resulting in many wickets taken. The ‘6 hitting’ by the boys’ team and the great fielding by the girls’ team were a few of the highlights, both teams played outstanding cricket. As the day progressed teams grew in confidence and worked well to score large totals and restrict the opposition to a minimal score.
Overall, the boys' team went through the carnival undefeated and the girls' team won 3 out of 4 games. The boys' team finished 3rd overall out of 31 teams and the girls' team finished 4th out of 18 teams.
Thank you to Ms. Swann and Mr. Scott for their help and support in providing a successful experience for the students.
Top Effort Everyone!
PE Co-ordinator
Fabian Chevalier
Cricket Teams
Elizabeth Community Connections
Playgroup and ELY
HIPPY
Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters
Have you thought about high school options?
Is your child enrolled?
Brain Teasers
Can you solve them?
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.
School Banking
School Banking at our school is on Wednesdays.
For every deposit made at school, students will receive a silver Dollarmites token. Once students have individually collected 10 tokens they can redeem them for an exclusive School Banking reward item in recognition of their regular savings habits.
School Banking is also a great fundraiser for our school. Our school receives a Regular Savers Contribution of $5 for every 10 deposits processed per student as well as an Annual Contribution which is based on the number of students who made at least one School Banking deposit in the prior year.
If your child has lost their book, please contact your School Banking Co-ordinator for a replacement or visit any CommBank Branch.
If you would like to know more about School Banking, please ask for a 2020 School Banking program information pack from the school office or visit www.commbank.com.au/sbc
Advance Notice
Every Tuesday
Parent Coffee/Tea chat 8:30am in Jubilee Hall - Postponed
ECC Playgroup 9:15am to 11:15am
Principal's Tour (first Tuesday of the month) 10:00am - By appointment only
Every Wednesday
ECC Early Learning Years (ELY) 9:15am to 11:15am
School Banking
March 15-21
Harmony Week
March 17
St. Patrick's Day
March 18
Andrew Chinn
March 19
St. Joseph's Day
March 28
Palm Sunday
March 30
Class Mass - 5/6 Morrison & 5/6 May
Raising Hearts and Minds
