The vision for St Thomas More's Catholic School is to be a vibrant, positive, and energetic learning community, where every child is valued, and where relationships, the Gospel, and our Josephite charism are at the heart of every aspect of our educational program.

We have high expectations for student learning and student behaviour, and aim to support our students to grow into independent and confident learners, but community-minded contributors to society.

Students are invited into an intimate relationship with Christ. We know we have achieved this goal when our students smile when they arrive at school, and are still smiling when they leave.

BRAVE, POWERFUL & FIERCE

This past Friday 8th March, we celebrated International Women’s Day. It is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. At St Thomas More’s Catholic School, we celebrated by honouring and acknowledging our female staff by holding a special morning tea in which we presented the staff with a customised specially ordered and baked biscuit! 

But, we are aware that morning teas and customised specially ordered and baked biscuits will not dramatically accelerate women’s equality. But they are a symbol. They are a token of our appreciation, gratitude, acknowledgement, and celebration of the brave, powerful, and fierce women in our lives and in our school community who have guided, nurtured, and shaped us.

My own mother, Toni, attended St Thomas More’s Catholic School from 1960-1972, and was a School Prefect in her final years at the school. It is amazing to know that the Sisters of St Joseph played a role guiding, nurturing and shaping my mother, and that her experience influenced how she guided, nurtured and shaped my siblings and myself. She herself would continue into the field of education, and would progress to being a career Principal at Primary Schools. 

I attended Mass every Sunday with my parents, and it is a practice and priority that continues today. There was one Sunday Mass in the mid 1990’s with my parents as a teenager that I distinctly remember. The Priest was preaching his homily and the theme of the rhetoric reflected the outdated (even then) and stereotyped thinking of the defined gender roles in the realm of home economics. I remember my mother rising from her seat in the pews and addressing the Priest in front of the congregation, before taking her leave from the Mass that day. I remember in my teenage awkwardness feeling some embarrassment over the matter at that moment, but overwhelmingly I was awestruck by my mother’s courage and conviction. I share this anecdote not to bash an ill-conceived passage from a sermon 30 years ago, but to highlight the bravery, power and fierceness of my mother.

My mother is brave in her motivation, drive, and desire to be the best version of herself. My mother is powerful; her integrity and her sense of justice means she never backs down. My mother is fierce in her beliefs, and sacrificed so much for the love of her family. And I am blessed to still have her in my life. But I should definitely call her more often!

And now I am responsible for how the staff of St Thomas More’s Catholic School guides, nurtures and shapes the young people entrusted to our care. So thank you to all the brave, powerful, and fierce women in our school community. May we work together to continue to build future generations of women who love themselves for who they are, and know that they will make a positive difference in the world.

Mr Casimir Douglas

Tuesday 12th March, 2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

SALUTATION

Grace to you and peace.

NAPLAN 2024

This time every year, the media trots out the educational ‘experts’ on morning television programming to debate and discuss the purpose and relevance of mandatory national literacy and numeracy testing. I applaud the initiative to have matters regarding the education of the next generation of this country’s leaders on the national agenda, but more important is to have frank and earnest discussion with our students about NAPLAN testing.

Every year, I have the same conversation with students at school gatherings regarding NAPLAN, not just because the message objectively true, but also because students need to hear this message anew every year the testing rolls around: Are the NAPLAN tests important? Yes. But can any test define your worth as a human being? No! However, the integrity of testing is critical as it provides valuable data to government agencies, and (if the feedback is timely) it will form a valuable diagnostic tool for schools and parents. But the most important aspect of implementing NAPLAN in any school is catering for the wellbeing of our students, and ensuring that they are supported throughout the testing period.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Deputy Principal, Ms Allison Cornish, and our Grade 3 and Grade 5 teachers, for their logistical organisation of the online NAPLAN experience, and their ongoing support and prioritisation of student wellbeing in the midst of this testing.

GOSPEL VALUE AWARDS: DIGNITY

Our fortnightly Gospel Values Awards process provides for the nomination and presentation of the Gospel Value Awards for those students who demonstrate, live out, and exemplify the school's Gospel values. For the month of March, the school community is focused on the Gospel value of DIGNITY. Our Gospel Values: Head, Heart & Hands Framework, reminds our students that to show the value of DIGNITY is to be myself, do my best, and be proud.

The following students received a Gospel Value Award at our Welcome Mass on Tuesday (12th March), as nominated by their class teacher for exemplifying the Gospel value of DIGNITY:

Term 1 - Week 5, 2024
William Coppleman	For always being himself. William always does his best and has made an amazing start to Prep. William shows pride in who he is and what he can do. Well done William.	Prep More
Daisy Bertram	Dignity. Daisy you are always trying to be the best version of yourself. You consistently treat others with respect both in the classroom and out on the playground.	Prep Thomas
Zoe Newton	For the effort and positive attitude she shows towards her learning activities at school. Zoe shows the Gospel value of dignity by being proud of herself and the work she produces. Keep it up, Zoe!	Grade 1/2 More
Beau Lewis	When I think of dignity, beau is the first student I think of. Beau is always being the best version of himself. He never tries to be anything else and I would never want him to be anything else. Beau tries everything to best of his abilities and he is proud of himself, as am I. Never change yourself Beau, you are perfect the way you are.	Grade 1/2 Saint
Julian Foskett	Julian the Dignity Star goes to you, for showing respect to yourself and others and always being the best version of yourself. You are kind, respectful and considerate of all those you interact with. Keep shining brightly Julian!	Grade 1/2 Thomas
Isla Spiteri	You demonstrate dignity beautifully by helping your peers in your actions and by being thoughtful and kind whilst following our class charter.	Grade 3/4 More
Dominique Williams	For respecting the dignity of others and for embracing her true self.	Grade 3/4 Saint
London Trotter	London demonstrates the Gospel Value of Dignity by always bringing the best version of herself to school each day. London is well respected by her peer group, and her positive attitude and big smile is infectious in our classroom. Keep being you, London.	Grade 3/4 Thomas
Cooper Spanton	Cooper shows the value of dignity through the way he consistently treats his peers and younger students with unwavering respect and kindness.	Grade 5/6 More
Noah Kerrison	For constantly giving his all towards everything he completes in and outside of the classroom. He is proud to share his work during classroom discussions and takes pride in his school within his leadership role as School Captain.	Grade 5/6 Saint
Halle Turner	For consistently demonstrating the gospel value of dignity. The manner in which Halle participates in classroom learning, as well how she interacts with her teachers and peers, is true to herself and respected by those around her.	Grade 5/6 Thomas

PRINCIPAL'S MORNING TEA

At our Welcome Mass this week, there were a number of students who received a Gospel Value Award for demonstrating the value of DIGNITY. These students attended a special Principal’s Morning Tea in Josephite Hall this Tuesday (12th March) with myself and Fr Chatty.

We were treated to a smorgasbord of fruit, muffins, scrolls, and cakes and we each shared what we are grateful for in our lives, including friends, family, food, water, our pets, the whole entire world, sport, a good education, our classes, our parents, and the amazing powers that we have! They also shared about their hobbies, interests and dreams which included soccer, playing on the slide, bowling, Nintendo Switch, tennis, netball, gymnastics, anime, painting, crafting, dancing, horse riding, women's footy (AFL), basketball, playing with friends in the playground, and winning the Touch Football Grand Final!

NIJSSA SWIMMING CARNIVAL

The sun was shining last Friday 8th March at Riverside Swimming Pool for the NIJSSA Swimming Carnival. Not only was the weather spectacular, but so was the performance, energy, and positivity of our students. They were amazing representatives of our school community!

In particular, a big congratulations to our Grade 3 Boys for winning their relay. What an awesome effort! Thank you to the staff for their supervision and encouragement of our students, and to our parent spectators for their support on the day. And of course, to Mr Nick Stacey for his leadership and organisation of our school's participation in the event!

FINAL GREETING

May the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

God bless,

Mr Casimir Douglas

Principal

As previously advised, the Easter non school attendance days are as follows:

Good Friday = 29 March 2024, Easter Monday = 1 April 2024
Easter Tuesday = 2 April 2024

Return to school on Wednesday, 3 April 2024

Thursday, March 21st

Harmony Day (Thursday, 21 March 2024) is part of Harmony Week, which celebrates Australia’s unique cultural diversity. 

With its motto ‘Everyone belongs’, Harmony Day is when we appreciate our differences and similarities, promote inclusiveness and show mutual respect for everyone, regardless of race, colour, religion, or background.

Children are invited to wear something orange on Thursday. The colour orange tells us that ‘orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Week’ as it ‘signifies social communication and meaningful conversations.

Throughout the year we administer Book Club for Scholastic Australia. Approximately once a month students will be given catalogues offering books for sale. Please feel no obligation to buy.

Ordering is easy - simply go online and place your order. Payment is to be made ONLY via Scholastic’s Linked Online Ordering and Payment system (i.e. no cash/cheque payments to school). LOOP allows parents to order and pay via the Scholastic website or app. Please see the brochure below for further information. There is no need to return order forms to school. Books are sent directly to the school and distributed to students.

Each order earns the school valuable reward points which are used to purchase Library and classroom resources.

For more information about Scholastic and Book Club, visit www.scholastic.com.au

Rebecca Thomas
Librarian