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.

ROCKET SHIP JESUS

The passage from the Gospel of Mark for this Sunday’s Mass, details the Ascension of Christ. When read literally the text conjures up images in the mind of Jesus taking off into the sky, into the heavens, and into God’s embrace, like one of Elon Musk’s rocket ships. The tendency, therefore, when reflecting on and thinking about this passage is to focus on ‘what is up there’. But conversely, the intention of the Gospel writer is more about ‘what is in here’, that is, in ourselves. This passage is less about Jesus and more about his followers.

It is accepted in tradition that the time period between the Ascension of Jesus and the events of Pentecost is nine days. These nine days are known as the Novena. Pentecost, and the coming of Spirit as promised by Christ in the passage from the Gospel of John above, are considered the genesis of the Church. So therefore, what did the Disciples do for those nine days following the departure of their beloved teacher and Lord?

The Gospel describes the Disciples as focusing on worship in the Temple, and the Acts of the Apostles describes them as ‘constantly devoting themselves to prayer’. These are not the actions of those looking up and wondering ‘what is up there’ and seeking the presence of Christ beyond themselves. These are actions of those who are examining ‘what is in here’, and committing to the introspection, reflection, and contemplation required to seek the presence of Christ within. 

So often we allow the prevailing circumstances beyond us to define who we are, our self-worth, our value to community, and limit our potential positive impact on others and the world. But life is not something that happens to us. We look up at the stars and marvel at our insignificance, and ask where God is in the midst of our struggles. But God comes to us disguised as our lives. This is the purpose of the incarnation, this is the meaning of Christ’s paschal sacrifice, this is the message of the Cross - that God shares in our suffering and struggles. 

We need not wait for a distant and passive force to intervene and improve our circumstances, but like the Disciples during the Novena, to look for God’s eternal blessing of Grace within, and allow that to transform our lives, transform each other and transform our world. The fire of Christian transformation wasn’t launched like a rocket into the skies never to be seen again, it lives and burns forever in our hearts.

Mr Casimir Douglas

Thursday 16th May, 2024

Jesus' Ascension into Heaven

John Singleton Copley, Italy, 1775

Dear Parents and Carers,

SALUTATION

Grace to you and peace.

STM TV: TERRIBLE TEETH & TIME TRAVELLERS

This episode for Term 2 - Week 3, 2024, features the students from our Thomas classes. This week in our episode, Terrible Teeth & Time Travellers, we meet some Preps with "knobbly knees and terrible teeth", commemorate our past, go on a novel journey, and step back in time!

STM TV is our school's episodic YouTube show designed to share the key learning experiences of nominated students and classes each week to engage our parents and the broader community in the learning journey of our school.

GOSPEL VALUE AWARDS: EMPATHY

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 EMPATHY. Our Gospel Values: Head, Heart & Hands Framework, reminds our students that to show the value of EMPATHY is to be gentle, learn, and listen.

The following students received a Gospel Value Award at our School Assembly on Friday (17th May), as nominated by their class teacher for exemplifying the Gospel value of EMPATHY:

Term 2 - Week 3, 2024
Piper Roney	Piper, you are a caring, calm and thoughtful presence in our classroom. You show empathy for your peers through your actions and your words. We are so lucky to have you in our classroom Piper.	Prep More
Olive Rigby	Olive, you show empathy by being kind and gentle with your friends, genuinely listening to others, and being passionate about learning from your peers and teachers.	Prep Thomas
Scout Lunson	For being a gentle and caring member of our class. Scout shows the Gospel value of empathy by being a respectful listener and being eager to learn as much as she can. Thanks for all your hard work, Scout!	Grade 1/2 More
Pax Walker	Pax consistently goes above and beyond to ensure that everyone feels valued, heard and supported. Whether it's comforting a friend in need, standing up for others or volunteering his time to assist those facing challenges. Pax's acts of kindness demonstrate the true spirit of empathy.	Grade 1/2 Saint
Anna Badcock	Although a quiet member of our class, Anna is a kind and giving friend to all. Whether it be comforting a friend or just making us smile with that big, bright smile of hers. Anna is a great listener and is always eager to learn more. You truly deserve this Gospel Value award for your thoughtful empathy and kindness towards others. Thank you Anna!	Grade 1/2 Taylor
Jerome Yu	For being an inclusive and empathetic friend by including others in your games. Keep up the great work Jerome.	Grade 3/4 More
Eden Luttrell	Eden is empathetic to the needs of her peer and teachers and is always willing to help out.	Grade 3/4 Saint
Chaz Swain	For always being kind, compassionate and respectful in his interactions with others. Chaz is a natural leader who always displays a positive outlook and attitude. He approaches every day with enthusiasm and a smile.	Grade 3/4 Thomas
Tess Allie	Tess always shows empathy towards her peers and adults. She is able to understand and respond to the emotions and feelings of others	Grade 5/6 More
Lucy Muller	For her empathy and understanding of her peers and all those around her. She goes above and beyond to ensure everyone is happy, whether it's a friendly smile or offering a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear.	Grade 5/6 Saint
Ester Lun Muan Dim	For being a gentle and caring soul. She shows empathy with ease to her friends, peers and teachers. And always ensures her actions are genuinely kind towards all.	Grade 5/6 Thomas

These students will also attend the Principal’s Morning Tea next Tuesday (21st May) in the Josephite Hall during the first break at 10:50am with myself and Fr Jesse.

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

This past Tuesday (15th May) evening, we had 17 of our wonderful students receive their first Sacrament of Reconciliation!

All the schools in the Catholic Parish of Launceston gathered at the Church at our school to celebrate this special occasion.

Thank you very much to our Religious Education Coordinator, Mrs Belinda Taylor, for all her work in supporting the students and their families on this critical step of their faith journey.

READING AT HOME - PARENT INFORMATION EVENING

This past Thursday (17th May) evening we held a parent information session for the parents of our Early Years students to learn about our approach to teaching literacy, Literate Learners for Life.

We covered the Science of Reading, the home reader program, the delivery of Initialit in the classroom, and the amazing resources available in our school Library for parents and students alike.

Thank you very much to all the staff in attendance on the evening for sharing their knowledge, enthusiasm and expertise. And thank you to Mrs Tracey Kidd & Mrs Jessica Scharapow for their leadership and organisation of the evening.

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

We have been able to secure a catch up date for school photos for those students who were absent on Monday, 13 May 2024.

This catch up date will be Friday 31st May 2024.

We will be able to offer family photos and individual photos only. Family photos will commence at 8.30am so please ensure that your children go straight to the hall if a family photo has been ordered. The photographers will then follow on with individual photos.

For Grades 3-6 students who require catch up photos, please ensure that they are in their formal school uniform on this day. If they have a PE lesson or normally wear their sports uniform, they may like to bring their sports shoes in their bag.

If your child is in Kinder T (Mrs Edwards class) and were absent, you are welcome to come in between 8.30-9.30am just for their photo/s.

You do not need to contact MSP Photography to re-order these photos, they are already aware and will honour orders placed.

If you have any questions please contact the school office.

Currently one parent at the same address as the student, receives an SMS message when a student has an unexplained absence.  We advise that this will soon be changing.  SMS messages will be sent to both parent/guardians.

Within the next few weeks, while at recess or lunch we will hold an unannounced emergency practice with staff and students, to test our response to a potential scenario that staff may identify a threat warranting the school go into lockdown (opposite to evacuation).

Like for fire evacuation drills, we recognise the worth to test this process. We have plans in place to make this practice as least disruptive as possible.

If you have queries please call our Safety Officer, Katie Gardner on 0456 849 497.

Thank you to our Parents and Friends for organising our Mother's day craft activity.  Members of our P & F spent two days asssisting students with decorating, wrapping and distributing their Mother's day gifts.  We appreciate you!

TM students are learning and refining their chess skills with chess experts Carl and Hayden from Black Square Chess. They will visit STM on Mondays at first break in the Library. All ages welcome.

Please see the attached flyer for more information.

Rebecca
Librarian

Tasmania Devils Shirt for all NAB AFL Auskickers

Exciting news! The Tasmania Devils are offering a bonus FREE Tasmania Devils shirt to all participants who are registered already and will be registering for NAB AFL Auskick in 2024!

In the Northern region, the centres that will be starting in Term 2 include:
East Launceston Auskick Centre

Launceston Auskick Centre

Northern Bombers Auskick Centre (North Launceston)

University Newnham Auskick Centre

Evandale Auskick Centre

Lilydale Demons Auskick Centre

Campbell Town Auskick Centre

Tamar Demons Exeter Auskick Centre

Bicheno Auskick Centre

To join Auskick and get your very own shirt, register via play.afl