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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.
THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS
“Mr Douglas, I just wanted to say to you… I still remember your advice to us as a class on the first day of Year 7, and it continues to inspire me to this day”.
Each term of the school, we hold a Staff Mass & Dinner evening, as a voluntary social event for our staff. We commence the evening by gathering together for Mass at Sacred Heart Church on our school site, and then join to break bread together and share a meal at one of the many local purveyors of cuisine here in Launceston.
The most recent of these events was this past Saturday evening. Fr Jessie Banez hosted a beautiful Mass in which we celebrated the students of our school who are presenting for their Sacrament of Confirmation and first Sacrament of Eucharist this year. Then the staff gathered together for a wonderful dinner. As the evening drew to a close, and we bid our farewells to each other for the evening, and expressed our gratitude to the restaurant staff who had served us, one of them approached me.
It was a student I had taught many years ago, when he was in Grade 7 at St Patrick’s College. He was now earning his keep by working in hospitality, and had one eye on enrolment in University ahead. And he began his words with:
“Mr Douglas, I just wanted to say to you… I still remember your advice to us as a class on the first day of Year 7, and it continues to inspire me to this day”.
And he went on to explain the words that I had spoken to his class. But he didn’t need to. I knew the words. I knew them inside out. It was the same spiel each year. Not just to the Grade 7 classes I would teach who were new to the experience of secondary school. But to every class I taught, every year, whether they were in Year 7 or in Year 12. And the spiel was the same not because I was lazy, or unimaginative, or had run out of quality material… I think the past three years of Newsletters is proof enough of that! I know those words, because I believe them with every fibre of my being. They are my absolute and fervent conviction:
“The most important lessons you will ever learn will be in your life outside of school.”
I would, of course, explain that what we learn in the classroom at school is of central and critical importance. The lessons from the classroom are designed to help support, inform, aid, elevate, illuminate and transform the experiences of real life. These learning and the lessons we gain from the experience of our real lives are wasted unless we take the time to stop, pause, slow down, process, and reflect on those experiences and ask ourselves: what did I learn?
For after all, the most powerful lessons we learn in our lives are outside of school: lessons of love, lessons of faith, lessons of family, lessons of failure, lessons of struggle, lessons of resilience, lessons of hurt, lessons of grief, lessons of heartache, lessons of shame, lessons of joy, lessons of success, lessons of friendship, lessons of community, lessons of peace, lessons of quiet, lessons of stillness, lessons of mindfulness, lessons of gratitude, lessons of kindness, lessons of wonder, lessons of awe, lessons of bravery, lessons of fear, lessons of travel, lessons of risk, and lessons of learning.
And that’s the punchline: every experience is an opportunity to learn!
And it was these words that the young man thanked me for as I departed the restaurant that evening.
The phrase ‘lifelong learning’ gets bandied about a lot in education circles, and is often mistaken for ‘a lifelong commitment to academic learning and study’, and it may well include that. But that definition is far too narrow. It is simply the mindset and the worldview to see every experience as an opportunity to learn. Imagine how much more frequently we would encounter awe and wonder if we approached life with this level of curiosity and openness.
To be fair, of the staff at the restaurant that evening, I had taught at least five of them, including the Manager! The young man informed me that his latest reflections on his experiences in life were calling him toward a career as a teacher. And with his courage, his confidence, and his capacity to learn from every experience… he will be an outstanding teacher.
Mr Casimir Douglas
Monday 1st July, 2024
SALUTATION
Grace to you and peace.
LITTLE GEM PRODUCTION NIGHT!
It was a magical evening at the Door of Hope for our Early Years' Little Gem Production on Wednesday (3rd July) evening with over 500 family members and friends in attendance!
180 students from Prep-Grade 2 took to the huge stage in the Main Auditorium. The GEM principles from The Resilience Project of Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness were explored through the medium of song and dance for our school community to experience. The Resilience Project is the student wellbeing curriculum that is delivered every week to all our students by their classroom teachers as part of the Health curriculum. It is a research-based, student-centred, educational program designed to provide our students with positive mental health skills that will give them the tools they need to be resilient into the future.
Thank you so much to Adam and Sarah from Tasdance for the amazing choreography and film production that provided so many moments of joy, sincerity, and laughter in the production. Please enjoy this closing video from last night's production, titled Last Words, which captures all the preparation our young people poured into their performances.
Thank you to Catholic Education Tasmania and the Federal Governement for the provision of the Student Wellbeing Grant. It was this grant funding that provided the opportunity for our Early Years team to approach Tasdance about pulling together the incredible production that we all witnessed. However, the purpose of the exercise was not performance excellence, dancing technique, or vocal range. The premise of the initiative was to place student wellbeing at the centre. To provide an opportunity for our students to challenge themselves, to shine with confidence, to step out of their comfort zones, to work together as a team, to overcome nervousness and anxiety, to move their bodies, to find their voice, and experience the joy of personal achievement and personal significance.
Thank you very much to our staff whose bottomless energy and boundless support allowed our students to shine as part of this special project. In particular, I wish to thank Mrs Leah Wheeler for her vision and drive in bringing the project to reality. As I said in my speech on the evening, this production is ambitious, humorous, inclusive, sincere, evokes a sense of warmth and positivity, and... is a little bit crazy! And the same can be said for the wonderful Mrs Wheeler herself!
We are so proud of all our students for their bravery and confidence in performing on the big stage, under the bright lights, in front of a packed crowd! The awesome team at IdeasBanq captured all angles of the production at the Door of Hope, and we look forward to sharing the footage they captured with our school community soon!
Perhaps our Grade 2 student, Oliver George, summed it up best in our YouTube clip below: "If every string made the same sound, it wouldn't be music". And I wholeheartedly agree that every child has their unique strengths, gifts, and light to shine. And when we bring those gifts together in unison, like we did at the Door of Hope on Wednesday night, it creates incredible music to which we all can sing, dance, and celebrate.
PRINCIPAL'S MORNING TEA
At our Friday afternoon School Assembly last week, there were a number of students who received a Gospel Value Award for demonstrating the value of JUSTICE. These students attended a special Principal’s Morning Tea in Josephite Hall this Tuesday (2nd July).
We were treated to a smorgasbord of fruit, muffins, and cookies and we each shared what we are grateful for in our lives, including; family, friends, food, water, life, the whole world, dogs, guinea pigs, cows, the Sun, and the teachers who help us succeed in our learning!! They also shared about their hobbies, interests and dreams which included footy, soccer, silk gymnastics, karate, cricket, farming, art classes, online Maths classes, cheerleading, new puppies, basketball, netball, dancing, winning awards for writing, moving up a new swimming level, and moving to Melbourne!
KINDER 2025 ENROLMENTS - WELCOME TO NEW FAMILIES!
This Monday 1st July, the offers of enrolment were sent to families new to our school community for Kinder 2025! It was not too long before my inbox was filled with email overflowing with gratitude and excitement. It is such an exciting time to be both a child and a parent anticipating your first year of being at 'big school'. The very notion of your child commencing their formal education fills you with hope, fills you possibilities, and fills you with wonder at what your child might learn, how they might grow, who they will build life-long relationships with, and the stories they will share with you as they arrive home from school each day.
Please join me in wishing a warm welcome to all of the families new to our school community in 2025. I know that they will enjoy the customary warmth, kindness, and hospitality of a St Thomas More's Catholic School community welcome!
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
NAIDOC week is a big celebration for Indigenous people.
While reconciliation week focuses on relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, NAIDOC week is purely to celebrate our culture and achievements.
Held in the first week of July, NAIDOC has a long history of activism and celebration.
NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee and it dates back to the 1920s and the fight for better living condition.
To celebrate our Grade 1/2 children weaved baskets, the Grade 3/4 children decorated sea turtles amd the Grade 5/6 children wrote what NAIDOC WEEK means to them and painted aboriginal symbols onto rocks.
The STM arts community shines yet again!
Michaela Oakley, Rubi Butwell, and Emily Van Helvoirt, who on Friday 28th June performed at the Princess Theatre in the Victorian State Ballet’s rendition of Tchaikovsky's classic "Swan Lake". It was a mesmerizing production that wove together traditional ballet elements with contemporary touches, and of course integrated wonderful local talent!
Annually, as part of its commitment to youth and regional cultural development, the Victorian State Ballet invite local dancers aged 10- 17 years to audition for an ensemble role. Successful applicants are provided with choreography and are largely required to learn, practise, and develop this independently before appearing on stage with national and international dancers.
Michaela, Rubi, and Emily, all auditioned against scores of local dancers to gain a coveted cameo role in this production. Their dedication to craft were apparent on Friday, with all three demonstrating grace and confidence to execute delicate and dramatic choreography in one of the world’s most recognised ballets.
Congratulations Michaela, Rubi, and Emily, you certainly represented yourselves and the STM community beautifully, proving that hard work really does pay off!
We invite Parents and Carers to complete a survey on the uniform requirements at your school. Feedback will be collated and shared with Catholic Education Tasmania, and then with the wider Catholic School community, including parents.
If you have more than one child, and they attend different schools, we ask that your feedback is based on one school at a time; ie the survey can be completed more than once.
The Survey will remain open until end of July 2024.
