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.

400 FACES & THE HONOUR OF A LIFETIME

How do you respond when you remove the hands from your eyes and staring back at you are 400 copies of your own face and the chorus of, “Happy World Principal Day!”, echoes around the school?

I felt I had been clear; very clear, in fact. Clear that there was to be no event, no celebration, no mention, and not even so much as a murmur about World Principals Day. We have regular Staff Wellness Committee meetings where we ensure that the vision for our Staff culture and environment, outlined in our Staff Charter, is actively upheld through the provision of a range of programs and initiatives enhanced to promote and celebrate the wellbeing of our staff. At the meeting in Week 1 of this term, as we explored the calendar of wellbeing happenings for the term ahead, World Principals Day was mentioned. And I very quickly shut down conversation on the matter, wanting no fuss to be made. 

And I thought, that was that. But the 400 faces of Mr Douglas that your children brought home with them last week shows that I was mistaken! The most cherished time I spend as Principal is in the classroom with students and teachers; for me, this is where the real work of the Principal lies. So, this past Friday, when I went to leave my office after lunch, where I had been getting a quick drink of water following a basketball game with our Grade 5/6 students during the break, I was intercepted by our wonderful Deputy Principal, Ms Allison Cornish, who informed me conspiratorially, that I needed to restrict myself to the office this afternoon, and that I would be allowed to leave at 2:55pm. 

After some agitated pacing, and quick Newsletter updates, Mrs Chugg arrived at the office to inform me to cover my eyes and walk with her to the Piazza, the central square of the school. As I arrived at my destination, I was prompted to let the scales fall from my eyes, to be surprised with a hearty chorus of, “Happy World Principal Day!”, and 400 copies of my own face staring back at me! 

So as I began, how do you respond to that?

I’m not certain of the correct way to respond (I’m not sure anyone would!), but I responded by speaking to the gathered school (including about 50 parents at pick up time!) from the heart. The words I spoke were to the effect of…

To be the Principal of St Thomas More’s Catholic School is the honour of a lifetime. As I have shared many times before, my mother attended St Thomas More’s Catholic School from 1960-1972 and was a Prefect (School Captain) in her final years. To walk in her footsteps and to continue building the school community in which she spent 13 years of her life studying, learning, growing, praying, playing, laughing, crying, striving, falling, smiling, and singing (and good Lord can my mother sing!) is a blessing and a privilege.

But it too is also an honour, a blessing and a privilege to live in, work in, learn in, and lead this school community, because I am also able to share in the studying, learning, growing, praying, playing, laughing, crying, striving, falling, smiling and singing with each and every single one of you; students, staff, and parents alike.

To close this reflection, please enjoy these humorous and enlightening responses below from our Kinder More students when they were posed the question: What does Mr Douglas do? Thank you very much to Mrs Jacquie Wood for sharing these!

What does Mr Douglas do?

• Mr Douglas looks after people.

• Mr Douglas taps on computers.

• Mr Douglas does hard work.

• Mr Douglas takes care of the students.

• Mr Douglas does very hard work and looks after lots of people.

• Mr Douglas takes care of classrooms when we go home.

• The Principal in the house is the oldest. In my house, the Principal is my Mum!

• Mr Douglas has to watch everyone.

• Mr Douglas does jobs.

• Mr Douglas has to tell people about news at the school.

• Mr Douglas helps people when they are sad.

• Mr Douglas keeps all the kids safe and keeps them away from the monsters!

• Mr Douglas comes to every classroom.

• Mr Douglas talks to everyone at the school.

Mr Casimir Douglas

Monday 5th August, 2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

SALUTATION

Grace to you and peace.

PARENT INFORMATION EVENING W/ SUE LANGLEY

Please find attached below a flyer for our Positive Psychology for Productive Parenting Practices parent information evening with CEO and Founder of the Langley Group, Sue Langley.

This is a free event that we strongly encourage all of our parents to attend. Please access the link or QR code in the flyer to register your attendance. Places are limited!

Sue is global wellbeing speaker and thought-leader in positive psychology. She is an expert on the practical application of emotional intelligence, positive psychology and neuroscience. The evening is an opportunity for parents to explore positive parenting practices to be the best parents we can be to help our children be happy, resilient, and succeed in life. If you wish to learn more about Sue Langley's work, please access the following link: https://langleygroup.com.au

This event is a collaboration between the six Catholic Schools in Launceston, and has been funded by the parent engagement grants made available by the Tasmanian Catholic Schools Parents Council. It is being held at St Patrick's College on the evening of Tuesday 27th August, 2024. 

GOSPEL VALUE AWARDS: RESPECT

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 August, the school community is focused on the Gospel value of RESPECT. Our Gospel Values: Head, Heart & Hands Framework, reminds our students that to show the value of RESPECT is to be kind, be thankful, be positive.

The following students received a Gospel Value Award at our School Assembly on Friday (9th August), as nominated by their class teacher for exemplifying the Gospel value of RESPECT:

Term 3 - Week 3, 2024
Mikey Burgess	Mikey you are such a kind and caring member of our classroom. You show respect to your teachers and always set a great example to your classmates. We are so lucky to have you in our class Mikey.	Prep More
Lily Black	Respect - Lily consistently shows the Gospel Value of Respect through her kind and caring ways of treating others and active listening in class.	Prep Thomas
Jack Eadie	For the respect he shows to everyone in our class. Jack is always kind and looks out for others. He always has a smile on his face and has a positive attitude towards his learning. Keep being you, Jack!	Grade 1/2 More
Lachlan Oakley	Lachlan consistently demonstrates respect in our classroom. He greets teachers and classmates with a warm smile and a friendly hello, setting a positive tone for the day. Lachlan has lovely manners and is polite, which makes him an asset to our class.	Grade 1/2 Saint
Eleanor Viney	For always being true to herself. She is kind, thankful, and positive every day. Her genuine respect for others and her ability to find the good in every situation inspire us all. Thank you Eleanor for being a shining example of respect.	Grade 1/2 Thomas
Vaibhavi Sompalli	You continuously show respect within the classroom and your engagement in learning. Your patience, curiosity and determination in wanting to deepen your understanding of knowledge is admirable.	Grade 3/4 More
May Gill	For consistently showing respect towards her peers and teachers. May you are a wonderful role model to others.	Grade 3/4 Saint
Mikayla Bardenhagen	For being an exceptional role model and leading by example to demonstrate respect towards others, her teachers and her learning in the classroom.	Grade 3/4 Thomas
Ivy Cartledge	Ivy is constantly showing the gospel value of respect. She follows the message of St Mary MacKillop- never see a need without doing something about it. Ivy will always be helping out with jobs in the classroom, and shows kindness towards everyone in the classroom	Grade 5/6 More
Mikaela Oakley	Mikaela respects everyone and lives by the gospel teachings by being kind and caring. She treats others fairly, making our community a better place. By helping others and spreading good vibes, she is committed to being a respectful, inclusive member of our class and school community. Thank you, Mikaela.	Grade 5/6 Saint
Paige Wylie	Paige consistently shows respect towards those around her. She is an enthusiastic learner, and a kind and helpful member of our class. Paige will often choose to celebrate the success of others before that of her own.	Grade 5/6 Thomas

These students will also attend the Principal’s Morning Tea next Tuesday (13th August) in the Josephite Hall during the first break at 10:50am with myself and the attending Parish Priest.

AUTHOR VISIT - LYNDA YOUNG

This Tuesday (6th August), author and illustrator, Lynda Young visited our school to talk to our Grade 1’s about her wonderful book Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner… Students learnt about the diets of many of our native animals and other very interesting facts. Did you know that penguins have sparkly poo and that squirrel gliders can glide up to 100 metres among the trees? We also learnt about how Lynda writes and illustrates her books. It was a great experience for all our budding biologists and authors and illustrators!

CONSTRUCTION WORKS IN EARLY YEARS BUILDING (GRADE 1/2 MORE)

Next week we will have Fairbrothers Construction and Sykline Roofing on-site to commence works on the reparation of the roof and ceiling in the Early Years Building. These works will be concentrated in the Grade 1/2 More classroom and focused on the remediation of the defective rain and water diversion systems that have failed and caused significant water damage in the ceiling and walls of the classroom. The project, given the grace and blessing of good weather, will take two weeks. For the duration of this period the Grade 1/2 More class will be decanted to the Oak Tree Classroom. 

We thank the students, parents, and staff of Grade 1/2 Thomas for their patience and support for the duration of these works, particular to Ms Nichols, Mrs Edwards, and Mrs Svoboda for their calm leadership and guidance of the students during this time. 

Please note that no other classrooms will affected during this period of maintenance. This information has, of course, already been communicated to the students and families of Grade 1/2 More, and updates on the progress of the project will be provided to those directly affected, and the broader school community when available and appropriate.

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

Congratulations to Eleanor Viney, Isla Hawkins, Nina Rooney, Mary Hau Sian Huai, Thomas Bowman, Judd Conroy, London Trotter, Olivia Pooley, Phoebe Mellor, Sam Mannion, Jayla Wrankmore, Elina Pedder and Kirby Hodgetts who received 25 St Thomas More's sticker rewards for their positive contributions to our school.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Congratulations to our new SRC representatives for Semester 2 2024. We will be presenting our new representatives with their badges next Friday (16th August) at our school assembly. Families are welcome to attend. Assembly begins promptly at 2:20pm in the Josephite Hall.