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- Reflection
- Principal's Message
- STM School Board - Expressions of Interest
- CBCA Book Week 2020 – Book Week Parade
- Premier's Reading Challenge - Award Recipients
- Student Awards
- P & F Meeting - All welcome
- Volunteer wanted!
- Planning for 2021
- Recognition of the change of House name in the Catholic Standard
- Parish Bulletin
- QVMAG - Minds Do Matter Exhibition
- A note from Metro
The frequency with which we consider the question of insider-outsider is an indication of how important universalism and the breaking down of boundaries is within our religious tradition. All peoples, all lands are called on to praise God. Furthermore, God cares about and cares for all people (see Is 19:25), and God works through all people to accomplish good in the world: Gandhi, a Hindu of Indian origin; Martin Luther King, Jr, a Baptist minister; Susan B. Anthony, a suffragist; Nelson Mandela, a Black South African, etc. Human beings have always realised that, in comparison with the grandeur and expansiveness of the universe within which they live, they are weak and vulnerable creatures. This has led them to believe in and offer homage to a divine being, or beings. Praise of God has always been an expression of awe and gratitude as well as humility.
If neither gender, nor race, nor age, nor class nor culture qualifies one for being an insider, what does? Today’s readings suggest that it is service of others. In breaking down the walls of prejudice, the social activists of our own age liberate not only the oppressed groups to which they belong, but also those who oppress them. The lives of these dynamic people show us that service of others draws them into our circles and encircles us in theirs. With open arms God invites all into an embrace of divine love. As God has embraced us, so we are called to embrace all others.
© Dianne Bergant CSA
Dear Families,
Welcome back to Term 4, and welcome to Amaya who has commenced G5 this term.
On Monday the staff team gathered for our annual Spirituality Day, this year’s topic was MJR, Make Jesus Real. You may have heard of our MJR program from your children, with terms like “attitude of gratitude,” (being grateful) or “Ok with a smile,” (answering your requests with “ok” and giving you a smile.) We have also introduced MJR as part of our Monday Assemblies and we will be focusing on an area each month. For October we are promoting W.E.S.T., Welcoming, Encouraging, being able to say Sorry and being Thankful. Please feel free to discuss this with your children at home and ask them, what do W.E.S.T. people do?
I am pleased to inform you that we are now able to host an End of Year Concert which will be on the evening of Friday 11th December. Our End of Year Concert will be different from our Carols evening as we will be removing the individual items and replacing them with items prepared by our Drama Club; we will still have our class Christmas songs and our G6 song. We have chosen to make this change as our drama students have not had an opportunity to perform in front of an audience this year. We are looking forward to this event. Please note that the event will be for parents, students and staff only. We will send out more information about the event later this term.
Today we finished our Athletics Carnival with our relay races. We congratulate all our students on their enthuastic participation in our carnival and today our teachers' team who won the student/teacher relay, with the student reserve team a close second. Feedback from our carnival has been positive and we will continue with the K to 6 format next year. Again, a big thank you to all our volunteers, you make days like this possible. We will be announcing our winning House on Monday.
On Wednesday I was lucky enough to spend some time at the Hoo Hoo Hut with our Northern Region Aboriginal students. The students had a great day learning how to weave, make clap sticks and discovering traditional uses of our native plants. I need to thank Mrs Spotswood and Mrs Nailer who coordinated the day and all the helpers. I look forward to more traditional activities being part of our school.
Next week we have a few teacher placement students working in our classes. We welcome Ms Wheeler in G1/2M, Ms Cooper in G1/2S, Mr Richardson in G3/4T and Ms Harrison in G3/4S.
God Bless,
Shayne Kidd
STM School Board - Expressions of Interest
St Thomas More’s Catholic School Board are looking for expressions of interest for 3 vacancies, commencing the beginning of the 2021 school year. The STM School Board works closely with the Principal to provide advice and guidance on school governance. If you are interested, please contact Mrs Pietsch on 6337 7200, for an application package. Expressions of Interest close on Friday 20th November 2020.
CBCA Book Week 2020 – Book Week Parade
Each year the Children’s Book Council of Australia celebrates Book Week to highlight the importance of reading and to promote quality Australian children’s literature. This year CBCA Book Week is being held from 17-23 October. The theme for 2020 is “Curious Creatures, Wild Minds.”
As part of our celebrations St Thomas More’s is holding a Dress-up Parade this Monday 19th October from 9-9.30am. Students are welcome to dress-up as a character from a book that they know and love. Please encourage your child to be creative, using clothes they may already have or recycled items. It is not compulsory but if your child would like to take part they may come to school dressed as their character. We recommend that students bring the book they have chosen.
Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions, parents are unable to attend.
Rebecca Thomas
Librarian
Premier's Reading Challenge - Award Recipients
Congratulations to the following students for successfully completing the 2020 Premier's Reading Challenge! They have all received a certificate from Premier Peter Gutwein:
- Maggie Beaumont
- Ivy Angelia-Taylor
- Evie Hanson
- Zoe Goldsmith
- Paige Wylie
- Lillian Watchorn
- Mikaela Oakley
- Grace Goss
- Georgia Harmey
- Heidi Slater
- Mabel Howard
- Lillian Barns
- Ryan Belsak
- Felix Darby- Rodriguez
- Lexi Pietsch
- Joseph Farrell
- Caleb Holloway
- Izzy Alexander
- Jessica Lehner
- Noah Spiteri
- Isaac Pietsch
- Patrick Twynam-Perkins
Congratulations to the following students for recieving awards this week:
The P and F are holding their next meeting on Wednesday, 21st October at 7pm in the staff room. All are welcome to attend.
We are looking for a volunteer with wood-working skills and a current WWVP registration to spend time with some students to plan and construct easy wood projects and develop basic woodworking skills.
If you know of someone available on Thursday afternoons between 12-1.30pm who would like to be involved, please contact the office on 6337 7200.
Planning for the 2021 school year is well underway. If you are aware of any changes to your circumstances for the coming year and may be leaving the school, please notify the office at your earliest opportunity.
Please be aware families are obligated through the Terms of Enrolment to provide written notice of at least 10 school weeks prior to their withdrawal of a student from the school. This includes withdrawal prior to the start of the school year.
If you have any queries, please contact the office.
Recognition of the change of House name in the Catholic Standard
The Catholic Standard has celebrated the 10th anniversary of the canonisation of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop by including an artical on the change of House name from More to MacKillop.
Please see attached this weeks Parish Bulletin.
QVMAG - Minds Do Matter Exhibition
The QVMAG Inveresk is currently displaying the Minds do Matter exhibition which is filled with community art representing a theme each year focused around mental health. This year's theme is 'Balance'.
This exhibition explores the relationship between art and wellbeing by celebrating arts power to be life-enhancing and life-affirming. This is more than an art exhibition. It is an acknowledgement that mental health and mental illness are a part of the human experience – it impacts upon individuals, families and communities. Minds Do Matter is an expression of the lived experience of mental illness and a validation of the creativity, courage and resilience of us all. Art can be a powerful tool in the healing and recovery process. It is a process that invites conversations leading to greater understanding, acceptance, reconciliation and the discovery of life, as it is, with all its wonderful possibilities.
On show at the Museum in Inveresk from 3 October to 1 November 2020.
Please see following a communication from Metro Tasmania:
At Metro, we’re passionate about safety, and this October we’re focussing on reducing the number of falls on our busees.
As a key passenger group, students can play an important role in supporting everyone to be safe on board. Please help us communicate this important advice to your school community. In addition to talking to our drivers and community groups about ways to stay safe, we’re asking passengers to:
-leave priority seats available for those in need
-offer seats to priority passengers
-move down the bus to leave spaces towards to front clear
-place bags in luggage racks to maximise seated and standing capacity
These tips are important because most falls occur when a senior or disabled passenger boards but is not seated or holding on by the time the bus moves away from the stop.
For many of our customers, safe transport is critical to quality of life, and a stumble or fall on board can seriously affect confidence and independence.
Please find attached a link to our website here: https://www.metrotas.com.au/corporate/campaigns/reducing-passenger-falls/