23 February 2017

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

It’s so easy to love those who love us. However the test of our Christian love is to love those who seem unlovable or even seek to make themselves appear unlovable. It’s easy to stop saying hello to the person who never returns your greeting. It’s easy to avoid the person whose disability makes you uncomfortable. It’s easy to hate the person who’s nasty to you. But Jesus says that it’s these people who we must love. If we are only polite, pleasant and hospitable to our friends then we are failing to follow the footsteps of Jesus. As we approach the season of Lent, of reflecting on our weakness, this ability to truly love others could become a Lenten goal. As a way of celebrating Shrove Tuesday families often make pancakes for their children prior to the Liturgy for Ash Wednesday at school on March 1st. Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. The practice includes the wearing of ashes on the head. The ashes symbolize the dust from which God made us. As the priest applies the ashes to a person's forehead, he speaks the words: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. It is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we attain redemption. During Lent our school focus is on fundraising for Caritas – a form of ‘giving to’ others from ourselves. Please support our students in their Lenten efforts of giving as well as of reflecting during this time.

Project Compassion 2017

Our season of Lent begins next week on Ash Wednesday.

Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. It is our preparation for the Feast of Easter.

Next week we will send home a Project Compassion box for each family and invite you to support Caritas Australia this Lenten season.

Caritas Australia’s annual fundraising and awareness-raising appeal, brings thousands of Australians together in solidarity with the world's poor to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.

In Project Compassion 2016, over $11 million was raised to help the world's poorest communities.

The theme for Project Compassion 2017 is “Love your neighbour”.

As Pope Francis said, “Love of God and love of our neighbour is one and the same thing.”

By supporting Project Compassion you will be helping to empower our world’s most vulnerable neighbours to grow stronger.

You may remember having a Project Compassion box at home when you were a child. You can now share this tradition with your children, helping them to learn that they can make a positive difference in the lives of others.

Please keep your box at home until Holy Week when we will ask for its return.

Grades 3/4 Japanese - Setsubun

In our last Japanese lesson, students in Grades 3 and 4 learnt about the Setsubun festival in Japan. Setsubun celebrates the coming of spring. It is a time where families welcome in the good spirits and good luck and turn out the bad. Setsubun is also known as the “Bean Throwing Festival”. In Japan, children create scary demon masks and one person in the house (usually an adult) pretends to be a demon. The person wearing the mask stalks about whilst the children throw dried beans at them and chant:

“Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi.” This means “Demons out! Happiness in.” The bean throwing custom is to warn off any evil spirits and prevent them from coming to your house. See our Oni (demon) masks created in Grades 3 and 4.

Fees:

It is a requirement on the Fee form signed by parents that:

“ Monthly payments are to be made in 9 instalments due:

• at the end of each month March to November; and
• by the end of Term 4, a final payment settling the account in full.

Annual payments received by the school before 31 March attract a 5% discount on tuition fees (but not the capital levy or tuition levies). Annual payments cannot be aide by direct debit”.

If you require assistance with meeting this commitment please see the Principal.

Medical Information:

Can parents of students with medical needs please ensure all medical plans are updated with your doctor and returned to us in the next two weeks. We use these plans (for example anaphylaxis and asthma) as direct instruction when your child needs medical assistance from the staff.

Parking:

Please ensure that you continue to abide by road safety requirements around St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School. No parking on yellow lines or driveways. Abiding by 5 minute zones for pick up and drop off. A brochure is being emailed this week outlining these guidelines.

RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF ADULTS (RCIA)

Are you, or is a friend or relative of yours, interested in learning more about the Catholic faith? If so, then the RCIA process is an opportunity to explore the Catholic faith in a friendly, small group environment. Please feel free to bring a friend along to accompany you on the journey, or to help them as they explore the riches of our faith. If you would like to join this group, please join us for an INFORMATION EVENING MONDAY 6th March at 7:30pm at the Pastoral Centre,44 Margaret Street Launceston. For enquiries/expressions of interest please contact Gordana or Paul Crowe on 0417 307 147 or 6331 1674 for more information

2017 Sacramental Calendar –

1. Reconciliation Information Night - Tues 28th Feb 7:30pm Sacred Heart Church Newstead 
2. Registration for Reconciliation – STM 2 – 4pm - Tues 7th March in the Sunroom

Full brochure and times for Sacraments will be emailed this week

FAMILY MASS

SATURDAY 25TH FEBRUARY AT SACRED HEART CHURCH NEWSTEAD AT 6PM

If you or your child would like to help with Family Mass, (reading, offertory, etc.) please email jaquie.wood@catholic.tas.edu.au.

Community Events:

Launceston Basketball Association

Elphin Sports Stadium
Starts Tuesday 7th March 2017-02-20
6 week program 3:30pm -4:30pm

NORWOOD/KINGSMEADOWS AREA

ALEX HILLIER 0429 527 250

School Calendar

We are endeavouring to create a school calendar embedded in Schoolzine. You will be able to access this calendar through a tab at the top of the e-newsletter shortly. There will be no hard copy calendar this year as events are often subject to change. This e-calendar will keep you more up to date with school events.

P & F Meeting and AGM

Wednesday 1st March at 7pm, in the school staff room, is our first P&F meeting and AGM for the year. All welcome.

Schoolzine

St Thomas More’s has moved to a new all-in-one parent and community communication platform called Schoolzine. Schoolzine will replace a number of the communication services we currently provide including our newsletter, Team App, and event booking systems. Schoolzine provide access to content through a website and free app that is downloadable on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. You will be accessing this eNewsletter through the website right now and the app will allow you to access our new school eNewsletter also. Furthermore, the app will replace Team App, as it provides the ability to send out push notifications, as Team App does, but with increased functionality. In 2017 we will still continue to send out notifications using Team App, up until we feel comfortable that everyone has had a chance to switch over to the new Schoolzine platform. This new platform will also replace our booking system for Parent/Teacher Interviews and any other event bookings that we may need throughout the year. We hope that this new all-in-one platform will allow for increased and more user-friendly communication between the school and families. You can download the Schoolzine app and find St Thomas More’s right now. This way as we role into using the Schoolzine app throughout the year you will be ready to go and start receiving notifications straight away. As with Team App, it is important to leave push notifications turned on when you install the new Schoolzine app.

Birth to 4 Program at St Thomas More’s

Starting 21st February in the Josephite Hall 9 -10:30 every Tuesday during term time. All parent and children 4 and under are most welcome. Looking forward to seeing you.

St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School Swimming Carnival

23rd February Grades 3-6 - Letter from Mr Stacey has been emailed to families.

Parent /Teacher Meetings

These meetings will occur in week 6 from Tuesday 14th March till Friday 17th March. An on-line booking system will be available by the end of Week Four. When booking on line can you please fill up the time slots progressively to prevent huge time gaps. As partners in your child’s education these meetings are an opportunity for you to share valuable information for your child/children.

UPCOMING EVENTS

TUESDAY 21 FEBRUARY B-4 BEGINS 9-10:30 and ongoing every Tuesday during school terms
THURSDAY 23 FEBRUARY SWIMMING CARNIVAL
SATURDAY 25TH FEBRUARY FAMILY MASS NEWSTEAD CHURCH 6PM
TUESDAY 28th FEBRUARY SHROVE TUESDAY
TUESDAY 28th FEBRUARY INFORMATION EVENING FOR RECONCILIATION.
All PARENTS/GUARDIANS INTENDING TO REGISTER A CANDIDATE FOR RECONCILIATION IN 2017 TO ATTEND SACRED HEART CHURCH NEWSTEAD AT 7:30pm
WEDNESDAY 1 MARCH P&F AGM AND ORDINARY MEETING
TUESDAY 7 MARCH REGISTRATION WEEK FOR THE SACRAMENTS
MONDAY 13 MARCH LONGWEEKEND
TUESDAY 14 MARCH – FRIDAY 17TH MARCH PARENT/TEACHER MEETINGS WEEK
THURSDAY MARCH 23 NIJSSA SWIMMING CARNIVAL
MONDAY APRIL 3 PUPIL FREE DAY
FRIDAY 14 APRIL GOOD FRIDAY

GALLERY

Parents participating in our open information evening.

Students enjoying our new courts financed by our P&F.

Learning at St Thomas More’s