Principal's Message
Dear Families,
2020 is certain to be a year to go down in history. This year we all learnt about lock down and Learning @ Home.
When reflecting on this year, it seems like a lifetime ago when our 2020 school year commenced in February. Our year started well with our Welcome Family BBQ and all our students were settling into the rhythm of a new year.
What happened next, I don’t think anyone could have predicted, we were thrown into a global pandemic. There were shortages of toilet paper and hand sanitiser, we all learnt new practices like social distancing, elbow bumps instead of hand shaking, protocols to effectively use Zoom and then Learning @ Home. Fortunately for us we moved to a new normal part way through Term 2 and as time goes on slowly our restrictions are being lifted.
Our children, families and staff have been very resilient throughout this pandemic, a real strength demonstrated here at St Thomas More’s. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your consistent support of our school and staff, it has been greatly appreciated.
Next week we farewell our Grade 6 students as they leave us to embark on the next leg of their education journey, High School. Our Grade 6’s has felt the impact of Covid this year through competitions, gala days and other activities being cancelled, however they have also learnt how to be adaptive and creative. From the creation of a virtual school, to our Captains leading Zoom assemblies or developing sanitising practices for sports equipment, G6 as a cohort have been true leaders this year, thank you. I wish you all the best with your future endeavours and remember, you are always still part of the St Thomas More’s family.
Yesterday and today, I had the pleasure of watching our Kinder Nativity. The children do a fantastic job retelling the Christmas narratives. A great effort by our students and the Kinder Team.
I wish to congratulate our 2021 Captains on your appointments, and I look forward to working with you next year. School Captains: Grace Turner, Amber Richards, Xavier Hampton and Tay Cassidy. House Captains: Chisholm, Thomas Anderson and Lexi Pietsch; Tennison, Cooper Devine and Holly Hendriksen; MacKillop, Jett Patterson and Ilana Kacarevic. I would also like to thank all those students who nominated, you did a great job with your speeches and I believe you all have leadership potential. There will be plenty of opportunities next year if you wish to take them.
Today your child’s End of Year Report is available through Compass. If you have any questions or queries about your child’s report, please make contact with your child’s teacher next week.
Sadly, we farewell two well regarded members of our team, Mrs Megan Booth and Mrs Cindy-Lou Campbell. Mrs Campbell has been teaching our G1/2 classes since 2019, she has been a wonderful teacher and we will be sad to see her go. Megan has been our school counsellor or the past 3 years and our UR Strong / Friendology school expert. Megan has assisted many children and families over her time here at St Thomas More’s and I wish to thank her for that.
The last day of school for students is Wednesday 16th December 2020. School resumes on Monday 1st February 2021, this is earlier than the State schools. Term 1 concludes on Thursday 1st April 2021. We will be having a 3 week holiday over the Easter break with school returning for Term 2 on Monday 26th April 2021.
I wish you all a Blessed Christmas, prosperous New Year and a relaxing break.
God Bless,
Shayne Kidd