Dear Families,

Welcome back to 2021, it is great to see that all our children have settled back into school routine well and everyone has enjoyed the first week. Thank you for your assistance with school drop offs over this week, this has really help us have a great start to the year. Unfortunately, our week was marred on Thursday, with someone burning down half our fort playground in the early hours of the morning. I would like to thank the neighbour who contacted the emergency services and our local fire brigade, whose quick response saved half our fort. We have had it assessed and expect to have the undamaged area of the fort reopened within a couple of weeks. We are consulting with playground experts on a replacement piece as soon as possible. Also, a big thank you to all our community members who have reached out and offered help to repair the playground, thank you.

This week we welcome all our new Kinder families and Mia, Edison, Kade and Tom (Prep), Samantha and Lara (G1), Axel (G2), Rose, Ava and Myles (G3), Alex (G4), Cooper (G5) and Laila (G6). We also welcomed new staff, Mrs Wheeler (1/2T), Miss Nichols (G1/2M) and Miss Geale (3/4T). Sadly we farewelled during the holidays Eyobed (Kinder), Sophie and Kievan (Prep), Dawitt (G1), Ava (G2), Yoel and Lulu (G4) and Hugh (G5), we wish them and their families all the best.

We are pleased to introduce our new counsellor Ms Natasha Lebrocq. Natasha will be at school Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. If you wish for your child to see Natasha, please inform your child’s teacher.

A reminder that our Parent Information Night and Welcome BBQ is on Tuesday 9th February commencing at 5pm. To register please follow this link. Thank you to all our families who have already responded.

Monday 22nd February is our first P&F Meeting for 2021 at 7pm. Everyone is welcome to attend. The meeting is held in the staff room.

We are now taking expressions of interest for Kinder 2022. Forms are available online or from our office.

Pick up in the afternoon can become a bit stressful, however if we all follow the rules and show courtesy to each other it can run very smoothly. The pick-up areas on Abbott and Campbell Streets are No Parking Areas, meaning you can only stop there to collect your child immediately. If your child is running late you will need to either drive around the block or find another place to legally park. Also please be mindful of our neighbours and do not block their driveways. Campbell Street exit is supervised between 3 and 3:15pm and Abbott Street between 3 and 3:30pm.

We have two marked crossings; we expect that you will model safe behaviours to your children by using them. Children learn from what is modelled to them.

St Thomas More’s is a PBS (Positive Behaviour School). We take pride in ensuring we have a safe and enjoyable environment for our children. If your child does have a concern with another child, we encourage them to see a teacher immediately so that we can assist. We often use the UR Strong phrases of “Friendship Fire” and “Mean on Purpose”.

Friendship Fire – a disagreement or misunderstanding with a friend. This is a normal part of any relationship.
Mean on Purpose – a deliberate act to upset another person.

We also need to remember that children come to school to learn, and just like the academic subjects, children are also learning how to behave socially. It is our job as a community to teach them.

Our school rules are:
Be Respectful – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Jesus)
Be Responsible – Never see a need without doing something about it. (St Mary MacKillop)
Be a Learner – Education is … making visible what is hidden as a seed. (St Thomas More)

God Bless,
Shayne Kidd