Dear Families,

It has been another busy week this week, commencing with our Monday Morning Assembly where Mrs Bridget Archer MP presented new Australian and Aboriginal flags to our school, followed by some class visits. We thank Mrs Archer for visiting us and our new flags. Tuesday was our parent information evening, thank you everyone who was able to attend and a big thanks to our P&F and Board members who cooked and served our BBQ dinner. From all the feedback I have received, everyone felt the night ran well and I hope it has given you an insight into your child/ren’s class for 2021.

Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the commencement of Lent. Traditionally we celebrate the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, commonly known as Shrove Tuesday by eating pancakes. Thanks to our P&F, our students will be enjoying pancakes on Tuesday.

We will be celebrating Ash Wednesday with a liturgy and placing ashes on your child’s forehead. We receive ashes on our foreheads as a symbol that we do make mistakes and we are sorry for them. It is a way we can remember that by being sorry for our mistakes and trying hard to be better people, we will grow closer to God.

Do you know who your children are playing with? As a parent, what would you do if your child was approached by a stranger in park? Would you let your child invite a stranger into your house, or their bedroom? This week is Internet Safety week and today I wish to highlight internet gaming. In today’s world most children play some sort of electronic games and it is becoming more common that these games are online and have multiple players from around the world. A lot of these platforms also have chat options set up allowing gamers to interact with each other. If your child does play online gaming, do you know who your children are playing with, and are they appropriate people for your child to be interacting with? Online gaming can be a great activity for your child, so to ensure your child does this safely the esafety Commissioner has provided some great recommendations. Please click this link to view them.

We wish to welcome Mrs Sarah White to our team. Mrs White has extensive educational administration experience and will commence at St Thomas More’s in Week 4. Mrs White will work Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Mrs Greig has requested leave from St Thomas More’s Catholic School from the beginning of Term 2 until the end of the school year of 2021 to pursue other interests. I wish Mrs Greig all the best with this. We are currently in the process of recruiting a teacher for Prep M. If you know anyone who may be interested in the position, please encourage them to view our ad on Teachers On Net.

Yesterday we have had the damaged section of our fort removed. In the interim we are making repairs to the remaining structure, so our children will be able to use it. We will replace the destroyed section; it may take a while as some equipment will need to be ordered in from interstate.

God Bless,

Shayne Kidd