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Dear Families,
Teaching and Learning
We are excited to inform you that our teaching and learning focus for the upcoming term is History, with a particular focus on Indigenous Histories and, for our Years 3 - 6 students, Civics and Citizenship.
We believe that it is crucial for our students to have an understanding of the histories of the First Nations people of this land, as well as a strong foundation in civics and citizenship. We want our students to have the knowledge and skills to become informed and engaged citizens, who can actively participate in shaping the future of our society.
We will be incorporating a range of resources and teaching strategies to ensure that our students are exposed to a diverse range of perspectives and have the opportunity to engage with the material in a meaningful way. We encourage parents to continue the conversation at home and to support their children's learning by exploring these themes with them.
Child Safety
Child safety is a critical concern for all members of the school community, and it is a responsibility that everyone must take seriously. At St Thomas the Apostle, we are committed to creating a safe and secure environment for all our students, where they can learn, play and grow without fear of harm. This means that parents, teachers, and staff members all have a role to play in ensuring that our school is a safe place for children and young people. If parents have any concerns about child safety at St Thomas the Apostle, we encourage them to contact our designated child safety champions, Peta Overbury - poverbury@cranbourneeast.catholic.edu.au and Jen Gulavin - jgulavin@cranbourneeast.catholic.edu.au who are always available to help and support them. Together, we can all work towards creating a safe and nurturing environment for our children.
Mother’s Day
We would also like to take this opportunity to wish all mothers a very happy Mother's Day for this Sunday. Mother's Day is a time to celebrate the important role that mothers play in our lives. We recognize that not all students have a mother figure in their lives, and we would like to acknowledge and celebrate all of the important ways that people who take on a mothering role shape us as individuals.
We encourage our students to take the time to express their appreciation for the mother figures in their lives and to reflect on the ways in which they have been shaped by them. We believe that it is important to show gratitude and to recognize the sacrifices and hard work that mothers do every day.
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to another successful term of learning and growth.
Peta Overbury
Deputy Principal - Teaching and Learning
Easter…Jesus Is Preparing A Place – but where?
Yes, we’re still in the season of Easter! The Catholic community recognise the season of Easter until Pentecost (28th May).
One of my favourite pieces of scripture is from John’s Gospel that appears during the season of Easter (last Sunday’s Mass). Jesus says to his disciples, “I’m preparing a place for you” and proceeds to talk about His Father having plenty of rooms in His house. Many people attribute this idea of many rooms being prepared, as being their place in heaven when you die. It’s a very popular scripture for funerals. But more accurately, the ‘rooms’ are supposed to be interpreted as ‘dwelling places’, from the original Greek. We can reimagine the ‘preparing of a room’ to be ‘preparing a dwelling place’, or as the Jewish people understood, the Temple. But Jesus was pointing to the new Temple, not the temple building that they had traditionally known. Jesus wants to prepare a place in our hearts or within us. Jesus, his Father and the Spirit want to call their home in us - dwell in us.
Sacramental Program Update – Confirmation 2023
The Confirmation Program has begun with the Parent Formation Night on Tuesday
night this week. Next Tuesday is the remaining half of the parents who wish their child to celebrate their Confirmation this year. This is a Parent-Only event and starts at 6:45pm. It was lovely to use the new church foyer as the meeting space. Cheese,
These two weekends coming are the Confirmation Enrolment Masses, so please ensure you have chosen which Mass to attend to enrol your child. At this Mass, you will receive the Share Sheet pack. If you cannot attend the any of the Masses, the Parish would like parents to communicate with the Parish to discuss arrangements.
Next Community Mass Invitation
The Jerusalem Community will be celebrating Mass next week on Wednesday 17th 9:30am. Whether you have a child in year 1 or not, you are most welcome to come along.
What are you going to do for mum or special person on Mother’s Day?
Going to take mum to her favourite restaurant
Sing for her
Make her a card
Watch the footy game at nannas
Spend a special day with mum
Making her lots of presents because mum loves what I make best!
Make her something special
Making cupcakes
Having a big dinner
Dad will help us get mum a special present
Make breakfast
Learning a song and film a video
Kate
Principal on Long Service Leave
I would like to advise that I will be on Long Service Leave from Tuesday 16th May to the 8th June. In my absence Peta Overbury will be taking on the role of Acting Principal.
Kind regards,
Kate
Early Pick Up
Dear Families,
Occasionally, there are times when you need to pick up your child early from school. It might be an appointment or due to an emergency, but these things happen.To help you in these situations and to minimise the impact on school logistics, we ask that you adhere to a window of time that is most convenient for everyone.
We request that if you are picking up your child early, to do so:
[before the lunch break -1:45pm] or [after the lunch break- 2:30pm] and before 3:00pm
Avoiding the lunch break and before 3pm will be quicker for you, especially when time is of the essence. We hope this can ease the task of getting to an appointment or dealing with an emergency.
Thank you for your consideration.
2024 Enrolments
We are currently accepting enrolment applications for 2024.
If you have a child that is 5 years old or turning 5 before 30th April 2024 and are an existing family at St Thomas and have not yet completed and submitted an application, please do so as soon as possible.
Applications that have been submitted from new families wishing to enrol their child/ren will be processed from 9th June. If you submit your application after this date, I cannot guarantee a position for you.
If you have family of friends looking to enrol their child at St Thomas please encourage them to submit an appliction before the 9th June.
Please contact the office if you would like an application to complete for 2024 enrolment. You can also email: enrolment@cranbourneeast.catholic.edu.au to request a form.
Kind regards
Rebekah Lucas
Administration Officer
Fee Statements
Fee Statements have been emailed out to the nominated Fee Payer . Due date for term fees are the 19th May 2023; this applies to families who are not on Direct Debit or have set up regular BPAY payments.
Should you have any concerns regarding your fees please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you
Nicola Saunders
Administration Officer
Illness
If your child is unwell please do not send your child to school. If your child has tested positive, please notify the school and isolate as per the government regulations.
Change of Clothes
Accidents happen - from spills to muddy puddles galore.
There might come a time your child might need a change of clothes.
Please consider keeping a change of clothes in your child’s bag in the event they have an accident as the school has a limited supply of spare clothing.
WE’RE TAKING IT IN OUR STRIDE ON FRIDAY 19 MAY 2023
Well it’s that time of year again when our school seriously starts talking about walking! Walk Safely to School Day asks that we all consider our transport habits and try to incorporate more walking as part of a healthy, active way to get around. And although walking all the way to school isn’t realistic for many of us, it’s quite easy to figure out how you can build a walk into your family’s daily routine.
You can teach your child the healthy habit of walking more by:
- Walking with them the whole way to school.
- If they get the bus, walk past your usual stop and get on at the next stop.
- If you have to drive, park the car a few blocks away from the school and walk the rest of the way.
Regular exercise like walking with your child not only helps them (and you!) beat chronic problems like obesity, heart disease, behavioural and mental health issues and diabetes. It also gives you a great opportunity to teach your child safe ways to behave around roads and traffic.
Remember, Active Kids are Healthy Kids so get planning your own Walk Safely to School Day journey for Friday 19 MAY 2023!
For more information, visit www.walk.com.au
See the map below for checkpoints where you will see St Thomas staff handing out stickers to all students who walk safely to school.
The Drop off Pick up zone is a special place to quickly drop off or pick up your child when you use your car. Where there is a No Parking Sign, you can only stay in the zone for 2 minutes each time and you must stay with your car.
Where the school has an internal Drop off Pick Up zone or different signage, the same concepts apply. The Drop off Pick up zone is a special place to quickly drop off or pick up your child. Parents should not park and leave their car. For the safety of all children, drivers must follow the zone rules and any directions from school staff.