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“Our Catholic schools strive to be welcoming, supportive and inclusive places where children can thrive.”
Catholic schools across Gippsland and Melbourne’s outer south east will open their doors to the community to celebrate Catholic Education Week 2023 from 19 May to 26 May.
Mr Paul Velten, Director of Catholic Education in the Diocese of Sale, said Catholic Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the wonderful achievements of Catholic schools and to highlight the inspiring activities taking place in Catholic schools every day.
“This year’s theme is, Catholic Schools- Places of Encounter. ‘Let the Words You Speak Always Be Full of Grace,’ based on the Bible Scripture, Colossians 4:6.
“This message reflects our commitment to promoting kindness, respect, and compassion in our schools and communities. Catholic schools are more than just buildings where students come to learn. They are Places of Encounter where students can grow academically, spiritually and personally.”
“The ‘Speak with Grace‘ theme aims to encourage students and school communities to use their words to build up others, to speak out against injustice, and to spread love and hope in the world.“
This theme aligns perfectly with our whole school approach to fostering positive behaviour here at our school, St Thomas the Apostle. We hold the belief that every member of our school community should engage in safe and respectful communication with one another. By embracing the concept of grace in our dialogue with each other, we uphold the dignity of every individual and show them the honour they deserve. As a Catholic school, it is our duty to treat one another with respect and extend grace, recognising the image of God within each person.
Have a lovely week everyone.
Jen Gulavin (Deputy Principal: Inclusive Education)
Catholic Education Week – Let the Words You Speak Always Be Full of Grace
Each year, the Diocese of Sale dedicates a week to celebrating Catholic Education across all of our Catholic schools from Cranbourne to Orbost. This year, the theme is ‘Let the words you speak always be full of Grace’. This is a quote from a letter from St Paul to the Colossians (4:6).
The key word in this theme is Grace. This word is not very commonly used in everyday life. We’ve heard it when we refer to a prayer before meals and we’ve heard it when we use the word ‘graceful’. But what does it really mean?
The Latin meaning: goodness and generosity. The Greek background to this word: elegance and beauty. If we look up the Catholic understanding of this word, we find this: unmerited divine assistance.
If we gather together the various understandings of Grace, we get: God's beautiful love and generosity with no strings attached. Even better, if we see how this works in our theme, we can see that God is wanting us to speak with kindness and respect because every person is made in the image of God. Sort of like, “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”, but with a bit more finesse! Isn’t the study of words amazing?
To support this theme, students at St Thomas the Apostle are making message sticks in Art. Why the message sticks? Because we know that in Aboriginal culture, message sticks were used to communicate between cultural groups. When there is intentionality to our communication, we are ensuring respect and good outcomes. In other words, when we speak, we are being true to God's creation and bringing about His kingdom. Classrooms will be discussing this theme and how this plays a part in our everyday lives.
At St Thomas the Apostle each year, we make a strong link between Pentecost and our rich and diverse community. At Pentecost, Jesus' friends were given special gifts and one of them was the ability to speak many languages. Speaking many languages made it possible for them to communicate the Good News to people of different places and different cultures.
Monday 29th May, we would like to celebrate the many cultures that we have at our school. You can help do this at home by encouraging your children to come to school dressed in their national dress or colours of their country of origin. Alternatively, your child could dress in colours that represent the flag of your country. We are discouraging the wearing of sporting clothing, as this distracts from our theme and is more appropriate when we celebrate Sports Day later in the year.
This day will begin with a parade on the basketball courts at 9:00am, and parents are welcome to attend. In the event of poor weather, parents will be welcome into the learning communities to see their child within the year levels.
Students, in their communities, are going to be encouraged to talk about their country they are representing and possibly speak about the meaning of the clothing or colours, so it would be a good idea to help prepare them for this if you can.
We look forward to this special day and hope that you can get behind it to make it a fun and memorable experience. Thank you in advance for the effort that will go into it.
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.
Japanese Hiragana Club
Japanese Club is held twice a week at lunchtime. Students from Grade 2 upward are welcome to attend. The purpose of the club is to study the Hiragana script, learning to read in Japanese. With practice, students pass the karate belt tests one by one until Black Belt is achieved. Students are self- motivated, they study with peers and encourage one another as well as practice at home.
This year the club has been very successful and several more students have reached their Black Belt and beyond.
Congratulations!!! to our recent Black Belt Achievers
Due to the success of the club, it has become a little crowded therefore we will now be holding separate sessions for students as per below:
Next club days are as follows:
Friday 26th May - Grade 2
Monday 29th May - Grade 3
Friday 2nd June - Grade 4,5,6
School Excursions and Bus Trips
Each term, teaching teams identify excursion/incursion opportunities which link to curriculum and student learning. It is our policy to only book buses that are equipped with seatbelts for any journeys that our students are taking. Staff ensure that all students are wearing seatbelts prior to the bus leaving, and throughout the journey. We take the safety of all students and staff seriously and act proactively where possible to reduce the likelihood of harm.
School Fees
Dear Families
Many thanks to those families who have already settled their Term 2 fees or have commenced regular payments either via direct debit, EFTPOS or BPAY.
For those families who have not yet made a payment, just a reminder that the Term 2 instalment towards fees is due Friday 19th May.
Should you have any difficulty meeting the due date please do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind Regards
Nicola Saunders
Administration Officer