St Thomas’ Primary SchoolSt Thomas’ Primary School NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER

8 Warden Street CLAREMONT WA 6010 Telephone: 9286 9500 Facsimile: 9383 2854 Email: admin@stthomas.wa.edu.au Website: www.stthomas.wa.edu.au

12 August 2014—Term 3—Week 3

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, superficial relationships, so that you will live deep

within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people so that you will work for justice, equality

and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you will reach out

your hand to comfort them and change their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with the foolishness to think that you can make a difference in the world, so that you will do the

things which others tell you cannot be done.

Author Unknown

Welcome from the Principal

The sight of a parent sitting on the floor of the

Kindergarten putting together flat packed

furniture or other equipment is not an unusual

one for those who have been around schools

for a time. To see the Director of Catholic

Education doing this at Christmas Island for

children in detention certainly is.

Our Director, Dr Tim McDonald, a father of

five, recently flew to Christmas Island to

support the staff of the newly created

Christmas Island Learning Centre in their

efforts to open a school for the start of this

semester. The Catholic Education Office had

been asked by our Archbishop to respond to a

call from the Federal Government to provide

education to the children detained on

Christmas Island. This request had a very

short time frame and within a few weeks

staffing, buildings, resources and all other

infrastructure were ready to go for day one of

this term. An extraordinary feat, made more

extraordinary by the selfless actions of 15

schools who allowed staff to leave at the end

of term two for their short term contracts on

Christmas Island. Our head office also

released a senior executive with an extensive

education background to be the first Principal

of the CILC.

Sitting at a Principals’ briefing on Monday I

was moved by the story of the centre, a story

which shows our system at its best, doing the

core work it is called to do and highlighting

Jesus’ call to discipleship, namely to live out

his teachings in our daily lives.

With all the sadness in our 24 hour news cycle

these days, this was a Good News story.

God Bless

Kim Baker Principal

DATES TO

REMEMBER

WED 13 AUG

Jump Rope Launch

THUR 14 AUG

Football Workshops

Y6 @ 1.30 – 2.15pm

Y4 @ 2.15 – 3pm

FRI 15 AUG

Feast of the Assumption Mass 9am – 10 am

MON 18 AUG

Book Fair @ St Thomas’ 3 – 4pm

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CANTEEN ROSTER Monday 18 August

Nicole Gallin, Angela Searle and

Nicole Nolan

Everyone in Year 5 would like to thank Miss Bryce for giving us the opportunity to take part in the Performing Arts on Monday morning at St Benedict’s. We had the most wonderful experience in performing and listening to other Mass choirs representing the Catholic schools in the south west. We are also very proud of friends who were brave enough to perform in individual section of the festival. Well done to Lachlan and Lucinda who have recently performed. We are also very proud of our Clarinet Trio girls who are invited to take part in the Instrumental Ensembles Shield Playoffs!

Uniform Shop

Great to see all of you who were needing updates to

your child's uniform wardrobe yesterday.

If you missed on being able to come in, you can place

an order using the Uniform Shop Order Form, found

in the front office.

Fill out the form, and place it in an envelope with

your correct money or cheque, and leave it with Julie

in the front office. We fill out these orders on a

fortnightly basis and leave it with your child in their

classroom, to be brought home.

Second hand items - are always popular. Thank you

to those who have donated. If you have spare or out-

grown good quality uniforms feel free to donate these

to us. We then on-sell them, being able to make a

small amount for the school's P and F, and are a great

resource for all of us looking for extra uniforms.

Cheers

Netina, Margot, Mel and Judy

Uniform Shop Team

ATHLETICS TRAINING

Athletics training, this year, will be slightly different from last year. Firstly, just a reminder that it is being restricted to just years 3-6. Secondly, I am still negotiating with John XXIII college for the possible use of the oval on one or two afternoons. The sessions at JTC will be sprints only so I will be running event specific sessions at school. Wednesday 20 August Long Jump training session at St Thomas' 3.20-4.20pm Wednesday 27 August Throws training session at St Thomas' 3.20-4.20pm Wednesday 3 September, sprints session, venue to be advised. Mrs Baron-Hay PE Teacher

We are pleased to report the Eftpos machine is now operational. Thank you for your patience.

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CURRICULUMCURRICULUM

What do Good Writers do?

We learn to write through practice, by trial and error and, most importantly by reading good writing. Although we

read for enjoyment and to learn, good writers will start to become more aware of written style and how

information can be powerfully composed. So how can we help our children become good writers?

Good Writers Love words It’s important for children to increase their vocabulary. Introduce your children to new words and help them to use

these within the correct context.

Good Writers Read Children who read build up a store of patterns and ideas, which they can draw upon when writing. These become

the building blocks with which the children can be imaginative.

Good Writers Reread Reading your writing out loud is an effective way to hear how it sounds and make adjustments. It’s important to

encourage children to reread their work and check for not only spelling error but for correct composition, they

need to ask themselves, does that sound right, am I making sense?

Good Writers Plan In the junior Years we encourage the children to say their sentence out loud before writing it down. Verbalising

what is going to be written will help children compose powerful sentences.

Sarah Borello

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HELP YOUR CHILDREN STAY SAFE ONLINE

The Cybersmart Outreach—Internet Safety Awareness presentation for parents at St Thomas’ will be held on Thursday, 25 September

At 6.30 pm

Young people today are immersed in digital technologies. They use the internet and mobile phones

to socialise, study, exchange ideas and play. While online activity has many benefits, there are also

risks.

To help your children stay safe online, St Thomas’ is hosting a Cybersmart Outreach—Internet

Safety Awareness presentation. Designed for parents, this presentation is provided by the

Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) as part of a national program of

cybersmart initiatives.

The Cybersmart Outreach—Internet Safety Awareness presentation is thorough and non-

technical. It covers a range of issues including:

the ways children use the internet and emerging technologies

potential risks for children online, such as cyberbullying, identity theft, inappropriate contact

and exposure to inappropriate content

tips to help children stay safe online.

The presentation is conducted by an ACMA Cybersmart trainer and is free of charge.

To register your attendance, please use the Eventbrite invitation that will be emailed to you

by the end of this week.

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CHILDRENS BOOK COUNCIL of AUSTRALIA BOOK WEEK (AUG 18th – 22nd)

To celebrate Book Week we will be holding the following events:

SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR (after school Mon 18th, Tues 19th & Wed 20th Aug in the Library) Please come to the Library where you may purchase books for your child from a wide range of new books. Our school library will receive 30% commission on all sales which will be used to purchase new books for our school library. BOOK WEEK RAFFLE Tickets 50c each or 3 for $1; available from Year 6 Library Leaders each morning Win a fabulous prize pack or a $10 book voucher to spend at our book fair. Proceeds from the raffle go towards purchasing new books for our library BOOK WEEK PARADE (9am Tues Aug 19th) Come dressed as your favourite book character. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” ― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read

With My Eyes Shut!

Thank you for your support Mrs. O’Shea and the Yr 6 Library Leaders (Tom, Shane & Carl)

My First Performing Arts Experience

On Monday 8th August I presented my Performing Arts

drum solo called Toe Tapper by Paul Francis. It was a

nerve-racking experience especially because there was

a man marking my performance. I was especially

worried because when I was practicing in the morning

I kept making mistakes. I was proud of myself because

my overall rating was very good and I achieved one

tick in the ‘excellent’ box for technique. I was

particularly delighted of my achievement because I

only started playing the drums a year ago. To celebrate

my mum treated me to a special treat!

Lachlan Baron-Hay

GirlPowerGirlPowerGirlPower is a friendship program that inspires

“Tween” girls (6 to 12 years old) to feel

empowered, develop a strong sense of self, and

love themselves while learning to manage the

most important things to them…their friendships.

To learn more about GirlPower and the

programs available for girls and parents please

visit www.urstrong.com or email

Inside.Out@pc.wa.edu.au.

Workshops are held at:

Speech and Drama Room Founders Centre for

Early Learning Perth College 32 Queens

Crescent, Mount Lawley

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Footy Tipping

Winners!

Congratulations to: This week’s footy tipping winner is another repeat winner in Cougar Master! 2nd by the smallest of

margins was Tommy C. But there can only be one

winner so this week’s booty goes to the Cougar Master.

To all of you enjoying this competition, make sure

you’ve paid your dues to Julie in the office.

Jamie Harrington 0413 009 962

The Year 6 St Thomas Netball Team have hit the top of the ladder after toppling the top side on Saturday! The win was a testament to the game plan the girls have been working on all season and their coolness under pressure. Well done girls and go St Thomas! Sean Oorloff Year 6 Teacher

MINKEY YEARS 1 TO 4

END OF SEASON WIND-UP

SUNDAY 17 AUGUST

FROM 3PM-5PM

AT CRESSWELL PARK, SWANBOURNE

Bring your own picnic or pre-order food via the

trybooking website.

Certificates will be presented to the children at the

wind-up and the

medals will be presented at Gathering on

Monday 18 August.

Father Charles' book is called ' Jesus Matters' and it will be launched by Archbishop Hickey and Fred Chaney. It will be on Sunday August 17th at 6pm at Christchurch Grammar School, senior school staff room. If go to the main drop off near Bethesda, there should be notices up. The book is $15 if buy at the launch. The book is quite easy to read and explains the gospels in everyday language.

http://wwwold.ccgs.wa.edu.au/about-us/our-location/campus-map

It is on level 1 in Q block Grid 11. Any enquiries contact Maureen Gardner 9389 8289.

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Dear Parents/Guardians,

Our school is participating in the Heart Foundation Jump Rope for Heart program and we would love your support! Mr Mitchell Watson will officially launch our program tomorrow, Wednesday 13th August 2014 at 9.00am. Heart Foundation Jump Rope for Heart is an exciting and non-competitive program which encourages children to become more active through skipping, learning new skills and raising vital funds for heart research and community health programs. Skipping is an excellent way for children to keep fit and healthy. Over the next few weeks, your child(ren) will be learning a range of fun skipping skills and new tricks. We will emphasise the importance of regular physical activity and the importance of healthy eating for a healthy lifestyle.

Jump Rope for Heart is also a great way to encourage children to get involved in our community and support Australia’s leading heart health charity, the Heart Foundation. The Jump Rope team provide us with lots of resources and support to implement the program and in return we ask that students help by seeking sponsorship for their involvement. Sponsorship is easy – simply go online to www.heartfoundation.org.au/jumprope , click on the green ‘Kids Join Now’ button, and register your child today!

A secure fundraising page will be created as soon as you register; all you need to do then is click the ‘Email

Sponsors’ link to send your family and friends an email asking them for their support… It’s that easy!

This is an easy, safe way for your child to monitor their progress, receive bonus prizes and even receive

sponsorship from family and friends who are further afield.

At the end of the program we will be holding a Jump Off, an event to celebrate and culminate the Heart Foundation Jump Rope for Heart program. This will be held on Friday 12th September 2014 commencing at 11.00am and concluding at 12.30pm. The Jump Off day is a great opportunity for you to witness how much fun skipping can be, come along and pick up a rope! Let your teacher know when your child(ren) has finished fundraising online. You may like to print out a copy of the donations received online. Thank you for joining us in the fight against heart disease. Yours Sincerely Ann Barry St Thomas’ Primary School Jump Rope for Heart School Coordinator

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