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Dear Parents and Carers
Parent Information Night
Thank you to all of the families who joined us through MS Teams for the Parent Information Night last night. It was a wonderful opportunity to come together to hear about our focus for the year and gain more insight to the teaching and learning that is occurring in classrooms. The recordings for the presentations will be sent out through Compass for families with children across multiple grades or those who were unable to attend.
Leadership Badges
Due to current restrictions, we will be unable to hold our Centred in Faith gathering where the Year 6 students are presented with their leadership badges. We are currently organising for Fr. Emil to bless the badges so that they can be presented to the students in a modified format. We will notify you of the format for this presentation through the 5/6 Weekly Updates.
Community Council
Our Community Council is due to hold our first meeting next Wednesday and there are still places available for parents who wish to join us. We have included the expressions of interest article that was published at the end of last year in today's reminders for any parents who are interested in finding out more or expressing interest.
COVID-19 Response
You would be aware that we currently have positive cases of COVID-19 within our K-2 and 3/4 cohorts. Tomorrow morning I will be meeting with members of the COVID response team from Catholic Education to review the current practices within the school and review potential adjustments to our COVID safe practices that will ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students continues to be a priority.
Monitor for Symptoms and Notify the School
We would ask that parents be diligent in keeping their children at home if they display any symptoms of COVID and ensure their child is tested. We will continue to follow our guidelines including sending students home who display symptoms in the classroom. Please notify the school if you are a family in isolation and other children test positive.
Physical Distancing
We would like to remind parents of the importance of physical distancing, particularly during morning drop off and afternoon pick up. In making decisions around the safety of our students and the layout of our campus our current option for pick up is to have students wait in the courtyard and be directed by a teacher to go through the gate to their parents. While this arrangement is in place it will be important for parents to ensure they are maintaining physical distancing.
Distribution of RATs
The distribution of next weeks RATs will be through the student's school bags and will occur when the supply has been delivered to the school. If you would prefer to collect your child's allocation from the front office please let their classroom teacher know.
Luke Donnelly
Principal
St Thomas More is a small school committed to providing quality education, promoting a love of learning and nurturing the potential of all students. Parent involvement in the school allows parents to work collegiately with staff to progress the schools mission and to support students in their learning journey.
One way parents can be actively involved in the life of the school is by nominating to be a parent representative on the school community council. The Council is made up of representatives from the Parish, teaching staff, leadership team and parents.
The Council provides the opportunity for members of the school and parish to work with the Principal, Parish Priest and staff to provide leadership to the wider school community. The Council operates as both a decision making and advisory body and undertakes a range of functions. Some of these functions include:
- developing, approving and monitoring the annual budget.
- providing opportunities for social interaction and support networks for parents and;
- providing advice on curriculum, student welfare policies etc.
Previous initiatives implemented through the Council include contributing money through the P&F funds for the school to purchase coding resources, updating the sports polo top and organising community BBQs and breakfasts including picnic in the park, cuppa at the gate, etc.
The Council is here to listen and support parents and the wider community. The Council sits twice per term. I would encourage you to consider joining the Council as I have personally found it rewarding, knowing that in some small way I am helping to support the school and the community.
If you would like any further information or are considering joining the Council, please email luke.donnelly@cg.catholic.edu.au
A warm welcome back and best wishes to our returning and new Defence families for a great 2022. I hope that all our new families settle in quickly and find St Thomas More’s to be a welcoming and friendly community.
I will be sending home the St Thomas More’s DSM Support 2022 Forms next week with the eldest child in your families. I would appreciate you completing it and returning it to me by Friday 25 February 2021 (end of week 4).
Our Defence Group (craft/Lego sessions) for defence children will not be taking place until the guidelines allow us to. Instead I will gather small groups from the same cohort and also focus on the children whose parents have raised concerns over support their child may need due to upheaval
The Defence Education Assistance – Tutoring Support is available to Defence students who have moved school as a result of posting (applicable for up to 18 months after moving) and need additional services to help them meet the academic standards of the new school. The application and reimbursement processes for Defence Education Assistance are managed by the Defence Family Helpline and they can be contacted on 1800 624 608. If you would like any further information, I have included a link below which will take you to the DCO website.
https://www.defence.gov.au/DCO/_Master/documents/Factsheets/Education-assistance-tutor.pdf
Please feel welcome to call me on 6249 8869 or, alternatively, send an email to lisa.holl@cg.catholic.edu.au if you have any queries or concerns.
Lisa Holl
Defence School Mentor
Hello from the School Counsellor ……and Important Information about how to access School Counselling.
Hello lovely St Thomas More’s families! My name is Sarah Foley and I have been part of the Catholiccare Student and Family Counselling team since 2006.
I am a registered psychologist with a passion for working with children, young people and their families. I have previously worked in marketing, community based aged care, crisis counselling and the homelessness sector.
In my school counselling work I provide short term client centred support to children and their families drawing from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Strengths based, Mindfulness and Trauma informed approaches in a developmental context. For more complex issues I also provide referrals and information/parent consultation. I am at St.Thomas More’s all day Thursdays during each school term.
How to make an appointment.
Referrals and requests can be made by contacting the Principal Mr Luke Donnelly, your child’s class teacher or myself (via email sarah.foley@catholiccare.cg.org.au). We will forward you the appropriate counselling registration forms via a link.
Parent consent for counselling continues to be required for all primary school students and will be sought and provided via email. Once the referral has been received by myself- School Counsellor- I will make contact with parents on my next day at St.Thomas More’s to further discuss the referral.
More about School counselling/how to access school counselling at St.Thomas More’s.
As part of the pastoral care program for students at St.Thomas More’s, students have access to a Student and Family Counselling service provided by CatholicCare Canberra & Goulburn (CCG). CCG are contracted by the CEO to provide a counselling service to students and their families on site. There is no fee to access this service. The service offers short term counselling support (roughly up to six sessions per referral issue) to children and their families – the counsellor can also provide referrals for more complex issues requiring intensive or long term therapy/support.
The role of the counsellor is to focus on the emotional, social and educational well-being of the students. Counsellors welcome contact with students having difficulty with some part of their life, the problem does not have to be a big one. It is better to seek help sooner rather than later. Some typical concerns that counsellors work with include: anger, anxiety, behavioural problems, low mood, family changes/separation, grief and loss, learning and educational challenges, parenting challenges, peer and other social relationships, school avoidance, stress and study skills. As well as individual sessions with students, counsellors can run groups, consult with parents and teachers and make referrals to other services and supports.
Student and Family Counsellors subscribe to a set of professional ethics that include duty of care and respect for the individual rights to privacy and confidentiality. The counsellors’ obligation is to ensure the safety, wellbeing and confidentiality of the student they are working with. All counsellors are mandated to report any disclosure or sign of abuse (including self-harm) or neglect to Child Protection Services. Outside of our mandated requirements, all counselling sessions are confidential and the details will not be discussed with other parties unless written consent is given by the client.
Sarah Foley
Registered Psychologist
Ph: 02 6249 8869 , is onsite all day -Thursdays.