Dear Parents and Carers

COVID-19 Update

Thank you to the community for your continued commitment to keeping our families safe as we navigate living with COVID-19. Through the daily updates, you will have seen that we have had a decrease in cases across the school, which is pleasing. We will continue to implement COVID safe practices under the direction of Catholic Education and ACT Health, including the review of our separate play areas at the end of this week should we continue to have minimal cases across the school. 

Events Survey

We are currently gathering voices from our community to assist the Community Council in decisions regarding events and fundraising. I have spent time with each class asking them what they would like to engage in and how funds could be spent to support their learning. 

Thank you to the 38 families who have already completed the Events Survey to gain parent opinion. Could I ask you to take 5 minutes to complete the survey for your family if you have not already done so?

ANZAC Day Ceremony

Our Defence Schools Mentor, Lisa Holl, has already commenced preparations for our ANZAC Day Ceremony for 2022. Anzac Day falls at the end of the school holidays, and the students do not start Term Two until Wednesday 28 April, given there is a pupil free day for staff development on Tuesday 27 April. To ensure the ceremony is given the attention it requires, we will be holding it on Friday 29 April at 10:30 am, followed by an ANZAC Day Morning Tea. 

We hope that current COVID-19 measures may be eased to allow parents and visitors on-site for the ANZAC Day Ceremony and Morning Tea. However, we will be unable to confirm until closer to the date. 

Look out for more information coming soon on how your children can be involved in this special ceremony.

NAPLAN

Included in the newsletter this week is an information brochure on NAPLAN for families in Years 3 and 5. NAPLAN is an essential assessment for tracking student growth at a school, state and national level. The testing takes place in May across several days. We will publish our timetable for a practice test and the tests in May in the coming weeks. If you have any concerns about NAPLAN or wish to withdraw your child from NAPLAN, please do not hesitate to contact me via phone or email.

Refugee Rally

Each year members of our parish engage in the Palm Sunday Refugee Rally. The rally this year will be held on Sunday 10 April. For more information, search for the Refugee Action Campaign on social media. 

Luke Donnelly
Principal

This week marks the beginning of Lent. Project Compassion boxes were sent home with students last week and boxes were placed in classrooms at St Thomas More’s. The theme for this year’s Project Compassion is ‘For All Future Generations’ which reminds us that the good we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come.

Classroom teachers held individual Centred in Faith Gatherings today in their classrooms as we are unable presently to gather together for a whole school mass. The K-2 classes reflected on the story of Zacchaeus. Jesus reached out to Zacchaeus with love. This impressed Zacchaeus so much that he felt sorry for taking other people’s money. He decided to change his life and pay back all the money that he had stolen. Jesus wants us to come to him and feel his love. He asks us to remember to love God and to love those around us

Yours in Christ,

Samantha Mance
Religious Education Coordinator

Merici Open Day