Father's Day and Open Classrooms

It was a wonderful celebration on Friday for Father's Day and our Open Classrooms for this year. The courtyard was a hive of excitement as people cheered on the competitors of our egg and spoon races and spent time socialising. The morning then continued into our Open Classrooms where students shared their learning for the term and engaged in challenging tasks with their visitors.

Thank you to our 5/6G and Kindergarten families for coordinating the BBQ. It was a wonderful opportunity for some of our new families to the school to learn tips and tricks for coordinating events from our more experienced families. This was certainly the case with our coordinators Jacqui and Jo with Jacqui coordinating her final event with the school after taking the lead on 13 previous BBQ's and Jo having her first event as a new family. We are so appreciative to Jo for committing to her first event at the school and to Jacqui for her significant contribution to St Thomas More's over the past 13 years!

Staffing News

We would like to announce that Mrs Brittney Elliot will be leaving St Thomas More's at the end of this year. Brittney and her husband Steve have made the decision to move to warmer waters! Brittney commenced her teaching career at St Thomas More's in 2020 and has had a significant impact on the lives of many students during this time, particularly in the application of High Impact Teaching Practices. Brittney's position is currently being advertised and will close next Sunday. 

Parent Engagement Grant

You may have noticed some landscaping taking place next to 5/6W. We are currently having a retaining wall installed so the the site can be level for the installation of our wicking garden beds as part of the Parent Engagement Grant. It is hoped that we will be able to assemble the beds and plant seedlings before the end of the term. We are hoping to book in a mini working bee one afternoon in Week 10. Keep an eye out for an invitation coming soon!

Grotto Memorial

Whilst it is lovely to see families socialising on the grassy knoll above the courtyard of an afternoon, we would ask that parents ensure their children are not climbing on the Grotto Memorial housing the statue of Mary. The Grotto is a memorial for parishioners who have gone before us and is used for contemplative prayer. It is therefore important that our school community is showing respect to this important component of our campus at all times. 

Uniform Reminder

As the weather warms up, we have noted many of our girls opting to wear socks instead of stockings with their pinafore. Whilst this is an acceptable choice, we would ask parents to adhere to the uniform policy which states that both stockings and ankle socks must be navy, not white. We would also reminder families to ensure their children are not wearing jewellery, other than a watch, and that hair accessories remain navy, green or maroon. 

Luke Donnelly
Principal

Happy Father’s Day! We hope celebrations went well and have remembered all our fathers and father figures, here, deployed, and heavenly. It was a fantastic turn out for the Father’s Day Breakfast and open classrooms. It was wonderful to meet some families and put faces to names. Thank you again for supporting our fundraising for Legacy, we made a total of $660 to give to Legacy to support our veterans. We have sent off our paint a plate order and are expecting them back in November so stay tuned for more information on this.

With Spring in the air we have some fun activities planned for the last few weeks of term 3 Defence Club. Remember we invite any parents who wish to have a BYO picnic lunch at school and participate in our craft activity to attend Defence Club in week 10 the 20th September at 100pm-130pm. Here are some pictures from recent Defence clubs.

Some of St Thomas More's boys playing rugby union for Uni North, (Owls)  in the U11s and U12s Grand Finals on the weekend. Representing U12s is Hamish, Isaac, Lucas, Harry, Darcy and Aidan, and Ollie and Blake in year 5 represented U11s in their grand final. Both teams were runners up, but all the boys demonstrated the school value of courage!