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Dear Parents and Carers,
We received an overwhelming response from parents signing up to meet with teachers this week. Thank you. Communication between parents and teachers is so important for a child’s learning and a positive relationship between home and school has such an impact on your child’s education.
If you have any concerns or worries about your child, you need to raise it with your child’s teacher first and foremost. Teachers work closely with their students and know best how they learn, their challenges and their successes.
We also love to receive positive feedback about your child’s schooling. ALL teachers at STM work extremely hard to provide a solid education for our students. I often think I’d love to record a day in the life of one of our teachers, although I don’t think they’d oblige! Our teachers have professional conversations from the minute they arrive at work to the minute they leave. They consult with each other, try new things, share successes, and, when things are not quite right, they always seek advice. I can honestly say, the teachers here really do want the best for your child.
Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn Review into Student Counselling and Wellbeing Services
In 2019, Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn (CECG) engaged Integroe Partners to conduct an independent review into student counselling and wellbeing services in CECG schools. As part of this review, Integroe Partners conducted online surveys of parents, Principals, students and school staff. They also conducted individual interviews and face to face consultation forums with parents, Principals, teachers and CECG staff. Integroe Partners also conducted face to face and online consultations with CECG’s primary provider of student counselling services, CatholicCare.
CECG would like to thank all those who participated in the review, especially those who travelled to Canberra for the face to face meetings as well as those who participated in the online surveys and forums. The information gained from the review enabled Integroe Partners to deliver an evaluation of existing programs, structures, systems and processes. Integroe Partners identified a diversity of challenges across the schools in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, requiring a model of counselling and wellbeing service delivery that is flexible and responsive to the student wellbeing priorities of individual schools and their communities. Integroe Partners were also able to propose structures and systems aimed at delivering services to schools that reflect best contemporary practice, optimising resource efficiency into the future.
As part of its initial response to the findings and recommendations of the review, CECG have increased the school counsellor allocation for each of its schools for 2020 and have appointed a full time Student Counselling and Welfare Manager. The Student Counselling and Welfare Manager will now look to work closely with schools, Principals and CECG staff to respond more fully to the review and to develop appropriate policies, procedures, frameworks and best practice to support high quality school counselling practice and service delivery in our schools now and in to the future.
Hats on
All children in ACT Primary Schools must wear their school hat from the beginning of August. This marks the start of the sun protection period for Canberra primary school settings. Please ensure your child brings his/her hat to school.
Remember No Hat No Play.
Yours Sincerely,
Julie Wiley
Principal
Book Fair- Week 3
We have a bookstore arriving at STM next week and the students are very excited! Scholastic Book Fair is a fun reading event that brings the books kids want to read right into our school. It has a wonderful selection of engaging and affordable books for every reading level.
Due to the current restriction on parents and visitors attending school sites, this year’s Book Fair will be run remotely. Students will visit the Book Fair with their teachers and bring home a wish list featuring the title and price of their selections. We will have helpers to assist the younger students to record their book wish list neatly and accurately. If you would like to view the book your child has selected, Scholastic have suggested completing a google search of the book title (Scholastic Bookfairs vary, so they are unable to provide us with a catalogue).
Purchases can be made online, by following the purchasing instructions on the back of the wish list form. Please ensure your child returns their wish list to their class teacher with the 8-digit receipt number to collect their books. Final orders must be received NO LATER THAN Friday 7th August.
Book Fair dates: Tuesday 4th August- Friday 7th August
Student viewing days: Tuesday 4th & Wednesday 5th August
MS Readathon- August
Firstly, I wanted to say an enormous congratulations on how well the school is going with our fundraising for the MS Readathon, you are absolutely smashing it!! St Thomas More’s is among the top 5 fundraising schools in the country at the moment, absolutely amazing effort! Thank you!
The Readathon officially commences on Saturday 1st August. Students can start recording their books by logging on to their Readathon accounts. You will need to assist your child/children to log on to their accounts, as this requires the same login and password used to set up the account. Students are encouraged to record home readers, library books, books read at home and books that have been read to them at bedtime. I’ve set our school a goal to see if we can be the best school in Australia for the amount of books we read during the month of August. Let’s get to it!!
Madeleine Reid
Librarian
Touch Football
Alexandra Witt, 5/6 Green, has been selected in the ACT U12 girls touch football team to play at the National Youth Championships in Caloundra in October, first week of school holidays. She is training twice a week and also playing in a competition with the team.
Well done Alex!