Dear St Thomas Aquinas Community,

We are thrilled to announce that our Learning Journeys will be taking place in week eight of this term, specifically on Tuesday afternoon. During this special event, we will replace our usual staff meeting to create an opportunity for you to engage with your child's learning environment.

This is your chance to visit the classrooms and explore the wonderful displays that our students have been working on. Many of these displays will focus on exciting themes such as the Olympics and Book Week, showcasing the creativity and hard work of our students.

We encourage all families to join us for this enriching experience. It’s a fantastic opportunity to gain insight into your child’s learning journey and to celebrate their achievements with them.

We look forward to seeing you there!

As we reflect on the past week, I would like to take a moment to express heartfelt gratitude to all of you for celebrating Father’s Day with us. Your involvement made our "Donuts with Dads" event a tremendous success, and we are so thankful for the time and effort many of you dedicated to making this special morning memorable.

It was truly wonderful to see so many families come together, sharing laughter and creating lasting memories. The sense of community and support is what makes St. Thomas Aquinas such a special place for our children to learn and grow.

We appreciate all the dads, grandfathers, and father figures who participated and helped us celebrate this important day. Your engagement not only enriches our school environment but also sets a remarkable example for our students.

Thank you once again for being such an integral part of our community. We look forward to more events that bring us together and strengthen our bonds.

We are excited to remind you about our upcoming disco events happening this Thursday, September 5th!

**Junior Disco:**

Time: 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

This is a wonderful opportunity for our younger students to dance, enjoy music, and have fun with their friends!

**Senior Disco:**

Time: 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

This event is organized by our dedicated parent volunteers, and we are grateful for their support in making this evening special for our senior students.

Please note that parents will not be required to stay for the disco events, allowing our children to enjoy their time dancing and socializing with their peers in a safe and supervised environment.

We look forward to seeing everyone there and making some fantastic memories together!

Warm regards,

Tim Cleary

MyWay+ is Transport Canberra’s next generation ticketing system which puts all public transport services in one place. It will offer more ways to pay for public transport and introduce new digital platforms for journey planning and accessing real-time information.

The switch over to MyWay+ will happen later this year. Until then, students should continue to use their current MyWay card or a paper ticket from a ticket vending machine to pay for travel on bus and light rail services.

Families should ensure their child’s MyWay card is registered to protect the balance, as Transport Canberra can only process refunds and transfer credits for registered MyWay cards.

Register your MyWay card: https://www.transport.act.gov.au/tickets-and-myway/register-myway

PiP-Ed is a new, updated version of the award winning, evidence-based parenting program ‘Partners in Parenting’. The program is designed to support parents of teenagers struggling with school attendance (often called ‘school refusal’) in the context of anxiety and/or depression, by equipping parents with strategies to improve their parenting confidence and support their teen’s mental health and education. The program is self-guided and completed entirely online.

Visit the website for access to useful resources and contacts to help families through what can be a stressful time. 

September Birthdays

Jade J, Hannah M, Matilda H, William B, Edison B, Luella B, Elodie A, Hamilton S, Charli C, Aden G, Leo R, Jessica B, Lincoln D, Emma F, Ebadat KS, Sarah H, Natalia R, Eleanor S, Olive O, Chloe W, Harper E, Harrison G, Aleu D, Thomas H, Mansirat K, Louise Q, Arianna D, Gabriel S-P

The St John the Apostle Primary School is hosting a ThinkUKnow presentation on Wednesday 11 September (6.30-8.00pm) and all St Thomas Aquinas parents and carers are encouraged to attend.
 

ThinkUKnow Australia is an evidence-based education program delivered nationally to prevent online child sexual exploitation.
 

ThinkUKnow Australia is a partnership between the Australian Federal Police, Microsoft Australia, Datacom and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The program is delivered in collaboration with policing partners New South Wales Police Force, Northern Territory Police, Queensland Police, South Australia Police, Tasmania Police, Western Australia Police, as well as Neighbourhood Watch Australasia.
 

The presentation will be delivered by a local law enforcement member and an industry volunteer. The presentation is pro-technology and addresses topics including self-generated child abuse material, online grooming, sexual extortion, and importantly encourages help seeking behaviour.
 

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to learn more about young people and the online environment, and how you can help them to be safe and responsible users of technology.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP here.
 

For more information, you can visit www.thinkuknow.org.au or contact Rebekah Brown (rebekah.brown@cg.catholic.edu.au).