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- STA STAY SAFE
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- Fete 2025
- OSHClub News
- Holidays Happenings
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As we continue the beautiful season of Advent, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the significance of this time in our liturgical calendar. Advent is a period of joyful anticipation and preparation as we await the celebration of Christmas. It is a time for us to come together as a school community, deepening our faith and sharing in the hope and love that this season brings.
During Advent, we are invited to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. We encourage our students to engage in acts of kindness, reflection, and prayer, allowing the spirit of this season to flourish within them. It is a wonderful opportunity for families to discuss the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love, fostering a sense of gratitude and community.
As the year draws to a close, I would like to remind you to note the important calendar dates that help us celebrate the end of the year together. These events are not only vital for our students’ academic growth but also serve as moments of joy and togetherness. Please keep an eye on our school calendar for upcoming events that will allow us to share in the Christmas spirit.
Additionally, I want to inform you that school reports are currently being written and will soon be distributed to parents. These reports will provide valuable insights into each child's learning journey, highlighting their achievements and areas for growth. We believe that this formative guidance is essential in supporting our students as they continue to thrive in their educational experiences.
Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to our school community. Wishing you all a blessed Advent season filled with hope and joy as we prepare for the joyous celebration of Christmas.
Warm regards,
Tim Cleary
Please note that school concludes at 3:00pm. Teachers are on duty, however they do need to attend meetings etc that takes place after children leave for the day. We are seeing an increase in students requiring supervision sometimes well after 3:30pm. We would like to take this opportunity to remind families that it is essential that your child is collected at 3:00pm from either drive-thru or walkers. If you have made a regular arrangement to collect your child/ren from an alternative spot, for example the bus stop at the front of the school, we ask that you please either come through the drive-thru or park and collect your child/ren. Teachers remain with students until the buses have collected all students. Currently teachers are having to remain on duty waiting for students to be collected from the street front.
It is essential to the safety of your child/ren that they are not called to run through the car park to waiting cars. It is also essential that disable carparks are left for those who hold a disabled permit. The permit must be always on display. Please do not park in the two disable car parks if you do not hold a current permit.
We ask that you please support us by utilising the drive-thru or walkers options.
| WEEK | DATE | EVENT |
| 7 | Tues 26/11 | Fete Meeting at 6pm |
| 7 | Wed 27/11 | Class Party - 3 Green |
| 7 | Fri 29/11 | Fete 2025 - Happy Hairy Hamper Day |
| 8 | Mon 02/12 | SVdP Christmas Appeal |
| 8 | Tues 03/12 | SCC Meeting at 6pm |
| 8 | Tues 03/12 | Optional 3 Way Conferences |
| 8 | Wed 04/12 | Year 6 SFX Orientation Morning |
| 8 | Wed 04/12 | Class Party - 3 Blue |
| 8 | Wed 04/12 | Optional 3 Way Conferences |
| 8 | Thur 05/12 | End of Year Whole School Mass at 9:30am |
| 8 | Fri 06/12 | Year 6 Daramalan Orientation Day |
| 8 | Fri 06/12 | Reports live on Compass |
| 8 | Fri 06/12 | Assembly 2pm in the Hall presented by Year 6 |
| 8 | Fri 06/12 | Year 6 Graduation Mass & Disco |
| 9 | Mon 09/12 | Principal Awards Assembly |
| 9 | Mon 09/12 | White Token Celebration Lunch |
| 9 | Mon 09/12 | Kingsford Smith Orientation for 2025 - Year 6 |
| 9 | Tues 10/12 | Meet the Teacher Day |
| 9 | Wed 11/12 | Year 6 Big Day Out |
| 9 | Thur 12/12 | Leadership Ceremony - Year 5 Familes invited to attend |
| 9 | Fri 13/12 | Year 6 Water Fight Farewell |
| 10 | Mon 16/12 | Last Day for students |
| 10 | Tues 17/12 | Pupil Free Day |
As previously communicated, if your child/ren is leaving STA at the end of the school year, we ask that you please complete the below form and return it to the Front Office as soon as possible.
Thank you.
Please keep up to date by visiting our weekly newsletter.
Further information surrounding these events will be distributed within the coming days and weeks. We hope families and students enjoy celebrating and farewelling our wonderful Year 6 students & families.
| Parish Priest | Father Gerard McCormick |
| Parish Secretary | Sharon Greaves |
| Telephone | 02 6258 1563 |
| charnwood@cg.org.au | |
| Address | 23 Lhotsky Street CHARNWOOD ACT 2615 |
| MASS | TIMES |
| Monday to Friday | 9:30am |
| Thursday - School Mass | 9:30am - one grade each week |
| Public Holidays | 9:30am |
| Saturday Vigil | 6:00pm |
| Sunday | 9:00am Children's liturgy is held during the school term. All families are welcome to attend. |
Religious Curriculum at St Thomas Aquinas
This week staff have been once again busy collaborating with staff across our archdiocese on drafting new units of work for Religious Education. A special thank you to Ella Barry and Sam Pigram who have again given of their own time to develop exciting learning opportunities for our students. This exciting project aims to utilise staff expertise in Science of Learning pedagogy and create new units of work using the Brisbane Religious Education Curriculum Scope and Sequence. All staff at St Thomas Aquinas are engaged in trialing these new units of work and are providing helpful feedback to modify units moving forward into 2025. Change is never easy in education and I sincerely thank the staff at STA for their enthusiastic efforts and professional and skilled work in this space.
Religious Life of St Thomas Aquinas
Advent Prayer Celebrations
As school finishes before Advent will, we have decided to hold our prayer celebrations a little earlier. The whole school will come together to reflect on the weekly Advent messages and all families are invited to join us in the church at 2:00pm each of the Thursday afternoons in Weeks 6, 7, 8 & 9 for these celebrations. We are looking forward to starting off with 6 Blue leading us this coming Thursday.
| Advent | Date | Class |
| 2 | 28/11 | K Blue |
| 3 | 05/12 | K Green |
| 4 | 12/12 | 5 Blue |
Christmas Appeal
This year we are hoping to contribute much needed food items to support those in our community who may find the financial aspect of Christmas challenging. We are working with St Vincent de Paul to collect items for Christmas Hampers. Below you will see a list of suggested items to be brought in with different grade levels being responsible for different items. All donations will be presented to St Vincent de Paul at our final whole school Mass on Thursday 5th December. Please send these non-perishable food/drinks into your child’s class where they will be kept until this Mass. Thank you in advance for the generosity this school community is known for.
| Year | Items |
| ELC | Christmas cake/puddings |
| Kindergarten | Chips, corn chips |
| Year 1 | Chocolates/lollies |
| Year 2 | Biscuits – sweet and savoury |
| Year 3 | Pantry items – sauces, salsa, mustards, spreads, pickles etc |
| Year 4 | Pantry items – cereal, rice, noodles, pasta |
| Year 5 | Drinks – soft drink, juice, cordial, iced tea |
| Year 6 | Christmas serviettes, bon-bons, paper plates |
Dignity Hamper
As part of our ongoing support of St Vincent de Paul and those in need in our own community we have established a new dignity hamper. Families are invited to donate to the hampers items to assist the homeless and those in need with hygiene items such as shampoo and conditioner, body wash or soap, deodorant, tampons and pads, incontinence aids and moisturizer. All donations can be place in the new cubes outside the Coordinators’ Office. These will be passed on to St Vincent de Paul as the cubes become full. Thank you in anticipation of your generous donations.
Graduation Mass
A special Graduation Mass for our Year 6 students and their families will be held on Friday 6th December at 5:00pm. Please keep them in your prayers at this time of transition as it holds excitement, trepidation and new challenges.
Living Witness
It was with joy I read an email from a parent this week outlining how her son had helped with a charity over the weekend. Cameron Campbell spent time this past weekend at a ‘Share the Dignity’ lunch in Sydney. Prior to enjoying the lunch Cameron and his mum, Stacey, were assisting with packing more than 200 bags intended for people experiencing poverty and homelessness. This is truly living out our Catholic values and I’m very proud to hear that an STA student is demonstrating such kindness and charity. Well done Cam and Stacey!
"The Albanese Government will legislate 16 as the minimum age for access to social media, following endorsement by National Cabinet today.
The decision follows extensive consultation with young people, parents and carers, academics and child development experts, community, industry and civil organisations, First Nations youth, and state and territory governments.
The Albanese Government will introduce legislation in the next Parliamentary sitting fortnight.
The Bill puts the onus on social media platforms, not parents or young people, to take reasonable steps to ensure fundamental protections are in place.
The Government will continue to work closely with stakeholders in the lead up to the commencement of the law, with a lead time of at least 12 months following the Bill’s passage to give industry, governments and the eSafety Commissioner time to implement systems and processes.
We will also use this time to develop guidance for parents, carers and children ahead of the change.
The Bill builds upon the Australian Government’s work to address online harms for young people, including the $6.5 million age assurance trial, establishing an online dating apps code, legislating new criminal penalties for non-consensual sexual deepfakes, and quadrupling base funding for the eSafety Commissioner.
The Government will ensure young Australians retain access to services that primarily provide education and health services, and work constructively with stakeholders to ensure that only services which meet the strict criteria under eSafety's powers are able to be accessed by children under 16."
Students are introduced to new Ngunnawal vocabulary weekly. To match our Ngunnawal word, Mrs Wang is also introducing the matching Chinese word to increase our culture learning. Special thanks to Miss Evans & Mrs Wang.
Last Week of Borrowing for 2024
Our last week of borrowing for 2024 is Week 7. After that we will only be returning our library books during our library lessons.
Please have a look around your homes now for books that have been overdue for a while.
Scholastic Book Club - Last One For The Year!
Scholastic Book Club orders are due by COB 2/12/2024. Orders can only be made on the LOOP app.
Ordering from Book Club supports our school library. Many thanks for your support.
November Birthdays
Andrew M, Regan L, Elizabeth P, Taigh R, Zoe P, Jett B, Niklaus T, Geoffrey F, Cody H, Kuzi M, Piper R, Ava G, Aiden M, Hudson T, Harpreet S, Emily S, Benjamin S, Ella T, Grace S, Mikayla M, Faith M, Isabel P, Darcy A, Daniel K, Georgia B
