This evening is Halloween. Please find below an information sheet that Bishop Ingham released a couple of years ago that explains Halloween from a Catholic perspective.

If your family intend going trick or treating, perhaps the following prayer and little quiz beforehand might help make connections to our faith.

 Prayer

Dear Father

You have given the saints in Heaven eternal happiness
and they now live in the fullness of your glory.

Because of their holy love for you, they also care about me and my family,
my friends, my church and my neighbours.

Thank-you for the gift of their friendship and the witness of their holy lives.
I ask our patron saints and eve

ry saint who has become especially dear to me
to intercede for us.

I ask them to help us journey safely on the narrow path that leads us to Heaven.

O Lord, give us their protection. Grant us their assistance in overcoming temptation and gaining the fullness of life with you.

Know Your Saints Quiz

1. I am the apostle to the Gentiles whose letters you read in the Bible.
2. I have the title of 'Patron of All Immigrants.'
3. I am the Carmelite saint whose "Little Way" shows us how offering joys and sorrows daily can make us a great saint.
4. I am the foster father of Christ and the patron of a happy death.
5. I am the cousin of Jesus who prepared the way for the Lord.
6. I am the woman who offered my veil to wipe Jesus' face when He was carrying His cross.
7. I am the apostle chosen by Christ to be head of His Church.
8. I am the missionary who made Ireland famous for its piety and learning.
9. I am the beloved apostle and the writer of the fourth gospel.
10. I am the cousin of the Blessed Virgin Mary whose baby was Presanctified.
11. I am the patron saint of music because I sang the praises of God while I was cruelly put to death.
12. I am the modern day saint who chose martyrdom rather than to be impure.
13. I am the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandmother of Jesus.
14. I am the valiant young girl who led France to victory over England and then suffered death by being burned at the stake.
15. I am the 'Little Poverino' whose order is now the largest in the world and who so resembled Christ in my life that I was privileged to bear His sacred wounds in my own body.
16. I am the 'Wonder Worker' of Padua and a Doctor of the Church.
17. I am the Patron saint of schools who was once called the Dumb Ox by my classmates but who wrote many treatises on the faith. My teacher was St. Albert the Great.
18. I am the saint who reformed the Carmelite Order and who became the first woman Doctor of the Church.
19. I am the simple parish priest who was tormented by the devil because my great sanctity brought my people closer to God.
20. I am the Visitation nun to whom Jesus appeared showing His Sacred Heart and to whom He delivered His message of love and plea for reparation.

St. Peter , St. Therese of Lisieux , St. Anthony,  St. Joan of Arc, St. Elizabeth, St. Anne, St. John the Baptist, St. John the Apostle, St. Margaret Mary, St. Patrick, St. Maria Goretti, St. Paul, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Cecilia, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, St. John Vianney, St. Joseph, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis Assisi, St. Veronica.

Public Speaking

Congratulations to Millie and Eliza who did a great job representing our school in the Regional Public Speaking Competition at Eagle Vale last week. The standard of speeches was extremely high and while Millie and Eliza didn’t make it to the Diocesan finals they presented their well thought out speeches clearly and with confidence. They certainly did us very proud.

Kindergarten Transition 2020

Our Kindergarten students for 2020 and their parents will be joining us each Tuesday and Thursday starting next week for “Playgroup” sessions.  This will commence their transition to school and get them accustomed to the school environment. I am sure that you will make the new families feel very welcome if you see them in the school.

School Musical 

Oh what a night!  Congratulations to Mr Lindsay and all the students at STA for a wonderful evening of music last week.  The energy in the room was upbeat as the children performed each of their chosen songs.  We have had many positive comments on how exceptional the children were, remembering their lines and the many moves they had to undertake.  Well done all!  More pictures are available on our Facebook page.

NSW Minister for Education visits STA

Sarah Mitchell, the NSW Minister for Education, together with Nathaniel Smith MP and Wendy Tuckerman MP dropped by on World Teachers Day to see the wonderful teaching and learning happening in our school.

Stage 1 Mass

Our Stage 1 Mass is being held on Sunday 10th November, it would be lovely if as many families as possible can support it, even if your children are not in Stage 1.

Kayleen Petzer
Acting Principal

ALTAR SERVERS

IMPORTANT DATES

One of the highlights of the Christmas celebrations will be the
Children’s Mass at St Thomas Aquinas at 6 pm Christmas Eve.

We would love to see as many children dressed as angels and shepherds as possible in attendance. 

The STA Liturgy group will be providing the music for the Mass and will need to arrive by 5 pm to see Mrs Johnson. 

SPORT NEWS

K - 6 Swimming Carnival

 29th November 

The Sound Collector

A stranger called this morning 

Without a single trace

Put every sound into a box

But no one saw his face

The dinging of the doorbell

The turning of the knobs

The squeaking of the mice

As the little baby sobs

The popping of the corn

The crunching of the toast

When you eat the apple pie

After the juicy roast

The hissing of the cat

The ticking of the clocks

The creaking of the door

Whilst it all unlocks

The echo of the thunder

The trickle of the rain

When we go to bed

The pop of mum’s champagne

A stranger called this morning

He left no sound at all

No one knows who he was

He won’t come back for sure!

Anna B 5 Blue

Year 5 held their annual Market Day on Monday and had lots of fun making and baking for the day.  They raised approximately $1,280 for the Maubara Orphanage in East Timor.  Thank you to the Year 5 teachers and parents who helped with cooking, etc.

Year 5 Market Day Reflection ‘Snippets’

I thought we achieved a great goal because we were helping the wider community grow and develop.Everyone who was doing Market Day was happy and stressed at the same time,but it was worth it because knowing that we successfully made people less fortunate than us have a brighter future is very heartwarming. Everyone was also very organised with their stalls.  Grace D 5B

I thought Market Day was successful because everything was organised, and everyone in my team helped a lot and played their part. We raised about $1500 which is going towards the East Timor Orphanage. Charlotte W 5B

As part of Year 5’s outreach program, we held a Market Day where groups of two or three worked together to create their own stall to raise money for the East Timor Maubara Orphanage. We sold lots of treats,drinks,toys and lots more to hopefully help people in need.      Ella S 5B

We spent many hours preparing for Market Day and when the day arrived my whole group was extremely nervous. I thought that the day was a huge success and after counting all the money raised, we found that over $1500 was collected to make a change in someone else’s life.      Jamie M 5B

The Market Day was a very successful day. It was a success because nearly every store sold out of their products and all the customers were satisfied. We achieved making a large sum of money for the orphanage and working together to run a successful market. Josephine H 5B

In my opinion this task should definitely be repeated because it was so much fun. And not only was it for a good cause, but it was teaching us about many things - maths, teamwork and customer service. I think we did not just achieve our goal, we smashed it!    Emily W 5B

Students presenting at sick bay

This is located adjacent to the school office and we sell hats, bags, beanies, gloves and scarves.  At present we are out of stock of beanies but hope to have these shortly. EFTPOS is available for new stock.

The P & F 2nd hand Uniform Shop is open 2.30pm - 3pm each Monday for the sale of items @ $2 per item. The money raised from these sales will be donated to St Vincent de Paul at the end of the year. 

for 2nd hand items.  Donations gratefully accepted.

Consent for use of your child's work/image

If you have not completed this form, could you please do so and return as soon as possible, thank you.

The canteen is open Wednesday, Thursday & Friday (breakfast [8.30 - 9], recess & lunch) and the menu is attached.  

Just a reminder that we do our best to be a nut-free school and appreciate that you don't send any nut products to school with your child.