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Spirit of God, Grant us the gifts of knowledge, understanding and wisdom that we may respond in faith to whatever you ask.
Spirit of God, grant us the gifts of right judgement and courage that we may choose correctly when making decisions about the way we live as followers of Jesus.
Spirit of God, grant us the gift of reverence and wonder so we never take you for granted, and always respond in prayer and action in bearing witness to Christ our Lord in our lives.
We pray for our students making their confirmation tomorrow afternoon. May it also remind us of the gifts that we have been given, to use them well and to work on those gifts that are still developing. Thank you to the parents and staff who have prepared the students for this Sacrament.
Celebration of 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia
Last Monday (24 May) was the Feast day of Our Lady Help of Christians, the patron saint of Australia. Students from 45 of our Catholic schools across the Diocese of Wollongong gathered for a celebratory Mass to mark 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia. I had great pleasure in attending the Mass with Maddy and Claudia from Year 6.
Bishop’s visit
Today we were very blessed to have Bishop Brian visit our school as part of his Parish visit. He had lunch with staff before visiting Year 3 to bless their rosary beads and have a chat, then moved on to hand out awards at the assembly and tour the school, having a bit of time to drop in to some classes. It was really lovely to sit down with a cuppa after school and just chat, it is nice that he allows you to see that he is a person just like each one of us. More photos can be found on our Facebook page.
National Sorry Day
National Sorry Day is an Australian-wide observance held on 26 May each year. This day gives people the chance to come together and share the steps towards healing for the Stolen Generations, their families and communities.
National Sorry Day came about as a product of the “Bringing Them Home” report in 1997 as a means to honour Australia’s First Peoples and to remember the Stolen Generation. We came together this week for a special prayer assembly to remember.
National Reconciliation Week
National Reconciliation Week occurs from 27th May – 3rd June. This year’s theme is:
This urges the reconciliation movement towards braver and more impactful action.
2021 marks twenty years of Reconciliation Australia and almost three decades of Australia’s formal reconciliation process.
Principal Appraisal
In recent days you would have had a survey emailed to you regarding my upcoming appraisal. If you are able to afford the time, I would really appreciate you filling this in to use as feedback and with future planning.
I am still in need of some parents who are willing to give up a little time on Tuesday 22 June from 1:00 -2:00 pm to be a part of a discussion group with the appraisal panel, the first half hour being lunch. If you would like to be a part of this group please let the office know.
Review of uniform
We have had a number of parents sending in feedback about uniforms and availability, especially the girls’ winter tunic so I thought it would be good to get feedback across the school.
Next week a google form will be sent out to you. I would be pleased if you wouldn’t mind taking the time to fill it in.
If you would like to be on the committee to review the surveys please let the office know.
Kayleen Petzer
Principal
Thank you to the students and their parents who worked together to prepare for the sacrament.
The Sacrament of Confirmation is the second of the three sacraments of Christian initiation.
We pray for all our students who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation tomorrow:
Grant that they may grow into the fullness of the stature of Christ.
Fill them with the joy of your presence.
Increase in them the fruit of your Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of love, patience and gentleness, the spirit of wonder and true holiness.
Amen.
Confirmation completes Baptism, by which in the laying on of hands and the anointing with Chrism Oil, which first happened at Baptism, we are confirmed with the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
We are reminded of our participation in the ministry and mission of Jesus, and strengthened to follow Jesus more closely.
The Laying On of Hands
The Bishop places his hands on the head of the candidates and prays for the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
This ritualises the connection to Baptism and the strengthening of the Holy Spirit in our vocation to follow the way of Jesus.
Anointing with oil
The anointing of the candidate at Confirmation recognises that they are sealed with the Holy Spirit.
The Bishop anoints the candidate’s forehead with the Oil of Chrism, saying ‘Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit’.
The Sign of Peace
At the end of the rite, the Bishop puts his hand on the side of the candidate’s face and says ‘Peace be with you’ and the candidate replies with ‘And with your spirit’, symbolising the candidate’s place within the Church community.
Bishop Brian’s Parish Visitation
Bishop Brian is visiting our parish this weekend. You are warmly invited to attend Mass and meet the Bishop.
Saturday Vigil - 5:00pm
- Sunday - 8:00am
- Sunday - 9:30am
- Sunday - 5:00pm
Our new Parish celebrates its first feast day Sunday
6 June.
Mass at 10.30 followed by lunch. Please register for lunch through the parish office.
Body and Blood of Christ
The feast of Corpus Christi focuses on the Eucharist as a symbol and sacrament of unity. While we celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday, at this fest we give special consideration to the Bread of Life nourishing our lives.
When we break bread and share the one cup we recall that sacred meal between Christ and his disciples just before sacrificing his life on a cross. Like those disciples, Christ’s death and resurrection has bonded us in a love relationship. For this reason, the Eucharist is never a private affair but always a call to unity. In receiving communion on this feast, be aware of Christ’s presence not only in the Eucharistic host, but in those receiving with you.
Vicki Johnson
Religious Education Coordinator
At St Thomas Aquinas we have three very important school rules.
- For the remainder of the term we will be concentrating on wearing the correct school uniform.
- At St Thomas Aquinas school we have a Uniform Code to follow.
- When we are wearing the correct school uniform, we are representing our school with respect, pride and fairness to all students, staff and our school rules.
Wearing the correct school uniform looks like:
- Correct school colours are worn for ribbons and scrunchies;
- Watch, chain with cross, gold/silver sleeper or stud earrings only;
- School hat on at morning tea, lunch and sport;
- White or mostly white joggers on sport days;
- White anklets that can be seen on sport days;
- We are neat, tidy and presentable at all times.
Wearing the correct school uniform sounds like:
Compliments from staff and other students like:
- “You are really well presented today.”
- “ Your hair looks great in that school scrunchie.”
Wearing the correct school uniform feels like
- We are proud and welcoming;
- We are respectful;
- We encourage a positive school community spirit;
- We are all equal and our uniform shows this;
- We are role models.
REMEMBER TO:
* Wear Black Leather shoes with full school uniform.
* Wear mostly white joggers on sports days.
Remember pride in the uniform is a thing!
Act respectfully and wear the uniform correctly.
Watch out for tips on how to wear our school uniform correctly and with pride on our STA Facebook page
WE DID IT!
In week 4 we told you about our plan to change the way that we manage our rubbish at STA. Well, the good news is that we’ve done it. For almost 2 whole weeks now, we have been recycling ALL our rubbish, both after morning tea and lunch time. We also have recycling in every classroom.
A very specific and well organised routine, with special monitors from Years 4, 5 and 6 to oversee the routine, has been established to make sure students know where to put their rubbish. It’s important to get this right, otherwise bins get contaminated with the wrong rubbish, and this interferes with the way they get recycled at the recycling plant.
Our playground has really changed!
Instead of 12 bins overflowing with rubbish each week, there are 3 stations of 3 bins and a compost caddy. We recycle hard plastics, paper and other mixed recyclables in the yellow bin, soft plastics in the blue bin and we compost all of our food scraps. We have a landfill bin for rubbish that can’t be recycled.
What we have noticed:
One of the things that we have noticed is that the biggest amount of rubbish is generated from soft plastic, especially from little chip and snack packets. But on a better note – we are generating almost no landfill!!
Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could reduce the amount of packaging that we use, so that we only accumulated 1 bag of soft plastics a week?
A big thank you to...
The parent volunteers who are taking our soft plastics to Coles or Woolworths for recycling.
And a HUGE thank you to the students who are keeping up with the change that will save our planet!!
Ms Wilson
The Environment sustainability group
Composting our food scraps
Congratulations to those students who took part in the Rugby Union Knockout Competition in Woonona on Monday 24 May. Thank you to Mrs Cleary and the parent coaches/managers who attended on the day.
Good luck to those students who will be taking part in the Rugby League Gala Day on Thursday 3 June. Thank you to Mr Shea and Mr Schmidt who will be the coach/managers for the U10 and U12 teams.
Athletics Carnival
Well done to everyone who took part in the Athletics Carnival at Chevalier College on Friday 21 May. Field events are still being finalized so ribbons and Age Champions will be awarded before the end of the term.
School Fees
Due to several excursions, etc not going ahead this year, fee credits for every student have been processed and should be reflected in your school fee account. If you have any questions please speak with Shauna in the office.
Fees for 2022 will be billed at the beginning of January and are due 28 days later. If you wish to pay by instalments please complete the form which was sent out via Compass this week.
STA Uniform Shop
We have quite a lot of second-hand uniforms for sale in the P & F Uniform Shop @ $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.
IT'S BACK!
Mittagong Junior Disco
Venue: Mittagong RSL – Bessemer Street
Date : Saturday 26th June
Times : 4pm to 6.00pm
Cost : $5.00
Please note all money raised goes back to the children in the Southern Highlands community.
We hope to see you there. There are several gift vouchers to win, these are drawn on the night.
Thank you as always for your ongoing support.
Chris and Sandra Roberson - and the amazing committee of the Mittagong Junior Disco.
Phone - 0412 321 555.