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Dear Parents, Caregivers & Students
The students in Years 3 & 5 are currently undertaking NAPLAN online in all Literacy & Numeracy tests except for Year 3 Writing which was still pen & paper. I am sure that you are all hearing the media reports and all the controversy regarding the change to the online platform. Please be assured that here at St Thomas Aquinas we were very well prepared, especially in providing the students with the most current iPads & all appropriate preparations. We did experience some interruptions during the Year 5 Writing on Tuesday but the teachers have documented every difficulty & notified all appropriate authorities. The problem was not related to our school's IT environment but was a national problem that has been addressed & rectified. This was a common problem across our diocese & indeed in most schools. Except for Writing on Tuesday, we have only encountered minor difficulties.
Many people will have their own opinions about the testing & it moving to the online platform. The Diocese of Wollongong made the decision that all schools in our diocese would sit the online tests in 2019. From our school's point of view, we really value the data regarding student's progress as soon as possible, so that we can use this information in planning for teaching & learning. The value of online into the future is we do not have to wait until late in the year for the results. Also the online testing is differentiated to cater for the different ability levels & therefore gives schools more specific details of a child's abilities & progress.
I do want to acknowledge and thank our community for your contribution to the Technology Levy that has enabled us to fully equip our students with the most up-to-date equipment & infrastructure, as well as allowing us to have the students very well prepared.
CONFIRMATION
Please keep our Year 6 students in your prayers as they prepare to make their Confirmation on Saturday. This is a very special day in the life of these young people and we wish them a wonderful afternoon celebrating this significant Sacrament.
A huge thank you to our fabulous Liturgy Group, Mrs Johnson & Mrs Hamilton who all give up their time to enrich this ceremony with Bishop Brian & Fr Sean by providing their beautiful music. Thank you also to the many staff who attend to support the students at this Sacrament.
SCHOOL READING BUDDIES
We are seeking some adults- parents, caregivers, grandparents or special family friends to help out in the school by being a “Reading Buddy”. It would only be for 15 minutes at the beginning or end of the day to listen to students reading. This is such a valuable gift to a child to assist them with their reading and often they have such busy lives, finding this time can be very difficult for a family.
A huge thank you to those who have phoned today after the alert was sent out. We are really grateful for your very generous support for our students.
PARENT GROUP
Last Wednesday, we held a parent meeting to discuss parent/caregiver involvement at STA, changing the model of the P&F structure and looking at fundraising and possible ways forward to engage parents in the life of our school. We had a great discussion with the group who attended and we are proposing a further meeting towards the end of term with a guest speaker and Mrs Rebecca Hill from CEO. We are really keen to hear your ideas and Mrs Hill would like to facilitate discussion groups. Details regarding this meeting will be advertised.
As part of this meeting, we discussed fundraising this year and Chiara Borg is keen to talk to people who may want to join a group to help out at events. Her contact email is: matt.chiaraborg@gmail.com
The discussion was also around the funds sitting in the P&F account that have been raised in previous years to support the school's needs. To be able to fundraise & access money the parent group needed a committee to join Kristie Swann the Treasurer. Chiara Borg has been voted in as President; Tania Calla- Hunstone as Vice President & Geraldine Arnold as Secretary. I thank each of these ladies for their nominations and we are grateful for you in assisting with this Parent Group.
This group voted to contribute:
$11,000 to Robotics, STEM, STREAM & the Library
$5000 to Religious Education "Godly Play" materials & resources and to commence our Garden Projects in the playground. Each stage in the school will have their own garden beds and use this as a resource for learning as part of the curriculum. It will also allow children to access these spaces at lunchtime.
$5000 to Literacy resources particularly books to support our students having difficulties.
We are very appreciative of this $21,000 being given to the school to support the learning & needs of the students. Feedback from the parents present at this meeting was for the school to outline our Strategic Plan at the end of each year so that fundraising could be targetted to support the planned projects for the following year. That way everyone knows what we are raising the funds for each year. This is a great idea and we will share our plans in Term 4.
SCHOOL COMPETITION
BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CARE 2020
We are very keen to see if this would be a viable option here at STA with the numbers to support CatholicCare running Before & After School Care in our Fr Glynn Centre. The Diocese of Wollongong has worked closely with CatholicCare to introduce this service to many of the schools across the diocese. We are keen to know if you would use this service on a fulltime, set days or casual basis as we need to establish possible numbers. A digital survey will be sent out next week & we ask families to complete as soon as possible.
We are interested to see if you have friends who would consider enrolling at STA if we could offer this option. I welcome comments & feedback via email from families regarding this proposal.
Many thanks for your ongoing support
Warm regards
Mary-Lynn Lane
Principal
The Catholic Education Office have requested that you are provided with the following information:
Federal election 2019 - know the facts before you vote
It is essential that everybody who cares about Catholic schools understands these key issues, especially how our schools are funded. We encourage you to use this material and information to inform your vote and any discussions with your friends, family, community and local candidates
PRAYER FOR CONFIRMATION CANDIDATES:
Lord, You send out Your Spirit to touch the hearts of all people, so that they may believe in You and in Jesus whom You sent.
Look kindly on all candidates for Confirmation as they listen to Your voice.
Open their hearts to Your Spirit and bring to fulfilment the good work that
You have begun in them.
As we prepare these children for Confirmation, make each of us an instrument
of Your love.
Teach us to appreciate what is holy in others, and to be patient with
what we do not understand.
Deepen our faith in the Gospel and help us to pass it on by our example.
We pray that You will continue to guide us and sustain us.
Through Christ our Lord
Amen
The students will be travelling to Canberra to visit the Australian War Memorial, Old Parliament House/National Electoral Education Centre (EEC) and Parliament House.
Friday 21 June: Pupil Free Day
Friday 28 June: Reports available via Compass
Monday 1 - Thursday 4 July: Parent/Teacher Interviews
Friday 5 July: NAIDOC Liturgy 2 pm followed by Assembly (last day of term)
If you require further information regarding any of the above,
please contact the school office.
At this stage, permission for events can also still be provided via the Skoolbag app, however we will eventually transition to Compass only
for all consent and permission forms.
