Parents & Friends (P&F) Association

Mr McElhone and the P&F Executive extend a warm invitation to all parents and carers to join our vibrant and supportive Parent & Friends Association. Your active involvement in the association plays a crucial role in shaping the positive and nurturing environment that defines our St Thomas Aquinas community.

Why participate in the Parent & Friends Association?

Community Building: The association provides a unique platform for parents/carers to come together, share experiences, and build lasting friendships. By actively participating, you contribute to a sense of unity that strengthens the bonds within our school community.

Supporting School Initiatives: Your involvement in the association directly impacts the success of various school initiatives, events, and projects. Whether it's participating in fundraisers, planning community events, or supporting school programs, your contributions make a significant difference.

Influence Positive Change: The association is a forum where your ideas and suggestions are not only heard but valued. By attending meetings, you have the opportunity to voice your opinions, share insights, and actively contribute to the continuous improvement of our school.

Why Attend Association Meetings Each Term?

Stay Informed: The association meetings are an invaluable source of information about upcoming school events, initiatives, and updates. By attending, you stay well-informed and connected with the school's happenings.

Collaborate with Educators: Meetings provide a platform for open dialogue between parents and the school staff. This collaborative environment fosters a deeper understanding of the school's vision, curriculum, and educational goals.

Make a Difference: Your active participation at association meetings allows you to play a direct role in shaping the direction of our school community. Your insights and suggestions contribute to decision-making processes that impact our children's educational experience.

Join us for our first association meeting of the year tonight Wednesday 21 February at 7pm in the FGC  (which also includes the AGM). The remaining meetings will be held on the following dates:

• Wednesday - 8 May 2024
• Wednesday - 31 July 2024
• Wednesday - 23 October 2024

NAPLAN 2024 Parent and Carer Information

Each year the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is undertaken by primary school students in Years 3 and 5. Students will participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. 

The NAPLAN 2024 testing window is from Wednesday 13 March to Monday 25 March. However we have scheduled the following dates for the administration of the assessments.

• 13 March - Writing
• 14 March - Reading & Language Conventions
• 18 March - Numeracy

NAPLAN is just one part of our school learning assessment program. The tests assess literacy and numeracy skills your child is already learning at school. 

In preparation for NAPLAN, our school will undertake activities to help students become familiar with the format and functionality of the online tests. These activities are not an assessment of student ability and will not be marked. Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not required nor recommended. 

The public demonstration site (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) is available to see the types of questions, tools and functions used in the NAPLAN tests.

Further information about NAPLAN is available on the NESA website https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/naplan/parent-information 

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact your child’s teacher or the NAPLAN Coordinator - Mrs Preddey.

2024 School Calendar

The key date of events and celebrations for 2024 can be viewed in our online school calendar. The calendar can be viewed on our school website and via the newsletter.

Upcoming Events

• 19-22 February Meet & Greets

• 21 February 7:00pm P&F Meeting

• 23 February School Swimming Carnival

• 28 February Western Region Swimming Carnival

• 1 March 2:30pm Whole School Assembly

• 6 March Mark Taylor Shield Cricket Knockout (vs St Therese West Wollongong)

• 11 March CEDoW Swimming Trials

• 13 March NAPLAN Writing

• 14 March NAPLAN Reading & Language Conventions

• 15 March Year 6 Leadership Program

• • 2:30pm Whole School Assembly

• 18 March NAPLAN Numeracy

• 21 March World Down Syndrome Day / Harmony Day

• 27 March Year 5 Leadership Program

• 28 March Holy Week Liturgy & Whole School Assembly

• 29 March Good Friday

• 31 March Easter Sunday

• 2 April Easter Liturgy, Raffle & Hat Parade

• 11 April K-6 Cross Country Carnival (at Chevalier College)

• 12 April 2:30pm Whole School Assembly

• • Final day of Term 1

Uniform Expectations

St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish Primary School (STA) supports the wearing of a school uniform which reinforces in students a pride in their own appearance, instills recognition of themselves as an integral part of the STA community and promotes a sense of belonging for students. Therefore we expect all students to comply with our Uniform Policy. Our Uniform Policy and expectations can be access at https://www.stabdow.catholic.edu.au/parents/uniform/

Anaphylaxis Awareness

Some children in our school suffer the life threatening condition of anaphylaxis . Essentially anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction which is caused as a result of an intolerance to nut or peanut-based food products. As well as this we do have a number of children in the school who suffer anaphylactic reactions when exposed to peanuts, eggs, seafood and sesame seeds.

In order to respond to this situation and provide safe, fair and responsible procedures for all in the school community we have taken advice from the Anaphylaxis Association and our own Diocesan Workplace Safety Officers. We specifically request that parents/carers must not send in peanut or nut based products (eg peanut butter or Nutella) as part of their child’s lunch. If anyone has any concerns over this, please do not hesitate to speak with Mr McElhone.

Enrolments for Kindergarten 2025

We are now accepting enrolment applications for Kindergarten 2025. The enrolment form is now available online via our school website https://www.stabdow.catholic.edu.au/enrol/ 

Applications should be completed by the end of Term 1.

Teacher Professional Learning

At St Thomas Aquinas the staff has an ongoing commitment to professional learning. The staff benefits from attending in-services, in curriculum areas, that assist them in providing quality learning opportunities for the students in their class. The following staff have or will attend professional learning:

Sports News

Sporting Opportunities and Pathways in 2024

There are many sporting opportunities that students of St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School have the opportunity to be involved in each year. Sporting opportunities range from fun gala days to competing and progressing through the representative levels in our Diocesan and pathway sports program through to Diocesan, MacKillop, NSWPSSA and National levels. This document’s aim is to show a clear picture of what sporting opportunities are available to the students of St Thomas Aquinas and the process in how to register, trial and participate.

Parents are encouraged to access sporting information and opportunities on the CEDoW Sport website. All primary sporting event information and dates can be found on the Sport Events > Primary website
https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/sport/events-primary/.

CEDoW have recently announced that their sport Instagram is now active at cedow.sport. Please follow for up to date information and sport announcements.

CEDoW Gala Days

Gala days are fun, round-robin style days designed primarily for student enjoyment of the sport, participation and for the promotion of exercise and a positive sporting experience.  Each year St Thomas Aquinas participates in the following gala days - Netball Gala Day, Soccer Gala Day and Basketball Gala Day. 

Most Gala days are open to students in Yrs 3-6 or in age groups from 9yrs and up. Gala days are lots of fun and there are usually many students that wish to participate. In some instances, the school may require to run trials or limit the participants to allocated grades. Eg only Yr 4 and Yr 6. As this will allow students in Yr 3 and Yr 5 to participate the following year.

As we usually have large numbers of students and many teams participating in each Gala Day we require many parent volunteers to help coach and manage teams on the day.

Carnivals

Each year St Thomas Aquinas runs a Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics carnival. These carnivals allow students to compete at a school level and serve as a selection process for Wollongong diocesan teams. Children may progress from school level, to Diocesan, to MacKillop, to NSWPSSA and ultimately national level in selected sports the representative levels. The success of each carnival is dependent on the help of many parent volunteers.

Celebrating Success

Recently Alexander M (Year 5) attended the Regional Athletics Championships in Wollongong. Alexander had a successful weekend and achieved some impressive personal best times. He achieved gold in the 400m sprint and gold in the 4x4 100m Junior Relay, silver in the 100m, 200m and 80m hurdles sprint. Alexander has now qualified for the NSW Athletics Championships.

Over the weekend Gabrijela K (Year 5) took part in a NSW Tennis selections and has been seeded in the Top 18 U10 Tennis players in NSW. She will be training with the NSW Squad at Homebush and will represent NSW in tournaments and State of Origin championships. This is a very exciting opportunity and wonderful achievement for her!!

Thank you for your understanding.

School Fees

School fees for 2024 have been billed and the first account issued at the end of January for payment by the end of February.  If you have not previously paid by instalments and would like to do so, please complete a Payment by Instalment form.

If you need to discuss your school fee account, please contact Shauna in the office. 

HIGHLANDS WELLBEING FORUM