Each year at the commencement of the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data for students with disability, schools are required to notify parents. This can be done via the school newsletter or in a letter to all parents.

For your assistance, the attached here - Information Sheet for Parents and Carers in Catholic Schools, has been prepared by Catholic Schools NSW (CSNSW) to distribute to parents.

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

• 6 March Mark Taylor Shield Cricket Knockout (vs St Therese West Wollongong
• 7 March 1 pm Lockdown Drill
• 8 March Project Compassion Fundraiser - Crazy Hair Day
• 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
• 22 March 2:15 pm Evacuation Drill
• 27 March Year 5 Leadership Program
• 28 March Holy Week Liturgy & Whole School Assembly
• 29 March Good Friday
• 31 March Easter Sunday
• 2 April
  • 9:15 am Easter Mass
  • 2:15 pm Raffle & Hat Parade
• 11 April K-6 Cross Country Carnival (at Chevalier College)
• 12 April 2:30pm 
  • Final day of Term 1
  • 1:30 pm Lunch on the Lawn
  • 2:30 pm Whole School Assembly

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.

Thank you for your understanding.

School Fees

If you have not already advised that you would like to pay by instalments, could you please contact Shauna in the office so that an agreement can be made for the remainder of the year.