Term 2 - Week 7 - Newsletter

Prayer of the Week

Image retrieved from https://www.piggottschool.org/page/?title=Our+School+Prayer&pid=298 

From the Principal’s Desk…

Two films that many Australians have seen are about journeys; the journeys that can come to define or change a life. In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins finds an unexpected inner tenacity when he leaves the dusted and doylied comfort zone of his home to embark on his adventures.

But it is Jean Valjean’s journey in Les Miserables which is the most poignant. We first see him as a man of brute strength with few redeeming qualities. His essential humanity has been debased by violence and vile incarceration over a period of nineteen years.  However, it is an act of unexpected mercy that sets him on the path to redemption; a small act that resolves him to become a good man.

Instead of incriminating him after the theft of two silver candlesticks, the bishop says to the police that they were a gift. In pardoning him, the bishop has bought his soul.  In the chapel a perplexed Valjean asks What spirit comes to move my life? He becomes a man repentant and transformed, vowing from that moment to make amends and to make something of his life.

This becomes his journey; his life becomes a work in progress, as all our lives are. Although Valjean cannot be described as an everyman, his story resonates with everyone who has to make choices as to how they will live, how they will be in the world, how they will treat others, what their life will mean.  Valjean is graced through an act of mercy whereas Inspector Javert, a righteous man, prosecutes the law mercilessly. He cannot comprehend the depths of a human heart that can respond mercifully. This is beyond the palette of his imagination. He cannot find any emotional empathy for the plight of another human being. To him Valjean is merely a number, 24601.

Throughout Les Mis, Jean Valjean’s heart is enlarged by love. In the film his final words sums up the essence of what it is to live and love. 

                                                          Take my love for love is everlasting
                                               And remember the truth that once was spoken
                                               To love another person is to see the face of God.

The film shows that change is possible; that life does give us second chances if we are prepared to make good on them, that God’s love is everywhere.  It reminds us that love brings us to our better selves and that the best of love is a gift that opens our hearts to God.

As we move into Pentecost, perhaps we, too, need to reconsider What spirit comes to move my life?

Pentecost is the festival when Christians celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is celebrated on the Sunday 50 days after Easter (the name comes from the Greek pentekoste, "fiftieth").  Pentecost is regarded as the birthday of the Christian church, and the start of the church's mission to the world.  Just as earliest Christians portrayed Jesus as a shepherd, fish, anchor, or a lamb, the Holy Spirit was represented by a dove.  The symbolism of the dove hearkens back to when Noah sent a dove out from the ark to see if the flood waters had receded. The illuminated Rabbula Gospel from the sixth century, like thousands of similar images thereafter, reminds us that Pentecost celebrates the descent of the dove and the peace of the Spirit into our own lives today. Truly "pentecostal" believers are people of peace. "Make every effort to do what leads to peace," wrote Paul to the Romans (Romans 14:19) and "Blessed are the peacemakers," said Jesus (Matthew 5:9).

Can we hear the soft sibilance of the Holy Spirit urging us on, hinting at a change of heart, whispering to us as we pray that a new way might be found, suggesting somehow that there are other plans afoot and much work to be done, that our lives are moving in a new direction?

This is what Pentecost is; a new start with the Spirit; a birth day, as it is for the Church, where we are given the opportunity to live life anew.  Pentecost is the time when love is in the air, the wind is beneath our wings and the Spirit moves within us.

It is the answer, my friend, blowing in the wind.

Thanks for reading…

Science Team Challenge Success

Last Monday, children from Years 5 and 6 attended the University of Newcastle Team Science Challenge at the University of Southern Queensland.  Schools from all over the Darling Downs converged to take part in science experiments, challenges and problem solving in small teams.  A huge congratulations to our amazing St Thomas More’s children who were named ‘Champion School’ for 2023!  We are extremely proud of your wonderful achievements!

God Bless,

Duane Wann

Principal

Student Protection Contacts

From our APRE

As you may have heard, last week Pope Francis appointed a new Bishop of Toowoomba, Bishop Ken Howell. As we welcome Bishop Ken, we also take the time to thank Bishop Robert for his service and dedication to our diocese and wish him the very best in his retirement. 

A big thank you to Mr Barnes and 3 Red for leading the Upper School in prayer to acknowledge Sorry Day last Friday. National Sorry Day is a day of healing and is held to commemorate the Stolen Generations. Sorry Day is part of the ongoing effort towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. We pray that we continue to walk together in the spirit of reconciliation and unity. 

Term 2 Family Mass

This term, we join with the St Thomas More's Parish to celebrate Family Mass on Saturday, June 3rd at 6:00 pm.

I do have a need for two more readers, so please let me know via email if you are attending and your child is happy to read!

As always ... there is plenty of room in the choir! All STM families are most welcome to come along and join in Family Mass with us this term. Next weekend is also Hospitality Weekend at the church, so stay after Mass for some wine and cheese for the adults and pizza and treats for the kids! 

Parish Mass

Please be aware that Friday Parish Mass has now moved to 9:30 am. This will help alleviate the hustle in the Church Carpark and will allow students to attend weekly assembly in its entirety. 

Feast Day of St Thomas More Mass

Please note that our Feast Day Mass, originally scheduled for the Thursday of Week 10, has now been moved to the last day of Term 2. 

Congratulations

A big congratulations to our very own Isla in Year 5! Isla is making her Empire Theatre stage debut later this year in the Toowoomba Choral Society production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You may recall Isla as one of our wonderful Matilda's from our school production last year! If you want to catch Isla in the show, tickets are available from the Empire Theatre website. Well done Isla! 

Semester 1 Academic Reports 

Our Semester One Report Cards this year will be distributed via the Parent Portal in the last week of this term. If you have yet to start using the portal, it is vital that you make the move to doing so in the next few weeks. If you need any assistance at all accessing the portal, feel free to contact our wonderful staff in the office and they will be more than happy to help you however they can. 

Over the course of this semester, teachers have been gathering evidence of learning for each learning area for each of our students. This process involves gathering, analysing and reflecting on multiple sources of evidence to make an informed judgment about what students know, understand, and can do.  

Assessment in the classroom can come in many forms. It can either be … 

• Diagnostic (assessing prior learning) - pre-tests and work samples. 

• Formative (assessing for learning) - observations, group work, individual conferencing, ongoing work samples. 
• Summative (assessing of learning) - tasks, assignments, presentations.

In Week 10, families will receive Semester 1 Report Cards for students from Prep to Year 6 via the Parent Portal. This Report Card is a culmination of your child’s academic achievement throughout the semester, as well as a snapshot of their spiritual and social development. It is just one way of communicating information about student achievement, effort, and behaviour.  

The Australian Curriculum is written in such a way that there is an ‘Achievement Standard’ for each year level for each subject area. It is this Achievement Standard that we report against. The standards are written as a statement of what a student is aiming to achieve by the end of the school year for their year level. A student receiving a ‘C’ standard indicates that they have met this standard, that is, that their work demonstrates a conceptual understanding of the concepts covered and that they can apply this knowledge and skill in familiar situations. Simply speaking, a ‘C’ standard indicates that your child is able to do what is expected of them for their year level. 

To move beyond a ‘C’ standard, a student must demonstrate that they are developing sophistication of conceptual understanding, with a strong application of skills, and that they are beginning to transfer their knowledge and skills to new situations (B standard). For an A standard, students must demonstrate the excellent application of skills and be readily applying the knowledge and skills to new situations. 

Similarly, a ‘D’ standard does not constitute a fail but indicates that a student is continuing to develop their understanding of the expected curriculum, and may be able to demonstrate some of the elements within it, whether with support or inconsistently. A rough outline of these standards is provided below.  

In each KLA, students also receive an effort achievement level. This level is derived by the level of application and study habits during that particular KLA. Please see the table below for the effort achievement scale.

God Bless.

Miss Kristin Byrne

Assistant Principal: Religious Education

Thinking STM for Prep in 2024 ...

Miss Byrne's Important Dates to Remember for Term 2

From Our Sports Desk

 Athletics Carnival 

Our athletics carnival is coming around quickly. It will be held at O'Quinn Street Oval on Monday 12th June. Attached is the program for the day. Please use the link below to indicate your child/children travel arrangements for the day. If your child/children are catching the bus to the carnival, they will need to be at school promptly by 8:30am as the buses will be leaving at 8:40am. Children can come dressed in their house colours for the carnival. They will need to bring a hat, water bottle, sunscreen, morning tea and lunch. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

https://forms.office.com/r/SPE... 

This year we are after some champion parent helpers for our Athletics Carnival this year. Champion parent helpers would have the option of staying on a field event for the whole day or move around the field events with their child/children so you could still see them participate. You would be required to help with measuring, racking sand, and retrieving equipment. You don't have to know much about the field events, as there will be a teacher accompanying you and running the actual event. 

If you think you could lend a hand, please register yourself using the link below. 

https://forms.office.com/r/HaP... 

God Bless,

Stacey Hancock

HPE Teacher

From Our Library

Speak Up STM Podcast - Episode 2 - Interview with Sami Bayly by Isla

During our special author visits in Week 4, Sami Bayly author and illustrator of the fabulous Encyclopedia of Ugly Animals, Encyclopedia of Peculiar Pairs and Encyclopedia of Dangerous Animals kindly agreed to be a special guest on our new podcast.  Isla did an extraordinary job of interviewing Sami.  Sami was very impressed with Isla's confidence and speaking skills.  Well done Isla!

From our Service Club

Our Vinnies Winter Appeal begins this week. Baskets will be dropped into classrooms in the coming days. Donations can come in right up until the last day of this term. Some donation ideas include: 

Please send in what you can. Every little bit helps! A big thank you to Mr Pembrook for coming and helping us launch our appeal at assembly last week. You have helped inspire us to take up the call and help where we can. 

Don't forget Crazy Hair Day is on Thursday, June 15th. This is in Week 9. For a gold coin donation, you can wear free dress and have crazy hair ... you can colour it, add accessories and make it super fun and crazy. Our Crazy Hair Day money raised will go to support Camp Quality, who support families touched by cancer. 

School Officer Day is also coming up later this term on Wednesday, June 14th. You might like to think about how you can say an extra special thank you to the School Officers who work with you!

Have a great week.

God Bless,

Evelia, Oliver and Isaac from the Service Club

Knitting Group

Week 6 Awards

Well done to our Week 6 award recipients. 

Classroom Newsletters

From our P & F

From OSHC

Over the past month we have been focusing on sustainability at OSHC, we have watched videos on pollution in the ocean and how to save water. We have recently planted seeds in the garden and are eagerly waiting for them to sprout, we tried to germinate some avocado seeds back in week 1, but unfortunately, we are still yet to see any sprouts. Our room is beginning to look very colourful with lots of the children’s artwork and creations going up on the walls including a visual of 4 different ecosystems – Arctic, Desert, Grassland and Sea, the children enjoyed sourcing materials to be able to create their masterpiece. We are planning some really fun things for the last couple of weeks of term 2 including: creating a ‘Tree of Life’, where we can all add photos of ourselves and our families on the tree that we construct . We are also  creating an OSHC sign so everyone knows where to find us and much more.

If families could send in a 6x4 picture of your family to put on our tree, that would be wonderful.

Until next time Debbie and the team at St Thomas Mores OSHC.

From our Tuckshop

Tuckshop Menu

Open every Thursday & Friday.  Please place your childs order through FlexiSchools by 1pm Wednesday for Thursdays & 1pm Thursday for Friday. 

From our Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop Trading Hours.

Tuesday 8.15am – 9.00am

Wednesday afternoon – By Appointment

Thursday 8.15am – 9.00am

If these times don’t work for you please email your order through to THOuniform@twb.catholic.edu.au and the orders will be at the office for collection at your convenience.

Need some uniform alternations?

A hem taken up?  A skirt taken down?  Some buttons adjust on a shirt?   Give Mrs Fix It a ring and see if she can help.   

From the St Thomas More's Parish

Last week, on Wednesday night at 8 pm, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Ken Howell the new Bishop of the Toowoomba Diocese. We wish Bishop Robert the very best in his retirement, and we welcome Bishop Ken to our region. 

Please find attached the bulletin for this week. 

Thank you!

A huge thank you to Westridge Fruit and Vegetables for their continued support with the donation of fresh fruit every week for our students!

A huge thank you to Meat Cellar for their continued support for our school events.

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