Term 4 - Week 9 - Newsletter

Prayer of the Week

From our Principal

It's that time of year again. December is almost upon us, and with it all the joys of Christmas. But what is the real meaning of Christmas? Is it the gifts under the tree, the lights in the windows, the cards in the mail, seafood and chicken feasts with family and friends, cricket in the backyard, hanging out at the beach, and shouts of "Merry Christmas" to those who pass us in the streets? Is this really Christmas?  

For many people, Christmas is a time of sorrow. They don't have the extra money to buy presents for their children, family, and friends. Many are saddened at Christmas time when they think of their loved ones who will not be able to come home for various reasons. Turkey dinners may be only a wish and not a reality for some.  

Here is a beautiful story that typifies the ‘Real Message of Christmas’: 

Just a week before Christmas I had a visitor. This is how it happened. I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed, when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out next to the fireplace.  

"What are you doing?" I started to ask. The words choked up in my throat and I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know. He then answered me with a simple statement . . .  

"TEACH THE CHILDREN!" 

I was puzzled. What did he mean? He anticipated my question and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree. As I stood bewildered, Santa said,  

"TEACH THE CHILDREN!"  

Teach them the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that now-a-days Christmas has forgotten. "Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR TREE and placed it before the mantle.  "Teach the children that the pure green colour of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, depicting the everlasting hope of mankind, all the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts turning toward heaven."  

He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR. "Teach the children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a Saviour for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfilment of His promise."  

He then reached into his bag and pulled out a CANDLE. "Teach the children that the candle symbolises that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of He who displaces the darkness."  

Once again he reached into his bag and removed a WREATH and placed it on the tree. "Teach the children that the wreath symbolises the real nature of love. Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection." 

He then pulled from his bag an ORNAMENT of himself. "Teach the children that I, Santa Claus, symbolise the generosity and good will we feel during the month of December." 

He then brought out a HOLLY LEAF. "Teach the children that the holly plant represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Saviour. The red holly berries represent the blood shed by Him. 

Next he pulled from his bag a GIFT and said, "Teach the children that God so loved the world that he gave his begotten son." Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. 

Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a CANDY CANE and hung it on the tree. "Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherds' crook. The crook on the staff helps to bring back strayed sheep to the flock. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother's keeper."  

He reached in again and pulled out an ANGEL. "Teach the children that it was the angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Saviour's birth. The angels sang Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and good will toward men."  

Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulled out a BELL. "Teach the children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, it should ring mankind to the fold. The bell symbolises guidance and return.  

Santa looked back and was pleased. He looked back at me and I saw that the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said,  "Remember, teach the children the true meaning of Christmas and do not put me in the centre, for I am but a humble servant of the One that is, and I bow down to worship him, our LORD, our GOD." 

http://raisingflowersandskids.com/2011/12/teach-the-children-the-true-meaning-of-christmas/ 

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the school community:  Staff, Parents, School Advisory Council, P&F, Parish Members and most importantly, the students for the very successful 2023 school year.  I wish everyone a very safe, relaxing and enjoyable Christmas and holiday break, and look forward to seeing you all back for a bigger and better 2024. 

Thanks for reading…      

God Bless,

Duane Wann

Principal

Reminders...

2024 Step Up Transition Afternoon & Teacher Notification:  Wednesday 29^th November

In preparation for the 2024 school year, children will engage in a Step-Up Transition Afternoon on Wednesday 29^th November from 1:45pm – 2:45pm.  The purpose of this afternoon is for children to engage with and spend the afternoon with their allocated teacher prior to the commencement of the 2024 school year.  Parents will also be made aware of who their child’s/children’s teacher will be for 2024.

Staff Farewell:

Can I also take this opportunity to thank our departing staff for the valuable contribution they have made during 2023 and for all you do to make our school a better place!!  We also wish our departing staff: Liz Skinner, Kathleen McGovern & Keely Henderson all the best at St Thomas More’s for your final week!

2024 Administration Office Opening Date: 

For those busily planning for 2024, please note the school administration office will be opened from  January 2nd - 10am to 2pm.

Uniform Shop - Back to School - Trading hours:

Please book your appointment time through the link sent out via portal.

Term One Commencment Date:

Term 1 commences on Tuesday 23^rd January. 

From our Acting APRE

Year 6 Graduation

On Monday 27th November, we will officially farewell our 2023 Year 6 cohort with a Graduation Mass in the STM Church commencing at 6.00 pm. 

A few important messages regarding your child's upcoming graduation mass.

• Students are to arrive at 5:40 pm for a prompt 6:00 pm start
• Students are to wear full formal summer uniform with correct shoes, socks, earrings and hair accessories
• Girls are to have their hair up as per a normal school day
• Students are to wear their name badge for the graduation ceremony. Teachers are more than happy to collect these before the Graduation (any day between now and Monday) and hand them out prior to the graduation ceremony.

End Of Year Mass - Friday 1st December @ 9.00 am

On Friday, 1st December commencing at 9.00 am, we will hold our End of Term/End of Year Mass. It would be great to see as many parents attend this event as possible. This Mass will be held in the SportsCenter.  Please note that our end-of-year Mass was initially down in the school calendar for Thursday 30th November.

God Bless

Trish Wardle

Acting APRE

Student of the Week awards

Congratulations to our Week 8  Term 4 Student of the Week Award Recipients. 

Important Dates to Remember

Student Protection Contacts

Recipe of the Week

Thinking STM for Prep in 2024 ...

From our Classrooms

Catch up on all the individual classroom news, click the link below.

From our P & F

From our Tuckshop

ONLY OPEN WEDNESDAY THIS WEEK!!

Please place your childs order through FlexiSchools by 1pm Tuesday.

NEW Tuckshop Menu

From our Uniform Shop

Back to School Trading Hours - BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.

Appointment can be booked via the portal link that has been sent out to parents.   

As this is always a busy time in the Uniform Shop, we ask for your patience and understanding.  Please allow extra time when you turn up for your appointment for delays as we serve a high volume of foot traffic and processing of payments.

Orders can be placed in advance and collected during opening hours,
please email :  thouniforms@twb.catholic.edu.au

From our OSHC

The week that was...

Good Afternoon St Thomas, Mores Families,

I hope you have had a lovely week. It certainly has been a wet one. And more on the way.

I would like to start off my email with a special mention to the children who performed at the Christmas Concert on Wednesday night.  Miss Jannali, Miss Laetitia, Miss Gemma, and I all attended. It was so well run. Even with the threat of rain, the children , and adults, had a wonderful time. I have been to a couple of these concerts , and have never seen so much effort put in , with the food vans , and waffles, fairy floss., popcorn. It was a feast of good food and great entertainment.  And then to top off a good night, that special jolly man dropped in for a visit. We were talking about it on Thursday afternoon, and the little Preppie children were so excited to see Santa there.

This week was a chosen theme of Bluey by the children.

Monday – I had a collage map activity for the afternoon. I didn’t get a big intake, but that’s ok. I will reflect on how this could be made for a more enjoyable activity.

Tuesday- Miss Gemma made scrambled eggs for breakfast on toast. The children are really liking the cooked breakfast. It is a special treat once a week for the morning children. In the afternoon Miss Jannali had a wonderful activity where the children made musical instruments.  This was not Bluey themed but taken from an observation of Kiaro playing the drums using different boxes. This was very well received, especially by the Prep children. They made guitars and then brought them outside to play and sing to me. I had a planned activity of relay races, but the boys decided to play football with Kallen. They were certainly taking it seriously and were sweating profusely.

Wednesday- Miss Hannah had a Bluey Door hanger activity . The children enjoyed this and took them home.

Thursday- Miss Laetitia facilitated a Bluey Piggy Bank money box, using Pringle boxes. Very ingenious Miss Laetitia. Some children didn’t want to make a piggy bank and used them as binoculars, but that’s ok.

Friday- Miss Gemma is having an activity this afternoon where the children will find out, by doing a quiz, which Bluey character they are.

We are still finding the videos , with questions and answers are a big hit. Some of the Prep children don’t like to sit through group time, and that is quite ok. They take some lego, and magnetic blocks over to the corner with an educator and play together .  This has seemed to alleviate some of the disruptions and therefore the children who want to be a part of group time, can enjoy it without the disruptions.

On Wednesday we were not able to access the bottom oval as the food vans were setting up. The children went up to the top oval, and absolutely loved it, as it has a sand pit. You are never too old to play in a sandpit. The older boys were having competitions with Miss Jannali, timing themselves running around the play equipment and hanging from the pole for as long as they could. Miss Jannali and Archi were the most resilient. Yesterday afternoon the children wanted to go up to the top oval again. This can mean that the children may take a few extra minutes to walk down when parents arrive, as we need to have a staff member walk them down.  If you require your child to be picked up quickly, as you may have an appointment for example, please let us know via email or tx, and what time you will be picking up, and we will endeavour to have your child ready when you arrive.

Staffing-

Miss Hayley and Miss Charlotte will return from leave next week. This will be Miss Charlotte’s last week. Please join me in wishing her all the very best.

Miss Drew will return for the vacation care period to fill in when other staff are away. Please join me in welcoming her back.

Reminders:

• Updated enrolment forms for 2024 are due.
• Vacation care bookings are being taken , and will be at a permanent rate ( unless you wish to be charged casual) until the 29^th November .
• Late pickups- children must be picked up of an evening before 6pm. This is due to safety and legislative reasons. If your child is still at the service at 5:50pm, staff will start ringing families , if we cannot contact you, we will try the emergency contacts. There is a late fee of $10 per minute past 6pm if late pickups become a regular occurrence.
• New Enrolments- All new enrolments for 2024 must be in by the 20^{th of} December to start on the 8^{th of} January.  All children starting Prep next year , can come to vacation care from the 8^{th of} January. Please make sure you have enrolled your child to avoid disappointment. When enrolling please ensure that you attach a birth certificate , immunisation record, and complete all sections of the form. We need two emergency contacts , and they must live in the Toowoomba region. Please include all addresses, work addresses and phone numbers. If your child/ren have a medical diagnosis we will require a diagnoses letter from your Doctor, and a Risk Minimisation Plan will be developed and will be required  to be signed by parents and staff, before your child can start.
• I have attached the link to enrol your child/ren here  Toowoomba Catholic Kindergartens & Care (schoolzineplus.com) for your convenience.
• Monday the 22^{nd of} January 2024 is a Pupil Free Day. We will be open from 6:30-6pm on that day. If you would like to book your child in for the 22^nd , please chose vacation care, not After school or Before school care.

BITS and BOBS -  If anyone has any small boxes. We can never have enough small boxes. We do not have the storage to store large boxes which is a shame, however we are happy to take small boxes. For example, Tissue boxes, shoe boxes.

We would like to thank Whitney Berwick-Clarke for all the jars brought in for our vacation care program. We are making something special for families for Christmas, and Whitney brought in more than enough. Thank you so much. We also appreciate the boxes that Whitney brought in.

In closing , please enjoy the photos from this week.  Next week will be the last Newsletter for 2023.  And the children have chosen next week’s theme to  be Christmas Theme.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Kind Regards

Debbie and the team 😊

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!

Notice Board

Tennis Lessons -  sign up for 2024