2024 Term 2 - Week 9 - Newsletter

Prayer of the Week

As this is the last newsletter for this term, I thought it appropriate to share a prayer written by our very own namesake - St Thomas More. We will celebrate St Thomas More's Feast Day at the end of this term. Let's hope we can all find some good humour in the fortnight to come! 

Image retrieved from https://www.scross.co.za/2019/07/st-thomas-mores-prayer-for-good-humour/ 

From our Principal

Readers of a popular Australian newspaper voted on their top ten sporting quotes.

Here are a few:

"When considering the stature of an athlete or for that matter any person, I set great store in certain qualities which I believe to be essential in addition to skill. They are that the person conducts his or her life with dignity, with integrity, courage, and perhaps most of all, with modesty. These virtues are totally compatible with pride, ambition, and competitiveness." (Sir Donald Bradman, cricketer)

"I don't think I'll take the medal as the minute and a half of the race I actually won. I'll take it as the last decade of the hard slog I put in." (Gold medallist ice skater Steven Bradbury, who broke his neck and required 111 stitches in separate incidents on the ice.)

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." (Michael Jordan, Basketball legend)

"We are on the crest of a slump." Then Gold Coast rugby league coach, Phil Economidis after a rough trot.

“It is more important to be a good person than it is to be a good tennis player. Being a good human is absolutely my priority every single day.” (Ash Barty, tennis player)

Children and sports are definitely a good combination. Participating in a sport enables children to build healthy minds, healthy bodies, friendships and valuable life skills. Sports also teaches about the importance of working as a member of a team and being a good sport.

I can still remember quite vividly our first foray into organised sport with our daughter, aged 8 and son, 6 playing Touch Football in Toowoomba. One was a ‘demon’ on the field, taking on all opposition, bouncing up after any collision and loving being a team member. The other, enjoyed plaiting the grass and running away from the ball.

Participating in sporting events provides many lessons in life. One minute a child can be in the winning position racing for the finish line, shooting for a goal or hitting a six. The next minute, that same child can’t believe they were pipped at the post, missed the net or were caught on the boundary.

Being a ‘good sport’ is a valuable learning opportunity that comes as a result of participating in sports. Being humble in victory and gracious in defeat are life skills that require not only maturity to demonstrate but also modelling and encouragement by parents, teachers and coaches.

The actions of John Landy, a great Australian sportsperson, provides an excellent example. In the 1500m race at the 1956 Australian National Championships prior to the Melbourne Olympic Games, Landy stopped and doubled back to assist fellow runner, Ron Clarke after another runner clipped Clarke's heel, causing him to fall early in the third lap of the race. Clarke, the then junior 1500 metre world champion, who had been leading the race, got back to his feet and started running again, Landy followed. Incredibly, in the final two laps, Landy made up a large deficit to win the race, something considered one of the greatest moments in Australian sporting history.

The great thing about sport is that children get the chance to experience emotional highs and lows in a safe, appropriate and structured environment. Sport can give children the chance to learn about being part of a team, winning well, bouncing back from a loss and coping with unpleasant experiences such as injury.

It also teaches us about how important it is to try their best, even if this doesn’t always result in winning. Participating in sports is a great platform for children to feel the reward of putting in effort.

It is the effort and not necessarily the result that makes it a success or failure.  Can’t wait for our Athletics Carnival on Tuesday!

Thanks for reading. 

God Bless,

Duane Wann

Principal

TCS Excellence Awards:

Every year, Toowoomba Catholic Schools celebrates those employees who have excelled in the areas of teaching, leadership, supporting learning and teaching, and developing others.  Last week the annual TCS Excellence finalists were announced.  It’s my absolute pleasure to inform the school community the following staff members are finalists in the TCS Excellence Awards:

• Mrs Deena Jones: Primary Expert Teacher
• Mrs Jodie Ramage: Administration/Finance Support

We are so very proud of you both and wish you all the best!!

Japanese Host Families Required:

St Thomas More’s Primary School has been invited to welcome and accommodate twenty students from Japan (aged 15-17) on exchange from 24^th August – 3^rd August (10 nights).

Host families will be required to provide all meals, transport Japanese students to and from school, while also providing a friendly home environment for their student.  Supervising adults must be 18 years or over and have a Blue Card.  A payment of $750 will be provided to Host Families. 

We are desperately seeking more support for our St Thomas More’s families to assist with this wonderful initiative.  If you can assist can you please contact Jane Greenhalgh at: jane.greenhalgh@twb.catholic.edu.au

Student Protection

From our APRE

Thank you to Mrs Weier and 2 Red who led our Lower School so beautifully in prayer in Week 7. Your Prayer Celebration about justice encouraged us all to consider how we see justice each day in our lives and how we can be people of justice as well. 

Sing Out 

Last week, Miss Candale and Mrs Deb took a number of students to The Empire Theatre to participate in Sing Out. For over 20 years, the Sing Out Choral Festival has been giving children from across the Darling Downs the opportunity to combine in a non-competitive festival of choirs. The students participated in an all-day workshop and performed both as our own STM Choir and as part of the combined choir for the evening performance. 

Congratulations to Miss Candale and the students for their amazing performance on the evening! We are very proud of you all!

Justice 

This term, our focus value has been justice! Justice is a core value at STM as it is a defining feature in the life of many who are important to our history. 

St Thomas More was a lawyer in his lifetime. His profession certainly is closely linked with justice! Not only was he a lawyer, he was also a man of great faith. St Thomas More is considered a martyr because he died protecting his faith - he fought against the injustice he saw and put his love for God and Jesus above all else. 

St Mary MacKillop is not only our very own Australian saint, but she is also co-founder of the order of nuns who started our school in 1961. Justice was also very important to Mary MacKillop. She fought for justice in education and worked hard to ensure that all children, regardless of their circumstances, had access to quality education. 

St Joseph, Jesus' earthly father, is another saint closely linked to our school. We even have a lovely statue of him out the front in our Rose Garden! Mary MacKillop was part of the Sisters of St Joseph, a religious order founded and named after St Joseph. Mary MacKillop and the sisters drew many lessons from Joseph's life and dedicated themselves to empowering others and bringing hope. It is because of Mary's ties with St Joseph that we identify as a Josephite School. 

Finally, Jesus is at the core of all we do at STM. Jesus inspired all of the saints listed above with His life and teachings, just as He can inspire us too. In the Gospels, we hear time and time again about how Jesus advocated for justice and taught His disciples to do the same. 

Although we will have a new value focus next term, I encourage our whole school community to continue nurturing justice as we go about the rest of the 2024 school year.

Feast Day of St Thomas More

The Catholic Church celebrates the Feast Day of St Thomas More on June 22. This year, we will celebrate this special Church day a bit early as school finishes for the term on June 21. During Week 10, students will engage in lessons to learn about the life of St Thomas More and to reflect on how his life story may inspire people today. Our whole school will also gather for Mass in the Sportscentre on Friday, June 21 from 11:30 am with Father Brian. All STM families are most welcome to come and celebrate this special Feast Day with us. 

If you don't know too much about St Thomas More, I encourage you to look him up online. He lived a fascinating life and was friends with some very powerful people during his lifetime. The video below is just a little introduction to the life of St Thomas More, often considered the most famous English saint! 

Olympics Unleashed Visit

We are very excited to announce we are hosting an Olympics Unleashed visitor this term! Sara Carrigan will be connecting with our Year 4-6 students on Thursday, June 20 from 11:15 am in the Sportscentre. Sara is a Road Cyclist and won a Gold Medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004. 

The students will learn from Sara Carrigan's Olympic journey how to build resilience, the importance of setting goals and how to find what you are passionate about. Students will hear firsthand from Sara about how she overcame challenges to compete in her chosen sport at the very highest level, and how some lessons she has learned in sport can help her to be the best she can be – whether that’s in school, at home, on the sporting field or with friends.

Mrs H will be teaching the students a bit more about Sara's story in Health lessons in the coming weeks in preparation for this special visit! 

NAIDOC Week 2024 

This year, NAIDOC Week runs from July 7 - July 14. NAIDOC Week recognises the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People's contributions to Australian culture. The week provides time for Australians to reflect on the past, good and bad, and learn lessons from it.

We will be celebrating NAIDOC Week at STM during the first week back next term. There are many ways we will be observing NAIDOC Week this year including classroom lessons and a NAIDOC Week Prayer Celebration on Friday, July 12 led by 4 Gold. Students from Prep - Year 6 will also participate in NAIDOC Week Workshops during the week with Stacey Trindal from the Baru Maranga Culture Collective. These workshops will be a wonderful opportunity to explore First Nations history and culture in a hands-on way. Workshops will run at a cost of $10 per student. This cost will be added to Term 3 School Fees. Please check the letter shared via the SENTRAL FOR PARENTS app for further details.  

Congratulations! 

In the lead-up to Catholic Education Week each year, Catholic school communities are encouraged to acknowledge the staff in their schools who make a significant contribution to their community. This year, STM submitted several applicants to be considered for both the TCS Excellence Awards and the Spirit of Catholic Education Awards. Congratulations to our finalists this year. We are very proud of you! 

Toowoomba Catholic Schools Excellence Awards Finalists 2024

Mrs Deena Jones

Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Finalist - Expert Teacher

Deena has been a teacher at St Thomas More's for a number of years, acting as both our Digital Technology specialist and a Lower Years Classroom Teacher. Deena is passionate about education and works diligently in the classroom to provide high-quality education to her students. Deena, we are very proud of you! 

Ms Jodie Ramage

Excellence in Education Support

Finalist - Administration, Finance and Facilities Support

Jodie has been a member of our school community for only a short time, but has made a significant impact! Jodie is an integral part of our School Administration Team and acts as a support person for staff, students and parents alike. Jodie always willingly shares her time and talents to enhance the experience for our students and staff. Jodie, we are very proud of you! 

Spirit of Catholic Education Award Finalist 2024

Ms Jodie Ramage

Finalist - Toowoomba Catholic Schools

Extra congratulations are in order for Jodie, who has also made it through as a finalist for a Spirit of Catholic Education Award this year. Well done Jodie! 

Musical Update

Just in case you missed the Musical Update in our last newsletter, I have shared it again this fortnight! Our preparations continue to go well. Our students are doing a wonderful job learning their lines and songs. It's going to be a show you won't want to miss! 

It has been an absolute joy working with the children in the beginning phase of our musical preparations over the past few weeks. Not only have our main cast been diligently and enthusiasticallly rehearsing each scene, but our class sessions have also begun as well!

I thought I would share some information about some of the commonly asked questions we receive in the lead up to our school musical ...

Who is involved in the musical? 

Each of our Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 classes will feature in our musical this year. Year 4 will each lead one musical number and Year 5 and Year 6 have a whopping 3 numbers per class this year! While this sounds like a lot, if last week is anything to go by, our STM Superstars are more than up for the challenge! 

Our Lower School don't miss out on all the fun either! While they will not perform as part of the musical, they are learning a selection of songs from the show in music lessons to perform at a special assembly in Term 3. 

What costumes do students need to wear?

We are currently in the final stages of confirming costumes and hope to share this information with families either at the end of this term or early next term. While the school will provide some specific costume items, families will need to provide basic items in this space as well. 

How do we purchase tickets to the musical? 

Tickets will be available via Trybooking this year. These will go on sale in Term 3. We will share details of how to purchase tickets with families via the SENTRAL FOR PARENTS app, the School Newsletter and the School Facebook Page when tickets are available. 

Thank you to our LKJ Sponsors!

God Bless

Kris Byrne

Assistant Principal Religious Education

Thanks to our Lion King Jr Platinum Sponsor ...

Thanks to our Lion King Jr Gold Sponsors ...

Miss Byrne's Term Two Important Dates

From our Service Club

Don’t forget, our Vinnies Winter Appeal has started. You can bring in donations such as canned food, pantry items, toiletries and sleeping bags and blankets. Remember, these don’t need to be brand new. Good quality second-hand items are welcome. Donations can be dropped off into the tubs in each classroom right up until the last day of this term. Keep those donations coming in.  

Our Free Dress Day is just around the corner. We will be having a Free Dress Day on Tuesday, June 18. Our Free Dress Day this term is raising money for Rosies, who support the homeless people in our community. They inspire us and we encourage you to dress as someone who inspires you for our Free Dress Day. You could dress up as your mum or dad, your favourite teacher or even your favourite sportsperson. This is not a dress up day, so please don’t buy costumes. If you wear free dress, you must bring a gold coin. All free dress clothing needs to be sun safe and appropriate for school.  

On the last day of this term, we celebrate the Feast Day of St Thomas More. We will be sharing another pancake morning to celebrate this day. These pancakes will be free and students will be allowed one each until we run out of pancakes.   

God Bless,

Mya and Minnie from Service Club

From our Student Representatives

In Week 7 we gathered as a school community to farewell Father Nathan. Father Nathan has been part of our school community for many years and we will miss his friendly smile and easy-going attitude. We will always remember the fun times we shared with him in the classroom and on the soccer field. 

Thank you Father Nathan for being part of our STM community and mkaing it such a special place. We will miss you so much but we hope that you have the best time in Stanthorpe. We know that the shcool is Stanthorpe will love you just as much as we do!

God bless,

Flynn and Audrey

From our Sports Department

Athletics 

Tomorrow is our Athletics Carnival held at O’Quinn Street Oval. If your child is catching the bus from school, the bus will be leaving promptly at 8:40am. Please remember to pack a hat, water and food, and children are welcome to wear their house colours. It is traditionally quite chilly at O’Quinn Street, an extra jumper might he helpful. Please make sure all belongings are clearly named.  

Athletics Program 2024 

Tuesday 11th  June  

God Bless.

Stacey Hancock

HPE Teacher 

Student Awards

Well done to our students who received awards in  Week 7 and Week 8. Keep up the great work! 

Week 7

Week 8

P & F News

Tuckshop News

Opening Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

Order via Flexischools App.  If you need help to navigate the App, please feel free to pop into the tuckshop and chat to Jemma or email on jemma@archerscateringandevents.com.au 

Cut off of Online orders...
Order before 3pm Tuesday (for Wednesday), 3pm Wednesday (for Thursday) & 1pm Thursday (for Friday).

NEW Tuckshop Menu

REMINDER - IF YOU CHILD IS SICK, PLEASE CONTACT THE TUCKSHOP BEFORE 9AM TO POSTPONE YOUR ORDER TO THE NEXT DAY!

From our Uniform Shop

From our OSHC

Vacation care program.

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!

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