2025 Term 3 - Week 8 - Newsletter
A Prayer for the Week
From our Principal
Welcome to our Week 8 newsletter!!
A special ‘Happy Father’s Day’ to all of our St Thomas More’s Dads, Stepdads, Grandads and significant males for this coming Sunday! We can’t wait to celebrate this momentous occasion with our Father’s Day stall on Wednesday and Thursday and a complimentary bacon and egg muffin breakfast on Thursday morning, commencing at 7.30am and all are welcome to stay on for our Father’s Day Liturgy in the Sports Centre commencing at 8.40am.. We will have a coffee van onsite also for those who wish to purchase a coffee. Thank-you to our wonderful P & F for organising breaky and the gift stall!
Parent-Teacher Interviews
On Wednesday, 10th September, the school will be abuzz with many parents attending parent teacher interviews.
These are being conducted by all teachers in the Sports Centre and commence at 2.00pm. The leadership team and specialist teachers with the assistance of school officers will be instructing students from 2.00 – 3.00pm to allow teachers to commence interviews before the end of the school day.
These interview times are strictly 10 minutes each and another time must be arranged for further discussion if needed. This is such a valuable and vital process in building and strengthening those home and school partnerships.
Parents want what is best for their child, and teachers want what is best for their students. That's why parent/teacher collaboration is so important. By working together, parents and teachers can provide the best learning environment, both at home and at school, for students.
One of the first things to keep in mind is that school situations can affect home life, and vice versa. If a child doesn't eat breakfast or sleep well, this can affect productivity at school. If a child feels that they don't have any friends at school, this can spill over into their lives at home. By opening the lines of communication, parents and teachers can address these types of issues together and together find a solution.
Bookings for these interviews are now open on the Sentral Portal
Some Exciting Changes…..
Over the last few weeks, we have tweaked our before school routine where now all students are playing on the top oval from 8.00am until the learning bell at 8.28. The staff and students have reported this change as a positive one and I have witnessed first-hand some really lovely examples of our older students playing with and caring for the younger students. Such interactions reflect positively on building and maintaining a school culture of care and kindness.
From today, we have also introduced some other changes. We now have a ‘Green Room’ open at First Break play each day, situated in the empty space next to 1 Blue.
Having a green room or chill-out space available to students during playtime offers a range of benefits that support both emotional wellbeing and positive behaviour. This space provides a safe space for decompression. Some students are overwhelmed by the noise and energy of the playground. Quiet activities like drawing, reading, playing board games and puzzles promote mindfulness also.
The staff member in the Green Room can also check in with students and model and develop social skills and turn taking. For a lot of students, this will not be a sought-after space, but for some this will provide an alternative to the playground.
Our intention is for all of our students every day to feel comfortable and included.
Each teacher has some Green Room passes to allocate to students who express an interest in attending. Teachers may also encourage students to attend at various times. We do have limited places and there will be a lot of keen interest initially. Passes will be shared this week to ensure as many students as possible experience this space.
Responsible Thinking Classroom (RTC)
This week we are also introducing a space that will be known as our RTC room. This is a safe and reflective space where students will attend and complete a reflection if there is an altercation in the playground. I am a trained Restorative Practices facilitator and believe in this process as a way of not only building a positive school culture but strengthening relationships and resolving conflict in a respectful and constructive way.
When our students require assistance academically, we employ whatever supports and strategies required to ensure that student progresses but we don’t also see behaviour or the development of social skills through the same lens.
All behaviour is usually indicative of some unmet need and I firmly believe that if we support our students socially just as we do academically, we develop the skills necessary in our students to be accountable for their actions and made aware of the impact on their actions on others, through developing empathy, improving communication, learning conflict-resolution and understanding accountability.
Instead of relying on punitive discipline, a restorative approaches offers alternatives that keep students in school and engaged in learning.
Students who are referred to RTC will work through a reflection with the questions:
*What happened?
*Who has been affected?
*What do you have to do to make things right?
*How can we support you from here?
This is a very powerful process and one where I have seen firsthand students becoming responsible for their actions and more self aware of the impact of their actions on others and in most cases, there is a reduction in repeated behaviours. This process is a long term investment and not a quick fix but one where the investment is worth the outcome!
All of our behaviour incidents are recorded confidentially on Sentral. This is one data set we use to inform next actions school wide and for individuals.
Students who are referred to RTC will bring home the RTC reflection form for a follow-up conversation and a member of leadership will email parents to inform them of the incident also.
We continue to teach and model consistently our school wide expectations around being a student at St Thomas More’s:
- Be a Learner (head)
- Be Respectful (hands)
- Be Resilient (heart)
Billie G’s Cookie Dough Fundraiser
On Friday, your child would have brought home hardcopy information regarding our current Billie G’s Cookie Dough Fundraiser, being organised by our P & F.
Please reach out if you have any issues with setting up a profile and ordering.
Let’s aim to make this our biggest fundraiser for the year and rope in your family and friends to purchase also and who knows we may raise enough money to upgrade the sound and audio visual in our Sports Centre!!
Pupil Free Day – CTJ
Just a reminder that this Friday is a pupil free day as our teachers gather with the teaching staff at St Anthony’s School, Toowoomba and St Monica’s School, Oakey where teachers will come together for a process of moderation in maths. This is a collaborative process where teachers present a maths investigation and collaboratively review the students’ work to align their interpretations of the achievement standard to ensure fairness, foster collaboration and share practice.
TCKC will be providing care for students on this day.
Until next newsletter ...God bless
Louise Pfingst
Principal
From our APMI
As we prepare to celebrate Father’s Day, we take time to honour the fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and father figures who play such an important role in our lives. These special men show us love through their care, their presence, and the many quiet ways they support us each day. Through their example, we catch a glimpse of God’s love—strong, gentle, and always there.
We especially remember Saint Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. Saint Joseph was a man of deep faith, quiet strength, and patient love. He worked hard as a carpenter, cared for Mary and Jesus, and trusted God even when things were uncertain. His life reminds us that being a father is not just about doing big things, but about being present, faithful, and kind in everyday moments.
Earlier today, our School Representatives and Service Club Leaders joined me at St Patrick’s Cathedral for the Diocesan Feast Day Mass, a beautiful celebration with schools from across the Toowoomba Diocese. Bishop Ken shared a special message with each school, and our word was patience—a fitting reminder of Saint Joseph’s quiet strength and Mary’s gentle trust in God.
Bishop Ken also spoke about Mary, Mother of Jesus, and how in our Diocese we honour her as Mary of the Southern Cross. In the cathedral, there is a stunning artwork showing Mary as a rural woman, holding baby Jesus on her hip. Above her shines the Southern Cross, and behind her is a shadowed cross—symbolising both the hope and the sacrifice that come with love and faith.
Cookie Drive Fundraiser – Supporting Our Sportscentre AV Upgrade!
Our P&F is currently running a Cookie Dough Drive to raise funds for much-needed upgrades to the audio and visual equipment in our Sportscentre. This space is used for assemblies, performances, liturgies, and sporting events, and as you are aware, the current AV setup is in urgent need of improvement to better support our students and community gatherings.
Every cookie sold helps us move closer to a more vibrant and functional space for our students to shine. Thank you for helping us make this upgrade possible!
Order Due Date: MONDAY, 20th October (Week 3, Term 4)
Delivery & Collection: MONDAY, 3rd November
We’ll need volunteers to help sort and distribute tubs on delivery day—thank you in advance for your support!
As we celebrate Father’s Day, may we be inspired by Saint Joseph’s example and by the patience and love shown by the fathers and father figures in our lives. We thank God for them, and we pray that they continue to be blessed in their important role.
God Bless
Donna Barlow
Assistant Principal Mission & Identity
2025 School Priorities
At the commencement of every school year, the teaching staff gather to consider and develop priorities for the year. For 2025, the focus of our practices will centre on the following:
2025 Theme:
2025 School Goals:
Before School Supervision
Before school duty commences at 8:00am. Children who arrive at school after 8:00am are asked to pop their hat on and head up to the Top Oval for supervised play.
Process for Late Arrival, Early Departure and Collection Areas:
This is a valuable opportunity to remind families of the requirements pertaining to late arrival to school and early departure from school. Our aim is to safely account for all students while minimising disruption to teaching for the staff and learning for the students.
Late Arrival
- a student is considered to have arrived late any time after the 8.30am bell on a school day.
- all students arriving late must sign be signed in by a parent, family member or themselves. Children then transition to the classroom by themselves.
Early Departure
- a student is considered to have departed early any time before 2.55pm on a school day.
- Parent/Guardian to call, email or present to the School Administration Office to inform School Administration Staff their child/children will be departing early and offer the reason for the early departure.
- the School Administration Staff will contact and advise the Class Teacher of an early departure and request for the child/children to present to the School Administration Office at a prescribed time.
- Parent/Guardian to collect child from School Administration Office and sign child out.
- Parents/Guardians are not permitted to attend the classrooms and withdraw children directly.
- Parents/Guardians are not permitted to visit the classrooms between the hours of 8:30am and 2:55pm. This is to avoid disruption to teaching and learning. Should there be a need to visit a classroom or drop something off to a child/children, this can be arranged through the School Administration Office.
Collection Areas for Families (End of School Day)
As part of the afternoon end of school day collection of children, parents/guardians are always invited and encouraged to collect children within the confines of the school in places that do not disrupt teaching and learning. In doing so, we respectfully ask families to wait in the following areas:
- Drop Off/Pick Up Area on South Street (outside the Prep collection area)
- The Quad Area (the collection of children in Years 1, 3 – 6)
- The seats outside of the Year 2 classrooms (Year 2 children).
Communication Protocols
St Thomas More’s Primary School recognises and respects the right of employees to disconnect from work and not respond to work-related electronic communications outside of designated hours. St Thomas More’s Primary School staff will reply to electronic communication within the hours of 8.00am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday. Where contact is made outside of this span of hours, employees will respond within two working days of the employee’s next designated working day considering weekends, leave, other non-working days, vacation periods and holidays.
Student Phones
Student mobile phones are to be signed in at the School Administration Office each morning and collected at the end of the school day. Children are not permitted to text or make calls from phones or smart watches during the school day.
Book Week
What an adventure we had.
A huge thank you to Lighthouse Gallery for their donation of over 1500 books. Each child received x5 books each to enjoy and share.
The Lighthouse Toowoomba, with its One-Way Library, art gallery (The Write Gallery) and writing room, is driven by one single goal: that every child in Australia can read, write, and create with confidence! This means a variety of workshops, events, exhibitions, mentoring, books in homes, and programs, projects, and publications. The Lighthouse Toowoomba works in close partnership with Adapt Mentorship, Emerge, YouBelong, Traction, the Department of Youth Justice, and more, in a bid to reach as many children as possible, hoping to ignite an interest in literacy and literature.
From our Counsellor
LAST CALL! PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR THE HEALTHY MINDS HAPPY HEARTS RESEARCH PROJECT!
We are excited to share that the Healthy Minds Happy Hearts research project is still open for families to participate in! This will be the last term that families at St Thomas More’s Primary School can register to participate in this study.
Healthy Minds Happy Hearts is a FREE online mental health screening and support program for children (aged 4-12 years), which aims to help parents understand if their child may be experiencing emotional or behavioural difficulties, and find appropriate support.
What does participation involve?
You and your child will complete three online surveys: an initial survey and two follow-ups (6 and 12 weeks later). Each survey takes around 10-25 minutes.
Each school has been randomly placed in one of two groups.
- If your school is in the Healthy Minds Happy Hearts group, you will be able to access the Healthy Minds Happy Hearts program straight away.
- If your school is in the Standard Care group, you will receive a screening survey and brief feedback report. After 12 weeks, you will be able to access the full Healthy Minds Happy Hearts program.
Participating families will have the chance to win one of three $30 Woolworths gift cards each time they complete a survey, with winners drawn twice per month. They will also have the chance to win one of five $50 gift cards.
To participate in this research or find out more, please visit: https://healthymindshappyhearts.unisq.edu.au/
St Thomas More’s access code is JZYS
Please contact the research team at healthymindshappyhearts@unisq.edu.au if you have any questions.
Wishing you and your family well,
School Counsellor
Jayne Farquharson
From our Uniform Shop
P & F News
Outside School Hours Care - Vacation Care Program
Tuckshop News
Opening Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
Order via Flexischools App. If you need help to navigate the App or to adjust your order, please feel free to pop into the tuckshop and chat to Jemma or email jemma@archerscateringandevents.com.au
Cut off of Online orders...
Order before 7am for Wednesday and Thursday orders. For Friday orders, please order by 1pm Thursdays.
Tuckshop Email: jemma@archerscateringandevents.com.au
NEW Tuckshop Menu
REMINDER - IF YOU CHILD IS SICK, PLEASE CONTACT THE TUCKSHOP BEFORE 9AM TO POSTPONE YOUR ORDER!
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!
