St Thomas More’s Primary School Newsletter

Last week I attended the Term 1 TCS Leadership Forum. One of the sessions was “Responding to Significant Mental Health Concern in the School Community”. It was confronting to be made aware of some of the statistics regarding children and adults' mental health. Mental Health is the state in which the individual realises his or her abilities, can cope with everyday stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can contribute to his or her community. As a school community, we can not fulfil our mission statement's goals if we are not meeting the mental health needs of our students and staff.

A school climate and culture that fosters a sense of belonging and connection and celebrates inclusion and diversity has a positive impact on the mental health of students. This culture can be created by encouraging Student Voice and Engagement​, Parent Partnership and Engagement​, Community Partnerships and Engagement​, Social Emotional Learning  / Curriculum (we use the Bounce Back program)​, Inclusive Practice and Pedagogy​ and Positive Behaviour Management. Sessions at the forum regarding parent engagement and the Essential Skills of Classroom Management supported the development of such a culture.

To better address mental health issues, a number of our staff have completed either the Mental Health First Aid or Youth Mental Health First Aid training. More staff will attend training this week.

TCS also employs School Guidance Counsellors to work collaboraticely with school communities to promote and foster the achievement, participation, development, mental health and wellbeing of all students, through the provision of a comprehensive guidance and counselling service that enables student learning and quality teaching.

Other topics covered at the Leadership Forum included workforce trends, the Illuminate RE project and strategic vision.

It was great to see our Year 1 students celebrating their learning with Dr Seuss Dress Up Day. They certainly added a lot of colour to the school today.

God Bless!

Mr Michael Cash

Principal

Last week I had the privilege of heading down to Parish Mass with our Year 2 students and their teachers. It was so lovely to be back at Mass and to see the children sharing stories and smiles with the St Thomas More's parishioners. Having many friends living in many different places all over the world, it really hit home seeing this just how lucky we are to still be able to gather as a community in such lovely ways. Thank you to Mrs Weier, Mrs Tancred, Miss Fitzpatrick and the Year 2 children for being such great representatives for our school! 

This week, our Year 5 students will be off to Parish Mass. Year 5 families are most welcome to come along and join in the Friday Mass if they would like (9:00am in the church), but please remember you will need to sign in before Mass in accordance with the COVID-Safe plan for the church.  

Another community building activity that has been wonderful to be back into this year are our whole school assemblies. Last week we welcomed our Prep classes for the first time in 2021. It's been great to be able to return to face-to-face assemblies this year. We have seen some great leadership modelled by our Year 6 students, who have done a great job so far each week setting up for assembly and leading it for our school. It's been great to see their confidence grow each week and the care that they show for the other students. A big shout out also to our resident Rockstar Ruby! Thank you so much for bravely leading us each week in singing Happy Birthday. As a musician myself, I know how scary it can be to play an instrument in front of so many people and you do it very well!  

Worship Choir also wowed us with their song at assembly last week. They have a few more songs up their sleeve that they want to share, so keep your eyes out for them! It was great to welcome so many new members last week. We are getting a very strong group of singers, but there is always room for more! Worship Choir meets each Wednesday (when I am at school) at first break from 10:30am in my room. Children can bring their lunch down with them. 

Class Prayer Celebrations 

We kick off our class Prayer Celebrations this year with a celebration from 2 Red.  A big thank you to Mrs Tancred for so willingly being the first class to lead a prayer celebration this year. 2 Red will be sharing their prayer celebration with Year 2 and Year 3 in the Church this Friday from 11:15am. 2 Red families are most welcome to come along as well but please remember to sign in using our school QR CODE (which will be available at the church) so we can pass your details on to the church for their COVID-Safe plan. I know 2 Red have been hard at work preparing for their celebration and I can't wait to see what they have for us!  

Project Compassion 

Last week Service Club introduced Margret to the school community. Margret is one of countless people CARITAS support each year with the help of donations from campaigns just like our Project Compassion campaign. Be sure to ask your children who Margret is, where she lives, what her life is like and how CARITAS has helped her. She has an amazing story. If they can’t quite remember what Liam and Darcy told us about Margret last week, check out the Service Club section in this week’s newsletter.  

Harmony Week 

Harmony Week will be celebrated here at St Thomas More's from March 15th - March 19th.  Our school community is so wonderfully multicultural and this year for Harmony week, we would like to invite family members to come in to school during Harmony Week and share some of your culture and traditions with us. During 1st break each day during Harmony Week families are invited to share a traditional story, craft, game or language with the students in the Library (10:45 – 11:15am). If you would like to come in and share some of your culture and tradition with the students, please contact Mrs Haddin (Dominique.Haddin@twb.catholic.edu.au) or Ms Berry (Leah.Berry@twb.catholic.edu.au) and let them know. We are very excited to be able to learn about some of the cultures and traditions of some of our St Thomas More's families.  

During Harmony Week we will also be participating in a whole school art project … and we need your help!  We are seeking your assistance to collect a variety of different collage materials in the follow colours: red, blue, orange, yellow, green, purple and pink. 

Also, if you are able to donate any of the following in the colours mentioned above it would be greatly appreciated (preloved donations are welcome). 

· Coloured wool 

· Patty papers 

· Buttons 

· Scrapbook paper 

· Gift wrap 

· Crepe paper 

· Tissue paper 

· Textured paper 

These items can be dropped in Miss Byrne’s room any time between now and March 15th. 

A big thank you to Ms Leah Berry and Mrs Dominique Haddin for organising our Harmony Week events for us. I know the whole school community very much appreciates the extra time and effort you have already put into this project.  

Vinnies Buddies Program 

The Toowoomba branch of the St Vincent DePaul Society has reached out to invite members of our school community to express interest in their Buddy Program. Please see the flyer attached for more details. If you are interested in contacting Vinnies for more information or to join the Buddies Program, feel free to get in contact with me (Kristin.Byrne@twb.catholic.edu.au) and I can link you in with our Vinnies contact.  

Important Dates this Term …. 

Friday March 5th: 50c Friday 

2 Red Prayer Celebration, 11:15am in the Church 

Friday March 12th: 50c Friday 

5 Red Prayer Celebration, 11:15am in the Church  

Wednesday March 17th: St Patrick’s Day 

Friday March 19th:  50c Friday 

Feast Day of Saint Joseph 

1 Gold Prayer Celebration, 11:15am in the Church 

Orange Day for Harmony Week and Anti-Bullying Day 

Friday March 26th: 50c Friday  

Purple Day for Epilepsy – Gold Coin Donation 

Thursday April 1st: Holy Week Prayer Celebration, 11:15am in the Sport Centre.  Families Welcome

God Bless

Miss Kristin Byrne

It was great to see so many children with their 50c over the last two Fridays! Don’t forget we are doing 50c Friday every week during Lent this term, so please bring in your 50c each Friday for Project Compassion if you can. Our goal is to raise $800. We’ll give you an update of how we are going at assembly this week. 

Our lunchtime groups have been going really well! Don't forget you can come along and create something at our Creative Group on Monday at second break playtime in Miss Byrne's room. You can come along and join in some meditation with us each Thursday at second break playtime also in Miss Byrne's room. Prep and Year 1 children can also do Sport Group with us each Friday at second break playtime in the Junior Playground. We had a great time playing soccer last week.  

We've been out and about looking for people living life in all its fullness as well this week. We saw so many children being kind and helpful to each other. Lots of children are trying hard to include others in their games, which is great to see. You’re doing great with the ‘Be Like Jesus Challenge’.  

Last week Maria and Cassie taught you a bit about Jamila and how CARITAS has helped her. This week, we want to share a story with you about Margret.  Marget is a teacher in the Soloman Islands. She was born deaf. She started using sign language when she was 7 years old and now she teaches it to others.  She also teaches sewing, cooking and healthy eating to her students, most of whom are teenagers or adults. Some of her students have never been to school before.  Marget’s school found it hard in the past to have enough water all year round for its students. Some days, teachers and students would have to walk for up to 30 minutes to collect water.  CARITAS helped Margret’s school to build tanks and a system to collect rainwater.  Now they have enough drinking water for the whole year.  

CARITAS also helped the school increase their farming efforts.  Now they have enough food to eat and to sell at the market. When COVID hit, CARITAS also helped people at Margret’s school learn about the importance of washing their hands to stop it spreading. They also provided fabric for students to sew their own facemasks. CARITAS is only able to do wonderful things like this with the support of people in places like Australia. This year, we urge you to dig deep and give what you can during our Project Compassion Campaign. 

We are starting to collect donations for our amazing chocolate raffle! Keep your eyes out for our three hampers, which will be out on display shortly. We will be selling raffle tickets from Week 8 when we return from camp. Tickets will be 50c each and you can buy as many as you like! 

Service Club would also like to invite the school community to help us support Epilepsy Australia by having our very own Purple Day on Friday the 26th of March. Students and teachers are encouraged to come along to school in their best purple free dress in exchange for a gold coin which we will donate to Epilepsy Australia. Mark the date in your calendars! 

God Bless!

Liam and Darcy from the Service Club  

• If your child will be away from school for any reason, please notify the office of your child's absence.  There are a few ways for parents to notify the school of a student’s absence:

1.  Send a text message to 0439 457 981,

2.  Submit an Absentee Form via the Skoolbag App,

3.  Email the student’s teacher and “copy” the school into the email stthomas@twb.catholic.edu.au

4.  Call the school’s office on 4591 3900 and leave a voicemail explaining absence,

5.  Ask a sibling to inform the office of the absence.

Uniform Shop Opening Hours:

Monday Morning:  8:15 am - 8:45 am

Wednesday Afternoons:  2:45 pm- 3:15 pm

Friday Morning:  8:15 am - 8:45 am

Email orders welcome: THOUniform@twb.catholic.edu.au

Hey families!

Tuck Shop orders are still closing at 12pm Thursdays for the foreseeable future so please make sure they're in through Flexischools.

Baked goods and ice blocks (second break only) are available for purchase.

Whitney @ the Tuckshop"

St Thomas Mores School uses the Skoolbag App to provide information about the school to parents & the school community. The SkoolBag app is an easy way to stay up-to-date with school events, last minutes notices, newsletters and all school communications such as reporting student absences.

Please follow the instructions below to access the SkoolBag school app. 

For iPhone and iPad users:

Click on the “Download on the App Store” button, or go to the Apple App Store, search for “SkoolBag” and download the free SkoolBag app. After opening the app, create an account then search for St Thomas More Toowoomba, Add our school and you’re ready to go! 

For Google Android Users:

Click on the “Get it on Google play” button, or go to the Google Play Store, search for “SkoolBag” and download the free SkoolBag app. After opening the app, create an account then search for St Thomas More Toowoomba, Add our school and you’re ready to go!

Please follow the link to the most recent St Thomas More's Parish Bulletin