Term 3 Week 8 St Thomas' Newsletter
Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Girai Wurrung people of the land on which we live and learn. We recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community. We pay respects to elders, past, present and emerging.
Prayer

From the Principal

I hope our Father's and special male role models in our lives had a wonderful day yesterday.
Last Friday was Grandparents and Special Friends day. I must say it is one of my favourite days of the year. The students love showing the grandparents and special friends the work they have done. The ART work looked amazing. A big thank you to Mrs Cavarsan and Mrs Conheady for the work they put in to get the ART work up and ready. Finally to our P&F led by Cassie Greaves. The grandparents and special friends were well fed thanks to this group. Your efforts are much appreciated by all.
Today the Grade Prep - 4 students went to Terang College for a book week performance. This leads us into a very special week where we will have our Book Week dress up and activities day on Friday. Again, it is always an enjoyable day and the kids love it.
Enjoy the remainder of the week.
Matt Uzkuraitis
News
ASSEMBLY: No assembly this week due to our Book Week dress up and activities day on Friday.
WEDNESDAY WEEKLY MASS: Our Grade 1K students will participate in our weekly Wednesday Mass. It will start at 10:30am. We welcome any parents or parishioners to attend.
SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL: A reminder to our School Advisory Council representatives that we have a meeting tomorrow (Tuesday 9th September) at 7:30pm at the school. An agenda and minutes of the previous meeting were forwarded to your emails last week.
Book Week Parade - Friday 12th Sept

We will hold our Book Week Parade this Friday 12th September. On this day the students are invited to dress up in their favourite book character. We will have a parade at 9am where we invite parents and friends to come along (parents are more than welcome to dress up too!!)
Students will also participate in activities on the day where they will be split into groups and teachers will have activities prepared based on the books from this years CBCA Booklist finalists.
Grade 3/4 Camp - Ballarat
A reminder to our Grade 3/4 families, that camp is next week on Thursday 18th - Friday 19th September. Please if you haven't already, log into PAM and fill out the Permission Form. Also if your child requires medication on the camp you will need to come in and fill in the medical authorisation form - this is for prescribed medication and also non prescribed medication such as panadol/nurofen.
If you have any other questions or concerns about camp, can you please contact your child's class teacher as soon as possible.
Sausage and Juice forms
Again, the P&F are holding a sausage and juice day on the last day of term. The eldest in the family would have received a sausage and juice form today. If this could be returned by next Monday at the latest that would be greatly appreciated.
Unfortunately our Grade 3/4's will be away next Thursday and Friday on school camp. They will not be back in time for this.
ART Work on display
As mentioned previously, the students ART work was on display for our Grandparents and Special Friends day. We will keep this up in our Undercover Area until the end of the week. If there are any parents/guardians who would like to have a look at drop off or pick up time, they are more than welcome to come in and have a look.

Building Works - Update
A further update to our Building Project. We have almost reached a stage where one of the tenders will be chosen. It looks as though at the start of Term 4 we will make a start with the construction stage. We will be starting on the Junior wing first. This will mean that our junior classes will be moved elsewhere throughout the school. On next weeks newsletter we will have a full run down of where these classes will be for the majority of Term 4.
As this exciting new stage is set to begin, we also understand the next few months will be challenging in a logistical sense and we know that there will be a need for patience whilst these works are undertaken.
School Readiness Sessions
We have another School Readiness Session running this Thursday. It will be a P.E session with Nicole. These School Readiness Sessions are for any 4 years olds who are attending school next year. This is a new initiative by our school to enhance our kinder to school transition program.
See the flyer below for more information

Birthdays

We say happy birthday to the following students who celebrate a birthday this week. We hope you have a terrific birthday.
Leo Taylor
Ranveer Bhullar
Archie Wurlod
Annabelle Blackford
School TV
Confidence and Motivation
Building confidence and motivation in young people is essential for their development and overall wellbeing. Supporting these traits means encouraging your child to set realistic goals, celebrate their achievements, and learn from setbacks. Confidence allows young people to believe in their abilities, face challenges with resilience, and feel empowered in their decisions. Meanwhile, motivation drives them to pursue interests, strive for personal growth, and stay engaged in school and other activities. By fostering a supportive environment at home, parents can help nurture these qualities, providing their children with the tools they need to navigate life's ups and downs and maintain a positive, proactive mindset.
Find out more on the link below:
Community News


Child Safety Officer
