Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to Term 3! The students have had a very settled start to Term 3, and have been actively engaged in their learning throughout the school.
As Acting Principal while Phillip Barrington is on leave, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff, students and families for making me feel so welcome
at St Thomas More since I commenced on Day 1 this term. Mr Barrington will return to the St Thomas More school community in Week 4. Please note that the staff will be involved in a staff development day on Friday 5th August. This will be a Pupil Free Day.
Last Friday we welcomed parents and visitors to St Thomas More for our 2022 National NAIDOC Week Prayer Celebration. The following is taken from our social media announcement, written by Mr Navarrete who did an outstanding job of coordinating the day for the school community:
This year’s theme was titled ‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!’ The STM family definitely showed our community spirit and stuck true to that motto! It was a fantastic occasion to recognise, respect and celebrate all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our school and local community
Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students did their mobs proud, from our Kindergarten and Year 2 students singing Aunty Wendy’s Mob, ‘Red, Black and Yellow,’ to our senior students saying special prayers to God. The students in Year 3 and 4 did a great job closing and opening our Liturgy, giving thanks to our Elders, past, present and emerging. All the students of STM showed reverence, respect and enthusiasm during the ceremony
After our Liturgy, the students invited their parents, carers and guests to ‘open classrooms’ and join in on different activities centred around NAIDOC. It was great for the family members to join in on the kids’ learning and fun
Thank you to Mrs Jensen, Mrs McGarrity and Acting Principal, Mrs Tyson for assisting and organising our Liturgy. A special thank you to Uncle Ivan and Uncle Dave for leading us in the Welcome to Country and our other Uncles, Aunties and Sisters for joining us in attendance. It was great to reconnect with our Aboriginal community once again. Thank you to our Aboriginal Education Assistants, Andrew and Bronte for all your work with our Indigenous students ️
Thank you to Aboriginal performers from John Therry Catholic College, Rosemeadow for introducing and acknowledging our Aboriginal ancestors of Dharawal and afar to begin our Liturgy. It was great to have you share your talents, passion and culture with our school.
Thank you to all the STM students for participating in all the NAIDOC activities and a massive thank you to the parents, carers and guests that were able to join us for this great occasion, particularly Rebecca, mother of Indie (Kindergarten) and Brooklyn (Year 2) for working with some of our students in the classroom. It was fantastic to see so many faces once again.
We hope you all had a fun day
From Mr Navarrete
Wishing you all a lovely fortnight ahead.
Sincerely,
Lisa Tyson