Dear Parents and Carers,

With only seventeen school days remaining for 2023 and only thirty four days until Christmas we can't help but notice how busy people are particularly in trying to finalise things before the end of the year as well as getting ready for that special time of Christmas.  The shops, people’s houses, neighbourhoods and even classrooms are starting to display signs that everyone is getting ready for Jesus’ birth at Christmas.  During this busy time, let's remember to appreciate each other and all that we have.  We have so much to be thankful and grateful for in our lives.    

Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to all children who participated in the annual school swimming carnival yesterday.  It was great to see many of the Year 3 and Year 4 children using their learnt skills from the recent school swimming program.  Well done to all children who participated and who achieved some great results.  A huge thank you to the parent helpers and STM staff, led by Mrs Augustine for all of their hard work and care of the children.  Many staff and parents were in the water assisting the children.  

Final results 2023 STM Swimming Carnival:

First: MacKillop

Second: Polding

Third: Chisholm

Fourth: Marcellin

Library Borrowing
This week is the last week for students to borrow from the school Library.  Mrs Santa Maria is about to start the annual stocktake of our Library.  All families are asked to check school bags and around your home for any library books or home readers that need to be returned to school.

Semester 2 Reports
Your child’s Semester 2 report will be sent to you via Compass on Friday 8th December 2023 (Week 9).  Should you wish to discuss your child’s report with the class teacher you will need to contact the School Office to arrange a time to meet with the teacher during Week 10.

Mufti Day
Thursday 7th December is Mufti Day where children are permitted to wear sensible mufti clothes to school and to provide a gold coin donation to the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal.  Thank you in anticipation of your support.

End of Year Movie Day
Our ‘End of Year Whole School Movie Day’ is being held on Wednesday 13th December at Event Cinemas Macarthur Square.   The information note and permission note regarding this event has been sent to you through Compass.  Please look out for this notification and consent for your child to attend.  All students are invited to this exciting event as a way of celebrating and acknowledging all of their hard work during the 2023 school year.

Congratulations Year 5
Congratulations to our Year 5 students who in recent weeks have displayed great maturity and behaviour in a variety of situations.  They are to be congratulated for their fine behaviour while attending the Year 5 Camp at Wedderburn.  They participated in all of the activities and were great supporters of each other in some of the challenging activities.  Also last week many Year 5 students participated in the selection process for Student Leader positions in 2024.  Many students  prepared and presented speeches as part of the process.  Congratulations to all of Year 5 for their maturity and we look forward to them being the Year 6 leaders of our school in 2024.  All announcements regarding the 2024 School Captains and House Colour Captains will be made at the conclusion of our End of Year Mass on Friday 8th December.

STM P&F AGM
Congratulations to the newly elected members of the St Thomas More Parents and Friends Association:   

St Thomas More Parents and Friends Association Executive 2024

President:  Adrian Dowdell

Vice President: Amanda Rooney

Secretary: Chanelle Haywood

Treasurer: Nicole Smith

As part of the P&F AGM it was decided to go ahead with the 2024 STM Fete.  Thank you Amelia Williams and Katherine Willis who again will coordinate this major event for our school.  An important date for your diary is Sunday 4th August 2024 = STM Fete.  There will be a P&F meeting early in the new school year where a calendar of events for 2024 will be shared with the community.

A Date For Your Diary  

St Thomas More Christmas Concert

Monday 11th December 2023

7.00pm 

Mary Sheil Centre

St Patrick’s College Hall

The P&F are currently organising for a bbq/sausage sizzle to occur in our school grounds before the Christmas Concert.  Stay tuned for details.

2024 School Year

Tuesday 30th January 2024: Staff returns

Thursday 1st February 2024:  Year 1 to Year 6 return

Thursday 8th February 2023:  Kindergarten first day at BIG school.  Kindergarten begins full days.

Thursday 1st February to Wednesday 7th February = ‘Best Start Program’ for Kindergarten (a one hour appointment for your child at some time during this week).

Have a great week,

Philip Barrington 
PRINCIPAL

Amendment to the digital form for student image consent

Dear Parents/Carers

The safety and wellbeing of students is always our first priority. This includes protecting their privacy and respecting the wishes of parents and carers regarding the use of student photos, images, and works at all times.

At the start of each school year, you are asked to complete a form to provide your consent for images of your child to appear in various places (e.g., in school newsletters, social media, and promotional material).

In 2023, this form became digital, and you were asked to consent to an event in Compass. 

In the same way that you provided consent for your child in 2023, you will still be able to simply reply in the Compass app; however, in 2024, this consent will be provided in a new app feature called Compass Insight. Compass’ Insights module is a tool for gathering information from staff, students and parents that can be used for a variety of purposes.

What do you need to do?

During the Christmas vacation period, you will receive a new image consent Insight in the Compass app. Please click on the link provided and read the details of the Insight carefully, discuss it with your child, and once you have made your decision, answer the question to either provide or decline consent.

To ensure that no child misses out on having their photo taken as part of school life, we will occasionally send reminders to parents and carers who have yet to complete the Insight.

If you have any questions about this change or the image consent form in general, please contact the school, and we will be happy to discuss this further with you.

School fees for 2024 have now been finalised. Please see below the 2024 School Fee Schedule.

A reminder to any families who still have a balance remaining on fee account to ensure all agreements and instalments are met before the end of year. Should you have a remaining balance which won't be finalised before the end of year please contact our school office for a confidential conversation to reach a payment agreement. Year 6 leavers may have their student iPad held at school should the fee account not be finalised due to non payment or agreements not met.

Thank you to the families who have met their fee committment during the year and paid the year fees.

2024 fees will be billed during January 2024 and are due payable within 30 days or to be paid by instalments during the same school year.

PAYMENT OF SCHOOL FEES BY INSTALMENT EXISTING FAMILIES IN OUR SCHOOL WITH INSTALMENTS
If you are currently paying by instalments there is no need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment as your request carries over from year to year unless you wish to amend the frequency of your payments eg Weekly to Fortnightly

EXISTING FAMILIES IN OUR SCHOOL WITHOUT INSTALMENTS
If you would like to pay school fees by instalments in 2024 and have previously not taken up this option for payment, please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on the school’s website or from the school’s administration office. On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at the school office. Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your school fee account during the process of invoicing 2024 school fees. Your school fee statement will provide a list of scheduled payments and their due date depending on the frequency you have chosen eg Fortnightly, Monthly, etc.

IMPORTANT: Please note that if you currently have a child or children at another school in the Diocese and you are paying by instalments at this location, you will not need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment. The instalment request carries over from school to school with the same frequency of payment eg Weekly, fortnightly, etc.