Dear Parents and Carers,

Last Friday we celebrated our school and parish feast day - the feast of Saint Thomas More.  The focus of our feast day Mass this year was to acknowledge the wonderful community in which we all belong, which is also known as the Body Of Christ.  

At our special whole school Mass I was given the privilege of saying a few words during Mass.  Here is a selection of some of my words.

We can then go on to say that the St Thomas More Ruse community can also be called the Body of Christ.  All working together in cooperation. The Body of Christ in our community consists of many parts.

• Students and Children:  A major part are the students and children - who live their lives each day learning and having fun with family and friends in a safe environment.
• Father Michael:  Another important of the Body of Christ in the St Thomas More Ruse community is Fr Michael.  Fr Michael is our Parish Priest and chief of our community. It is through his support and love of this community that we can function and live and work with each other.
• Parents:  The parents and carers in our community are a vital part of the Body of Christ in Ruse.  This group provides love and support for everyone in the community and it is with their wish for a great Catholic School for their children that our community would not be able to function adequately each day in all that we do.
• Parishioners:  All of the parishioners of St Thomas More Ruse are a most important part of the Body of Christ.  The parishioners support each of us through their prayers, hard work and leadership, particularly in all of their organisation and leadership in the sacramental programs.
• Staff:  The staff of our school are also an extremely important part of the Body of Christ located in Ruse.  Through their professionalism, their love and care of the students and their ability to look after everyone plays a vital role in our community.

So all of us present here today, and those who could not be with us for a variety of reasons are all most important parts of the Body of Christ.   The Body of Christ in St Thomas More School and Parish all work together in cooperation because of our love and support of each other and our great devotion to Jesus and his commandment to love one another.  

We are the Body of Christ and we work together and we do it with cooperation   

In the last newsletter I outlined the importance of ‘Gratitude’ (being thankful).  As this is the last newsletter for Term 2 2019 we say thank you to:

• the students who have given their best efforts to their work and achieving their learning goals.   Many students have had a very successful term of learning which is reflected in their Semester 1 report.  Reports are being sent home on Friday.  
• the staff for all of their hard work and professionalism this term, especially at this busy time of assessing and reporting.  Staff work tirelessly in catering for the needs of all of the students in their care.
• the parents and carers for the support given to the life of our school, particularly through your attendance and assistance at our school events.   
• those parents who came along to the COMPASS presentation last Monday.  For those who were unable to attend, you will soon receive your personal login details and instructions on how to download the COMPASS app.  COMPASS is the new online parent, student, staff portal that will soon replace Sentral and Skoolbag. 

This term has been  a challenging term for many families in regards to sicknesses and illnesses.  May the coming Winter holiday break be an opportunity for everyone to have a rest and get rid of all those colds and flus.  

We look forward to seeing you at some of our school activities in Week 10 - the parent/teacher/student interviews, Grandparents Day and the Athletics Carnival.

Early next term our school is participating in a Cyclic Review.   Cyclic Review is an external validation of our school’s improvement journey.  An external team from Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong will review, affirm, challenge and endorse our work.  Students, staff, parents and priest will be involved in the process. Cyclic Review Day is Wednesday 31st July (Week 2 Term 3) in which the Review team will be present in our school to visit classes, talk to members of our school and  review our documentation.

Best wishes for the coming week,

Philip Barrington 
PRINCIPAL

Wakakirri

A couple of Wakakirri reminders.

There is no practice tomorrow afternoon, due to the Netball Carnival. There will be practice next Thursday. It is expected that all students are present on a Thursday afternoons unless they are away sick.

1. The rehearsal in the holidays is on Wednesday 17^th July 10-12pm. We need all students present on this day, unless you are away on holidays. If you cannot get your child to the practice due to work, please try and organise for another family to bring them, so they do not miss out.
2. During the holiday rehearsal we will be having a major working bee and would like as many parents present as possible. Please come ready to

- paint backdrops (paintbrushes would be helpful)

- making smaller props (please bring a glue gun)

- cutting out and sewing costumes (bring your sewing machine or overlocker and sewing equipment like scissors and pins).

4. Extra ticket sales close this afternoon. There will be no more available through school after this time.
5. We still require a family who has access to a small truck to transport our props to Parramatta and then back to school. We have four 2.4x 1.5m back drops, so a ute or trailer is not going to be big enough. Also, we need it covered in case of rain. If you can help us please let us know.

Earn and Learn
Thank you to all the families who have supported our sticker collection. Earn and learn stickers have now finished. Please collect all your stickers and send them into school by next Wednesday 3^rd July. We will be sending these away before the holiday.

Stay tuned to see what the stickers have earnt the students.

Compass
If you were unable to attend either of the Compass information sessions on Monday, a sheet will be sent home to you in the coming days with information on how to down load the app and log in. You can also access Compass on the web.

Compass is our new online student monitoring portal. It has many features and will allow parents to:

• Monitor your child’s attendance, and enter an explanation for absence or lateness
• Communicate with your child’s teachers and update your family contact details
• View the school calendar
• Monitor your child’s homework and assessment tasks
• Download and view your child’s progress and semester reports
• Book parent-teacher conferences
• Pay and provide consent for events and school fees

These features will be introduced slowly, as we are still getting used to the system as well.

For now, you are able to log in and report an absence. This alleviates the need to make phone calls or send in notes.

If you need any assistance navigating Compass, please contact the office.

Please support our last Mufti Day for the 2019 Fete on Friday 28th June.  Children are allowed to wear mufti clothes to school and are asked to make a gold coin donation to our Fete.

Thursday 4th July (Week 10) St Thomas More School will be celebrating Grandparents Day.  All grandparents and carers are invited to our celebrations.

12.00pm - 1.05pm Open Classrooms - come along and see the children in their learning environment
1.05pm - 1.45pm Picnic Lunch in the school grounds
1.45pm Liturgy in the School Hall

The Canteen will be open for our special visitors to make purchases for lunch. The canteen will be serving:

* Hot meat roll
* Pies & sausage rolls
* Sandwiches
* Assorted cakes
* Tea & coffee