Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to Term 4.  Each year Term 4 seems to greets us far too early but also provides us with many wonderful and exciting events for our community.  Over the next nine and ten weeks the following will keep us all very busy: K-6 school swimming program, Life Education program, STM P&F Trivia Night, Kindergarten 2020 Transition sessions and Orientation, Year 5 Camp, Christmas Concert, Year 6 Graduation, plus much more .  (Please regularly check the school calendar for all school events.) We have so many things to be grateful for in our lives. Let us hope and pray that Term 4 provides us all with many opportunities to count and appreciate the many blessings in our lives. 

Classes 2020
Term 4 is the time when we complete the 2019 school year as well as prepare for 2020.  One of the major tasks this term is to prepare classes for 2020. Teachers and staff members utilise their professional expertise in making decisions, seeking to create equitable class groupings considering all students.  All classes/grades will be regrouped for 2020.  

Optimising the learning environment is the prime focus when forming new class groups for 2020, not forming friendship groups.  The aim is to provide classes in which each child is able to continue to develop to their full potential.  

If there is a particular issue regarding your child’s optium learning for 2020, please write to Mr Barrington, via email, stating your concerns and requests.  You are invited to be proactive rather than reactive. Please note that is not an opportunity to request individual teachers, but an opportunity to state a particular issue that might impact on your child’s learning in 2020.  All requests will be considered but NOT NECESSARILY GUARANTEED.  Please send your email requests to info@stmdow.catholic.edu.au marked to the attention of Mr Barrington by Friday 8th November.  Further requests regarding class placement will not take place after this date.  Please note that because we are committed to the belief that each child begins each school year anew, we do not retain information regarding these requests from previous years.  

This is the time to raise any issues regarding your child’s optium learning for 2020.  After all requests have been considered the school will make the final decision regarding all placements.  

If your child is not returning to St Thomas More Catholic Parish Primary School Ruse in 2020, could you please notify the School Office as soon as possible.   There is a ‘School Leavers’ form that needs to be completed. 

Wakakirri 2019
Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong has published a story on their website about our school’s 2019 Wakakirri experience.  Check it out!

ST THOMAS MORE'S YOUNG TALENT SHINES IN WAKAKIRRI CHALLENGE

On Thursday 17th October our school is gathering in the School Hall for the 2019 Wakakirri National Story of the Year announcement.  Our gathering commences at 11.30am where we will watch our school’s performance on the big screen and then wait for the live announcement of the 2019 winners.  All parents and friends are invited to attend and be a part of this special assembly.

Crazy Sock Days
October is Missions Month.  To assist raise funds for Catholic Missions we are holding two “Crazy Sock Days” where children wear their usual Friday uniform to school plus crazy socks.  When wearing crazy socks children are asked to make a gold coin donation. Each classroom has a Missions Box in which the donation can be placed. Crazy Sock Days are being held on Friday 18th October and Friday 25th October. 

Parents and Friends Association
All parents and carers of St Thomas More Catholic Parish Primary School are invited to the Annual General Meeting of the St Thomas More Parents and Friends Association for 2019.  All positions on the P&F Executive will be declared vacant and a voting process will occur. We are now calling for nominations for the election of Office Bearers. There is a nomination form as well as you may nominate at the AGM. Paper copies of the nomination form are available from the School Office. Self nominations are also being accepted. 

St Thomas More Parents And Friends Association

2019 AGM

Monday 11th November 2019

School Hall

7.00pm 

All parents and carers are welcome to attend

Aims and Objectives of the St Thomas More Parents and Friends Association

1. The Association recognises and values the role that parents/carers play in the education of their children and aims to strengthen the partnership between family, school, parish and the wider community for the benefit of their children’s overall development and learning.
2. The Association will endeavour to do this by:
1. promoting the faith-life and educational goals of the school in the context of its particular role within the mission of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Wollongong;
2. fostering effective partnerships involving parents/carers, students, staff, parish, and diocese for the provision of authentic Catholic education within a quality learning environment;
3. providing a parental perspective to assist the Principal in decision making;
4. collaborating at all times in a cooperative manner with the school Principal and consulting with the Principal in matters relating to the educational needs of the school, staff and students;
5. raising funds to provide resources and opportunities for enriching the learning environment of the school, in consultation with the Parish Priest and Principal;
6. supporting parents/carers in their parental responsibilities and involvement in their children’s education at home and at school;
7. providing a forum where matters relating to the education and development of students can be discussed productively; 
8. promoting appropriate social contact among the parents and friends of the school; and
9. providing a means for parents/carers to affiliate with the Diocese of Wollongong Parent Forum.

Duties of the P&F Executive Committee

The President:

• provides leadership and direction for the Association by working cooperatively and collaboratively with the Principal and Parish Priest;
• promotes the Aims and Objectives of the Association in dealings with its members;
• supports members of the Executive Committee;
• presides at meetings of the Association as Chairperson, and if absent, nominates the Vice President or another member of the Executive Committee to preside;
• ensures the efficient running of meetings;
• prepares the agenda in consultation with the Executive Committee;
• ensures that the minutes of the previous meeting are endorsed as being an accurate record of what took place;
• prepares and presents the President’s Report at the Annual General Meeting of the Association.

The Vice-President

• The Vice-President assists the President and fulfils the duties of the President when the President is unavailable.

The Secretary:

• manages the day-to-day communications and records of the Association;
• organises meetings, records accurate draft minutes in a style agreed to by the Executive Committee and ensures they are formalised as agreed to by the Executive Committee or General Meeting as the case may be;
• receives and deals with correspondence in a manner agreed upon by the Executive Committee;
• maintains copies of the minutes of the Executive Committee and General Meetings;
• receives agenda items in accordance with this Constitution;
• informs members of forthcoming meetings in accordance with this Constitution;
• provides the minutes for inspection of any member who so requests it;
• passes on records, in good order, to the incoming Secretary.

The Treasurer:

• is responsible for ensuring that all the financial dealings of the Association are carried out in accordance with this Constitution;
• receives all monies and keeps appropriate financial records in accordance with this Constitution and the directives of the Bishop;
• presents, at each General Meeting, a statement of accounts showing current receipts and expenditure together with the outstanding balance;
• organises the annual audit of all accounts in accordance with this Constitution and presents the Annual Financial Report of the Association;
• passes on records, in good order, to the incoming Treasurer.

Trivia Night
All parents and friends of our school are invited to the 2019 STM Trivia Night.  The Trivia Night is being held at the Campbelltown Catholic Club on Friday 18th October 2019.  As a token of thanks to everyone for their support of our fete and all school activities in 2019, the P&F Association are subsiding $25.00 per head for the Trivia Night.  This means that parents who attend the Trivia Night will only need to pay $10.00 per head for a great night out with parents and friends of our school. Please return your Trivia Night note to the School Office as soon as possible to secure your table.  Please note that this is an ‘adults only’ event.

Attention Year 3 Parents (Year 4 2020)
The school is currently reviewing the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) iPad program.  Please do not purchase a new iPad for 2020. If you have already done so this is fine, but we are currently exploring a more cost effective way for the BYOD program.  Stay tuned for more details. 

Best wishes for the coming week ,

Philip Barrington 
PRINCIPAL

Thank you
A huge thank you to all the mums who took home the resources to cut and laminate over the holidays.

This was an enormous assistance.

Costume Storeroom
We are asking for the assistance of some parents or friends to come into school to rearrange and catalogue the costume storeroom.

If you are available for a day, next week, Week 2 or the week after Week 3, could you please let the office know which day/s.

We will then try and organise for a group to be here on the same day to make it easier and faster.

Sport Uniform on Fridays
As students are wearing the sport uniform this term on a Wednesday for swimming, parents have the choice as to whether or not your child wears their sport uniforms on a Friday. They can either wear their sports uniform and or they can wear their normal uniform.

School Calendar 2019