Dear Parents and Carers,

Happy Saint Thomas More feast day.

Today we celebrated the feast of Saint Thomas More, the wonderful saint of which our school and parish is named.  Our day began with the students involved in lessons and activities focussed on the life of Saint Thomas More.  We then gathered together in our parish Church and celebrated Mass together with parishioners and parents and carers.  The children then returned to school and were provided with their traditional ‘free’ donut.  

Some facts about Saint Thomas More...

• Thomas More was born in London on February 7, 1478. 

• It is likely that Thomas was positively influenced from a young age by his mother and siblings. 

• Thomas More entered Oxford in 1492, where he would learn Latin, Greek and prepared for his future studies. In 1494, he left Oxford to become a lawyer and he trained in London until 1502 when he was finally approved to begin practice.

• Thomas More married his first wife, Jane Colt in 1505. They would have four children together before her death in 1511. Their marriage was reportedly happy and Thomas often tutored her in music and literature.

• Thomas was considered a doting father, and he often wrote letters to his children when he was away on work. He also insisted that his daughters receive the same education as his son. His daughters were well known for their academic accomplishments.

• In 1504, More was elected to Parliament.  During his service to the people of London, he earned a reputation as being honest and effective.

• More used his skills as a theologian and a writer. Among his most famous works is "Utopia," about a fictional, idealistic island society. 

• From 1517 on, Henry VIII took a liking to Thomas More, and gave him posts of ever increasing responsibility. 

• More was immediately effective, working with speed and precision that is admired today. He was likely one of Henry VIII's most effective servants, and was fiercely loyal to the king.

• During his tenure as Lord Chancellor, More prosecuted those accused of heresy and worked tirelessly to defend the Catholic faith in England. However, in 1530, as Henry worked to obtain an annulment from his wife, Catherine, More refused to sign a letter to the Pope, requesting an annulment. This was More's first time crossing Henry.

• The relationship between More and Henry became strained again when seeking to isolate More, Henry purged many of the clergy who supported the Pope. It became clear to all that Henry was prepared to break away from the Church in Rome, something More knew he could not condone

• In 1532, More found himself unable to work for Henry VIII, whom he felt had lost his way as a Catholic.

• More accepted Henry's marriage to Anne, but refused to acknowledge Henry as head of the church, or his annulment from Catherine. This led to his arrest and imprisonment. He was locked away in the Tower of London.

• The court sentenced him to be hanged, drawn, and quartered, which was the traditional punishment for treason.  As a final act of mercy, Henry commuted More's punishment to mere decapitation. 

• Thomas More has been widely remembered as a man of tremendous integrity, and he has since been described as a martyr and canonized a saint

• Thomas More was beatified in 1886, and he was canonized on May 19, 1935.

• His feast day is June 22.

• He is the patron saint of adopted children, lawyers, civil servants, politicians, and difficult marriages.

 Adapted from https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=324

Our school crest/badge reflects our dedication to our patron, Saint Thomas More.

St Thomas Catholic Parish Primary School Ruse School Badge

STM St Thomas More Catholic Parish Primary School

Round Shield with Studs From the family crest of St Thomas More, our patron

Gold Cross Christian symbol

Star Mary – the Mother of God and of us

Olive Branch Peace – the fruit of living according to our motto “Live in Truth and Love”

School Colours Blue and Gold

Relieving Acting Principal Weeks 1-3 Term 3
From Monday 18th July to Friday 5th August 2022, I will be taking some long service leave and will be away from school.  In my absence the Catholic Education Office has appointed Mrs Lisa Tyson as the relieving principal at St Thomas More School.  Mrs Tyson is currently the assistant principal at Nazareth Catholic Primary School Shellharbour City.  Mrs Tyson will meet the community at next Monday morning’s assembly.

Parent and Teacher Interviews
Parent and teacher interviews will be occurring in Week 10 Term 2, with Tuesday afternoon 28/6/22 being the main afternoon and evening for parent and teacher interviews.  The booking schedule is now available through Compass.  Please book a time to meet with your class teacher to discuss your child's learning throughout Semester 1 2022.  

Semester 1 Reports
The Semester 1 school reports will ‘go live’ on Compass on Friday Week 9, 24th June 2022.  Parents who have children in the upper grades would be very familiar with the five point A-E scale used to indicate student achievement.  For students in Year 1 this will be the first A-E report that your child will receive.  

A-E reporting is a requirement from the Federal Government.  The words in the five point scale are directly linked to the A-E common grade scale and describe the level of achievement attained.  Educators around Australia are continuously reminding their students that a “C” achievement is ‘“Sound” achievement and the standard expectation of the class.   Therefore children and parents should not be having conversations like: “How many C’s did you get?”  You need to be asking: “In what areas did you record Sound achievement?”

Parent/teacher interviews are being conducted in Week 10.  Parents are encouraged to bring their children along to the interview for the discussion about learning with the class teachers.  Although Kindergarten students do not receive a written report for Semester 1 parents are encouraged to attend the parent/teacher interviews.

Achievement Levels for Years 1-6

Dismissal Procedures
Thank you to the parents and carers for your assistance and support in ensuring a safe dismissal every afternoon.  You are reminded to stagger your collection time between 2.40pm and 3.00pm.  Our greatest challenges are always the busy time between 2.30pm and 2.45pm when the majority of our school wishes to be collected as well as the buses are entering the school. Please be assured that your children are safe and well supervised until you collect them.  Parents from all grades are also reminded that you are permitted to park in the top car park if you choose and then walk down the path to collect your child from the Undercover.  If you are doing this please have a conversation with your child so that they know which area they are to be collected - from the Carline or from the Undercover.  If your circumstances change throughout the day please contact the school office and a message will be given to your child. Parents cannot collect children from the Carline gate, if they have parked their car - this slows down the carline procedure.  You will be directed down the school path to the Undercover area. 

Parent Engagement
Thank you to those parents and carers who have been able to attend one of our recent ‘Coffee and Conversations’ sessions throughout this term.  There is one more session this Friday 24th June, being conducted after the Year 5 liturgy.  Parents of any grade are most welcome to attend the liturgy and/or ‘Coffee and Conversations’.  Thank you also to those who completed the recent Parent Engagement Survey for STM school.  The results will be collated and shared with you in the coming weeks.    

New Online Ordering in the St Thomas More School Canteen
From Term 3 we are implementing a new online system where parents can order their child’s lunch.  All details will be sent home next week in readiness for this new procedure to start on the first day of Term 3.  Orders with cash, written on a paper bag (our current system) will still also be accepted.

Call for Parent Volunteers
If there are any parents interested in forming a committee to organise a school disco for the St Thomas More students please contact the school office.  We would like to organise a disco for the students to be held later in Term 3.

School Athletics Carnival
Our annual School Athletics Carnival will be held on the last day of Term 2, Friday 1st July 2022.  Details and a permission note have been sent home via Compass.  We are looking forward to a great day of sport and fun.  

Blue Awards 
Congratulations to Lilly Year 3, Sierra Year 5, Bridget Year 5 and Caitlyn Year 5 on receiving a Blue Award.

Wash Hands

Social Distancing

Stay Safe

Philip Barrington 
PRINCIPAL