Dear Families,

In 2024, our school is participating in Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS). MACSSIS is an annual process whereby schools listen to the thoughts and feelings that students, families and staff have about how their school can improve. These surveys help inform the ongoing improvement of schools across the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

MACSSIS will be open from Monday 2nd - Friday 20th September.

Soon you will be emailed a link with your family's code. Please check your 'spam' during the month of September because the email will come from a 'noreply' email address. This is purely access to the portal and your answers are not saved against this code so we cannot identify your answers. 

Emails will be sent to the parent who receives the accounts information from school as there is only 1 log in available per family in the school.

Swimming in Schools Program

Our Swimming in Schools Program commenced this week! This program is compulsory for all students from Prep to Year 6. It will start for Prep to Year 3 students on Monday 2nd September and for Year 4 to Year 6 students on Monday, 9th September. We'll be swimming at the indoor pool at Coburg Leisure Centre. All students, from Prep to Year 6, will receive a total of five, 45-minute swimming lessons. An Operoo permission form was sent to all families detailing this information.

Due to child safety, we have decided that students will be changing into and out of their swimming attire here at school. Unfortunately, the Coburg Leisure Centre were unable to close off their changing rooms specifically for our students at this time, which raised concerns for us regarding privacy and safety.

Please rest assured that we are committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students. I am in discussions with the centre to secure exclusive access to their changing facilities for our students in 2025, and I will keep you updated on any developments.

Father's Day Breakfast and Father's Day

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the following parents for their incredible support during last week’s Father’s Day Breakfast and Father’s Day stall:

Ange V     Maria T    Mona G  Rebecca H
Nella B-C Dani F.     Nadia K Narelle H.
Dani L Rachel M Joh R Robyn N
Corina J Hannah N Angela S Catherine S Gloria M

Your efforts made a significant impact, and we deeply appreciate your role in the success of these events.

Change to Senior Green at Play Times 

We recently introduced a new approach that aligned with our school values of Respect, Safety, Resilience, and Responsibility, aimed at enhancing the safety and enjoyment of our students on the Senior Green while reducing student traffic.

Starting from last week, we made the following adjustments:

Year 3 and Year 4 students had access to the Senior Green during the first break.

Year 5 and Year 6 students used the Senior Green during the second break.

These changes were communicated to the students during  assembly. This decision was based on valuable feedback gathered from both staff and students through a recent survey, reflecting our commitment to fostering a respectful, safe environment that encouraged responsibility and resilience.

We appreciated your support in discussing this new arrangement with your children to help them understand and adapt to these changes.

Promoting Positive Behaviour Together

At STM, we are deeply committed to fostering a positive and supportive environment where every student can thrive. Through initiatives like the Resilience Project and Positive Behaviour Support (PBS), we aim to nurture resilience, kindness, and respect among our students. These programs are rooted in the latest educational research, which highlights the importance of developing social-emotional skills as a foundation for academic and personal success.

The Resilience Project focuses on building emotional literacy, gratitude, empathy, and mindfulness in students. Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) complements this by promoting prosocial behaviours through clear expectations, consistent routines, and positive reinforcement.

Recent educational data underscores the value of these approaches. Schools that implement social-emotional learning programs report higher student engagement, improved academic outcomes, and a reduction in negative behaviours. This data shows that when schools and families work together to reinforce these skills, students are more likely to internalise and practise positive behaviours.

As parents, you play a crucial role in supporting this positive behaviour at home. Here are a few suggestions on how you can help reinforce these efforts:

• Model Positive Behaviour: Children learn a lot by observing. Demonstrating empathy, patience, and resilience in your interactions can greatly influence your child's behaviour.

• Discuss the School’s Initiatives: Engage your child in conversations about what they’re learning through the Resilience Project and PBL. Ask them about the positive behaviours they’re practising at school and encourage them to apply these at home.

• Praise Positive Actions: Recognise and praise your child when they display kindness, responsibility, or other positive behaviours. Positive reinforcement at home complements what we’re doing at school.

• Stay Informed: Keep up to date with the school’s initiatives and any related activities or resources we share. This helps to create a consistent and supportive environment for your child.

Together, we can create a community where positive behaviour is the norm, and every student feels valued and supported. Thank you for your ongoing partnership in making STM a place where our students can grow, learn, and succeed.

Divisional Athletics 

On Tuesday, our students participated in the Athletics Divisional Finals, and it was a great success. Many of our students achieved outstanding results, and I want to congratulate them all for their hard work and dedication. I also want to extend my thanks to the teachers who supported and guided them throughout the event.

Congratulations to the following:
Yvette H Thomas G Tiffany C Ben B Aleah M

Luke T Evalina I Florentina T RoseMarie K Evelyn A Charlie S

Steven S Jai R

Arts Festival

I'm also very excited about our upcoming Arts Festival, which will take place on Thursday, 19th September, from 5 PM. This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to showcase their artistic talents through the Visual, Musical, and Performing Arts.

The festival will feature an Art Gallery of student work, an auction of class art pieces, and live performances from our very own 'STM Factor.' There will also be food trucks on site, so you can enjoy a delicious dinner while watching the show.

Tickets are now available for purchase via CDFPay.

Please scroll down for more news happening around STM. 

Warm regards,
David Hurn

Principal 

Please find the TERM 3 CURRICULUM OVERVIEWS BELOW:

• Prep

• One

• Two

• Three

• Four

• Five

• Six

A friendly reminder that the STM Art Festival will serve as the Learning Showcase for all year levels this term. Our dedicated Art Teacher, Mrs. Mantello, has been working tirelessly to bring this event together. We're eagerly anticipating the opportunity to showcase the incredible artwork created by our students on September 19th.

Kind Regards,

Sonia Mazzei
Acting Learning and Teaching Leader                     

Child Protection Week

This week marks Child Protection Week, an important time to reflect on the well-being of every child in our community. The core message this year is: "Every child in every community deserves a fair chance.". As advised by MACS Students from Prep to Year 6 explored the Daniel Morcombe foundation site to promote lifelife health and wellbeing. 

This theme encapsulates the purpose of Child Protection Week, which is to advocate for creating a safe and nurturing environment for all children, ensuring they have the opportunities and support they need to thrive, both now and in the future.

We encourage you to join us in spreading this vital message and to explore ways we can all contribute to safeguarding our children. For more information on Child Protection Week and how you can get involved, please feel free to visit NAPCAN's official website.

Michelle Rinaldi
Acting Literacy Leader

Ciao a tutti!

We're incredibly proud of our students' progress in Italian this term. Their ability to use language from across the units and build meaningful conversations demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach. The rigorous, repetitive practice has helped them retain and use Italian in real-life situations.

A big thank you to our dedicated teachers for their enthusiasm and support. Over the next two weeks, students will be reviewing their learning and completing end-of-term assessments. 

Next term we will be focussing on:

• learning how to ask questions and answer questions regarding preferences about food (Prep)

• learning that the Italian alphabet has 21 letters (Prep)

• learning about the connection between language and culture through animal sounds (Prep- Year 2) 

• learning how to link doing activities with family members (Years 3-6)

• learning to describe future plans (Years 3-6)

Don't forget to keep practising Italian at home to reinforce their progress.

Grazie e arrivederci!

TCL team

Adriana Bonacci and Maria Vainieri

2024 STM ARTS FESTIVAL

Thursday 19th September @ 5.00pm - 7:30pm

Dear Families,

The 2024 St Thomas More Arts Festival is only a few weeks away.

This is an opportunity for our students to showcase their artistic talents through the Visual, Musical and Performing Arts. The Arts Festival will include an Art Gallery of work created by the students from Prep to Year 6. 

In the past, our Gallery has usually been set up in the school hall, however due to the current dynamics of the school being under construction, we have decided to exhibit the artworks in your child’s classrooms. Each year level has focussed on a particular artist. I encourage you to use the map to navigate to each classroom across the school and embark on an artist journey, where you will be inspired and hopefully gain some insight and new found knowledge. Our children have been working hard all year on developing their art pieces. 

ENTRY

There will be a $5 entry fee per adult, to help cover the cost of art materials. STM students and younger siblings enter free. Tickets will be available for purchase on CDF pay. Tickets will also be sold at the door via eftpos or cash. Please enter the school via Angus or North Street. 

If you have paid on CDF prior to the Arts Festival please show receipt/screenshot on arrival.

CLASS AUCTION ART PIECES

The library will include a display of the 2024 class auction pieces. These art pieces are a great souvenir of each 2024 grade. As in previous years, parents will have the opportunity to bid for these unique one-off art pieces created by each class during their Art sessions. These will be auctioned off at the library stage between STM Factor performances by our guest auctioneer. Eftpos facilities available for payment.

STM FACTOR

The school STM choir and STM Factor performances will also take place on the library stage. STM Factor is based on the “X Factor” TV show and students of all ages auditioned in front of a panel of judges to be chosen to perform on the night. 

CATERING

Food trucks will be set up in the staff car park on Angus street as a dinner option:  The school canteen will also be open and will sell snacks.

The Arts Festival will begin at 5:30pm (classroom doors open) and will conclude at 7:30pm. 

Food Vans will be trading from 5:00pm and families are able to purchase before and during the Art Show if they choose.  This is a biennial event that celebrates the ARTS and allows our children to explore their imagination and creativity.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Annette Mantello

Visual Art Teacher

For everyone’s safety, please be advised that  students and siblings are not permitted to play any ball games on the senior and junior green during the event. Thank You