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- Principal's News
- What's on at STA
- STA STAY SAFE
- E-Safety
- eSafety Commissioner News
- First Nations Families News
- STA Parish Information
- Dignity Donation
- Library news - Book Fair
- SCC News
- SCC News - Healthy Lunch Ideas
- Grandparents Day - Thursday 24 July 2025
- ACT Cross Country Champs
- Class Party - Kinder Green
- Class Party - 3 Green
- Class Party - 4 Blue
- Kindergarten Celebrates 100 Days
- STA is turning 50!
- 50th Anniversary - Memories
- Save the Date - STA Dance Showcase
- Footsteps Disco - Coming Soon!
- Principal Awards - CONGRATULATIONS
- White Token Awards
- Class News - Warratahs
- Code Camp at STA
- OSHClub News
- Birthdays - July
- Winter Holidays
Dear St Thomas Aquinas community,
Thank you so much for a fantastic Term 2. It's been a very, very busy term. Thank you to students, staff and families for your contributions to a positive finish.
It's always wonderful to celebrate the end of a semester with students reports, three-way conferences, a white token lunch, class parties and end of term awards. I look forward to handing out the awards to students at this Thursday afternoon's assembly.
Thank you for all of the donations for the Vinnies Winter Appeal last Friday. Your generosity will make a very big difference to quite a number of our local Canberra community who will experience a form of homelessness this winter.
NAIDOC Week
Over the school holiday period we celebrate NAIDOC Week and as a school we celebrate NAIDOC Week this week and in the first week of Term 2.
I would like to thank Laura Mudford, our school contact officer for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education. Laura is passionate about acknowledging and sharing First Nations culture and tradition with everyone. She works closely with students, families and staff to help First Nations culture be present wherever possible in our school life.
Staffing Update
We welcome Ms Emily Hudson to our teaching staff. Emily has previously spent time teaching in Year 1 and is this week teaching across the school, getting to know a lot of the students. Our students have made her feel very welcome. We look forward to Ms Hudson working with classes next term.
I am pleased to say that there are no significant staffing changes over the school holiday period.
Coming Events
I would like to a few important coming events. These have been sent to everyone and will come up quickly. Please add them to your calendar:
Week 1
- Grandparents Day - 24 July
Week 4
- STA Dance Performance - 14 August
Week 5
- Book Week Parade - 22 August
Week 7
- 50th Anniversary Celebration - 2 September
Week 10
- School Disco - 25 September
Thank you again for your commitment to your child's learning over the last term. Thank you for supporting the teachers in their very hard work. Thank you to all of our staff for going above and beyond to make sure that every child is safe, feels happy and learns, every day.
I hope the slower pace in the school holidays is welcome to you all and that everyone can stay warm.
God bless,
Matthew Garton
Principal
| WEEK | DATE | EVENT |
| 10 | Mon 30/06 - 02/07 | Lamont Book Fair Continues |
| 10 | Wed 02/06 | Class Party - 3 Green |
| 10 | Wed 02/06 | Class Party - 4 Blue |
| 10 | Thur 03/07 | NAIDOC Prayer Celebration at 9:30am in the hall |
| 10 | Thur 03/07 | Class Party - Kinder Green |
| 10 | Thur 03/07 | White Token Lunch |
| 10 | Thurs 03/07 | Principal Awards Assembly at 2:15pm |
| 10 | Fri 04/07 | Pupil Free Day |
| TERM 3 | Mon 21/07 | Pupil Free Day |
| 1 | Tues 22/07 | All Students return |
| 1 | Wed 23/07 | My Body My Life Presentation - Year 5 |
| 1 | Thur 24/07 | Grandparents Day Celebrations |
| 1 | Fri 25/07 | NAIDOC Mass at St Christopher's Cathedral |
| 2 | Tues 29/07 | SCC Meeting at 6pm |
| 2 | Wed 30/07 | Oz Tag Gala Day - Years 3-6 Boys |
| 2 | Thur 31/07 | Oz Tag Gala Day - Years 3-6 Girls |
| 2 | Fri 01/08 | Assembly at 2pm |
| 3 | Mon 04/08 | Kinder Health Checks |
| 3 | Tues 05/08 | Kinder Health Checks |
| 4 | Tues 12/08 | Touch Football Gala Day - Years 3 & 4 |
| 4 | Wed 13/08 | Touch Football Gala Day - Years 5 & 6 to be confirmed |
| 4 | Thur 14/08 | STA Dance Showcase - details to come |
| 4 | Fri 15/08 | Assembly at 2pm |
| 5 | Mon 18/08 - Fri 22/08 | Book Week - Book an Adventure! |
| 5 | Tues 19/08 | PSSA Track & Field |
| 5 | Fri 22/08 | Book Week Parade |
| 6 | Fri 29/08 | Assembly at 2pm |
| 7 | Tues 02/09 | 50th Anniversary Celebrations |
| 7 | Tues 02/09 | Learning Journeys |
| 7 | Fri 05/09 | Fathers Day Prayer Celebration |
| 7 | Fri 05/09 | Donuts with Dad |
| 8 | Fri 12/09 | Assembly at 2pm |
| 10 | Thurs 25/09 | White Token Celebration Lunch |
| 10 | Thurs 25/09 | Principal Awards Assembly at 2pm |
| 10 | Thur 25/09 | STA Disco hosted by Footsteps |
| 10 | Thur 25/09 | Last Day for students |
| 10 | Fri 26/09 | Pupil Free Day |
Online safety for young children
As parents and carers, online safety begins with you. Young children are online before we know it. They are playing with connected toys, tapping and swiping touch screens, choosing programs to watch on streaming services, video calling family and friends, playing games and sharing photos and video. Being online has many benefits for young children, including opportunities to explore their creativity, improve their language skills, solve problems, think critically and build relationships. But there may be risks if young children use connected devices without supervision or for extended periods of time. They may accidentally come across inappropriate content or be exposed to contact from people they don’t know. They may share personal information or images. As they grow older, they could experience cyberbullying. By talking to your child about online safety now you lay the foundations for safer online experiences as they grow older.
Over the next few weeks we will share key online safety issues for young children and include a range of practical tips and advice on how to support and guide them to be safe online.
Swimming between the digital flags
The relationship between social media and children’s mental health is one of the most important conversations of our time. That's why, from mid-December, the Australian Government will require certain social media services to take steps to prevent under 16s from having accounts.
This week, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant outlined how Australia plans to take this bold action forward, in a speech delivered at the National Press Club.
Here's what parents need to know right now:
- It’s not a ban, it’s a delay. We’re giving kids more time to build digital skills and resilience before facing the pressures of social media.
- The responsibility lies with the platform. There are no penalties for children or parents— only for platforms that fail to take reasonable steps to prevent under 16s from having accounts.
- You’re not alone. eSafety offers trusted resources for parents and carers, educators, young people and kids. We’ve got the flags, the swimming lessons, and the safety tips to help you support your kids. And our protective powers in areas such as cyberbullying and image-based abuse will still be there to help if things go wrong.
Australia is building a culture of online safety – just like we’ve done on our beaches. Because the internet, like the ocean, is not going away – and our kids are already dipping their toes in. To stay up to date on social media age restrictions, visit eSafety.gov.au.
YouTube and the Social Media Minimum Age legislation
Earlier this week, Minister for Communications Anika Wells, published eSafety’s independent advice recommending that YouTube not be excluded from new legislation. If the Minister chooses to accept eSafety’s advice, YouTube would be subject to the same rules as other platforms, aimed at preventing children under 16 from creating accounts.
Importantly, this would not restrict access to educational content, which remains available via school links or in a logged-out state.
| Parish Priest | Father Tru Nguyen |
| Parish Secretary | Sharon Greaves |
| Telephone | 02 6258 1563 |
| charnwood@cg.org.au | |
| Address | 23 Lhotsky Street CHARNWOOD ACT 2615 |
| MASS | TIMES |
| Monday to Friday | 9:30am |
| Thursday - School Mass | 9:30am - one grade each week |
| Public Holidays | 9:30am |
| Saturday Vigil | 6:00pm |
| Sunday | 9:00am Children's liturgy is held during the school term. All families are welcome to attend. |
Lamont Book Fair
30th June – 2nd July 2025
You are invited to our annual school Book Fair. Lamont book fair will be Monday to Wednesday Week 10.
When: 30th June to 2nd July
Where: School Library
Time: 3pm to 4pm for families and Wednesday at Break 2 for students to purchase.
How: We will accept cash and card payments
Every book purchased gives credit to the school to purchase more resources for our school library. And every book sold encourages another student's love for literature.
I can’t wait to see you there!
Happy Reading,
Mrs Kaden
Oops! In our newsletter relay,
we dropped the baton…
But sprinting in last-minute (with impressive stamina) are our ACT Cross Country champions!
Let’s give a big cheer to the students who ran their hearts out—we didn’t forget you, we were just catching our breath!
This year marks a truly special milestone—the 50th Anniversary of St Thomas Aquinas Primary School! As we prepare for this exciting celebration, we’re reaching out to alumni, former staff, students, and the wider community to help us bring the history of our school to life.
We’re looking for school memorabilia to showcase during our anniversary events. This could include:
-
Old photographs
-
Yearbooks
-
Uniforms
-
Awards or certificates
-
Event programs or tickets
-
School newspapers
-
Personal stories or memories
If you have anything you’d like to share, please contact us at office.staquinas@cg.catholic.edu.au or drop items off to the Assistant Principal, Carmen Myles. We will handle all items with care and can return them upon request.
Let’s come together to honor the past and inspire the future. Thank you for being part of our story.
Our spectacular STA Dance Showcase is coming soon — mark your calendars!
Get ready to see our amazing moves, a fun event that you won’t want to miss!
Date: Thursday 14th August 2025
Stay tuned for more details in Term 3
Please join us at our Morning Assembly on Thursday 3 July 2025 at 8:50am to celebrate our White Token recipients
| Aurelius F | Leek A | Zoe P | Heidi S |
| Sebastian C | Kai U | Nate N | Erin H |
| Hannah E | Oliver H | Emily L-B | Layla M |
| Mia W | George B-C | Ivy M | Ayla M |
| Ryan N | Alexis J | Stefford R | Cameron C |
| Lily H | |||
July
Sienna K, Layla H, Alexis J, Isla M, Marko CC, Muhammad ZM, Ava R, Lukas M,
Romeo CC, Hannah M, Ruby T, Lilith P, Benjamin P, Annabelle P, Gibson H, Moses P, Ruhaab J, Leo W, Alfred O, Mary P, Mila M, Sebastian M, Thomas B, Stefford R,
Adam H, Layla L
