STM NEWS | Term 2, Week 7, 2026

Thursday, 25^th June we will be celebrating our St Thomas More Feast day with Liturgy in the morning followed by our annual Fremont Park walk and play. Please ensure you have checked your Ed smart email and signed the permission form for this event. We are seeking volunteers to assist us with supervision while we walk to the park so Please let your class teacher know if you are available. We look forward to a wonderful fun day of celebrations.

Last Tuesday, our school community was delighted to welcome the beginning of the Term 3 Reception Transition Program.

Meeting our newest students and their families was a wonderful reminder of how special this time is for everyone involved. Some children arrived full of excitement, others with a few nerves, and many with a mixture of both. Starting school is a significant milestone, and we are proud to support students and families through this important transition.

In the weeks leading up to their first visit, our staff spent time with each child in their kindergarten setting. These early connections help build familiarity and strengthen the sense of belonging that is so important as children prepare to join our school community.

Over the next two weeks, the children will return for two additional transition sessions, held on Tuesdays in Weeks 8 and 9. These visits will give them further opportunities to meet their teacher, form friendships, and become comfortable in their new learning environment. We are grateful to our families, kindy partners, and staff for working together to make this transition a positive and welcoming experience for every child.

If you know a family with a child turning five on or before 31 October, please let them know that we currently have places available. All enquiries can be directed to the front office.

Over the past fortnight, all students across Catholic Education South Australia schools have participated in the Classroom Pulse Check‑In, a scheduled process undertaken each term.

This initiative plays a critical role in helping us understand how students are experiencing school and supports our ongoing commitment to fostering a positive, inclusive and engaging learning environment.

At our school, every student is valued. Their identity, sense of belonging, relationships and access to high‑quality learning opportunities are central to their wellbeing and academic success. The Classroom Pulse Check‑In provides an important platform for students to share their perspectives, enabling us to listen attentively and respond with intention.

The insights gained from the survey allow us to monitor individual student progress, identify areas where additional support may be required, and strengthen the strategies we use to help each young person flourish. This process is an essential component of our commitment to nurturing students as confident learners, capable leaders and active contributors to our community.

We are increasingly concerned about unsafe driving and parking behaviours occurring around our school, particularly during drop‑off and pick‑up times.

To keep every child safe, we need all families to follow the road rules without exception.

• Please take extra care to observe all parking and traffic signage.
• Do not stop on yellow lines, even briefly, to let children in or out of your vehicle.
• Do not park across the school crossing, as this blocks visibility for students and families crossing roads.
• Disabled access parking spaces must only be used by vehicles displaying a valid permit, using these spaces illegally is unsafe and against the law.

These actions, while sometimes done out of convenience, create dangerous situations for children trying to cross the very busy Yorktown and Shillabeer Roads. Their safety depends on every driver doing the right thing, every time.

Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us keep our school community safe.

Families are respectfully reminded that all entry to and exit from the school grounds before and after school must occur via the Yorktown Road (adjacent the crossing) and Shillabeer Road gates.

Our front office is a very small, restrictive space but also a very busy work zone therefore, we kindly request that families do not use the front office as a thoroughfare/access to and from the school grounds. This area is a designated workspace where staff are engaged in essential administrative duties throughout the day. Unnecessary foot traffic creates congestion, increases noise levels, and disrupts the efficient operation of the office.

Access into the school grounds from the front office and vice vera will be unavailable between 2.30pm 3.10pm. Should you need to speak to our wonderful front office team prior to pick up, we will be kindly asking you to still walk around to the main gates to enter. Your cooperation in using the appropriate gates supports a safe, orderly, and professional environment for students, staff, and families.

We appreciate your assistance in maintaining these expectations.

On Wednesday the 20th of May, we celebrated Special Friends Day and Catholic Education Week. We certainly shone that day by showing how creative we can be are when using bark, leaves and twigs we collected from the school grounds. It was so much fun deciding what we would create with our special person and then work together to create our masterpiece. Here’s what our students had to say:

Elizabeth Yates

On Wednesday the 20th of May at 9am it was special persons day but I was on my own but I was not sad I was still happy. First we did prayer. Next we made a picture with sticks, leaves and bark. I made me and my mum. Then we went to the Library and then had healthy snack.

Heydar Kazimi

On the 20th of May my mum and brother came to my classroom at 9.50. We made a cat with sticks and bark and my mum was proud of me.

Tobias Guest

On special persons day I made a rocket with Grandma and Leon.

Ryder Gregory

Yesterday at 9am my mum came to Special Person’s Day at St Thomas More. First we had community prayer. Next the parents came. Then we made something for our special people. After we went to the Hub.

Thomas Bettinelli

On Wednesday the 20th of May at 9am the whole school brang a special person. When everybody was here we started to make a picture with sticks, and leaves. Next our parents went to morning tea at St Thomas More. I felt happy and good.

When your child is upset, it feels completely natural to say ‘no one was looking at you‘ or ‘they weren’t talking about you, I promise‘. This is a kind and caring response. However, there is a simple reason why this approach, called over-reassurance, can accidentally make your child’s worry grow stronger over time.

Why reassurance can backfire – the itch analaogy

Reassurance works like scratching an itch. It feels wonderful in the moment – instant relief. But scratching actually makes the itch come back faster and stronger. Over time, your child’s brain learns: “the only way I feel better is if Mum or Dad tells me it’s okay.”

So the worry doesn’t go away – it grows, because your child now needs reassurance to cope and will seek it more and more.

What we want the brain to learn instead

• Every time we reassure, we accidentally send the message that the worry was worth worrying about – that it needed fixing.
• What we actually want the brain to learn is: “I can handle this feeling, it passes on its own, and I don’t need someone else to make it go away.“
• The goal is to build your child’s confidence in their own ability to cope – not their confidence in your reassurance.

What to say instead?

Acknowledge the feeling – not the fear

It is always okay to say ‘I can see that felt really yucky’. Feelings are always valid. It is the thought behind the feeling that we gently want to question – not dismiss, just question. Brief, warm, and then move on.

This is hard – and that is completely normal!

This goes against every parenting instinct you have. Even knowing all of this, it takes practice and you won’t always get it right- and that is completely okay. The most important thing is warmth and consistency over time, not perfection in every moment.

If you have any questions about this information, or would like to find out more, you can request to contact our school counsellor Tess Boyd via our Front Office.

Please note that there is a Pupil Free Day scheduled for Friday, 26 June. Staff will be involved in training and development on this day. OSHC will be available and if you require this service, please use the usual processes for booking.

Our Business Manager would like to remind families that Fee Statements will be distributed shortly. Please check your junk or spam folder if you do not see the email in your inbox.

Families who have not yet submitted a payment plan for 2026 school fees will be contacted shortly. If you have not already provided your payment plan to the school, please do so as soon as possible to avoid further follow-up.

If you require any information or clarification, please contact our Business Manager on 7285 1500 or via email at accounts@sttmore.catholic.edu.au.

Payment Plan Request Forms and Direct Debit Request Forms are available from the Front Office or can be accessed via the school’s website.

You may have noticed in each newsletter that we have been including a Gospel reading and short reflection. We do this as a reminder to keep Jesus at the heart of our school community.

Upcoming Mass

Year 5/6MT, 4/5GB and 3/4 MA will be attending Mass on Tuesday June 16 at 12noon in the Hub with Fr Santosh. Our theme is ‘Love Like Jesus’ and students from these classes will help lead this celebration. All are welcome to join us.

Living Mercy at STM

At St. Thomas More we aim to “live” hospitality by making sure everyone feels welcome, included, and cared for—whether we’re in the classroom or out in the yard. Students greet each other kindly, invite others into games, and look out for anyone who might be feeling left out. In our classrooms, we show hospitality by listening respectfully, sharing materials, and helping classmates when they need support. Every day, these small actions help create a warm, safe, and joyful community where everyone belongs.

Sacrament Program 2026

This coming weekend the students will take the next step in their Sacramental journey as they gather for their third session, focusing on the Sacrament of Eucharist. Through stories, discussion, and hands‑on activities, the children explored the symbols of Eucharist and learned how this special sacrament nourishes us and our relationship with Jesus. It was a joyful beginning to their preparation journey, filled with curiosity, reverence, and a growing sense of belonging.

Please click on the link below to access the parish bulletin to find out about events happening within the Elizabeth Catholic Parish: Bulletin – Elizabeth Catholic Parish