St. Thomas’ is an inner-city school on the east side of Brisbane. As one of 136 affiliated systemic schools in the Archdiocese, our emphasis is education for the whole child in the Catholic Christian tradition. This means that we value the uniqueness of each person and strive to provide opportunities for their development throughout their individual learning journeys – spiritually, emotionally, socially, psychologically, academically, physically and culturally.
Our school, which commenced in 1929, is an integral part of St. Thomas’ Catholic Parish. Since separating from East Coorparoo in 1927, this parish has been served by the Missionary of the Sacred Heart Priests. The school was started by the Good Samaritan Sisters, who remained teaching here until 2004. In living out our faith justly and with compassion for others, St. Thomas’ continues to reflect the charisms of both of these Orders.
While passersby would notice that St. Thomas’ is a visually appealing and well resourced school, with attractive buildings and grounds, our most notable characteristic is our community. St. Thomas’ is renowned for being friendly, vibrant and welcoming; with supportive and involved parents/caregivers and a commitment to providing a safe, engaging and enjoyable learning environment
Thank you for visiting our website. We trust that in learning more about our community you will recognise, as we do, why St. Thomas’ is “a heart for mind and spirit”. 
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Community News
Cross-Country
We are very proud of all of our runners who represented St Thomas' at the St Anthony's
Invitational cross-country event last Wednesday. For the first time we competed in the A
division at this meet against schools that are much larger than ours. We placed fourth
against three larger schools. This is a great achievement for all especially the Junior boys
team who took first place, and the Junior girls who took second place. Other place getters
were Kirby (3 Blue), Emma (7 Blue) and Naomi (5-6 White). Most of
our runners placed in the top 10-20% of the field. This is a great effort.
Our smaller team of runners for the Zone 2 St Edward's cross country will continue to train
for the race on May 31st. There will be a few changes to the published team as a result of the
runners' performance at St Anthony's and in training. ALL students are still welcome to come and train in the mornings, regardless of whether you are in the team. We have many students who have been training for their own fitness levels. This is a very
responsible approach to fitness.
TRAINING continues this Thursday and Friday mornings. We will be training next week on
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings at the usual time. We expect all
runners to attend at least 2 sessions per week.
CONGRATULATIONS to Emma and Naomi for their selections into the Lytton District
team for cross-country to compete at the Met East trials next Tuesday. Good luck girls.
CONGRATULATIONS to Dominic (2 Blue) on his performance in the triathlon held last weekend. Completing this multi-sport event is a great achievement.
P&F News
(please refer to newsletter for all the P&F News)
Woolworths Earn and Learn
St Thomas' is participating in the promotion again this year. Last year we were able to obtain some terrific electronics and science equipment for free from everyone's enthusiasm and assistance. It is even easier this year. See this week's newsletter for more details on how your family can get involved starting from the 9th of May.
Preserves Stall 2012
The St Thomas' Olympic Fete day is less than 5 weeks away, and the Preserves
stall is in need of small clean jars (with labels removed please). Please leave jars at
the office in boxes or bags labelled 'Preserves'.
If you are willing to bake a batch of jam or chutney to contribute to the fete, there are a few
recipe ideas below. You'll be surprised how easy it is to make preserves!
Basic Microwave Jam: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/13312/basic+microwave+jam+recipe
Lemon Butter: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-butter/
Beetroot Relish: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/15010/beetroot+relish
Basil Pesto: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/128/basil+pesto
Garden Relish: http://southernfood.about.com/od/picklesrelishes/r/r90707a.htm
The Faranda family have generously offered to donate the fruit and vegetables needed to
make Preserves, so please let us know which ingredients you require. If you are able to
assist, please contact Clare Schwantes at clareschwantes@gmail.com or on 0412 767 156.
Pre-loved Clothing Stall
Please keep your Pre-loved clothes coming. We are after quality, Women's, Men's and
Children's items. Please deliver your treasures to the balcony of the new school hall. A sign will be placed at the drop off
point. Many thanks.
For any queries about the fete, or offers to help out, please contact Dimity-Anne stthomasfete@gmail.com
The Prime Minister’s Olympic Challenge
This is a sporting challenge based on accumulated activity time and the number of sports children undertake. The Challenge will run from 28th May, 2012 until the close of the Olympics on 12th August, 2012 and Paralympics on 9th September, 2012. Register today as an “Individual Participant” at www.olympicchallenge.gov.au or www.paralympicchallenge.gov.au
Calling all St. Thomas' Grade 1 Students of 1962 A reunion is being planned but we need help to locate everyone in the group first. So if you are still in touch with, or know the whereabouts of, any of your old Grade 1 classmates we'd appreciate you asking them to contact us. Venue and date to be confirmed.
Contact: Jane Clarke 0409 621 836 janebike101@gmail.com or bqinfo@bq.org.au
Paula Pettett (nee Kirchner) ppettett@bigpond.net.au OR Peter Doyle fourdoyl@bigpond.net.au
Parish News
Sacraments of Initiation for Baptised Children
If you are considering presenting your child/ren for further Sacraments (Confirmation and
Eucharist) this year, please ensure that your inquiry is directed to the Parish Office by 19th
May. A form for your completion is available on the Parish website
www.catholicsonthehill.org.au
In 2011 and again this year, the dates of the sacramental process were and are being
determined by the availability of the church. The Sacrament of
Confirmation is currently expected to be celebrated in the Parish on Sunday 9th September. First Holy Communion will be celebrated in late October. It is hoped that the first session for parents
and children will be held on Saturday afternoon, 2nd June.
Parents who have expressed interest will be contacted by mail when all dates are confirmed.
Check out the most recent newsletter for all the latest news!
