St. Thomas Aquinas Message From The Principal – Newsletter April 2026

From The Principal’s Desk

The colder weather reminds us that seasons come and go. Life also unfolds in seasons. Each season brings its own beauty, purpose and time for renewal.

After many years of serving the St Thomas Aquinas School Community, I will be retiring at the end of this year – stepping into a new season of rest, reflection and new beginnings.

It has been a privilege to journey alongside our learners, staff and parents – watching growth, celebrating achievements and weathering challenges together.

Just as the changing seasons make way for fresh opportunities, I am confident that our school will continue to flourish and thrive for many, many more years to come.

Bring a friend or relative to our Open Day,
so that they can experience and see for themselves what our RECIPE for success is. The main ingredients in our recipe are:

• Quality teaching
• Experienced and qualified educators
• Amazing learners
• Supportive parents
• Discipline
• Values
• Catholic Christian ethos
• Sport and culture
• Support and care

Breadtags

Breadtags make a difference

The Sweethearts Foundation 2025 School Challenge invites schools across South Africa to collect bread tags and plastic bottle tops to help fund wheelchairs for people in need – turning everyday recycling into life-changing mobility.

As part of the challenge, participating schools stood a chance to win a picnic bench sponsored by My Waste, made entirely from recycled materials.

To qualify, schools were challenged to collect at least ten 5-litre bottles of bread tags or ten boxes of bottle tops. We are proud to share that in December 2025, our school was announced as one of the top nine schools to successfully meet this challenge. St Thomas Aquinas School placed 7 overall, collecting an impressive 60 litres (12 bottles of bread tags. By February 2026, the campaign had successflully funded 50 wheelchairs through collective national efforts – an achievement to which our school is proud to have contributed.

Our picnic bench arrived last week and has already become a popular spot for learners to sit and enjoy.

St Thomas Aquinas School has supported this initiative for several years and is now officially registered as a collection point. We encourage all members of our school community to continue supporting this meaningful cause by sending bread tags and bottle tops to school. Every contribution makes a difference in improving someone’s quality of life.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Mrs C Mielke

Clothes to good

Please support our Clothes to good campaign.

Collect a green bag from Mrs Deiner and put old clothes and shoes inside with your
name. The bag must be full upon return. On 19 May we will hand over all the green bags and each child will receive a spekboom and a 15% discount voucher on one item at H & M.

The companies’ aim is to support people to exit from poverty, to create inclusion for people with disabilities and to care for the
environment.

The clothes will be sorted and then recycled. Clothes can either be upcycled, downcycled or recycled. Let’s make a difference!

Spekboom

Spekboom – also known as elephant bush. It has environmental advantages:

It absorbs carbon dioxide by helping to fight climate change. It is waterwise and drought resistant Easy to grow and maintain Edible and nutritious

Clothes to good Our aim is to collect more than 400 green bags on or before 19 May.

Celebrating Our School Community

Netball Trials in Nelspruit.

Fatima Manafi and Musa Tshabalala went through to to the second round
of netball trials in Nelspruit on 27 April. We are elated to announce that
Musa was chosen for the Mpumalanga team. Well done!

Amantle Kgatitsoe, her mom and Mrs Lange were invited to lunch with Dr Emmanuel Taban and his family on Saturday, 25 April in Pretoria. Amantle
received a signed copy of Dr Taban’s book – The boy who never gave up.

What an incredible experience and privilege to meet him.

Well done to Orapeleng Ntsheroa and Naledi Mathabatha who made the Mpumalanga Hockey team! So proud of you! 

Jordan Daly was selected to play for the Mpumalanga u/12A boys hockey team. Well done!

Snethemba Seloga has been selected to play for the u/13 Kiwi regional hockey team.

Our Open Boys hockey team has been blessed in abundance with a new hockey kit, water bottle and a hockey bag. A big shoutout to Mr and Mrs Nchabeleng for the kit and the waterbottle and to Kutlwano for the sponsorship of the bags.

Your support means a lot to our school community.

Mental awareness can be described as being self-aware, being able to pay attention to your thoughts, emotions, and reactions in real time, while not reacting or judging them immediately. It is essentially paying attention to whay is happening internally.

What does mental awareness look like in practice?

You are able to notice things around you when you are feeling anxious. You do not
react impulsively. 

When you are mentally aware, you recognise your negative thought patterns such as overthinking or doubting yourself.

Another practical way of being mentally aware is pausing before responding when faced with a stressful situation.

Lastly, being aware of how your body feels is another way of being mentally aware. Is your body tense?

Are you feeling fatigued?
Are you calm?

Why does mental awareness
matter?

It matters because: it helps you be better at
controlling your emotions. It also assists you in making decisions clearly. It reduces your anxiety and stress, and it improves your relationships with others because you learn how to respond instead of react. How do you build mental awareness? Focus on your breathing for a few minutes.

Write down your thoughts in a journal, this will help you see the patterns. Pause and check in with yourself – what am I currently feeling or thinking?

Being mentally aware means that negative thought do not control you and that you are able to handle them better, more intentionally.

Siena Feast day
Catherine of Siena (1347 – 1380) was an influential Italian mystic, write and religious reformer. She devoted her life to spirituality from a young age and became a member of the Dominican lay order. Her fame lies in her deep mystical experiences, her commitment to help the poor and sick and her bold involvement in church politics. She is a symbol of faith, courage and dedication to serve others.
Happy Siena Feast day 29 April!