From the Principal's Desk

Dear Parents, Caregivers, Staff and Students,

Pope Francis celebrated the first-ever World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly on Sunday July 25, 2021.  He elevated a theme that he has sought to promote since his inauguration homily as Pope in 2013, when he said one of the duties of being a Christian is protecting the elderly.  Earlier this year, when he announced the establishment of the special day, Francis said, "The Holy Spirit still stirs up thoughts and words of wisdom in the elderly today.  Their voice is precious because it sings the praises of God and safeguards the roots of peoples.  They remind us that old age is a gift and that grandparents are the link between generations, passing on the experience of life and faith to the young."   We have chosen Friday 13 August to honour our grandparents!  A special invitation was sent out to all families this week and we hope to have many of our grandparents attend, beginning at the church for the 9.00am Mass with all our students, followed by a visit to their grandchildren's classrooms and then  to the Ahern Centre for  a special sit down morning tea.  We look forward to spending the morning with some very special people!

In response to some of the feedback and suggestions by parents and caregivers on the recent Community Survey we have connected with three companies offering a varied range of interesting extra curricular activities for the students.  Each company has their own: fee schedule paid directly to the individual business, a set day and times for their activity.  This will all be included in the information that will be sent out to parents next week.  Information for signing students up to participate will be dealt with directly with the businesses.  Some of the activities have a minimum or maximum number of participants each week so if you are interested it is best that you sign up as soon as possible. This semester we are looking to offer: 1. Bricks4kids - PrePrimary to Year 6 - "Our programs allow kids to embrace their creativity and build exciting LEGO® models from a series of project kits and proprietary model plans."  2. Music Rocks Australia Year 1 to 6 "Where students experience a range of instruments, with the program  built around developing students confidence and providing an opportunity for students to play multiple instruments." - 3. Pro Football Training, PrePrimary to Year 6 - "Each session children will be learning new techniques within the game of football and also finish the school day in a positive manner having been engaged in a fun and positive environment."  

To find out more about our school, and to take a walk through to experience all the wonderful facilities we have, we are offering a guided School Tour for all new and  prospective parents to take a good look around. If you know of anyone who might be interested please direct them to the school website, as all the information is there on our Home Page.

The Australian Census on 10 August 2021 will provide a snapshot of who Australians are and what is important to us.  The census is a key tool that government uses to determine how organisations, schools, church ministries and community groups are prioritised, funded and empowered to best operate in our State.  If your faith is important to you or if you identify with Christian values, please use your voice in the Australian census when asked your religion.  This is an important opportunity to demonstrate the significance of faith-based families in our West Australian community and will support endeavours to secure equitable access to opportunities and resources.

Mrs Jane Evans has been instrumental in beginning the transformation of  the seat in the Year 3 Breezeway  to a designated "Buddy Bench" area!  Teachers shared some of the following information with their students about the relevance and reasons for the buddy bench. "Just remember, when we fill someone else's Invisible Bucket up, (being kind, caring and thoughtful), we fill our own Bucket too!  Be a Good Friend. Ask them to join you in a game, think about how you can help them feel better and have fun! If anyone is feeling a little lonely and wanting someone to play with, if they go and sit on the Buddy Bench soon enough, some kind-hearted friend will come along, sit and talk with them and invite them to play..... or just sit and chat!"

Around this time of the year, we have the opportunity to participate in the Catholic Performing Arts, a wonderful festival that is held every year.  This year our choir, under the direction of Mrs Beth Plint,  will be participating in the Primary Sacred Choral Music section on Monday 16 August.  All choir members' families have been sent the specific information about purchasing tickets along with the venue and times so they are able to attend and enjoy the performances as well.  I look forward to seeing some of you there to enjoy the choirs. We have three other schools participating in our section, Holy Cross Junior School in Ellenbrook,  Xavier Catholic School in Hilbert and Yidarra Catholic Primary School in Bateman.

You may have noticed a change to our website with our policy page now referring to Catholic Education Western Australia Ltd Policies. The purpose of this is to create clear consistent messaging on one platform with the embedded policy hub being a ‘one stop shop’ for all community members regardless of which Catholic school they attend. This page will continue to contain the most up-to-date policies and executive directives for your easy reference. The inclusion of this page does not in any way affect our current school operations and our school policies will be reviewed and transitioned to school-based procedures in due course.

Wishing you God’s blessings

Andrea Millar