Mon 21 Sep - Mercy Fete Day

Tues 22 Sep - Interschool Jumps and Throws Carnival Yr 3-6 (no parents)

Wed 23 Sep - Interschool Athletics Carnival Yr 3-6

Wed 23 - Fri 25 Sep - 'The Studio' Open Sessions - Parents invited. Please see further in Newsletter for open times.

Fri 25 Sep - Last day of Term 3 for students

Mon 12 Oct - Term 4 commences for students

Please check the community calendar for future dates as the calendar is regularly updated.

https://www.padcath.wa.edu.au/community-calendar

Dear Parents

We will be celebrating the Sacraments of Penance (First Reconciliation) and Confirmation next term. Please keep the Year Three and Year Six children in your prayers as they commence their sacramental preparation.

As part of our Strategic Plan and Annual School Improvement Plan we have a focus on enriching the Mercy charism at PCPS. The first Principal at our school was Sister Carmel Wringe and she is a Mercy nun. This is where our Mercy ethos originates.

On our last pupil free day, I ran a professional development day with the staff exploring - what Mercy means, what it means to be a Mercy school, the Mercy values and how to bring these to life in our personal lives and school community. We explored the life of Catherine McAuley (who founded the Sisters of Mercy) and the Mercy Work social justice, mission programme. On Monday we will be fundraising for Mercy Works (a charity branch of the Mercy Sisters).

Our Year Six students are busy preparing the Celebration Day to which all year levels are invited to take part. Kindy will have their Celebration Days on Tue/Wed and will enjoy activities run by our budding Yr 5 leaders.

On Friday we will be celebrating Mercy Week with a Liturgy of the Word in the morning and teaching the children about the Mercy Values, Mercy Works and sharing the life story of Catherine McAuley. In the middle block of the day classes will be buddying up with another year level to do some work on a specific Mercy Value and after lunch there will be a sharing of what the children learnt about their Mercy Value via our live stream assembly.

Mercy Values

Daily we strive to live out the values outlined by the Sisters of Mercy:

Mercy: Be thoughtful, warm and respectful in all you do and say

Compassion: Show you care for others in your words and actions

Justice: Treat everyone fairly and equally

Dignity: Show respect to everyone – we are all made in the image of God

Excellence: Always be your best and do your best

Hospitality: Be welcoming, friendly and inclusive in all you say and do

Stewardship: Let us take care of everything God has given us

Service: Make a positive difference in the life of others

To celebrate our new art space ‘The Studio’, we will be hosting some open mornings/afternoons in the last week of the term for parents to come and view the space and the wonderful art pieces your children have been working on. Mrs Randazzo goes on maternity leave as of the end of this term. We wish her all the best on the birth of her second child and will wait to hear the exciting news next term!

Last week was busy with the Athletics Carnival. I would like to thank Mr Hignett for all his great work in organising the carnival and working with the Leadership Team to ensure this could go ahead with some restrictions and protocols in place. Thank you to those parents who were able to help out earlier in the weekly with jumps and throws, it was very much appreciated. Thank you to Mrs Marnie Cooper for organising the sale of coloured hairspray/zinc stall last week. Thank you to everyone for your support in this as the money raised will go towards SunSmart projects at our school.

Last year the Year Four classes at PCPS learnt about Aboriginal Peoples’ history in an Integrated Learning Unit drawing from the Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS), English, Science, Music and Art curricula. The central idea of the unit was based on the NAIDOC 2019 theme: ‘Voice Treaty Truth’. The children presented a fantastic exhibition in our School Hall to display the outcome of all their learning activities. There was music, artwork, Dreaming stories, a comparison of the geographical and spiritual aspects of Uluru, a persuasive text on contemporary issues from an Aboriginal People’s perspective and an investigation drawn from the book “Young Dark Emu” and more! Ms Isobel Bevis and Mrs Sharon Davis from the CEWA Aboriginal Education Team were our special guests at this exhibition. Mrs Davis said ‘…was the best practice in embedding Aboriginal perspectives across the curriculum, that I have seen since I started at CEWA in 2015. Congratulations! I just wanted to let you know that our hearts are full and we are so proud of what your school is doing, moving beyond the Aboriginal Education Improvement map and taking a leap of faith in the Perspectives Priority area’.

As such we have entered the Quality Catholic Education Awards for 2020. Fingers crossed. Mrs Barry has also been featured in a discussion paper, Indigenous cultural competency in the Australian teaching workforce. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/comms/cultural-competency/aitsl-indigenous-cultural-competency-discussion-paper-2020.pdf?sfvrsn=6bf9d03c_2

Any fee increases at PCPS, like other Catholic schools, are made within limits set by our governing body, the Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia (CECWA), with affordability in mind. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the current recession, CECWA decided in their September meeting that Catholic schools would not increase fees for 2021. Some families may have been affected financially by the events of this year and the state of the economy, and this decision seeks to provide some certainty and support during a challenging time. Fees for third party may be subject to fee increases as these are external providers eg occupational/speech therapy, excursions, graduation, mathletics, student insurance, swimming lessons, camp, diary etc.

I would like to say a big thank you to all the parents who have written some lovely, heart warning emails and notes to me throughout the term or spoken to me personally. Your words of support on the great programmes we have at PCPS, your appreciation and praise of the staff and the Leadership Team and your expressed gratitude for the wonderful pastoral care for your children etc, is very much appreciated. I really enjoy receiving these emails and notes, thank you for taking the time to let us know how you feel as it means a lot to the Leadership Team and our hard working staff. Our school motto of ‘Love One Another’ continues to shine!

This will be the last newsletter for the term so I wish you all a wonderful holiday, enjoying this beautiful spring weather with your families and friends.

Mrs Margaret Williamson

Principal

In the first 2 weeks of Term 4 we will be doing a uniform blitz of all Year 1 - 6 students. If students have incorrect uniform items they will be given a Uniform Infringement Notice which parents will need to sign and return to school. Please note that correct uniform includes having the correct PCPS school bag.

We thank you for your support.

Mondays - 1M, 2PH, 4WvB, 5W, 6R & 3H

Thursdays - 1B, PPC, PPW, 2V, 5D, 6T, 3B & 4B

The end of year EduDance performances will be determined by COVID restrictions.

Mr Ryan von Bergheim & Mrs Loretta Hutcheson

Assistant Principals

In celebration of the new Arts Program at Padbury Catholic Primary School we would like to invite you to take a tour of the new Arts space, ‘The Studio.’ The Studio is located in the middle block next to the Year 4 classrooms.

Due to Covid restrictions, we will be hosting an open doors tour over a few days in week 10, this way we are able to minimise mass numbers attending at the one time. We would like to encourage family members to walk through this space and view some of the master pieces the students have created in Art, this term.

Opening Times

Wednesday 23rd September

8:15am-9am

2:30-3:30 pm

Thursday 24th September

8:15am-9am

2:30-3:30 pm

Friday 25th September

8:15am-9am

We look forward to seeing you in week 10.

Week 10 is also Mercy Week. In the spirit of the Mercy tradition and there will be a donation box placed at all doors, please feel free to make a gold coin donation which we will send off to Mercy Works (Mercy social justice programme).

Kind regards

Mrs Alicia Randazzo

Art/Drama Teacher

Year 4 Lego Masters

For the past fortnight the Year 4 children having been competing to be the Lego Masters of the school. Our winners had to design and build an amusement park themed creation. The winners were Elijah, Jack, Noah and Ben in the first week and Logan, Anthony, Evan and Cosi in the second week. Congratulations everyone for a huge effort. It was great to see how creative Year 4 children can be!

Mrs Barry, Mrs Woodall & Mr von Bergheim

Performing Arts Festival.

🎭 Due to the unusual circumstances this year, the Performing Arts Festival offered online entries only. Whilst nothing can compare to performing live on stage, it was wonderful to see some of our talented students take up the offer to perform online.

Congratulations to the parents for sending in the very “professional “ videos, you made my work a lot easier.

Class entries included Christian Dance, Sacred Singing, Choral Singing and Percussion. We have amazing class teachers and education assistants that share their talents to bring out the very best in the students.

Congratulations to all the students involved, your participation and enthusiasm is the best!

YEAR 4 School Online Talent Quest.

Year 4 students are invited to send me a video of their talent to be viewed by a panel of Year 6 judges. Entries may be emailed to me or put on to their class Seesaw. The closing date has been extended to Monday 21st September.

Mrs Sylvia Grigoroff-Cusack

Music Teacher 🎶

Boy Choir...Tuesdays...8:15am in the hall.🎶 All Boys welcome in years 3,4, 5 and 6.

Girl Choir ...Wednesdays...8:15am in the hall.🎶 All Girls welcome in years 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Mrs Sylvia Grigoroff-Cusack

Music Teacher

This week I would like to introduce you to a wonderful online resource for parents - Susan McLean: Cyber Safety Expert. Susan is an expert in the area of Cyber Safety and was a member of Victoria Police for over 20 years. She is widely known as 'The Cyber Cop' and was the first Victorian Police Officer appointed to a position involving cyber safety and young people.

Susan has a facebook page in which she regularly shares informative tips, articles and resources with parents. Her posts can at times be confronting, however Susan aims to equip parents with the resources and knowledge to help manage their children's online activities.

I personally follow Susan online, and regularly find her posts very informative, and often eye-opening.

I encourage you to like/follow Susan's page on Facebook (link below) as well to keep you up to date with what is currently happening in the online world of our children.

https://www.facebook.com/Susan-Mclean-Cyber-Safety-Expert-218135944902739

Mr von Bergheim

Assistant Principal

• Resist the urge to step in and solve friendship problems. Children need to learn to solve their own problems. Brainstorm possible solutions with your children and let them try them out.
• Encourage positive thinking – “tell me two good things that happened today,” instead of “did ….. play with you?” Children need to learn that life doesn’t always run smoothly but if we look for it there are always positives. With practice positive thinking will become a way of life.
• Reinforce the need to speak with a staff member if there is an issue at school with a friend. Kids forget very quickly and it is impossible to adequately resolve a friendship issue a day later.
• A great response when your child retells a friendship issue is to ask “what adult did you speak with about this?” If the issue is genuinely important most kids will stop playing and seek out an adult. If they choose not to seek out an adult perhaps the issue wasn’t as important as they are now presenting it to be. In this case your answer may be something like, “that wasn’t a nice way for someone to treat you. I hope you never do that to someone. You know you can ask a teacher for help when these things happen”.
• Or it may be that a child lacks the confidence to speak with an adult about their concerns. In this instance we need to help them develop this confidence.
• The ultimate aim is to give kids the skills to deal independently with others. They will come across all types of people during their lives and they won’t always have us there to support and champion for them.

Mrs Ali Fisher

Social Worker

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Rev Fr Cyprian M Shikokoti - PP

Our Lady of the Mission, Whitford Parish

Website : www.olm.myparish.net.au

24:7 Whitfords Youth Group ONLINE

For all youth in Years 6-12

Every 1st, 3rd and 5th Fridays 7pm-8:30pm @ 24:7 Whitfords Online (Messenger Group Chat).

Coming up: 24:7 Whitfords Online Youth Group: Mental Well-being, THIS FRIDAY! (Last Online Youth Group)

www.247youthministry.org