St Luke's Catholic Primary School
Newsletter - Term 2, Issue 5 , 20 May 2021
IMPORTANT DATES
As calendar dates can be subject to change, please always confirm events by checking our website - https://www.stlukeswoodvale.wa.edu.au/community-calendar
21 May
- Merit Award Assembly
26 May
- National Sorry Day Assembly 11am
28 May
- Merit Award Assembly
- Cross Country PP - 6
Please note that the 4th of June is a PUPIL FREE DAY!
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Lord, we thank You for the transforming work of Your Holy Spirit in our lives and through our lives toward others. We thank You that You have given us boldness to proclaim the Gospel. Remind us to use Your power to do the work You have given us. Amen.
The book of Acts was written by Luke. In the book of Acts there are two main themes that run throughout the book. They are that we are called to be witnesses of Christ (31 times), and the continual role of the Holy Spirit in our lives which is referenced 56 times.
I think it’s generally true that people are always looking to improve, to change their lives for the better. That’s why the self help section of the book store has grown so big. That’s also why there are so many commercials for diet and exercise products – lots of people out there trying to change their appearance for the better. People want to be changed for the better.
God is interested in change. He’s interested in changing you. When looking at Pentecost, and at what happened on Pentecost many years ago, we see that God changed many people’s lives. And as we learn about these things, we will see that God is also interested in changing us - there are certain things about us that God wants to change. What are those things? And how does God plan to do that? We will find the answers as we study God’s Word.
There were two major changes that took place on Pentecost. The first change was what happened to the disciples. If you are familiar with the Scriptures, you know that the disciples believed in Jesus as their Saviour, but they were still very confused about all kinds of different things. They still didn’t fully understand Jesus’ mission, why he had come to earth. They were still wondering if Jesus would be an earthly king. They were confused, and as a result, they were timid. They had thought he was going into Jerusalem to straighten things out and take over the world basically. As we know, Christ went into Jerusalem and was killed instead. He of course rose from the grave three days later, and then ascended into Heaven a while after that, saying he would send someone to them after he was gone. So the disciples were pretty confused. They weren’t confident about sharing the Gospel with others. How could they be, if they didn’t fully understand what it meant?
But then Pentecost came. The disciples were together, when the sound of a blowing wind came down from heaven. What seemed to be tongues of fire settled on their heads. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in foreign languages they had never learned before. A crowd gathered, people from all over the world, and that crowd listened as the disciples praised God and preached the Gospel. The Apostle Peter stood up and addressed the crowd – he gave a beautiful sermon that God the Holy Spirit inspired him to preach, a sermon that converted nearly 3000 people in one day.
There were changes that took place on Pentecost. No longer were the disciples confused. Now they understood the plan of salvation completely. No longer were they timid. Now, they were confident, speaking publicly. Think about Peter – two months earlier he was so afraid that he denied Jesus three times. Now he was speaking to the crowd with confidence and understanding that he had never had before.
There was another change that took place on Pentecost, and you could argue that this change was more spectacular than what happened to the disciples. After Peter preached his sermon on Pentecost, 3000 people came to faith and were baptized. We don’t know much about these people. The Holy Spirit was the one who converted those 3000 people that day. Now these people knew how to get to heaven. Now they knew that they were at peace with God. Now they knew that Jesus was their Saviour.
Pentecost can be summed up in one word, and I believe that word is change. We see the change that took place in the disciples, and the change that took place in those 3000 people. Our world today needs change. There are so many people who do not believe in Jesus Christ. And there are so many Christians who are like those disciples were before Pentecost – confused, weak, timid. We need the Holy Spirit to come to us and change us.
Our problem is, we don’t think we need to be changed. “I’m alright the way I am,” we say to ourselves. “What do I need to change about myself?” The answer is, a lot. Yes, it’s true, we are Christians, but we still have sinful habits that we don’t want to get rid of. We still have moments when we are selfish. We still have moments when we completely misunderstand what God is telling us in the Bible. We still have moments when we fail to share our faith because we’re too timid. We still need to become more and more the people that God wants us to be. We need to be Jesus-like people doing Jesus-like things.
How does a person change their soul? You can’t do it by trying to be a better person. That’s like saying that there is something wrong with my car, but I’ll try to change that by being a better driver. You need someone to work on your engine, your soul. But the thing is, your soul is too complicated for you to fix yourself. You need someone to fix it for you. And that someone is the Holy Spirit.
Am I prepared to allow the Holy Spirit to change me?
Am I prepared to completely surrender to God and allow Him to be the one who guides me in all my thoughts and decisions?
Am I prepared to be changed?
Science of Reading Parent Workshop
Thank you to the many parents who attended the workshop last night. Jenny Baker, (Senior Speech Pathologist) spoke in detail how children learn to read using the evidence backed up by neuroscience. This has become our source of change for teachers at St Luke’s in how we drive our literacy learning throughout the school.
I am also pleased to note that we have secured Jenny Baker to screen all our kindy and pre-primary children this year, and in the future. It was an informative night and I thank the parents who were able to attend to hear this important information.
Current changes to our classes:
K-2 Classes
The implementation of the Heggerty Program
Diana Rigg Scope and Sequence of the teaching of Phonological Awareness and Phonics
https://pld-literacy.org/what-is-the-evidence-base-for-pld/
The introduction of Decodables Readers instead of PM Benchmark Readers
3-6 Classes
Fluency Accuracy, appropriate rate and good expression (prosody) Focus
https://www.speechsoundpics.com/science-of-reading-cheat-sheet
Word Vocabulary Focus
http://www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/Articles/Build-your-childs-vocabulary.aspx
PARKING REMINDERS
I wish to remind parents to please do the right thing when parking on surrounding verges or in front of resident’s homes. While I know that majority of our parents do the right thing with respect to following the correct procedures in parking when picking up their children, we do have some parents who unfortunately at times, choose to park illegally. I have been notified that the City of Joondalup may do an impromptu visit to ensure that road rule regulations are followed at all times.
The same reminder is for parents who choose to park in the carpark bay in front of the school’s administration. Please consider others. During the times of 2.30pm and 3.15pm, the carpark is for drive through. These measures are in place to ensure safety for all concerned. I thank you for your patience and understanding.
NATIONAL SIMULTANEOUS READING DAY
I was delighted to be able to read the book ‘Give Me Some Space’ by Philip Bunting. National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. Now in its 21st successful year, it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children's book that explores age-appropriate themes, and addresses key learning areas of the National Curriculum for Foundation to Year 6.
Friday Jeans Day for Staff
Some parents may have noticed that on Friday’s our staff are wearing their jeans to school. The purpose of Jeans Day Friday is to raise money and awareness for the amazing charity group ‘Brother Ollie’s Wheelchair for Kids’. All proceeds will be donated to him personally at the end of the term. Our Year One students will have the opportunity to work with Brother Ollie in the coming months. This is part of their service commitment for the year.
Have an incredible weekend, filled with lots of love and laughter.
God Bless,
Mrs Maura Killalea
ACTING PRINCIPAL
MESSAGE FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS
Cyber Safety and Digital Wellness Junior Parent Workshop
WE HAVE A NEW DATE! Please place the 15th of June in your diaries for this worthwhile parent workshop. Thank you to our incredible P&F who are sponsoring this event so that parents can attend for free. We look forward to seeing you all there. Please RSVP by clicking here.
GRIP Student Leadership Conference
Jill Pollard took the Student Council to the GRIP Leadership Conference at the Perth Convention Centre today. The students were able to meet other leaders from different schools across the state to share their leadership talents and experiences. The key takeaways from today's conference was that God gave everyone different skills, talents and attributes. We need to know that when it's our time to share these talents, 'I need to put my own hand up, and be ready for when it's my time to lead'.
I loved the math game, I almost won! - Spencer Sharp
My favourite thing about today was meeting other kids in other schools and sharing our ideas. - Emilia Spiteri
I enjoyed meeting new people and sharing ideas and our talents. - Lachlan Moses
School Photos
School photos will be held on Friday the 11th June and Monday 14th June. 3P photography will be facilitating this day for us. A scheduled roster is below:
FRIDAY 11th JUNE
MONDAY 14TH JUNE
Please note there will be a TSH photo taken on Monday 14th June
first thing in the morning also.
Helping Your Daughter Navigate Friendships Webinar
Monday 31st May @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm AEST
In this webinar Michelle Mitchell and Linda Stade will address the most common of all girl challenges – relational aggression, and how it surfaces in the playground. They will discuss frenemies, exclusion, gossip, the silent treatment, belittling and conditional friendship. Together they hope to help you dial down the drama and replace it with a framework of empowerment.
Click here for more information
Staff Spotlight!
"I’m a mad Essendon Bombers fan and hope they don’t go another 15 years without winning a final.
Interesting fact: I was a TV reporter in Queensland for a little while.
Sport: I’ve played soccer (not very well) all my life and play basketball with friends regularly.
Favourite food: Just like Garfield I am obsessed with lasagne.
Travel: I have studied a little bit in Italy and vacationed in Greece."
If you see Mr Farsalas around the school make sure you say 'Ciao' and see how many goals he kicked on the weekend!
If you have some great news to share or any achievements, we would love to hear from you so that we can share it in our newsletter: sarah.williams@cewa.edu.au
Have a fabulous week!
Sarah Williams & Justin Kirry
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS
merit awards
Congratulations to this week's Merit Award winners:
PPB
Brooklyn Shrimp
Liam Norman
Adalita Neale
PPW
James McMullen
Imogen Whitby
Audrey Isaac
1B
Olivia Casotti
Gabriel Cifelli
Mira McCombe-Haney
1W
Sophie Alen-Hall
Lucas Andrews
Quinn Johnson
2B
Audrey Miller
Jackson Tait
Elaria Saad
2W
Scarlett Stampalia
Claudia McFadden
Ryan Rowe
3B
Scarlett Holst
Amelia Acosta
Bryce Proud
3W
Mia Shepherd
Aliera Ridley
Andre Kallis
4B
Katie Firth
Ryan Lynch
4W
Coen McCombe-Haney
Ada de Luca
Maddison McFadden
5B
Jackson Blackshaw
Milana Cattaruzza
Kieran Lydon
5W
Orley Green
Florence Roach
Lara Logan
6B
Finley Simms
Paige Bartlett
Luca Orifici
6W
Joshua Proud
Molly Nolan
Xavier Geneve
ART
Olivia Matthews
Elaria Saad
Inter House Cross Country
Next Friday, the 28th of May we have our Cross Country Carnival at St Luke’s. This event runs throughout the day with Pre-Primary to Year 6 participating. The top 6 girl and boy runners from Years 3 – 6 will be asked to participate in the Inter School Cross Country later on in the term. Can I ask that all students please wear their faction sports uniform on this day.
Parents are most welcome to come along and cheer on the students throughout the day. I will be requiring some helpers to assist the students, especially the younger ones, around the course. If you are able or wanting to help out please email Emily.rasmussen@cewa.edu.au
Medals will be presented for 1st, 2nd & 3rd from Year 1 – 6 at the next assembly on the 11th of June. It will be a fantastic day for the students full of fun and an emphasis on trying their best.
Hope to see you there!
Emily Rasmussen (Miss R)
SPORT TEACHER
UNIFORM SHOP Volunteers needed
Due to an increase in the number of online orders the uniform shop is looking for volunteers to help deliver orders on Thursday afternoons.
Volunteers would need to arrive at the uniform shop by 2:15pm to collect orders and deliver them to the classrooms by 2:30pm. If you are able to help please let me know via email at 8790svc_uniform@cewa.edu.au
Thanks
Jodi Lyra
Sustainability
We are collecting bread bags and bread tags (any brand) for the chance to win playground equipment for our school. A box will be appearing shortly outside the Library but please bring any bread bags and tags to the Science room in the meantime.
Please also check out this wonderful initiative within our parent community: www.fieldandfeather.com.au They are offering a wonderful promotion to our St Luke's families. Please see the flier below.
Tania Farcich
SUSTAINABILITY
P&F NEWS
What a wonderful school event we had last Friday with the Mother’s Day BBQ!
Thank you staff and the many volunteers for showing so much love to our mothers and women in our lives who look after us. The food was exceptional as was the coffee van!
Father Son Camp
As advertised last week, the Father Son Camp has been rescheduled to 25– 27 June. This year we are trying a new online booking system for this event. Spots are limited, so to secure your place, please click on the link below to register. Once registered you will receive an automatic reply which will direct you to our payment method. YOUR SPOT IS ONLY CONFIRMED ONCE PAYMENT HAS BEEN RECEIVED.
Thanks to Paul Murphy for putting on such a wonderful weekend for our school families.
Please note: Children attending the camp must be currently attending St Luke’s Primary School, siblings who are no longer attending St Luke’s Primary School are not permitted to attend.
Click here to register for the camp
Kangaroo Café
Kangaroo Café is bounding along this term and for those wanting to order food for their little Joeys please have your order in by Thursday, 11pm for the following Monday. If you need to cancel your order ON THE MORNING of canteen (Mondays) please text Mez on 0401 000 916. Do not email the office. Thanks again, Mez and your volunteers for serving our school through the Kangaroo Café.
COMMUNITY NEWS
MUSIC TUITION
Music tuition in Term 2 will be offered in guitar, piano, flute, violin and cello through Keyed Up Music at St Luke’s. Lessons can be arranged during school time or after school where available. To enrol your child, please visit www.keyedupmusic.com.au and fill out the online enrolment form. Information regarding lessons and fees can be found on the website.
Drums continue to be taught by Mr Christian Lombardi 0451 422 769 cjlombardi@hotmail.com