Dear parents and caregivers,

There is nothing better than the cold mornings that follow with lovely warm sunshine. Apart from the large downpour on Wednesday, the weather has been great! Pyjama Day on Thursday was a great fundraising event for LifeLink and all staff and students enjoyed coming to school in their pyjamas! Let's be honest there is nothing better than coming to school in your uggboots!

It was my privilege to attend the Year One Liturgy on Wednesday. Despite the weather, the Year One students were joined by parents, grandparents, siblings and the Year Two students. The students read and sang beautifully! Thank you to Miss Baxter and Mrs Lawrence for preparing our students so well and to Father Peter for joining us on the day.

On Wednesday night we held a Mater Dei College Parent Information Session. Mrs Annette Moray (Principal) and Mr John Laurito (Vice Principal) spoke with parents from St Elizabeth’s and St Anthony’s about information about Secondary Education and the opportunities on offer at Mater Dei College. For any parents that were unable to attend, information can be found on the Mater Dei College website https://mdc.wa.edu.au/

You may have noticed that a beautiful, sacred space is being created in the bush between the admin building and the office. This area is a dedicated space for students, staff and classes to visit and reflect on the wonder of God’s creation or simply an area to just sit and be one with nature. Mrs Curtis has received funding for native plants to be planted in this area to add to the natural surroundings. Thank you to the staff who have put time into creating this area.

Due to the Cross Country being held on Thursday June 8 we have made a change to the Assembly roster. There will be no Assembly in Week 7 with it being moved to Week 10, Thursday June 29. The focus of this Assembly will be NAIDOC Week with our Year Six students facilitating.

Servite Day will be recognised on Thursday, June 15. This year we will be teaming up with the St Anthony of Padua Parish and the local St Vinnies to take part in the Winter Food Appeal 'Meal in a Can'. Instead of bringing a gold coin donation we will be asking each child a can of soup that will be donated towards this great cause .. the aim is to donate 180 cans of soup!

Finally, please save the date for the St Anthony of Padua Parish, Wanneroo will be celebrating their 91st Annual Festival and Procession which will be held on Sunday, June 18. St Elizabeth’s community will join with St Anthony’s School and the parish to form a celebratory procession starting at 2pm. It would be lovely to have a large sea of red as a strong representation of our school community in the procession.

Enjoy the long weekend and I will see you all on Tuesday June 6. Happy WA Day to you all!

God bless

Rebecca Clarke

Principal

National Reconciliation Week begins on the 27th May and runs until 3rd June. This week marks two important events in our year as Australians and begins immediately after National Sorry Day on May 26th. National Sorry Day is a time where we apologise for the poor choices of past generations in the treatment of Aboriginal people. It is an opportunity for us to appreciate the contributions of the first Australians and to acknowledge that decisions of the past have had great negative effects on the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Extending this apology is an important step in the process of reconciliation. May 27 is the anniversary of the 1967 referendum in which more than 90 percent of Australians voted ‘Yes’ to count Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the census and give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples the right to vote and have a say in the government of the country. June 3 marks the anniversary of the historic 1992 Mabo decision in which the High Court of Australia recognised native title – the recognition that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights over their lands did survive British colonisation. The theme for 2023 is Be a voice for Generations.

This year CEWA have made some changes to the school reports to align with SCSA requirements. The Semester 1 Report will now be named the Mid-Year Report, showing student progress mid-year against the end of year targets. The Mid-Year Reports will be available to parents on Thursday, 29 June.

Parents will be able to access their child’s report through our Parent SEQTA portal (SEQTA Engage). Those parents who do not have older siblings and who have not previously accessed SEQTA Engage or who are new to the school this year, will receive a ‘Welcome’ email which will give step by step instructions on how to set up your account and login. This email will be sent in the coming week. Please note that this email may end up in your ‘Junk/spam’ folder.

If you have any issues with setting up your Parent Engage account please contact the office.

Our Year Six students made their Confirmation on the weekend. This aligns with the current period in the church calendar, the Feast of Pentecost, we commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Jewish Feast of Weeks. At this time, the Apostles received the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Congratulations to the Year Six and their families and thank you to Fr Peter, the parish, St Anthony’s and Mr Reberio for their efforts in preparing and supporting the students.

There has been an increase in students attending school unwell in recent weeks and whilst some are reporting testing positive to COVID, there are also a significant number presenting with other illnesses. It is important that if your child has any symptoms or is feeling unwell, that they stay home, rest and recover. We still have a supply of RAT kits available. If you would like any, please collect these from the office.

As Term 2 comes to a close, the Year 6 class is looking to celebrate the rich diversity of our school community. We have been studying the continent of Asia this term for Geography and in Week 10 we are looking to combine our learning with a “Taste of Asia” food festival for our class. We will be highlighting the many culinary delights of Asian cuisine. To make this authentic, I am looking for any parents or families that may have expertise in cooking Asian dishes and with time in Week 10 during the day to come in and help us. Whether you are skilled in Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Korean, Thai or Vietnamese or any other Asian cuisine, your participation would help make a significant difference! If you do have the time or any questions, please send me an email at Chris.Rebeiro@cewa.edu.au

Thank you!
Chris Rebeiro

Year 6 Teacher

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Term 1 Start Date Wednesday 1 February

Term 1 End Date Thursday 6 April

Term 2 Start Date Wednesday 26 April
Term 2 End Date Friday 30 June

Term 3 Start Date Monday 17 July
Term 3 End Date Friday 22 September

Term 4 Start Date Tuesday 10 October

Term 4 End Date Friday 8 December

Friday 3 March

Monday 24 April
Friday 18 August
Monday 21 August

Monday, 9 October

Please note, these dates are subject to change. If these dates for Professional Learning do require amending, parents will be notified well in advance.

Confirmation

Candidate Commitment Mass

Saturday 25th March 6.00pm

Sunday 26th March 7.30am

Sunday 26th March 9.00am

Parent/Child Workshop

Tuesday 16th May 5.00pm

Candidate Retreat

Friday 19th May

Sacrament

Saturday 27th May 6.00pm

Sunday 28th May 11.00am

Saturday 10th June 6.00pm

Certificate Weekend

Sunday 11th June

First Holy Communion

Candidate Commitment Mass

Saturday 24th June 6.00pm

Sunday 25th June 7.30am

Sunday 25th June 9.00am

Sunday 25th June 6.00pm

Parent/Child Workshop

Tuesday 8th August 5.00pm

Candidate Retreat

Friday 11th August

Sacrament

Saturday 19th August 6.00pm

Sunday 20th August 9.00am

Sunday 20th August 6.00pm

Saturday 26th August 6.00pm

Sunday 27th August 9.00am

Sunday 27th August 6.00pm

Certificate Weekend

Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd September

Reconciliation

Commitment Mass

Saturday 16th September 6.00pm

Sunday 17th September 7.30am

Sunday 17th September 9.00am

Sunday 17th September 6.00pm

Parent Workshop

Wednesday 25th October 5.00pm

Candidate Retreat

Friday 3rd November

Sacrament

Tuesday 7th November 5.00pm

Wednesday 8th November 5.00pm

Thursday 9th November 5.00pm

Certificate Weekend

Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th November