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

Dear Parents

Congratulations to our Year Six children as they received the Sacrament of Confirmation last weekend. The sacrament was beautifully celebrated by Father Cyprian and Father Francis, with the children supported by their families, friends, Padbury CPS staff and parishioners. Thank you to Mrs Barry, Mrs Woodall and Mr von Bergheim for preparing the children so thoroughly in the lead up to Confirmation. Confirmation is such a special sacrament to receive as the Holy Spirit strengthens and renews our faith in Jesus Christ and deepens our relationship with God. As the children move on to high school next year the Holy Spirit will be with them to guide them and strengthen them through some of the challenges they may face. The sacrament ties in beautifully with Pentecost which we recently celebrated. The word Pentecost is Greek and it means "50th day." Fifty days after Easter Sunday, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and their followers and the beginning of their earthly ministry to make disciples of all nations. The symbols of Pentecost are the flame, wind and the dove, which represents the Holy Spirit.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, which falls on 11 June this year, has one of the deepest meanings in the Catholic church. The symbol represents Jesus Christ's actual heart as His love for all of humanity. Other symbols may have a flame or light surrounding it, which signifies the divine light of love. As we pray to the Holy Spirit and Jesus, may we ask for our hearts to be filled with love and kindness and share our love with all those we encounter as we live out our school motto of ‘Love One Another’.

I would like to thank all families for their contribution to our Social Justice Mission Fundraising day today where the children got to wear their favourite footy colours for a gold coin donation. All proceeds will go to Lifelink. The LifeLink organisation was established by the Archdiocese of Perth in 1994 to provide for the ongoing financial and promotional support of agencies established or assisted by the Catholic Church. LifeLink’s agencies deliver professional services and caring support to people in need throughout Western Australia and is a positive demonstration of Faith in Action.

May, June and July are eventful months for all Aboriginal children, families and communities. We have just celebrated National Reconciliation Week. We are now heading towards NAIDOC Week and this year’s theme is ‘Heal Country’. There is a call for all of us to continue to seek ‘’greater protections for our lands, our waters, our sacred sites and our cultural heritage from exploitation, desecration and destruction’’ (naidoc.org.au). The children have done amazing work in their classrooms which they all got to view on Thursday. Please pop into their classrooms or look on their windows for their National Reconciliation work.

The Catholic Assistant Principals Association are keen to learn about PCPS Aboriginal People’s Exhibition (2019) & Djooroobidiny (2020) and Mrs Barry and Mrs Woodall will be presenting at their Conference in August. The staff also plan on entering Djooroobidiny into the CEWA QCE Awards this year. Wish us good luck!

This year we celebrate 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia. Please click on the following link to hear the Prime Minister's video message and also the performance of the national song Faith in the Future.

Video Message from Prime Minister Scott Morrison for the Bicentenary of Catholic Education - YouTube

Faith in the Future Australian Student Version - YouTube

Padbury Cares co ordinator Ruth Tan continues to work hard behind the scenes with the Leadership Team to ensure that families within our own school community, who are in need, are being looked after. Thankyou so much Ruth. Padbury Cares is a group of parent volunteers, who provide assistance to families in our school community during a time of need (either short or long term) due to illness, bereavement, family crisis, birth of a newborn or any type of change. Thankyou to our volunteers, you make such a difference in the lives of others.

If you can offer assistance in any way throughout 2021 we would love for you to volunteer. Please head to our school website. Some examples of help that we offer are: providing a simple family meal or lunch that is delivered to the school office; transport of children to and from school; ironing, cleaning, shopping, baking, gardening, dog walking etc. Generally, we would ask people to help once a semester and it is mostly providing meals. Many hands make light work and your help really does make a difference.

If you are in need of some assistance or know of someone who requires some assistance, please contact Ruth or one of the Leadership Team. This is a very confidential pastoral care programme and no details are shared.

If a family would like to place a note in the Pastoral Care section of the newsletter in relation to a birth or death, or if a family would like the whole school community to pray for any special intentions e.g. a family member who is ill, please send a message to please let your child’s class teacher or Mrs Ellen at the front office know or send an email to admin@padcath.wa.edu.au

Padbury Catholic Primary School is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all students is our highest priority. We are committed to child safety, supporting a child safe culture and always keeping the best interests of the child first. We are guided by the Catholic Education Western Australia Child Safe Framework which supports a child safe culture, healthy and respectful relationships and collective responsibility in our school community, based on the latest research and recognised best practices. For further information please refer to the Child Safe Framework https://childsafe.cewa.edu.au

All of our classroom teachers from PK-6 teach from the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (KS:CPC). This curriculum is taught age appropriately every year by the classroom teacher who receive KS:CPC training. The teachers send home letters regarding when they are commencing their units and what will be taught. Through this curriculum the children learn they have a right to:

• be treated with respect and to be protected from harm
• be asked for their opinions about things that affect their lives and to be listened to
• feel and be safe in their interactions with adults and other children and young people
• understand as early as possible what is meant by 'feeling and being safe'

First semester reports will be sent electronically on Wednesday 30 June. The children have been working extremely hard and parents should be very proud of their achievements throughout the first half of the year. A reporting brochure of how to read the reports will be included with the report. Please do not hesitate to see your classroom teacher should you have any difficulties interpreting the report.

Padbury CPS is a school of choice in the area and as such we want to tell everyone about our amazing school community. Did you know that we run school tours twice a term and encourage prospective families to come a take a look at what we have to offer at our wonderful school? If you know of anyone looking to start school or someone who wishes to change school, please encourage them to visit our school website and book into one of these school tours.

Pre Kindy and Kindy 2022, 2023 and future years enrolment interviews are currently taking place. If you have a child who is due for Pre Kindy or Kindy, please ensure that your application has been received by the office so that you have a place secured. If you have friends and neighbours with children in these age brackets, please encourage them to view our school website and submit an application.

Tuesday Pre Kindy 2022 is full. Due to the huge popularity of the programme, if we have enough numbers, we will commence a second Pre Kindy class on Thursdays from the beginning of the year. If you are interested in doing one or both days, please let Mrs Ellen know in the office. If you have relatives, friends, neighbours who have a 3 yr old, please chat to them about coming on a school tour or direct them to our school website to find out more about our Pre Kindy programme.

We still have some vacancies for 2021 Pre Kindy on Tuesday and are taking expressions of interest for Thursday sessions. Please see Mrs Ellen in the office if you would like to join our wonderful programme.

The children are continuing to enjoy their delicious sausage sizzles for lunch. Thank you so much to Sheree Merry and Ann Sargeant for co ordinating and to their team of helpers. PCPS dads, book 19 June into your calendar as the P&F Extraordinary Fathers League have organised a Poker Night! It will run similar to previous years with a few prizes, giveaways and lots of opportunities for dads to either play/watch some sport and get to know one another, especially new dads to our school. See the flyer in the newsletter for further information.

Our school Cross Country will be held next Friday. Let’s pray for no rain! Big thank you to Mr John Hignett for training the children for this event and to the children for their dedication to coming to training each week. Special thanks to all the staff who have been assisting with training.

Mrs Amanda Ellen at the front office will be on long service leave from 14-25 June. You will see Mrs Julie Basso or Mrs Helen Hughes at the front office during this time.

Enjoy the extra-long weekend coming up with your family and remember that Tuesday is a pupil and staff free day.

Kind regards

Mrs Margaret Williamson

Principal

Some of our bins have already been filling up - how awesome!!

Mercedes College is currently interviewing for Year 7 2023 & 2024, with limited places available for Year 7 2022. If you are considering enrolling your daughter at Mercedes, please visit the Mercedes College website at www.mercedes.wa.edu.au to request a prospectus, to enrol online or book a tour of our campus. Please contact Mrs Nicole Kirk on 9323 1323 if you require further information.