Dear parents and caregivers,

I hope that you have all had a wonderful holiday and a smooth start to Term 3! A massive thank you to Mrs Fernandez for taking the lead over the past two weeks, allowing me to totally switch off from school. Also, to Mrs Manov and Mr Rebeiro for supporting her during this time. I have never taken more than five days away from school so two weeks (plus school holidays) was a bit different for me … but I was very excited to see everyone on Tuesday and have enjoyed catching up on all the stories!

Congratulations to our Year Two students who attended the Catholic Performing Arts Festival ‘Spirits of the Arts’ on Monday at Mercy College performing in the Christian Dance section. The dance was co-created by the students and was simply a lovely, reflective liturgical dance. The reverence and grace that shone through during the performance was wonderful. Thank you to Mrs Clarkson and well done to everyone.

On Thursday morning, we held the 2023 Dance and Choir Concert. To say it was amazing is truly an understatement! Every student from Year Three to Six contributed in some way, taking us on a journey of dance through the decades, various traditional dances from countries such as Japan, Greece and Hawaii and some great hip hop moves. Working together and creating the moves to music allowed our students to show their creative thinking and I was impressed! Again, thank you to Mrs Clarkson for guiding our students and allowing their voice to shine!

Next week we celebrate the Feast Day of St Mary MacKillop of the Cross and our MacKillop House Faction with a special assembly on Thursday starting at 8:45am. A reminder that students are to wear green on the day. Following on from the wonderful response of the ‘Meal in a Can’ food drive that we held for Servite Day and the join that the students had with donating something tangible that will make a difference to someone, we will again fundraise a bit differently this term. To honour Mary Mackillop's love of education and helping the less fortunate, we are collecting pre-loved books in good condition or stationery (pencils, crayons, sharpeners, textas etc) to distribute to various charities. A box for these goods is located in all of the classrooms.

As it is now Term 3, we are encouraging independence in all our students from Year One onwards, therefore if your child arrives to school after the 8:30am bell they are required to sign-in at the front office on the SEQTA Kiosk before going to the classroom. Once they have signed-in they will be able to independently walk themselves to class.

On behalf of our school community, I would like to offer our sincere condolences to the Sykes Family on the loss of their husband, father and grandfather. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Finally, thank you for all the wonderful emails and handwritten messages that I have received to from students, staff and parents for Principal Appreciation Day. I have certainly felt the love from our school community.

Have a wonderful weekend!

God bless

Rebecca Clarke

Principal

On this special day we celebrate our Principal, Rebecca Clarke and the leadership and dedication she provides to our school and community. Your commitment to fostering a nurturing , respectful and stimulating school environment, is truly commendable.

Thank you to all of our students for making something special and our staff for wearing Mrs Clarke's favourite colour...purple (for the Dockers) A big thank you to Mrs Dimond and Mrs Didlock who behind the scenes arranged a lovely morning tea, flowers and a 'real' coffee. Mrs Clarke, we hope you enjoyed your special day! Thank you for all that you do!

Happy Principals' Day!

As you are aware our Principal, Rebecca Clarke is due to undertake a CEWA Principal Development 360 this term. Educator Impact have been engaged by CEWA to develop the CEWA Principal Development 360 which will provide your Principal with feedback on their leadership practice based on the Catholic School Principal Duties and Responsibilities. You are invited to participate in this process by completing an anonymous survey about your Principal's leadership practice.

The Survey has been extended to Wednesday, 9 August 2023, so please submit your feedback before this date.

Mary MacKillop Feast Day Mass (St Anthony's)

On Tuesday, 8 August our Year 3- 6 students will travel by bus to St Anthony's Church for the Mary MacKillop Feast Day Mass. The bus will depart school just after 8:30am.

MacKillop Day Assembly

On Thursday, 10 August @ 8:45am we have our MacKillop Day Assembly. All students and staff are able to come dressed in something green to celebrate Mary MacKillop. All parents and grandparents are welcome to attend the assembly.

Holy Communion

Our students have been preparing for the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Below are a few key dates for Holy Communion candidates.

Tuesday, 8 August @5:00pm (St Anthony's Parish Room)

• Holy Communion Parent/Child Workshop

• Holy Communion Retreat Day (NEW this year)
• Bus departing at 8:30am to St Anthony's Parish
• All students to please bring recess and lunch on the day
• Students can wear free dress to celebrate the special day

Please see below under 'Upcoming Events' for further Father's Day Fun!

A reminder that if you are paying your school fees termly your instalment is now due.Please ensure your payments are up to date to avoid a lump sum at the end of the year. All school fees are to be paid in full by the 31 October 2023. If you have any queries please email me on melissa.dimond@cewa.edu.au. To make a payment over the phone with credit card please phone the office on 9303 7600.

Thank you!

Mel Dimond

We are selling tickets for $5 each (plus fees) & the prizes will be drawn at the Father's Day breakfast before school on Thursday 31 August 2023 using the commentpicker.com tool. All Dads will automatically go into the draw to win (not dependent on whether they can attend the breakfast event in person) & any extra tickets are $5 each (plus fees).

Kirrily Macri from Harcourts Alliance has kindly sponsored the breakfast & donated the following generous prizes:

FIRST PRIZE: 1x Ozito cordless 3 piece tool set

SECOND PRIZE: 1x $200 JBHifi voucher

THIRD PRIZE: 1x Ryobi Home essentials kit

FOURTH PRIZE: 2x $100 BCF voucher

FIFTH PRIZE: 2x Dad cheese boards with bottle opener

Please RSVP and order raffle tickets by clicking the above link!

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