Principal's Welcome
Vision & Mission
Vision
St Damien’s Catholic Primary School is a Christ-centered and child-focused community of engaging learning environments, inspiring all to actively live the Gospel.
Mission
Our mission at St Damien’s Catholic Primary School is to create an environment that enables children to shine and be confident in meeting the challenges of the future – as learners, as faith-filled individuals and as carers of others and their world.
The Desired Attributes of a St Damien’s Graduate
Shine Christ’s Light – St Damien’s graduates relate personally with Jesus and model Christ through their words and actions. They are always considerate, compassionate, empathetic, inclusive and show mercy to others.
Show Respect – St Damien’s graduates respect the uniqueness and dignity of each person in their family and community, respect themselves and their health and respect the environment. They are welcoming and supportive of all people. They make decisions based on their Christian conscience and understand that being respectful is one of the key ingredients to letting Christ shine and being the best person, they can be.
Strive for Excellence – St Damien’s graduates hold high expectations for achieving their personal best. They are confident and creative individuals, who become successful lifelong learners and active, informed members of the community.
Strong 21st Century Skills – St Damien’s graduates are critical and creative thinkers who respond to the diverse needs of an ever-changing world. They are productive and informed technology users who have the knowledge and skills to become digitally literate. They adapt to change and are responsible users of technology in an interconnected world.
Care for People – St Damien’s graduates have a strong sense of belonging to their community. They understand that each person has a gift and that all have gifts to share. Through their actions, they demonstrate care for people marked by respect of different cultures, responsibility, empathy, resilience, compassion and forgiveness.
Care For the Earth – St Damien’s graduates have an appreciation and respect for the environment. They recognise they are a global citizen and maintain environmental responsibility through their actions and knowledge, making positives changes.
Profile and History
St Damien’s Catholic Primary School is a Pre Kindy– Yr 6 double stream Catholic school where the staff, parents, children and members of the wider community, work together to achieve their total development in a harmonious environment. Our School places importance on the development of such qualities and attitudes as honesty, kindness, tolerance, responsibility, fair play, initiative, reverence and respect, as modeled by Our Lord, Jesus Christ.
St Damien’s provides a comprehensive and holistic education in all learning areas. Every child is provided with tailored learning opportunities in order to ensure they are able to achieve their full potential. The school has an exemplary and ever improving academic program, as evidenced by solid results in standardised tests including NAPLAN, which it complements with extensive extension and support programs. St Damien’s also provides a sacramental program and offers rich and varied learning opportunities in areas such as sustainability and environmental studies (including onsite vegetable gardens, chickens and aquaponics), Musical Instrument Tuition, Information Technology, Robotics, Beach Safety/Awareness, Italian Language and Culture Studies and access to an extremely large number of sporting pursuits.
St Damien’s Catholic Primary School was first established in 2005 with an enrolment of 68 students and was named Florida Catholic Primary School. The school is situated in the heart of Dawesville and caters for 481 students from 3 Year Old Kindy to Year 6. It is serviced by excellent public transport and offers an onsite before/after school and vacation care facility. At St Damien’s Catholic Primary School, we have one school rule – RESPECT. This permeates all aspects of our school culture.
The St Damien’s Catholic Primary School logo encompasses many aspects of our unique environment.
Light blue: the beautiful blue sky God has created
The yellow semi-circle: the sun above the horizon is shining on us through Christ.
Dark blue: the ocean
Yellow: the sand
The Cross: Jesus being at the centre of our lives at all times.
St Damien of Molokai
St Damien of Molokai is the patron saint of people suffering from leprosy.
St Damien’s Catholic Primary School had previously been known as Dawesville Catholic Primary School. In 2015 the name was changed, in honour of the school’s patron – Saint Damien of Molokai.
St Damien of Molokai was born to the name Jozef De Veuster in rural Belgium, on January 3, 1840. His family were farmers but he held a passion to serve in the church.The qualities that St Damien showed: courage, loyalty, resilience, compassion and respect are values that are shared by the St Damien’s Catholic Primary School community. Each month a student from each class is awarded the St Damien’s Award for demonstrating these values.
At the age of 13 he entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and took the name Damien, after a sixth century martyr. In 1864, Damien’s brother who was also in the same order of religious, was ordered to Hawaii. But his brother became ill, so Br. Damien, as he was known, offered to go in his place. Whilst at first the brothers were hesitant, they agreed to send Br. Damien in 1864, and he was ordained a priest 2 months after arriving. In 1866, Hawaii established a leper colony on the Kalaupapa Peninsula. These people still needed spiritual and medical care, so to Fr. Damien discerned his call to serve them.
In 1873, Fr. Damien made the trip to be with these people in their colony. Fr. Damien realised the people needed leadership, so he provided it. He asked people to come together to build houses and schools and eventually the parish church, St. Philomena. He was supposed to only work in the colony for a time then he would be replaced by one of three other volunteers for the work. But the leper colony was to become his permanent home. After working with the people for a time Fr. Damien grew attached to the people and his work. He asked permission to stay at the colony to serve. His request was granted.
Fr Damien contracted leprosy in 1885, after several years of work and he continued his work, despite his illness, which slowly took over his body. He derived strength from prayer and devotion. After sixteen years in the colony, Fr. Damien succumbed to leprosy on April 15, 1889. He was first buried nearby, then his remains were transferred to Belgium in 1936. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Brussels, Belgium on June 4, 1995. His sainthood was confirmed on October 11, 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI. His feast day is May 10. The day of his passing, April 15, is a minor statewide holiday in Hawaii.
Sourced from: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=281
School Prayer
Let Christ Shine, in our heart, each and every day,
may we learn to be like Jesus in each and every way.
Our families always love us, and give us much support,
our teachers guide us through our day with all the things we’re taught.
We need to show respect, in what we say and do,
we need to be the best we can in everything we do.
God, you’re always in our hearts, and you are always there,
at St Damien’s Catholic Primary School we always show we care.
Amen.
School Song
CHORUS:
Christ shines in my heart, Christ shines in you and me
Christ shines in our lives, for all the world to see
From the darkness to the light, your light that shows the way
Christ shines in you and me every day
Verse 1:
We follow in your footsteps, we walk in your way
Your light shines in me, in all I do and say
To shine in your light, be all I can be
With arms that are open, welcomed in peace
Verse 2:
Love one another as I have loved you
And so we ask, “What would Jesus do”
Sharing our gifts, together we shine
With arms joined together, Together in your light
Verse 3:
You are the light that shines in our world
You call us to justice, to care for our earth
Arm in arm and hand in hand in our place by the sea
Respect for each other, we live in harmony
Christ Shines
By Andrew Chinn & the Community of St Damien’s Catholic Primary School, WA.
Staff
Principal – Dan Gooch
Assistant Principals – Caroline Leighton & Peter Hazebroek
Parish Priest – Fr Christian
Bursar – Michelle Farcich
Administration – Michelle Stevenson, Simone Salmeri & Fiona Stoove
Kindy – Rosie Newbold & Janine Hart
Pre-Primary – Kim Welten, Megan Povey & Ashlee Williams
Year 1 – Tahlia McMahon & Kym Abbott
Year 2 – Elaine Carmody-Blythe & Carly Amery
Year 3 – Ashleigh Gilleland & Sarah Lemm
Year 4 – Michelle Parker & Marni Vollprecht
Year 5 – Nikki Budgen, Emma Hicks & Hayley Sanders
Year 6 – Katelin Lampard & Jorje Harman
Italian – Laura Bava
Science – Mark Lilly
Music – Majella Burns
Phys Ed – Hayley Sanders
Kindy – Nat Bates, Esther Whitmee, Jenny Mulvay & Lesley Cornelius
Pre-primary – Meagan Glenn & Alana Salmeri
Yr 1 – Kerry Brion
Yr 2 – Tracy Honter & Megan Cole
Yr 3 – Jessica Mondello & Katie Moore
Yr 4 – Karen Kenny-Levick
Yr 5 – Chloe Bunce & Shae Chalwell
Yr 6 – Jackie Craig
Wellbeing – Janelle Bright
Library – Jacky Denning
IT Support – Sandra Hilson
Learning Support – Bec Della-Santina
Canteen – Lynette Rubie & Kelly Taylor
Groundsman – Chris Salmeri
Annual Report
Policies
As a Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) school, St Damien’s Catholic Primary School collects, stores, uses, and discloses your personal information in accordance with the CEWA Privacy Policy and Privacy Collection Notices you may find here
Location
St Damien’s Catholic Primary School – 1 Nyabing Pass, Dawesville, Western Australia 6211
Employment Opportunities
Current Employment Opportunities
Assistant Principal Vacancy
Closing Date Tuesday 26th September 2023.
Physical Education Teacher Vacancy
Closing Date Wednesday 4th October 2023.
Relief Teaching at St Damien’s Catholic Primary School
At St Damien’s Catholic Primary School we welcome both experienced and recently graduated Teachers and Educational Assistants from the wider Peel Region to apply at our school for relief work.
We would encourage you to drop your resume in to the School Administration Office.
