Welcome back to St Damien’s CPS for term 4. I hope you have had the opportunity to spend some family time with your child/children over the past fortnight. Term 4 is typically a busy, but very rewarding one, with all of the hard work committed earlier in the year coming to fruition towards the end. It is great to see all of the students settling back into school well and I hope they have all enjoyed their break and are re-energised, ready to complete their last 9 weeks of school for 2022.
Farewell Fr Vincent
As you all know, Fr Vincent is departing the St Damien’s community at the end of this week, heading to Albany to take on his new assignment. We have been truly blessed to have Fr Vincent in our school and are very thankful for all of the care and dedication he has shown to all members of the community. We wish him the very best on his future endeavours and we hope he is able to come back and visit us from time to time.
To celebrate Fr Vincent’s final week with us, we held a whole school Mass today in acknowledgement of him. We also presented Fr Vincent with a gift from the school (a new bicycle) and all classes presented him with beautiful farewell cards.
Fr Vincent’s final Mass to the Dawesville community will be celebrated this Sunday 16 October, beginning at 8:30am. All families are welcome to come along and join in Fr Vincent’s final celebration.
Congratulations, Grace!
Congratulations goes to Grace Moore, who received the Sacrament of Confirmation during today’s whole school Mass. This is a wonderful blessing and we are extremely thankful she chose to share this important Sacrament with the whole school.
Summer Uniform
The beginning of term 4 sees the students wearing the school summer uniform on their non-sports uniform days. Given we have school photos being taken next week, I ask that all students are in the correct summer uniform by the beginning of week 2, being this Monday 17 October. Please contact the front office if you require any assistance with the school summer uniform.
School Photos
School photos are taking place next Monday 17 October, Tuesday 18 October and Friday 21 October. Students are required to be wearing their correct school summer uniform for the school photo. The schedule for school photos has been attached to the school newsletter, for your information.
Inter School Athletics Carnival
Congratulations to all of the students in Years 3 to 6 who competed in the PSSA Inter School Athletics carnival on Wednesday, at Falcon Primary School. We finished 4th for the carnival and all students are to be commended for the way they competed and for their efforts and in trying their very best throughout the event. We did have some individual success, as follows:
· Year 6 Champion Girl: Indiana Chalwell
· Year 4 Champion Girl: Ava Wilson
· Year 3 Runner-Up Champion Girl: Amelie Wroth
· Year 3 Champion Boy: Austin Carey
In preparation for the Inter School carnival, we thank Miss Sanders for all of her efforts organising for the event and to all staff for assisting in training the students over the past few weeks and we also thank all of the parents who were able to come along and cheer and support the competing students throughout the day.
Telethon Champions
As Telethon weekend approaches, we have some amazing students in the school doing their bit to help raise funds for this very important cause. Jade, Amber, Thomas and Hope have banded together and made some fantastic dog treats, which are being sold over the weekend. These students are hoping to raise over $1,000 this year and if you would like to support them, please feel free to stop into their stall set up at their house over the weekend, located along Nutbush Avenue in Falcon, where you can purchase the dog treats, or a coffee and cake.
If you would like to make an online donation, the students have created their own Telethon Fundraising page, which can be found by clicking the following link:
https://my.fundraising.telethon7.com/fundraise-for-telethon/kids-helping-kids-jade-amber-thomas-hope
We wish Jade, Amber, Thomas and Hope the very best for their fundraising efforts.
Crazy Sock Day
This Friday 14 October, we are celebrating Mental Health Week by having a ‘Crazy Sock’ Day. All students are invited to wear their craziest and most bizarre socks to school this Friday, to celebrate the event.
During the week we will be having a ‘Wellness Walk’ for all of the students, beginning at 2:30pm on the oval. Parents are welcome to come along and join the students for this ‘Wellness Walk’, as we will be walking around the oval to acknowledge the importance of positive mental health in our lives.
Dads Campout
Next Saturday 22 October is the St Damien’s Dads Camp Out. This is a fantastic event for families to participate in over the weekend. A flyer has been sent out online regarding this, so please take the time to have a read of this if you are interested in participating in this event.
School Choir Incursion
Next Thursday 20 October, our school choir will be engaging in an incursion, being facilitated by Cass Sweeny, who is a vocal coach. We hope the choir enjoy the experience.
Staff Professional Development Day
On Monday our staff engaged in a Professional Development Day. To begin the day the staff spent a 2 hour session looking at the importance of their wellbeing and a ‘mood metre’ was established in the staff room as an important part of the process about looking after our collective wellbeing. The staff also engaged in a 2 hour session investigating and learning more about the essential elements of Reading and how these can be consistently taught across the school.
Whole School Assembly
We have a Whole School Assembly on this Friday 14 October, beginning at 8:45am in the hall, with the Year 1 Class presenting an item and Principal Awards being presented. All parents and friends are welcome to come and join us.
Principal Awards
This week some students have been sent to my office to receive a Principal’s Award for completing some exceptional work. I congratulate Archie Williams and Jasper King, from Pre Primary Gold, for their fantastic work in Writing. Well done and keep up the great work!
God Bless,
Daniel Gooch
Principal
