Principal Welcome
Welcome back to St Damien’s for term three. I hope you had a very enjoyable and relaxing holiday. It has been wonderful to hear all of the stories and adventures the children have spoken about during their holiday break and it is great to see them all back at school enthusiastic and ready to tackle the term of work ahead.
Term three is another busy term. The students, again, will be engaged in diverse and challenging learning tasks and activities. From excursions, to sporting carnivals, along with an abundance of learning in the classroom, there will be many varied opportunities for the students to engage in and have fun.
NAIDOC Week
This week we have enjoyed the wonderful opportunity to celebrate NAIDOC Week. Although NAIDOC Week does fall in the school holidays, we have taken the opportunity this week to recognise the history, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Theme for NAIDOC Week is, ‘Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up’.
Our NAIDOC Week celebrations started with a ‘Welcome to Country’ and ‘Smoking Ceremony’ before celebrating a whole school liturgy on Tuesday morning. Yesterday our students were entertained by the Indigenous Performance Group, ‘Moorditj Mob’, from Wesley College. The classes have also participated in NAIDOC Week activities, including making damper, face painting, mural making, and many more.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Parent Teacher Interviews are being held on Thursday 28th July. The Parent-Teacher interviews are a great opportunity for parents to get an understanding of how their child/children are progressing at school and to discuss potential learning goals set for the remainder of the year.
If you have not already done so. Parents still needing to book in for an interview can do so using the following link:
Parent-Teacher Interviews Booking Link
The booking link will be closed at 4:00pm on Tuesday 26th July, so please make a booking as soon as possible, if you have not already done so.
Please note, school will close early on this date, at 11:45am. Any students who are unable to be collected at the early close time will be supervised by staff up to 3:00pm, in the school hall.
Year 4 Holy Communion
Preparation for our Year 4 students receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion begins on Wednesday 3rd August, beginning at 5:00pm, with the Parent Information Meeting and Enrolment Mass being held. We wish the candidates, families and relevant staff the very best as they journey through the preparation period of the Sacrament.
School Closure Day
On Monday, our staff engaged in a Professional Development opportunity, focussing on prayer. The day was facilitated by Karl Brown, who led staff on a journey to explore meaning ways to prayer in their own lives and opportunities for prayer in the lives of our students.,
100 Days of School Celebration
Next Friday 29th July, we will be celebrating our first 100 days of school. Students are invited to dress up as centurions on the day. The P&F are supporting this event with some prizes being presented at the assembly and to all classes during the day. Please read the attached flyer on the newsletter for more information.
Wickepin Parade
As you may have seen, the footpath on Wickepin Parade was completed and the entire street has been opened for full use. It is great that this has been opened up and can be used by the parents of the school.
I have contacted the Mandurah Council to install school-safe traffic speed limit signage, and in the meantime, I ask that you all continue to drive carefully and courteously around the school to promote the safety of our students and other road users.
COVID-19 Update
A cross-sectoral letter has been sent to you via SEQTA, on behalf of Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA), the Department of Education and the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia. Please read this at your earliest convenience. In the letter, it does outline another provision of RAT kits for families, which I will make available for collection, once received.
PSSA Cross Country
Next Wednesday 27th July, some students in Years 4 to 6 will be travelling to Meadow Springs to compete in the PSSA Cross Country Carnival. We wish these competing students the very best and hope they enjoy the experience.
Thank You P&F
Thank you to the P&F for the purchase of new sand toys for our students to enjoy. They have been placed in the 3 sand pits in the school and the students have really enjoyed using them during each break.
Bishop's Religious Literacy Assessment (BRLA)
BRLA is a large-scale, standardised assessment that consists of a series of Religious Education (RE) tests developed by the Office of Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA). Students in Years 3 and 5 will be participating in the BRLA in week 3 of this term. Practice assessments are being conducted over the next week, in preparation for the formal assessment being conducted in week 3.
The purpose of the BRLA is to measure student learning of the content in the RE curriculum and it provides a ‘point in time’ snapshot of student performance in RE across the Year 3 and 5 levels. It is an online assessment where students’ knowledge and understanding of the content of the RE curriculum is assessed using a combination of multiple choice, short and extended test items.
Friday Morning Assembly
There is a whole school assembly this Friday 22nd July, beginning at 8:45am, with the Year 6 class presenting an item. Parents and friends of the school community are welcome to come and join us for the assembly.
Principal's Awards
This week some students have been sent to my office to receive a Principal’s Award for completing some exceptional work. I congratulate Ngaire Crichton and Charlotte Gibbs, from Pre Primary Gold, for their outstanding work in Writing. Well done and keep up the great work!
God Bless,
Daniel Gooch
Principal
