Principal's Message
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. As parents, you can assist in the development of your child at home, by taking an interest in the learning that has occurred at school and by supporting any homework requirements set, such as reading.
Current COVID Restrictions
As we begin term 3 we have downgraded the COVID guidelines to ‘Phase 5’ restrictions. This is great for our school community, meaning parents are once again permitted to be onsite and in the classrooms of your child/children and face masks are not required to be worn. We do ask that:
· Physical distancing measures between adults continues to apply, where possible.
· Good hygiene practices are maintained.
· Visitors, parents and students should not attend school if they are unwell.
As mentioned in my previous correspondence with families regarding the continually changing situation of the COVID guidelines for school, I will continue to keep you up to date with the latest information, when made available.
Canteen Volunteers
We are very blessed to have a canteen onsite and operational 5 days a week for families to enjoy the convenience and joy in ordering from. For the canteen to function, it does rely on the parent volunteers. We are currently desperately seeking parental volunteers during the week in the canteen.
Tasks volunteers could do include sorting through orders, assisting in the preparing of lunch orders, selling items during recess and lunch, and so on. There is no limit on the time volunteers are required to assist; anything from one hour at the start of the school day onwards would greatly benefit the canteen managers.
If you are able to assist in the canteen in any capacity, whether it be on a casual or more regular basis, please contact the school office to discuss further.
Lost Property
Towards the end of term 2, we had a build-up of lost property appearing in the school. One of the main causes of this is a lot of the uniforms in the lost property were not labelled with a student or family name.
Could I ask that all families go through and label each item of your child/children’s school uniform, so that any lost items can returned to the students.
Baby News
It is with great joy that I inform you both Mrs Rayne Penetito and Mrs Ashleigh Gilleland will be welcoming new bundles of joy into the world in late January next year. Both staff have managed to get through the early phases of their pregnancies well, and we wish them both the very best as they continue to blossom throughout the remainder of the year.
Year 4 First Holy Communion
Preparation for our Year 4 students receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion begins next Tuesday 27 July, beginning at 6:00pm, with the Parent Information Meeting being held. We wish the candidates, families and relevant staff the very best as they journey through the preparation period of the Sacrament.
EWA Inter-School Awards
Congratulations goes to Emmi Kneale, who recently represented St Damien’s CPS at the Equestrian WA Interschool competition. Emmi and her team won the Show Jumping shield and the Combined Training (Show Jumping and Dressage) shield. Their team was also the Overall Primary Champion Team.
As an individual Emmi won the Overall Primary Leader Board for the last 12 months and was Reserve Champion Primary Rider. This is a fantastic list of achievements and we, again, congratulate Emmi for her great success
Green and Gold Day
On Wednesday the Tokyo Olympics began. To celebrate the Olympic Games, we are hosting a ‘Green and Gold’ day on Friday 30 July. This is a free dress day where students are encouraged to dress up in the colours of green and gold, to show their support for the Australian team competing in the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Grandparents Sunday
This weekend the parish is celebrating ‘Grandparents Sunday’. Both the Saturday evening Mass at 6:00pm and the Sunday morning Mass at 8:30am will be dedicated to the grandparents in our Dawesville community. All families in the school are welcome to attend.
PSSA Cross Country
Next Wednesday 28 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.
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 23 July, beginning at 8:45am, with the Year 6 class presenting an item. During the assembly, we will also be presenting the medals to the students from Pre Primary to Year 6 students who finished first and second in the school cross country races. Parents and friends of the school community are welcome to come and join us for the assembly.
Principal Awards
This week a student has been sent to my office to receive a Principal’s Award for completing some exceptional work. I congratulate Alexander Merks, from 4B, for his outstanding work in Mathematics. Well done and keep up the great work!
God Bless,
Daniel Gooch
Principal
