Lent
This Sunday week we celebrate Easter Sunday. It is a time of rejoice as we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, after his crucifixion and death on Good Friday. It also concludes the season of Lent, where hopefully we have tried to commit to a period of fasting, prayer and almes giving.
As a school, all students attended the ‘Stations of the Cross’ Liturgy on Wednesday, in the church. Thank you goes to Mr Hazebroek and the Year 5 ‘Minnie Vinnies’ for the great work in presenting this Liturgy to the school.
During the period of Lent, I asked families to support ‘Project Compassion’, by donating to the Caritas boxes in each class. Thank you to all students and families who were able make a donation, your support assists those in need in our local and wider community.
Inter School Swimming Carnival
A huge congratulations goes to all of the students who competed in the PSSA Inter School Swimming Carnival on Monday. Due to their amazing efforts, St Damien’s Catholic Primary School won both the Overall and Handicap trophies, which is amazing!
We did have some students achieve some fantastic personal results, as follows:
· Amelie Wroth – Runner Up Year 4 Champion Girl
· Tiarnan Shadlow – Runner Up Year 4 Champion Boy
· Remi Lukasik – Runner Up Year 5 Champion Girl
· Darcy Brown – Year 6 Runner Up Champion Girl
· Jesse Spencer –Year 6 Champion Boy
Many thanks go to Miss Sanders for her organisation and training of the team and to all of the staff who assisted on the day. We are also very grateful for all the parents who were able to come along to spectate and cheer on all of the swimmers. This is a fantastic result for the school and all competing students should be very proud of their efforts.
Easter Raffle
Congratulations to all the lucky winners in the P&F Easter Raffle, drawn this morning. With over 50 prizes being awarded, many thanks goes out to the generosity of all families in the school who were able to contribute to the Easter Raffle through your donations, which made it a huge success.
Our sincerest thanks also goes to the P&F and parents for coordinating the raffle and for their efforts in collecting and packaging all of the raffle prizes, this was a huge task.
Interim Reports
Today, term one ‘Interim Reports’ are being made available to families, via SEQTA. The reports will give parents an indication about each student’s behaviour and effort for the term.
Overall, I am very pleased with the efforts of the students this term. The students have been able to remain focused and engaged in their learning, especially during a term that has had a major distraction and some minor interruptions to the daily school routines.
I thank the staff for their efforts in completing the ‘Interim Reports’ and I encourage parents to speak to your child’s classroom teacher early next term should you have any questions or concerns regarding their child’s progress and/or effort this term.
Winter Uniform
As we are at the end of term 1, it is time for parents to be prepared for students in Years 3 to 6 to be wearing the School Winter uniform in term 2. With school starting back next term, the first two weeks of the term will be used as a period for students in Years 3 to 6 to transition into wearing the full school winter uniform by Monday, 8 May 2023. Students in Kindy to Year 2 will continue to wear their Sports Uniform as part their uniform requirements throughout the year.
Please contact the office if you have any questions regarding the purchasing of the School Winter Uniform in readiness for term 2.
Grand Parents Day
Early next term, on Friday 28 April, we are inviting all Grand Parents into the school to celebrate, ‘Grand Parents Day’. The format for the day is as follows:
· 8:45am – 9:15am: Classroom Visits
· 9:30am: Grand Parents Day Mass
· 10:30am: Grand Parents Morning Tea (in the school courtyard)
Invitations for this event were sent out last week, for your information.
Term Dates
Term 2 begins for students on Wednesday 26th April, 2022 and concludes on Friday 30 June 2023.
School Closure Day: Monday 24 April
A reminder that the school will be having a closure day on Monday 24 April. The purpose of the closure day is for the staff to engage in a Professional Development day, focusing on their spiritual and faith development. Please put this school closure date into your calendars.
MCC Parent Presentation
A reminder to parents that Mandurah Catholic College P&F Association is excited to announce that guest speaker Dr Justin Coulson will be attending the College in May 2023, offering a wonderful workshop for parents and guardians, centred around building positive relationships. To be held at 6.10pm on 10 May, the 90 minute session is titled ‘Parental Guidance – guide to successful parenting’.
Dr Coulson is a co-host and parenting expert on Channel 9’s Parental Guidance, the founder of happyfamilies.com.au, and one of Australia’s most trusted parenting experts. He has also written 6 books about raising children, has made hundreds of media appearances and starred in two viral videos that have been viewed a combined 80 million times! It’s clear that Australia is listening to what Dr Coulson is saying about parenting and now the parents and guardians of MCC have the opportunity to do so too!
Book soon to avoid disappointment! https://www.trybooking.com/CGKGA
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Congratulations to all of our Year 3 students who celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Tuesday evening. It was a fantastic celebration and I thank the support of the parents throughout the Sacramental program and for participating in the liturgy. A special thanks goes to Mr Hazebroek, Mrs Lemm and Mrs Gilleland, for their work in preparing the students over the past few weeks and to Fr Chris and his assistant priests for their support in being the celebrants for the Sacrament.
Carpark Update
Slowly, but surely, the work is continuing on the carpark on the southern side of the school. Work will progress through the holidays, hopefully with it being fully functional early in term 2. This week, the site has been further cleared of soil and debris and a retaining wall running alongside the basketball court is being laid.
School Calendar
Parents are encouraged to visit the school’s term planner on a regular basis to ensure you are informed about upcoming events during the year. The term planner can be accessed by clicking on the following link: School Events Calendar
Principal Awards
Over the past week some students have been sent to my office to receive a Principal’s Award for completing some exceptional work. I congratulate Caelen Foley and Brooklyn Penny, from Pre Primary Gold, for their great work in Writing; Alfie Mannion, from Year 2 Blue, for his great work in handwriting, and Hamish O’Donnell, Riley Blair, Jesse Spencer, Alice Mather and Jayden Roe, from Year 6 Gold, for their great work in Mathematics. Well done and keep up the great work!
End of Term
As we come to the end of term 1, I wish the whole school community a very Happy Easter and hope you have an enjoyable holiday break. I look forward to seeing all of the students returning safely to school next term.
God Bless,
Daniel Gooch
Principal
