Dear Parents, Caregivers and Community Members,
School Rules Update
Our Pastoral Care philosophy is based on our School Vision, Mission and Values and we believe that all people can live in love and harmony with each other. Our Catholic School is, in essence, the face of Jesus for the whole community. The life of every human person is seen to have a God given value and meaning which is enhanced in our school community in an atmosphere permeated with the Gospel values of freedom and love.
Our school is a place where every individual is welcomed, cherished, respected and valued. Our Catholic ethos ensures that a Christ-centred approach is at the heart of all we do. We live and learn within a community that is caring, loving, compassionate and forgiving. Meaningful relationships form the basis of all our interactions.
We respond by promoting attitudes which foster:
Love, joy, curiosity and challenge of learning.
Connectedness, belonging and inclusion for all.
Responsibility for one’s own learning and behaviour.
Acceptance and honouring of differences.
Perseverance and self-discipline.
A contribution to the wider community.
We have an expectation that everyone:
Respects each person’s dignity and self-worth.
Develops a positive relationship with all people.
Treats each other with kindness and respect.
Takes responsibility for their own feelings. Use “I” statements and refrain from blaming.
Listens with eyes, ears and heart. Ensure all our children are heard, welcomed, understood, given creative opportunities, recognised and treated as individuals.
Communicates positively, honestly, directly and gives constructive feedback.
Ensures all children belong to the community, are loved and supported and have opportunity for the development of positive self-esteem.
Staff recently had an opportunity to discuss what we expect from our students regarding behaviour and expectations while at school. The following were then presented to the school community at yesterday’s assembly by some of our student leaders from the Year 6 Communications Team:
- A reminder that 7:50am is too early for drop off. 8:10am is when supervision starts. No ball games including handball before 8:10am. If children do have to arrive early, children must sit on one of the benches in the quad until 8:10am.
- Only handball games are permitted from 8:10am. No other ball or bat games are allowed for safety of others.
- Walk bikes to and from the bike racks.
- Children need to wear a school hat while in the quad and oval at recess and lunch. No hat, shade play in the quad only. No hat, you are not permitted on the oval.
- No running in the quad at all including playing chasey on walkways. Chasey/running games on the oval only.
- All children from Years 1 to 6 will be sitting in the quad area to eat their recess and lunch. Children are no longer allowed to sit and eat along the verandas outside Smiley’s, the Yr 2/Yr 3 classrooms, and canteen area. At lunch, when the bell goes from eating to playing, children must remain seated with their hand up and wait until a duty teacher dismisses them. All rubbish must be picked up and put into a bin before children can go and play. Lunchboxes will also need to be moved to the side. We want our grounds looking neat and tidy please.
- Great to see children wait at the gates for teachers to arrive before gaining access to the oval at recess and lunch. Keep doing this please.
- Play in front of the trees on Oval South and Oval North, rather than behind the embankments. Children need to be visible by teachers on duty.
- No sitting along any of the ramp and stairwell areas, especially next to the library.
- Be mindful when walking around the school during learning time. We want to have a calm, quiet school when learning is happening.
- Running up or down the stairs is unsafe, please walk only. This also goes for the veranda upstairs.
- Toilets are for going to the toilet only. They are not play areas so there should not be any loud screaming, chasey in or around the toilets.
- After school it is strongly encouraged that families move off the school premises and that there are no ball games after school. This is so Smileys can have access to the quad and oval and be able to supervise accordingly. Thank you for supporting us with this request.
Confirmation: When We Start to Speak for Ourselves
Catholics have no recollection of Baptism whatsoever. This is because our Baptism occurred a few weeks after our birth and we were incapable of knowing what was going on or of expressing an opinion on what was about to happen to us. It was our Parents and Godparents who answered when the Priest asked, “Will you be responsible for nurturing this child in the faith and the life of the Catholic church?” When the time came to receive Confirmation, the time also arrived for us to begin speaking on our own behalf.
Before the Holy Spirit came to the apostles for the first time, they were gathered together in the upper room of a house. They were slowly recovering from the events of Good Friday; they were frightened and nervous about Jesus’ promise to them, “You will receive power when the spirit has come upon you”. They did not realise that Jesus had prepared them well for what was about to happen to them. The Spirit arrived with a great wind and with tongues of fire and their hearts were filled with the power of the Spirit and as the saying goes “A burning heart will soon find for itself a flaming tongue.”
They were able to speak about their faith with boldness and confidence and shared with others what they had seen, experienced and learnt from seeing Jesus in action.
They were able to bring healing to people who were hurting.
They were able to work out disagreements by remembering what Jesus had taught them: Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek and humble, the merciful, those who hunger and thirst for what is right, those who mourn and are able to enter into the sufferings of others, those who are persecuted in the cause of what is right.
Pentecost
This weekend being Pentecost, a new group of young people are about to formally receive the power of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation and begin speaking for themselves; we might cast a timely glance over our own lives to see how well we have spoken for ourselves. What are our reactions as the power of the Spirit continues to be revealed in our lives; are the two greatest commandments (Love of God; Love of our neighbour) alive and active? How “blessed” are we in living the inspiring words of Jesus about being humble and merciful, in contributing to the welfare of the disadvantaged, in standing up for Christian values?
If, as the most significant people in the lives of our children, we are making a real effort to exercise the power of the Spirit within us, then, our children will really begin to “answer for themselves” and follow our example to reveal Jesus to others by engaging in Christian thinking and action.
May the Spirit of Our Lord, Jesus Christ
Be with you always
And may we go in peace
To love and serve the Lord.
Amen
Confirmation
We send prayers and well-wishes to the children making their Confirmation this Saturday evening from 6pm or Sunday morning from 10am. A very special thank you to Miss Kezic and Mrs Barrett for preparing the children so well. Both teachers have had a huge month and have lead Year 6 with aplomb. They start early, work late each day and have given so much of their own time to ensure the children in Year 6 are ready to receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Father Isidore for being our celebrant for both Masses.
Year 6 Camp
Well, we have returned safely from another very successful and rewarding Year 6 Camp. This was a tremendous experience for our Year 6 students as they challenged themselves in ways that they have never really encountered (in the most part) before. I am sure that they will remember the Year 6 Camp for some time to come. The children behaved brilliantly and got a lot of satisfaction out of the experience, as well as the opportunity to develop some new friendships.
I sincerely thank Miss Kezic and Mrs Barrett who led the camp for making themselves available. It is a huge responsibility attending a School Camp and both were very professional in their duties and generous with their time. As I mentioned last week, attending these camps takes time away from their families, and therefore puts extra pressure on the family. I certainly acknowledge this support. I also wish to acknowledge and thank Mrs McLinden, Mr Geaney and Mr Martelli for being fabulous support on camp. It was a tremendous team effort.
I am also very grateful to the staff who remained at Christ the King School as a number of adjustments to timetables and duties, as well as the support needed to cover the staff who were away. Thank you to everyone for this support!
Cross Country
Congratulations to all the children who participated in the Cross Country Wednesday week. I was so proud of all the children who participated. Thank you to the many parents for attending, supervising, and supporting the children. To my amazing staff, who are so giving, committed and passionate about providing the very best support and encouragement for all the children in our school, bravo! Running Club continues every Thursday morning. Again, thank you to our dedicated staff consisting of Mrs McLinden, Miss King, Mrs Viti and Mr Geaney for taking morning training. We wish our students representing Christ the King at the ASCS Interschool Cross Country tomorrow the very best!
Mother’s Day 2024
Hopefully all mothers and mother figures in our community had a happy Mothers’ Day where their love, commitment and dedication were acknowledged and celebrated by their families. We hope everyone enjoyed the wonderful activities and morning High Tea put on in your honour. We thank you for what you do for our students, school and community. Thank you also to the many Dads and mums for helping out at this very special event, and to the P&F for their awesome coordination, setup and planning.
School Nurse Appointment
I am very excited to announce, I have appointed Miss Andrea Mangan as our school-based nurse. Andrea will start with us this Tuesday, 22 May. Andrea is a registered nurse, has training and extensive knowledge in incontinence, seizures, peg feeding and other medical needs. She has just finished at Therapy Focus where she supported many children in schools across WA.
Birthday
Guess whose birthday it is this Wednesday? Our little girl is turning TWO! Happy Birthday, Patch!
Did you Know?
- A ‘jiffy’ is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second
- The first cell phone was invented in 1924
- Venus is the only planet in the solar system to spin backwards
- Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades – King David.
Clubs – Alexander the Great.
Hearts – Charlemagne.
Diamonds – Julius Caesar.
There are ‘great things’ happening in our school due to the efforts of so many people; seek to be one of those people in the coming week!
Andrew Kelly
Principal
Kindergarten and Pre-Kindy students need to wear their Early Childhood T-shirt for their school photos. Students in Year 1 – 6 must wear their formal winter uniform and our Pre-Primary students need to wear their sports uniform (house t-shirt). Summer dresses are not permitted in Term 2 and 3.
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