Christ the King School

Dear Parents and Guardians

 

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 breakfast 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 granddads for helping out at this very special event, and to the P&F for their awesome coordination, setup and planning.

Students in Year 6 have been preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. This is the final sacrament of initiation. The school supports the family and parish in the faith development of the students. Students making their Confirmation are required to attend the Commitment Mass Saturday, 21 May evening Mass. Please pray for these children as they make this journey. May is the month of Mary and this is a good opportunity to pray the Hail Mary.

Hail Mary full of Grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.
Holy Mary Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Cross Country

Congratulations to all the children who participated in the Cross Country last Friday. I was so proud of all the children who participated especially the Year 4 girls who ran through heavy rain keeping their spirits high and even showing smiles while the rest of us took shelter. 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 next Tuesday and Thursday in preparation for the Interschool Cross Country. Again, thank you to our dedicated staff consisting of Mrs McLinden, Ms King, Miss Kezic, Mr Geaney and Mr Albuquerque for taking training on these cool mornings.

Elections Saturday

Our school is once again a Polling Place and many wonderful parents have volunteered to make cakes to sell and cook sausages for our sausage sizzle. Cool drinks will be available to purchase too. We will be located near the Hall and Learning Support Centre. Look forward to seeing you there.

Winter Uniform

Students have settled into the winter uniforms smoothly and are generally wearing their uniforms correctly. Congratulations to all families for ensuring that students are attending school feeling proud of themselves and ready to demonstrate the school value Excellence – We demonstrate pride in ourselves, each other, family, and school.

Pride is a crucial part of a positive culture and people who are proud of something perform better in that environment and are likely to participate in and promote the positive culture. Students can show that they are proud of their school by wearing uniforms correctly, being welcoming, respectful and caring towards each other and giving their best. Students can also determine whether their teachers and parents are proud of their school and this reinforces their willingness to do well.

NAPLAN

We understand that there has been disruption for many families due to Covid. This is unavoidable and we will note absence due to Covid.

I know the children have put their best effort into the testing this past fortnight but, at the same time, recognise that it is just another assessment. All children complete numerous assessments throughout the school year and it is through the analysis of these results that teachers tailor their programs to accommodate the needs of the children.

With the National Testing nearly complete, and with school reports being issued at the end of this term, I would like to share with you some wise words from Albert Einstein:

At Christ the King, we will continue to celebrate and nurture the many and varied gifts our students possess, as they strive to reach, their God given potential.

48 Hour Email Reply Policy

I have spoken to all teachers about a 48 hour email reply policy. There will be times when teachers are able to reply to emails quickly and this is okay, however, please give teachers that 48 hour leeway if they need it. Their first priority is the teaching and learning of all children in the classroom then focusing on supporting their own families while also making sure they are looking after their own mental health and well-being.

New Play Equipment

Look at our new swing set located in the Learning Support Centre Outdoor Sensory Space! Our children are loving this new addition. This has been made possible by Mrs Gail Bergen and the wonderful ladies from the Royal Fremantle Golf Club who raised lots of money for the many children in our school. We will look forward to sharing more new resources with you in the coming weeks and months.

Class Visits

Each morning, I am fortunate enough to visit classrooms across the school. I witness a variety of lessons where there is evidence of certain consistencies. I see children engaged in their learning, enjoying each other’s company and happy to share their experiences with me. When speaking with the children, I will ask them about their learning. The questions I ask can include:

1. What are you learning?
2. How are you doing?
3. How do you know?
4. How can you improve?
5. Where do you go for help?

Our students have the capacity to answer these questions. They can do so because our dedicated and talented staff are attending to:

1. Explicit outcomes.
2. Developing processes for self – evaluation and assessment.
3. Providing feedback which sets goals.
4. The creation of a trust environment.

I witness an environment by which every child is encouraged to develop their God given gifts. As a faith community, we work together to empower our children. We strive to develop both practical skills and spiritual confidence, in God’s help and love.

I had fun manipulating play dough to make the longest piece possible. These bright sparks decided it would be a good idea to make an enormous oval shape. This photograph demonstrates why I have the best job in the world!

Andrew Kelly
Principal

Dear Parents and Guardians

All-loving God, we give you thanks and praise for mothers young and old. We pray for mothers, who give life and count toes, and tend to our every need; May they be blessed with patience and tenderness to care for their families and themselves with great joy. We pray for our own mothers who have nurtured and cared for us; May they continue to guide us in strong and gentle ways. We remember mothers who are separated from their children because of war, poverty, or conflict; May they feel the loving embrace of our God who wipes every tear away. We pray for women who are not mothers, but still love and shape us with motherly care and compassion. We remember mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers who are no longer with us who live forever in our memory and nourish us with their love. Amen

Welcome Back

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday break. I have enjoyed listening to stories from students and staff about camping trips with families, swimming with whale sharks, surfing down south, and visiting relatives throughout WA and within Australia. Thank you to all the families who entered positive test results on the Self-Reporting Portal located on our school website over the course of the school holidays.

New Families

I wish to extend a very special welcome to the Bellem Family; Linkin, Year 4 Gold and Georgia, Year 2 Gold and also the Devine Family; Aiden, Year 2 Gold. I know you will really enjoy your time with us as CtK is a wonderful, vibrant and engaging school community.

Mother’s Day Breakfast

Tomorrow we will come together as a community to celebrate our mothers, grandmothers and all people who care for us. We will share a whole school Continental Breakfast in the Hall from 7.30am. We encourage you to come along and share this special gathering with us.

I wish to thank in advance our wonderful P&F for their generosity and organisation in preparing and setting up for tomorrow’s breakfast. We are very blessed as a community to have so many people dedicated to our well-being. Thank You!

On behalf of the school community, I wish all our wonderful mothers a relaxing and peaceful day with your family on Sunday. May it be full of joy and happiness!

Congratulations

Congratulations to Jacynta Wake who married Harley Philp during the school holidays. We extend our well wishes to the happy couple, as Mr and Mrs Philp!

Special Needs Presentation at Fremantle Golf Club Wednesday 11 May

Royal Fremantle Golf Club Charity Day 2022 is going to fundraise for our children in our Learning Support Centres on Wednesday, 11 May. All money raised will go to new equipment, resources and training. This is an absolutely amazing opportunity and I wish to thank on behalf of our school community the ladies who will be donating money to our school. What a brilliant community and very worthwhile event. Mrs Gail Bergen is the extraordinary lady who advocated so strongly for our school to be the beneficiary of this fabulous cause. Thank you so much Mrs Bergen, you are truly amazing!

Winter Uniform

Children need to wear full winter uniform in Term 2 by the start of Week 3. Please check the school website for information regarding school uniforms. I do understand that there are some current supply issues.

Term 2

Term 2 is set to be a very busy term. Please continue to check the school calendar for what’s coming up. Below is a snippet as to what to expect:

• Yr3 & Yr5 NAPLANMothers’ Day celebrations
• Cross Country
• Sacrament of Reconciliation
• Sacrament of Confirmation
• Sacrament of First Eucharist
• School Photos
• Semester 1 Reports

ANZAC Day

A wonderful opportunity for our Year 6 Leaders to pay their respects and lay a wreath on behalf of the Christ the King Community last Wednesday. Thank you to Patrice and Jack for leading our service. Thank you to Mr Russo for playing the ‘Last Post’ and thank you to Mr Dobbie for coordinating the service.

Holiday Works

Some major and minor works were completed over the holidays. We are very excited to have glass sliding doors installed in Year One and the Early Years Learning Support Centre. The Science Lab had some major roof repairs completed. A glass door for easy access to outdoor spaces was installed in 3 Year Old Kindy. A Green Screen was painted in the computer room. Ceiling repairs were completed along the corridor of Year 6. Two smaller rooms, one upstairs and one downstairs have been repurposed for a sensory space and learning support space. The library is currently having renovations done to bring it into the 21^st Century and in readiness for the new furniture, which will be arriving in two weeks. The Kindy and Pre Primary fence has now been completed and the children have a purpose built water pump to use in their play area. An ANZAC garden has been erected and the Student Council designed and planted ANZAC roses, grevilleas and rosemary. The children will now learn how to create QR Codes for the garden. Next week the Student Council and Library Legend Leaders will install a Lego Wall in the library. These new additions will be enjoyed by all our students.

The upstairs Resource Room is going to have its ceiling replaced due to weather damage. Once the ceiling comes down this room will be turned into an Art Room and I will be actively looking to employ an Art teacher.

Month of May

During the month of May, we dedicate our prayers to Our Spiritual Mother Mary. Our Year 6 Communication Leaders will lead us in a decade of the Rosary, each Thursday after lunch, throughout the Month of May.

Interviews

Interviews for 2023, 4 Year Old Kindy and Pre Kindy places commence this term, so please ensure that if you or someone close to you is intending to send their child to our school in 2023, that they have completed and submitted an application form. Places are now filling up fast, which is very pleasing!

NAPLAN

A reminder that next week students in Year 3 and 5 will participate in the annual NAPLAN tests in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar, and punctuation) and numeracy. All the tests will be completed online except for the Year 3 writing test which will be a paper test. The NAPLAN assessments provide parents and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests. However, NAPLAN is only one aspect of a schools reporting and assessment process. It does not replace ongoing assessments administered by teachers to determine student performance over time.

Some helpful NAPLAN tips:

• Reinforce that your expectation is for them to try their best
• Maintain a caring and positive attitude
• Keep perspective – This is just one test in time: just one form of assessment; success is not determined by one test
• Prepare your child – Have your child go to bed early so they are well rested and make sure they have eaten a good breakfast.

Important Dates:

• Tuesday 10 May – Writing
• Wednesday 11 May – Reading
• Monday 16 May – Conventions of Language
• Tuesday 17 May – Numeracy

12/5, 13/5, 18/5, 19/5 and 20/5 – Catch up tests

School Organisational Climate Survey

In Week 3 of this term, we are excited to launch our online School Climate survey. The survey is an opportunity for our school to receive feedback and to respond to what is said. The feedback does NOT include the data of individuals: rather, feedback involves graphs based on the feedback of all participants. To ensure anonymity there are aggravated scores on the graphs. The feedback is captured from staff, students, and parents. There are no right or wrong answers. The questions are set around two sets of responses. Actual and preferred. The actual responses inform the school of what our community think is happening in the school. The preferred responses tell the school what the community would like to be happening in the school. The response format of the survey involves a five-point frequency response scale of Almost, Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often and Almost Always.

You will receive a link to the survey next week and we appreciate your participation and feedback as we work as a school to meet the needs of all our stakeholders within the Christ the King community.

Some of our children hard at work over the past two weeks

Some students working hard in Italian.

Year Three Gold in Design and Technology creating towers.

Year Three Red learning about the Litany of Saints.

Fathering Project

Top tips to be a good role model

1. Show your children how you want them to behave through your own behaviours.
2. Lead by example. Your children learn from seeing how you deal with the highs and lows in your own life.
3. Role model how you solve problems and make choices. Explain the process you went through to your children.

God Moments

Seeing the children and staff welcome each back for term two.

Our Year Six students designing and creating the ANZAC garden and Lego Wall.

Andrew Kelly
Principal