Dear Parents and Guardians,

FEAST OF OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS – Feast Day 24 May

As Mother of God’s children, Mary has responded by helping Christians throughout the ages. She has done this by coming to the aid of individuals, families, towns, kingdoms and nations.

It is very clear to Christians, and it is also the Will of God that we have and will continue to have the Help of Mary through the recitation of the Holy Rosary.

Most Holy Virgin Mary, Help of Christian,
How sweet it is to come to your feet
imploring your perpetual help.
If earthly mothers cease not to remember their children,
how can you, the most loving of all mothers forget me?
Grant then to me, I implore you,
your perpetual help in all my necessities,
in every sorrow, and especially in all my temptations.
I ask for your unceasing help for all who are now suffering.
Help the weak, cure the sick, convert sinners.
Grant through your intercessions many vocations to the religious life.
Obtain for us, O Mary, Help of Christians, that having invoked you on earth we may love and eternally thank you in heaven.

By St. John Bosco

Hopefully, all mothers and mother figures in our community had a happy Mother’s Day where their love, commitment and dedication were acknowledged and celebrated by their families. On Friday, we were privileged to host our school mothers, grandmothers and mother figures at the Mother’s Day Breakfast in the school hall. It was positive to see so many in attendance enjoying breakfast with their children and with each other. We thank you for what you do for our students, school and community. Lisa and Jess did an outstanding job, it was just a WOW moment. Thank you so much ladies and to your amazing support team, bravo! A special thank you to the following Dads: Adam, Dan, Aaron, Brett and Adam who came early to help with the preparation and offered wonderful hospitality to all the Mum’s and children by serving drinks and managing the buffets.

Thank you also for those who stayed to pack away and for the wonderful cleanup! Thanks also to Una Hosgood for her contribution of 300 baked mini muffins, greatly appreciated! Special thanks to the Naglieri family from Peaches for donating 4 large fruit trays!

Students in Year 6 will be making their Confirmation next weekend May 27 and 28. This is the final sacrament of initiation. The school supports the family and parish in the faith development of the students. 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.

This a reminder to our Year 4 families that the First Eucharist Commitment Mass is this Saturday, 20 May at 6:30 pm at CtK Church. Thank you to the parents and children who attended the First Eucharist workshop last Monday evening. We hope you enjoyed this presentation by Mario Borg from 24:7 Youth Ministry.

National Families Week is celebrated every year between 15 and 21 May, to coincide with the United Nations International Day of Families. The theme for 2023 is: ‘Living real, dreaming big’. National Families Week 2023 celebrates families in all their diversity and promotes the importance of family resilience in creating strong, safe and connected communities. The theme is an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a resilient family, and to celebrate and explore supportive strategies to foster resilience in families. When we talk about resilience in families, we’re talking about the ability to cope with life’s ups and downs and bounce back from challenges. Our individual characteristics, our family environment and the communities in which we live, all contribute to our ability to recover in difficult times. National Families Week, 2023 is a time to celebrate our individual strengths, explore and celebrate the strengths within our families and communities, and dare to dream of a safe and resilient world. (https://nfw.org.au)

Synergy Solar Car Challenge

The Synergy Schools Solar Challenge is a joint initiative between Synergy and the Science Teachers’ Association of WA (STAWA) held annually to engage and educate the next generation of Western Australians on the benefits of solar and renewable energy.

Late last term, a team of year 6 students represented Christ the King School in the competition at Lumen Christi College. There were approximately 50 schools competing on the day. The students had to build their solar cars from scratch within a time limit, relying on the knowledge they had gained throughout the term. They demonstrated excellent teamwork and did a fantastic job building their car, having to make only some minor adjustments when they trialled their car on the track. They made it through the first round of races, which were the best of three over a 20m track. Unfortunately, they were knocked out in the second round, but they were great competitors and representatives of our school. Congratulations to Max Geracitano, Max Jelovsek, Johnny Jocobsz and Oscar Cribb for a fantastic effort. Thank you, Mrs Hughes, for making this learning opportunity for our students possible!

Farewell Mrs Pagani!

It is with a heavy heart that I announce Mrs Cathy Pagani has decided to retire from Christ the King School with her last day being next Wednesday, 24 May. Cathy has decided to move on to the next chapter of her life focusing on spending more quality time with her grandchildren and family. Cathy has been a long-serving staff member for 21 years, showing remarkable dedication and commitment to the children, staff, parents and wider community of CtK.

Wishing all our students a great day tomorrow at the CtK Cross Country Carnival being held at Dick Lawrence Oval. Remember to do your best by having a go and earning points for your House.

Sorry Day – 26 May and National Reconciliation Week – 27 May to 3 June – is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The theme for Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week 2023: Be A Voice for Generations. Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Early Childhood Education lays the foundation for further schooling and provides the initial interface between home and school in a child’s life. Recognising parents as the first educators of their children, early childhood education seeks to build upon home learning. In establishing programs for young children, it is important to remember that Catholic schooling is intentionally directed to the holistic development of children from within, assisting them to become fully integrated human persons.

Our program:

• Recognises, values and builds upon the child’s prior knowledge.
• Understands the importance of developing problem solving and thinking strategies through play.
• Listens to children and their families, respecting their values, cultures and experiences to provide opportunities which support learning.
• Closely observes, describes and records the children’s efforts and achievements by monitoring progress and planning experiences which build on their knowledge, understandings, skills, attitudes and values.
• Facilitates a challenging environment which motivates and enriches learning and gives the child the opportunity to experience:
• Independence and guidance.
• Free choice and direction.
• Incidental moments and planned activities.
• Child initiated, and teacher navigated.
• Individual and group work.
• Free inquiry and explicit teaching.

 

The aims of our Early Childhood Education Program are to encourage children to:

• Develop a positive self-image.
• Love learning and value their individual learning styles.
• Be responsible for their learning.
• Respect their own knowledge, background and culture.
• Take risks, persist and be self-paced with their learning.
• Know, understand and use their personality, talents, and personal ways of being creative.
• Learn through problem-based play activities by doing and being actively involved.
• Learn through adults and others who scaffold their endeavours.
• Respect, value and accept all people.
• Experience the joy in the mystery and wonder of the universe.
• Feel valued and safe.

 

School Attendance

We want to make sure all children get the best education possible which is why attending school every day is so important. Western Australian law stipulates that all school-aged children must go to and attend school every day. As a school, we are required to keep accurate attendance records for all of our students. This includes taking attendance:

in the morning and afternoon for students in Kindergarten to Year 6 at every lesson for secondary school students. Developing the habit of going to school every day is vital so children do not miss out on important ideas and skills they need for future learning.

The impact on the child’s learning when they continuously miss school is quite significant. We certainly do not want parents sending their children to school when they are unwell. This serves no purpose and can have a detrimental effect on the child, other members of the class and the teacher. However, children who stay home for less legitimate reasons can be habit-forming, as well as impacting their learning. For example:

Missing half a day of school each week equates to one month of missed learning each year.

The attendance habits set by children when they first start school continue throughout their school life. If children miss half a day of school each week between Pre-Primary and Year 10, they would miss almost one full year of learning.

Learning is cumulative – if children miss a day, it is harder for them to catch up. You can help by arriving and collecting your children on time; making sure they get nutritious meals and enough sleep; and making appointments with doctors, dentists and specialists after school hours, and making holiday plans during school holidays and not during the school term.

As Principal, I certainly understand that this cannot always be the case, as sometimes you can only get into specialists at certain times and holidays can be a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity for the child and the family.

If your child is unwell and unable to go to school, let the school know straight away. If they miss a day it is important you talk with their teacher to find out how you can help them catch up. If your child cannot attend school because of their mental or physical health, speak to your child’s teacher or make an appointment to speak with me to see what options are available for your child. As the year progresses and we move into the colder months, it is hard to get out of bed and get ready for school. It is important that we remind our children the importance of attending school every day.

Did you know?

• A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
• Because of the speed at which the sun moves, it is impossible for a solar eclipse to last more than 7 minutes and 58 seconds.
• Of all the words Dr Seuss made up in his storybooks, only one word has stuck in the English vocabulary: Grinch, which refers to a killjoy – and it took more than 20 years.

 

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!

Keep smiling and let’s do great things together!

Andrew Kelly
Principal