From the Principal – Term 1, Week 02

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Community Members,

Prayer for our School

Dear God,

Bless this school which we have built for the education of our young people.
Bless our students and teachers, our parents,
and all who promote sound education in our community.
May our children grow in wisdom, age and grace
before You and all Your people.

May this school always be a home of truth and wisdom,
of faith and good will toward all.

Through the prayers of
Mary, Our Mother,
may this school help our community
and build Your kingdom of justice, light and peace.

Amen

On behalf of the staff of Christ the King School, I would like to welcome all students and their families to the new school year. Our dedicated staff have worked very hard over the break to prepare the grounds, buildings and teaching programs for the 2024 school year. We are indeed very fortunate to have the school and facilities that are provided here at Christ the King School.

We all know that children receive the best education when parents and staff work as a team. Parents’ enthusiasm, support and involvement are integral to the success of our school as are the skills, dedication and professionalism of teachers. Together, staff and parents can provide educational excellence for every student, so that they can achieve their personal best. Together, we can support one another to provide a friendly learning environment and celebrate our achievements.

Education today is a complex engagement because of the intensity and variety of external influences particularly through various forms of media and electronic communications. Our school has a special role in assisting every parent with the education of their children, so that all children will develop a sense of personal responsibility and learn the correct use of freedom. Throughout the year, our school will also provide experiences of liturgy and prayer as invitations to know and experience the enormous love and special friendship of God. I hope our school will be a place where staff, students and families have opportunities to experience God’s presence in our lives. I pray that the school year ahead, will see our staff and parents in genuine partnership in our collective role and faith education of the children at Christ the King School.

It was tremendous to see all our students return to school looking so refreshed and energised for the new year. I couldn’t believe how much some of our students had grown and changed over the break . . . don’t our students look so grown-up in their School Uniform?

Congratulations

Congratulations to all our Mums and Dads on getting their children ready for the start of the year. I appreciate it can be very hectic trying to organise all the things necessary for the new school year. Well Done! Thank you also for making a real effort with the School Uniform, as this is most important, particularly as we try and set the standard and expectation for the beginning of the year. I am fully aware of the struggles you have experienced and I am working through the issues with our suppliers. Thank you for your patience.

New Staff and Families

In a special way, I would like to welcome all those who are new to the family of Christ the King School. My prayer and hope for you is that your association with the school will be long and lasting, and one filled with many memorable memories. May your settling in be a gentle one.

Along with new families, we also have new faces who have joined our staff for 2024. We welcome:

Mrs Madeline Kuhn – Kindy Red Teacher

Miss Jessica Delmadoros – Preprimary Teacher

Miss Renee Tromp – PreKindy EA

Miss Olivia Purtell – Year Two Gold Teacher

Miss Olivia Letizia – Year Three Red Teacher

Miss Natasha Lomma – Year Four Gold Teacher

Mrs Lisa Gauci – Year Five Red Teacher

Miss Denielle Borcich – Year Five Gold Teacher

Miss Claudia Perna – Special Needs EA

Miss Claudia Pensebene – Special Needs EA

Mrs Maria Siragusa – Special Needs EA

Mrs Janelle Salerno – Special Needs EA

Smoking Ceremony

Having a Smoking Ceremony is to cleanse a space in which the ceremony takes place, so as to allow peace and recognise the importance of the occasion. We can learn about the ways that we deeply feel and care for our land – our relationship to the land. Thank you to Reverend Mitchell Garlett a proud noongar man who led our Smoking Ceremony last Friday morning. Well done to our Head Girl Dominique and Head Boy Christian for leading our ceremony. Both did an outstanding job, well done!

School Improvements

Over the holidays renovations were completed with the Art Room now fully functional. A kiln will be added in the coming weeks. The 3 Year Old classroom has new toilets added. The roof was also replaced with red colourbond. A glass sliding door and ramp are currently being built for the classroom. There is a fenced area for the children to use. The Kindy and PP area had the mound removed and now the area is flat with grass. The old Chapel is now a vibrant learning centre for children in Years 4-6. New lighting along the hall facing the learning centre car park have been added. The new school electronic sign in the learning centre car park is now operational. New air conditioners have been added to both Year 6 classrooms, a learning support room and the library. Painting of the Year One corridor and classroom doors has also been completed. Painting of all verandas, walkways, with safety yellow strips added have been completed around the school. More disabled bays will be added to the learning centre car park soon. All electrical tagging has been completed. All fire extinguishers and hose reels are being replaced.

Don’t Forget

Our fortnightly newsletter has very important information for our parents. Every class communicates via Seesaw. Our school webpage will be undergoing some changes soon.

Lent

Lent is upon us from next Wednesday. Some supporters celebrate only the happy time in Jesus’ life such as Easter and Christmas. As “true believers” we should also pray with him on Holy Thursday, stand by him on Good Friday and join him in prayer and fasting during the forty days of Lent.

Next Wednesday, 14 February we as a school will celebrate Ash Wednesday with a Mass at 9:15am in the hall, which in the Catholic Church marks the beginning of the season of Lent. It is a season of reconciliation, reflection and prayer, which prepares us for Easter Sunday. This period we call LENT means ‘spring’, and we celebrate it in memory of the forty days Jesus spent alone praying in the desert. Lent is a time for strengthening our faith, a time to reflect on who we are and where we are going. It is a time for quietness and prayer, a time of penance and meditation, a time to become aware of our strengths and weaknesses.

Evening on the Green Welcome Back Family Picnic

I encourage all families to attend this event on Friday 23rd February. This event is coordinated by the Christ the King School P&F Association. This occasion is a way of celebrating your child/ren’s first few weeks at the school, as well as an opportunity to meet other parents and welcome NEW families to the CtK School community. This will be held in the School Quad from 5:30pm until 9.00pm. As in the past, you are encouraged to bring your own picnic dinner. A band will be entertaining us with live music on stage where we had our Christmas Concert last year along with lots of FREE fun activities for the children to do. Once again, this promises to be a fabulous community gathering to start the school year.

Parking

Is at a premium. There are no more car park spaces available so please be patient and just remember to drive safely as children are walking through the car park. Please DO NOT park on people’s verges across the road from the Early Childhood Centre Car Park on Caldwell Street. Homeowners have complained to the school and the Ranger will be patrolling the area. I will continue to think about practical ways to support parents in being able to access the school grounds safely. Everyone please be patient and remember child safety first.

Fathering Project Welcome

“Christ The King Fathering Project Leaders encourage any new or existing Dads & Father figures in our school to register using the QR code link provided in the attached flyer. Registering with the CTK Fathering Project will enable access to many useful fathering resources and communications of upcoming events. CTK Group Leads will be meeting at Carrington Bar and Grill on the 28th February at 7pm – feel free to drop in and say hello!”

A message from Seton Catholic College for Year 3 and 4 students at Christ the King School

Seton Catholic College has reached maximum capacity for Year 7, both for the upcoming academic year of 2024 and the following year of 2025. Any further applications received will be placed in our wait pool, and admission will be dependent on availability and processed according to the CEWA Enrolment Policy.

Given the ongoing demand for enrolment at Seton, we are taking proactive steps to encourage our local Catholic Primary School families who have children entering high school in Year 7 2026 to fill their enrolment documents in without delay and submit them before the end of the year.

We also suggest that families with students entering Year 4 next year also start the application process if they are considering Seton as a high school choice. Seton will start processing applications for Year 4 in the second part of the year.

Our aim is to provide every possible opportunity for our Catholic feeder school families to enrol at Seton Catholic College, as later applications may significantly disadvantage their enrolment prospects.

SHREK THE MUSICAL – SETON CATHOLIC COLLEGE

Our highly anticipated 2024 full school musical is here! Everyone’s favourite swamp loving ogre is set to storm the DVC stage for our March 13-16 season.

Based on the much-loved DreamWorks animated film, Shrek The Musical is a hilarious and uplifting comedy starring everyone’s favourite ogre. In an effort to win back the isolated bliss of his swamp, Shrek teams up with Donkey to deliver Princess Fiona to her new husband-to-be, Lord Farquaad. Witness the classic story teamed up with amazing songs and dance numbers in this family-friendly musical spectacular presented by the talented students of Seton Catholic College.

Tickets go on sale at 9am on February 5th and are sure to sell fast. To secure your seat and be a part of the fun, head to trybooking.com/COSMZ Don’t miss out!…..

From My Readings This Week…

7 Ways to Make a Sensational Start to the School Year

A new school year means a fresh start for students. Regardless of your child’s performance last year, they start school with a clean slate. A break offers students the chance to begin new habits and adopt new behaviours. Here are seven ideas to help you make the most of the fresh start and make this year your child’s best year ever year at school

Commit to your child going to school every day on time
One of the most important things you can do to ensure your child has a bright future is to make sure he or she goes to school every day – and gets there on time. Kids spend more time asleep than at school, so we need to maximise every day to get full value.
Help kids start each day well
A good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast and some words of encouragement from you will help set a positive tone for a day of learning. This may mean that you adjust your morning routine so that kids have plenty of time to get up, eat and get ready for the day. Consider taking a leaf out of the book of a friend of mine who gets her children to make their beds each morning which sets the tone for a productive day ahead.

Establish work & study habits
The most successful students are those that develop regular study habits that suit their lifestyle, their study style and their school’s expectations. Find out the work expectations from your child’s or young person’s school and help them establish a work routine that matches their personality, lifestyle and family style. Be flexible here as one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to study routines.

Make sure your child gets enough sleep
I encourage you to make a big focus as this year as many children and young people are sleep-deprived, which impacts on their well-being and their learning. A good night’s sleep consolidates learning, as well as assisting future learning. Children need between 10-12 hours of sleep each day, while teens need a minimum of nine hours. Help kids get sufficient sleep by having a regular bed-time and get-up time each day. Have 45-minute wind-down time each night, and remove screens and mobile phones from bedrooms.

Get your kids outside more for good physical and mental health
Kids today get less exercise than those of past generations, which is an impediment to learning and mental health. Health professionals recommend a minimum of 60 minutes of exercise per day for kids of all ages. Encourage kids to play sport; promote free and active play and look for ways to make moving part of their daily lives. Consider increasing your child’s green time and decreasing screen time for good physical and mental health.

Focus on being friendly
Schools are very social places requiring kids to negotiate many different social situations each day. Encourage kids to be open and tolerant; to be friendly; to be involved in plenty of activities and to be social risk-takers. Some kids close down their friendship opportunities through self-centredness, poor attitude and unwillingness to take social risks.

Develop self-help skills
Successful students are often well-organised, self-directed and self-motivated. You can foster organisational skills and self-direction by developing simple, age-appropriate self-help skills related to their every day lives. Also use visual parenting techniques to aid organisation and encourage independence. Such skills as making lunches, packing school bags, and organising after school schedules can be great lessons that impact on how kids perform at school.

At the start of the school year kids are likely to adopt changes than at any other time. Make the most of the opportunity by focusing on two or three areas to really target and you’ll find that the rest may well fall into place.

By Michael Grose

Did you Know?

Butterflies taste with their feet
Most lipstick contains fish scales
The symbol on the # ‘pound’ key is called an octothorpe
A person’s sense of smell is better at night
9th February is World Pizza Day: The delicious creation that we can always trust to cheer us up. Pizza Day made its way into the stomachs and hearts of pizza lovers in Italy in the 10^th century. Fun fact: Did you know Italian Queen Margarita of Savoy, visited Naples on a royal visit in 1889?

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 evolve together!

Andrew Kelly
Principal