Dear Parents, Caregivers and Community Members,
Prayer for the Beginning of the School Year
Lord Jesus, we ask for Your help as we begin this new school year.
Allow us to experience Your presence in the many blessings You put before us.
Open our eyes to the new challenges and exciting opportunities that this new school year brings.
Open our heart and mind to new friends and new teachers.
Give us a generous spirit to be enthusiastic with our studies and courage to accept new opportunities.
Help us to be attentive to one another and let us experience Your presence in our new friends.
Jesus, inspire us to do our best this year!
Amen
Welcome back for the start of the 2026 school year! It was a privilege to see our students and families return refreshed and eager after the holidays. The interactions between old friends and new were very positive as all went about finding their new classrooms. What is characteristic of our school and pleasing to witness, is the way that new students, families, and staff are welcomed and made feel comfortable by our existing students, families and staff and the way that all go out of their way to say hello and take the time to help others. This is noticeable in the school grounds and in the classrooms. Congratulations to all and wishing you a fantastic and successful year ahead.
As we begin the year, there are two ways to ensure that our children have the greatest opportunity of experiencing success. One of these is a strong partnership between home and school. If each child understands and witnesses that the home and school are on the same team and are committed to their growth and development, they will be more positive about their learning and more likely to succeed. Secondly, if we each have high expectations of our children, they are more accountable to the home and school and they raise their standards to meet what is being asked of them. This applies to attention to tasks, homework, uniform and presentation, respect towards others and the way they represent themselves, their families and their school.
Thank you to the many parents who attend Wednesday’s evening Parent Teacher Information Sessions. This was a great way to find out about the year ahead, show your child that you believe their learning is important and it was an opportunity to meet your child’s teachers. A HUGE thank you to the teachers who presented and their class information, awesome job!
Here is Julie Scali’s information if you wish to research her work:
Julie Scali literacyimpact.com.au
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.
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.
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 Jonathon Garlett a proud Noongar man and his son who led our Smoking Ceremony last Friday morning.
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.
Evening on the Green Welcome Back Family Picnic: I encourage all families to attend this event on Friday 20th 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 5:00pm. Once again, this promises to be a fabulous community gathering to start the school year.
Parking: This 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.
From My Readings…
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
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 remember it takes all of us!
Principal
Andrew Kelly