Emmaus Catholic Primary School

‘Everyone comes with them at least one,
and probably many pieces,
to someone else’s puzzle.
Sometimes they know it, sometimes they don’t
...and when you present your piece to another,
whether they knew it or not,
whether they know it or not,
You are a messenger from the most high.’

Lawrence Kushner

Through giving a small piece of oneself, we connect and build relationships with others. We begin to build the Kingdom of God within our school community. In Jesus’ life he offered pieces of himself to his community and followers. Through his offerings he touched and brought his Father’s message to all people. In our role as educators in Catholic Schools, we need to share the gifts we have throughout our community and encourage others to do the same. Jesus’ mission in his life was to build community and lead others, we are fortunate that we get to do this at Emmaus Catholic Primary School. In fact, every interview that Mrs Hackner and I have with prospective parents, we always mention the importance of being involved in their children’s education. This is also a big part of being involved in the school. P&F functions is one good example of getting involved. There was no better example of involvement than last weekend at our Busy Bee. Personally, I was so proud to see so many families attend and help out throughout the morning.

The responsibility of contributing to the school remains with each of us. By doing this we actually bring Jesus alive to every situation in the school and also realise the importance of bringing Jesus to the centre of all conversations in a Catholic school. This is something that is a part of our everyday lives at Emmaus Catholic Primary School. It is embedded into our thinking and something that keeps us centred on what is core to being a Catholic school community. Giving witness in this way allows our personal faith to be nurtured and nourished. Being inclusive and welcoming of each person is how Jesus lived his life. This becomes a daily opportunity at Emmaus CPS as it gives us a chance to see Jesus alive in our community each day, not only the special things we see but the things we see that we are thankful for that show us Jesus is present. Jesus was always about the collective.

We have the opportunity within our school community, to invite all our families into the story of Jesus and his way of compassion, justice and peace. This is at the forefront of all we do and why we are and who we are!

Have a great week and look after everyone.

Thank you to the families who were able to attend Saturday morning’s Busy Bee. It was a fantastic morning, where our list of jobs were ticked off. We cleaned up the area outside the Year 5/6 classroom at the back end of the school in preparation for a Community Garden and Yarning Circle/Edible Bushtucker Garden currently in planning stage; and some work to the Greenhouse in preparation for its revitalisation. We even had time to do some general weeding/gardening around the school before the weather came in.

A special thank you to the following people who were able to give up some of their Saturday morning and put the gardening gloves on:

The Shaw Family, The Stewart Family, Jarrad and Eli Hannah, Kyle and Luka Malkus, Julie Hall, Christian Fletcher, Sarah Johnsen, Diana Agudo, Roisin Johnson, Astrid Syed, Kealey Pearson, Rita Panebianco, Loretta Hackner and Sandro Coniglio.

We look forward to the development of these areas of the school, and know there are many families who have offered their support and services in helping our students and staff create a sustainable environment at Emmaus.

Watch This Space

Stephanie Freeman

Many thanks to Mrs Freeman for organising the Busy Bee and to the P&F for assisting Mrs Freeman and for supplying morning tea and the sausage sizzle.

Mother Nature was not on our side, with the most undesirable weather for our Athletics Carnival today. Fortunately, there appears to be sunshine heading our way next week so our event is now re-scheduled for Thursday 29 August. Mums, Dads, grandparents and friends, head over throughout the day to cheer on our students and join in the fun.

A huge thank you to Mrs Bol for her efforts in organising the carnival, she has been ready for weeks and was so disappointed that we had to postpone due to the weather but it will happen - patience Mrs Bol!

Pasta in the Valley lunch orders can still be made - see the instructions attached on how to order. Please note: The order is only processed if a text message/email is received as confirmation (if no confirmation is received, the order needs to be resubmitted).

Congratulations to the Year 3 and 4 Choir and the Emmaus Choir on a spectacular performance at the Performing Arts Festival this week. The feedback from adjudicators was extremely positive and similarly, many parents and spectators were impressed with the quality of our very new choir. Well done to Mrs Leith and the Year 3 - 6 students!

Next week, the Year 2s will be showcasing their musical performance at the Wellington Centre, Morley and we wish them all the very best!

There's only a week to go for our Father's Day Breakfast! Please see the flyer attached to register attendance (final day for RSVP is TODAY!). We would love Dads, Step-Dads, Grandads and Father Figures to join us for some special spoiling!

Please also be reminded that the Father's Day Stall for Kindy to Year 6 students will be held on Monday 26 August. Students are to bring loose change (no more than $10) and a re-usable bag to purchase a special gift for their Dad or special Father Figure. Thank you to our P&F for organising the stall.

A big thank you to Corey and Emily Crane who have spent time this term preparing our Emmaus Worm Farm. Corey and Emily joined the Year 2 class last Tuesday to create a home for our new wriggly friends. The Year 2 students enjoyed being part of the process and learning interesting facts about our wriggly friends from Corey, including how worms use their senses to see and hear, and what we need to do to provide and care for them.

We are currently giving the worms time to settle into their new home and look forward to caring for them as a school – feeding them some of our organic and paper waste, watching them grow, and using the waste they produce to feed and nourish the gardens in our school.

Stephanie Freeman

Science Teacher

The Emmaus Open Night is fast approaching. Mark your calendar for Friday 13th September. Classrooms will be open from 4:30 - 6:30 pm for parents, grandparents, family and friends to tour through and see the magnificent work students have been completing across the grades. Take a peek into other classrooms and the Science room too. An Art Show, along with a Performing Arts showcase will also delight you. Why not treat the family to dinner too? Food trucks will be heading our way throughout the night. See you there!

Our parish and school relations are strengthened when we join together in celebration at Mass. The next Parish and School Mass is on Saturday 7 September and we invite all our Emmaus families to join us. The Emmaus choir will also be showcasing their beautiful voices in praise at this community mass. Please see the invitation attached below.

Wow! Our school has been buzzing with BookWeek excitement! Thank you to Mrs Fanderlinden, Mr Caddy and Mrs Dichiera for organising the fun-filled activities and incursions throughout the week. Our Kindy to Year 2s excitedly participated in the Maybe a Miracle incursion by Perform Education with our senior students meeting the marvellous local author Chenee Marrapodi who got students on their toes to showcase superb dancing skills. On Wednesday, our classes strutted around the hall to show off their top-notch Book Week costumes and our super-skilled staff entertained the children with a re-enactment of one of Mr Caddy's short narratives.

Students from across the grades took part in 'Guess the Teacher's Favourite Book' competition. Good luck to all who entered! Winners will be announced next week.

In Week Five, we celebrated the Bullying No Way! Week of Action. It is a national event dedicated to raising awareness about bullying and promoting kindness and respect in schools. At our school, we showed our support by wearing a splash of purple, the hero colour of the event, symbolising our commitment to creating a safe and inclusive environment for everyone. The theme this year was Everyone Belongs, which is a continuous theme at Emmaus through our UR Strong Friendship Program and our everyday interactions with others.

Our school photo day is on Tuesday 10 September!

1. Every student will have their photo taken even if parents do not order photos.

2. Next week students in Kindy (4K) to Y6 will receive an order envelope with instructions on how to order photos and what type of photo packs are available.

3. The expiry date for ordering photos online is Tuesday 17 September 2024.

4. There is an opportunity for Emmaus siblings to have their photos taken on photo day, between 8:20 am and 9:00 am, these will likely be taken in the Hall.

5. We will also have a whole school photo taken in the middle of the day!

Please see the attachment below for further instructions on the ordering process.

In preparation for our In-term Swimming Lessons in November, all students need to be enrolled through the following link, or QR code created specifically for Emmaus students. Please don't forget to complete your child's enrolment by Friday 30 August. For siblings, each child will need to be enrolled separately. More detailed information and times will be distributed in Term 4.

Rebecca Bol

Physical Education Specialist

Monday 26 August

• Year 2 Musical PAF assembly 9:00 am
• 4K - Year 6 Father's Day stall

Tuesday 27 August

• Catholic Education WA Leaders Forum Roadshow in Emmaus Hall (all day)

Wednesday 28 August

• Year 2 Musical performance PAF Wellington Centre 9:20 am

Thursday 29 August

• Athletics Carnival - take two!

Friday 30 August

• Father's Day breakfast, raffle & assembly

Sunday 1 September

• Father's Day!

Monday 2 September

• Literacy and Numeracy Week!

Tuesday 3 September

• Memory Cafe'- Kindy Green
• P&F meeting 6:00 pm

Friday 6 September

• Assembly (Y1) 9:00 am

Saturday 7 September

• Eucharist Thanksgiving Mass (certificates) 6:00 pm - St Helena's & Emmaus School Mass

Sunday 8 September

• Eucharist Thanksgiving Mass (certificates) 9:30 am / 5:45 pm
• Altar Server Training (after 9:30 am Mass)
• Holy Cross Mass 9:30 am

Our next newsletter will be distributed on Friday 6 September.

Have a fabulous weekend.

God bless!

Sandro Coniglio

Principal