St Luke's Catholic Primary
NEWSLETTER | 18TH APRIL 2024
Message From The Principal
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to Term 2.
At the conclusion of last term, we conducted parent/teacher interviews. I trust you found these sessions valuable as they provided the opportunity to connect with your child’s teachers and gain insights into their learning journey so far this year. At the end of this term, teachers will report formally on your child’s progress for Semester 1.
Given our 11-week term, we have strategically scheduled professional learning days for staff to ensure extended long weekends for families. It is hoped that this works well for families and allows you to spend valuable time together.
A very special welcome to Emilee Conca who has joined us in Year 2B this term. As previously mentioned, Mrs Sarah Williams will be the short-term principal from 2nd May – 10th June while I am on leave.
A breakfast to celebrate Mothers and Grandmothers will be held at school on Friday 10th May. This year, we are catering for adults only, as it is the adults who we wish the focus to be on. In our spirit of Service, it will be lovely to see the children serving the important females in their lives. Thank you to the P&F Fathering Group who have organised this event. If you haven’t already responded please RSVP for catering purposes by Tuesday 7th May via https://forms.office.com/r/tERr5tjgfJ
This morning we gathered to celebrate the Eucharist as a whole school. It was a wonderful mass and the students are to be commended for the beautiful way they sang and participated prayerfully and reverently. Our Year 6 students are preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation, which will take place on the weekend of 18/19 May. We ask that you keep these students, their sponsors and their families in your thoughts and prayers.
Several families across our school have faced health issues in recent months and the generosity of the school community in supporting them has been amazing. We sincerely thank all who have contributed, whether it be in vouchers, food or simply a phone call; your support has been very much appreciated.
You’ll notice in this newsletter the addition of the Parent/Carer Corner. The purpose of this is to provide you with information about a variety of topics which we hope you will find both interesting and valuable.
It has been lovely to see all the happy, smiling faces greeting us at the start of each day. As a staff we look forward to journeying with you this term to ensure the best possible outcomes for your beautiful children.
God Bless,
Kerry Hewitson
Principal
Message from the Assistant Principals
Week 2 Student Free Days
A friendly reminder that Thursday 25th April is the ANZAC Day Public Holiday and Friday 26th April is a Pupil Free Day while staff undertake professional development.
Confirmation Parent & Child Workshops
We are looking forward to welcoming the Confirmation candidates and their parents to the workshops on Tuesday 23rd April. The session for 6W will run from 4:00-5:30pm followed by the 6B session 5:30-7:00pm. The workshops will take place in the Dance Hall, children are asked to bring along their own textas/ colouring materials.
Dogs on School Grounds
Unfortunately, families are not permitted to bring dogs on school grounds. While we understand the joy they bring, ensuring the wellbeing of all is our priority. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Speech Pathologist Parent Information Session
Thank you to Jenny Baker, from Fremantle Speech Pathology Services Pty Ltd, for presenting to our Kindy parents on Wednesday morning. We hope you all found it to be a useful and worthwhile presentation ahead of your child's speech screening process.
Before School Supervision
For the safety of our students, please note that there is no supervision on school grounds before 8:10am. We encourage parents to ensure that their children arrive at school after this time and remain in the Undercover Area until the first bell rings at 8:25am. Parents and students should not be waiting outside classrooms before this time. A second bell will sound at 8:35am to signal the beginning of teaching and learning. We appreciate your cooperation in helping to maintain a safe and secure environment for all students.
Classroom Visits
Spending time in the classrooms is one of the highlights of our roles. Walking around seeing and hearing the 'buzz' of children learning is such a joy! In our first week back, our staff and students have hit the ground running! We are so blessed to be a part of this wonderful St Luke's community! Keep up the awesome work boys and girls!
Playgrounds
A reminder that the playgrounds are out of bounds before and after school. This includes for younger siblings, even if they are being supervised by a parent.
St Luke's Community Calendar
Recently, we have transitioned our Community Calendar to an Outlook platform. As always, the calendar is updated live here on our website. You can download this calendar to your personal device for your convenience.
Action for Happiness: Happier Kinder Together
You may be interested in the free Action for Happiness app for iOS and Android, for more info click this link: https://actionforhappiness.org/all-calendars
Please click here for this week's Kids' Bulletin and activities.
Have a wonderful end to the week and an even better weekend!
Sarah Williams & Kristy Graffin
Assistant Principals
Parents & Carers Corner
Let's Celebrate Neurodiversity
Neurodiversity celebrates the wide spectrum of neurological differences from person to person, recognising that brains function differently. These differences are natural variations rather than deficits that need to be 'fixed'. Four of the more common forms of neurodiversity are dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and dysgraphia. “The world needs all kinds of minds to flourish.” – Dr. Temple Grandin
iOS Screen Distance
To address the increasing prevalence of Myopia in children and digital eye strain of all ages Apple has introduced Screen Distance on iPhones and iPads. The Screen Distance feature uses the camera to detect when the device is too close to the eyes for too long. When your iPhone or iPad is too close Screen Distance will cover the screen with an alert (see below. To remove the alert move your device away from your face and/or tap continue. Kayelene Kerr (who presented to our parents on eSafety here at St Luke's) added more information about this Screen Distance and step-by-step instructions to activate it in her blog here: Protecting children's developing eyes and vision.
Code of Conduct
The Parent, Student and Staff Code of Conduct documents serve as guiding frameworks for expectations at St Luke's. They outline the responsibilities of everyone in our community. Adherence to these Codes of Conduct helps to promote a culture of accountability, safety and success within our school community. They can be viewed here on our website.
Telethon Speech and Hearing
St Luke’s Catholic Primary School has been the proud partner of Telethon Speech & Hearing’s support program for students with hearing loss since 1989.
Run by Telethon Speech & Hearing (TSH), the School Support Program allows students with hearing loss to take a full and active part in mainstream school life. Students attend mainstream classes whilst receiving support and individual assistance from a Teacher of the Deaf. Individual assistance may include extra language, speech, auditory and academic support tailored to meet the individual needs of the students. Teachers of the Deaf also provide parent education sessions on a range of topics and foster parent-driven peer networks.
Sibling Enrolments for 2026
Interviews for siblings due to commence at St Luke's in 2026 will begin this term. Your patience is appreciated as we work our way through this lengthy process.
Upcoming Events
As calendar dates can be subject to change, please always confirm events by checking our online calendar - https://www.stlukeswoodvale.wa.edu.au/community-calendar
Week 1
Friday 19th April
- Merit Award Assembly 2:30pm
Week 2
- Kindy Speech Screenings
Tuesday 23rd April
- Confirmation Parent & Child Workshops (6W 4:00-5:30pm, 6B 5:30-7:00pm)
Wednesday 24th April
- ANZAC Day Assembly led by Year 3 at 8:45am
Thursday 25th April
- ANZAC Day Public Holiday
Friday 26th April
- Pupil Free Day
Week 3
- Kindy Speech Screenings
Wednesday 1st May
- Kindy Cross Country
Thursday 2nd May
- SHINE Incursion 12:20-1:50pm
Friday 3rd May
- Faction Cross Country Carnival (PP-Year 6)
Week 4
- Kindy OT Screenings
Monday 6th May
- Confirmation Retreat
Tuesday 7th May
- School Advisory Council Meeting 6:00pm
- P&F Meeting 7:30pm in Library
Thursday 9th May
- Reconciliation for Year 6 Confirmation candidates 10:00am
Friday 10th May
- Mother's and Grandmother's Appreciation Breakfast 7:30am
- Mother's Day Assembly (PP) 8:45am
School Social Media
- St Luke's Facebook
- St Luke's P&F
- P&F Fathering Group
- St Luke's Twitter
- St Luke's Instagram- @stlukeswoodvale
- Lulu the St Luke's Dog Instagram- @luluthestlukesdog
Each year level also has a Facebook group for families to join which are managed by our class representatives. These groups are a great way to keep in contact with other families in your child's year level and can be found here.
A Note from our P&F
Locavora lunches are back for term 2. As usual, to be able to continue this service, we do require volunteers on a Thursday. If you are able to help, please use the link to sign up. Thank you! https://signup.com/go/YpkbihX
Congratulations to our winners of the Easter Raffle.
Pp: Telo & Mila
Y1: Victoria & Tara
Y2: Christian & Eliza
Y3: Ivy & Thea
Y4: Spencer B & Jacob
Y5: Henley & Madi
Y6: Riley & Chloe
Mother's Day is fast approaching.
The Mother's Day stall will be held Friday the 10th May. Children will be allowed to bring $5 to buy one gift. $1 raffle tickets will also be available to purchase 1 week before the Mother's Day stall via Flexischools only.
Thank you,
P&F Committee
Student Spotlight
If you have any good news stories about our students that you would like to share with the community, please send any photos and a short blurb to natalie.vennitti@cewa.edu.au
Sport News
Basketball Clinics
Sports X will be running a 9 week basketball clinic on Thursday afternoons this term. The sessions will run from 3:00-4:00pm starting on Thursday 2nd May. You can register your child here.
Administration
Student Leave During School Term
St Luke's Parish
Welcome to Mass everyone and a big welcome to all new parishioners and visitors to our
Parish of St Luke, Woodvale.
If you are new to our parish, we invite you to complete the Visitors' Book in the foyer.
Fr Stan would also love to meet you, so please introduce yourself at school or after Mass. You are welcome to visit the pastoral office on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9.30am—2.30pm.
For more information about our wonderful St Luke's Parish and to read the current
Bulletin please click here.
Volunteers Required for Church Laundry Roster
We are urgently looking for volunteers to join this dedicated group of people to help with the Parish Laundry (A3 size bag of laundry, approximately 30 minutes of your time), as some of our regular volunteers are no longer able to assist. For further information, please contact Veronica on 0477 775 295 or vlalphonso@gmail.com. Thank you.
Nehemiah 3- Many Hands Make Light Work