St Luke's Catholic Primary

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We are now in the season of Lent, which began with the celebration of the Eucharist on Ash Wednesday, a day marked by the symbolic act of receiving ashes on our foreheads, reminding us of our mortality and our need for repentance.

Lent is a time of preparation and reflection, leading up to Easter. It is a period where we are encouraged to engage in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, as we seek to grow closer to God and renew our spiritual lives.

In the spirit of Lent, I encourage our school community to embrace these practices and find ways to support one another in our spiritual growth. Whether through acts of kindness, moments of prayer, or personal sacrifices.

Our annual Swimming Carnival will be held tomorrow, 21st March, at Beatty Park. This event is an opportunity for students in Years 4 - 6 to showcase their swimming skills and enjoy friendly competition. We look forward to seeing our students participate with enthusiasm and sportsmanship.

Last week students in Years 3 & 5 participated in NAPLAN. This is one of many assessments we use to guide our teaching with targeted intervention for students at their point of need.

Parent interviews take place on Monday, 31st March, between noon and 7 pm. This is a student-free day and an opportunity to meet with your child’s teachers and learn a little more about their academic progress and how they are adjusting to the school year. Information regarding how to make an appointment via SOBS has been sent to families via email.

You would have received information about the P&F Colour Run to be held on the last day of term. This fun event is a fantastic way to celebrate the end of the term, and all funds raised will go towards enhancing our school's facilities and resources. We encourage all students to participate and make this fundraiser a huge success.

I trust that our new approach to homework is working well for all students and families, providing a balanced approach to learning and personal time. If you have any feedback or concerns regarding the homework policy, please reach out to us. Your input is valuable in ensuring that our policies support the best interests of our students.

The annual school sleepout organised by the Fathering Group takes place tomorrow night. We pray for good weather and trust it is a wonderful time for Dads and their children.

Thank you for your continued support and involvement in our school community.

Warm regards

Kerry Hewitson

Principal

The council recently visited our school in response to complaints from local residents regarding traffic congestion on Duffy Terrace and Whitfords Avenue. To ensure a smoother pick-up process, we kindly ask that you avoid blocking these streets before and during school pick-up times.

If you arrive at the Kiss and Ride early and notice that it hasn’t started moving yet, please refrain from waiting on Duffy Terrace or blocking the bypass lane (see map below) as this prevents cars from parking in the bays. Instead, kindly loop around and try again. If you do happen to arrive before 2:50pm, there should still be plenty of available car bays so we recommend parking in one of the assigned bays, or alternatively, using Parkside Ramble.

Another way we can improve, is if all families please display their name sign so we can call your children up ready to hop straight into the car. If you need a new name sign, please email admin@stlukeswoodvale.wa.edu.au. One last thing, if drivers could please remain in their cars, this would also greatly speed up the process.

All of these factors will hopefully improve the traffic flow and ensure that cars are not illegally driving down the wrong side of the road to go around our waiting cars! Thank you for your cooperation and support in keeping our community safe and efficient.

Please ensure you pass this information on to anyone who picks up your children after school.

This Lent, Caritas Australia's Project Compassion invites you to Unite Against Poverty and take action to make a lasting difference.

You can support Project Compassion 2025 through the donation boxes sent home. Please return your box to school by the end of Term 1.

Harmony Day is a celebration of our cultural diversity and reminds us that as a country, many cultures call Australia home. Australia is the most successful multicultural country on earth, and we should celebrate this and work to maintain it. The message of Harmony Day in 2025 is ‘Harmony – we all have a role to play!’ This theme encourages inclusiveness, respect, and a sense of belonging for all Australians, regardless of their cultural background.

To celebrate Harmony Day, the Year 2 children will be presenting an assembly next Friday 28th March at 8:45am. To be part of the celebrations PreK to Year 6 children are invited to wear orange or something from their cultural heritage on the day. You may even like to pack something 'orange' in their lunchboxes! Participation is optional, or even just an orange accessory is always nice and easy!

Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences. It aims to transform how neurodivergent individuals are perceived and supported by providing schools, universities, organisations, and others around the world with the opportunity to recognise the many skills and talents of neurodivergent individuals, while creating more inclusive and equitable cultures that celebrate differences and empower every individual.

Sensory Monsters Events

Joondalup Libraries are celebrating the launch of the Duncraig Adventure Hub and Sensory Monsters Playground next to the Duncraig Library. We are holding two special events featuring a new picture book titled Sensory Monsters Playground Adventure by local author Sean E Avery and paediatric occupational therapist, Caris Bailey.

Help us to celebrate by joining Sean and Caris for a series of sensory activities based on their new picture book, which will help parents learn about sensory processing and ways to support their own little sensory monsters.

Sensory Monsters Parent Information Session
Friday 21 March, 10am, Duncraig Library
Come along to this free workshop with Sean and Caris if you have a child or teach a child who becomes overwhelmed by their sensory environment. Learn fun and practical ways to support them at home or in the classroom.
Free event. Registration required.

Sensory Monsters Story Time with Sensory Play
Saturday 29 March, 10am, Duncraig Library
Suitable for 3-8 year olds
Sean and Caris will read Sensory Monsters Playground Adventure, after which parents and children can explore the various senses and get to know the sensory monster characters better through sensory play activities.
Free event. Registration required.

Learn More Here!

Getting absorbed in a new activity is a great way to boost your wellbeing. When facing challenges, it can really help to take a new perspective or find a new way forward.

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

Well done to all our amazing students! You are working so hard this term, we are super-duper proud of you all!

Sarah Williams & Kristy Graffin

Assistant Principals

We are excited to have a new Numeracy Hub where we offer specialist support in the Numeracy Learning Area. This support includes both extension and small-group withdrawal sessions. Support offers both Bond Blocks and The Extending Mathematical Understanding (EMU) Program, which are both research-based programs tailored to accelerate the progress of students.

Our extension activities aim to accelerate student learning by providing creative, thought provoking and challenging learning opportunities.

The door is always open and if you would like any assistance with your child’s numeracy development, please come up to the Maths Hub near the Art room.

Rosey Martin and Tanya Harris

Numeracy Support

Our Community Calendar is available via Outlook. As always, it is updated live here on our website. You can download this calendar to your personal device for your convenience.

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 7

Friday 21st March

• Swimming Carnival (Years 4-6)- 8:30am - 2:30pm
• Fathering Group School Sleep Out

Week 8

Monday 24th March

• Kindy Speech Screening Commences (24th March- 9th April)

Tuesday 25th March

• Feast of the Annunciation

Thursday 27th March

• Parish Pastoral Council Meeting- 6:00pm- 7:30pm

Friday 28th March

• Harmony Day (cultural dress or item of orange)
• Year 2 Assembly- 8:45am

Week 9

Monday 31st March

• Pupil Free Day & Parent/Teacher Interviews

Wednesday 2nd April

• Fr Stan visiting Pre-Primary

Thursday 3rd April

• Year 1 Liturgy in Church- 9:45am- 10:30am

Friday 4th April

• Interschool Swimming Carnival Years 4-6 (All day)

Week 10

Monday 7th April

• Stations of the Cross- 8:40am-11:10am (Individual class times TBC)

Tuesday 8th April

• Meeting of the Minds Year 6 Shine

Wednesday 9th April

• Stations of the Cross- 8:40am-11:10am (Individual class times TBC)

Thursday 10th April

• Year 5 Whadjuk Gift - Mater Dei

Friday 11th April

• Monty’s Colour and Slime Fun Run (Pre-Primary to Year 6)- 1:30-2:55pm
• Last Day of Term 1

School Holidays

Sunday 13th April

• Palm Sunday

Friday 18th April

• Good Friday

Saturday 19th April

• Holy Saturday

Sunday 20th April

• Easter Sunday

Friday 25th April

• ANZAC Day

Term 2, Week 1

Monday 28th April

• Pupil Free Day

Tuesday 29th April

• Students Return

It's great to see so many students and their families joining us on Friday mornings at Running Club! What a great way to start the day! If you haven't joined us yet, Running Club is on every Friday from 7:45am. Meet us AND LULU on the oval for some fresh air, exercise and an opportunity to catch up with your friends.

A reminder that our Year 4 to 6 Faction Swimming Carnival will be held tomorrow at Beatty Park. The buses will be leaving promptly at 8:40am, with events scheduled to start at 9:15am. The schedule for the day has been sent out via SeeSaw.

To our students, whether you're racing or cheering, every effort counts! Focus on doing your personal best and pushing yourself to improve. There’s no better feeling than giving it your all.

Most importantly, let’s show great sportsmanship—cheer on teammates, respect opponents, and celebrate everyone's achievements. Support and encouragement make the event fun and memorable for all! Good luck!

Running Club will still be on tomorrow.

Emily Rasmussen

Physical Education Specialist

Families are encouraged to follow St Luke's on social media to keep up to date with the many learning experiences offered to the children and all of the fun happenings around our fabulous school:

• 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.

We’re happy to report that the school lunches are off to a great start! Just a quick reminder that they are only available every Thursday.

We also need four volunteers for approximately thirty minutes each Thursday. If you’re available, we would greatly appreciate your support (you might even get a chance to quickly see your child if you're delivering to their class!)

The roster is available for the entire year, so please feel free to sign up using the link for any dates that work for you. https://signup.com/go/PHiJSLR.

What a fantastic way to wrap up the term – with Monty’s Colour & Slime Run! This is our biggest fundraiser of the year and all funds raised will go towards enhancing our classrooms with a sound field system. This system connects to the 'Rogers' hearing aids for students who need them and broadcasts the teacher’s voice throughout the room, ensuring every student can hear clearly, no matter where they are sitting. We’re also using the funds to upgrade our playgrounds!

If you haven’t already, please make sure to register your child so they can receive online donations at http://www.myprofilepage.com.au. You’ll also be able to track their progress on the leaderboard.

The event is scheduled for April 11th, starting at 1:30 pm and all students from Pre-Primary to Year 6 will take part.

Don’t forget to provide your child with a white shirt and if they have an older pair of running shoes, those will work perfectly! (We also recommend putting a towel down in your car just in case!)

Easter is just a HOP skip and jump away - and our amazing Kindy Parent Representatives, Lisa Bolan and Maddie Guggisberg, are organising some fantastic hampers for a raffle!

$1 tickets can be purchased before and after school outside the library - and we can promise that there are some delicious goodies going into the hampers this year!

The official start date for the raffle will be announced soon, so be sure to watch your year group's Facebook pages for updates.

A big thank you to everyone who attends the P&F meetings, whether in person or via Teams! We truly appreciate your input and love seeing both new and familiar faces join us.

If you can’t make it in person but prefer to join online, the P&F Facebook page will post the Zoom link and password closer to the next meeting date, which is the 20th of May. And don’t worry – you can keep your screen off and mic muted if you’d rather just listen in!

Charlotte (Yr 3) has been selected in the Calisthenics Association of Western Australia’s (CAWA) State Team, competing in the Australian Calisthenic Federation’s AusCali Carnivale being held in Adelaide in July 2025. This is a wonderful achievement as being a State Team representative is something many strive for but only a few are chosen.

Charlotte is one of 12 girls in the Sub-Junior Tier 2 aged 8-10 years, as part of a total team of 102 girls and personnel representing Western Australia. These girls are at the elite level of this artistic sport and have committed themselves to many hours of training which shows their dedication to the team. Prior to departing for the AusCali Carnivale competition in July, the girls will perform in Perth at the CAWA State Team Spectacular Concert.

On behalf of the St Luke’s community, we wish Charlotte all the best in her competitions.

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 jasmine.calley@cewa.edu.au

We are delighted to announce the return of our Easter Colouring Competition! This is a fantastic opportunity for students to showcase their artistic talent and celebrate the joy of Easter.

How to Participate:

• Templates: Students can participate by colouring in one of the Easter templates on the competition website.
• Submission: Please submit entries to projects@cewa.edu.au

Prizes: The most creative entries will have the chance to win fabulous prizes. A winner and a runner-up will be selected from all primary levels.

For more details, please visit the competition website at www.cewa.edu.au/easter/

We look forward to seeing the wonderful creations of our talented students. Happy colouring and good luck to all participants!

CEWA Project Team

School fee statements have been sent out. For those families who have opted to pay upfront for the early bird discount please pay by Friday, 28 March 2025. If you have chosen BPay as your preferred method, please allow 3 days for the transaction to clear. Thank you.

CEWA has provided schools with a new directive regarding External Service Providers visiting the school. Parents who would like to make a request will need to complete the 'Request to School for Third Party Clinical Access' form which is available here on our website (scroll to the bottom of the page). Completed forms need to be emailed to admin@stlukeswoodvale.wa.edu.au

If your child will have an extended absence during the school term, please ensure you fill in the form, found here on the school website, at least two weeks before your scheduled departure date.

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.

Children’s Liturgy will be held on the following dates in Term One:

23/3/25 Children's Liturgy

30/3/25 Children's Liturgy

6/4/25 Children's Liturgy

13/4/25 PALM SUNDAY (No Children’s Liturgy)

We are urgently looking for volunteers to join this dedicated group of people to help with the Parish Laundry as some of our regular volunteers are no longer able to assist (A3 size bag of laundry, approximately 30 minutes of your time, about 6 times per year). For further information please contact Veronica on 0477 775 295 or email vlalphonso@gmail.com.

Thank you.

Nehemiah 3- Many Hands Make Light Work

Please mark your diaries for Sunday, 18 May 2025. The St Luke's Parish will be celebrating their 30th Anniversary. The Archbishop will be celebrating a special mass at 9.30am. All are encouraged to attend.