Let us take care of everything God has given us

A copy of our Bushfire Plan can be found here on our website - https://www.padcath.wa.edu.au/formsandprocedures

Please check the PCPS community calendar for upcoming and future dates as the calendar is regularly updated https://www.padcath.wa.edu.au/community-calendar

Dear Parents

As I visit classrooms or see the children in the playgrounds with their friends, it is wonderful to see that they have all settled back into school routine after the holidays and are already producing some brilliant work. Term 3 is always filled with many exciting events. Please continue to refer to the electronic school calendar, school website, school Facebook, PCPS Instagram and newsletter for important information which is regularly shared with the community.

I am always filled with gratitude for the unwavering support and dedication parents have to our beautiful school community. Your involvement, whether through volunteering, attending events, or simply engaging with your child's education at home, truly makes a difference in the lives of our students. Your partnership is invaluable, and we are incredibly fortunate to have such committed parents.

I would also like to take this opportunity to kindly remind everyone about the importance of respectful and courteous communication. The Leadership Team, our teachers and staff work tirelessly to provide the best possible education and support for your children. Clear and polite communication between parents and educators fosters a positive learning environment for everyone involved. Please remember to maintain a respectful tone in all interactions, whether in person, over the phone or via email. Thank you once again for your ongoing support and cooperation. Together, we can continue to nurture a productive learning environment for all our students at PCPS.

Mary Mackillop is Australia’s first saint. She believed everyone, no matter how rich or poor, should have the chance to learn. Mary was canonised a saint and as we celebrate her feast day on 8 August, let us remember some of the words she lived by:

Find happiness in making others happy

On 15 August we celebrate the Assumption of Mary. As a fitting reward for the life, she dedicated so wonderfully to God, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken up to Heaven, body and soul, when she died. All parents and family members are welcome to join us for our mass on 15 August at 2pm in our school hall.

Please keep the Year Four children in your prayers as they have commenced their preparations for the Sacrament of the Eucharist which will be on the 17 & 18 August, with Commitment masses being held this weekend. Please see the Religious Education section of the newsletter for dates and further information.

Yr 6 Grandparents Morning was held in the last week of last term. It was an absolute delight to see so many grandparents and families attend our special morning. The Yr 6 children were so proud showcasing their family crests, special family heirlooms, history shoeboxes, mementos, poetry and providing some entertainment at morning tea too!

Our Aboriginal Education celebration day, Djooroobidiny, was held in the last week of last term and was a huge hit with an amazing number of parents and family members attending the special performances and viewing all the exhibitions in the school. I would like to thank the PCPS children for all of their great work - art, multimedia displays, research, creative writing, interactive displays and singing.

Dignitaries, including local member for Hillarys Caitlin Collins MLA, and staff from CEWA Aboriginal Team, spoke so highly of our exhibition commenting that the voices, stories and perspectives of First Nations peoples, are so authentically and evidently embedded within the curriculum at PCPS.

Our Arts programme shines this term…

The Catholic Performing Arts Festival is up and running again. Children have been entered into a number of events – class choirs, small group (contemporary band/ small group singers) and soloists (piano, vocal, instrumental), so that they can share their special gifts and talents with others. We wish all our entrants the best of luck!

One Big Voice is on this year with Yr 4 participating in Australia’s largest choir. On 22 August.

Big thankyou to Mrs Twine for preparing the children and practising with them for the events above.

Edu dance is underway this term with the children thoroughly enjoying expressing themselves and unleashing their creativity through the medium of dance. We look forward to the concerts later in the term. Big thanks to Ms Capriotti for co ordinating this energetic programme.

Best of luck to PCPS representatives at the State Cross Country Carnival coming up on 1 August.

Enjoy the P&F Parent Las Vegas Casino Night coming up this Saturday! Big thankyou to co ordinators Bree Brynes and Kath O'Sullivan and their team of helpers for all of their hard work and for organising a fun night for all!

The water chillers provided by the P&F were installed during the holidays. Huge thank you to the P&F once again for their generosity. Once the hot weather comes around I know the children will appreciate them even more!

Have a lovely weekend and keep warm and dry!

Mrs Margaret Williamson

Principal

Our two Pupil Free Days this term are on: Monday 12 August and Friday 23 August. Please add these to your calendars.

Congratulations to Mrs Carter and her husband on the birth of their second child Tully Grace born Wednesday 17 July.

A big thank you to all our students, staff and school community on your amazing efforts in raising $1076.05 for our fundraisers in Term 2. This money will now be distributed to Wheelchairs For Kids and St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal.

Mr Peter O'Mara & Ms Mac Callisto

Assistant Principals

IF YOU HAVE A BABY ENROL THEM NOW!

Don’t forget to enrol siblings as some families have unfortunately missed out as they had their application in late!

Our Pre-Kindy (3-Year-Old) is going super strong once again this year with sessions running on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays. Please contact the office and speak with Mrs Ellen to enrol your little one into our exciting PK programme. Click on the following link for further information.

https://www.padcath.wa.edu.au/early-childhood

If you have friends or neighbours who have children who are 3 years old , please talk to them about our exciting Pre-Kindy programme and encourage them to enrol.

During Term 3, all students from PP-Year 6 will participate in weekly Edu-Dance lessons. Please find the lesson timetable below. All students will need to wear their sport uniform on their allocated Edu-Dance Day.

Please also take note of our concert days at the end of the term. All Orange classes will perform in the first concert and all White classes will perform in the second concert.

Tuesday

Yr1 Orange, PP Orange, Yr2 Orange, Yr5 White, Yr6 White, Yr3 Orange, Yr6 Orange, Yr5 Orange,

Yr 4 Orange

Thursday

Yr1 White, PP White, Yr2 White, Yr3 White, Yr4 White

Concerts will be in term 3 week 9 on Tuesday 10th September for Orange classes and Thursday 12th September for White classes. More information about concert time and costumes will come out later in Term 3.

Ms Alisia Capriotti

Edu-Dance Coordinator

This term in Coding Club we have welcomed our new coders from Years 4-6 to begin their coding journey! The students in Coding Club are using CS First, an easy-to-use computer science curriculum designed for students. CS First includes video content to teach kids coding basics with Scratch for CS First, a special version of the Scratch coding editor inside the CS First website.

Five amazing benefits of learning Scratch programming for kids...

• Encourages creative thinking
• Fosters problem solving
• Scratch programming is fun and interactive
• Helps develop logical thinking skills
• Stepping stone to high-level programming

We have been amazed with the enthusiasm, motivation and eagerness to learn to code! We are looking forward to seeing what the students create with their coding knowledge this term!

Mrs Danielle Wardrope & Mr Lachie Darby
Digital Technologies Coordinators

Congratulations to our singing teacher, Mr Rhys Wood, on winning the Country section of this competition with his song ‘FIFO: Every Time I Went Away’. There were five nominees for the Country section and over 1200 entries overall. There are several different categories in the competition and they are judged by a panel of people from the music industry. Rhys has been nominated six times and has won an award twice, the first time was in 2011. The song is on Spotify or Apple Music if you would like to have a listen.

Mrs Roslyn Twine

Music Teacher

Mrs Ali Fisher

Social Worker

All Masses are held in the church and for information regarding days/times please follow the link below.

24:7 Youth Group

For all youth in Years 6 to 12

1st and 3rd Friday @ Parish Hall, 7pm

Call Luke 0401822932 for more information.

The Australian Government has launched the School Student Broadband Initiative to provide free home internet for one year for up to 30,000 unconnected Australian families with school[1]aged students.

The program is available to all students who lack an active nbn connection at home.

Families can register until Dec 2024.

To be eligible, families must:

✓ Have a child living at home that is enrolled in an Australian school.

✓ Not have an active National Broadband Network (nbn®) Internet service at home. Having a mobile internet service does not affect eligibility.

✓ Live in a home that can access the National Broadband Network via a standard connection – this will be checked for you.

Families can go to the following to register:

• Visit www.infrastructure.gov.au/media-communications-arts/internet/national[1]broadband-network/school-student-broadband-initiative-ssbi

• Call 1800 954 610 (10am – 6pm AEDT Monday to Friday)