Make a positive difference in the life of others

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

Friday 28 February

Friday 30 May

Tuesday 3 June

Friday 15 August

Monday 15 September

Welcome back everyone!

It was so wonderful to see our students and their families return to school refreshed and full of enthusiasm on Wednesday morning. The students from Year One to Year Six were so lucky to dive straight into swimming lessons and cool off during the heat!

The interaction between old friends and new was very positive as everyone went found their new classroom and met their new teacher. What is so characteristic of PCPS and pleasing to witness, is our community spirit, the way that new students, families and staff are welcomed and made to feel comfortable by our existing students, families and staff and the way that everyone goes out of their way to say hello and take the time to help each other.

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 both home and school are on the same page 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 will raise their standards to meet what is being asked of them. This applies to everything from attention to tasks, homework, wearing the school uniform correctly, respecting others and themselves and the way they represent the school, their families and themselves.

Wishing you all a fantastic and successful year ahead!

This year, we embark on a special journey as we celebrate the Jubilee Year, a time of reflection, renewal and grace.

A Jubilee Year is a unique occasion in the life of the Church, offering us a moment to grow deeper in our faith and to express gratitude for the many blessings we have received. We will be embracing the theme of Pilgrims of Hope.

As pilgrims, we are reminded that our journey is not only about the destination but also about the steps we take along the way - each of us guided by faith, hope, and charity.

Together, we walk in the footsteps of Jesus, seeking to bring hope to one another and to the world.

The 2025 Leadership Team consists of Mrs Margaret Williamson (Principal), Ms Mac Callisto (Assistant Principal PK-2) and Mr Peter O’Mara (Assistant Principal Yr3-6).

We welcome back all staff as they look forward to nurturing your child within their classroom this year. Special welcome to new our staff members for 2025- PP Teacher Mrs Kelly Beckett; Education Assistants Mrs Helen Chatzimichail and Mrs Phillipson. Signore Fernando Desiati and Signora Mariana Scollo also join us as the new Italian teachers for this year from Italo. Please make all new staff feel welcome.

We welcome back Father Cyprian, Parish Priest at Our Lady of the Mission and Father Francis, Assistant Parish Priest. We look forward to their spiritual guidance throughout the year. We will be having our Beginning of Year/ Leaders Mass on Tuesday 18 Feb at 9am in our hall with our PP-Yr6 children. Parents are most welcome to join us.

All PCPS families are specially invited to celebrate a special PCPS Family Mass at Our Lady of the Mission on Sunday 16 March at 10.00am.

At this liturgy the families from Padbury CPS will be participating in all parts of the Mass along with the parish community. This is a special mass and we have two per year so I ask all families to make a big effort to come along.

We are keen for parents as well as children to participate in the Mass. Some of the areas children and families can help in include - altar serving; reading; lighting candles; singing; guitar playing and greeters.

We would love some parents to play an instrument / sing in the choir alongside the children.

Please click on the link to volunteer https://forms.gle/XFshAb4wcbxGeMFU6

Big thanks to Liz De Haas and Severine Gibson for co ordinating this special mass.

I am thrilled to announce that Padbury Catholic Primary School will be celebrating a momentous milestone – our 40th Anniversary! It has been an incredible journey of growth, learning and community. To commemorate this special occasion, we invite you to mark your calendars for Friday October 24, 2025, when we will be hosting a celebration that reflects our history and our bright future. Stay tuned for more details on the event in the next few weeks. We look forward to celebrating this amazing achievement with you all!

A reminder that there is an expectation that all members of the PCPS community are required to adhere to our PCPS Code of Conduct which can be found on our school website

Our Code of Conduct, which can be located on the school website, defines behaviours that keep our students safe, at school and elsewhere. Children surrounded by adult and peer behaviours described in the Code are more likely to recognise and choose healthy relationships for themselves. We each keep our students safe by following our Code of Conduct and encouraging and reminding each other to do so. For parents, compliance is a condition of your entry to the school premises.

Our students have a Student Code of Conduct to follow which can be found on our school website and which each class teacher works through with their class.

Parents are asked to familiarise themselves with our school website - especially the sections on Policies and Forms and Procedures in Our Community section.

Parents are welcome to discuss concerns of any kind, at any time. It is more efficient, considerate and convenient to both parents and teachers if an appointment is made, so that full attention can be given to the issue at hand.

Please direct all classroom queries to the classroom teacher first. You may wish to discuss further concerns with one of the Assistant Principals.

The correct way to handle an issue or concern is to deal directly with the school. Avoid speaking with other parents, the Advisory Council, other teachers and other parents including P&F and Classroom Representatives, as these people cannot solve the issue for you. In most instances, your query can be dealt with swiftly by speaking directly to the classroom teacher.

1. TEACHER: In most instances, parent queries are resolved by speaking directly with the classroom teacher first.
2. ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS: If the outcome of the meeting was not to your satisfaction, you may request a meeting with one of the Assistant Principals. They may include the teacher in this meeting. A second follow up meeting may be scheduled at the conclusion of this meeting.
3. PRINCIPAL: If you have exhausted all other means and are still not satisfied with the outcomes of the previous meetings with the Assistant Principals, you may request a meeting with the Principal via reception.
4. ADMINISTRATION QUERIES: Queries regarding school fees, enrolment procedures, uniforms, code of conduct, newsletter, school hours and operations, parking issues etc. are to be directed to reception who will handle your queries.
5. SACRAMENTAL QUERIES: Queries regarding the sacramental program such as Holy Eucharist, Reconciliation and Confirmation go to the classroom teacher and/or Assistant Principal (Yr3-6)
6. STUDENT QUERIES: Queries regarding academic or social-emotional development go directly to the classroom teacher. This includes items such as; playground queries, homework, classroom protocols, class achievements, behaviour, school reports etc.

At all times remember that you are in partnership with the school and decisions are made with the best intentions and interest of all children.

When dealing with an issue or concern regarding your child’s schooling it is important to note:

• We pride ourselves on our community feel and strong relationships with parents. From time-to-time issues will occur, we need parents to work calmly and rationally with us to come to a resolution together
• All parties involved will work with respect for one another, focusing their energies on solutions.
• Remain calm and objective. Determine whether this adverse situation can be a learning experience for your child. Can they work this problem out for themselves?
• Education Assistants are not at liberty to discuss school matters with parents. Please do not approach them for information
• Avoid approaching the teacher first thing in the morning and expecting an appointment on the spot
• The use of social media, including innuendo, to air grievances pertaining to our school, school community and any of its members is not acceptable. This behaviour is considered not to align with our ethos
• When you accept the offer to enrol your child at Padbury Catholic Primary School, you agree to support and trust the staff who are employed by the school and agree to abide by the policies that exist within it

Fair Work Act introduced a ‘right to disconnect’ which applies to school employees. We would like to remind everyone of the importance of respecting our staff's right to disconnect outside of their designated work hours. In our commitment to maintaining a healthy work-life balance for our dedicated team, we kindly ask that communication, including emails, Seesaw messages, etc be sent during regular working hours.

Staff are not expected to respond to emails, phone calls etc outside of their working hours, which also includes weekends, public and school holidays, pupil free days, if staff are on individual leave (eg sick leave, long service leave etc) or if staff are off the school site.

We ask families not to contact staff out of the normal operational hours above.

Your respect and assistance in this matter is most appreciated.

We are here to support you and your child and we always strive for positive, collaborative relationships. When writing emails or messages to staff, leadership and administration, we encourage thoughtful and respectful communication. While we understand that concerns or frustrations can sometimes arise, we ask that all interactions, including correspondence, remain courteous and constructive, fostering an environment of mutual respect.

We value open communication with our school community and want to ensure that we can address any concerns or questions in a timely and efficient manner. To facilitate this we ask that you keep your emails clear and concise.

We are so fortunate to have a dedicated and professional staff who are committed to providing the very best education for the children as well as nurturing and caring for them pastorally. Class teachers have prepared important Parent Teacher Electronic Information for parents to read about your child’s class. Please take the time to read through and if you have any questions, the teachers will be happy to answer them.

So many of our dedicated parents have been working since last year to organise the PCPS Family Fair coming up on 21st February. It promises to be a wonderful beginning of the year, welcome back community event, catching up with one another and joining in the many exciting activities that have been planned such as ....pony rides, dunk tank, photo booth, hair braiding, market stalls, trackless train plus food trucks or bring a rug and a byo picnic. Hope to see you there. For more details please see the P&F section of the newsletter.

P&F Icy Pole Days are back! Icy poles are sold to our children during lunch time every second week on a Friday. Items include gluten free and sugar free/reduced items. Big thank you to Nicole Cornwall for co ordinating this for the children this year.

Padbury Cares is a group of school group volunteers (parents and staff) who provide assistance to families in our school community during a time of need (either short or long term) due to illness, bereavement, family crisis, birth of a newborn or any type of change. ​If you are going through a time of need or if you know of a family that requires assistance, please make contact. The information that is provided to Padbury Cares remains confidential.

​We also look for volunteers to be part of this valuable and rewarding program so if you can offer assistance in any way, we would love to hear from you. Some examples of help that we offer are providing a simple family meal that is delivered to the school office for collection; transporting of children to and from school; ironing, cleaning, shopping, baking, gardening, dog walking etc. We would ask you to help once a semester. Please note once you register your name will stay on our database and you will not need to re-register with each new school year. ​

​Huge thanks to Padbury Cares coordinators Liz de Haas and Chimika Chibiliti for their pastoral approach with our families. Please refer to contact details on our school website or contact the front office, your class teacher or one of the Leadership Team, should you need some assistance or wish to volunteer. https://www.padcath.wa.edu.au/padbury-cares.

Enjoy the weekend.

Mrs Margaret Williamson

Principal

Congratulations to the Field family (Arthur Yr2 & Elliot PP) on the birth of their baby brother, Oscar George.

Congratulations also to the Arrigoni family (Lola Yr1) on the arrival of their baby boy, River.

A baby boy arrives and just like that everything changes. Your world gets bigger,

your hearts grow fuller and life means more because he is in it.

A reminder that your school fees payment form needs to be returned by Monday 17th February.

Thank you for all the families who have returned their forms already.

Mrs Prelean Bismark

Finance Manager

All Masses are held in the church and for information regarding days/times or to read the current newsletter please follow the link below

Our Lady of the Mission

We are appealing for volunteers into our Children's Liturgy Ministry; dads, mums and grandparents are most welcome. You will be on a roster once a term on Sunday at the 10.00am Mass and you will be in a team of 2-4 people. All material is prepared for you.

If you can assist, please contact Fr. Cyprian and or email Parish office for details whitford@perthcatholic.org.au

We want to extend our sincere thankyou for your patience and understanding as we navigate the use of the new electronic gate at the back of the school. This new addition, complementing our other fencing upgrades, has been implemented to ensure the safety of all our students, particularly our special needs students, as they engage in activities on the oval.

As we fine-tune the system, please note that the opening and closing times of the gate may be adjusted. We are working diligently to make sure that the process runs smoothly and we appreciate your cooperation as we make these necessary improvements. We thank parents for the feedback we have received and remind parents to maintain a respectful tone when communicating with the school.

Thank you once again for your continued support as we prioritise the safety and well-being of our students.

Parents please be aware that adults are only to use the adult toilets that are situated at the back of the school hall. Please do not use the children's toilets.

Canteen available for ordering on Monday, Tuesday,

Wednesday & Thursday through Flexischools

Mac Callisto & Peter O'Mara

Assistant Principals

Instrumental lessons are being offered during the school day during the term. The instruments currently on offer are Drums, Guitar, Piano, Flute and Voice.

If you are interested in your child commencing lessons, please complete the application form and return it to the office next week. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs Twine.

One week to go until our whole school event to celebrate the start of the 2025 school year!

Friday, 21st February

5pm – 8pm

Padbury Catholic Primary School

Entry: free

Activities include pony rides, dunk tank, trackless train, photo booth, DJ, hair braiding, chocolate toss and market stalls from our senior students.

There will be several food trucks to purchase from, including *Paella Guru, Base Wood Fired Pizza, Lady Bee Ice Cream and Bliss Baking Co – or feel free to BYO picnic.

*Paella will need to be pre-ordered via Flexischools by this Sunday16 February. Order Now and don’t miss out!

All other food can be purchased on the night.

Don’t forget gold coins for market stalls and chocolate toss.

Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for making this possible. We can’t wait to see you there!

Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to volunteer this year. Many hands make light work and we appreciate any contribution to our wonderful community.

All class parent representative roles are now filled.

We are still looking for a few more people to help out with:

- School photos x 2

- Interschool sausage sizzle x 2

- Donations x2

- Grants x 2

Our fortnightly fundraiser for the warmer months is back. Orders are now open on Flexischools for the whole term – remember to change your child’s year group on Flexischools for 2025.

Thank you to Nicole Cornwall and her volunteers for helping keep our kids cool and enjoying a sweet treat, while supporting our P&F.

Congratulations to Kim Dello Iaco who won exclusive use of the P&F car bay through our 12 Days of Christmas raffle. Please adhere to parking signage and keep the bay free.

Our first P&F meeting of 2025 will be held on Wednesday, 26 February 6.30pm in the staff room. Come and hear the plans for the school year and share your ideas. All are welcome!

Cathy Farrell

P&F Executive

Mrs Lan Nguyen

Netball CoOrdinator