Around The Primary

Dear Families

Hello everyone and a very warm welcome back to school! We hope you all had a relaxing break with your family and that you are as excited to begin the new school year as we are!  

After a great holiday we have been very busy here at school over the past couple of weeks – planning, meeting, setting-up classrooms, organising timetables, and dreaming big once again!

It has been wonderful catching up with the children and listening to their many holiday stories. We are very pleased that the students across the Primary appear to be happy and settled and are enjoying being back with their teachers and friends.

Schools play such an important role in the life of a child, and we are happy, passionate, and delighted to be working with your children. Thank you for entrusting your children into our care and please know everything we are doing is in the best interests of children, staff, and families. All our staff are committed to focusing on the safety, wellbeing, pastoral care and learning of each child.

I look forward to seeing many families at the ‘Aloha Family Picnic’ next Saturday 11 February.  Please book your tickets here

Kind regards

Antoinette De Pinto 

Head of Primary 

Take a moment to enjoy this clip of lots of happy students ready for the learning journey ahead in 2023.

As this is the first newsletter of the year, it is timely to remind our Primary community of the following important requests: 

1. Please make sure your children arrive at school on time.
2. Please send children to school in the correct uniform, with an appropriate hairstyle.
3. Please read emails and newsletters.
4. Please let us know if any of your contact details have changed.
5. Please inform us of your child’s absence from school.

• Schools are obligated to contact parents of children who have not arrived at school by the start of the school day and for whom we have no explanation of absence.  This as you can imagine is a labour-intensive exercise.  Parents can assist us by making sure we are informed of all absences by 8.30am.  Primary Absentees need to be reported by emailing primary.absentees@johnxxiii.edu.au  and also to the classroom teacher. Feel free to leave a message if calling outside office hours by leaving a message on the Primary Administration phone on 9383 0401.
• We understand that at times your child may be late for school for a variety of reasons.  Parents/guardians need to bring their children to Primary Administration if they arrive after 9am.  Latecomers cannot go directly to the classroom after the bell. These latecomers will be marked absent unless the College is notified. 
• Students leaving the school grounds to attend appointments must be signed out at Primary Administration by a Parent/Guardian.  Teachers will not be able to release students to a Parent/Guardian unless they have seen the SEQTA Kiosk release slip. 
• If your child has a recurring appointment, such as OT or Speech appointment etc please send an email to primary.absentees@johnxxiii.edu.au advising of the date/time of the appointment. 
• If your child is receiving extra tutoring, please book these sessions before school, lunchtime or after-school.
• Please observe Car Park signs and be always respectful to others.  The car park off Heritage Lane is designated for Primary families. 
• Primary students should be at school 10 minutes prior to the commencement of the school day.  Outside supervision is available from 8:15am.  No supervision is provided before 8:15am and after 3:30pm.  Primary students are not permitted to play on any play equipment before or after school.  All gates will be locked at the end of the school day.  Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated. 

It is also important to note that all Pre-Kindy, Kindy, and Pre-Primary children must be collected by an adult at the end of their sessions.

Students from Year One onwards are encouraged to use the Loop on Mooro Drive for drop off and pick up.  A ‘family name’ sign needs to be attached to the visor and be clearly visible.  This assists with traffic flow and enables staff to efficiently identify family cars.  Please email nancy.petsos@cewa.edu.au to obtain new or additional cards.

Dates to Remember

Please check the College Website to note all the important Primary school events for your family calendar http://www.johnxxiii.edu.au/view/for-parents/calendars and subscribe to the Primary Calendar.

Sports Update

Welcome back!  I hope everyone is well rested and ready for another actioned packed year of sport!

We are straight into action with the Year 4-6 swimming lessons at Claremont Pools.  Next week, the lessons will be held at Cottesloe Beach and students will be learning a range of beach and surf safety whilst further developing their swimming technique and stamina.  

In preparation for the upcoming Year 4-6 Interhouse Swimming Carnival, students will be involved in time trials on Friday 10 February at Claremont Pool.

A range of extra sporting opportunities will be available before and after school in Term 1, please refer to the list below. 

• Monday morning tennis with Nick Kirkbride (PP-Y6) – JTC Tennis Courts, 7:30am commencing in Week 2. Booking and payment required, enrol at www.coastaltennis.com.au
• Tuesday afternoon J&J soccer sessions (Y1-Y6), Junior Primary Oval, 3:30pm-4:30pm commencing Week 3.  Booking and payment required. Email Coach Adi at juricadi@hotmail.com 
• Thursday afternoon Basketball with Redhage Basketball (Y2-Y6), St Louis Sports Centre, 3:20pm-4:20pm commencing Week 2.  Booking and payment required, enrol at www.redhagebasketball.com
• After school Swimming training in College pool (Y3-Y6) on Tuesdays and Thursdays commencing Week 3 from 3:30pm-4:30pm.  Thursday 23 February is final swimming training. 

The 2023 Extra Curricular Primary Sports Parent Communication is available to view on SEQTA Engage under the Primary Sport tab.

If you have any queries about anything sport related, please contact me via email steve.williams@cewa.edu.au. 

Steve Williams

Primary Sport Coordinator

Music Update

Welcome back everyone!  Choirs for Primary students commence in Week 2.

Primary Singers

Primary Singers is open to all Year 2 and 3 students who love singing! The first rehearsal is at 8:00am on Thursday 9 February in the Osborne Room with Mrs Haydon and Mr Johnston. 

Wanju Voices

Wanju Voices is open to all Year 4 to 6 students who love singing! Sign-ups are at 7:30am on Monday 6 February in the Osborne Room with Mrs Haydon and Mr Johnston. 

Chapel Choir

Chapel Choir is open to all Year 2 to 12 students who love singing, with a focus on liturgical music. Rehearsals commence at 7:30am on Fridays in the Chapel with Mrs Haydon and Mr Johnston. Chapel Choir then sings at Community Mass (commencing at 8:00am). The next Chapel Choir rehearsal and Community Mass is Friday 16 February 2023. Please contact Mrs Haydon for more information. 

Primary Instrumental Lessons and Ensembles 

Students involved in instrumental lessons and ensembles will be contacted individually by their ensemble director or tutor.

If you have any queries regarding Primary Music, please contact me via email: catherine.haydon@cewa.edu.au.

Catherine Haydon

Primary Music Teacher

Counsellor's Corner

As we begin another school year, I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself to new parents and remind everyone of my role as Primary School Counsellor. In this role I hope to complement the work done by both parents and teachers in developing children’s social and emotional skills and in turn, focus on helping children feel happier within themselves, more confident to deal with social situations and friendship issues and to be successful in the classroom. My role is not just about treating problems as some might think but rather finding opportunities to teach important social skills and build resilience in any child. 

We all know that life can present sad and challenging situations .Please let me know if I can offer any support or assistance. I will also be sending out information shortly about the ‘Seasons for Growth’ small group program for children experiencing grief or significant change . Over the year, I will also run a small group program on anxiety and work with teachers to develop children’s friendship skills using the URSTRONG curriculum.

It has been such a joy to see the children return so enthusiastically to school. I also recognise this is not so easy for some children and I have spent the last couple of days around the Primary trying to offer support to those finding it a little challenging. If you have any concerns about your child, come past my office for a chat or you can phone or email me anytime. Contacting me does not have to be a last resort but rather can be a starting point. I am available at school Mondays ,Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursday mornings.  My direct number is 9383 0469 and I can be contacted anytime by email:  anne.murphy@cewa.edu.au.

Mrs Anne Murphy

Primary Counsellor