Dear Parents and Caregivers

Welcome to the 2024 school year to all our St Helena’s Catholic Primary School families. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and hope that the holidays have been wonderful! To the families that have joined our School community for the first time, I offer you a very special welcome and thank you for choosing St Helena’s for your child’s education. It is an exciting time as we welcome new Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students, as well as several new students and families across other year levels. We look forward to once again offering a variety of opportunities and experiences for all our students to make discoveries in their learning in 2024 at St Helena’s Catholic Primary School and to do Something Beautiful for God along the way.

Students Commence

The first day for Pre-Primary to Year 6 students will be Wednesday 31 January. Kindergarten students will commence as per the correspondence given at Kindergarten Orientation. Little Adventurers commence on Wednesday 31 January.

Parent Information Handbook

The Parent Information Handbook can be accessed on our School website. To familiarise yourself with the Parent Information Handbooks please click here for the Little Adventures Program, Kindergarten Program and the main Parent Handbook for our Pre-Primary to Year 6 Students and Families. Please take the time to familiarise yourselves with the information contained in these handbooks.

Code of Conduct

Please revisit St Helena’s Code of Conduct, which applies to all staff, parents/caregivers and visitors. Our Code of Conduct describes minimum standards of conduct in all behaviour and decision making to ensure the safety and well-being of students at St Helena’s Catholic Primary School. Please also take the time to go over the Student Code of Conduct with your child/ren to remind them of our school expectations so that everyone feels respected, safe, engaged, cared for, happy and resilient.

School Uniform

I appreciate the support of parents/caregivers and students to ensure uniforms and personal presentation meet the high standard we set at the School. Please see that your child’s uniform has been checked to ensure compliance with School standards before the commencement of the school year and hair cuts are also to the expectations per our guidelines. Please click here and take the time to have a read of the School’s Uniform Guidelines.

Communication

We continue to strive to streamline our communication with our parents/caregivers and the broader School community. We will again utilise our eNewsletter in 2024. A reminder that the eNewsletter can be read in different languages with the Language Button at the bottom of the page that can be changed.

We will also be utilising email and text to communicate with our parents and caregivers. Please also ensure that you are kept up-to-date with what is happening at St Helena’s via our electronic calendar that can be accessed on our website – click here. We will advise of any changes as they arise throughout the year.

Teachers will continue to share student work and classroom happenings via SeeSaw and the older students will look at using Microsoft Teams and other Apps. A reminder about our communication protocols at St Helena’s Catholic Primary School - click here.

School Attendance

A clear pre-requisite for school success is student attendance. There are times throughout the year where illness and appointments require absence from school, however, it is essential for every student to be in attendance at school each day, making the most of their lessons and learning journey opportunities. There is a very strong correlation between school attendance and improved student outcomes. Thank you for your assistance in maintaining a high standard in this area. Please ensure family holidays are booked to align with the school holidays. Birthdays are not seen as a valid reason for non-attendance either.

Student Wellbeing

Mental health is a part of life that is increasingly better understood, with a growing awareness that talking about our mental health and wellbeing is important, and promoting good mental health should happen from the earliest years of life. St Helena’s Catholic Primary School, together with all Catholic Education Western Australia schools are committed to being environments where healthy and respectful relationships can thrive, where students can engage in meaningful learning, and develop resilience and wellbeing.

We are also committed to working in close partnership with parents and caregivers, who are always the first educators of their children and a vital part of healthy school communities. Check out a Toolkit created by the Catholic School Parents Australia to assist parents engaging with children’s learning – click on the link: https://cspa.schoolzineplus.com/for-parents-primary

Procedures and Expectations for Car Park Usage

As we commence the new year, please take the time to click here and familiarise yourselves with the procedures and expectations for car park usage. Thanks in anticipation for the safety of all our School community.

Parent Information Sessions

Further information regarding Parent Information Sessions at St Helena’s will be shared in Week 1. The Information sessions will be run on the evening of Tuesday 6 February.

Welcome BBQ

Save the date - Friday 9 February from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.

Our P&F Committee are planning our Welcome BBQ. We hope that you will be able to make it and get to meet new and old friends as we start the new year.

We are really excited for 2024 at St Helena’s Catholic Primary School and are looking forward to welcoming all of our students and families as they commence their 2024 learning journey at St Helena’s next week. See you soon!

Peace & Happy Days!

Santino Giancono

Principal

P&F News