Dear Parents and Caregivers

It was a busy couple of weeks at St Helena’s Catholic Primary School with our Kindergarten Orientation, Community Annual Meeting and School Disco. Thank you to all our staff involved in our Kindy Orientation and to all the parents/caregivers and staff in attendance at our Annual Community Meeting. The students had a great time at the Disco and came together to dance the afternoon/evening away with their friends. Thank you to our P&F Executive Committee of Gabriella Lupis, Amy Andrijich, Jacinta Quijano, Laura Brown and Kylie Wilford for organising and running the Disco and your efforts on the P&F this year. Thanks also to the parents/caregivers and staff who assisted!

At the Annual Community Meeting with the Catholic School Advisory Council and Parents and Friends last week, I took the opportunity to thank our 2023 School Advisory Council members and P&F Executive Committee for their efforts in 2023. We welcomed onto the School Advisory Council 3 new members for 2024 – Kodie Adams, Lual Garang and Tim Griffiths. Our Parents and Friends Executive Committee will soon form with the following parents nominating to join the committee in 2024 after the Annual Community Meeting - Nadia Hoare, Tania Lourenco, Natsai Mubonwa, Jessica Murphy and Jessica Nancarrow. Their roles on the Executive will be finalised before the commencement of the new school year. Thank you to all those who have put their hand up on the School Advisory Council or on the P&F Executive for 2024. It is great to have such strong parent support.

I encourage all members of the school community to take the time to have a read of my Principal Report from the Annual Community Meeting on our website here.

We look forward to our Christmas Carols this Friday evening. The students and staff have been doing an amazing job in preparing for what promises to be a wonderful evening! Thank you to the Christmas Carols Staff Team, Miss Panaia and all our staff for their efforts in preparing the students.

Our Year 6 students and their family and staff will be coming together at St Helena of the Holy Cross Church for their Graduation Mass on Tuesday 5 December at 6:00pm. We will be celebrating and thanking God for the Year 6 student's Primary School years, and pray for them as they embark on their new adventures into High School. At the conclusion of Mass we will be presenting our Year 6 awards.

On Thursday 7 December at 8:30am we will be holding a special awards assembly, presenting the ‘Something Beautiful for God’ Christian Citizenship Award and the Academic Endeavour Award to two students from each class from Kindergarten to Year 5. Parents of award recipients will soon be notified.

We celebrate our Thanksgiving Mass on Friday 8 December at 11:15am. We will be coming together for the last time as a school community in 2023 to thank God for all our blessings this year at St Helena’s Catholic Primary School. Thank you Miss Myles and Mr Vine for planning and coordinating the Mass. At the conclusion of Mass we will be announcing our 2024 Year 6 School Leaders. They will then be presented with their badges at the Opening School Mass at the beginning of next year.

Thankyou to everyone who has already brought in items for our St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. It is not too late to contribute and support our community and reach out to those in need this Christmas. Thank you to the Mini Vinnies and Ms Conama for promoting St Vincent de Paul this year and to Mary Calverley and Karyn Steele for coming along to St Helena’s to work with our Mini Vinnies Team. In this season of Advent, we remember the importance of the gift of giving and providing for the less fortunate.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of St Helena’s Catholic Primary School this year. Thank you to the parents and caregivers that have helped out in different ways. It is very much appreciated! We continue to strive to work together at St Helena’s to promote a strong home/school partnership. I mentioned in my Principal Report at the Annual Community Meeting that “It takes a village to raise a child”. I continue to encourage all our parents and caregivers to get involved around the School in 2024 to help build and foster a sense of community as we partner together on your child/ren's learning journey.

To all our students, thank you for your efforts and sharing your talents with us this year. It has been wonderful to see you grow as individuals as the year has progressed. I encourage all students to grab a hold of the opportunities that the new year will bring! We congratulate and wish all our Year 6 students all the best as they commence their Secondary journey in 2024.

We are very fortunate to have such a committed and hard working staff at St Helena’s. Thank you, once again to all our Teachers, Education Assistants, Support Staff, Administration Staff and Leadership Team for all that you have done to contribute to the School and the students entrusted in our care.

We wish our students and families leaving us at the end of this year all the best for the future and thank you for being a part of the St Helena’s community. We also wish the staff leaving us all the best – Mrs Kathryn Preiato, Miss Melissa Carosin, Mrs Christine Norman, Mrs Shannon Howard, Mrs Simone Hesse, Mrs Aine Walsh, Mrs Casey Loong, Miss Abbey Lamb, Mrs Megan Dawson and Miss Holly Lombardi. We also farewell Mrs Rebecca Curel and Mr Mark Diblasi who will not be returning from leave at the end of the year. I thank all of these staff members for their contribution to St Helena’s Catholic Primary School over their time with us and wish them all the very best for their futures. Some have been with St Helena’s for a short time, many for a long time. You will forever have left your mark on the school community of St Helena’s. We also wish Mrs Kerry Krause and Mrs Tracy Turpin all the best for 2024 as they take leave.

In the new year, the School welcomes a number of new students, families and staff to St Helena’s. The Staff List for 2024 can be found in the Staffing section of this final eNewsletter for the year.

I wish all in our St Helena's School community a safe and very happy and holy Christmas. Enjoy family and friends time over the holidays. See you in the New Year!

Peace & Happy Days!

Santino Giancono

Principal

Click here for a brief history or St Helena's Catholic Primary School, providing a Catholic Education in Ellenbrook since 1999.

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