Around The Primary

Dear Families

Primary House Day is always a special day at the College and today the Primary school community celebrated in fine style. We began our celebrations with a lovely Mass, kindly prepared by Ms Allen. During this time, we all reflected and learnt about the names of each of the College Houses, namely Campion, Koolyangarra, Loreto, Loyola, St Louis, and Ward. 

Each of our six Houses are such an important part of our school’s heritage and tell a great story worth our attention.

Campion 

Named after the English Martyr and Saint, Sir Edmund Campion, whose characteristics are expressed in the House motto, ‘Faith and Courage’.

Koolyangarra 

The white dove of Koolyangarra House represents the peace which the Christian message offers the world. The motto of Koolyangarra House is ‘Strength, Spirit and Justice’.

Loreto 

Named after the religious order founded by Mary Ward, The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Loreto motto is ‘In the Cross, while I breathe, I trust’.

Loyola 

St Ignatius Loyola was inspired by the Holy Spirit who, through his Christian witness, created the order of ‘The Society of Jesus’ - which became known as The Jesuits. The motto of Loyola House is ‘As much as you are able, that much dare to do’.

St Louis 

Named after a young student who gave his life in the care of those suffering with illness and shunned by social prejudice. The St Louis House motto is ‘I strive for higher things’.

Ward - Named after Mary Ward, a woman of great spirit who sought to do good to others and achieve excellence in these efforts. The Ward House motto expresses the ideals of Mary Ward, ‘Freedom, Justice, and Sincerity’.

It was great to see all the House colour, spirit and energy that went into all the activities provided for the students. Congratulations to our Year 6 students for organising the Monster Cake to raise money for LifeLink. I also take this opportunity to thank Miss O’Connor and Miss George and the Year 6 parents for their hard work behind the scenes to prepare the delicious treats for sale.

We had a great fun-filled day! The students thoroughly enjoyed gathering for their activities as well as the opportunity to get to know each other better in their House groups.

On Thursday 11 May we are celebrating a Mass to thank God for the gift of our mothers and mother-figures. This Mass will begin at 7:30am in the St Louis Sports Centre. It is hoped all Mums will be able to come along to celebrate Mass with their children. Please book tickets for adults attending with this link (students do not require a ticket). 

Kind regards

Antoinette De Pinto

Head of Primary 

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.

Magnificent Manga

On Wednesday, the Years 4 and 5 students had a visit from Kenny sensei, a manga artist. Manga is a Japanese comic style art that has become extremely popular around the world. Students enjoyed learning about how to draw manga. 

Kenny explained step by step how to draw the manga, including how the size, angles and positioning of details, such as, eyes could change the drawing completely. It is hoped the students will continue to use to draw and develop their manga art.

Rowson sensei

In The Olden Days

This week the Year 3 students dressed as pioneers and visited the Claremont History Museum to find out about the olden days. The students learnt about the long tiring process of doing the washing the traditional way, using washboards. They followed a traditional scone making recipe and were shown how to use a wood burning oven. They spent time in an olden day classroom and experienced the use of chalk boards rather than technology!  

Emily Driscoll and Emily McHattie

Year 3 Teachers

Specialist Spotlight - Literacy Support

As the Literacy Specialist teachers, we work with students from Pre-Primary to Year 6. Mrs Taylor loves working with students from PP to Year Two and Mrs Burke enjoys teaching students from Years 3 to 6.

In these literacy lessons students are engaged in a variety of different activities that help build their phonic knowledge, reading fluency and comprehension. It is wonderful to see students’ confidence grow as they participate in the Minilit and Macqlit explicit programs. Both Mrs Taylor and Mrs Burke utilize many different hands-on literacy games and resources to help nurture a positive attitude towards reading and spelling. Some of the students’ favourite activities are Reader’s Theatre, Trugs, decodable readers and race the clock activities. 

The best part of this role is the privilege of working with students and their families and to watch their progress over the years.

Florence Burke and Lisa Taylor

Literacy Support Teachers

Sacramental Certificates 

Parents are requested to email a copy of their child’s Sacramental Certificate (Reconciliation, Eucharist or Confirmation) to Mrs Petsos in Main Administration nancy.petsos@cewa.edu.au for our College records.

Sports Update

Our Years 5 and 6 students finished off their House Day celebrations with an Interhouse basketball competition at Bendat Basketball Stadium.  Whilst the games were competitive, and scores were kept, the focus of the day was on teamwork and sportsmanship.  Our students were incredible; the basketball was of a high standard and the way the students supported and included everyone was outstanding!  Well done to all students. 

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

Primary Incentive Practice Program Raffle Winners

Over 2000 raffle tickets were entered into the Primary Incentive Practice Raffle Draw last term. Many students took advantage of this great opportunity to work on building practice routines and achieve their weekly practice goals. 

Congratulations to the following students who received prizes in the raffle draws:

Choir Rehearsals

Please note that, due to the Mother’s Day Mass at 7:30am on Thursday 11 May, there will be no rehearsal for Primary Singers on this day. All are welcome to attend the Mother’s Day Mass in the gym where students in Wanju Voices and Primary Singers will be leading the singing.

Chapel Choir

Chapel Choir is open to all Years 2 - 12 students who love singing, with a focus on liturgical music. Rehearsals commence at 7:30am in the Chapel with Mrs Haydon and Mr Johnston. Chapel Choir then sings at Community Mass commencing at 8am. The next Community Mass is on Friday 19 May. 

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

Catherine Haydon

Primary Music Teacher

Book Drive

A past parent, Anita Bourke, is collecting children’s books in good condition on behalf of the Rotary Club of Dalkeith.  These will be sent to disadvantaged children. If you wish to donate books or readers, please drop off at Main Administration off Mooro Drive.

Please contact Anna Gingell, Alumni Officer on 9383 0520 or anna.gingell@cewa.edu.au with any enquiries.