Around The Primary

Dear Parents

Another great week in the Primary school and Kindy interviews for 2021 are now in full swing.  It is always quite delightful meeting with families to talk about their little treasures.  So far so good ….. my office is still intact and I have met with many lovely families all wanting the very best for their children and it is always a pleasure to reassure them they have arrived at an excellent Catholic school.  Sibling Interviews for Kindy 2021 will occur next term.

Year 6B have had a busy week preparing for today’s Assembly.  The students enjoyed sharing their many highlights of their time in our Nation’s Capital.  I know the Year 6 students are now busily applying their learning to many subject areas.    I hope you enjoy reading a sample of their reflections written about their recent trip to Canberra.

Congratulations to the Years 5 and Year 6 students who participated in the team sports, namely netball, soccer, AFL and hockey and played yesterday at the College against Newman College.  Thank you to all the students for their participation and commitment to their teams.

Ms Moore, our Special Needs teacher commenced her Maternity Leave today.  We wish Carly and Brendan every blessing as they look forward to the birth of their first child. Mrs Chiaroni (an experienced Special Needs teacher from Mary Ward Secondary) will be joining our Primary Team.

I look forward to seeing many families at the Music Eisteddfod Winner Concert on Sunday afternoon commencing at 5:30pm in the GBLT.  Everyone is welcome to come along and see our talented students perform.

Kind regards, 

Antoinette De Pinto

Head of Primary

Dates to Remember

Merit Certificate Winners

Well done to all the students who received a certificate for their fantastic achievements.

Music Eisteddfod

We are very proud of all our young musicians who performed in the annual Music Eisteddfod. The external adjudicators were impressed with the students’ performances and confident attitude.

Congratulations to our Outstanding Performers in each category and also to the student who received Special Mention from the adjudicators.

The Winners’ Concert will be held this Sunday 16 June at 5:30pm in the GBLT.  Everyone is welcome to attend.

Canberra Reflections

Tilly Laver (6B)

During our trip to the Australian National War Memorial we visited the Discovery Zone where we were encouraged to touch real machinery and objects used in the numerous wars Australia was involved in. We learnt many stories about individual soldiers who fought and died for Australia. The Last Post ceremony truly made me feel sympathy and sadness for the families who had to find out that their relative would never be coming home. I hope that the next generations of Year Sixes who visit Canberra can appreciate the astounding experience that the War Memorial offers.

Emily Litic (6B)

As soon as we stepped into the huge Questacon building I knew I was going to have an awesome time. It was amazing to lay on the ground in the shaking earthquake room and feel what a real earthquake would be like, especially after we had learnt about earthquakes in class last term. I loved watching the caged lightning and racing planets too. My personal favourite experience was the 6 metre slide. I loved zooming down it at top speed and it was all over with in less than three seconds. I learnt a lot at Questacon and I think future students will too when they are in Year 6.

George Griffiths (6B)

Parliament House was an enormous standout for me on my Canberra trip. From the moment I stepped into it, I felt beyond privileged. The colours, materials and geometry were spectacular - everything seemed to have a meaning. We were greeted by a lovely tour guide that accompanied us as we walked around Parliament House. As an artist, I appreciated the portraits of all of the Prime Ministers. It was like a journey of time, not only of Prime Ministers, but the style of painting as well. I thought that it was very interesting about how one of our former Prime Ministers, Julia Gillard - the first female Prime Minister- said that she wanted her portrait to show her exactly as she is, wrinkles and all! Overall, Parliament House was not only informative, but they made it fun! Yes, you heard correctly, learning about politics was fun for an eleven-year-old! The last thing I would like to add that really stuck with me, was when the tour guide talked about how Parliament House was built from the tax payers’ money. She made it very clear that we are all encouraged to visit Parliament House, and that it is just as much ours as the politicians who work there.

Bridget Owen (6G)

I really enjoyed the Canberra camp, but there were two major highlights for me. I loved the Australian War Memorial. It helped me realise what war is and how much all those soldiers had to go through just to protect us and keep us safe. It made me realise that life is short and we should go and live it to the fullest. It also made me feel that I can do good in this world. I also loved being in Canberra with all my friends. They were so kind to me and helped me solve problems. The Year 6 Canberra camp was amazing!

Callum de Andrade (6G)

The Year 6 Canberra camp is probably the best camp out of the entire school curriculum since it’s not every day that you get to travel to the capital of your nation! My most favourite parts of Canberra were the Lake Burley Griffin cruise and visiting Questacon.

Amelia Hennessy (6G)

My experience in Canberra was phenomenal! Not only did I get to share every activity with all of my peers, I also got to learn amazing facts that I didn’t already know. One of the many sensational places we went to was Parliament House. In HASS, we had already learnt so much about this special place and what happens inside it so when we actually went there and saw it, it was astounding. After every jam packed day of learning and fun, we got to go back to the AIS where we were guaranteed a good night’s sleep with our dorm buddy. While we were going about exploring in Canberra, we were also learning many life skills. Overall, the 2019 Canberra camp was a great success which no one will forget!

Stavros Karafilakis (6G)

Canberra was a great experience for all of us and we enjoyed it thoroughly. Even through the wet and cold, we had fun doing the activities. I think our favourite part would have been when we went to Questacon. My personal highlight of this trip would be rolling down the hill at the National Arboretum.

Thomas Townsend (6G)

One of the best experiences of my life was going to Canberra. This is because Canberra is home to a multitude of places like Questacon, the Australian War Memorial, the AIS and Parliament House. These educational places are the home to much information and I hope lots of future generations can enjoy it. I have learnt lots and I am glad to have been fortunate enough to go to Canberra.

A Cultural Experience

On Wednesday, 5G had the privilege to go to a Japanese restaurant in Myaree. When we arrived at Ohnamiya, the Japanese restaurant, after a half an hour drive, we were greeted by joyful staff. As a starter, we enjoyed a warm bowl of miso soup and sushi for us to enjoy. I found the sushi extremely delectable and the miso soup mouthwatering. We even got our own bottle of juice! For our mains, we got a full bento box that included: pieces of luscious katsu chicken, rice and an assortment of divine pickles. We’ve been so lucky to get to experience eating Japanese food. We thank Sensei Aghdasi for organizing this amazing experience!

Elise Kwei (5G)

Science in the Classroom

There is no better classroom experience for children than watching chicks emerge from their shells.

The Pre-Primary children have watched with wonder and awe as the eggs hatched and have been fascinated by the antics of the newly hatched chicks ever since.

The children are so excited to come into the classroom each day to see their fluffy friends and to make new observations.  They have learnt so much about life-cycle from egg to chicken.

Sacramental Certificates

As your children celebrate receiving the Sacraments of First Reconciliation, First Holy Communion and Confirmation, please email copies of these Certificates to nancy.petsos@cewa.edu.au for College records.

Can you help?

The Catholic LifeLink Agency, ‘The Shop Front’ provides meals for those in need who call in and has shower facilities for those who are homeless.

Once again we are collecting travel size shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soap, as well as, tooth brushes, toothpaste and combs/brushes. Many of these items are often provided by hotels and are a suitable size for distribution by the volunteers at The Shop Front. Donations can be placed in the basket in the front office. The Shop Front is a special place of hospitality and sharing and would also greatly appreciate any donations of blankets or sleeping bags (new or pre-loved).

Sports News 

Years 5 and 6 Interschool Sport

This week JTC hosted Newman College on Thursday afternoon and thankfully the weather cleared for us.  Next week we play Carmel School which will be our final matches before the Winter Carnival on Thursday 27 June.  Information regarding the Winter Carnival will be coming out next week.

Cross Country 

Some pretty terrible weather saw the dedicated cross country runners pushing their limits with the beep test on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  With the aim of learning the test and improving their scores pacing and endurance were the big challenges.  A massive congratulations to all the runners for doing their best but especially those who reached over level 8!  Vivienne Barley (2G) and Olivia Negus (2G) 8.1, Ruby Verleg (6G) 9.1,  Ben Arundell (4B) 9.8 and Finn O’Donnell (6G) with a huge 10.1!!!

Please note, students in choir must attend choir practice on Thursday mornings instead of Cross-Country.

Steve Williams 

steve.williams@cewa.edu.au

0477 970 099