Around The Primary

Dear Parents

The primary role of a Catholic school is to support parents in the faith education of their children. Parents play an essential role in the life of the school and contribute in many positive ways to the education of their children. Our Religious Education program is based on the Religious Education units of work produced and issued by Catholic Education WA with the approval of the Archbishop of Perth and the Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia. Parents are encouraged to attend the various Masses and prayer reflections, that are an integral part of life in a Catholic school.

At this particular time of the year, we are called to keep in mind the Year Six students, Year Four students and Year Three students who are receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Sacrament of Eucharist (First Holy Communion) and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

On Tuesday morning Fr Rodrigo met both Year Three classes in the Chapel as part of their preparations for first Reconciliation.

Father Rodrigo explained to students that, in the sacrament, Jesus works through the priest.  The priest’s role is to welcome the person, to listen to them and to give them God’s forgiveness.  The priest does not repeat what he hears in Reconciliation, as that betrays the person’s trust and confidence.

Father Rodrigo and some of the students presented role-plays to demonstrate what takes place in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Children were given the opportunity to ask questions.

We are grateful to Father Rodrigo for enriching the students’ understanding.  His sense of humour as well as kind and sensitive responses in the role-plays were appreciated by all.

As our mornings are getting colder and darker the challenge of getting your children off to school may be becoming more difficult. Missing a few minutes each day may not seem like a big deal, but your child may be missing more than you realise if he or she is continually late.

When children arrive late and take time to settle, as they inevitably do, precious minutes are lost. A child who is fifteen minutes late to school each day misses one week of school every year.

Here are a few techniques and ideas for you to try to get your children to school on time:

Establish a morning routine 

Make sure your children know what is expected of them in the morning, and also what you will do to help them prepare for the day.

Identify and remove distractions

If the children are regular watchers before school change the routine and keep the TV off and other devices too.

Teach some of the basics of time management 

Encourage children to estimate how long it takes to do activities such as getting dressed in the morning. Then they can measure the time taken to do these tasks and compare their estimates with real time.

Arrive at school early 

Plan to arrive at school early rather than be there on time. This idea works well for perpetual latecomers, whether young or old. Our classroom doors open at 8.35am each morning.

Model a good routine 

Set a good example by being as methodical as possible and avoid sleeping in unless your children are so organised that they get you breakfast in bed!

LifeLink Update

The Archbishop’s Forum for Primary Schools LifeLink launch was a wonderful morning spent in company many Catholic Primary schools across the Archdiocese of Perth on Wednesday. Our Year 6 Leaders, Mark Bontempo, Henry Gooch, Genevieve Price and Ava Pruiti enjoyed listening to The Most Reverend Don Sproxton, Auxiliary Bishop of Perth, who spoke about the work of the LifeLink organisation and were also  fortunate to hear a Keynote Address by The Most Reverend Timothy Costelloe, Archbishop of Perth.

Our Archbishop encouraged all students to reflect on Pope Francis’ latest writing, ‘Christus Vivit’ (Christ is Alive) as he outlined that Christ is alive and well in our Catholic schools. He spoke about people coming to the Church at different points on their faith journey, about reflecting on the words, “Jesus is God among us and one of us” and to always remember that when Jesus speaks, it is God speaking to us. Trusting faith is an essential part of being Christian.

On behalf of all Primary Staff, I take this opportunity to thank the Parents Association for the delicious Staff Morning Tea, it was thoroughly enjoyed by all!

Kind regards, 

Antoinette De Pinto

Head of Primary

Dates to Remember

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.

The Shop Front is a special place of hospitality and sharing and would greatly appreciate any donations of personal hygiene items.

Donations can be placed in the basket in the front office.

Year 4 RE Project - Learning from our Students

The Year 4 students have been preparing for the Sacrament of the Eucharist by learning about how members of God’s family celebrate the Eucharist.  They have enjoyed creating digital booklets using the ‘Book Creator’ app to display their understanding of the parts of the Mass

Special thanks to Xavier Parker (4B) for sharing his informative booklet.

Sports News 

Cross Country

The Primary cross country training got off to a great start this week with some perfect running conditions.  A change in the format of the training saw students and parents attempting to run as far as possible in the allocated time.  Maths skills were put to the test when adding up the total distance run buy calculating the number of 400, 500 and 600m laps.  Well done to all the runners!

Next week we will meet outside the gym.  It would be great to see even more students and parents along for a run.

IPSHA Sport

The Year 5 and year 6 students played Carmel School this week and continued to make good improvements to their gameplay and teamwork in preparation for the Winter Carnival in week 9.  On Thursday next week we host Newman College in all sports. 

Some dates for the Diary 

• Inter-house Cross Country Carnival Y3-Y6 - Tuesday 30th July
• Inter-school Cross Country Carnival Y3-Y6 - Thursday 22 August 

Steve Williams 

steve.williams@cewa.edu.au

0477 970 099

Fujimi Visitors 

In Term Three we have a group of international exchange students visiting our College from Fujimi High School, Tokyo, Japan. The students arrive on Sunday 28 July and are here for two weeks, leaving on Saturday 10 August. They are all female students aged approximately 15-16 years old. Their purpose for coming to the College is to experience life in Australia and practice speaking English.

Please refer to letter below giving you more information about the exchange and a Host Family Application Form. Please return the completed Application Form with images of your family at your earliest convenience.

Hosting is a wonderful opportunity to share your home with someone from Japan and make a life-long friend with someone who lives in Tokyo. Opening your home to someone from another country will expand your understanding of another culture.

This will be our 21st Exchange with Fujimi High School! The length of our relationship reflects the value, loyalty, strength and success of the program.

Inspire Event 'Growing up online'

The John XXIII College Parents’ Association through Inspire ‐ Parent Education presents 'Growing up online' presented by Susan McLean. 

An informative & entertaining session for Parents and carers is delivered with Susan's famous 'no nonsense' approach & will cover the positive benefits of technology as well as what parents need to be aware of.  Tuesday 11 June 2019 at 7:00pm  in the Gonzaga Barry Lecture Theatre.  Book via Trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/501882