Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School would like to acknowledge the
Traditional Owners of the land, the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation 
and pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging.

Here is the land, here is the sky.
Here are my friends and here am I.
We thank the Whadjuk Noongar people
for the land on which we play and learn.
Hands up, hands down
We’re on Noongar ground.

Confirmation Prayer

Lord, You send out Your Spirit to touch the hearts of all people,
so that they may believe in You and in Jesus whom You sent.
Look kindly on our candidates for Confirmation
as they listen to Your voice.
Open their hearts to Your Spirit and bring to fulfillment
the good work that You have begun in them.
Make them an instrument of Your love.
Teach them to appreciate what is holy in others,
and to be patient with what they do not understand.
Deepen their faith in the Gospel
and help them to pass it on by their example.We pray that You will continue to
guide and sustain them.

 Amen

Sacrament of Confirmation

Our prayers are with our Year 6 students and students from the Parish Religious Education group who will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation on Saturday 19th August at 6 pm.  It is lovely to see how the other classes in the school are thinking of our Confirmation students by making cards and writing prayers for them.  Many thanks to the students from Years 2-6, who have volunteered to sing at this Mass, and to Mr Laurenson who will play for us.

Sacrament of Baptism

Congratulations to James and Emily, who were baptised on Sunday 20th August.  May you always remember this special day, and may God’s joy, love and peace be with your always.

Kindy Carnival

Even though we had some grey skies, what an exciting and happy Kindy Carnival on Thursday 18th of August.  It is so special seeing our youngest students getting involved in their games and showing their team spirit.  Thanks to Mrs Hewitt for your preparation and the whole Kindy team for your work with the students.  It was lovely to see all parents and family members present to cheer the children along.

Carpark Update

The carpark is creeping towards completion.  We have been waiting on various contractors, and as with all building projects, these things are not always under our control.  Thank you for your patience and efforts to keep the traffic flowing.  I did hope that Mrs Hussey may have returned to see a completed carpark – but not to be!

Book Week

Next week, Monday 21st August – Friday 25th August, we are celebrating BOOK WEEK.  It is truly one of the highlights of the year, with our Book Parade for all students from Kindergarten to Year 6 on Thursday 24th at 9 am.  Thanks once again to our P&F for organising the prizes for each year level.

At the Book Week Parade, the P&F will also be revealing the choose your own adventure story based on our school, “The Art Show that Came to Life”.  Thank you to all the students who voted for teachers for the book characters, and to our business sponsors.

Project Compassion Update

This year, Matthew Gibney generously donated $917 to Project Compassion.  Once again, thank you to our community for supporting this Caritas.  By supporting Caritas, we join with other Catholic schools around Australia to bring hope, support and compassion to the world’s most vulnerable people.

Staffing

Mrs Nickels returned to Year One, this week after her Long Service Leave, looking very relaxed and rejuvenated.  Thank you to Miss Malcom for your excellent care of the students while Gina was away.

Mrs Hussey will return on Monday 21st August after her Long Service Leave.  We hope that Therese has also enjoyed her time away and that she will come back to Matthew Gibney, refreshed in heart and spirit.

Other staffing news …. Miss Bettridge will be continuing on as the full-time Year 4 teacher for the remainder of 2023 and I will be teaching Digitech and the Challenge Program.

Thank you to the school community for your support and kind words in my time as Short-Term Principal.  It has been wonderful being able to spend time with the children and working closely with the community, in a different role.

Website Absentee Form

The issue we had earlier this week with the Website Absentee Form has now been resolved.

Have a wonderful week,

Kind regards,

Karen Keddie
Short Term Principal