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.
Dear Parents, Friends, Staff, and Students
It was wonderful this morning to see so many visitors attend our Matthew Gibney Day and Grandparents Day celebrations. Thank you for attending the mass, open classrooms, morning tea, and the concert. It was such a pleasure to welcome so many people to our lovely community. It is events like this that show us just how special the Matthew Gibney community is. A special thanks to Michelle Steward, and her helpers for organsing the morning tea. Catering for 200 people is no mean feat. As usual, Michelle took it in her stride and presented a wonderful morning tea for all to enjoy. Thank you to Simone Cain for baking the beautiful Matthew Gibney cake for our grandparents to cut for us. The cake looked and tasted wonderful.
Matthew Gibney Day is a special day of celebrations of the values and ethos of our school. For a small school, we punch well above our weight, especially in community building and witnessing the values of Jesus. Everything that is special about our school was on display today. We especially thank our grandparents. I love the way that grandparents are such a big part of our community. We are always grateful for the role they play in the lives of their grandchildren. Thank you, grandparents, for all you do for our school community. It is always appreciated.
World Teachers’ Day
Today we celebrate World Teachers’ Day. It is a day to celebrate all the staff at Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School for their skilled work in educating, inspiring and supporting our students. Thank you for supporting our staff. We always strive to work, hand in hand with our parents, in the best interests of all our children.
Year 6 Camp
Best wishes to the Year 6 students as they attend their camp in Busselton next week. Camp is such a positive experience for the students and something they have been looking forward to all year. Camp cannot go ahead without the generosity of staff who attend to supervise and care for the students full-time for the next four days. I thank our staff members who are leaving their own families, children, and other responsibilities to attend camp. We wish Ms Sheldrick, Mrs Tormey, and Ms Grant all the best for a fun-filled (and not too exhausting) camp experience. We look forward to hearing all about the fun at camp when the year 6 students return on Friday afternoon.
Freddie – Therapy Dog
Parents have recently received a note about the introduction of a therapy dog at Matthew Gibney. Freddie, the therapy dog, will be introduced to us over the next few weeks. We are excited to welcome Freddie as he accompanies Ms Grant in the work she does with our students.
Before School Supervision
We seem to have an increasing number of students arriving at school early. Staff supervision commences when the doors open at 8.35 am. Students arriving prior to this time are to sit patiently in the undercover area to wait. However, when students arrive at school at 8.10 am, this is a long time to sit and wait. Accidents could happen when students are unsupervised at school for periods of time. It is not fair to ask staff to supervise students who arrive at school early. Please support us in meeting our duty of care obligations by making sure students are not at school prior to 8:30 am.
Colour Run – Raising Money for The Science Lab in 2024
The Colour Run will be held on Friday 10th November commencing at 1.45 pm. The event will be held on the school grounds and parents and visitors are invited to come along and cheer the children on. Please register your child’s profile for the colour run if you have not already done so. Follow the instructions in your child’s sponsorship booklet to create a cybersafe, online profile page at https://australianfundraising.com.au/. At the end of our fundraiser students can order up to a total of 5 prizes based on their donations received. Our children love the prizes on offer. Please register for the colour run and get into the spirit to help raise funds for the Science Lab opening at Matthew Gibney in 2024.
Pre-Kindy and Kindy 2024 Play Dates
Parents of students in Pre-Kindy and Kindy in 2024 should have received an invitation to attend play dates later this term. Please check the invitations and mark the dates in your diaries.
- Pre-Kindy Meet and Greet Play Date – Friday 24th November 2.30-3.00 pm.
- Kindy Parent and Kids Play – Friday 24th November 9.00-10.00 am
We look forward to meeting all our Pre-Kindy and Kindy children and parents for 2024.
Pre-Primary Parents 2024 Introductory Meeting
Parents of Pre-Primary students in 2024 are invited to come along to an introductory information session on Friday 1st December at 2.00 pm. At least one parent from each family is encouraged to attend. The information booklets for Pre-Primary 2024 will be distributed at the meeting. We look forward to seeing you there.
Term 4 Dates
Please take note of the following important Term 4 dates:
- Friday, 27th October – Pupil Free Day
- Tuesday, 31st October – Year 6 Camp
- Monday, November – Pupil Free Day
- Friday, 10th November – P&F Colour Run
- Wednesday, 22nd November – Annual Community Meeting
- Thursday, 30th November – Edu Dance and Nativity Concert
- Friday, 1st December – Year 6 Final Assembly
- Thursday, 7th November – Year 6 Graduation Mass
- Friday, 8th December – student final day of Term 4.
Next Week
Don’t forget the Pupil Free Day on Friday 27th October.
Year 1–6 look forward to a Waste Wise Incursion next Monday.
Best wishes for Melbourne Cup Day next Wednesday, if that’s your thing.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Warm regards
Therese
