Dear Parents, Friends, Staff and Students
I hope our parents have been enjoying the Week of Wellness. I can see by the photographs that we have been receiving, that a lot of fun family activities have been taking place. The sunny weather has been a bonus. Thank you for embracing our Week of Wellness. I appreciate the photographs and the words of encouragement and support about our focus on looking after minds, bodies and the environment. The value of time spent as a family cannot be underestimated. When parents spend quality time with their children they are raising happy and well-adjusted young people who will go on to make positive contributions to society. The time you are spending with your children will help build their confidence and self-esteem, will provide them with valuable social skills and will assist with maintaining positive mental health. The key to spending positive family time together is to give full attention. Scheduling family time can be challenging; however, it is always worthwhile to schedule in time together when parent’s minds don’t have to be distracted with work or other concerns.
WOW Week photos are included in this newsletter. Photos will also be included in next week’s newsletter.
Perhaps this week you could find some family time to pray a prayer of thanksgiving to God, for the wonderful gift that our Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School families are to each other and to our community.
We are very thankful, God, for the good times we have with our families. Thank You for allowing us to enjoy each other’s company. Thank You for giving us time to spend with them each day.
Preserve our good relationships, Father, whenever we are with our beloved families. Let peace reign in our homes and let compassion fill each of our hearts. Teach us what it is to experience real joy and enable us to show each other what this means.
Lord, You are our Prince of Peace and the One that guards our hearts. May You always remind us to be peacemakers, especially within our families. Guide us each day as we walk through life with our families, wherever each of us may be. All these we ask in Your Name, Amen.
Thank you to all those who contributed to such a successful sport carnival last week. We were blessed with the weather. The day was such fun for our students and the feedback from our parents has been appreciated. Sincerest thanks to Mr Oliver Battistessa for his hard work in preparing for the day. A summary of the results from the day are in the School News component of this newsletter.
Thank you to Marnie Hughes for organising such a successful Scholastic Book Fair, once again. Thank you to our parents for supporting the Book Fair. Your support has provided us with valuable additional resources to go into the Library.
Congratulations to the following students for wining the Book Fair Drawing Competition:
Kindy – Harry
Pre-Primary – Kenzo
Year 1 – Anderson
Year 2: Aurora
Year 3 – Zachary R
Year 4 – Clarice
Year 5 – Ovia
Year 6 – Romeo.
Thank you to all the students who participated.
Spirit of the Arts – Catholic Arts Festival.
The Catholic Performing Arts Festival is drawing to a close. The final event is the Spirit of the Arts Concert on Monday 13th September at Perth RAC Arena. Students from Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School will be participating in the combined schools’ choir during the evening. My sincerest thanks to Mrs Keddie, the choir members, and their parents, for supporting the combined choir performance. We look forward to attending the concert on Monday evening and enjoying the show case of talent that exists across Catholic Schools in Western Australia.
My thanks to Teresa Aldred and Mary Doyle for preparing our students for their participation in the festival. The Oklahoma Musical, performed by the Year 5 and 6 students, received an “Award of Excellence.” A wonderful achievement! Congratulation to our piano soloists, Charlotte, Imogen and Amy, for their excellent adjudication reports and the high standard of their performances.
I look forward to welcoming parents to the Merit Award Assembly on Friday 10th September.
Therese Hussey
Principal