Dear Parents, Friends, Students and Staff

It was such a pleasure to welcome Fr Joseph, parishioners and parents to Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School this morning as we joined together to celebrate Mass for the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.  Fr Joseph and the parishioners have supported the school through the challenges of the past few months and I am most grateful for their prayers and kind words.  We should not forget that Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School is the Parish School of St Francis of Assisi.  We work in partnership to ensure the Catholic faith is alive for all our community.  The distance between the school and the church could be challenging in ensuring a sense of unity and partnership so I am always grateful to Fr Joseph and the parish for agreeing to join us for combined Masses, such as the Mass this morning.

Feast of the Assumption of Mary

The Feast of the Assumption of Mary is an opportunity for us to give thanks and praise for Mary’s blessed life, as the Mother of Jesus, and honour her assumption into heaven. The students pray to Mary in their classes almost every day.  The Feast of the Assumption gives us cause to reflect on how Mary’s life and faith can inspire us and what it is that we can learn from her goodness and humanity.

Taken up to Heaven,
Mary shows us the way to God,
the way to Heaven,
the way to Life.

(Pope St John Paul 11)

Open Day and School Tours

Please promote our Open Day and School Tours on Thursday 27th August to family, friends and neighbours.  School tours will be available between 9.30-10.30 am and 4.30-6.00pm. In particular, we are promoting our Pre-Kindergarten Program.  The Pre-Kindy, for children once they turn 3 years of age, is a quality program and an affordable alternative to daycare.  We have some places available in the Kindergarten in 2021 and in a variety of other classes throughout the school.  We rely on our parents to assist us with enrolments and appreciate your positive comments about the school to family and friends.

P&F Fundraising for 30th Anniversary Nature Playgrounds

I am delighted to see that the volunteer’s roster for the Bunning’s Sausage Sizzle on 22nd August has been filled.  We are so very fortunate to have such a generous parent community who are willing to contribute their time to assist with projects for the school.  It is exciting times ahead as we work together to fundraise and plan for the nature playgrounds for our students during the 30th anniversary year.  The staff has begun the process of talking to their classes about the nature playgrounds and are collating their ideas to take to a P&F Meeting later in the year.  We will do all we can to keep parents informed about the playground developments as time goes on.  The 30th Anniversary is a time for us to be excited about the future of our school and work together to continue to build an inclusive and inspiring community.

Scholastic Book Fair

We look forward to the annual Scholastic Book Fair to be held in the Library from 28th August to 1st September. Sincerest thanks to Marnie Hughes for organizing the book fair once again this year.  Details about the book fair will be made available to parents very soon.  This year we are giving parents an opportunity to provide electronic credit to their children for the fair from home.  This is a way to assist those parents who may not be able to attend the fair in person.  We are organizing a colouring competition for all children to participate in and have prizes from Scholastic for winning entries.  The Scholastic Book Fair is a great way to generate interest in reading for our children and is also a great way for parents to begin their Christmas shopping.

P&F Meeting

All parents are welcome to come along to the P&F Meeting in the Library on Wednesday 19th August commencing at 7.30pm.  Theresa McDonnell from Catholic School Parents WA (CSPWA) will come along to the meeting a give a short presentation about parent engagement and the role of CSPWA.  The meeting will also be an opportunity to discuss ideas for events for 2021 and fundraising for the 30th Anniversary Nature Playgrounds.

I look forward to welcoming parents to the Year Five Class Mass on Wednesday 19th August commencing at 9.00am.  We also look forward to the Pre-Primary Assembly on Friday 21st August.

Best wishes for the week ahead.

Therese Hussey
Principal