Newsletter 3 - 1st March 2024
Principal's Page
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Let us pray:
New Students
We welcome all the way from South Africa, brothers Ben B (6T) and Liam B (6G). We hope you enjoy the year at St Lawrence's.
New Staff
We welcome Ashleigh Tito to St Lawrence's. Ashleigh will be working in PPB 4 days/week. Ashleigh is also a former student at St Lawrence's. Welcome back.
Swimming Carnival
Yesterday Years 4-6 had their annual swimming carnival at the Aquarena. Congratulations to Thomas in winning another swimming carnival. I believe that is now 7 years in a row they have won the St Lawrence's Swimming Carnival.
Thank you to our HPE specialists, staff and parent volunteers who made the day so successful. See all results further down in the newsletter.
Adios Amigos
This will be my final Newsletter for 2 months as I head off next Friday 8 March for some System Leaders Renewal Leave and Long Service Leave. For the first 3 weeks I will be walking 305km with a group of WA Catholic School Principals on the Camino de Santiago, Spain. A Camino provides a great way to disconnect from daily stress, allows pilgrims to walk out their faith, and gives travellers an authentic unique experience.
Cruz de Ferro (Cross of Iron) is at the highest point of the Camino. It has come to represent the spiritual renewal pilgrims seek on their journey. Pilgrims traditionally leave a stone from ‘home’ at this special place – a symbol of the pilgrimage, the challenges of the journey, letting go. At the back of our St Lawrence’s Church, I found a small piece of sandstone. I will be carrying this stone from our church knowing that a small part of Monsignor Hawes and St Lawrence’s community will now be a part of the Camino de Santiago.
Whilst I am away, Donna Kempton will be acting Principal for the remainder of Term 1. Damien O’Malley will be acting Principal for the first 3 weeks of Term 2. Congratulations to Emma Bowen who has been appointed acting Assistant Principal whilst I am away. Emma's Year 1 class will be covered by Karen Davis. I will hopefully send some photos through of my trip to share with you.
Happy Days
David Tunchon
Principal
Religious Education
Fruit of the Spirit Focus
Joy: The second fruit of the Spirit is joy. The word 'joy' appears nearly 200 times in the Bible, which helps us understand just how important this second sweet fruit of the Spirit really is. Joy is a condition of the heart. People often confuse joy with happiness, but they are not interchangeable.
Term One Mission Event for Project Compassion - School Fundraiser
Our Term One Missions committee is hosting a "wear a green accessory" on Tuesday -12th March. Those who would like to participate are asked to bring in a gold coin donation for Project Compassion 2024.
Year Three Sacrament of Reconciliation: Sat March 16th 3-5:30pm St Lawrence's Church
Book in your child's time for their First Reconciliation with your class teacher.
Year Two Family Mass – Palm Sunday, 6pm Sat March 23rd St Lawrence's Church
Fruit of the Spirit Winners
Administration News
UR Strong - Great Friends
On Monday 26th Feb, all staff participated in the UR Strong Great Friends professional development session. This Whole School approach focuses on empowering students to manage their friendships, while providing teacher and parents with a common language to support them. Information about the upcoming Parent Session will be provided soon.
School Pick up and Drop Off
For the safety of all children, the staff carpark behind the church and in front of admin is strictly out of bounds for morning and afternoon drop off and pick up. Please use the designated parking areas or pick up areas. Your help in this matter is greatly appreciated.
Finance News
2024 School Fees
All families should have now recieved their 2024 school fee statements. A big thank you to those families who have already returned their completed payment plans, or arranged payment. If you are yet to return your payment plan form, please do so as soon as possible.
If you have not recieved a statement, please contact the office and we can send one out for you.
Swimming Carnival Results
Well done to all particpants who put in 110%, and to our Swimming carnival winners for 2024.
Athletics Carnival Overall Results:
Thomas - 629
Gummer - 558
O'Collins - 499
Kelly-467
Champion and Runner-Up results are shown below:
P & F News
Easter Egg Raffle
It is with great excitement that we announce an online ticketing system as a trial for this year’s Easter Raffle! This online system will be communicated to you all via the newsletter, SeeSaw, and on our school Facebook pages – making it easier than ever to share our raffles, purchase tickets, and increase your chances to win! For those who would still prefer to utilise a cash option, tickets will be available for purchase in the office as soon as the raffle goes online.
2024 Committee
Chair - Kara Fraser parent to Alex (Yr 3) and Charlee (Yr 6)
Vice Chair - Georigia Johnson parent to Jaeger (Yr 1), Chase (Yr 3) ,Hunter (Yr 5)
Treasurer/Secretary - Sam Heirich parent to Remi (Yr 5)
Farewell and Welcome
With the farewell of some long serving, much loved committee members at the end of 2023, we are approaching 2024 with a fresh set of eyes and we need your help! Getting involved with the P&F is an exciting way to connect with the school, support our kids, and facilitate some pretty great initiatives around the place. Roles can be as involved or minimal as you prefer, but your voice is important as we look to the future for our events, fundraisers, and spending. Come to a meeting, send us an email, join a committee – every idea is welcomed, and I would love to see some new faces throughout the year.
More information to come regarding meeting schedules, the pulling together of our first committee for the year for the Easter Raffle, and so much more.
Yr 4 Sustainability Project
Community Notices
Kids Hub has an on-site Outside of School Hours Care service at St Lawrences and is nearing capacity. We are excited to offer a pick up service to St Lawrences students to attend our new purpose built building at 470 Chapman Road. Please see the flyer below for further information and contact details.
