St Kieran Newsletter Term 1, Week 3 - 15 February 2024

Principal's Message

God, our Father,  
we ask that You accept us as we are, vulnerable,  
flawed and in need of Your love.  
May Your Spirit be powerful within us so that joy,  
love and peace may be expressed through the actions of our lives.  
Amen.  

If you were ever a fan of songwriter, Johnny Mercer, you will recognise these lyrics:  

“You’ve got to  
Accentuate the positive  
Eliminate the negative  
Latch onto the affirmative  
Don’t mess with Mr In-between.”  

Not that he intended to do so, but Mr Mercer could be giving us some excellent advice as Ash Wednesday was celebrated and with it the forty days of Lent.  

As we all know, Jesus retreated into the desert for forty days to prepare for His ministry. It was for Him a time of reflection and contemplation. For us, to pass time in the desert means to find occasions when we create a little emptiness and silence around us, rediscover the road to our heart, remove ourselves from the noise of external distractions, enter into contact with the deepest source of our being and faith. Thomas a Kempis offers a traditional perspective when he writes, “Happy and wise is he who endeavours to be during his life, as he wishes to be found at his death.”  

On Ash Wednesday, our foreheads are marked with ashes to remind us that life passes away on earth: “Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return”.  

The ashes are made from the blessed palms left over from the Palm Sunday celebration of the previous year. These ashes are “christened” with holy water and are scented by exposure to incense. Whilst the ashes symbolise penance and contrition, they are also a reminder that God is gracious and understanding to those who are of goodwill: “For generous and merciful is He, slow to anger, rich in kindness.” Prophet, Joel. 2:12.  

If we are not careful, Lent can be so dreadfully boring if it focuses only on the negative, for who wants to mourn their sins and shortcomings for forty days! Father James Martin S.J., author of My Life with the Saints, has some good advice to offer: “When it comes to religion, joy has a lousy reputation. When you hear of someone described as “religious” what usually comes to mind is someone who is terrified that somewhere in the world somebody might be having a good time.  

St Teresa of Avila even prayed, ‘From sombre and solemn people, deliver us, O Lord.’ So today, on Ash Wednesday, instead of going around with a sad look on your face, have a laugh, for God’s sake!” Adapted.  

Mourning our sins is about calling attention to them so that we can discard them; it is about improving our spiritual lives and seeking a closer relationship with God. We should observe Lent, because we want to accentuate the positive influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and to eliminate the negative influence of sin. So, we have to “Accentuate the positive, Eliminate the negative, Latch onto the affirmative ….” and be happy about it!  

Best wishes and take care. 

Mr Daine Burnett 
Principal 
daine.burnett@cewa.edu.au 

School Calendar

A reminder to all families to continue to check the school calendar on our website for dates and events that are coming up during the term. 

Kindergarten Enrolments 2025

We are accepting Kindy Enrolment's for Kindy 2025 and later this term start organising interviews. Please don’t leave this until the last minute as we have many people we could not accommodate in 2024. Please submit your application and make sure you have your children enrolled at St Kieran Catholic Primary School. 

Servite College

Just a reminder to all of our St Kieran families you must get your children's applications into Servite College nice and early. Please don’t wait until Year 3 0r 4  to submit this application. Families need to ensure these are submitted nice and early to the college.  

Parent iPad Meeting

On Tuesday 20th February at 6:00pm in the Upper Learning Area. Mr Nathan Fonceca from IT Dynamics will run the session and will clarify any information you may need in relation to your child's iPad for 2024 in Year 2 or 3. All parents of students who will be in Year 2 or 3 in 2024 are invited and ask that a least one parent attend the meeting.

The invitation is also open to any new parents or those who need clarification on iPad use at St Kieran. 

Kieran Connect

We are still chasing some Year 4 Parent Reps for 2024. If you can reach out to the school or to Kieran Connect if you are interested or would like more information we would be really happy to have you on board.

NAPLAN 2024

NAPLAN is a National Literacy and Numeracy assessment that students in Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. NAPLAN Information for parents and caregivers went out via students in Year 3 and 5 last week. Please check your child's school bag. 

The NAPLAN test window starts on Wednesday 13th March and finishes on Monday 25th March, 2024. The tests dates for St Kieran are: 13th, 14th and 15th March, with catch up sessions in the following week.  

For more information about NAPLAN https://nap.edu.au/ 

Uniform

 The new uniform is now compulsory for 2024, there are no variations to this. Staff will be sending home notifications of incorrect uniform to families beginning week 2. A reminder that for the academic uniform the below shoes are to be worn - black lace up school shoes for both boys and girls. I would ask all parents to refer to the Uniform Policy on our school website.  https://stkierancps.schoolzineplus.com/_file/media/2012/school_uniform_guidelines_2024.pdf 

Student Birthdays

Just a reminder to all families that student birthdays are celebrated in class and at assemblies. We do ask that parents don’t send in food, lollies, cake etc to the school. We would also ask that parents don’t ask staff to hand out birthday invitations to students nor put them in their bag. 

Procedure to Deal with Incidents

Unfortunately at times during the school day there are incidents that may arise that require intervention or follow up by either the staff or by parents. To assist with this process the procedure is located on the website, it may give you some strategies to work through during these times of heightening emotions. The one element to remember is that mistakes can be made and as a catholic school we forgive and reconcile and move forward together. 

https://stkierancps.schoolzineplus.com/_file/media/1351/dispute_complaint_resolution_procedure.pdf 

School Rules

The St Kieran School rules are listed below and as members of the community we are always expected to follow these. Can we ask that all parents talk to their children about these rules and if you like feel free to implement these at home. 

• Be Safe - Always use your body and equipment in ways that will keep you and others safe. 
• Be Respectful - Consider others and the environment, allowing people to treat others as they wish to be treated.  
• Be Responsible - Take ownership of your actions, choices, learning and belongings. 

St Kieran Parish Shrine Area

Unfortunately we have been asked to send this message out to the children and parents regarding respecting the Shrine grounds at the St Kieran Parish. We are very fortunate to be able to use the carpark and also this area for parents to be able to collect their children, however we the below points are made it is important that the property is respected. 

  If all children awaiting parent pick up after school, please refrain from: 

• throwing rocks, wooden chips, sand and garden clippings in the pond; 
• climbing/standing on the pillar edges; 
• swinging on the hand rails; 
• playing behind the waterfall wall feature and within the garden beds. 

The St Kieran Parish have indicated that if there is any damage caused those person will be liable for it. It is impornant to note that there are cameras in this area to confirm any damage.  

Traffic Crossing

We must remind all families and students that we have a cross walk attendant in place between the church and school for everyone to safely cross Cape Street. This has been in place for a long time for the benefit of school and community members, and while we appreciate that it may not be the quickest place to cross, it is the safest. I would ask you all to please think about walking the extra metres to ensure that the area remains safe and the traffic continues to move safely. 

If any of our community members would like to explore the possibility of becoming a relief traffic warden please make contact with the office and we can direct you down the correct path for training and further information.  

Mobile Phones and Smart Watches

Smart watches can be worn to school; however, we ask parents to turn off any features that allow the watch to be used for anything other than telling the time while at school. If a student is using it for any other reason, then it is exactly like a mobile phone and it MUST  be handed in to the front office. If your child is required to bring a mobile phone to school, for instance they walk home or catch the bus, then a mobile phone permission form must be completed and the phone needs to be handed in to the office each morning and collected at the end of the school day. At no time is a phone permitted to be left in a students bag. 

Code of Conduct

The purpose of the Code of Conduct is to describe minimum standards of conduct in all behaviour and decision making to ensure the safety and well-being of students. The Code of Conduct applies to staff, students, volunteers, parents and guardians in our community.  The document is available on our school website and everyone in our community is expected to abide by this. https://www.stkieran.wa.edu.au/st-kieran-code-of-conduct-and-guidelines 

A breach of the Code may constitute a failure to follow a lawful direction from the Principal and therefore the Principal will have the discretion as to what action to take, which may include counselling, professional development or sanctions under any agreement between you and the Principal. If you are a parent, volunteer or visitor, the Principal may take such action as is appropriate in your circumstances to maintain the safety and well-being of students. If at anytime members of our community feel that a person has breached the code the forms for breaching or notification are located here on our school website https://www.stkieran.wa.edu.au/reporting These forms report directly to the principal. 

School Attendance 

Academic success and engagement are intricately linked with school attendance. We ask parents to set the expectation of daily attendance, establish good morning routines that ensure students arrive to school on time and try to ensure all family holidays are booked during the school holiday period.   

  All absentee notifications to be emailed to admin@stkieran.wa.edu.au. Please ensure that any absence is communicated promptly to the school to ensure that you child is accounted for.  

School Fees 2024

Annual School Fees were sent out on the 14th of February to the primary email contact on the family billing account. Please complete and return the payment plan on the last page by the 28th February.
If you have not recieved the statement, please check your junk inbox as the email will come from an address beginning with  "8750…". 
If you have concerns regarding the school fees or did not recieve your fee statement please contact Kathryn Climo in accounts at accounts@stkieran.wa.edu.au or call the office (08) 63832600 option 2

Allergy Aware

A reminder that we are Allergy Aware at St Kieran, we have many of our families that rely on our vigilance, which means we all need to be mindful of the following life threatening allergic reactions at the school. Below is a list of allergies we are aware of: 

• All Nuts 
• Eggs (raw or cooked), meringues   
• Kiwi fruit, bananas, figs 
• Mosquito bites 
• Insect repellents 
• Honey and Bee venom 
• Legumes  

Eucharist Commitment Mass

First Eucharist (Holy Communion) Commitment Masses are coming up! Saturday March 9 at 6:30pm and Sunday March 10 at 9:00am.

St Kieran Run Club 2024

On the 28th of February (Wednesday of Week 5) the St Kieran Run Club will be commencing again for 2024. The sessions will run from 7.30 - 8.00am every Wednesday morning at Grenville Reserve and are for students in Year 3-6 only.

Thanks,

Matt Taylor
Physical Education Teacher

CEWA Easter Competition

Your chance to win!!!

Easter Acts of Kindness Competition.

Help a friend, share a smile, or a say a kind word to someone who needs it. Your creativity is the limit!

Entries will have the chance to win fabulous prizes and be recognised for their inspiring efforts. 

For details on how to enter, visit: https://www.cewa.edu.au/easter2024/

Piano Tuition at St Kieran 2024

Enrolments are now being taken for Piano Tuition being held at St Kieran’s by a registered teacher with over 20 years of experience. Lessons are conducted on an individual basis throughout the school term. They are alternated as much as possible, so that the same class lesson will not be affected each week.

It is most important that you have either a piano or keyboard to practice on. 

For further details or to enrol please contact Priscilla Smith on 0414 418 568.

Limited places are available.