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St Kieran Newsletter Term 1, Week 6 - 7 March 2024

Principal's Message

So last week at the school assembly I was taking about our Berry Street Strategies that are getting used in the school and how as a Leadership Team we meet and now discuss one of these, 'What Went Well or WWW' rather than focus on what didn’t go so well. This lead me into a conversation about seeing things in a positive or negative outlook, and then onto the Glass Half Full or Empty conversation. So with that in mind I thought I would explain it further!

Is the glass half empty? Or is the glass half full? How would you choose to describe it?

You might think that it doesn’t make a lot of difference. If the water reaches the 50% point in the glass, then after all, either of the above is true. Depending on your interpretation. And that matters. The truth is that the glass contains water to the half-way mark.

The rest is up to how we interpret that truth. The truth itself doesn’t change, but how we interpret it can and may have a huge impact on our further actions.

At first this may seem like a simple choice:

Half Full or Half Empty

  A glass containing water to the half-way point is often used to point out the difference between positive thoughts and negative thoughts:

Positive thinkers sees the glass as half full. They focuses on what is there. So much that can be done with half a glass of water.

Negative thinkers sees the glass as half empty. They sees that the glass used to be full and now half of its contents are gone. Soon it will be empty. And they will be thirsty. Woe are they.

And then we’re supposed to fit ourselves into one of the 2 boxes presented: half full or half empty. Positive or Negative or Optimist or Pessimist.

  That was clear-cut, simple. Until I read this:

“People tell me, “You’re such an optimist”. Am I an optimist? An optimist says the glass is half full. A pessimist says the glass is half empty. A survivalist is practical. He says, “Call it what you want, but just fill the glass.” I believe in filling the glass.” — Louis Zamperini

 True. The situation may not be nearly as limited as I first thought. That’s worth considering as we encounter unexpected things in life. Things often seem very black and white at first. But maybe there’s another option?

 How we interpret that fact has everything to do with who we are, our situation, our thinking, feelings and so on. We can even choose to interpret it in a new way, different from our first inclination.

In this simple glass of water there is a huge lesson for problem solving and managing life: Don’t lock yourself into thinking there’s only one way to solve a problem or that it has to be this way or that way.

When we look at problems and decisions from a purely individual perspective, as either/or situations, we’ll often ignore the best solution. Which might be a win-win for everybody involved.

One final thought on that glass of water:

People who focus on whether the glass is half full or half empty miss the point. The glass is refillable.

Have a great week and take care.

Best wishes and take care.

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

Eucharist Commitment Mass

First Eucharist (Holy Communion) Commitment Masses are coming up! Saturday March 9th at 6.30pm and Sunday March 10th at 9.00am.

Kieran Connect Family Night

Kieran Connect

We all know the hardest thing to find in our busy world is time. If you think you can spare some of this time, Kieran Connect would love some extra members. If you are interested in having a positive impact and helping out our school please contact Mr Burnett or kieranconnect@stkieran.wa.edu.au

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.

Kindy Screening 2024

Our Kindy students began the Speech and Occupational Screening this week, with speech being done in week 6 and OT in week 7. This is great information for our staff to gather in order to best provide the education in the early years that is possible.

Student Toilets

We would like to take a moment to share a gentle reminder about the use of the student toilets. In the spirit of Child Safety and in order to maintain a secure and nurturing environment for our students, we kindly request that parents do not use the student toilets.

We completely understand that emergencies happen, and if there's ever an urgent need, our friendly school staff will be more than happy to assist you in finding the appropriate toilets by the school administration. Your cooperation in this matter not only contributes to the safety of our students but also helps create a positive and supportive atmosphere that enhances their overall learning experience.

Parking

We again need to remind parents about parking at St Kieran, unfortunately this seems to be an ongoing concern and while many families do the right thing for everyone it continues to create frustrations for many. The school staff do not have the legal ability to enforce parent driving behaviours, however if you are putting a child at risk by not following our very simple instructions we will follow up with you and address this.

DO NOT turn right into the Kiss and Drive - please wait your turn in the queue.
Do NOT overtake the queue and push in front of the Kiss and Drive line. Be respectful of others.
Keep the Corner of Tyler Street and Morgans Street free from all traffic.
DO NOT pick up or drop your child off on the road outside of the administration - find a parking legal bay or use the Kiss and Drive.
If you DO Not have an ACROD Permit please don’t use the disabled bays.
Ciaran Centre Families are the only families welcome to use the front administration parking.
DO NOT park at the Servite Friars house of residence and business - this is private property.

I do ask that families don’t use the Acrod Bays unless they have permit - we now have a large number of families that need these bays and recently have not been able to access these. Ciaran Centre families are more than welcome to use the bays at the front of the school as well.

Parking - Servite Friars and School

Just a reminder about parking to ensure that St Kieran families only park in the required designated areas. Please don’t park at the Servite Friars, including on their lawn and please don’t park in the Servite Staff areas. Servite College will be checking these areas and issuing reminder notices on cars that are not staff cars. Can you please give this your full attention as we need to be respectful of our neighbours.

NAPLAN 2024

NAPLAN is a National Literacy and Numeracy assessment that students in Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. 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/

St Kieran iPad Rules and Responsibilities

This is a just a reminder to all our families who are apart of the iPad Program at St Kieran. At our school we have these iPads Rules to keep us and our iPads safe. Please help support the class teachers by discussing these with your children:

 - All iPads must be fully charged ready for the school day.

- No food or drink around your iPad

- Don’t give away your personal information or touch someone else’s iPad

- The iPad must not be removed from the school iPad cover

- Only go on Apps that you are allowed to use

- Never leave the iPad on the floor

- As always be RESPONSIBLE, RESPECTFUL and SAFE

It would be appreciated if these rules could be enforced at home to help promote consistency and avoid unnecessary issues.

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

Swimming Information

	St Kieran Swimming Carnival Years 4 - 6 2024 Parent Information Sheet
Date	Tuesday 12^th of March
Educational Purpose	Faction Swimming Carnival Years 4 - 6.
Venue	Bayswater Waves
Transport Details	Students will be transported by bus to and from Bayswater Waves Depart school at 9am - Return to school by 2:30pm. Children may leave with a parent/guardian after the carnival presentations have been made. Please send an email to matthew.taylor@cewa.edu.au if you wish to take your child after the carnival. This must be done by Thursday the 7^th of March to ensure buses are appropriately allocated

Requirements	All students are required to wear their bathers under their sports uniform. Bring a towel and school hat. Students can bring thongs in their bag to wear around the pool but must have shoes to travel to and from the pool. Sunscreen to be applied at home before school and will be available to be replenished throughout the day. Goggles if required. No coloured zinc or hair dye.
Food	BYO food and drink for the day. Children will NOT be permitted to purchase from the shop. Parents are asked NOT to buy food for their children.
Supervision	Children will come to school as per normal to do the role in their classes. They will travel with their class and then sit with their faction in the stands. Teacher’s and Education Assistant’s will be in faction bays as well as other staff who are close by performing other roles. One teacher will be in the water for those races where necessary.
Parents	We ask parents to abide by the requirements set down by both the school and Bayswater Waves. In particular, this means parents staying away from the Faction Bays with the students and staff in them and keeping to the far side of the pool. This is a non-negotiable and I ask parents to also let other family members, who may be in attendance, know of this requirement. If parents are required during the carnival, we will contact you. The students will be going to and from the venue by the bus. If you wish to take your child after the carnival concludes, you are more than welcome to do so, however you must email Mr Taylor beforehand which will also ensure our correct bus allocation. Parents will be notified at the end of the carnival when they can collect their child from the class teacher. Please note that siblings remaining at school are required to attend the full day at St Kieran and should not be signed out early.
Communication	A staff member will contact you by phone if your child is unwell.
Emergency Response Plan	We will be following the Bayswater Waves procedure in the event of an emergency.
Student Requirements	Students are expected to maintain our school rules of being safe, respectful and responsible.
Identified Risks & Controls	Due to the risks around water, there will be no ‘free play’ in the water. Children will need to keep asthma inhalers with them in the bays, EpiPens will be stored at a central location - the scorer’s table. No posting photos of other people’s children to social media without their consent.

Traffic Warden Unavailable

The Traffic Warden who works at the Children’s Crossing on Cape Street, near Tyler Street is unable to work this location until further notice. Unfortunately they have no relief staff available to cover the position. Please take appropriate action and inform your child to be vigilant whilst crossing without a warden present.

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.

Basketball Lessons Starting at St. Kieran in Term 2

Registration forms will be available at the Family Night Event On 8^th March.
There will also be 3x3 Basketball Competitions with attractive prizes.

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/

Servite Open Day - 21st March 2024

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.

John XXIII College: Year 7 2027 Applications Closing Soon

A reminder to all Year 4 families who are interested in a John XXIII College secondary education for their child, to please ensure their application form has been submitted by Friday 15 March 2024.

John XXIII College seeks to develop people of competence, conscience and compassion who are committed to seek justice and serve others. Our vision is for all students to strive for excellence for themselves, their peers, and their community.

To find out more visit: www.johnxxiii.edu.au/enrolments