St Kieran Newsletter Term 1, Week 9 - 28th March 2024

Principal's message

God of forgiveness and love,  
I will carry some burdens today and, 
some trials will test me out.  
I ask Your help to deal with them, 
lest I stumble and doubt. 
Amen. 

There are times when we are unable to bear the thought of God, are unable to give ourselves to God in trust, are unable to accept anything that exists outside our loss.  

The first Good Friday gave Christians a focal point where they can direct their sense of loss. From His isolated position on the Cross, Jesus was all too aware of the reality of loss: betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, deserted by His disciples and, seemingly, even by His Father which lead him to call out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”.  

Padavano suggests to us that, “Sooner or later, life deposits us all at the Cross. It is a gathering place for the world’s sorrow, its wasted efforts, its tormented people, its unimaginable catastrophes and its utter silences. When we arrive, we also discover its hope, not the hope of Easter just around the corner, but the hope that comes simply from having a place to gather when the pain is unspeakable and the sorrow beyond all bearing.  

If Jesus’ abandonment on the Cross gives Christians a sense of hope each Good Friday, it might not be that we know that Jesus will soon rise again, it could be that we know that he is really dying – just like us.  

The tragic stories of Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denial of Jesus confront us with the times when our need to survive or our need to be comfortable or our need to be liked, shouldered aside our loyalty to faith, friends or loved ones.  

Unbelievably, in His time of greatest loss Jesus was able to utter the words of forgiveness: “Father, forgive them….” This forgiveness is not only for those who were immediately responsible for plotting and carrying out his execution or for his disciples who denied and deserted him; this forgiveness was for all people for all time. We are forgiven by God – but not set free completely. What sets us free is doing the forgiveness ourselves in our daily lives. We are truly set free when we forgive.  

Sometimes in the midst of “loss” we might need to forgive ourselves, take away the blame we feel that we did not do enough for a person who passed away or that God didn’t do enough to prevent a catastrophe. Maybe our anger towards another person who caused us financial loss or the loss of a friend or a loved one has caused our life to become bitter and soured. If this is the case, then maybe we should take our loss to the Cross, and, in due time, be inspired by the message of forgiveness that is always there. 

The Resurrection isn’t just a happy ending to a sad story, it is the beginning of a new story not only for the disciples of Jesus but for Jesus’ disciples of today – us.  

“Easter is essentially a universal story that reflects and reinforces this message: that if we allow it to happen, light can overpower the dark, that despite the fact that we live in an unpredictable world where unimaginable suffering can seemingly appear out of nowhere, it need not in the end overwhelm us. In our society, suffering is seen as uncool. We take great lengths to avoid it and hide it in a pile of tinsel and wrap it in distractions.  

But Easter is a reminder of the inevitability of suffering and death that is part of the human story. It is also a reminder of the fact that this is not the end of the story. That its final chapter is not an end but the possibility of a new beginning.”  

So what will we do with Easter in our lives this year? We will take its true significance into our daily lives and live its message of hope through any circumstance we might have to deal with.  

“Whatever our cross, whatever our pain, there will always be sunshine after the rain. Perhaps we may stumble, perhaps even fall, but God’s always there, to help us through it all.” –Author Unknown.  

Wishing you all a very safe and Happy Easter and we look forward to seeing you back at St Kieran for Term 2. 

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. We conclude Term 1 on Thursday 28th March and return to school for all students on Tuesday 16th April to begin Term 2. 

Staff News

At the end of this term we say goodbye to Miss Stanley as she relocates to Melbourne for the remainder of 2024. We may yet see Miss Stanley back with us in 2025 and we do wish her all the very best! We welcome Miss Niamh Moore who will be stepping into Miss Stanley's role. 

We also wish Miss Tahleah Pascov the very best as she begins her teaching practicum journey and travel/study overseas. To replace Miss Pascov we have appointed Mr Khayn Townsend who will be joining us as an Education Assistant for the reminder of 2024. Welcome aboard Mr Townsend.

Mrs Bec Seeber has resigned her position at St Kieran and will not returning to us at St Kieran. We wish Mrs Seeber all the very best and thank her for everything she contributed to St Kieran over her many years at the school. We are pleased to announce that Mrs Sarah Walker will be stepping into Year 2 on Fridays for Term 2 with Mrs Matsen. Mrs Walker is returning to St Kieran after some time away. Welcome back Mrs Walker. 

We also wish Miss Haylee Smith and her future husband Jack all the very best as they celebrate their wedding over the holidays. Congratulations to you both and we wish you all the very best! 

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. 

Uniform - Shoes

We understand that the new Uniform requirements take awhile to adjust to and with this in mind as you update your children's school academic shoes this year can you please make sure they are the below shoes as per the guidelines for both boys and girls lace up black shoes. Please note the Mary Jane type or style of shoes that are not lace up and should be replaced when possible or due for upgrading. 

School shoes are 'normal/standard' school shoes for the academic uniform for both boys and girls. Not black sneakers, Air Forces, Air Max, Skate Shoes, Mary Jane or other alternatives that can be found. Sport shoes should be appropriate sport shoes, not fashion shoes, that are suitable for sport. Please keep this in mind when looking for items during 2024. 

Easter Raffle

Thank you to all those families who generously donated to the Easter Raffle and purchased tickets for the draw. We are very proud to be handing over $1420.00 to Caritas Project Compassion.

Perth Redbacks

The Redbacks club will be running a before school basketball program in Term 2. This program will cater to new beginners and experienced players wanting to learn new skills and develop their understanding of the basic fundamentals involved in the sport. The players can expect there to be plenty of fun activities, skills drills and competitive games. 

Start date/ Duration - The 8 week program will commence on the 2nd May with the final session being completed on the 20th June. This will be every Thursday morning from 7:20 - 8:10 am. 

What to wear/bring - Please ensure your child is wearing their school sports uniform, hats, and appropriate sporting shoes (running or basketball shoes). They will also need to bring their drink bottles to the sessions. Sports equipment will be supplied, but all the players are more than welcome to bring their own basketball. 

Fees/Registration - The registration fee will be $80.00 (GST excl) per participant for the full term program. Please complete the registration through the following link: https://www.playhq.com/basketball-wa/register/c4b0ab  

I look forward to seeing you all next term. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions. Denzel Jackson denzel@perthredbacks.asn.au 

Parking

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.  

1. DO NOT turn right into the Kiss and Drive - please wait your turn in the queue. 
2. Do NOT overtake the queue and push in front of the Kiss and Drive line. Be respectful of others. 
3. Keep the Corner of Tyler Street and Morgans Street free from all traffic. 
4. 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. 
5. If you DO Not have an ACROD Permit please don’t use the disabled bays. 
6. Ciaran Centre Families are the only families welcome to use the front administration parking. 
7. 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. 

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 

Traffic Crossing - Crosswalk Attendant

We continue to be without our wonderful cross walk attendant Danny, as he has been directed to assist at another site. We have made a number of attempts to try and find a solution but as there is a shortage of staff for this role it is proving to be difficult. 

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.  

Start of Term 2 Mass

To celebrate the commencement of Term 2, students will participate in Mass at St Kieran Parish on Friday April 19 at 9am.

Murdoch University Afterschool

John Forrest Secondary College - Specialist Cricket, Tennis & Netball Programs 2025