St Kieran Newsletter Term 3, Week 9 - 12th September 2024

Principal's Message

When you need Me, I am there.  
Even if you deny Me, I am there.  
When you feel most alone, I am there.  
Even in your fears and pain, I am there.  
Though your faith in Me is unsure,  
My faith in you never wavers.  
For you, I am there.  
God, thank You for Your  
on-going presence.  
Amen. 

There’s nothing quite like a headline to peak our curiosity and make us seek to know more - “God Rescued and Set Free.” So, what might such a heading be about? Could it be about prayer and that if we see prayer only as a religious event rather than the expression of a relationship with God, we might restrict our prayer life to Sundays and religious settings. If prayer is a conversation with God, then God needs to be seen and released from Churches and Religious events and brought into daily life.  

Often times, our life can be made up of a series of compartments: work, family, entertainment, finances, relationships, God. However, each of these compartments can be integrated into a meaningful whole by prayer.  

We have all had times of great wonder during which we experienced God’s presence: a sunset, a piece of music or a baby’s smile. If we are willing to see and to listen to life around us, we will experience God speaking to us through the wonder of His creation in all its forms.  

Often our understanding of prayer can be too narrow and can exclude everyday experiences because they don’t fit our definition of what prayer is or is supposed to be. If prayer is any activity that nurtures our relationship with God, then, if having a cup of tea with a friend nurtures this relationship that is prayer. If sitting still in a park or garden feeds your soul that is prayer. Listening to music, assisting at children’s event, coaching a team, can all be prayer. 

We may have stopped praying because our “old” images of God are no longer valid and we have no “new” images to replace them. If we try to figure out who God is before we pray, we might never pray. If we wait to pray till we have the right words, we might never pray. The longer we wait to pray the more we leave God “in the Church” or in a “Religious Ceremony” instead of in a relationship with us.  

Sometimes our prayer can be brief but meaningful: “God, I need Your help.” “Walk with me, Jesus, for I am unsure of myself.” “Spirit of God, I need the gift of understanding – NOW!” “Praise the Lord.” “Thanks be to God.” These short bursts of prayer, recognise God’s on-going presence in our daily lives.  

The practice of prayer can be comfortable or challenging, easy or difficult. Like human relationships, our relationship with God will go through many stages; sometimes it will fill us with great joy, other times it will seem boring and rough. We may even have times where we break our relationship with God, going our own way, paying no attention to God or to prayer. But God does not turn away. God keeps calling. After a while, a longing to return to God will arise. This longing is a sign of faithfulness; we have been touched in some way; we have heard God’s call. When this occurs it is not a time for feelings of guilt; it is time for rejoicing.  

See how you go finding that space for prayer or even for the moment of stillness. I hope the week has been good to you. 

Best wishes and take care. 

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

School Calendar

Term 3 will see the school closed and conclude for students on Thursday 19th September (Friday 20th September is a Staff Development Day). We return to St Kieran for Term 4 on Monday 7th October. 

Staff News

Mrs Stanford will be extending her leave from St Kieran from Term 4 2024 until the start of 2026. Mrs Stanford is having a well deserved break and will be returning to us in 2026. We wish Mrs Stanford all the very best. Mr Peletier will be taking the science lessons for the remainder of Term 4 and we will be advertising for a replacement for 2025. 

Mrs Matsen will be returning to fulltime in Year 2W and we thank Mr McMahon for filling in this term on Friday's. 

Mr Burnett will be taking leave from the 13th September and will return for the start of Term 4. Mrs Doepel will be responsible for the school during this time while Mr Burnett is away. Mrs Doepel's email address is sacha.doepel@cewa.edu.au or see anyone of the Leadership Team. 

Contact Details - Parents

It is imperative that parents and families update the school when your personal details change during the year. If you change your email address or mobile phone please ensure that the school administration is contacted so we can update these details for communication purposes.

Unwell Students

As we are well and truly in the colder months can we please ask that unwell students are not sent to school. Our staff will call parents if a child is unwell or presents unwell - we are not trained medical staff and if a child says they are unwell or looks unwell we will call the families to collect them. Sending an unwell child to school in turn has an impact on the other students as well as the staff and of course the families at St Kieran. Your consideration around this matter is appreciated.

Dogs on School Grounds

Can I please remind all parents and family members that dogs are not permitted on the school site or at any school functions - including Athletics or Sporting Carnivals. We would respectfully ask that this followed as requested. 

Students Leaving St Kieran

Can you please let the school know as soon as possible if your children are moving on from St Kieran in 2024. We currently have families on our wait lists and would like to accommodate as many people as possible. Please note a terms notice should be given in order to not be charged any subsequent fees. 

Annual Community Meeting

Our Annual Community Meeting will be held on Wednesday 21st November at 5pm in the Upper Learning Area. This will be a combination of the School Advisory and Kieran Connect Meeting's. 

This year we have one position available on the School Advisory Council for 2025. This position is initially for a 3 year term. If you are interested in nominating for this position please send Mr Burnett an email expressing an interest by Thursday 12th September 3pm. If there is more than one nomination for this position then an election will be held on the night of the Annual Community Meeting. 

The School Advisory Committee operates under the Terms of Reference, and these are listed on our school website. As a School Advisory Council, we continue to look to support our school values and those of CEWA. If you ever have any questions regarding the School Advisory Council please contact Mr Burnett. 

Placement of Students in Classes for 2025

Each year, staff use professional judgement to make fair and informed decisions about where they place students for the following year. These decisions are based on many aspects that consider the whole child. Staff consider academic ability, behavioural concerns, socio-emotional considerations, gender, learning needs, as well as friendships evident at school and attempt to even the distribution across both classes when making these decisions. 

If you have a significant matter that you wish to discuss with the Principal, please email Mr Burnett directly before Thursday 18th September daine.burnett@cewa.edu.au this date is not extended. 

Faction Carnival

Well done to all the students that participated in the carnival on Friday last week. Your 'sportspersonship' was amazing and to see the effort throughout the day was a real credit to you all. A huge thank you to all the staff, parents and Kieran Connect for all your help during the day and a special mention to all the families that stayed around and help the staff pack up - this was greatly appreciated! 

Congratulations to all the individual award winners and to Frayne on winning the Mercy Shield with 533 points ahead of Mackillop (473), Francis (433) and Mercy (383).

Year 5 Fremantle Excursion

On Monday the 9^th of September the Year 5 students went on an excursion to Fremantle Prison. We started the excursion by going to Fremantle Cemetery and we went to see where Moondyne Joe was buried, as we have been learning about him in our Talk for Reading Unit. We then had an interesting tour of Fremantle Prison and even got to see the cell that Moondyne Joe was in! To finish off our excursion we walked to The Round House for a tour and then had lunch together.

CSPA 2024 Parent/Caregiver Survey on Student Wellbeing & Learning

Autism News

Welcome to the September edition of Autism News – including the latest updates on Autism Association events, services and supports, and upcoming opportunities! Please click the link below for more information

send.hellostarfish.com/t/r-e-tdiuedy-oekdlrdtj-g/

Autism in Cricket

2024 ADHD WA Conference -Saturday October 19 2024

URSTRONG Online Workshop

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

URSTRONG’s whole-school friendship strategy has improved the social climate in schools around the world, connecting over a million kids, parents, and teachers with a common language of friendship. We are proud to be a URSTRONG School, empowering your children with friendship skills through their award-winning Friendology curriculum.

You are invited to attend an ONLINE Language of Friendship parent-child workshop for URSTRONG Schools on Wednesday 16 October at 6:00pm. Dana Kerford (Founder of URSTRONG) will teach you and your children skills + language to foster healthy, feel-good friendships.
 
This workshop will take place online via Zoom. If this is a first for you, you might want to try a test by clicking here.
 
When it’s time: CLICK HERE TO JOIN
Meeting ID: 833 7236 8909
Password: URSTRONG

You are also invited to keep the conversation going at home with a FREE membership for URSTRONG Families.
Take advantage of activities, videos, & articles to continue empowering your child with friendship skills. 

After the workshop, we encourage you to:
Activate your FREE Parent Membership and explore all the resources available to your family.
Encourage Green-Zone Friendships with this activity: Must-Haves, Deal-Breakers, & Ice-Cream!
Try out this interactive tool: Friendship Fire or Mean-on-Purpose?
Pop over to URSTRONG’s BLOG with news & advice.

We believe that empowering our students with these skills will create a culture of kindness at our school and we hope you will be part of this whole-school initiative! 

Dana is looking forward to seeing you all online from around Western Australia!

Joondanna Reserve landscape upgrades

Keyed Up Music