St Kieran Newsletter Term 1, Week 3 - 19th February 2025

Principal's Message

Graciousness has about it a generosity of spirit, an instinctive kindness, a strong understanding of the feelings of others. There is a sensitivity to recognise the needs of others and to put them above our own; a deliberate effort is made to make another person feel better.  

The contemporary writer, Alexander McCall Smith, is by day the Professor of Medicinal Law at Edinburgh University and in his spare time the author of the best selling “Detective Agency Series”. His writing has been critically acclaimed as “offering an escape to a place that celebrates moral certainty, warmth and compassion. The author considers it legitimate to write about virtue”.  

In his book, “The Sunday Philosophy Club”, there appears this paragraph:  

“Good manners depended on paying moral attention to others; it required one to treat them with complete moral seriousness, to understand their feelings and their needs. Some people, the selfish, had no inclination to do this, and it always showed. They were impatient with those whom they thought did not count: the old, the inarticulate, the disadvantaged. The person with good manners, however, would always listen to such people and treat them with respect.”  

So what could we say about graciousness – God’s compassion made visible? We parents have a great opportunity to be witnesses to graciousness each day in our dealings with our children for, if graciousness is associated with generosity of spirit, instinctive kindness and sensitivity of feeling, our children can learn to be gracious by observing our attitude towards them.  

We can respond to their misdemeanours with gracious criticism; to their willingness to please with gracious acceptance; to their moments of anger with gracious humour, to their various problems with gracious advice. Graciousness is the vehicle that delivers to our children and others, all those positive attitudes we have that express respect. Modelling graciousness is a parent’s love made “feelable”.  

May there always be work  
for your hands to do.  
May your purse always hold  
a coin or two.  
May the hand of a friend always  
be near to you.  
May God fill your heart with  
gladness to cheer you.  
Amen. 

Best wishes and take care. 

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

Kindy 2026 Enrolments

We are accepting Kindy Enrolment's for 2026 and will later this term start organising interviews for these students to start at St Kieran in 2026. Please don’t leave this until the last minute as we have many people we could not accommodate in 2025. All parents need to submit your application and make sure you have your children enrolled at St Kieran Catholic Primary School. 

If you have any questions or would like clarification please ring the school administration. 

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  

Parking at Sister Catherine's House of Hospitality

St Catherine's House of Hospitality, located opposite the school on Tyler Street is a centre run by the Sisters of Mercy. It offers peaceful and prayerful reflection, restful recreation and shelter or short term accommodation in a simple setting that encourages respect for all. The carpark behind this building is only to be used by parents of children with special needs or disabilities. If your child does not have special needs, we ask that you use other carparks such as the St Kieran Parish Church, located over on Cape Street.  

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.  

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. 

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 your child is in Year 3 or 4 as it will be too late. Families need to ensure these are submitted to the college separately as St Kieran CPS and Servite College are separate schools. 

Extreme Weather

At various stages during the year there is 'Extreme Weather' while the children are at school. This Extreme Weather applies to all types including, wind, storms and temperature. In particular when the temperature reaches above 38 degrees or there is dangerous weather, children will remain in the classroom and supervision for this period will be between the class teachers.

Parent iPad Meeting

On Monday 24th 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 2025 in Year 2 or new families. All parents of students who will be in Year 2 or that are new to the school in 2025 are invited and we 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. 

Uniform

 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. 

eSafety - Cyberbullying and returning to school

Keeping Kids Safe Online: eSafety’s Back-to-School Advice (eSafety Commissioner article) 

As students settle into the new school year, their digital interactions are increasing – and so are the risks. The eSafety Commissioner has reported a 450% rise in cyberbullying cases over the past five years, with children transitioning to secondary school being most affected. 

To help parents and carers support children online, eSafety has launched a back-to-school cyberbullying awareness campaign, featuring: 

• Practical tips for talking with children about online safety before issues arise. 
• Advice on what to do if cyberbullying occurs. 
• Real stories and guidance for young people. 
• Free webinars for parents on the social challenges of digital life. 

How Can Parents Help? 

• Keep communication open – most children will turn to a trusted adult when they face online issues. 
• If cyberbullying happens, resist taking away devices, as this can increase social isolation. 
• Encourage children to collect evidence (e.g., screenshots) and report abusive content to platforms. 
• If the issue persists, report it to eSafety for assistance in content removal. 
• Seek extra support from services like Kids Helpline. 
• Early conversations about online safety build resilience and help children navigate the digital world with confidence. For more resources, visit eSafety.gov.au. 

To read the full article from the eSafety Commissioner click on this link. 

Faction Friday - Francis

Next Friday, February 28, will be our first Faction Friday where we will focus on the Francis Faction. Students will be doing some learning about St Francis of Assisi and those students in Francis will be participating in a Liturgy at school.  

Saint Francis of Assisi (1181–1226) was an Italian Catholic friar known for his deep love of nature, humility, and devotion to helping the poor. Born into a wealthy family, he chose a life of poverty and service, dedicating himself to preaching peace and caring for the sick. He founded the Franciscan Order, which continues his mission of simplicity and compassion today. Saint Francis is also the patron saint of animals and the environment, inspiring many to care for all of creation. His legacy of kindness and faith remains a powerful example for people of all ages. 

Kindy/ Pre-Primary Playground

Just a friendly reminder that the Kindy and Pre-Primary playground is not available for play before or after school. As staff are not on duty in this area during these times, we kindly ask for your support in ensuring the safety of all children. 

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding! 

Swimming Carnival

Dear Parents / Guardians

The 2025 Faction Swimming Carnival will be held at Bayswater Waves on Friday the 21st of March. The carnival is for students in Year 4 - 6 only.

More information regarding times and details of the day will be sent out closer to the date. 

At the carnival, students compete in races based on their swimming level and only compete against students in a similar level.

We will be using these levels to place each student into the appropriate races based on the swimming and water safety continuum from the Department of Education.

The following table outlines the races each level will compete in.

If your child is new to St Kieran in 2025 or has completed swimming lessons in the holidays, could you please send their certificate through to matthew.taylor@cewa.edu.au. All certificates must be in by the 24th of February. 

Kind Regards,

Matthew Taylor
Physical Education Teacher

Kieran Connect Family Night 2025

Servite Open Day - 20 March 2025

Applying to the NDIS

Netball

Discover Mercedes College - Open Day 25 March 2025

Mercedes College is excited to welcome prospective students and families to our Open Day on Tuesday, 25 March, at either 9am or 1pm.

Conveniently located in Perth CBD, join us to explore our campus, meet our passionate teachers, and learn about the exceptional academic, pastoral, and co-curricular programs we offer as the oldest girls' school in Western Australia.

For more details and to book your tour, please visit www.mercedes.wa.edu.au/enrolments/Open-Day or contact Enrolments on 9323 1340.
We look forward to seeing you there!

Stirling Saints Junior Football Club

Razzamatazz Variety Show