St Kieran Newsletter Term 1, Week 5 - 6th March 2025
Principal's Message
Jesus,
May we be encouraged this Lent
as we reflect on the difficulties
You had in Your life.
Give us a like courage to face
the challenges that daily enter our lives.
Lead us to the joy of resurrection.
Amen.
On occasion, it can be quite refreshing when an alternative is offered to something that makes us think that we have “heard it all before”, such as:
On the other hand – you have different fingers!
To make a long story short – don’t tell it!
Latest survey shows that 3 out of 4 people – make up 75% of the world’s population.
With the Season of Lent upon us and the old problem of “what to give up for lent” circling around us, perhaps the following might offer some new alternatives:
Fast from anger and hatred – be more patient and understanding.
Fast from judging others – think kindly thoughts.
Fast from discouragement – be full of hope.
Fast from complaining – focus on gratitude.
Fast from resentment or bitterness – turn to forgiveness.
Of recent times, Lent has lost some of its importance to Christians, but a Christianity that celebrates only the joyful times, like Christmas and Easter, leaves us with a fractured Spirituality. We need to have the balance of being challenged by the sometimes harsh truths of human life – our weaknesses and failings.
We need the Season of Lent if we are to live in imitation of Christ, to be Christians. We need to work out for ourselves what it is in our lives that needs to die, to be no longer part of our lives, that which makes us candidates to receive the forgiveness that Jesus gained for us when He died on Good Friday. If we are able to achieve this, to sweep out the negatives, then Easter will not be a shallow celebration but one full of meaning, for we will be totally aware of the new birth as stated in the Resurrection of Jesus.
The Season of Lent is a time to review the past, admit to our shortcomings, reaffirm our commitment to the higher values that we had actually lived, and prepare ourselves to try harder in the year ahead. It is a time to acknowledge our less than best choices and to feel sorry for the lost opportunities; it is a time to have a clean room to offer the new life of Easter.
The name “Lent” came from an Anglo-Saxon word, “Leetem”, which simply means Spring. Easter is always the first moon on or after the first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This association of Lent and Spring can carry with it the comparison of our house needing and having a spring cleaning after the difficulties and restrictions of winter, and our spirituality needing a spring cleaning after a year of negative influences and trying to live up to the ideals of being like Christ to others.
How about a couple more alternatives:
He was so broke – he couldn’t pay attention.
When I was a little boy – the Dead Sea was only sick.
A fool and his money – are soon partying.
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.
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 the middle years of primary school as it may be too late. Families need to ensure these are submitted to the college separately, as St Kieran CPS and Servite College are separate schools.
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 these 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.
- DO NOT park on verges that are sign posted.
St Kieran Feast Day
St. Kieran, one of Ireland’s earliest saints, is known for his deep faith, wisdom, and dedication to learning. Born in the 6th century, he founded Clonmacnoise, which became a great hub of education and spirituality. St. Kieran was admired for his kindness, humility, and commitment to helping others grow in knowledge and faith. His legacy continues to inspire us today, reminding us to seek wisdom, show kindness, and strengthen our community through learning and service.
On Friday, March 7, students are invited to wear Free Dress in celebration of St Kieran Feast Day. While St Kieran’s Feast Day fell on Wednesday, March 5, this coincided with Ash Wednesday this year. As a result, we will be commemorating the Feast Day on Friday, March 7 instead.
As part of the celebration, students will attend Mass at St Kieran Parish at 9:00 AM.
We kindly remind parents that Free Dress must be school-appropriate. This means:
* Comfortable, modest clothing suitable for a school setting.
* Tops with sleeves (no singlets or crop tops).
* Shorts or skirts of an appropriate length.
* Enclosed sports shoes must be worn.
Each child is asked to bring along a gold coin donation for Caritas on this day.
What is Caritas?
Caritas is a Catholic, global humanitarian organisation dedicated to supporting vulnerable communities through aid, development, and advocacy. With a strong focus on social justice, Caritas works to combat poverty, provide emergency relief, and empower people through education and sustainable programs. Their efforts extend to healthcare, disaster response, and initiatives that promote dignity and resilience in struggling communities worldwide.
To learn more about their work or support their mission, visit www.caritas.org.au
NAPLAN 2025
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 12th March and finishes on Monday 24th March, 2025.
The test dates for St Kieran are: 12th,13th and 14th March, with catch up sessions in the following week.
All NAPLAN tests must be completed in a sequence, as stated by ACARA (The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority).
Writing - Reading - Conventions of Language - Numeracy.
All St Kieran students will sit the 'Writing' test on Wednesday 12th March. All students must have a fully charged iPad each day and a set of headphones.
If you have any questions please email Sacha Doepel. sacha.doepel@cewa.edu.au
For more information about NAPLAN https://nap.edu.au/
Kieran Connect
Just a reminder that we have the Kieran Connect Family Night tomorrow, Friday 7th March from 5.30pm - 8pm. Please note this is not a school staff event and children will need to be supervised by their parents or families. All families are welcome to come along!
If you can help out on the night please let Kieran Connect know through their email kieranconnect@stkieran.wa.edu.au
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.
Level | Kick board and noodle | Freestyle | Backstroke | Breastroke | Butterfly (optional) |
1, 2 and 3 | Yes | ||||
4 and 5 | Yes | 25m | |||
6 and 7 | 50m | 25m | 25m | ||
8+ | 50m | 50m | 50m | Yes |
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
Tennis Excellence
CEWA and CSPWA Letter for Parents/Caregivers
St Patrick's Festival WA
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!
