St Kieran Newsletter Term 1, Week 6 - 13th March 2025

Principal's Message

To decide that you have been wrong in supposing that you could manage your whole life and be your own god, is no easy matter. But, in essence, repentance is to think about something later on and have a reversal about it, to have a change of mind.  

One of the best known stories told by Jesus, is of the wayward son and then the condition he finds himself in. He begins to regret the self-will that led him to where he is. No doubt there is a great deal of self-pity mixed with his remorse. Nevertheless, he decides to eat “humble pie” and to return home. When he does, his father who has been waiting for this moment for a long time, runs to meet him and throws a party.  

The returning Prodigal Son does not earn his father’s love by his repentance. Love has never been absent from his father’s heart; only he could not experience it in a far away country. Repentance is not the means whereby we earn God’s forgiveness and love; these are there all the time. Repentance is the means by which we receive them. It is going home.  

Jesus declared that the purpose of His coming was to call “sinners to repentance”. Luke 5:32. When we sin, we “miss the mark” in life. When we repent, we turn to God and ask Him to help us to aim better. Repentance is a lifestyle, a process by which a person, who is away from God, recognises that situation and goes back to God. Instead of ignoring God, we turn around and choose to give Him His rightful place in our life. “To repent is to adopt God’s viewpoint in place of our own. It is the most joyful thing in the world because, when you have done it, you have adopted the viewpoint of truth itself and are in fellowship with God.”  

William Temple. Archbishop of Canterbury.  

Maybe, when we hear that a class of children is preparing for First Reconciliation, we might take a look at ourselves and ask, “Do I really love God? Do I actually love myself? Do I show love for my neighbour? Am I a peacemaker? Do I treat other people as I wish to be treated? Am I a forgiving person?

God, 
our Father,  
what a great story Your Son,  
Jesus, gave us.  
Help us to take advantage of the gift of Your limitless love for us.  
Help us to make the decision to come home.  
Amen.  

I hope the week has been good to you all and remember if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. 

Best wishes and take care. 

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

St Kieran Family Night

Just when you thought things couldn't get better! What a fantastic event! It was amazing to see so many people in attendance and seeing families enjoying the night, it was the best we have seen. A huge thank you to our brilliant Kieran Connect team for coordinating everything behind the scenes and to those year levels that pitched in and helped out. We have had an enormous amount of positive feedback and comments about the night. What a fabulous way to start the year! 

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. 

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 these 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. 
8. DO NOT park on verges that are sign posted. 

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. 

NAPLAN

Congratulations to all Year 3 and 5 students who began NAPLAN this week. All staff were impressed by the students' effort and diligence when sitting the assessments. It was fantastic to see students giving their best to all tasks. Catch-up assessments will continue next week.  

URSTRONG

This months theme is COURAGE.  

"Courage is when we feel butterflies, but do it anyway – because it’s the right thing to do!" 

Harmony Day - Thursday March 20

On Thursday March 20th, we will be celebrating Harmony Day, a special occasion that highlights the importance of inclusivity, respect, and a sense of belonging for all. Harmony Day is a time to acknowledge and appreciate the diverse cultures that make up our school and wider community. It serves as a reminder that "Everyone Belongs." 

As part of our celebrations, students will be participating in a Harmony Day Liturgy, on Thursday March 20, where we will come together in faith and unity to reflect on the values of acceptance, kindness, and understanding. 

Year 4 Mass

On Thursday, March 13, our Year 4 students came together to celebrate Mass with Fr Wilson. It was a truly special experience, with all of our readers speaking beautifully and the students singing with enthusiasm. We were also grateful to have some of our Year 6 students assisting as Altar Servers, adding to the sense of reverence and community. 

Fr Wilson, as always, was wonderful, taking the time to explain each part of the Mass and its significance. We are so fortunate to have his wisdom and leadership in our faith journey, helping our students deepen their understanding and connection to their faith. 

A heartfelt thank you to all involved in making this a meaningful celebration! 

Packed With Goodness

Packing children's lunches is like trying to predict the weather—one day they love sandwiches, the next day they act like you’ve packed them a live snake. To help out, Mrs Pusey has organised a presentation for parents from the Packed with Goodness team. During this session, parents will be provided with new ideas to make lunchbox packing easier.  

There was so much positive feedback from the session last year, Mrs Pusey has worked hard in getting the team back. 

Date: Friday May 16 

Time: 9am 

Location: Upper Learning Area.  

Easter Colouring Competition

It's back again for another year.  We are delighted to announce the return of our Easter Colouring Competition! This is a fantastic opportunity for students to showcase their artistic talent and celebrate the joy of Easter. 

How to Participate:

Templates: Students can participate by colouring in one of the Easter templates on the competition website. 

Submission: Please submit entries to projects@cewa.edu.au 

Prizes: The most creative entries will have the chance to win fabulous prizes. A winner and a runner-up will be selected from all primary levels. 

For more details, please visit the competition website at www.cewa.edu.au/easter. 

We look forward to seeing the wonderful creations of our talented students. Happy colouring and good luck to all participants! 

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.

Kind Regards,

Matthew Taylor
Physical Education Teacher

Starkick

Come and be part of something special! Stirling Junior Football Club are excited to launch our StarKick All-Abilities football program, and we’re inviting kids of all abilities to join us for a Come & Try Day!

📅 Wednesday, March 26

⏰ 3:30pm – 4:30pm

📍 St Kieran’s PS – Park opposite the school on Tyler St, Tuart Hill

What is StarKick? StarKick is a multi-award-winning, non-contact AFL football program for boys and girls from Pre-Primary to Year 12. Designed to promote inclusion, equality, and opportunity, StarKick welcomes children who may find it difficult to participate in a traditional sporting team environment.

If you want to play, we will find a way! Our StarKick program will run alongside our Auskick program on Saturdays, 9:00am – 10:30am, at Richard Guelfi Reserve, Balcatta. Come down, have a kick, and experience the fun and supportive environment of Saints StarKick!

For more info, contact our StarKick Coordinator Michael at starkick.stirlingjfc@gmail.com

Junior Sports RUGBY Perth Irish