School Vision
St Matthew’s School empowers children to embrace life-long learning, and grow and develop as God intends.
This week’s prayer is to honour Saint Mary MacKillop. Mary MacKillop brought a heart-centred church to the struggling communities of her time consoling sorrowing hearts, embracing hardships with compassion and educating thousands of children:
God of all blessings,
you revealed in Mary MacKillop a sensitivity to the rights and dignity of every person, regardless of race or creed.
May we learn from her to overcome the obstacles of prejudice and fear.
Help us to value the goodness of each person and all the blessings of unity in diversity.
We ask this through the depth and unity of you, our bountiful God, who hold all things in being.
Amen
Dear Parents & Carers,
New School App
As was explained in the last newsletter, our school app is being redesigned so that it links directly with our website. We are now in the process of testing the new app and, all going well, it should be made available to our school community next week.
In the meantime, parents are reminded that they can access an online absentee note direct from our St Matthew’s website and the school will continue to provide information via SMS and emails.
‘Our Story’ Fence Pickets
Last year, all families were invited to join us at school to paint a fence picket depicting their family’s story. The pickets were then combined to create a “fence” that depicts the many and varied backgrounds of our school community. We would now like to invite all new families to paint a family picket on Wednesday 17th to add to our fence. This week, a template will go home so that families can design their picket. We hope that through the creation of this piece, families were able to talk about their cultural heritage and in doing so, help their children to appreciate the importance of their story. It is through sharing our stories that we come together as a community.
Important Dates
Once the app is back online, the ‘Important Dates’ Tab contains the most up-to-date information regarding the school calendar. Staying in line with the school’s commitment to reducing our Waste Footprint, no paper copies of the calendar will be produced. In the meantime, please note:
Yr 2 Assembly 12 August
Pupil Free Days 15 & 16 August
NAIDOC Celebrations 17 August
Book Week Parade 23 August
Yr 4 Assembly 26 August
Faction Jumps and Throws 30 August
Kindy Fathers’ Day 31 August (TBC)
Faction Athletics Carnival 2 September
First Holy Communion Workshop 8 September
Yr 1 Assembly 9 September
Interschool Jumps and Throws 13 September
Yr 4 and Yr 5 attending STEM Showcase 14 September
Interschool Athletics Carnival 15 September
PP Assembly 16 September
Sacrament of First Holy Communion 18 September
St Matthew’s Feast Day 23 September
Last Day Term 3
Book Week
St Matthew’s will be celebrating Book Week from Monday of August 22nd .The theme for this year is “Dreaming With Eyes Open‘’.
On Tuesday, 23 August, we will be celebrating by holding a whole school dress-up day. Children are invited to dress as their favourite book characters. Children are asked to please bring along the book or a printout of the cover page to help our secret judges choose several award winners. This year’s prizes are:
Best dressed
Most creative
Best group/family
Best character
Parents are most welcome to join us for our parade at 9:00 am in the Sr Isabel Hall. You can even dress up if you like!
St Matthew’s School Band
The St Matthew’s School Band has been working hard all year to create an exciting repertoire of songs and we would love to present them to you at an assembly this Wednesday, 10 August. The concert will begin at 2:30pm in the Sr Isabel Hall. Everyone is welcome! Please mark your calendars and be sure to make the time to see what our talented musicians have achieved.
Hope to see you there,
Fiona Hastie
Music Specialist
School Photos
On photo day specialty group images (eg Netball, Faction Captains) were taken at your school. These images can be viewed and purchased at a unique website, which is DIFFERENT to where you order the portraits and class photos online.
1. To place your Order online simply go to https://mspphotography.shootproof.com/
2. Locate the Schools Name, then select the album titled St Matthew’s School Specialist Groups – 2022
3. You will then be required to enter a password to view the Album. The password for this DHTRPL22
4. Please ensure that you use your child’s name at the checkout
5. The images you are viewing are uncropped and will be cropped to fit to a 10×8 print (as per the first image in your gallery, a sample of layout & colour)
The online orders will be open until midnight on 22/08/2022 – for the Bulk Pricing Offer
The Bulk Pricing Offer is $25 per print and these will be delivered to the school BY CLASS GROUP
After the $25 pricing expires, the photos will remain available online, but the photos are now at a cost of $40 per image and delivered to a preferred address.
If you have any queries please contact MSP Photography on 9240 8000 or via email on ordering.perth@msp.com.au.
Athletic Carnivals Week 7
The St Matthew’s School Faction Athletics Carnivals will be held on Tuesday 30 August (at school) and Friday 2 September (at Thomas Hogg Oval on Bannister Street, Narrogin). Each child from Year One to Six will be given a programme of events, highlighted with the events he/she is in. It is essential that we are informed if your child is unable to attend either of the carnival days.
Parental assistance on the day is essential for the carnival to run smoothly. If you would like to help, please contact Linda Kilpatrick (linda.kilpatrick@cewa.edu.au). We will need helpers for both Jumps and Throws on 30 August and the main events on 2 September.
Kindy Enrolments
I will commence conducting Kindy interviews for 2023 in Week 7 of this term. These interviews give families an opportunity to learn about our Kindy curriculum and school procedures. More importantly, it provides us with an opportunity to welcome new families into our community. If you know of any families ready to send their little people to Kindy, please encourage them to pop into the Office to pick up an enrolment pack.
Mary Poppins 18 November
Please save this date for our whole musical. There will be a matinee performance and an evening performance. More information concerning this will come out later in the term. In the meantime, I would like to congratulate those students who have been selected for leading roles:
Bert – Noah (Yr 5)
Mary Poppins – Samantha (Yr 5)
George Banks – Isaac (Yr 5)
Winifred Banks – Miley (Yr 6)
Jane Banks – Kaylee (Yr 5)
Michael Banks – Louis (Yr 5)
Katie Nanna – Katie (Yr 6)
Mrs Brill – Hadassah (Yr 6)
Robertson Aye – Kate (Yr 6)
Miss Andrew – Pia (Yr 5)
Bird Woman – Courtney (Yr 6)
Chairman – Matthew Gr (Yr 5)
Von Hussler – Vinnie (Yr 6)
Northbrook – Isla (Yr 6)
Secretary – (Miss Smythe) – Ifeoma (Yr 6)
Policeman – Fox (Yr 6)
Messenger- Jesse (Yr 5)
Miss Correy – Mia (Yr 6)
Statues, including Neleus – Bramuel (Yr 5), Aimee (Yr 5), Jenaveve (Yr 5)
Principal Focus – Why NAIDOC?
At St Matthew’s, we are celebrating NAIDOC week on Wednesday 17 August. NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. On the NAIDOC.org.au website, it offers the following explanation about this year’s theme “Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!”:
We all must continue to Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! for systemic change and keep rallying around our mob, our Elders, our communities.
Whether it’s seeking proper environmental, cultural and heritage protections, Constitutional change, a comprehensive process of truth-telling, working towards treaties, or calling out racism—we must do it together.
It must be a genuine commitment by all of us to Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! and support and secure institutional, structural, collaborative, and cooperative reforms.
The relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non‑Indigenous Australians needs to be based on justice, equity, and the proper recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights.
Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! with us to amplify our voices and narrow the gap between aspiration and reality, good intent and outcome.
I would suggest that we all have a role to play in this. The conversations we have with our children now will have a significant impact on their understanding of racism, stereotypes, reconciliation and the role they play in creating a world based on kindness and respect. Unicef.org outlines how parents and teachers can approach the topic of racism:
The way children understand the world evolves as they grow, but it’s never too late to talk to them about equality and racism. Here are some age-appropriate ways to start that conversation and explain that racism is always wrong:
Under 5 years
At this age, children may begin to notice and point out differences in people they see around them. As a parent, you have the opportunity to gently lay the foundation of their worldview. Use language that’s age-appropriate and easy for them to understand.
Recognize and celebrate differences – If your child asks about someone’s skin colour, you can use it as an opportunity to acknowledge that people do indeed look different, but to point out things we have in common. You could say, “We are all human, but we are all unique, isn’t that amazing”!
Be open – Make it clear that you’re always open to your children’s questions and encourage them to come to you with them. If your children point out people who look different – as young children can often do from curiosity – avoid shushing them or they will start to believe that it’s a taboo topic.
Use fairness – Children, especially those around 5, tend to understand the concept of fairness quite well. Talk about racism as unfair and unacceptable and that’s why we need to work together to make it better.
6-11 years
Children this age are better at talking about their feelings and are eager for answers. They are also becoming more exposed to information they may find hard to process. Start by understanding what they know.
Be curious – Listening and asking questions is the first step. For example, you can ask what they’re hearing at school, on television and through social media.
Discuss the media together – Social media and the internet may be one of your children’s main sources of information. Show interest in what they are reading and the conversations they are having online. Find opportunities to explore examples of stereotypes and racial bias in the media, such as “Why are certain people depicted as villains while certain others are not?”.
Talk openly – Having honest and open discussions about racism, diversity and inclusivity builds trust with your children. It encourages them to come to you with questions and worries. If they see you as a trusted source of advice, they are likely to engage with you on this topic more.
In the words of Saint Mary MacKillop:
So great is the strength we possess in our unity.
Keep warm and kind,
Susan Milton
Principal
