School Vision

St Matthew’s School empowers children to embrace life-long learning, and grow and develop as God intends.

This prayer is chosen to acknowledge the presentation of Mary at the temple, celebrated on November 21 each year:

As we venerate the glorious memory of the most holy Virgin Mary, grant, we pray, O Lord, through her intercession, that we, too, may merit to receive from the fullness of your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen

Dear Parents & Carers,

There are several end-of-year celebrations coming up. Please keep an eye on the calendar and school app.

Open Day & Volunteers’ Afternoon Tea 20 November

Please join us at 1:30pm for our Open Day and Volunteers’ Afternoon Tea. Parents and community members are invited to visit open classrooms and share in treats supplied by our beautiful staff. Whether you have listened to reading, helped in the Library, timed at carnivals, or assisted in Kindy, please join us on this afternoon so that we can thank you all in person.

“Our Story” Art Project – postponed until Tuesday 26 November

New families were invited to join on November 20 to paint their  “Our Story” fence picket. Unfortunately, rain is forecasted for Wednesday and therefore this activity will need to be postponed until Tuesday 26 November from 1:30pm to 4:00pm. Alternatively, you may choose to pick up a picket and paint it at home.

If you have any questions about this project, please don’t hesitate to ask your child’s classroom teacher for assistance.

Last Assembly for 2024 Friday 29 November

During this last assembly, we will be proud to award the best and most improved readers for Year 1 to Year 6. We will also award the students who have achieved the greatest growth and the best overall achievement in Maths in Year 5 and Year 6. Individual parents will be notified if their child will be receiving one of these accolades.

Good Luck

2024 School Feedback Survey

Please take the opportunity to complete this survey to provide us with feedback about your St Matthew’s experience this year. This information is vital for our 2025 school planning. We value your input and want to ensure that we are doing our best to provide a positive, educational and safe experience for all of our students.

https://forms.office.com/r/ZF6WDDSv9C

Good Luck STEM MAD Winners

Staffing 2025

The following table outlines the staffing arrangements for 2024. It is important to note that, although this is correct at the time of printing, changes may still occur over the Christmas break.

Education Assistants

We are currently advertising for a Special Needs Education Assistant and hope to secure a new staff member by the end of the school year. Please see our school website for further information. Parents will be introduced to this new teacher via the school app as soon as possible.

Introducing Mr Ben Rosenstreich – Science and Senior Physical Education

Ben is coming to us from Katanning Senior High School where he is currently teaching Physical Education, Science and Health. His personal philosophy focuses on the importance of establishing positive relationships. He completed his studies at The University of Notre Dame in 2018.

Introducing Miss Paula Bailey – Year 4 Teacher

Paula is coming to us from Kukerin Primary School where she is currently teaching a composite Year 2/3 class. Paula has a strong passion for enhancing the educational development of students whilst instilling a love of learning. She prides herself on fostering a culture of high expectations, where every student is encouraged to achieve their personal best in a supportive and nurturing environment. Paula completed her qualifications at Edith Cowan University in 2020.

Introducing Lilly Bone – Part-time Yr 5 Teacher

Lilly is coming to us from St Benedict’s in Applecross where she has been teaching for 3 years. Lilly is originally from a family farm in Mullewa and is glad to be moving back to the country, after attending boarding school and living in Perth. She is excited to be joining the St Matthew’s community and is looking forward to getting to know everyone.

Introducing Miss Laura Nottle – Part-time Year 3 Teacher

Laura is coming to us from Narrogin Primary School where she is currently employed as the Art Specialist. Laura’s teaching approach emphasizes creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration whilst fostering a well-rounded education in a supportive and progressive learning environment. Laura has lived and worked in Narrogin for many years.

T20 Cricket Blast School Cup – Parent Assistance Needed

On Thursday 28 November, our Year 4, 5, and 6 students will participate in a friendly interschool cricket day at the Clayton Rd Oval, hosted by WACA. The students will walk to and from the event, and will be supervised by their class teachers.

The students will need to wear their sports uniforms (red shirts or Year 6 Leavers shirts), school hats and ensure they have recess, lunch, drink bottles and sunscreen.

We need parent assistance for this carnival to go ahead. In previous years, we have sometimes had school-finished siblings or grandparents assist in managing a team. Please contact Amber Moulton at school, via phone or her school email address (amber.moulton@cewa.edu.au) if you, a grandparent, or a 17+ sibling could assist in managing a group of 8. The students and I would really appreciate it. You do not need to have cricket knowledge as the students have a good understanding of the game.

Class Transition

On Wednesday 4 December, our students will be visiting their new teachers for 2025. Teachers will have an opportunity to introduce themselves and outline the special features of their year level.

The End-of-Year Report

The End-of-Year Reports will go live on the Seqta Engage website on Tuesday 10 December. In order to access these reports, you will need to login to Seqta Engage. If you are new to St Matthew’s School, or have never used Seqta Engage before, you will receive an email asking you to set up a username and password. For all other users, it is important that St Matthew’s has a current email address, and that you remember your Seqta Engage username and password. It would be appreciated if all parents could login to Seqta Engage prior to 10 December to ensure that everyone is able to access the website. 

Please contact Lyndee Montgomery (lyndee.montgomery@cewa.edu.au) should you require a new password, or if you have any difficulties logging into the site.

Year 6 Graduation

The Year 6 Graduation ceremony will be held in the Sr Mary Library on Tuesday 3 December at 6:00pm, and followed by a dinner in the Sr Isabel Hall at 7:00pm. This is a lovely way to conclude our Year 6’s primary school journey. In order to ensure this runs smoothly,  I would like 4 community members to assist with serving, clearing and washing dishes. Any volunteers are welcome to join us for dinner and wiil be paid a small amount for their time. I suggest that this might suit senior high school students, however, would welcome any help offered.

Captains 2025

The captaincy positions will be announced at the Thanksgiving Mass on Wednesday 4 December at St Matthew’s Church. Mass begins at 9:30am.

St Matthew’s Christmas Tree

Every year, St Matthew’s collects non-perishable foods for those in need. This year we have been informed that there are many families that are in need of our help. The food items can be placed in the tubs under the Christmas Tree in the Undercover Area. I encourage all families to help us spread happiness this Christmas.

Pixie Post Weeks 8 and 9

It’s that time of year again!! Our beautiful Pre-Primaries invite all students to post a Christmas card via Pixie Post, starting Week 8. It is important to remember that the pixies will only deliver cards that do not contain any lollies or candy canes. All cards must also be clearly labelled with the recipient’s name and year level. The Pixie Post letter box will be located outside the Pre-Primary classroom door from Monday

P&F Family Movie Night

On Friday 6 December, our wonderful P&F are hosting a Christmas Movie Night as an end-of-year celebration. All family and community are invited to attend. 

Fees 2025

We would like to advise all parents and guardians that, in accordance with Catholic Education WA (CEWA) guidelines our School Advisory Council have approved a 4.5% increase in fees for 2025. 2025 fees will be invoiced to families in early February 2025. If you need to discuss assistance with fees, or if you have a Health Care or Concession card, please don’t hesitate to contact the office.

Save The Date ACM & Sundowner

The Annual Community Meeting for 2024 will be held on 13 February 2024 at 5:30pm in the Sr Mary Library. At this meeting, our P&F and School Board will present their reports, and the academic data for the 2024 school year will be shared. We would like to invite all of our families to not only join us for this important meeting, but also for a BYO everything family picnic/sundowner following the formalities.

Nominations for P&F

Parents to consider becoming part of our P&F Executive Committee for 2025. As P&F Committee members are appointed to the role for two years, we will be requiring new nominations for next year.

The nomination form is available from the office or can be emailed to parents upon request.

Should you require any more information, please do not hesitate to contact the school, or any of the current members.

Nominations for School Advisory Council

Parents are invited to nominate for the School Advisory Council.

The Advisory Council assists in the planning of present and future strategy of the Catholic  school  and brings  the  voice  of  the  community  into  the  school,  playing an important role in building relationships with key stakeholders across the Catholic school community. Membership of the Advisory Council, where possible, will reflect the diversity of the school community.The inclusion of different voices, experiences and perspectives that support the Catholic ethos of the school will enable all groups found in the school community to be represented on the Advisory Council. We encourage parents with the following skills to nominate:

• Finance
• Administration
• Construction & Building
• Community knowledge
• Multicultural
• Education knowledge
• Pastoral care

It is imperative that members act in line with CEWA’s Code of Conduct, as well as act honestly, diligently, confidentially and carefully in relation to all matters. It is essential that Advisory Council  members  have  the  capacity  to  work  cooperatively  and  constructively  with the principal.

The nomination form is available from the office or can be emailed to parents upon request.

Should you require any more information, please do not hesitate to contact the school, or any of the current members.

Take care,

Susan Milton