School Vision

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

This prayer is offered for Bishop-elect George as we all prepare for his Episcopal Ordination as the 5th Bishop of Bunbury.

God our Father,
We pray for Bishop-elect George as he prepares for his Episcopal Ordination as the fifth Bishop of Bunbury.
Send your Spirit to empower, strengthen and guide him as he answers your call to the Episcopate.
Fill him with wisdom and knowledge as he prepares to be our teacher.
Fill with him fortitude and piety as he prepares to be our leader.
Fill him with counsel and understanding as he prepares to be a father and brother to us all.
We pray that Bishop-elect George is given the grace to work diligently for our diocese, renew us in the Spirit, and treat all with love and mercy.
We also pray for each other, that we may be open and welcoming to Bishop-elect George and his leadership. May you help us journey together in synodality.
We ask all this through your Son Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
Amen

Dear Parents & Carers,

Welcome to the first newsletter for 2025. We have had a lovely start to the year, with both students and staff happy to be back together.

Parent Information Sessions

This week, St Matthew’s will be holding Parent Information Sessions. These sessions are hosted by the class teacher in the classrooms. It is an opportunity to learn about what is special about your child/ren’s class this year and meet the classroom teacher/s. We would appreciate as many parents as possible attending these sessions.

Scitech

This Wednesday, Scitech is visiting us to work with all of our classes:

Junior Shows and Workshops (K-Year 3)
Hands On!: Bend, pour, twist, shake – there are so many ways to investigate using our hands. Together we’re going to play a game – roll the giant dice to determine which scientific investigations we will do. There is no better way to explore the world than through science – observing closely, getting curious and experimenting.

Senior Shows and Workshops (Year 4-6)

Mystery Hunters: Use scientific thinking to explore surprising mysteries! Scientists are always observing the world and trying to explain what’s going on. But sometimes mysterious things happen – things that don’t match what we expect. This is exciting, because it helps us better understand the world we live in – and can lead to amazing new science and technologies.

Enrichment

Our first Enrichment project for 2025 will start from next Monday afternoon.This term, the focus will be upon visual arts. The selected students will be researching and designing emblems for our school factions. Once we start making, we will rearrange the groups so that Year 3 selected students will work with Year 5 and Year 4 will work with Year 6. Parents of selected students will be informed via email.

“Kiss & Drop”

We have been asked to remind our parents of the Fathom Street Kiss & Drop rules due to concerns about illegal “standing” of vehicles.

The ‘Kiss & Drop’ operates both mornings and afternoons. Parents are asked to pull into the marked  ’Kiss & Drop” area on Fathom Street where children will be directed by staff to get out of (or into) the car using door/s on the left (footpath) side of the car. Parents can not leave their car , for any reason, as this prevents the flow of vehicles and causes hold-ups and confusion. Please are reminded that they can not wait at the Stop Sign on the corner of Fathom and Glyde. The “No Standing” areas on the corner of Glyde Street are clearly marked and parents may be fined if found in these areas.

If you can not safely pull into the marked Kiss & Drop zone, you are asked to drive around the block or park in the vacant block.

Positive Partnerships Professional Learning

Next week, three of our class teachers will attend a two-day workshop to support school staff working with autistic students. The focus will be on:

* The diversity of autism in schools
* Sensory processing
* Wellbeing, mental health and behaviour
* Practical tools
* Working in partnership

Bishop’s Ordination

As many are aware, Pope Francis has appointed Perth-based priest, Fr George Kolodziej SDS, to be the fifth Bishop of Bunbury. Fr George, 56, was born in Dobra, Poland, and has been the Superior of the Salvatorians in Australia since October 2018.

The ordination and installation service will be held on Wednesday, March 19 at 10:30am at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Bunbury. Jackson (Service Captain) and Ellice (Arts Captain) will be accompanying Miss Monty and myself to this memorable event.

A professional film company has been hired to livestream the Ordination. Parishioners will be able to watch the Episcopal Ordination from the comfort of their own home. Further information will be provided in the coming weeks.

I have also uploaded a letter from Fr George, Bishop-elect of Bunbury on the school app.

Chrism Mass

The Chrism Mass will be celebrated on the Tuesday of the Holy Week, the 15th of April 2025, 11am at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Bunbury. As this will take place after his episcopal ordination and canonical installation as the fifth Bishop of Bunbury, the Most Rev George Kolodziej SDS will be presiding over the Chrism Mass. Unfortunately, this is during the school holidays, and therefore we will not be taking our Confirmation candidates as we have done in previous years. I would, however, like to invite our families to attend this special Mass. It is open to everyone, so you are all welcome to attend.

Ministry Awards at Assemblies

Our amazing Year 6’s present several awards at every assembly. These include the Art Award, Golden Broom and the Gotcha Bear(MJR). As the recipients are selected by the Year 6 students just prior to the assembly, we are unable to inform parents if their child is lucky enough to receive one of these awards. It is a surprise for everyone! The children will be acknowledged in the newsletter.

Important Dates

All important dates can be viewed on the school app via the calendar and on the class Term Letters. Of particular note:

Take Care

Susan Milton