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 Feast Day of St Mary MacKillop (August 8):

God, through the intercession of Mary MacKillop,
we pray that the fire of your compassion will ignite many hearts.
May Mary’s attentiveness to your dream inspire us.
May her energy to overcome injustice empower us.
May we, like her, make manifest your Presence in our troubled world.
We pray that the beacon of her holiness shine as a blessing for the universal Church and our world.
We make this prayer in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

Dear Parents & Carers,

Welcome to Term 3. It is a big term, so please keep an eye on the school app and newsletter for important dates.

Student Photos

Following recent advice from the eSafety Commissioner regarding the growing risks associated with sharing images online, we are reviewing our practices around publishing student photographs. eSafety has highlighted the increasing misuse of publicly available images through artificial intelligence, including deepfakes and other forms of digital manipulation, and has encouraged schools to carefully consider how and where images of students and staff are shared.

As part of our ongoing commitment to student safety and wellbeing, we have made the decision to significantly reduce the number of student photographs published in our school newsletter and other public-facing communications. This does not diminish our desire to celebrate the achievements, experiences and successes of our students. Rather, it reflects our responsibility to balance community engagement with the protection of our students’ privacy and digital safety.

We understand that families enjoy seeing students featured in our publications, and we will continue to share news, achievements and highlights from across the school in a variety of ways. We appreciate the support and understanding of our community as we adapt our practices to respond to the changing online environment and ensure the safest possible outcomes for our students.

Happy Baby News!

We are very pleased to announce the arrival of Miss Sutton’s beautiful baby boy, Archie, who joined the world on 11 July at a healthy 3.9kg. Congratulations, Bella!

Change of dates

We would like to apologise for having to change the dates of the following upcoming events. We know many families and community members plan their schedules well in advance, and we regret any inconvenience these adjustments may cause.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we make these changes.

Kindy Enrolments – 2027

Enrolments for Kindergarten 2027 are being accepted. Due to a large number of enquiries, families wishing to be included on the list for a Kindy Enrolment Interview must ensure that a completed enrolment pack is received by Friday, 14 August.

Enrolment interviews provide families with the opportunity to learn more about our Kindy curriculum and school procedures, and, most importantly, allow us to warmly welcome new families into the St Matthew’s community.

Applications for enrolment are considered in the following order:

1. Catholic students from St Matthew’s Parish
2. Catholic students from other parishes
3. Siblings of non‑Catholic students already enrolled
4. Non‑Catholic students from other Christian denominations
5. Other non‑Catholic students

Parents who choose to apply for enrolment at St Matthew’s School accept that they will abide by the policies and practices of Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) and the School Leadership Team while their child is enrolled. Families are encouraged to speak with the Principal if they have any questions regarding school policies or practices.

If you know of families who may be ready to send their little ones to Kindy, please encourage them to visit the School Office to collect an enrolment pack.

Term Overviews and Parent Letters

Every term, our hardworking teachers put together a term overview and a parent letter to keep our families informed. These were uploaded to the school app last week and can be accessed by choosing the appropriate Year level.

First Holy Communion

We are pleased to invite Year 4 parents to enrol their child in this year’s Sacrament preparation program for the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. This is a wonderful opportunity for children to deepen their faith and grow closer to God. Interested parents are asked to ensure they have registered their commitment through the school app. This is essential if your child is planning to complete this Sacrament this term.
Please also note these important dates:

Australian Maths Competition

Congratulations to the 32 students from Years 3 to 6 who will be competing in the 2026 Australian Maths Competition on Tuesday, 4 August. The AMC contains unique problems designed each year by leading educators and academics to challenge and extend students’ problem-solving skills. Certificates will be presented at the Award assembly next term.

The 2026 Religious Education Assessment (REA)

In Catholic schools across Western Australia, students enrolled in Years 3, 5 and 9 participate in a system-wide, online assessment in Religious Education. The purpose of the REA is to measure student learning of the mandated content in the Religious Education Curriculum. Test items relevant to each participating year level are developed by the Religious Education Directorate at the Catholic Education Office of Western Australia. The test items consist of multiple choice, short and extended response. The students’ faith is not assessed.
Our Year 3 and Year 5 students will be completing the REA on Wednesday 5 August.

St Mary MacKillop Whole School Prayer Service 7 August

Parents are invited to join us for a whole school Prayer Service at 9:00am on the 7 August to celebrate the Feast Day of St Mary MacKillop. The service will be held in the Sr Isobel School Hall.

NAPLAN Reports

The 2026 NAPLAN reports will be sent home with Year 3 and Year 5 students this week. Parents are encouraged to please make an appointment with their child’s class teacher if they have any questions or concerns.

Netball and Hockey Carnivals

Our Year 5 and Year 6 students have been invited to participate in the Netball WA – Great Southern 2026 WCF Primary School Cup or the UGSHA Primary School Hockey Carnival on Friday 14 August at Narrogin Regional Leisure Centre. The students will be walking to NRLC, leaving from St Matthew’s School at 8:50am sharp and will arrive back at school just prior to 3:00pm.

Bunbury Diocese Catholic Primary Principals Visit – Thursday 13 August (Week 4)

On Thursday 13 August, we will have the pleasure of welcoming approximately 10 Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) primary school principals from across the Bunbury Diocese to St Matthew’s School.

During their visit, our guests will be given a guided tour of the school by our Year 6 Captains, providing them with an opportunity to experience firsthand the vibrant learning environment and strong sense of community that make St Matthew’s so special. Visitors will also enjoy performances by our school band and choir, showcasing the wonderful talents of our students.

This is a fantastic opportunity to highlight the outstanding work taking place at St Matthew’s School and to share with fellow educational leaders the many things that make our school such a welcoming and thriving place to learn. We look forward to proudly showcasing our beautiful school and celebrating the achievements of our students and staff.

Book Week Dress-Up Wednesday 26 August

St Matthew’s will be celebrating Book Week from Monday 24 August to Friday 28 August (Wk 6). The theme for this year is “Symphony of Stories”.
On Wednesday, 26 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 (each class)
Most creative (each class)
Best character (each class)

Best group/family (whole school)

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!

2026 Athletics Carnivals

The Athletics carnival is a celebration of student participation, sportsmanship and friendly competition, providing a great opportunity for students to showcase the skills they’ve been developing in Physical Education throughout Term 3. The St Matthew’s School Faction Athletics Carnival will be held on Tuesday 8 September (Jumps and Throws) at school and Thursday 10 September at Thomas Hogg Oval on Bannister Street, Narrogin. Please note this unavoidable date change.

More information will be provided, via the school app, in the coming weeks.

Fathers’ Day Breakfast 8 September

Our wonderful P&F are once again inviting all of our father-figures to join our students for a yummy Fathers’ Day Breakfast before school on Tuesday 8 September. More information will be provided closer to this date.

NDNA Rising Stars

Good Luck and Congratulations to all of our netball girls who are currently trialing for the NDNA 2027 Rising Stars. We are proud of you!

Performance Assemblies Term 3 and 4

Census Privacy Collection Notice

The Australian Government Department of Education (the department) would like to advise all staff, parents, guardians and students (where applicable) that it will collect certain information about your school, its staff and student body as part of the non-government schools census collection (the census) and special circumstance applications.

Read the Collection Notice

Parish Fundraiser

Important Dates

To help families plan their time, here is a list of important dates for this term. All of these dates are also included in the school app calendar. 

Keep warm,

Susan Milton
Principal