School Vision
St Matthew’s School empowers children to embrace life-long learning and grow and develop as God intends.
Remembrance Day
God of freedom,
On this day of remembrance
We give thanks and honour for the lives
Of those who have helped make our beautiful country
A place of freedom and peace. Your son Jesus showed us
that the greatest love is in giving one’s life for the sake of others.
May we always remember The generosity and bravery
Of those who have died in war
As they worked for the freedom of others. Let us strive to be people of peace
in our thoughts, words and actions as Jesus has shown us.
We make our prayer in the name of Jesus, Prince of Peace.
Amen.
Dear Parents and Carers
It was lovely to see so many of our parents and grandparents attend the Year 3 Assembly on Friday morning to celebrate all the wonderful things we do at our school. The Year 3 students produced an item about celebration days around the world. Awards and certificates were given out to students, and teachers spoke of the wonderful achievements of the Interschool Athletics team, the One Big Voice participants and the participants in the Australian Mathematics Competition. Congratulations to Hamish Sewell and Maka Nyemba for being awarded certificates of Distinction and to Hamish for Best in School.
Going for Gold!
On Friday, students across our school from Pre-primary to Year 6 participated in activities designed and developed to access gold status on the Changing Health Acting Together (CHAT) initiative. As a CHAT school, we aim to structure and implement sustainable, whole school health initiatives that focus on building resilience through innovative approaches to drug and road safety education. Staff at St Matthew’s have been working with SDERA (School Drug Educations and Road Aware), to develop initiatives that relate directly to our unique school context. A big thank you to Mrs Dyke and Mrs DÁlton for organizing this fantastic event and for leading staff in this initiative.
Remembrance Day
At 11am on 11th November we paused to remember the sacrifice of those men and women who have died or suffered in wars and conflicts, and all those who have served this country. At the beginning of the day, all students gathered for prayer . Just before 11am, students in Years 4, 5 & 6 joined the community in Memorial Park for a service. Bryce Pauley and Lucas Grieve represented St Matthew’s in the school presentations and Logan Batt and Olivia Stott, our Service and Communication Leaders, laid the Remembrance Wreath.
Vi Barham Award Finalists
Congratulations to Haizelmary Ani Jacob and Hamish Sewell for being finalists in the 2019 Vi Barham Awards for Excellence. Haizelmary and Hamish were presented with their awards at a ceremony on Thursday at Narrogin Senior High Schools Hilltop Café. This is a very prestigious award and is awarded for all round excellence in education.
Quiz Night
The Quiz Night was a wonderful success on Saturday night, thanks to the organization of our P & F committee, and our sponsors and families. A special mention of our major sponsor for the evening, ‘Betta Electrical’ Narrogin. It was wonderful to see so many people dressed up as musicians or artists in line with the theme of ‘Music Through the Ages’. A special thank you to Tarli Cooper, Mel Noakes, Donna Hardie, Bruno Hardie and Marie Thompson for their tireless efforts on the night and to all parents and friends who helped to make the night a success.
Great Southern Network Meetings
Over two days this week, staff from Kindergarten to Year 2 attended network meetings hosted by St Joseph’s College in Albany. The meetings focused on embedding the National Quality Standards and Inquiry Learning in the classroom. The National Quality Standard (NQS) sets a high national benchmark for early childhood education, and inquiry learning is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios. Staff from our school gathered with staff from St Patrick’s in Katanning, St Bernard’s in Kojonup and St Joseph’s in Albany for this professional learning which was facilitated by our School Improvement Advisor, School Support and Early Years Consultants.
Kindergarten 2020 Orientation
On Wednesday 20 November, our 2020 Kindergarten parents will be gathering with their child to attend Kindy Orientation. The meeting will start at 10am and provides parents with important information that will help make the beginning of 2020 a smooth transition for your child. The children will enjoy a session with their cohort for the following year.
Year 5 & 6 Mass
It was lovely to join with the Year 5 & 6 students to celebrate Mass on Thursday. The focus was the gift of friendship. A special thank you to Father Jayan for celebrating the Mass and Mrs Evans, and class teachers for preparing the students.
May God bless your week
Natalia Thomson
Principal
