From the Principal
Dear Parents & Caregivers,
Thank you to those members of our community that were able to join us at our 2024 Annual Community Meeting. I thought it would be fitting to share some of the points discussed on the night.
The 2024 school year has once again been a time of excitement at Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School, High Wycombe. There is no doubt that the words of our Vision Statement continue to set the foundation for who we are as a community. It is in this spirit of learning successfully, living faithfully and respecting the dignity of others that enacts the love that exists in this community. We achieve what we achieve through the many blessings we have received throughout the school year.
In reflecting upon 2024, I continue to be grateful for the opportunities that are created by committed members of our community who work together to create a place of belonging. This sense of belonging is what I hear mentioned often when speaking with parents and staff. There is something about the spirit of Matthew Gibney that permeates our existence here at MG which makes us who we are as a community.
I wish to thank Father Joseph, our Parish, our Catholic School Advisory Council and our Matthew Gibney P&F for their continued support throughout 2024. Father Joseph has brought a gentleness and kindness to our community. We thank him for our spiritual guidance, and we also wish him God’s blessings and love in his retirement. With the support of Neil Pescud, our chairperson, and all our CSAC members, we have once again worked together for the wellbeing of all in our community here at Matthew Gibney. This group of people are outstanding in their commitment to the operations of our school and the people who walk through the gates each day. Under CEWA’s Governance structure, they provide valuable insight into the community, and I am looking forward to further cementing this in the year ahead. It is with complete gratitude that I thank Neil Pescud for his commitment to our CSAC in the role of Chairperson and council member. Neil and his family leave our Matthew Gibney community with many fond memories. We know that Neil will forever be a Matthew Gibney person. Neil has been an important piece to my puzzle both as a person and Principal. Neil, I hope our paths cross once again and I wish your family many blessings in your new adventures and journey ahead. With that, we congratulate Emma Brierty who will take on the Chairperson role for our CSAC in 2025. Emma is driven to make our school the best possible learning environment for our students and I am looking forward to her representing our community voice in our school improvement journey.
I would like to acknowledge the work of Stephanie Kaciuba our P&F President and our Executive Team, who has led this group of wonderful parents known as our P&F. Our parents have worked quietly in the background to continue to build community spirit within the school. As a group they have been quite remarkable in how smoothly they have worked with our families in continuing many of the past traditions and establishing new ones. The team of parents have done this with one focus, and that has been on the wanting to do it for our children. We thank you all sincerely for the time and commitment to our people within our school and the fundraising events throughout the year that have resulted in many initiatives and new resources across the school, all of which benefit our students. A fabulous year of working tirelessly for our school and its people. In moving forward, our P&F will continue to be building community at the school, and I am very much looking forward to working with them in the years ahead. I would also like to acknowledge Caris Smith, Lara Bateman, Katelyn Kollar and Kellee Seden who finish their time on our P&F Executive. What you all have done for our students during your time on our P&F highlights the quality of you as people, committed to providing the best for our students. In 2025, we see Tessa Meegan (Treasurer), Meagan Collins (Secretary) and Kacey Waddington (Vice President) join our school’s P&F Executive who will work alongside Steph Kaciuba, our President. We thank these people for the time and commitment to MG!
We are fortunate at MG to have committed staff members who enjoy working together to ensure students’ educational needs are met. When I think about our staff, there are two words that come to mind. The first is gratitude. I am grateful that I have this group of people walking the journey with me. Their support for each other is something that creates strong bonds and unity. Thank you for your high standards and professionalism. It is about ‘one-in, all-in attitude’ to what we are establishing in our support for each other as a professional organisation, but also one strongly focused on positive relationships. I wish to thank all our staff for their contributions to making the students the number one focus and for the unwavering commitment to providing the very best education for the students in your care. To all our staff, thank you for what you bring to the life of our school community. The second word is blessing, that each and every day we get the privilege to impact 258 students and play a massive part in who they become.
Throughout the year, our MG students have supported a number of charities including LifeLink, Project Compassion and Catholic Missions. During the year, we were able to raise $8,500 for various appeals. Our calling to serve has ensured we have once again improved the lives of those vulnerable in our community. I thank the students for impacting the lives of others.
We are proud to share that our Year 3 students have consistently performed above the national average in the NAPLAN assessments for 2024. This achievement is a testament to the dedication of our students and the quality of teaching at our school. As we celebrate this success, we recognise the importance of continuing this across middle to upper primary. Our focus moving forward will be on enhancing our teaching practices to ensure that our Year 5 students also exceed the national benchmarks in the coming years. Together, we will continue to strive for academic excellence and provide the best possible education for our students.
Enrolments at our school have continued to increase this year. Strong enrolment trends are associated with our reputation in the local and surrounding areas. This connection with our community is ever present and is a result of the work of our staff, students and their families. This positive feel in the community is driven by the stories of our families and the quality of our teaching and learning programs embedded at the school. To ensure this trend continues, we must ensure we provide the best for our students and remain open to opportunities of growth. This is the heart of our Bishop’s Mandate; A Catholic school must be a good school.
Edu Dance Concert
We cannot wait for our Edu Dance Concert on Friday, 29th November. For our concert to be successful, we need all students and their families to attend!
The current plan is to open our gates at 5pm to allow our families to enjoy time together in a relaxed atmosphere in our beautiful school grounds. I must stress; it is the responsibility of parents and caregivers during this time to supervise their children. Our staff have a right to disconnect and are not expected to be at the concert until 5:30pm. It has been brought to my attention that last year a number of students were needing first aid simply due to not being supervised adequately by their respective adults. For events like this to continue and be successful, I urge all parents and caregivers to play their part and look after our kids. I too will be addressing this with the students and setting clear expectations of behaviour and conduct prior to the concert.
At 5:30pm, a message will be sent over our PA system to have students make their way to the classrooms in preparation for the concert to start on time.
At the end of the concert, Kindy students will remain in the Undercover Area for parents and caregivers to collect them. All other students will return to their classrooms for collection and signing out.
Thank you for your ongoing support. Stay tuned for further information!
Help Needed – Busy Bee for Classroom Refurbishment
We are so excited to be planning for our classroom refurbishments in preparation for the start of the 2025 school year. We are seeking the assistance of our community to help us remove all existing cupboards, pin-up boards and whiteboards. Think of it as a therapeutic demolition day!! There will be five classrooms in total that will need to be gutted. We are hoping to achieve this on Saturday, 7th December. If you can assist, even if it is for a short time, please send me an email at clinton.payne@cewa.edu.au
Change of School Start Time 2025
Currently, at Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School, the start time of school is 8:45am for all Pre-Primary to Year 6 students. In 2025, the start time of school and student instruction will change to 8:40am. All other break times and finish time of 3:05pm will remain the same.
By starting the school day five minutes earlier, we are able to introduce an early close (11:50am) in Term 2 and Term 4 for Parent/Teacher Interviews while still maintaining our required yearly minutes of instruction for students under our Non-Government School Registration standards for compliance and registrations. We believe this change will enhance greater communication between teachers and parents/caregivers promoting greater clarity about student progress and working in partnership. This change has been discussed with our Catholic School Advisory Council members who were present, and all agree that the proposed change will assist families who work as well as putting greater emphasis on open communication.
In the coming weeks, we will release our draft 2025 Term Calendars to families, however, we can confirm the dates for the early closes and Parent Interviews in 2024 are as follows:
- Wednesday, 11 June 2025 (school closes at 11:50am, Parent Interviews 12:30pm – 6:00pm)
- Wednesday, 19 November 2025 (school closes at 11:50am, Parent Interviews 12:30pm – 6:00pm)
In 2025, we will remind families of the new start time as well as the dates for our early closes to assist you in the planning for picking your children up.
It is our belief that the introduction of the two early closes will increase our communication with parents and caregivers regarding the progress of their children.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Important Notice: Changes to Morning Arrival Procedures in 2025
Starting in 2025, there will be a change to our morning arrival procedures to ensure the safety and well-being of all students. The school gates will now open at 8:25am. Only students enrolled in our Extend OSHC program will be permitted on school grounds before this time, in accordance with OSHC regulations and our commitment to student safety.
Students who are not enrolled in the Extend OSHC program will need to remain outside the gates until they open officially at 8:25am. Once the gates are open, students will be required to go directly to their classrooms to unpack and prepare for the day, rather than gathering in the undercover area. This will help ensure a smooth and orderly start to lessons, which will commence promptly at 8:40am.
We appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we implement these changes to enhance the safety and efficiency of our school operations and OSHC regulations.
2025 Staffing
We are extremely pleased to announce our staffing model for 2025. Please note, there is always a possibility of a last minute change due to unforeseen circumstances. If this is to occur, communication will be sent to families.
Principal Clinton Payne
Assistant Principal (E & S) Christina Zurzolo
Assistant Principal (CI & C) Karen Keddie
3YO Kindy Freda Burgess (Tues)
4YO Kindy Nicole Smith
4YO Kindy DOTT Relief Freda Burgess (Wed pm)
Pre-Primary Susan Donaldson
Year 1 Gina Nickels
Year 2 Debbie Hawley
Year 3 Jordyn Dalton
Year 4 Jessamy Bettridge
Year 5 Jo Brescacin
Year 6 Temeka Curley
Sport Shannon Hewitt
Science Shannan Watt
Health Karen Keddie
Italian Sara Leahy
Music Teresa Aldred
Dance / Performance Alysha Emanuele
Support (MiniLit, MacqLit) Christina Zurzolo
Pedagogical Practice Coach (PPC) Christina Zurzolo / Karen Keddie / Debbie Hawley
Inclusive Support (SWD/IEP) Christina Zurzolo
PPC Relief Shannan Watt
Finance / Marketing Jennifer Cotton
Administration Julie West
Education Assistant 3YO Sylvie Spadaccini
Education Assistant 4YO Sylvie Spadaccini, Lucy Marchetti, Fiona McDonald
Education Assistant Jennifer Moore (PP)
Education Assistant Simone Tormey (Year 1 & 3)
Education Assistant Danielle Fanetti (Year 1 & 3)
Education Assistant Jenny Iffla (Mon-Thurs) (Year 1 am, Year 2 pm)
Education Assistant Sue Swaby (Mon, Tues, Wed)
Social Worker Chloe Grant (Wed, Thurs)
Library Technician Lucy Marchetti (Tues)
Canteen Alison Honter (Tues, Fri)
Uniform Shop Lisa Denys (Thurs)
In appreciation for what you all bring. Goodness your way.
Clinton Payne
Principal
School News
Canteen News
Due to our longstanding and very supportive volunteers moving on as their Grandchildren go onto High School, we will require volunteers once again to help in our canteen.
Without the volunteers our canteen cannot provide the selection of homemade items on the canteen menu.
Please see Alison in the canteen if you are available to help next year.
Uniform Shop News
Our online method of ordering Uniforms (CDF Pay) is changing so will not be able to be used after the end of Term 4 this year (6th December 2024). New Instructions will be sent out at the start of Term 1 next year.
To order uniforms for next year there are three options:
- Order and Pay Online using CDF Pay before the end of Term 4 2024.
- Submit a paper order form (available from office and website) before the end of Term 4 2024 and Pay and collect your order in January when the Uniform shop is open. (Dates and times below).
- Attend one of the uniform shop opening times in January.
The uniform shop is open every Thursday morning (8.15 – 10.00am) until the end of Term 4 with the last morning open being Thursday 5th December. It will also be open the following times in January 2025 for collection and purchases:
- Thursday 30th January 2pm – 4pm
- Friday 31st January 9am – 12pm
Good News
After a semester of enjoying the novel Fantastic Mr Fox the Year Two children have completed an amazing array of work!
Counsellor's Corner
Being Unkind
Kindness has an enormous impact on whether our children feel safe and engaged at school.
As the school year comes to an end, children feel tired just like the rest of us. This means their ‘filters’ aren’t always working as effectively and they are more likely to make social blunders that can damage their relationships with their peers.
A BIG lesson for our children, is the impact their words and actions can have on others.
Also teaching your child how to respond strongly but with kindness, when someone is using unkind words or actions, is a lifetime skill.
Use the two handouts below to help make these conversations easier and empower your kids.
Next week we’ll cover how to apologise when this happens!
P&F News
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Join the fun and support a great cause; our kids education!
Tickets are just $10, and the winner will receive free 2025 tuition fees for one student. Sales have started and the lucky winner will be drawn at the EduDance Concert on Friday, 29th November! Limited tickets available, so don’t miss out! 🎟️
👉 Buy tickets now: https://rafflelink.com.au/mgfees
Community News
Edney Dental Therapy Centre
The Edney Dental Therapy Centre will be open until Thursday the 19th of December 2024 (inclusive), please note school holiday appointments will be prioritised for patients who have outstanding treatment, a toothache or trauma. Our clinic will reopen briefly in 2025 on Friday 24th and Tuesday 28th of January before resuming usual hours as of Tuesday 4th February 2025.
If your child requires urgent dental care whilst the clinic is closed all emergency contact details will be available on our answering machine. 9454 4034
Enrol now at La Salle College
La Salle College is now taking enrolments for current Year 4 students starting Year 7 in 2027.
At La Salle College we offer a wide range of learning programs and academic pathways, as well as opportunities in a multitude of areas such as skill-based and work-based learning, music, arts, sport and extracurricular activities and clubs.
Our wonderful facilities and generous outdoor spaces, which includes Science Labs, Aquatic Centre with a 10-lane swimming pool, Performing Arts Centre with orchestra pit, Chapel, Trade and Skills Centre and a double court Sports Centre, provide an innovative and modern learning environment
that inspires our students to be the best they can be.
Every student is given the opportunity to succeed. We believe that education extends beyond the classroom, and we encourage our students to live out their faith and values in the service of others, whilst making a positive impact on the world in which they live. Through our teaching and learning, we aim to transform tomorrow’s hearts, minds and lives in all that we do.
If you would like to know more about our enrolments process or learning opportunities at La Salle
College please visit our website www.lasalle.wa.edu.au/enrolment or contact our College Enrolments team:
• Email 8770svc_enrol@cewa.edu.au
• Phone 9449 0601
With limited places available for Year 7 2027, we encourage you to make an enquiry today.
Guildford Grammar School Year 7, 2026 Scholarships are OPEN
The Year 7, 2026 Academic and Music scholarships are OPEN at Guildford Grammar School. An information link has been provided below to the scholarship page on our website. Here you will find the range of scholarships on offer for Year 7 entry to your current year 5 students and families.
Scholarship opportunities – Guildford Grammar School
Please do not hesitate to contact admissions or direct any questions to 9377 9222 or Registrar@ggs.wa.edu.au
