2025 Term 1 Week 1

Dear Parents & Caregivers,

We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to Term 1 at Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School. We hope you have enjoyed a wonderful break and feel refreshed and ready for the start of the new school year.

School Gate

Please take note, that our school gate will now open at 8:25am each school day.  No students are permitted on school grounds before 8:25am unless they are enrolled in Extend OSHC due to child safe regulations in relation to childcare.  When the gates do open at 8:25am, all students will make their way directly to their classroom and prepare for the day.

Extend OSHC – New Gate

It is wonderful to see many of our families utilising the services of before and after school care through Extend at Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School.

To provide students using these services a safe and secure environment aligned with OSHC regulations, we have installed a new gate that all Extend students and MGCPS staff will use to enter and exit the grounds before and after school.  This new gate is just near the staff carpark.

The gate is setup using our current swipe card system.  Parents and caregivers of students enrolled in our Extend OSHC are asked to obtain a swipe card for the new gate from Diana.  To assist with the cost of the cards and set up, parents and caregivers are asked to pay an administration fee of $5 which is refundable when you return the swipe card if you no longer need to use the Extend OSHC services for your child.

The swipe cards provide access to the school through the new gate from 6:00am to 8:30am and 3:00pm to 6:00pm, Monday to Friday.

The swipe card and instructions of how to use the gates can be obtained from Diana.

Signing In/Out

If you arrive after 8:40am, you must go to our Office where you will need to sign your child in to note their attendance.  If you wish to collect your child before the end of the day, they will need to be signed out at the Office before collection.  We ask that appointments be made outside of school hours where possible.

Term Dates

• Term One: Thursday, 6^th February – Friday, 11^th April
• Term Two: Tuesday, 29^th April – Friday, 4^th July
• Term Three: Monday, 21^st July – Friday, 26^th September
• Term Four: Monday, 13^th October – Friday, 12^th December

School Uniform

The uniform for Term One is our full formal summer uniform for Year 1 to 6 students.  Our Pre Primary students will wear their Matthew Gibney T-shirt and Matthew Gibney Faction T-shirt.

Please see below the required uniform for each day of the week for students in Year 1 to 6:

• Monday: Formal Uniform
• Tuesday: Formal Uniform
• Wednesday: Formal Uniform
• Thursday: Sports Uniform with Faction Polo
• Friday: Sports Uniform with School Representative Polo

After School Procedure

Students are dismissed at 3:05pm where they will gather at the Pre-Primary gate to be picked up, unless they are being met by their parents within the school grounds.

Staff are on duty at the crosswalk and pickup/drop off area to help control traffic. This supervision ends at 3:20pm. Any children remaining are brought to the Administration Block.

Parents using the school’s Kiss and Drive are to follow the direction of staff.  Thank you for your ongoing support.

Code of Conduct

At Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School, all staff, parents, and visitors adhere to our school Code of Conduct.  This year, we will be reinforcing our Code of Conduct with all families and at our Catholic School Advisory Council meetings.  The code is outlined below:

Conduct Statements

1. You act safely and competently.
2. You give priority to students’ safety and well-being in all your behaviour and decision making.
3. You act in accordance with the values of the Gospel as defined in the Code of Ethical Conduct.
4. You conduct yourself in accordance with laws, agreements, policies and standards relevant to your relationship with the school community.
5. You respect the dignity, culture, values and beliefs of each member of the school community.
6. You treat personal information about members of the school community as private and confidential.
7. You give impartial, honest and accurate information about the education, safety and well-being of students.
8. You support all members of the school community in making informed decisions about students.
9. You promote and preserve the trust and privilege inherent in your relationship with all members of the school community.
10. You maintain and build on the community’s trust and confidence in Catholic schools and the Church.
11. You act reflectively and ethically.
12. You allow students to have a voice in their education, safety and well-being.

Should any member of the school community have concerns about someone not adhering to the Code of Conduct, they may access our Code of Conduct Breach Form via our school website.

2025 Parent Information Night

Thursday, 13^th February is the date of our 2025 Parent Information Night, and we strongly encourage representation from all families.  Please save the date in your calendars.

There will be a brief Principal address in the Undercover Area at 5:30pm, followed by two Classroom Sessions at 5:45pm and 6:15pm.

Please note, this is a child-free event.  We look forward to seeing you all there.

2025 School Fee Statements

Please note, School Fee Statements will be issued to families in the first few weeks of school.  Throughout the year, please direct any finance-related queries to Ms Jennifer Cotton by calling the school office on 6216 8400.

Every family is required to complete and submit a New Payment Option form each year and these are sent in the email with the fees.  Please complete and return the Payment Option Form no later than the 21^st February 2025.

All accounts must be settled by 31^st October 2025.

To access the Concession Card Assistance Scheme, an eligible means tested Centrelink card must be presented to our Administration Staff.  The card must be in the name of the parent/caregiver who is responsible for payment of fees.

Images of Students

Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School places priority on protecting the identity of every child. Over the course of the year, we take pictures of your child, some of which may be used for the School Newsletter, promotional media including social media, or Catholic Education publications. If you have any objection to images of your child being used, see Mrs West in our school office.

Change of Personal Details

Please be reminded that it is your responsibility as a parent or caregiver to inform the school of any changes to personal details. We are not able to accept changes verbally over the phone and ask that you please put all information in writing or via email to admin@gibney.wa.edu.au .

Medical Information

It is important that the school is notified of any student medical conditions. We request that all medication, Medication Request Forms and Action Plans be brought to the office on the first few days of school. Please note that Action Plans are only valid for 12 months so please check the validity of these to ensure that they are current.

Please be reminded that when relevant we require:

• An Anaphylaxis Action plan (from a medical practitioner),  Emergency Action Plan & Allergy Health Care Plan (forms from admin or website) and one EpiPen for children that are anaphylactic.
• An Asthma Action plan (from a medical practitioner), Asthma Plan & Medication Request Forms (forms from admin or website) and asthma inhaler for asthmatic children.
• Medication/tablets need to be in their original packaging or photographs of the original packaging, including the Prescription Label and Expiry date need to be provided. A Medication Request Form needs to be completed for each medication.

Matthew Gibney School Facebook Page

We invite all families and friends of Matthew Gibney to follow our school Facebook page.

Our school Facebook page serves two key purposes:

• It provides an online space where we can communicate with parents, caregivers, and friends of the school while celebrating the learning and faith formation that takes place at our school each day.
• It is a cost-effective way to promote the work of our school publicly. Our Facebook page is one of the key tools that we will use to give prospective parents and caregivers authentic insights into what makes Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School such a great place for students, parents and caregivers, staff, and all members of our community.

Parents and caregivers are also encouraged to join their child’s year level Facebook page to keep up to date with specific information and events.

Please be reminded to refer to the Terms of Use and to the School’s Code of Conduct before engaging with these pages.

School Communication

This year, our formal Newsletter will be sent to families via our website on a fortnightly basis.  Regular classroom information will be sent to families via Seesaw.

Holiday Works

A number of exciting changes have been made to our school grounds and classrooms during the summer break, all of which are looking AMAZING!

We would like to thank our staff and Mr Vajas for their efforts in getting the school ready for our students.  How lucky are we to be surrounded by people committed to providing the best environment for our students.

Mr Payne, Mrs Keddie and Miss Zurzolo and all the staff at Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School look forward to working with you in 2025.

Mosquito Alert

We wanted to inform you that there have been an increased number of mosquitoes spotted around the school grounds. To help protect your children from mosquito bites, we recommend applying insect repellent before they come to school.

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our students safe and comfortable.

2025 Term 1 Planner for Parents

For the Term 1 Planner for parents, please click here.

Please note that dates may be subject to change.

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.

Discover the amazing opportunities at La Salle College

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• Enrolment Application enrol.lasalle.wa.edu.au/student/application/

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