2025 Term 2 Week 10

Dear Parents & Carers,

Well, I kind of cannot believe it.  I have had the privilege of being Principal at MG for four terms.  Serioulsy though, where does time go?  MG is a very special place, a place that has meant so much to me, a place that has shaped who I am as a person and what drives me as a Principal.  I am forever grateful for the people and many experiences that I have had and look forward to what is to come.

At the start of my Principalship here, I shared a quote that I received from a mentor Principal mate of mine.  This guy influences me a lot.  He seems to be pretty level-headed and so dedicated to being the best person he can be.  He has played a big part in who I have become, not just as an educator but also as a person.  Maybe I should tell him this more often, so that he knows how much I look up to him.  Anyway, this is the quote that he gave me on my first day as a Principal.

I have definitely been challenged this during my time as Principal but I have enjoyed each an every minute.  The one thing I have come to realise is the grass is always greener on my side.  This is mainly due to you all, the people that make up this great community.  I thank God for the people that have surrounded me at MG; the students, staff and parents.  You all tend to want the same thing that I have wanted and what has driven me, for our school to be the best that it can be.  I am certain this will continue next semester and beyond.

How good is it to have footy back on TV?  I love the opportunity to sit down for a few hours on the weekend and watch the Eagles with my girls, although they aren’t doing too well at the moment.  I was talking about this with my Principal mate at a recent PD day I attended and he mentioned that Ikigai also relates to footy, by embracing the good times and challenges.  He is a bit deep like that!

The next day he emailed me this quote as he knew I was busy with finalising reports and loose ends before the semester closes:

I have made this quote connect with my understanding of Ikigai.  Every conversation and interaction I have with students, staff and parents, I keep kindness and compassion at my core.  This can become difficult when challenges, both personal and professional, make our lives a bit messy.  I am not saying it is easy, but we need to accept our challenges.  My parents have always told me, God gives you what you can handle.  With this mindset, I tend to find pressure eases and I see the big picture.

Throughout my time here, there have been plenty of times I have felt overwhelmed with some of my challenges.  I tend to shut down a bit and go quiet, which isn’t good for me or those around me.  However, as I get older and becoming more confident in the role, I tend to focus on the present, on that very moment which makes me feel better and takes the pressure off.  Don’t get me wrong, there have been plenty of failures where feelings of anxiety make me less tolerant of myself and others.  But this is why I love Ikigai and embracing the messiness.  It makes you realise what is important and brings you back to who you are and what you stand for.

When I started my role as Principal here at MG I reflected on this quote.  The past year in the role has meant many decisions needing to be made.  Some of these decisions may be well accepted by the community and staff while others may be questioned, however, my driving force is being true to who I am as a person.  Fr Joseph told me at the start of my time here, if there is no malice in your decision making, you are doing the right thing.  My mentor also reminds me, that as I gain more experience as a Principal and person, the need to prove myself diminishes as that is not what life is about.  Instead, it is about the seeing the big picture and being true to yourself and the people you lead.  I am getting better at this, although the ‘worrier’ still creeps in at times.  During my time here, I hope I have instilled in the kids and staff the need to give your full self to all you do and to embrace the messiness.  Getting it wrong and making a mistake is ok as it actually leads to further learning

Every morning as traffic comes to standstill on Tonkin Highway, I have asked myself:

• What am a grateful for?
• Who do I serve today?
• What am I excited about today?

These questions ground me and make me focus on Clint, with all his strengths and flaws and what we have achieved here at MG over the past year.  You all, students, staff and parents inspire me each day.  There is so much goodness in this community and I have felt that each interaction I have had with you  is a gift, that I am the luckiest Principal ever to have a place like this shape me as a leader and person!

I wish you all nothing but joy and goodness ahead.  This place will continue to shine like it is meant to and I am so grateful to be here.  Over the break embrace the messiness and enjoy the time with your kids.  No pressure, just good times.

Mid-Year Reports

I would like to thank both staff and parents/caregivers for their ongoing commitment to our children here at MG.  The connection between home and school is something I am truly grateful for.

When you go through your child’s report next week, I encourage you to celebrate with your child their achievements and set goals for them moving into Semester Two.

I would like to congratulate all our students for their efforts.

Community Survey

As part of our ongoing commitment to excellence, we are seeking feedback from our parent and caregiver community about the education and service we provide at Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School over the past 12 months. Your insights help us celebrate what we do well and identify areas for future growth. We encourage all families to participate in this important process. For those with multiple children at the school, please consider averaging your responses to reflect your overall experience over the past 12 months. This feedback supports our vision of being a Christ-centred, child-focused community where every student is known, valued, and supported to thrive.

The survey window is open from today until 21 July 2025.  To access the survey, please use the QR Code below.

Term Three

Our Term Three will commence on Monday, 21 July 2025.  Term Three was once the quiet term, but not anymore!  Please look through the calendar for dates for our upcoming events.

Please note, our next Pupil Free Day is Friday, 22 August 2025.

Staffing Update

We wish to inform our community that Mrs Jessamy Gray has chosen to reduce her teaching days in Year 4. We thank Jessamy for her continued dedication and wish her all the best. We warmly welcome Mrs Caryn Tenney, an experienced educator, who will teach Year 4 on Thursdays and Fridays. A transition process will take place to ensure continuity in teaching and learning, aligned with our Matthew Gibney vision of nurturing a Christ-centred and child-focused environment.

We also wish Mrs Aldred and the very best on her well deserved Long Service Leave for Term 3.  With that, we welcome Mrs Louise Baldock, an experienced Music teacher, to our staff and community as our Music Specialist for Term 3.  Mrs Emanuele will also be on leave for Term 3 from our Performing Arts program and we have engaged the services of Ms Mersades Mucciorone as our dance specialist in preparation for our Term 4 concert.

We are certain all of these new staff members will feel welcomed into our beautiful community.

Year 3 Update

With Mrs Dalton entering her final weeks with us before embarking on the exciting journey ahead for her, we will move to a transition process that will support our students in the Year 3 class.  For the first week and a half, Mrs Dalton will be the main teacher in Year 3, planning and teaching to allow Mr Rafferty an opportunity to gain an insight into the students and build connections with them as well as understand our agreed learning conditions and expectations.  Moving into the final days of Week 2 and beyond, Mr Rafferty will then take over as the main classroom teacher in Year 3 for the remainder of 2025.

We thank Mrs Dalton for her contribution to MG and we look forward to her rejoining our team and community in the future.

Before School Sports

We regret to inform our school community that before school sports will be postponed for the foreseeable future due to current operational conditions at our school. We understand the importance of these activities and are actively working on solutions to resume them early in Term 3, with the goal of making them a consistent and reliable option for our students. We sincerely apologise for the inconsistency this term and any inconvenience it may have caused to our students and families. Thank you for your understanding and continued support as we work through this.

3 Week Mid-Year Break

Catholic Education WA (CEWA) has announced it intends to implement a three-week mid-year break across its 150 schools from the 2027 academic year.

The implementation of this initiative will not only bring our school in line with practices at other Independent Catholic Schools but is based on significant research into how the change will positively impact teaching, learning, and wellbeing.

I want to stress that there won’t be any changes to the hours of instruction your child receives as a result of this initiative, however small adjustments to individual term calendars and school timetables may be required.

As CEWA prepares to implement this initiative, they are welcoming feedback from our students, parents, staff, and community members. I encourage you to submit any feedback you may have via this form.

As we end the semester, I would like to thank everyone for their continued support and care.  The imperfections we have all embraced has meant kindness and compassion is always at the forefront of our conversations and interactions with each other.  I hope you and your family enjoy the break and find those special moments to build memories that are everlasting.

Once again, thank you all for your personal support as your Principal.  As a community MG will continue to shine.

Goodness and blessings your way.

Clint

Students and staff enjoyed pajama day on Thursday and $300.00 was raised which will be donated to Lifelink.

Friday Giving is Back!

If you have any tins or packets of food you would like to donate to St Vincent de paul , please add it to the box in the office. Thank you!

Term 3 Parent Planner

Please click here for the Term 3 Parent Planner.

Year 5 had an excursion to Perth Museum Boola Bardip. The children thoroughly enjoyed learning about Cultural Collisions and exploring all the fantastic aspects of the Museum.  Congratulations to the children for their impeccable behaviour.

Catholic School Parents WA Awards of Excellence Now Open!

We have 5 categories of nominations; Parent, Parent Group, Principal, Parish and Agnes Weymouth.

To download the nomination forms, the link is: here

To book tickets to attend the cocktail awards celebration on Friday 1st August 2025, the link is: here

Children’s Liturgy at St Francis of Assisi Parish

The Children’s Liturgy Program at St Francis of Assisi, Maida Vale, has started for the year.  Children from Pre-primary to Year 4 are welcome.  Please bring your children to the old Parish Hall before the 9.30am Mass on Sunday.  The children sing and pray and listen to the Gospel at their level.  They then do an activity about the Gospel, before coming over to the church after the Homily.

For enquiries please contact Philomena on 0417 936 757.

Enrol now at La Salle College

La Salle College is now taking enrolments for current Year 5 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.

Bingo is back!

La Salle College Parents & Friends is excited to announce Bingo will be returning to the community as their major fundraising event of the year.

When: 1 August 2025 from 7pm –10pm, doors open at 6:30pm

Where: La Salle College – Patricia Rodrigues Centre (gymnasium)

We hope you can join us for an exciting evening of musical bingo featuring Australian hits, fabulous prizes and raffles plus the opportunity to dress up as your favourite Aussie icon!
> Hosted by Bamboozled Quizmasters
> Tickets $15 per person (One bingo card per person)
> Tables of 10
> Dress up as your favourite Aussie icon!
> Cash/Card payment options
> BYO Nibbles
> Raffles and Auctions
Get your family and friends together for a night of fun and book your table now!
Tickets available via the Trybooking link: https://www.trybooking.com/DBNCA