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 First Holy Communicants who will take part in this sacrament next Sunday, 16 June:

Lord Jesus,

Bless the children who will come forward to receive Holy Communion for the first time.

May this day be an initial step into a life-long love of the Eucharist.

Give them a hunger for this sacred food so that they turn to you for comfort, guidance, and wisdom as they grow into full discipleship.

Thank you for their innocence and goodness.

May their hands, extended in anticipation of your Body and Blood, inspire all of us to cherish this sacred sacrament.

Amen

Dear Parents & Carers,

What an exciting last couple of weeks we have coming up at St Matthew’s. Lots of opportunities for our students to shine and share their gifts and talents. As I am going on Long Service Leave next week, I will take this opportunity to wish everyone a fantastic break and I am looking forward to seeing everyone when we start Term 3 on Tuesday 16 July.

A Walk Through Disney Musical Showcase Jun 13, 2024

Congratulations to all of our families who have already booked their seats for our 6pm performance. A family ticket will be sent home with the eldest sibling of each family on Tuesday. 

It is not too late to book your seats. To ensure that all our parents can attend the 6:00pm performance, each family is initially limited to 4 tickets. These can be booked by phoning 98539500 or emailing admin@matthews.wa.edu.au.   There will be no charge for the tickets, but families are encouraged to make a small donation on the evening of the performance. All proceeds will be shared between Divine You and St Vincent de Paul. 

Any spare seats will be made available from 9:00am Wednesday morning. Parents can book these seats by phoning or emailing the Office.

Audience members do not need to book for the 11:00am show, however, there will be no allocated seating for this performance. 

For information regarding the final practices and the arrangements for the performances, please see the school app. 

Book Fair

Thank you to Mrs Ong and the amazing parent volunteers who have assisted with this year’s Book Fair – Alex Wray, Zeta O’Rourke, Claire Coffey, Michelle Birrell, Kylie Turton, Kimberly Williams, Mel Noakes, Rachel Penning, Lauren Blight, Leah Parson, Carmel McKenzie, Marlene Smit, Lerina Ballard and Virginia Veneracion.

St Matthew’s Book Fair will continue this week on Monday and Tuesday.

Monday 10 June 2024 8:30 – 9:30am; 2:45 – 3:15pm
Tuesday 11 June 2024 8:30 – 9:30am; 2:45 – 3:15pm

First Holy Communion Communion Retreat Day

As part of the Religious Education Curriculum, all students in Year 4 will participate in a First Holy Communion Student Retreat Day on Friday 14 June, held at the St Matthew’s Parish Centre.
The day will be facilitated by Mrs Milton and Miss Whiteford. Our Year 4’s are welcome to wear free-dress on this day.
For the day to run smoothly, we require 3 or 4 parent helpers who can assist with some activities. Can you please let me know, via email (susan.milton@cewa.edu.au), if you are able to assist on the day, even if only for an hour or two.

Winter Carnival Years 4 – 6

On 20 June, all students in Years 4 – 6 will participate in the 2024 Winter Carnival, together with other local schools. Each child will be playing one of four sports: hockey, soccer, football or netball. The event will be held at the sporting facilities on Clayton Road, Narrogin. Please contact Antonio Muto (antonio.muto@cewa.edu.au) if you are available to coach a team, or lend a hand.

Hand Washing Demonstrations 18 June

Nurse Tracey will be visiting classes to conduct hand-washing demonstrations for all classes on 18 June. This is to help us all become more aware of the infectious diseases that can be spread from one person to another by contaminated hands. These diseases include gastro and respiratory infections, such as influenza, colds and coronavirus (COVID-19).

My Long Service Leave

I will be taking leave from 17/06 (Mon Week 10) until the end of this term. Whilst I am away, Mr Antonio Muto will be Acting Principal. Due to my absence, this will be the last newsletter for this term.

Semester 1 Reports

Semester One reports will be available to parents from 25 June. These reports will be available online through the Seqta Engage Website. It is very important that parents have a password to access this site. New families will be sent a “Welcome” email this week. All other families are asked to contact Lyndee Montgomery (lyndee.montgomery@cewa.edu.au) should they require a new password, or have any difficulties logging into this site.

Staffing Term 3

As you are aware, we have several positions vacant next term due to Miss McCormack sadly leaving us. I am very pleased to announce the following:

• Mrs Sheree Shaddick will be taking Library/Research Skills for Kindy to Year 4
• Mrs Adele Maartens will be teaching in Year 3 on Fridays

We will continue to look for other suitable applicants for the remaining positions, including a Music and a Science teacher. The current job applications close on the 14 June and are located on our website.

First Reconciliation

On the 7 August, several of our Year 3 students will be making their First Reconciliation. Parents are reminded to please check the Sacramental Schedule on the school app for important dates. Parents are also required to enrol their children for this sacrament by clicking the link on the school app (see Sacrament of Reconciliation by selecting Year 3).

Winter Woolies Winter Appeal Wednesday 31 August
Next term, our staff and children are invited to dress in their Winter Woolies on Wednesday 31 August. This is to raise awareness of, and resources for, those families that are going cold this winter. Families and staff are invited to bring to school jumpers, blankets, jackets, beanies, boots etc. to donate to various local and state charity organisations.

In the afternoon, we will be entertained by students showcasing some of their learning from their Languages classes. Students from Year 3 to 6 are asked to wear their gumboots/farm boots for this performance. They can wear these to school as part of their Winter Woolies if they would like to. Parents are welcome to attend.

Children’s Liturgy

It has been so lovely to see several of our gorgeous students join me for Children’s Liturgy on the second and last Sunday of every month of the school term. Children’s Liturgy of the Word is an age-appropriate Liturgy of the Word offered for ages 4 to 10. During this special time, the volunteer teacher leads the children through prayers and readings that are simplified for children.

Due to my Long Service Leave in Weeks 10 and 11, there with be no Children’s Liturgy on 23 June. The dates for next term are:

28 July
11 August
25 August
8 Sept

Coughs and Colds

The days are getting shorter and the mornings are getting colder! As we head into these colder months, can I please remind parents to ensure to keep children home if they have symptoms of colds and flus. We want to try to keep our staff and students as healthy as possible. Naturally, parents will be contacted and asked to collect children if they are unwell, especially if they have flu-like symptoms, including high temperatures, coughs and runny noses.

Important Dates

All important dates can be viewed on the St Matthew’s app calendar. Of particular note are:

Hakuna Matata!

Susan Milton

Principal