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 recognise All Souls Day on November 2:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Amen.

Dear Parents & Carers,

Welcome to Week 4! I would like to start with a reminder that families have access to the class term overview and a parent letter through the school app. This should help parents plan the term and understand the learning goals for each of their children. I would also encourage all parents and caregivers to check the calendar on the school app weekly, as this is the most up-to-date source of information. 

We Have Chickens!

A huge thank you to the Narrogin College of Agriculture for donating our 5 gorgeous chooks. The kids have been so excited to welcome our new pets and have been diligently collecting eggs and sharing scraps. This term, Year 2 and Year 3 students will watch over their wellbeing. Parents will be able to purchase the eggs at Friday assemblies.

The next step will be to fence off a section of the garden to act as our chicken run and install automatic water and food dispensers. If you would like to be involved or have materials that you could donate towards project, please email susan.milton@cewa.edu.au.

Swimming Lessons PP – Yr 2

Interm swimming lessons for Pre-Primary to Year 2 students will take place this term from Monday 6 November until Friday 17 November. The times for the lessons are as follows:

Parents will note that the Year 2 class is spread over two timeslots due to a lack of swimming teachers. All of the Year 2 students will go to the Recreation Centre at approximately 12:20pm. Half of the students will swim, whilst the other half complete education packs under the supervision of their class teacher.    All classes are being bussed to and from the lessons.

To assist with changing, all students can wear their sports uniform every day for the two weeks. We would welcome any parent assistance. If you are available, please meet the classes at the pools.

Kindy & Pre-Primary Playground Update

I am very happy to share that, all going to plan, the clearing of the Kindy/Pre-Primary play area should commence this week. The new play area will feature a two-story wooden cubby house, a longer bike path, a central sandpit, and a longer grassed play area. Whilst these modifications are completed, our Pre-Primary students will continue to play in the turtle playground, whilst transitioning to play on the small grass oval, nature play area and the climbing playground. Our Kindy students will use the turtle playground and have “excursions” to other school play areas when they are not being utilised by other classes.

Uniform Reminders for all students Pre-Primary to Year 6

• The school skort was introduced to replace the formal skirt. 
• The skort is part of our formal uniform
• The skort can only be worn to school on Mondays and Wednesdays for students in Years 1 to 6.
• The skort is not to be worn with the sports uniform.  
• Our Pre-Primary students are not allowed to wear the skort.
• The Pre-Primary uniform is the sports uniform with the red school shirt. 

We ask parents to please abide by this dress code and ensure their child is dressed appropriately.

P&F Meeting Minutes

All St Matthew’s parents are part of our P&F and are, therefore, invited to attend all P&F meetings. The next meeting will be held on 20 November at 6:00pm. The minutes from the last meeting can be found in the Community section of the website.

Sickness

Many school and community members are suffering from colds, flu and/or COVID. Please keep your child home if they have any symptoms such as sore throat, high temperature, snotty nose or cough. Parents will be asked to collect their children from school if they present at school with these symptoms. 

Year 6 Graduation

The Year 6 Graduation ceremony will be held in the Sr Mary Library on Wednesday 6 December at 6pm, and followed by a dinner in the Sr Isobel Hall at 7pm. This is a lovely way to conclude our Year 6’s Primary School journey. In order to ensure this runs smoothly,  I would like 4 community members to assist with serving, clearing and washing dishes. Any volunteers are welcome to join us for dinner and wiil be paid a small amount for their time. I suggest that this might suit senior high school students, however, would welcome any help offered.

Scoliosis Awareness

The Physiotherapy Department of the Southern Wheatbelt Primary Health Service will deliver an education session regarding scoliosis awareness and screening in Term 4. The presentation will be delivered via an online platform on 1 November from 7pm and will be approximately one hour in duration. Interested parents will be able to register for the presentation via the online link on the flyer available through the school app.

Volunteers’ Afternoon Tea

On behalf of all the happy St Matthew’s staff and students, I would like to invite all of our hard-working and generous volunteers to a Thank You Volunteers’ Afternoon Tea at 1:30pm on Wednesday 22 November in the Undercover Area. This will be followed by the Rock Band Assembly at 2pm. So, whether you have listened to reading, helped in the Library, timed at carnivals or cut up fruit in Kindy, please join us on this afternoon so that we can thank you all in person.

Staffing 2024

All staffing information for 2024 will be announced in the Week 8 newsletter. Please refrain from asking teachers any questions regarding this prior to this date.

Important Dates

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

• PP – Yr 2 swimming lessons commence Monday 6 November
• Remembrance Day Ceremony Yrs 4 – 6    10 November
• School Band Performance  22 November
• Cricket Carnival Yrs 4 – 6     24 November
• Christmas Concert/ Sundowner/ Disco    29 November  
• Awards Assembly    1 December
• Thanksgiving Mass  6 December  
• Year 6 Graduation     6 December
• Student’s first day back 2024   31 January 2024

Principal Focus – School Attendance Matters

As mentioned in this newsletter, we recognise and are sympathetic to the fact that legitimate illness is a valid reason for reduced attendance. Especially, in the current environment, we support and encourage parents to keep their child home if they are suffering from any symptoms of illness. However, as partners with parents  in the education of their child, it is important to point out that reduced attendance has a large impact on academic learning. In order to access the full curriculum, and give your child the best chance of success, Catholic Education WA recommends the rate of 90% – 100% as ‘Regular Attendance’. When attendance falls below this level it indicates a student may be at risk of not reaching their full potential. The chart below gives a breakdown of the amount of time missed in a year, and if maintained, how it impacts the future education of your child. 

In order to support families in ensuring that their child/ren attend school,  I will be contacting any parents of children at risk by phone to discuss any problems with getting your child to school. Parents will then be required to attend a meeting at the school to discuss ways we can support you to improve your child’s attendance. Please contact the school if you require any further assistance in helping your child to improve their attendance so that together we can optimise their learning opportunities.

Stay well,

Mrs Susan Milton

Principal