CSPWA Welcome to Term 4 Newsletter 2019
- Welcome to Term 4
- Leavers 2020-Parents Guide
- Australian Parents Council Survey
- Tips on how to handle exam stress
- Awards of Excellence photos
- Catholic School Parents Australia Parent Engagement Toolkit
- Parent Group Induction Evening
- Fast Food for Carnaby's Cockatoos
- CSPWA Conference 2020 - Save the Date!
Term 4 is almost always a milestone term. Thoughts of transition into primary school, transition into secondary and for me this year transition out of school altogether! Many of you, like me, will have a child going through all the ‘lasts’ in this term, last school assembly, last sportsman dinner, last whole school Mass in addition to the great traditions that our schools have built over the years. I watched with high emotion the ‘boater throw’ at St Brigid’s College last week, and which my Year 12 daughter participated in this year. I have delighted in this tradition over the past six years and can hardly believe that our time came around so quickly to participate. However, besides the lovely tradition of the event I was particularly touched by the joy and love that was present in the young women there last Thursday. My hope for all of them is that in addition to achieving their full potential in whatever road they travel after school, that they hold onto the great friendships they have developed over the past six years at secondary school. It has been a joy watching my daughter and the friends she made at the Year 7 camp, develop over the years. They have grown together, cried together, laughed together (lots of laughing!!!) and learned the importance of being there for and supporting each other. Their friendships have also led to new friendships for me with their parents. This is what we seek in our Catholic school communities and I have been fortunate to have been part of three wonderful school communities during my children’s educational journey. A big shout out to Sacred Heart School in Mundaring, Mazenod College and of course St Brigids College – thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your assistance in the education of my children. Catholic education rocks!
As you can probably tell that although my children are ready and prepared for the next step, I am not! Thankfully my position with Catholic School Parents WA will hopefully enable me to be a part of other families journeys through school, with our continued advocacy in the area of Parent and Family Engagement in Learning and our new focus for next year around helping parents and schools build and development great and effective relationships. Good relationships are critical and underpin so much of what we do. As members of Catholic school communities we are called to respect the dignity of each and every person and to work for the common good. These will be key themes of our work for next year.
But back to Term 4, this newsletter provides information and advice around managing exam stress, Leavers (!!!!) and the CSPWA induction evening early next year.
We are also including a survey which we hope you will find time to complete. The survey is seeking information regarding current communication strategies in our schools. What works really well and what doesn’t?
On a very sad note CSPWA send our sincere condolences to the St Jerome’s Primary School community on the very sad passing of their friend, mum and past president of the P&F Association at the school – Sophia Hicks. Sophia was a tireless worker as part of the P&F and contributed immensely to the positive and vibrant culture of the school. Sophia was also a great champion of CSPWA and we are so appreciative of her input and support over the years. Sophia sadly leaves her husband and three young children and they will all be in our thoughts and prayers over the next weeks and months.
There is one more newsletter to come at the end of this term so in the meantime, enjoy everything that Term 4 brings. Take time to enjoy all the lasts, whether it is the last term in Year 3, last term in Primary school or indeed last term in Secondary school.
Please don’t hesitate to contact our office if you seek any information or if you would like a member of CSPWA to visit your school.
Enjoy the rest of the term.
Warm regards
Siobhan
Leavers has become a part of the Year 12 social calendar. It is an exciting time for teenagers as they celebrate completing their schooling and moving into a new phase of their life.
Leavers is a four-day celebratory period that marks the completion of Year 12 and transition into independent adulthood for students in Western Australia. Referred to as Schoolies in other Australian states, such celebratory events have become increasingly popular over time, providing an opportunity for students to celebrate and socialise with their peers.
Click on the logos below to find a
- Information to help plan your Leavers;
- What you need to know about your Leavers wristband;
- Advice for parents and guardians; and
- Tips for you to stay safe during Leavers and where to go for help if something goes wrong.
- Student & Parent Kit
The APC conducts an annual national survey on current topics of interest. This year's survey looks at what builds a good home-school relationship and what can be improved, from the unique perspective of parents.
The survey is open to all parents of school age children in Australia, is anonymous and takes just a few minutes to complete. We will publish the results in December and use what we discover to inform government policy and at a local level, assist schools and parents to understand each other's perspective and work better together. Your participation is important and we value your perspective.
Click on the following link to complete a quick survey. HERE
Here are some photos of the winners of our Awards of Excellence in Building Positive Catholic School Communities.
Parish winners -St Bernadette's Parish, Port Kennedy
and
Parent Group winners -St Elizabeth's Catholic Primary School, Hocking
Watch this space in our next newsletter for photos of our other winners.
The Gearing up for Parent Engagement in Student Learning toolkit has been developed for families and schools to help make the transition into primary and secondary school a great experience for children and young people.
This information will assist the unique relationship between parent and child to flourish into a meaningful partnership between home and school towards improving the learning and wellbeing of students.
To access this new resource click HERE
STEM 2020
Fast Food for Carnaby’s Cockatoos
Doing your bit to save our rare cockies from extinction
South Western Australia is home to three types of black cockatoos – Carnabys, Forest Red Tails and Baudins. Currently these beautiful birds can be spotted in large groups, but we are at risk of losing them forever. Once in their millions, they have dwindled to just a few thousand birds and face extinction within a few years. Land clearing, burning and loss tall trees means these amazing birds are running out of food.
But we can help! If every school does its bit by planting nut trees, we can help bridge the food gap.
Why nut trees? It’s simple. The black cockatoos need lots of food. Almonds, pecans and macadamias grow really fast, providing great food for these birds. Healthy well fed cockatoos are able to raise healthy offspring, building up their family numbers again.
If each family and school plant a few pecans, almonds and macadamias we will have the many thousands of trees we need to save our precious cockies from extinction.
Nut-free schools can still plant native Banksia, jarrah and marri trees, but while we wait for these trees to mature our cockies will have their fast-food options courtesy of nut trees.
This is a great STEM 2020 project for CEWA schools. To find out how to get involved, contact Marion Cahill – CEWA STEM / Science Consultant: 6380 5305 or marion.cahill@cewa.edu.au
Growing Hints:
- Best time for planting is late autumn / early winter
- Pecans are a wonderful shade tree that work well on verges, lawns and playgrounds. Full sun and water are required to establish the plant, so water well for the first few summers. Being deciduous, you will have wonderful winter sunshine.
- Almonds are fast growing and flower in late winter so are a bonus for our native bees. They form a shapely, small, deciduous tree and prefer full sun. A real beauty in the landscape.
- Macadamia are the slowest growing but produce a high-quality crop of nuts that Carnaby’s adore. A full sun to part shade position is best for this evergreen small tree.
Find out more information about the black cockatoos on https://birdlife.org.au/projects/southwest-black-cockatoo-recovery
STEM 2020
Fast Food for Carnaby’s Cockatoos
Doing your bit to save our rare cockies from extinction
South Western Australia is home to three types of black cockatoos – Carnabys, Forest Red Tails and Baudins. Currently these beautiful birds can be spotted in large groups, but we are at risk of losing them forever. Once in their millions, they have dwindled to just a few thousand birds and face extinction within a few years. Land clearing, burning and loss tall trees means these amazing birds are running out of food.
But we can help! If every school does its bit by planting nut trees, we can help bridge the food gap.
Why nut trees? It’s simple. The black cockatoos need lots of food. Almonds, pecans and macadamias grow really fast, providing great food for these birds. Healthy well fed cockatoos are able to raise healthy offspring, building up their family numbers again.
If each family and school plant a few pecans, almonds and macadamias we will have the many thousands of trees we need to save our precious cockies from extinction.
Nut-free schools can still plant native Banksia, jarrah and marri trees, but while we wait for these trees to mature our cockies will have their fast-food options courtesy of nut trees.
This is a great STEM 2020 project for CEWA schools. To find out how to get involved, contact Marion Cahill – CEWA STEM / Science Consultant: 6380 5305 or marion.cahill@cewa.edu.au
Growing Hints:
- Best time for planting is late autumn / early winter
- Pecans are a wonderful shade tree that work well on verges, lawns and playgrounds. Full sun and water are required to establish the plant, so water well for the first few summers. Being deciduous, you will have wonderful winter sunshine.
- Almonds are fast growing and flower in late winter so are a bonus for our native bees. They form a shapely, small, deciduous tree and prefer full sun. A real beauty in the landscape.
- Macadamia are the slowest growing but produce a high-quality crop of nuts that Carnaby’s adore. A full sun to part shade position is best for this evergreen small tree.
Find out more information about the black cockatoos on https://birdlife.org.au/projects/southwest-black-cockatoo-recovery