Presidents Welcome

Presidents Newsletter Term 3 2020

Welcome fellow Parents,

I would like to introduce myself as the new President of Catholic School Parents WA. My name is Catherine Howarth and I am a mum of two boys, year 4 and year 1 at a Catholic Primary School in the northern suburbs. I also work as a Clinical Nurse at the local hospital. My family moved from the UK to Perth 5½ years ago. When my first child started Kindy, I joined what was then PFFWA to help me understand how the Australian system, especially Catholic education, worked here in WA and here I am 4 years in and now President. Through volunteering with CSPWA I feel I have come a long way in understanding how schools work. As a result, I have also been able to provide support to other parents along the way and hope I can continue to do so. It has deepened my relationships in the school community and highlighted for me, the value of parent engagement in learning and how difficult this is at times. I am actively involved with both the P&F Association and school board at my children’s school.

With Term 3 coming to an end, spring now underway and summer fast approaching, these school holidays will hopefully be similar to those in the past as the easing of restrictions allow us to return to some form of normality. With some schools allowing parents to again be present on school grounds including entering the classroom over the last few weeks and hopefully next term, the calendar will be filling up with school events, assemblies and end of year performances. We should remember how lucky we are to have been able to do this. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved for making this possible.

Earlier in the year, CSPWA held several zoom ‘re-connect’ meetings. As a result of these online get-togethers, parents suggested they would like to continue these ‘cluster’ type meetings face to face once it was safe to do so. The meetings provide an opportunity for diverse parent groups to share ideas for building school/community relationships as well as ideas for fundraising as we move forward.  Please see further information about these meetings later in this newsletter.

To the year 12 students and families who are coming towards the end of their school journey, I wish you good luck and well done for getting through this extraordinary year. However, there is still one more hurdle to get over for some and that is of course exams! Whether your child is in year 12 and completing external exams or whether they are doing internal exams, included in this newsletter are some tips and advice for keeping everyone on the right track for what can be a stressful time for many families.

As you already know CSPWA had to postpone the conference which was scheduled for earlier this year, however with the assistance of the technology team at CEWA will be hosting a virtual ‘mini’ conference on Saturday 17 October. The office staff are currently finalising the speakers who will be covering topics relevant to parents in all year groups from Kindy through to year 12. Our sincere thanks to Ben Beaton and his team at CEWA for their assistance with this, it is greatly appreciated.

We are always looking for inspiring stories from your school communities to share with others. St Maria Goretti’s CPS has come up trumps with their story of what can be achieved with lots of volunteering hours, financial support by the P&F Association and some very astute budgeting.  If you have a story you would like to share please contact the office on 08 9338 9985 or email admin@csp.wa.edu.au

I would also like to take the opportunity to congratulate Siobhan Allen, Executive Director of CSPWA on her election to Deputy Chair of Catholic School Parents Australia, the national body advocating on behalf of parents who choose a Catholic education for their children across Australia. Siobhan has been a West Australian representative on this body since its inception in 2013 and has played an active role during this time.

Before I sign off, I would ask you all to keep our year 3 and year 4 students in your thoughts and prayers as many of them are currently receiving the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Eucharist. An incredibly special time for both students and their families!

We are also delighted that the Sacrament of Confirmation may now be celebrated in accordance with some directives from the Archdiocese of Perth. Each Parish Priest will make appropriate decisions about this matter after consultation with his sacramental team and other advisors. Some Confirmations may still be postponed until 2021.

Until next time stay safe and God Bless!

Catherine Howarth

President CSPWA