Welcome to Term 4
Welcome to Term 4!
Although we still have two months to go before Christmas is upon us, the commencement of Term 4 starts us all thinking about the celebrations and joy of the season of Christmas. Term 4 is usually a flurry of activity across all parts of our school system, from families starting to prepare their young children for entry into kindy in their chosen school, to the wonderful Year 12’s who are completing the formal part of their education and getting ready to transition to the next phase of their lives. Thoughts of transition are also in the minds of Year 6 children and their families as they start the transition process to secondary school.
As we negotiate these important milestones of transition, it is important that, as parents, we participate in the process. We know that when parents work in partnership with schools that the outcomes will be positive for our children – this includes the transition process. Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA), the national body representing and advocating on behalf of parents in Catholic schools has developed a fantastic resource that assists both parents and schools with the transition process.
In addition to the international research that is available around this time of change, CSPA also conducted research across Australia, including here in WA, to provide authentic and contextual information to add to the resource. You will find a link to the resource further along in this newsletter.
The past week has been a busy one for staff and council members of CSPWA. Friday 16th October saw us celebrate the 10th year of the CSPWA Awards of Excellence in Building Positive School Communities and we were delighted this year to be invited to present them at the CEWA Staff Breakfast. With the postponement of our State Conference earlier in the year and being unable to present them directly to schools because of Covid-19 restrictions, Dr Debra Sayce, Executive Director CEWA, invited us to join in the celebrations at the Staff Breakfast where the CEWA Quality Catholic Education awards were also being presented. It certainly demonstrated the importance that both CEWA and CSPWA place on the vital partnership between families and schools. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the award winners and thank them for the wonderful work they do in our schools. You can read more about the event further down in the newsletter.
Saturday 17th October saw us approach our first Virtual Conference with trepidation as we had never attempted this type of event. We would like to specifically offer our thanks to Ben Beaton and his team at CEWA whose professionalism, expertise and above all patience (lots of patience!) helped us to manage this event.
Our sincere thanks to Dr Sayce and her leadership team for sharing the knowledge and expertise of those within CEWA, in this case, the Communications and Marketing team and the Digital Technology team and without whose help neither of these events would have been possible.
One last acknowledgement to go – and that is to our Year 12 young people. Year 12 is a big milestone in any young person’s life. It is filled with apprehension, excitement, many ‘lasts’ – last school camp, last whole school Mass, and so it goes on. It is a time of transition and preparation for what comes ahead. However, the Year 12’s from 2020 will also remember it as the year of Covid-19 and how that impacted on the many traditions, rights of passage, not to mention learning and studying. The 2020 Year 12’s will have firsthand experience of the importance of competencies like flexibility, responsibility, problem-solving and communication to name but a few. With the help of their schools and families, they have made it through with the knowledge that things don’t always go to plan. And if they don’t always go to plan there is always someone to help with the next step. Never be afraid to ask for that help. Just because you may have turned 18 does not mean you have to know everything. No-one is expected to know how to do something they have never done before.
The rest of the year will go very fast from here (not fast enough for some I suspect!) so take the time to enjoy it all and in the words of 18th-century Irish writer Jonathon Swift “may you live every day of your life”.
Until next time…..
Siobhan Allen