President's Welcome
With Term 2 firmly upon us, our children are hopefully settled in their school routines with the older students working well towards their goals and the early years children finding their feet in their new learning environments and gaining good traction in the classroom and playground.
We remain in the season of Easter which means many of our upper primary students are currently being prepared to receive the strengthening and beautiful Sacrament of Confirmation. This is such a special time in the children’s lives, even though many of them may not appreciate it, they will be well equipped for the many challenges ahead in their faith life. It would be especially lovely to remember these children and their families, parish priests and teachers in our prayers during this blessed time.
As we are headed for both a Federal Election (sometime before September 2025) and State Election (8 March 2025), members of CSPWA are currently meeting with as many politicians as we can to ascertain how they intend to support families who choose a Catholic Education for their children. We have not only put forward our requests to the politicians, but importantly, ensured they are aware of the contribution that parents and families make to the economies of both the state and nation by choosing a Catholic education for our children. Whilst we continue to be grateful for the financial assistance currently received from both Federal and State governments, it is important that all are aware of the very real benefits that choosing a Catholic Education brings to the state and national economies. It is important that as parents we are aware of the funding arrangements for our schools, which enable us to have meaningful and relevant conversations with our elected representatives. As always, if you need any assistance with this, please don’t hesitate to contact the office.
During May we will be celebrating National Volunteers Week. As CSPWA celebrates it's 70th Anniversary, I am sure that our Catholic Schools would not have prospered the way they have had it not been for the enormous efforts of all those parents, caregivers and friends who built, maintained, and coordinated fundraising efforts for all of our schools harking back to the 1840s. I personally thank each and every one of you for what you do in our schools to benefit many children, not just your own. We know that our children (sometimes secretly) love it when we parents are involved in their schools, whether it be listening to reading, attending busy bees, participate in committees, assist with sports days, cover books, sell tickets in the music or sports departments raffles and so on, our children know that we care and are INTERESTED in them! Throughout the 23 years I had children in the Catholic education system, I know my children benefitted not just from our family’s voluntary efforts but enormously from the collective efforts of so many others – many known to us, some who have become long-term friends, but so many who have gone before as well.
I wish you well as the year progresses, and I hope that Term 2 is a very productive one for all of our P&Fs and Friends groups. Please remember that the office staff is only an email or phone call away for helpful suggestions, a listening ear or indeed some advice to help you prosper as a group and school community.
As this is my final newsletter as president of CSPWA and indeed it is my final few weeks as a councillor, it would be remiss of me to not thank the very many people who have made my time as part of this organization a very happy and productive 13 years of my life. I have learnt so much more than I ever expected to and hopefully have contributed to the betterment of the relationships of parents within the school community. To the many councillors who have served with me, and the office staff; Jonelle, Jennifer, Nicole and especially Siobhan … “Thank you for all you have done, are currently doing, and will do in the future to further the cause of assisting parents of children in Catholic Schools”. To the Catholic School communities my children have belonged to: Mater Christi Catholic Primary School, Trinity College and Mercedes College, I thank you for the opportunities you have afforded my children and our family. My time of involvement in the P&Fs of each of these schools has been so wonderfully fruitful – from attending my first P&F meeting to ask some questions of the school leadership when my eldest son was in Kindy in 2001, to my final P&F meeting Term 4 2023, I have loved the involvement and the opportunity to be fully engaged in my four children’s education.
I look forward to meeting many of you at the CSPWA Awards of Excellence and Conference dinner on the 7th of June and the Conference itself on the 8th.
God bless.
Marina