CSPWA President's Welcome
Having just been elected as the President of CSPWA I would like to take the opportunity to introduce myself. Originally from Limerick in Ireland, I have lived in Australia for the past twenty four years. I am married to Kellie, a proud Bunbury woman. We have three sons, all have been students at Bunbury Catholic College, our oldest is now a primary school teacher, one is currently studying in the mental health field and our youngest is currently in year 11. I have served on the P&F for eight years, six of those as President and have been a CSPWA councillor for the past three years. Working with the P&F and our wider school community has been incredibly rewarding. In my younger years I was told that service is a gift that you can give to others and to yourself and this has certainty been my experience on this journey.
Our Catholic faith constantly reminds us of the importance of service to our community. We are encouraged to use our talents for the benefit of those around us, to share our God given gifts for the betterment of all. When I was first asked to join the P&F I felt very much out of my depth, being completely honest, I didn’t believe I had the skill set or experience to make a useful contribution to the group. I have since discovered that this is not uncommon and can often prevent parents from getting involved. My strong suggestion to you is to put those doubts aside and get along to a P&F meeting. You will find a group of committed people who will welcome you and your experience with open arms.
With both a Federal and State election due over the next 12 months, it is vital that the Catholic school community stands together and highlights the disparity in current funding arrangements. As parents, we have chosen a Catholic Education for our children and have accepted that school fees are part of our commitment, however we should also expect reasonable support from our elected governments. Parents can play a major role in ensuring that we have a voice at the table, with over 82,000 students in Catholic Education in WA, our voice deserves to be heard. We should take the opportunity to remind our politicians of the importance we place on our right to choose a Catholic education for our children as they seek our votes in the months ahead. If you would like more information on this subject please contact the CSPWA office, the team will be glad to assist you.
September 12th is R U OK day and the theme this year is “Ask R U OK? Any Day because life happens every day”. The annual campaign is a national day of action highlighting the importance of meaningful conversations. The importance of mental health cannot be overstated and is a subject that we should never be afraid to broach with our children and each other. R U OK encourages Australians to check in with others all year around. Recent research commissioned by R U OK found that people who are regularly asked if they are okay feel more supported, connected and cared about. Let’s make a point of ensuring we check in with each other more often and show our young people that conversations around mental health are a normal and healthy part of our routine.
I hope that the rest of term 3 is rewarding for you and your children, spring is just around the corner as is the end of term break, a perfect time to relax and reset in our beautiful corner of the world,
God Bless
Alan Buckley