Welcome from our Executive Director - Siobhan Allen

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Term 3! Catholic School Parents WA extends a warm welcome to all families across our Catholic school communities. This time of year offers a valuable opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the past months and to look ahead with purpose and collaboration.

We were delighted to once again host the Awards of Excellence in Building Positive School Communities, last Friday evening at the Guildford Hotel. These awards recognise the outstanding efforts of parents, educators, and school leaders who contribute to the wellbeing and success of our children and young people. Approximately 100 attendees joined us to celebrate the individuals and groups who embody the values of inclusion, partnership, and faith in action. You can read more about the evening further down in the newsletter, including information about the nominees and recipients. As was mentioned on the evening, everyone who was nominated was a winner! The very fact that members of school communities took the time to sit down and write a nomination demonstrates the strong sense of gratefulness and thanks to all those whose work continues to inspire and uplift our communities.

We’re also excited to share with you the details of some upcoming webinars designed to support families in navigating key aspects of school life—from wellbeing and learning support to faith development and digital safety.  We hope to share more regularly, opportunities to access webinars from the comfort of home. We are very aware that many families have limited time during the day to engage in learning opportunities and we have responded to that by identifying webinars that we hope will address some of the challenges we are faced with as parents today. You will find registration details for some upcoming events further in the newsletter. We also hope to forward this type of information through the new P&F email addresses that have been created for all schools. Don’t forget to check that your school’s P&F email is up and running.

As we look ahead as an organisation, we are beginning to shape our workplan for the next couple of years and we want to hear from you. Your voice matters to us and we are keen to hear about the areas that are important to you and your family. What issues should Catholic School Parents WA focus on to better support families and strengthen our Catholic school communities?

We have put together a short survey that we would appreciate you completing in order to assist us with this work. It shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes, unless of course you have lots of ideas for us ?. You can access the survey later in this newsletter.

Before I sign off I would like to say a particular farewell to our young people who are completing Year 12. Term 3 is the final term for many of these young people and in many cases for families whose youngest child is in Year 12. For the year 12 cohort, CSPWA wish you all the very best as you move onto the next stage of life. The pathways are endless and don’t forget if the first one doesn’t work out the way you thought it might, try the next one. Remember that a gap year provides a great pathway for some, but only if is spent in a fruitful way. Whether your pathway starts with a gap year, university, TAFE or straight into the workforce we wish you all the very best. For those families whose youngest child is completing school, life also changes enormously. Your life is no longer governed by school terms, healthy lunches or parent/teacher meetings. This provides a sense of freedom in one sense but a little sadness in another. The life of a school is vibrant, challenging at times, but life giving.

Thank you as always for your continued partnership and commitment. When we work together in solidarity, we can truly add strength to our Catholic school communities.

Until next time.

Warm regards

Siobhan Allen