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Whitford Catholic Primary School
18/03/2015
DATES TO REMEMBER
NEWSLETTER
Issue No 7
Best wishes to all our Irish Friends and Families who celebrated
St Patrick’s Day yesterday.
This St Patrick’s prayer captures the wonderful spirit that made him Ireland’s
patron Saint and one of the church’s most beloved missionaries:
18th Mar – P&F Meeting, 7.30pm
19th Mar – 6G Surfing, 9.00am
20th Mar – Harmony Day – wear orange
25th Mar – First Reconciliation Ceremony, 7pm
26th Mar – 6G Surfing, 9.00am
27th Mar – Interschool Swimming Carnival (Arena)
27th Mar – Assembly (2G), 2.15pm
31st Mar – Learning Journey (K-6) 3 – 4.30pm
1st Apr – Easter Liturgy, 11.00am
st
1 Apr – LAST DAY OF TERM 1
2nd Apr – Pupil Free Day
Dear Parents,
Farewell Mrs Mary Rafferty
I take this opportunity of informing the school community that Mrs Mary Rafferty, who has
been a teacher at WCPS for the past 25 years, has notified the School Board of her intention to
retire at the end of this term. As Mary is currently on Long Service Leave, we will celebrate her
many contributions to the life of our children and community at a school mass next Wednesday
25 March @ 9.00am. An invitation can be found further in this newsletter.
Mrs Phillips and Mrs Hannaford will continue in their roles in the Year 2W class until the end of the year.
This year Whitford Catholic Primary School has been asked by the Catholic Education Office to
participate in the School Climate Survey conducted by Insight SRC in schools from 28 April – 8 May.
Staff, students, School Board members and sixty parents who have been randomly selected will be
asked to complete the survey. Information attained from this survey in regard to our school culture
will help to determine important future focus areas for our school. As such, if selected, your support
in completing the survey would be very much appreciated. Thank you in anticipation.
It was fantastic to see just how engaged our Year 3 children were during their Reconciliation Retreat
on Tuesday. They are such a gorgeous little group and we wish them and their families well when
they make their First Reconciliation next Wednesday evening.
VIP WINNERS – FLORIAN HAIGH (KINDY W)
AND FAMILY
I am currently conducting Kindergarten interviews for new families hoping to join our school in 2016.
If you know of anyone who has not enrolled as yet, please encourage them to do so as soon as
possible.
As the term continues to quickly disappear, there are a few important dates to remember: Year 2G
Assembly, Interschool Swimming Carnival, Learning Journeys and our Easter Liturgy.
On a finishing note, a huge thank you must go to the P&F committee for their organisation of
Despicable Me 2 last Friday evening. Although the weather wasn't conducive to the outdoors, the
school hall was an excellent venue and the evening was well attended. A fabulous night all round
with a special visit from Dave to just add to the excitement!
Are you dropping your children off on Marmion Avenue?
On Monday we were yet again advised by a local resident that there are parents of school children
still pulling out of traffic on Marmion Avenue to drop children off on the sidewalk behind the school.
Apparently the police have been alerted and if it applies to any Whitford parents, we suggest that
you refrain from contributing to this traffic hazard.
DAVE AT THE MOVIE NIGHT WITH FRIENDS!!
Locked gates…….
Just a reminder that the school gates will be locked at 9.30am each morning and then unlocked by
2.30pm each day. All parents entering the school grounds between these times will need to do so
through the front entrance.
WINTER UNIFORM
A reminder to all parents that the full winter
school uniform is to be worn from the first
day of Term 2. The Uniform Shop will be
open for the next 2 Thursdays, March 19th and
26th, from 8.15am until 9.30am. You can also
download an order form from the school
website and hand in to your child’s class for
the uniform shop to complete and return prior
to 26th March.
If by any chance you are driving or walking past the school and notice that the gates either on
Barradine Way or by the oval are not locked, please contact the front office.
Thank you for your support in helping us keep your children safe.
Many blessings
Tamara McGougan
PRINCIPAL
ABSENTEE LINE: 9404 4244
TELEPHONE: 9404 4200 FAX: 9401 8090
Email Address: [email protected]
Website: http://whitfordcatholicps.wa.edu.au
P&F NEWS
Thank you to all the families who came along to the Despicable Me 2
screening in the gym last Friday. It was a great turn out and all involved
had fun. We are currently arranging a WCPS screening of the new
release "HOME" during the school holidays at the Whitford Cinemas so
watch this space in coming weeks for more information.
CANTEEN NEWS
Please remember to bring in your Easter Eggs, raffle tickets and
business cards for the WCPS Business Directory.
Nadine Cooperwhite
P&F PRESIDENT
Thursday 19th March
Recess:
Gluten Free Pikelet
70c
Chicken Crackles
$1.20
Roster:
Jacinta Broadley, Alexa Bunschoten, Bec McKimmie
SOCIAL WORKER NEWS
Michael Grose – Managing Sibling Conflict
www.parentingideas.com.au
Children in families often tell stories or tales about each other to their
parents. And they are not always complimentary. Tale telling is often an
attempt to draw you into children’s disputes. And don’t they work as the
‘good parent’, comes to the fore and wants to solve kids’ issues.
It is useful to acknowledge their feelings but not to become too involved
in an issue that should belong to them. Avoid being the White Knight
repeatedly rescuing victims, Judge Judy (or Josh) who passes judgement
on one or either of the perpetrators or the Concerned Cop who always
tries to keep the peace.
The key is to place the onus back on kids to resolve their own disputes.
This is a BIG FAMILY strategy. If you had six or eight kid you would be
too busy to respond to children’s tales of the less than serious variety.
Here are some responses to try when a child comes to you with
tale or story about the dastardly, terrible things that his or her
sibling did or said to them:
1. Point to the Disaster Scale: “Where does this fit on the disaster
scale from 1 to 10?” Kids can easily blow issues out of proportion so
that a child taking a siblings’ sock is suddenly two rungs above an axe
murderer and losing socks is suddenly the worst thing that can happen.
The Disaster Scale helps kids gain a little perspective.
2. Invite them to solve the issue themselves: “Can you handle this
yourself? Is this something you can deal with?” You’ll never know if you
don’t give them a go! Put the issue back on the kids to resolve. It’s not
that you don’t want to help but really some things don’t need your help!
3. Use the shock tactic: “What would you like me to do about this?”
This is my favourite response as it puts the onus back on to the child. Be
prepared for surprises though as some kids just want you to lock their
sibling in a tiny room and for you to throw away the key!
4. Work out problem-ownership: “Does this problem really involve
you?” Some children just love to get involved in disputes that don’t
involve them but they love to get a certain ‘sibling into trouble’. Don’t be
drawn into such disputes or else you will soon be doing the ‘sibling
dance’ with them, with the ‘tell taler’ taking the lead.
5. Put them in the same boat: “I’ll listen to both of you when you
can tell me the same story.” This is the first step in the conflict
resolution cycle. If two children have a tale of woe, get them to agree
on the story they tell. This is usually enough to resolve the dispute.
6. The pen and paper approach: “Can you write down what
happened? Give one child and pen and the other a piece of paper and
invite them to write down exactly what happened. A considered written
response will be taken very seriously by parents.
We all have our own responses to kids’ annoying behaviours. Some are
learned from our own family and some we just develop all by ourselves.
It’s good sometimes to come out of ‘left field’ with the things you say
and do. It helps keep life interesting as well as keep your kids on their
toes. Spontaneity and curiosity are healthy qualities to promote in
families.
Responding to annoying, repetitive tales gives you a chance to be a little
spontaneous and creative. Just make sure you maintain your children’s
dignity and yours in the process.
Elaine Mahon
SOCIAL WORKER
Available Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays
[email protected]
A huge thank you to everyone who started ordering online. It
makes it a lot easier for us.
WHEN ORDERING ONLINE PLEASE REMEMBER TO TICK THE BOX - UNDER
EXTRAS - TO ADD 10C FOR A BAG
Monday 23rd March
Recess:
Chicken Crackles
$1.20
Mini Cupcakes
60c
Roster:
Mel Zuchetti, Wendy Scanlan, Andrea Kenny
Thursday 26th March - Pastry Free Day
wrong orders will be substituted with a Salad Sandwich
Recess:
Pizza Scrolls
$1.30
Lamington Finger
60c
Roster:
Tanya Ford, Carissa Tang Nian, Leanne Gott
Monday 30th March – End of Term Special
Dominos Pizza
1/4 Pizza & Juice box $5.00
Your choice of:
- BBQ Meatlovers – bacon, pepperoni, ham, beef, sausage, mozzarella, BBQ
Sauce
- Hawaiian - ham and pineapple
- Simply cheese - just cheese
Please send money and BAG with name, class and choice of order into
school via your class message box or Canteen no later than Wednesday
25th March 12pm. No late orders will be accepted after this date. (If you
do not have a bag please send extra 10c for bag). No other lunch orders
will be available on the day. Recess will be as normal.
If ordering online you will find it under End of Term special, plus add 10c for
a bag.
Recess:
Mini Pizza
$1.30
Muffin
$1.50
Roster:
Yvette Frost, Renee Dineen, Rachel DiGirolami
Kerry Craker and Nicole Waldmeier
CANTEEN COORDINATORS
SCHOOL BANKING NEWS
WOW, thank you to all who came on Tuesday and signed their children up to
the School Banking program. Before we can give your children their student
numbers to link their accounts to the school, the Commonwealth Bank will
need to input the accounts into their system. The children are still able to
start banking next week, just leave the student number blank and we will fill
that out for you as this information comes to hand.
To encourage regular savings behaviour the program offers an exciting
Rewards Program. Every deposit earns your child a Dollarmite token, and
once they’ve collected 10 tokens they can redeem them for a reward.
The reward items available during 2015 are:

ET DVD, released Term 1

Planet Handball, released Term 1

Invisible Ink Martian Pen, released Term 2

Intergalactic Rocket, released Term 2

Glow-in-the-Dark Solar System, released Term 3

Cosmic Light Beam Torch, released Term 3

Outer Space Savers Money Box, released Term 4

Lunar Light Band, released Term 4
There are quite a few students who have not filled in their request for
rewards. If you have reached ten deposits please fill it in so we can order a
reward for you.
Happy Banking
THE BANKING CREW
Go to the people: Listen to them.
Learn from them. Love them.
Catherine McAuley
Don’t Miss His Voice: Father Joe spoke this week of how the hustle
and bustle of our lives can cause us to miss God’s voice in the midst of
everyday life. In Harmony week we are especially reminded that we see
God in every face we encounter. Imagine that the person you are
looking at, engaging with, is Jesus. Listen for God’s guidance before you
speak. As Elijah found, God is heard, not in the wind, not in an
earthquake, not in a fire…but in the soft whisper of a voice. 1Kings
19:11-13
Kids of Mercy: It is so lovely to see the new Year 1 children embracing
the experience of visiting the ladies. Smiles all round. The visits are
brief, only 20 minutes, but they bring a lot of joy to the Sisters and
ladies at Mercyville. Children should expect to be rostered on twice per
semester. On the Fridays they do attend, they would need to meet
promptly in front of the office when the second lunch bell sounds. We
then proceed to Mercyville and meet with the ladies in their common
room for a chat, show and tell or music performance. We leave in time
to start classes at 1.40pm. If you would like your child to be involved
please fill out the slip below and return it to the office or myself in the
library. All participants from last year, who would like to
continue, need to re-enrol. Slips are available at the office.
This week, Week 7, the children attending are: XAVIER ZUCHETTI 1B,
MOLLY JONES 2B, HUGH GORMAN 2G, CALIN PURSELL 2W,
SAMANTHA McKIMMIE 3B, JASMINE FROST 3G, EDWARD
JONES 4B, SAMUEL ZUCHETTI 4G, TIARNI BUTTER 5B, CARLA
DIGIROLAMI 5G, OLIVER FROST 5G AND FAYE DOHERTY 6B.
Remember to bring some show and tell. It helps to keep the
conversation going.
PE NEWS
INTERSCHOOL SWIMMING CARNIVAL 27TH MARCH @ ARENA
JOONDALUP
Our Interschool swimming team has been training very hard in
preparation for the Interschool Carnival. I encourage all Interschool
swimmers to attend as much training as possible and a reminder that
breakfast is provided back at school for those students who attend
training. Any parents who are attending the carnival and would like to
help out on the day, please see me a.s.a.p.
RUNNING CLUB
Due to bad weather this morning, Running Club was cancelled and will
return next Wednesday morning at 8 am (providing the weather is fine!).
Faction Captains and Sports Ministry students are asked to assist with
the Running Club in the morning.
YEAR 6 OUTDOOR EDUCATION WALK @ NEIL HAWKINS PARK –
MONDAY 30TH MARCH
All Year 6 students will be attending a walk trail in the beautiful Neil
Hawkins Park in Joondalup. Students will depart school at 8:45am and
return to school at 12:30pm for lunch. Information will be given to
students today and I am still in need of 2 parent helpers for the day.
Please see me a.s.a.p if you are able to attend.
Adriano D’Adamo
PE SPECIALIST
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ CORNER
PROJECT COMPASSION
The green cordial stall coordinated by Student Leaders and the Christian
Ministry to commemorate St Patrick’s day was a great success. All in all we
raised $89 which will go towards our Project Compassion total. A special
mention must also go to 3 Gold who last week raised an amazing $137. Our
target is still $930 and we are well on the way to that. Remember to look at
this week’s Lenten calendar to see how you can help.
Remember to wear orange for Harmony Day this Friday.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
A reminder the ceremony will take place on Wednesday the 25th March at
7:00pm.
Catharine Hughes & Andrew De Maio
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS
LIBRARY NEWS
Technology Ministry: Come into the library and get to know your
Technology Ministry leaders. Rosie, Olivia, Georgia, Aphie, Jacob and Josh
are available to help you with any computer questions and teach board
games to those who would like to learn. This week the great paper plane fly
off took place with much excitement and just a little bit of wonder and awe.
Year 4 vs Year 5: Year 5G and Year 4B have done it again. This is
becoming a battle royale. The jelly snakes are nervous. All classes can bring
their books back on time to be part of the action.
Library Days are:
Tuesday:
Year 6s, PP White, Year 1 Blue & White.
Wednesday:
Year 3 Blue, Year 2s.
Thursday:
Year 5s, Year 1 Gold, PP Blue and Gold, Year 4 Blue
Friday:
Year 4 Gold and Year 3 Gold.
Library Quiz: Congratulations to Tina Algeri 5G, for correctly naming St
Patrick as having his feast day on 17th March This week: How many months
of the year have 30 days?
See you in the Library. St Jerome, pray for us.
Mrs Annette Lynch
TEACHER/LIBRARIAN
GELATI DAY
The gelati van will be at our school on Friday 20th March to help celebrate
Harmony Day. Children from Pre-Primary to Year 6 can enjoy many yummy
flavours of gelati for $3.50 each. Money is to be sent to your child’s class on
the day only. The van will be available after school for anyone who would
like extra ice cream.
Antonietta D’Alessandro
ITALIAN SPECIALIST
HBF Run for a Reason - Nate's Mates
Our school team has been set up - Whitford Catholic Primary School
Nate's Mates. http://hbfrunfundraising.com.au/event/hbfrun2015
The link above takes you to a page where you can ENTER the team for the
run &/or DONATE (search Whitford Catholic Primary School) to Nate's
cause. Nate's story is on the fundraising page and details the struggles and
courage shown by Nate and his family since last year. So get on board, tell
all your family and friends to join our team (we would love to win largest
school team again) and support Nate as well.
COMMUNITY NOTICE BOARD
Institute of Technical Football is running School Holiday Skills Clinics in
the Easter School Holidays from Tuesday 7th – Friday 10th of April run by
Head Coach Daniel Buhagiar!
Venue: Charles Riley Reserve, Williamson Way, North Beach Cost is $55 per
player for 4 days! To register: Fill in the application form at
www.technicalfootball.com.au Limited spots available so get in quick!
For more information contact ITF: Daniel – 0413 303 652 or
www.technicalfootball.com.au or [email protected]
JUNIOR FISHING CLINIC April 2015
3 Day Clinic Cost $200 Age 9 – 16, Tuesday 7th 9am to 12pm - Learn how to
rig a rod, casting practice and games, safety on the water and on boats.
Wednesday 8th 7am to 1pm - Boat Fishing, Sausage Sizzle.
Thursday 9th 7am to 1pm - Boat Fishing, Sausage Sizzle, Weigh In
Competition and prizes. Contact Mel - T 9246 2833 E
[email protected]
www.hillarysyachtclub.com.au
CONGRATULATIONS
To Ella McCaughey 5 Blue & Zac McCulloch 6 Blue for being cast in the
upcoming Musicals in Concert at Perth convention centre on the 17th of May
starring the amazing Rhonda Burchmore.