St Lawrence Primary School

386 Albert Street, Balcatta 6021

Phone: 08 9344 4944

admin@stlawbal.wa.edu.au

https://www.stlawbal.wa.edu.au/

The vision of St Lawrence Catholic Primary School, Balcatta is to share the message of God’s love and friendship in a community of learners, developing the full potential of each child.

Dear Families,

As we move through another busy and rewarding week at St Lawrence, we have been reflecting on the importance of connection, community and belonging.

As we approach the end of Term 3, we would like to thank our students, staff and families for their ongoing support throughout what has been another busy and rewarding term.

Sport Carnival

We would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the wonderful success of last week's Sports Carnival. The day was a fantastic celebration of participation and school spirit. It was wonderful to see our students embracing every event with enthusiasm, determination and encouragement for one another. Whether competing on the track, in the field events or cheering on their classmates, our students demonstrated exemplary sportsmanship and lived out our school values in a way that made us all proud.

It was fabulous to see the new school faction flags on display too! Big thanks to our P&F for making these possible.

A sincere thank you to Mrs Claire Major for her outstanding organisation and leadership in planning and coordinating the carnival. Events of this scale require a tremendous amount of preparation, and we are very grateful for the time she invested to ensure the day ran so smoothly.

We would also like to thank our dedicated staff and our incredible parent volunteers who helped make the day such a success. Many parents and staff arrived before school to assist with set-up and generously stayed well after the carnival concluded to pack away tents and equipment and ensure the oval was left clean and tidy. We also had our Fathering Group Dads on the BBQs and our families who supplied and sold cakes throughout the day. We simply could not run events of this magnitude without the support of our volunteers, and we are deeply grateful for the generosity and community spirit that was so evident throughout the day.

Summer Uniform

Students in Years 1 to 6 are required to wear the full summer uniform from the commencement of Term 4. Pre-Primary students will continue to wear their sports uniform.

To assist families with the transition, there will be a two-week grace period at the start of Term 4 during which students may continue to wear their winter uniform.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Next term, a number of our Year 3 students will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We ask families to keep these children in their prayers as they prepare for this important step in their faith journey.

We kindly request that at least one Year 3 parent attend the Parent Information Meeting on: Wednesday, 14 October

Other Important Dates

• Reconciliation Retreat Day: Tuesday, 20 October
• Reconciliation Celebration: Wednesday, 28 October

Bunnings Sausage Sizzle Fundraiser

The P&F will be holding a Bunnings Sausage Sizzle Fundraiser at Bunnings Balcatta on Sunday, 4 October.

We would greatly appreciate any assistance from parents and community members, whether by volunteering some time to help cook and serve or by dropping by with your family to purchase a sausage sizzle. Every contribution helps support our school community and is greatly appreciated.

Thank you to the P&F for organising this wonderful fundraising opportunity.

School Holiday Wishes

As we head into the school holidays, we hope all families enjoy some well-deserved rest, quality time together and the opportunity to recharge. Thank you for your partnership and support throughout the term.

Students will return to school on Monday 12 October 2026, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back refreshed and ready for an exciting and productive Term 4.

Wishing you all a safe, happy and restful holiday break.

Mrs Sarah Williams, Ms Kathleen Tranquille & Mr Reuben Brennan

School Leadership Team

We are pleased to share the strong results achieved by our Year 3 and Year 5 students in the 2026 NAPLAN assessments. These results reflect the continued efforts of our students, staff and families in supporting learning and growth across the curriculum.

Reading

Our Year 3 students achieved a score of 405, which was well above the State average and broadly in line with CEWA and National results. Year 5 students achieved an excellent score of 506, performing well above CEWA, State and National comparators. Year 5 students also demonstrated excellent growth, with results well above comparable CEWA, State and National growth. Student growth measures the progress Year 5 students have made since they last completed NAPLAN in Year 3 (2024).

Writing

Year 3 students achieved a strong score of 427, performing well against CEWA, State and National comparators. Year 5 students also achieved a strong result of 493, sitting well above comparable results. Student growth in Writing was also very positive, with growth above comparable measures.

Spelling

Year 3 students achieved a score of 390, broadly in line with CEWA and National results and above the State result. Year 5 students achieved a score of 482, demonstrating continued achievement in Spelling. Student growth was broadly consistent with CEWA, State and National comparators.

Grammar and Punctuation

Year 3 students achieved a score of 410, performing above CEWA and State results and broadly in line with the National result. Year 5 students achieved an excellent score of 507, performing above all three comparators. Growth in Grammar and Punctuation was also broadly in line with CEWA, State and National measures.

Numeracy

Our Year 3 students achieved a score of 408, performing well above CEWA, State and National comparators. Year 5 students achieved an excellent score of 509, again performing well above all three comparators. Student growth in Numeracy was also very strong, sitting above comparable CEWA, State and National measures.

Overall, these results are a wonderful reflection of the commitment and hard work of our students, as well as the dedication of our staff and the support provided by our families.

Introducing the Parent and Carer Code of Conduct

We are committed to building a school community where every child can flourish. The new Parent and Carer Code of Conduct articulates our shared expectations for respectful engagement, safety and support. By working together in partnership, families and staff help create a welcoming environment where all students are valued and empowered to succeed.

2026.07.20 CEWA and CSPWA Code of Conduct Letter to Parents.pdf

Please note: All dates and events are subject to change.

Term 3

• Friday 25 September - School Disco / End of Term 3

Term 4

• Sunday 4 October - Bunnings Sausage Sizzle 9am - 4pm
• Monday 12 October - Term 4 commences
• Wednesday 14 October - Reconciliation Parent Meeting 6.30pm - 7pm
• Tuesday 20 October - Yr 3 Reconciliation Retreat
• Thursday 22 October - Constable Care Incursion PP - Yr 2
• Thursday 22 October - Mass Yrs 4 - 6 9am
• Friday 23 October - Crazy Sock Day
• Friday 23 October - Ride to School Day
• Friday 23 October - Leadership Assembly 8.45am
• Wednesday 28 October - T-Ball Carnival Yr 5 & 6 (selected students) Empire Ballpark - Tom Bateman Reserve, Thornlie
• Wednesday 28 October - Yr 3 Reconciliation Celebration 6.30pm - 7.30pm
• Thursday 29 October - School Tour 9am - 9.30am
• Thursday 29 October - P&F Meeting 2pm - 3pm
• Thursday 29 October - ThinkUKnow Australia (Parent Information: Online Safety) 6pm - 7pm

The School Disco will take place on Friday, 25 September.

Get ready to travel back in time! Students are invited to dress up for our 80s Disco. Don't worry about buying anything special. Many of these ideas can be put together using clothes and accessories you already have at home.

Easy Ideas for Pre-Primary to Year 6 Students

• Bright neon t-shirt
• Colourful leggings or shorts
• Denim jacket
• Tracksuit or sportswear
• Bright socks pulled up high
• Headband or sweatbands
• Scrunchie or side ponytail
• Sunglasses
• Fingerless gloves
• Colourful jewellery
• Leg warmers
• Bright shoelaces
• Tutu with a bright t-shirt
• Checked shirt tied around the waist
• Retro sports jersey
• Rock star outfit
• Pop star outfit
• Double denim (denim jacket and jeans)

• Crazy or spiky hairstyle
  
  Need a Simple Option?
  A bright t-shirt, jeans or leggings and a pair of sunglasses are all you need to join in the fun!
  
  The easiest 80s look is simply a bright neon shirt, jeans or leggings, sunglasses, a scrunchie or headband and plenty of colourful accessories. We can't wait to see everyone's colourful and creative 80s-inspired outfits on the dance floor!

Costumes must be appropriate for a school setting, and we ask that students wear sensible footwear for dancing and safety.

Disco session times are as follows:

• Pre-Primary – Year 2: 11:30am – 12:30pm
• Year 3 – Year 6: 1:30pm – 3:00pm

  
  

A treat pack will be available for students to purchase at $3. This will include a juice box and a packet of chips. Please note that this is a child-only event; teachers will be present to supervise each session.

As a special highlight, the Year 6 students will be performing their end-of-year dance routine to the whole school community at 2:45pm. Year 6 parents are warmly invited to attend this performance and celebrate the students’ hard work and creativity.

What a busy and exciting term it has been in Kindy! We have enjoyed Pyjama Day, the St Lawrence Feast Day Cake Stall, Donuts for Dads and the Sports Carnival.

We have had so much fun exploring the wonderful world of farm animals and discovering lots of interesting and fun facts about different animals. Did you know that ducks show they are happy by wagging their tails? Or that pigs love rolling in the mud to help keep themselves cool?

We have been very busy learning through hands-on experiences, including making butter, scrambled eggs and pigs in blankets! During our Talk4Writing story, The Little Red Hen, we discovered that it is always better to be kind, work together and help our friends. We even made our own delicious bread, which we all got to enjoy!

To celebrate our farm theme, we ended the term with an exciting Farm Incursion. The children had a wonderful time meeting lots of different farm animals and were especially excited to feed the adorable baby goats!

It has been a wonderful term filled with learning, laughter and lots of special memories.

Mrs Tania Preston

Kindy Teacher

Book Week

And that’s a wrap for our Book Week celebrations for 2026, and what fun we have had!

From our DEAR Buddy celebration to our special lunchtime activities, along with our Book Week competitions and, most importantly, the sharing of some of this year’s shortlisted books, it’s been busier than usual in the library!

One of the books we shared this year was Dear Broccoli, by author Jo Dabrowski. ‘Dear Broccoli’ is about a young boy called Frank who absolutely hates eating broccoli. Frank becomes so frustrated by the fact that his parents keep putting broccoli on his plate at dinner time (despite his requests for them to stop) that he decides to take his complaints straight to the source. Frank writes Broccoli an angry letter. Surprisingly, Broccoli writes back.

We too, here at St Lawrence, wrote to our most hated vegetable and the votes are in! They have all been counted and tallied. The most hated vegetable at St Lawrence Primary is…mushrooms!

Book Week Competition winners will be announced early next term.

City of Stirling Libraries

During the holidays, why not check out what’s happening at our City of Stirling libraries? Not only can you borrow from thousands of books, but they have a great range of free school holiday activities, including Stop Motion Workshops, Paper/Dancing Robot craft and Monster Puppet craft (bookings for some activities essential). They also have a great range of items that you can borrow from their “Tools of Things Library”, including musical instruments, karaoke machines, pasta making/dumpling making kits, cake tins, sewing machines, games and sporting equipment, just to name a few. All are free to borrow with your library membership, which is also free.

Garrison Keillor: "A book is a gift you can open again and again." It is a fun way to relax on lazy holiday afternoons.

Ms Louise Frenzel

Library Officer

Athletics Carnival Success

Our recent Athletics Carnival was a wonderful celebration of participation, teamwork and school spirit. I would like to congratulate all of the students on their outstanding efforts throughout the day. Whether competing on the track, participating in field and team events or cheering on their faction, every student demonstrated enthusiasm, determination and excellent sportsmanship.

Congratulations to Blue Faction, who were crowned overall Athletics Carnival Champions and proudly took out the main trophy. I also congratulate Red Faction for winning the Sportsmanship Award, a recognition of the respect, encouragement and positive spirit shown throughout the carnival.

A special thank you goes to our parent volunteers whose generosity of time and support helped make the carnival such a success. Your assistance across a range of areas throughout the day was greatly appreciated and contributed to the smooth running of the event.

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to our dedicated staff for their hard work and commitment in organising and managing every aspect of the carnival. From preparation and setup to coordinating events and supporting students, your efforts ensured a positive and memorable experience for all.

Congratulations to everyone involved in making this year's Athletics Carnival such a fantastic community event. I am so proud of the way our students represented our school and lived out our school values both on and off the field.

Interschool Carnival

Interschool Carnival for Years 3 – 6 is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 4 November at HBF Stadium, 100 Stephenson Ave, Mount Claremont. We will commence training and team selection when we return to school next term.

Mrs Claire Major

Physical Education Teacher

We have an external provider to deliver a lunch service for Thursday & Friday each week.

LunchboxHub will be supplying a variety of healthy lunch options which parents can now access to order school lunches.

Lunch orders need to be placed by 8:30am on Thursday and 7:30am on Friday.

To Order Lunches:

Please visit the following link that will provide you with all the information and an ordering guide:

All you need to know about ordering from Lunchbox Hub and visit: https://school-lunch.lunchboxhub.com.au/ to create your new account.

For further information about our new canteen service please click here: https://stlawbal.wa.edu.au/parents/school-canteen/

Sports Carnival – A Huge Thank You!

What a fantastic day our Sports Carnival turned out to be! A huge thank you to everyone who helped make the day such a success.

A special thank you to our Fathering Group, and particularly Will Stevens, for taking the lead and organising the sausage sizzle. We really appreciate the time and effort that went into feeding so many hungry kids and families throughout the day!

I’d also like to give a huge personal shout-out to my mum, my two big girls, Amanda and Lisa, who worked incredibly hard the whole day! Your help was very much appreciated and certainly didn’t go unnoticed.

Thank you as well to everyone who generously donated cakes and treats for our cake stall. We had such a wonderful selection, and the support from our school families is what makes days like this possible.

As this was our first year running the Sports Carnival food and cake stalls, we definitely had a few little hiccups along the way, but overall it was a great day and gave us plenty of ideas for next year. We’re already looking forward to making it even bigger and better in 2027!

Another special mention to Jeanette the Coffee Lady – you are a gem, and we appreciate you serving our school.

Finally, on behalf of the P&F, we wish all of our St Lawrence families a wonderful, safe and relaxing school holiday break. Thank you for all your support throughout Term 3.

We look forward to seeing everyone refreshed and ready to finish the year on a high in Term 4!

Wine Fundraiser

On behalf of the P&F, Charlotte P has created a fabulous opportunity to purchase wine from WA Cellars. This is an ongoing fundraiser that you can enjoy throughout the year!

Purchases can be made via the link below:

St Lawrence Primary School Fundraiser - WA Cellars

P&F TEAM

Sports Carnival Setup and Sausage Sizzle

A big thank you to all the dads who helped out throughout the day at the sports carnival. It was really great to see the school community spirit with the Sausage sizzle and the P&F cake stall next to each other to help raise funds for the school.

A group of dads came down before school to help set up gazebos, tables and chairs and other items to help get everything ready to go. We even had a couple of Dads who had to work for the day but still came and help setup, amazing effort.

During the carnival we had the sausage sizzle for both kids and parents. Thanks to having multiple volunteers we were able to cook over 300 sausages for lunch and make sure everyone got to see their child's events. To those dads, your time and effort was greatly appreciated and showed amazing school spirit in our community.

Bunnings Sausage Sizzle

A reminder that we have our Bunnings Sausage Sizzle at Balcatta Bunnings on Sunday 4 October.

Thank you to the dads, mums and carers that have already volunteered; however, we are still looking for a few volunteers for the day.

We are looking for 1 or 2 people for each 2-hour shift starting from 8.45am through to 4.15pm. Any help would be much appreciated. If you want to volunteer with a friend, let us know, and we will try to pair you together!

If you can’t help on the day, we are also looking for drink donations. Please drop donations to the office before the end of term. If you want to donate after the last day of term, please contact me on the number listed below.

Will Stevens - 0413235448

The WA Student Assistance Payment helps parents and carers with cost-of-living pressures associated with sending their children to school.

All Western Australian school students with an active enrolment at a public school, non-government school or registered for home education are eligible for the WA Student Assistance Payment.

You can claim $250 for each secondary student and $150 for students attending primary school or Kindergarten.

The fastest and most convenient way to claim is through the ServiceWA app. More information on how to claim through the ServiceWA app is available at WA.gov.au/WASAP2026

All claims must be received by Friday 25 September 2026.

ELIGIBILITY

Eligible students must be enrolled in Kindergarten to Year 12 at a Western Australian public school, non-government school or registered for home education and have a valid WA student number (WASN).

HOW TO CLAIM

Submit your claim through ServiceWA.

WASN (SCSA Government ID Number)

This can be found in SEQTA under the Reports tab.

WA Student Assistance Payment

education.wa.edu.au

St Lawrence Parish Youth Group on Sundays 6pm-8pm

Inviting all youth in Years 6-12 to join us for spiritual enrichment, fellowship, food and fun in the Alverna Parish Hall.

All welcome!

Visit balcatta.perthcatholic.org.au to read our bulletins and find out more

information about happenings in our parish.