St Denis School Newsletter
Term 3 Week 1
- Welcome back to Term 3
- Celebrating NAIDOC Week
- Cross Country Years 3-6 - Inter-House Cross Country Carnival
- Professional Learning – Strengthening Mathematics at St Denis
-
SAVE THE DATE: St Denis Feast Day and Colour Run – September 18
Reading Club
Squishy Toys at School
✝️ Prayer
NAIDOC Week Prayer
Loving God,
We thank you for the gift of our beautiful country and for the rich cultures, stories and traditions of First Nations peoples.
Help us to listen, learn and walk together with respect and kindness.
May we honour the wisdom of First Nations peoples and care for the land, waterways and all creation that you have entrusted to us.
Bless our St Denis community as we celebrate NAIDOC Week and encourage us to grow in understanding, friendship and respect for one another.
Amen.
Week 1
23 July: 12:30pm: 3-6 Cross Country (Yokine Reserve)
24 July: 9am: Whole School Mass (St Denis Church)
Week 2
27 July: 6pm P&F Meeting
31 July: Year 5 Assembly
Week 3
5 August: 5:30pm Year 4 Communion Parent/Child Workshop
7 August: 5:30pm Year 4 Communion
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Welcome Back to Term 3
Welcome back to our wonderful St Denis families!
We hope everyone enjoyed the school holidays, making the most of the mostly sunny days (even if they were accompanied by a definite winter chill!). We hope it was a relaxing time filled with opportunities to rest, recharge and spend quality time with family and friends.
It has been wonderful hearing about our students' holiday adventures. Their travels have taken them to destinations including Broome, Byron Bay, Sydney, Croatia and Thailand, while others enjoyed road trips both down south and up north. We have also loved hearing about movie outings, Vacation Care adventures, sleep-ins, play dates and, of course, plenty of football. Some of our students were thrilled to see one of our amazing teachers take to the field at quarter time during the Dockers game! We also know there were many late nights for our families following the excitement of the FIFA Men's World Cup, with plenty of students sharing their favourite matches and teams when they returned to school.
As we begin another busy term, we look forward to the many learning opportunities, events and celebrations that lie ahead. It has been wonderful to welcome our students back and see the excitement, enthusiasm and energy they bring to our school each day.
Celebrating NAIDOC Week
As NAIDOC Week fell during the school holidays, our students from Kindy to Year 6 will begin Term 3 by celebrating and acknowledging NAIDOC Week through a whole-school incursion tomorrow.
We are delighted to welcome Greg Nannup from Indigenous Tours WA, who will share his knowledge, stories and culture with our students through engaging, interactive workshops. Students will learn about Noongar culture, including bush medicine, native plants, traditional survival skills and the rich history of the land on which we live.
This special learning opportunity will help students deepen their understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal culture and heritage, while reflecting on the significance of NAIDOC Week and the importance of recognising and celebrating First Nations cultures.
Cross Country Years 3-6 - Inter-House Cross Country Carnival
Our annual Inter-House Cross Country Carnival will be held on Thursday, 23 July at Yokine Reserve.
We look forward to a wonderful afternoon of participation, encouragement and House spirit as our students challenge themselves and cheer on their classmates.
Upon arrival, students will complete a course walk at 12:10pm, with the first race commencing at 12:30pm. Each race is expected to run for approximately 10 minutes.
We look forward to seeing parents and families at this wonderful event as we celebrate our students’ efforts, participation and achievements. A huge thank you to Mrs Mac for organising another wonderful sporting event for our St Denis community
Professional Learning – Strengthening Mathematics at St Denis
Our staff began Term 3 with a valuable day of professional learning, facilitated by one of our Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA) Numeracy Consultants.
Throughout the day, staff worked together to strengthen our whole-school approach to Mathematics, exploring best-practice teaching strategies and engaging in hands-on learning experiences that reflect the way we want our students to learn. These practical activities encouraged rich mathematical thinking, collaboration and problem-solving, reinforcing the importance of developing confident and capable mathematicians.
A key focus of the day was continuing the development of our St Denis Mathematics Philosophy. Together, staff reflected on what high-quality mathematics teaching and learning looks like across our school, ensuring we have a shared vision and consistent approach across the school.
Professional learning such as this is an important investment in our teaching practice and ultimately benefits every student by ensuring they experience engaging, purposeful and high-quality mathematics learning throughout their years at St Denis.
SAVE THE DATE: St Denis Feast Day and Colour Run – September 18
One of the highlights of our school year is coming up! This year, on St Denis Feast Day, our students will begin the day with a whole-school Mass to celebrate our patron saint, St Denis. We will then enjoy buddy activities throughout the middle of the day before taking part in our much-anticipated Whole School Colour Run, which will be our major fundraising event for 2026.
The Colour Run is always a day filled with excitement, laughter and school spirit as students celebrate together while raising funds to support improvements and initiatives that benefit our entire St Denis community. This special event is only made possible through the wonderful support of our parent volunteers (stay tuned for updates on our Seesaw P&F Channel).
Reading Club!
We are excited to welcome students in Years 1–6 to our Reading Club, which will be held every Friday in the Library during the second half of lunch.
In the lead-up to Book Week, Reading Club will run from Weeks 1–5, with each session designed to foster a love of reading and introduce students to a variety of engaging texts.
Reading Club is a wonderful opportunity for students to discover new books, explore different authors and genres, and share in the joy of reading with others.
We look forward to seeing many enthusiastic readers join us as we celebrate books and build excitement for Book Week!
Squishy Toys at School
We kindly ask that squishy toys and similar sensory items (with liquid insides) remain at home unless they have been specifically approved as part of a student's individual learning or support plan.
Recently, we have had several squishy toys break in classrooms, resulting in significant mess and disruption while staff cleaned up the contents. Keeping these items at home will help minimise interruptions to learning and ensure our classrooms remain safe and tidy for everyone.
A parent (who works in an emergency department) has recently brought to our attention the potential dangers associated with squishy toys if they are placed in the microwave or freezer. An increasing number of children have experienced burns after heating squishy toys in an attempt to soften them, while others have sustained cold burns after freezing them and handling the contents when the toys have burst. We appreciate your support in keeping squishy toys at home and in talking with your child about using these products safely.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Sarah Potts
PRINCIPAL
Three-Week Mid-Year Term Break 2027
As we approach Term 3, we’re excited to continue our before-school tennis program at St. Denis, now expanded to include Pre-Primary students as well as Years 1-3 and Years 4-6.
Classes will run every Monday from 7:45-8:30 am. After each session, our coach will safely escort all Pre-Primary students to their classrooms.
Our aim is to provide a fun and inclusive environment where students of all skill levels can enjoy tennis and stay active.
We would greatly appreciate your support in sharing this with parents. Thank you again for your continued help in promoting our program.
If you need any further details, please let me know. Parents can contact me directly at
