Emmaus Catholic Primary School

Lord Jesus,

We believe in Your true presence in the Most Holy Eucharist.

Come into our hearts and lives today and heal what is broken, strengthen what is weak,

and bring miracles where they are needed most.

By the power of Your Body and Blood, help us to live in faith, walk in hope,

and love with all our hearts.

Amen.

Dear Parents and Guardians

Thank you!

As we come to the end of another wonderful term, I would like to take a moment to sincerely thank our incredible Emmaus staff for the dedication, passion and care they show each and every day. I feel incredibly privileged to work alongside such hardworking, compassionate and committed staff who consistently go above and beyond for our Emmaus children. Whether it is the thoughtful planning that happens behind the scenes, the engaging learning experiences created in classrooms, the extra support provided to students, or the countless hours spent preparing resources and opportunities for our children to thrive, our staff continually give so much of themselves to ensure every child feels known, valued and successful.

To our parents and families, thank you for your ongoing support throughout the term. Thank you for being the lunchbox makers, the uniform ironers, the homework helpers, the cheerleaders on the sidelines, and the comforting faces at the end of a long school day. Your encouragement, partnership and commitment to your children's learning make an enormous difference.

Mr C Update

Mr C has been making the most of his well-earned leave, travelling through Europe with his wife Jane and enjoying the very warm summer temperatures. He has been visiting many beautiful sights along the way and, by all reports, sampling the important things in life… like food, gelato, scenery, and probably more gelato.

Despite being on long service leave, Mr C has still been checking in on staff and students from afar. We look forward to welcoming Mr C back in Week 2 next term, refreshed, recharged, and ready for another exciting term at Emmaus!

Mid-Year Reports

Our teachers have been busy preparing the Mid-Year Reports, which will be available to view in SEQTA from tomorrow. This is a valuable opportunity to reflect on learning from Terms 1 and 2 and to receive formal feedback on your child’s progress and achievements. We encourage parents to take time to read through the report with their child and celebrate their effort, growth, and progress so far this year. Positive conversations at home about learning can make a significant difference to a child’s confidence and motivation moving forward. Please see below the 2026 Reporting Update from CEWA.

Stage Three Building Project Update

I am pleased to provide an update on our Stage Three Building Project. Stage Three is scheduled to commence in January 2027 and will deliver outstanding new learning environments for our students. This stage includes the construction of eight new classrooms, a new library, an art room, a science room, and double basketball courts. This is a very exciting development for our school community, and we look forward to sharing concept drawings as they are finalised in the coming months.

Thank you all for another successful term. I wish our students, families and staff a safe, restful and well-deserved break, and I look forward to seeing everyone refreshed and ready for another exciting term ahead.

In gratitude

Emma Fernandez

School Start and Finish Times

Pre-Kindy (Thurs and Fri) 8:45 am (doors open) - 3:00 pm

Kindy (Mon - Wed) 8:45 am (doors open) - 3:00 pm

Pre-Primary - Year 6 (Mon - Fri) 8:30 am (doors open) - 3:00 pm

Administration 8:15 am - 4:00 pm

Dear Parents and Guardians

LIFELINK PLAY AND PJ DAY

Students across the grades had a super-busy day on Wednesday for the LifeLink Play and PJ Day.

Our school community snuggled up in their cosiest PJs and thanks to our generous P&F, were treated to a yummy hot chocolate treat before setting off to join their buddy classes for fun on International Day of Play. We give thanks to all our families who passed on their $2 donation for the LifeLink Coins for Compassion Trail. Students added a heartfelt message to all those at the receiving end of our donation. We raised $680 which is a significant contribution to the Archbishop's LifeLink Appeal, which is forwarded to Catholic agencies that support the vulnerable, disabled and those struggling within our community. A HUGE thank you to you all, and a special thanks to the Year 6 Discipleship Committee for organising the event.

STUDENT REPORTS AND THE DEDICATION OF OUR TEACHERS

Your child's Semester One Report will be available this Friday. While the finished report provides a valuable snapshot of your child's learning and progress, it represents many hours of thoughtful professional work completed by our teachers.

Preparing student reports is far more than assigning grades. Throughout the semester, teachers have carefully observed each student's learning, analysed assessment tasks, gathered evidence, monitored growth, and compared achievement against the Western Australian Curriculum judging standards and year-level expectations. They have also reflected on each child's academic progress, learning behaviours and personal development to provide meaningful feedback that celebrates achievement while identifying future learning goals.

Many people may not realise that much of this important work takes place outside the school day. Between teaching lessons, supporting student wellbeing, communicating with families, collaborating with colleagues and responding to the many unexpected events that arise each day, essential tasks such as lesson preparation, assessment, planning, moderation and report writing are predominantly completed during evenings and weekends.

Research by Thompson et al. (2024) found that teachers typically undertake an average of three additional hours of work each evening beyond the school day—a workload many participants described as a standard part of the profession rather than an exceptional circumstance. Naturally, you may struggle to think of any other profession where this extra daily out-of-hours commitment would be 'normal'...

As reports are released this week, our Leadership Team would like to extend our sincere appreciation to every member of our teaching staff. Their professionalism, care and commitment are evident not only in the reports they have prepared, but in the countless hours they invest throughout the year to know each child, nurture their growth and provide the highest quality learning experiences. We are incredibly grateful for the dedication, expertise and generosity of our teachers, who consistently go above and beyond in support of our students and families.

In gratitude,

Loretta Hackner

Our Parish, St Helena of the Holy Cross is inviting any student who is interested in helping with Altar Serving at our Parish and for our school masses to a training session next term. Those who have received their First Holy Communion are eligible to be trained. See the flyer below to register.

Next term, our Year 6 Confirmation candidates prepare for their holy Sacrament. Parents, please note these important dates:

CONFIRMATION RETREAT (students only)

When: Tuesday 8 September

Where: At Emmaus CPS

Time: All day; Commences at 9am

What: Mrs Bateman will facilitate the retreat. Students are to wear sport uniform (leavers shirts)

CONFIRMATION WORKSHOPS (parents and students)

When: Wednesday 9 September OR Thursday 10 September

(Parents pre-book with Sacrament Coordinator)

Where: Parish Centre at St Helena of the Holy Cross Parish

Times: 4:00pm OR 5:30pm

What: Mr Harris from CEWA Catachist Services will facilitate an interactive session with parents and children. Note that a brief rehearsal follows the workshop session

RECONCILIATION BEFORE CONFIRMATION (students only)

When: Wednesday 16 September

Where: At Emmaus CPS

Time: 10am

What: Confirmation candidates receive reconciliation ahead of their Confirmation, facilitated by Fr Bona.

SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION (parents and students)

When: Sunday 20 September

Where: St Helena of the Holy Cross Church

Times: 11:30am OR 3pm

(Parents pre-book with Sacrament Coordinator)

For enquiries, please contact Hannah Wager (Sacrament Coordinator): youth@sthelenaellenbrook.com

In accordance with Catholic Education WA's reporting procedures, student Academic Reports are issued via SEQTA Engage. New families in 2026 have been sent a welcome message to set up the SEQTA Account. Prior Emmaus families should already have login access.

Please note that Academic Reports will be uploaded to SEQTA Engage at 3:30pm on Friday 3 July.

Just a friendly reminder that 2026 school fees are due to be settled by the end of Term 3, 2026.

If you have any questions regarding your fee account or would like an update on your account status, please contact our Finance Officer on (08) 9232 5000 and select option 2 or email finance@emmaus.wa.edu.au.

Congratulations to Emma in Year 2, the Week 10 recipient of the Emmaus Way Award!

This special award recognises a member of our school community who consistently exemplifies the Emmaus values and spirit, serving as an outstanding role model for others. Emma was nominated by our staff in recognition of the many wonderful qualities she demonstrates each day, reflecting what it truly means to live The Emmaus Way.

Emma now has the special privilege of being Cleo's companion until the next award winner is announced. We can't wait to follow Cleo's adventures with Emma and read all about them in Cleo's journal!

Take a look at the wonderful qualities and behaviours that earned Emma this special recognition...

This term, our Kindy Blue and Year Three students proudly hosted the Memory Café, welcoming our elderly guests for a wonderful morning of connection, creativity and fun. With a delightful Teddy Bears’ Picnic theme, students and visitors enjoyed spending time together while participating in a range of engaging activities.

Our guests worked alongside students to create teddy bear ear headbands, design and collage teddy bear artworks, and mould their own playdough bears. There was also plenty of friendly competition and conversation as students and guests enjoyed playing chess together.

The Memory Café continues to be a special opportunity for our students to build relationships across generations, develop their communication skills, and show kindness and respect within our wider community. It was heartwarming to see the smiles, laughter and connections formed throughout the morning, making it a memorable experience for everyone involved.

As part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring our school uniform continues to meet the needs of our students and families, we are reviewing the current Years 1–6 Emmaus uniform, including the sports uniform, formal summer uniform and formal winter uniform.

We value your feedback and invite all parents and caregivers of students in Years 1–6 to share their thoughts. Your input will help inform future decisions about our school uniform.

Please take a few moments to complete the survey by clicking the link below:

Thank you for taking the time to provide your valuable feedback.

Thursday was a PERFECT day for a concrete pour. The installation of our new super-sized shed has begun! Thank you to the Honourable Rita Saffioti MLA for the election commitment to fund this exciting project. Our new shed will safely house our P&F items and provide much needed storage for our ever-expanding supplies and play equipment as our school grows. Watch this space!

This week, our Year 6 students put their Design and Technologies learning into action by designing, preparing and cooking their own original burgers. Over the past few weeks, they have surveyed others, researched nutritional guidelines, and explored how flavour, texture and presentation influence food choices. Using this knowledge, each pair created a unique burger with a name to match.

Each team cooked enough for themselves to enjoy, with the remaining burgers delivered to the staffroom for some teacher sampling and critique. The winning team will be announced next week!

The day was a tremendous success. Students worked collaboratively, shared equipment responsibly, and demonstrated excellent food safety and hygiene practices throughout the cooking process. I was incredibly impressed by their creativity, problem-solving skills, resilience and teamwork.

A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful parent helpers for generously giving their time to support the students. We also extend our sincere thanks to the staff members who loaned us their electric frypans—your generosity helped make this authentic learning experience possible.

We hope our Year 6 families are lucky enough to enjoy a homemade burger over the school holidays as our budding chefs continue to put their new skills into practice.

Congratulations to our talented Year 6 Master Chefs - you should all be very proud of what you have achieved!

Mrs Plint

We are excited to begin Term 3 by celebrating NAIDOC Week on Monday 27 July, embracing this year's theme: "Celebrate. Learn. Respect. Together."

Students will take part in a range of meaningful activities that recognise and celebrate the histories, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A highlight of the day will be a special incursion for students in Years 1–6, as we welcome special guest Baldja Mob from SEDA College. Students will participate in interactive workshops exploring Aboriginal culture through storytelling, art and games.

To show our support and celebrate together, students are encouraged to wear Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander flag colours. These colours can be worn in hair accessories, socks or other appropriate accessories while remaining in school uniform.

We look forward to a wonderful day of learning, reflection and celebration as we come together as a school community to honour the rich cultures and enduring contributions of Australia's First Nations peoples.

Through the generosity of parents who have supported our fundraising efforts, the P&F have generously gifted $6 000 to the school for the purchase of assorted Mathematics resources in support of the school's strategic focus in the Numeracy area across the grades.

We received our book items a few weeks ago and all of our awesome manipulative have now arrived. Our teachers and students have already enjoyed using the resources in numeracy lessons with purpose, building competency in understanding with concrete materials ahead of the shift to more complex concepts.

Thanks once again to our P&F and parents for supporting the fundraising efforts in the school!

To develop and practice the skills learnt during the term, the Year 2s designed, created and tested Marble Runs to see if they could make their marbles travel the furthest. Students had to create their own original designs using items such as old carboard, paper and tape. The goal was to create a Marble Run that could make a marble travel at least 15 pop sticks. All students were able to do this, and many of the marbles travelled a lot longer than the goal. It was brilliant to see their creativity during this hands-on activity.

After weeks of dedicated Wednesday morning rehearsals and an abundance of enthusiasm, a group of our talented Year 5 and 6 girls beautifully presented a liturgical dance at last Friday's assembly.

Thoughtfully choreographed by Mrs Todaro, the dancers moved with grace and reverence, bringing to life the powerful message of the song You Raise Me Up—a reminder that God is always with us, strengthening and guiding us through life's journey. Their heartfelt performance was a moving expression of faith and captivated our school community.

A sincere thank you to all of the girls for their commitment and enthusiasm, and a special thank you to Mrs Todaro for generously sharing her time, talent and passion in preparing this dedicated group over many weeks.

A very big THANK YOU to our families who have participated in the Plant Grow Thrive initiative. We have already planted some of our seedlings throughout the term, with many more to be planted by the end of term. Your support is helping us create a greener, more sustainable school environment, encouraging biodiversity and strengthening our commitment to caring for our school and the planet for future generations.

Emmaus Wellbeing Coordinators 2026

Ms Kate Cameron (Wellness & SEL Coordinator) & Mrs Hannah Thomas (Social Worker)

In Year 1, we have been learning about emotions, friendships and positive communication through our Kimochis lessons. We have met Bug, who taught us about the importance of using and respecting people's names, and Lovey Dove, who helped us understand how friendly signals such as smiling, making eye contact and using a warm tone of voice can help create friendly spaces.

Most recently, Huggtopus has been teaching us about being a kind and respectful partner. Students explored the different feelings that can arise when working with a partner, including excitement, disappointment, frustration and jealousy. We discussed strategies for managing these feelings and practised ways to be respectful partners, such as greeting others kindly, using friendly words, listening to each other's ideas and working together to solve problems. Through these lessons, students are developing important social and emotional skills that help them build positive relationships with all members of our classroom community.

In Year 5, students have been exploring the idea that every friendship is different through our “Rainbow of Friends” lessons. Using the colours of the rainbow, students reflected on the many different qualities friends can bring into our lives; from adventurous and energetic friends to calm, thoughtful and creative ones. Through class discussions, students considered how healthy friendships create balance and why no one person is meant to meet every social need.

Thank you to all who donated books for our first ever Book Swap. We had a steady stream of students who purchased books between Wednesday and Friday, all who purchased books for the benefit of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

A special thank you to Mr Caddy and Mrs Fanderlinden for organising the Book Swap.

A digital copy of the most recent Term 3, 2026 Parent Calendar is included below. Please note that any revised changes to the school calendars are updated and will be posted on our online calendar and in newsletter attachments.

👉 TERM 3 👈

Week 1

Monday 20 July

• First day of Term 3

Friday 24 July

• Pre-Primary excursion to King's Park

Week 2

Monday 27 July

• NAIDOC Week at Emmaus commences
• Baldja Mob (SEDA College) visiting for NAIDOC week.

Tuesday 28 July

• Memory Cafe (Pre-Primary Green & Year 4)
• RE Assessment Practice (Year 3 & 5)
• 100 days of School (Year 1)

Friday 31 July

• Updated IEPs with Semester 2 goals sent home
• Newsletter issued

OSHClub are excited to have been selected as the dedicated onsite provider at Emmaus CPS!

OSHClub offers care for students before and after school, on pupil free days and school holidays.

click on the link below for more information!

The Mundaring Arts Centre and the Midland Junction Arts Centre have a number of workshops and competitions coming up. See the individual attachments below for further details.

Enjoy your holidays!

School resumes, Monday 20 July.

Mrs Emma Fernandez

Acting Principal