Mel Maria Catholic Primary School

Dear Parents

We Are Called To Lead

Everything we do in our Catholic schools is about bringing the light

of Christ’s Gospel to children’s learning in all its dimensions.

We are called to let the joy of our faith shine through the gifts and talents; we bring to our work.

We are challenged to bring out the best in one another and in the children entrusted to our care.

Jesus calls us to discipleship. Discipleship means involvement. In our calling, as disciples, and as educators in a Catholic school, we make the Good News visible to all through our words and actions.

Within our school we are all called to be leaders, in some form; in our classrooms, to the children in our care, to each other. As Leaders in a Christian context, we can ask ourselves how this might differ to leadership in another context, workplace or school.

Being a leader who follows Jesus means we must understand service; that leadership is not about lording it over others; nor is it about being a ‘doormat’; but rather rising to our own potential and reflecting the value of others back to them. As parents, as teachers, as Christian people we should always be mindful of opportunities to lead and serve in this way.

Lent is an opportunity for transformation, an opportunity to take time to look inward and name the places that need work in our lives and in our world. Sometimes it takes mountain top experiences for us to see the places more clearly. But it is tempting to want to stay on the mountain top where it is safe and secure. By leading Peter, James, and John down the mountain, Jesus reminds us that the hard work of discipleship isn’t in amazing spiritual experiences, but in the struggles and challenges of everyday life.

At Mel Maria Catholic Primary School, we are proud to celebrate Harmony Day—a special occasion that promotes inclusivity, respect, and a sense of belonging for everyone. Observed on March 21, Harmony Day reminds us of the strength in our diversity and the importance of kindness and understanding in our community.

This year, our students took part in a range of activities that highlight the beauty of different cultures and traditions. From storytelling and music to collaborative art projects and classroom discussions, we explored how embracing diversity enriches our school and the wider community.

We encouraged students to wear a touch of orange on the day, symbolising unity and mutual respect. As we come together to celebrate, we reinforce the message that "Everyone Belongs."

What a fun day of learning, joy, and shared experiences. Thank you for your support in making Harmony Day a meaningful and memorable event for our students!

The Daily Encouragement from Pope Francis

Have you thought about the talents that God has given you? Have you thought of how you can put them at the service of others? Do not bury your talents! Set your stakes on great ideals, the ideals that enlarge the heart, the ideals of service that make your talents fruitful. Life is not given to us to be jealously guarded for ourselves but is given to us that we may give it in turn.

What a fantastic day we had last Friday at our Faction Swimming Carnival! It was wonderful to see our students giving their best in the pool, demonstrating great sportsmanship, determination, and team spirit. Congratulations to all our swimmers for their outstanding efforts throughout the day!

A special congratulations to Frayne, our winning Faction for 2025. Your dedication, enthusiasm, and teamwork were truly commendable, and this achievement is a testament to your collective effort.

We also extend our congratulations to our Champion Girls and Champion Boys, along with the Runners-Up, who demonstrated exceptional skill and determination in the pool. All competitors performed admirably throughout the day, showcasing outstanding sportsmanship and resilience.

A sincere thank you to Mr John and Mr Williams for their incredible organisation of the carnival. Your efforts ensured the day ran smoothly, allowing our students to enjoy a fantastic experience. I would also like to acknowledge all our teachers and parents who helped out on the day—whether it was timekeeping, marshalling, or offering encouragement from the sidelines, your support made all the difference.

Events like these don’t happen without the dedication and support of our staff and parent volunteers. Thank you once again to everyone who contributed to making the carnival such a success. It was a wonderful celebration of our students' talent, teamwork, and school spirit!

During Week 8 and Week 9 of this term, parents will have the opportunity to meet with their child/ren’s teachers to discuss their progress so far this year. Parents are encouraged to play an active role in the education of their children and these interviews are an ideal forum in which to help enrich the learning opportunities for students and to build partnerships between home and school.

There are many ways parents can find out about their children’s progress at school and some of these include:

• Formal and informal interviews
• Reports on student performance (in Term 2 and Term 4)
• Letters
• Parent information evenings
• Student Portfolios

Parents and the broader community play a vital role in supporting successful learning outcomes for our children. Research tells us that the most meaningful partnerships are those where schools, parents, students and the community work together to focus on student learning. Parent and community engagement that is effectively focused on student learning can deliver powerful outcomes.

This year, we are committed to keeping parents up to date with current and upcoming school events. Follow us on Instagram to stay informed and engaged with our school community.

Enrolments are now being taken for new students wishing to commence Kindergarten at Mel Maria Catholic Primary School in 2026.

Mel Maria Catholic Primary School will continue to offer three, four or five days of Kindergarten in 2026.

Kindergarten places are limited so it is important that parents within the Mel Maria community submit their applications as soon as possible. Forms can be obtained from the office or on our website.

Paul Hille

Principal

#MakingADifferenceEveryday

Prayer for the Week

God, our Father,

in spite of the fact that

you are all loving and forgiving to us,

our words and actions

do not always

express love and forgiveness.

Rouse up and

sustain within us a friendliness and cheerfulness that is fitting

for Christian people.

Amen

Thought for the Week

A home represents the most precious human wealth, that of encounter, that of the relationships between persons who live together and who, together help one another to grow...

Pope Francis

Energy is high at the Early Childhood Campus as our students engage each day in new learning opportunities. Teachers are carefully crafting intentional learning activities to challenge our young learners to build on their current knowledge, to risk take and to then extend their learning. Our teachers are looking forward to interviews to share their observations about how our students are settling into the new school year.

Our Staff team have clear intentions about each of our learning spaces. We are working with students to move quietly and safely through our indoor areas. Once this is established more intentional learning provocations will be set up for our students to engage with. We appreciate your support in helping our students with this.

Outdoor play in our well-designed Nature Play area is providing opportunities for a variety of play experiences. Our students meet with us each day after lunch in the hall to reflect and de-brief on how outdoor learning was experienced. We all get to feedback and discuss how our outdoor learning can be safer, fairer, inclusive, and fun. Our current focus with team games is for games to be socially focused and for most team players to get a turn. Winning at all costs is not always the best fun. Discussing all aspects of play with your children will really support this intention with us.

Year Two students received their #MakingADifferenceEveryDay wrist bands this week at our SHARE assembly. Their contribution to campus life is noted by teachers and staff as they show responsibility and consideration for our younger students: delivering lunches, organising and leading Faction Friday activities, and confidently helping when the need arises.

This season Lent is a major liturgical focus for our whole community as we celebrate living out our Catholic Faith. Teachers will have sent letters about a Lenten focus for each year level. Having conversations with your children about this learning gives Lent an important context in the lead up to Easter. Supporting you as first educators in Faith of your children is important to us. Our students will participate in Mass and liturgical celebrations in preparation for Holy Week.

Thank you for your continued support as we are now settled into term one. Your feedback, supportive and constructive is welcome and valued as we work to together to provide excellent learning opportunities for our students.

Ros Nichols

Vice Principal - ECE Campus

What an exciting and special beginning we’ve had to our Kindy year! It has been a joyful time as Kindy White, Blue, and Red come together on our new ECE Campus at Pater Noster.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been busy making new friends, exploring our indoor and outdoor learning spaces, and discovering new things through play. Play is at the heart of our learning, helping us develop creativity, problem-solving skills, and a sense of belonging. Through play, we build confidence, learn to work together, and develop important social and emotional skills.

Each day, we focus on kindness, sharing, and helping one another as we grow together as part of the Mel MariaKindy family. As we journey through Lent, we are embracing our Lenten Promise by learning how to live like Jesus—showing kindness, compassion, and empathy toward others. To celebrate these values, we place a love heart stone in our jar whenever we witness these acts of love.

We are also looking forward to a special hands-on learning experience as we welcome caterpillars into our classroom, observing their transformation and learning about the beauty of growth and change.

It’s been a fantastic start to the year, filled with learning, laughter, and play—we can’t wait to see what more is to come!

Belonging to Our Factions: A Sense of Community and Purpose

At our school, the faction system plays a key role in creating a strong sense of belonging for both students and staff. Our factions—Frayne, Corpus, McAuley, and Mercy—are not just about colours or competition; they are deeply rooted in our school values of respect, service, compassion, and justice.

Being part of a faction provides students with the opportunity to build new friendships, take on leadership roles, and engage in activities that promote personal growth.

Whether through sports, service, or school events, each faction encourages students to develop important skills like teamwork, responsibility, and perseverance. Staff members also play a key role in fostering this sense of belonging, supporting students, and working alongside them to strengthen our school community.

This year, we are excited to introduce a new initiative: Faction Friday! Every Friday, students and staff will have the chance to participate in fun faction-based activities, competitions, and team-building exercises. It’s a great opportunity for everyone to work together, earn points for their faction, and build stronger connections in a relaxed, enjoyable setting.

Belonging to a faction is about more than just representing your group. It’s about being part of a community that values each individual, where everyone, both students and staff, can grow, lead, and make a positive impact. Together, we create a school where every person is supported, celebrated, and inspired to be the best version of themselves.

Cathleen Massimi
Vice Principal - Primary Campus

It’s been an exciting start to the year in Year Four! We are loving having four classes at the same campus and getting to know one another.

We’ve been diving into the topic of rules, laws, and local government, exploring how these important structures help shape our community. A highlight of our learning so far was a special visit from Councillor Barber, who kindly took the time to answer all of our questions. Councillor Barber gave us a wonderful insight into how local government works and the ways it helps support our community.

As we prepare for Lent, we have also been reflecting on the importance of kindness, generosity, and personal growth. Each of us has made a Lenten promise — a personal goal or commitment that we will strive to follow throughout the season of Lent.

In Art, we’ve been experimenting with colour and learning how to mix colours to create our very own colour wheels. Using these skills, we created vibrant and unique masterpieces inspired by the bold and joyful style of Romero Britto.

To begin our Indigenous history unit, we had the privilege of going on a tour of Point Walter with the amazing Greg Nannup. Greg shared with us the rich history of the Noongar people and taught us about their sustainable practices and deep connection to the land. It was a meaningful experience that helped us appreciate the importance of caring for Country.

What a busy start to the term we have had, we cannot wait to continue our learning in Year Four!

Last Friday our Year Three to Six students were involved in the school Faction Swimming Carnival. It was the first year our Year Threes have been involved in this carnival, so there were some extra nerves about the pool deck! While buses and technology didn’t go exactly to plan, our students were fantastic in the pool. Over 80% of our students were involved in 25m or 50m events which is a fantastic level of participation in a swimming carnival. Well done to all students who were involved – I was so proud of the way you approached the day and did your best for your faction. For all Year 3-5 students, make sure you reflect on your experience and set some goals for next year.

It was neck and neck all day between reigning champions McAuley and Frayne, who hadn’t won a Swimming Carnival in the last 15 years. The last set of backstroke events surged Frayne to the lead, with the team in blue claiming a famous victory. Congratulations Frayne!

Thank you to all of the staff who helped during the day with marshalling, judging, preparing and cheering on the students. Special thanks to Mr Popadynec and Mr Williams for their help in the lead up to the day. Well done again to our students who were brilliant in the pool and cheering their factions on. Thank you also to the parents who helped out during the day – swimming is one of the few times we need a lot of hands on deck so please don’t be afraid to come down to the pool deck next year and help with timing and place giving.

Sincerely,

David John

Physical Education Teacher

We are collecting for our Easter Raffles and tickets go on sale on Monday. $2 per ticket 3 for $5

Our Why is for the hire of time gates for the sports carnival.

We will also have a raffle for teachers at each campus.

We have asked $5 to $10

Red small hard eggs

White hollow eggs

Blue bunnies

P&F

The Quality Catholic Education School Review (QCESR) provides an opportunity for a panel

of educators, external to the school, to affirm, challenge and report on the improvement

journey at the school including the principal and leadership team’s impact in delivering quality

Catholic education.

The QCESR focuses on measuring the effectiveness of the school’s engagement with

self-review, the impact of leadership actions, and the future directions for the improvement of

student outcomes that the school has identified.

The QCESR Panel will be visiting our school on Monday 7 April through Wednesday 10 April.

As part of the process, they will be meeting with the Principal, Leadership Team, a selection of staff, a selection of students, Parish Priest and nominees from the Catholic School Advisory Council and P&F group.

At the conclusion of the QCESR Panel visit, a report will be completed, providing comments on

the school improvement processes and strategic direction and will be written and forwarded to

school leadership and CEWA Executive Director.

Mark your calendars for our SJP Annual High Tea!
Join us on Sunday, 25 May, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm.

Online safety basics

We can help our children safely navigate the online world by taking some basic steps to reduce the risks.

Our support and guidance can give our children the knowledge to make sound decisions online and the confidence to ask for help when they need it.

Three key strategies

1. Be engaged, open and supportive - Get involved with your child’s online activities as a family. Play games together. Talk about favourite apps, games or websites. Keep lines of communication open. Ask about their online experiences, who they are talking to and whether they are having any issues.

2. Set some rules -Set rules for devices and online access, with consequences for breaking them. As they grow in online skills and maturity you can review your rules together. Get your child’s input — this will help them understand risks.

3. Use safety features and settings - Get to know the devices you and your children use and set them up for privacy and online safety. Take advantage of parental controls to monitor and control screen time and access to content, based on your child’s age and experience. See the eSafety guide to parental controls. Choose apps and games carefully and visit the App Store or Google Play for age ratings and consumer advice.

More information is provided in the eSafety website below:

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/online-safety-basics

Please follow the link for further communication for the P&F - https://linktr.ee/MMPNF?utm_source=linktree_admin_share

The new bus service between campuses began on the first day of the term, and students have adapted well to the change. There has been a noticeable increase in demand for certain routes, with some runs, like the 3pm bus from Attadale to Myaree, reaching full capacity. To meet this demand, we are now offering a second run departing from Attadale at 3:30pm, with available seats.

If you would like to inquire about your child using the service, please send your request via email to

Lynette.Dowie@cewa.edu.au

What fundamentally goes on in young minds and why kids act the way they do.

Key points

• Understanding a child’s mindset helps parents appropriately respond to the roots of a child’s behaviour.
• A child’s primary emotional need to connect with an attuned caregiver informs all other emotional needs.
• Children make sweeping generalizations in an attempt to understand and adapt to a confusing world.
• 
  

Young kids often don’t make sense to parents because, well, they don’t make sense! At least not logically.

That’s because they’re ruled by their emotions—even though they can’t tell their parents what they’re feeling.

But when we see the world through a child’s emotions-only lens, they do start to make sense.

We call this their “mindset,” the core way that children work based on the emotional experience of being a child. Understanding this mindset doesn’t just help us understand kids—it helps us raise happy, healthy kids.

The link below provides a breakdown of the seven key factors that form a child’s mindset.

The 7 Key Ways a Child’s Mind Works | Psychology Today Australia

e, people are in charge of their own bodies, and it’s not okay to touch them if they don’t want you to, just like it’s not okay for someone to touch you in a way you don’t like.

It’s also important to help kids learn to advocate for themselves when other kids are being pushy. You can help your child plan for what to do when someone isn’t respecting their feelings or boundaries. Go over some simple phrases your child can use: “Please stop.” “I don’t like that.” “It’s my turn now.”

Your example matters too. When kids hear parents checking with each other to see if they’re on the same page before they make decisions, or asking a friend how they feel about something, kids are more likely to follow suit.

https://childmind.org/article/teaching-kids-boundaries-empathy/

Christine Pittman

christine.pittman@cewa.edu.au

School Term Dates for 2025

Term 1: Wednesday 5 February - Friday 11 April

Term 2: Monday 28 April - Friday 4 July

Term 3: Monday 21 July - Friday 25 September

Term 4: Tuesday 14 October - Friday 12 December

Pupil Free Days for 2025

Term 1: Friday 28 February

Term 2: Tuesday 3 June

Term 3: Monday 25 August, Friday 26 September

Term 4: Monday 13 October