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.

R U OK? Day... It's More Than One Day

This week, we acknowledge R U OK? Day. While the message is simple, it is an incredibly powerful one. We want everyone to understand that asking someone "Are you OK?" is not something we do on just one day of the year. It is something we strive to do every day. Creating a culture where everyone feels seen, valued and supported is one of the most important things we can do as a school community. Whether it is a child checking in on a friend in the playground, a teacher noticing when a student seems unsettled, or parents reaching out to one another, small acts of kindness and genuine care can make a significant difference.

We encourage our students to continue developing the confidence to speak up when they need support and to be compassionate listeners when others need a friend. By working together, we help build a community where everyone knows they belong and where no one feels they have to face challenges alone.

As part of our continued focus on student wellbeing, Years 4–6 students participated in a wellbeing incursion on Monday designed to build emotional resilience and support positive mental wellbeing. Students explored practical strategies for managing emotions and challenging thoughts, while learning about the importance of self-awareness, physical health, connection and seeking support.

Father’s Day

Father’s Day last Friday was a fantastic celebration for dads and father figures. A big thank you to our Year 4 families for setting up and supporting the event, and congratulations to our Year 1 students for their fantastic assembly. Thank you to Mrs Carnevali, Mrs Mattioli and Mrs Wake for their work in preparing the students. We hope all families continued the celebrations over the weekend.

Book Week

This week we have been celebrating the joy and wonder of Book Week, and what a fantastic week it has been so far! Reading opens doors to imagination, knowledge, empathy and lifelong learning. One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is a love of books and reading. Author Emilie Buchwald famously said:

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."

This quote is a wonderful reminder that some of the most powerful learning moments happen at home. Taking the time to read with your child, talk about stories, laugh together over favourite characters and share a love of books helps foster not only literacy skills but also precious family connections.

A huge thank you to Ms Frenzel for the tremendous amount of work she has put into preparing a week of fun, meaningful and engaging Book Week activities for our students. Yesterday's Pyjama Day was certainly a highlight, as we all enjoyed Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.) with our buddies. Seeing students and staff snuggled up with a good book and sharing stories together was a wonderful reminder of how much joy reading can bring.

Parent-Teacher Meetings

Our Parent-Teacher Meetings took place last night and continue again this evening. Thank you to all parents who have made the time to meet with our teachers and discuss their child's progress.

Research consistently shows that when families and schools work together in partnership, students achieve better educational outcomes. Knowing what is happening for your child at school, celebrating their successes, understanding areas for growth and supporting learning at home makes a genuine difference.

We are grateful for the strong partnership we enjoy with our families and thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to your child's education.

Annual Sports Carnival

Excitement is building as we look ahead to our Annual Sports Carnival next Wednesday. Events such as these are always a highlight on the school calendar and provide opportunities for students to demonstrate teamwork, perseverance, sportsmanship and faction spirit.

A sincere thank you to Mrs Major for the many hours of organisation and preparation that go into making this event possible. Thank you also to our wonderful Fathering Group for coordinating the sausage sizzle and our dedicated P&F for organising the cake stall.

We are also incredibly grateful to the many parents who have volunteered their time to assist on the day. Your willingness to help is yet another example of the remarkable community spirit that exists at St Lawrence. We are blessed to be part of such a supportive and generous school community.

Drive Through Pick-Up

We continue to trial the new pick-up system and appreciate everyone’s support and patience. To help the process run smoothly, could we please ask parents to ensure their name signs are clearly displayed. We also ask that traffic only exits the driveway closest to the parish after 2:30pm to assist with the flow of vehicles.

End of Term 3

It is hard to believe that we are already approaching the end of Term 3. While there is still plenty of learning, laughter and excitement ahead over the coming weeks, this time of year always provides an opportunity to reflect on how much growth and progress our students have made.

Thank you for your continued support throughout the term. Together, as staff, students and families, we continue to create a vibrant and faith-filled learning community where every child is encouraged to flourish.

Wishing all our families a wonderful week ahead.

Mrs Sarah Williams, Ms Kathleen Tranquille & Mr Reuben Brennan

School Leadership Team

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

• Thursday 10 September - Parent Teacher Meetings 3pm - 5.30pm
• Friday 11 September - Leadership Assembly 8.45am - 9.15am
• Wednesday 16 September - St Lawrence Sports Carnival 7am - 3pm
• Thursday 17 September - Water Corp Incursion PP & Yr 1
• Wednesday 23 September - Kindy Farm Dress Up Day and Farmyard Incursion
• Wednesday 23 September - Pre Primary Fairytale Ball
• Wednesday 23 September - Yr 2 Excursion
• Friday 25 September - School Disco / End of Term 3

On Tuesday evening, the 145th anniversary of the Salvatorian Religious Order was celebrated with a beautiful Mass followed by supper. It was a wonderful occasion, bringing together members of the community in thanksgiving and fellowship. The Balcatta Parish was well represented, with many parishioners in attendance to mark this significant milestone and celebrate the enduring mission and service of the Salvatorians.

School Disco

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.

Ms Kathleen Tranquille & Mr Reuben Brennan

Assistant Principals

Book Week

Wow! What a busy couple of weeks it has been in the library celebrating this year's Book Week!

Celebrations kicked off with our gorgeous Pre Kindy class making a special visit to the library. We shared the story, When You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe. Pre Kindy students then planted a magic cookie bean and with a sprinkle of magic dust and a special magic kiss, their beans grew into cookie flowers. Much excitement was had by all!

What glorious weather we had for our main Book Week event yesterday! Students met in the hall for a brief introduction and then buddy classes moved to different areas around the school to share stories and to draw chalk pictures of their favourite book cover or page. Much fun was had by all!

Book Week activities during Friday lunchtimes and the competitions continue to run until week nine.

Ms Louise Frenzel

Library Officer

Catholic Performing Arts Festival

On Tuesday 25 August, the St Lawrence Choir (Years 4 to 6) performed at the Catholic Performing Arts Festival at the Vasto Club in Balcatta. The choir performed ‘Ice Cream’ by Michelle Christensen and Tracey Craig McKibben, and ‘Touch the Sky’ from Brave. The choir achieved an Excellence Award for their performance!

The students sang so beautifully and represented the school impeccably! They were extremely professional, very respectful to all other performers from other schools and sang with so much joy and passion. Well done choir members! All your hard work was very evident and based on the feedback we received, I know that the adjudicator could see that too and was very impressed. I couldn’t have asked for anything more and you have made me very proud!

Year 6 student Ellie also entered the Vocal Solo category of the festival with her original song. Ellie achieved an Outstanding Award for her performance. Congratulations Ellie!

Mrs Grace Tolich

Music Teacher

Sports Carnival is Almost Here!

The excitement is building as we count down to our St Lawrence Faction Carnival on Wednesday, 16 September! Students have been enthusiastically preparing, practising their events and showing great faction spirit in anticipation of what promises to be a fantastic day of competition, participation and community celebration.

Our carnival is always a highlight of the school year, providing students with opportunities to challenge themselves, support their peers and proudly represent their faction. We look forward to seeing our students cheer each other on, demonstrate excellent sportsmanship and create wonderful memories throughout the day.

To help make the carnival a success, we are seeking the support of parent and carer volunteers. Assistance is needed with a variety of tasks throughout the day, as well as with set-up from 7.00am before events begin. Even a small amount of your time can make a big difference and helps ensure the day runs smoothly and safely for all students.

If you are available to assist, please email claire.major@cewa.edu.au and include your mobile number. I will contact you to discuss how you may be able to help.

Thank you for your ongoing support of our school community. We are looking forward to a wonderful day of athletic achievement, faction pride and community spirit, and we hope many of you will be able to join us.

Students in PP to Year 6 will be expected to wear their faction coloured T–shirt, hats and their red sports shorts or skorts. They are allowed to wear suitable sneakers of choice on this day. It would be great if the Kindy students could try and wear something that is their faction colour.

*Children can use coloured hair spray and coloured zinc, but this must be applied before they arrive at school.

Outline of day

7.00 Staff and parent volunteers take all equipment and tents to oval and set up.

8.00 Year 6 arrive at school and help set up equipment

8.40 Children march to the oval in their factions

8.50 Welcome, opening prayer and acknowledgement of country

9.00 Races commence

11.30 Lunch (Kindy and Pre-Primary will be back in classrooms for this)

12.00 Races continue

1.30 approx Students gather in faction bays for champion medals and trophy presentations

At the conclusion of the Carnival, parents may collect their child/children from an allocated area. They must be signed out with their class teacher.

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/

A Huge Thank You to Our Wonderful P&F Volunteers!

A huge thank you to all the wonderful Year 2 mums who helped run our Father’s Day Stall. The children had such a lovely time shopping for their special gifts, and it was wonderful to see their excitement as they chose something for their dads and loved ones. Your time and effort made the day so special!

Another very special thank you also goes to our Year 4 mums, who organised and ran the Father’s Day Breakfast. It was a huge success, and we are so grateful for the incredible effort that went into making it such a memorable morning for our school community. It wouldn’t have been possible without you!

Sports Carnival – Sausage Sizzle & Juice Orders

A reminder to please place your children’s orders for the sausage sizzle and juice for the Sports Carnival as soon as possible. We want to make sure we have enough for everyone, so please don’t leave your orders until the last minute!

We would also love to receive donations of soft drinks and cakes for our cake stall to sell on the day. If you are able to contribute, please bring your donations along on the day, to help us make the carnival a fantastic day for everyone.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support of our P&F and school community! 💜

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

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.