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 Parents and Carers,

As we journey through the season of Lent, we are reminded of the importance of reflection and renewal. Lent offers a valuable opportunity for families to slow down, spend time together and focus on what truly matters. At home, this may be as simple as sharing moments of gratitude, practising forgiveness or encouraging small acts of kindness in your children. As we approach Easter, we are also reminded of the importance of gathering as a faith community and making time to attend Mass during this sacred season, deepening our connection with God and helping our children to understand the true meaning of Easter. We are called to live out these values in our daily lives, strengthening our relationships with one another and with God.

Parent-Teacher meetings are an important opportunity to strengthen the partnership between home and school, which is essential for your child’s success. These conversations allow us to share insights into your child’s learning, celebrate their progress and identify areas for growth together. As parents, your knowledge of your child, their strengths, interests and needs, is invaluable and when combined with the professional understanding of teachers, it creates a powerful foundation for supporting each student. I was encouraged to see our families engaging in these meetings over the last 2 days with an open and collaborative mindset, as working together ensures the best possible outcomes for your child.

A gentle reminder that our playgrounds are out of bounds after school hours. As a school, we encourage our students to play as this significantly promotes and supports child development. It is important, however, that students are not playing on equipment or in the grounds before or after school unless participating in an organised activity. For student safety, students must move directly to pick-up areas so they can be supervised appropriately. It may seem harmless to have a game with your child on the way out, but this can encourage other students to join who may not have a carer on site and also runs the risk of injuries on the equipment. We appreciate your support in reinforcing this expectation with your children so that we can continue to provide a safe environment for everyone in our community.

We are delighted to share that the school has received a $3,200 grant to purchase the Kimochis resources and training for our Kindy and Pre-Primary classrooms. Kimochis are engaging, evidence-based resources that support young children in developing emotional awareness, resilience and positive social skills. Through stories, characters and guided discussions, they help children learn how to recognise and manage their feelings and build strong relationships with others. We extend our sincere thanks to Catholic Education of Western Australia (CEWA) and to Mrs Tania Preston for her time and effort in securing this grant, which will greatly benefit our youngest learners.

As we come to the end of a very busy and rewarding first term, I would like to thank all families for your ongoing support and involvement in school life. It has been a wonderful start to the year, filled with learning, growth, adventures, laughter and connection across our community.

If I don’t see you around the school next week, I wish you and your family a safe and relaxing holiday break. May this be a time to rest, reconnect and enjoy special moments with loved ones. We look forward to seeing you all back refreshed and ready to go in Term 2.

Mrs Sarah Williams

Principal

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

• Friday 27 March - POSTPONED DUE TO BAD WEATHER - Ride to School Day
• Monday 30 March - Year 6 Excursion
• Wednesday 1 April - Holy Week Liturgy 2.00pm (Church)
• Thursday 2 April - Last Day of term
• Friday 3 April - Good Friday
• Sunday 5 April - Easter Sunday

• Monday 20 April - Students commence Term 2
• Monday 27 April - ANZAC Day Public Holiday
• Tuesday 28 April - Year 2 ANZAC DAY Assembly 8.45am
• Wednesday 29 April - School Tour 9am
• Thursday 30 April - Yrs 1 - 3 attending Mass 9am
• Friday 1 May - Assembly 8.45am

National Ride2School Day - POSTPONED

This has been postponed to next term with the forecasted weather tomorrow. As always, we place the safety and wellbeing of our students as paramount. Thank you for your understanding.

Holy Week Liturgies

The whole school will gather for our Holy Week Liturgies on Wednesday 1 April.
Students from Years 3 to 6 will lead us in a re‑enactment of the Stations of the Cross.
Families are warmly invited to join us in St Lawrence Church at 2:00pm as we reflect on this significant part of our faith journey.

Winter Uniform

A reminder that students in Years 1 to 6 are required to wear the full winter uniform during Terms 2 and 3.
Pre‑primary students will continue wearing their sports uniform and tracksuit pants.

Winter jackets are available for purchase from Uniform Concepts/JFE.
Families of Year 1 students and any new students who have joined our school this year are asked to ensure winter uniforms are purchased by the end of this term in preparation for Term 2.

There will be a two‑week transition period at the start of Term 2 where students may continue to wear their summer uniform if needed.

ANZAC Day Assembly

ANZAC Day falls on the weekend this year. Our Year 2 class will present an ANZAC Day tribute during the ANZAC Day assembly on Tuesday, 28th April at 8:45am in the Undercover Area. All parents are warmly invited to attend.

Happy Easter

We wish all our families a Happy Easter and a safe, restful holiday break.
May this sacred season bring you joy as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

Ms Kathleen Tranquille & Mrs Gabrielle Brennan

Assistant Principals

I’ve been away from St Lawrence for Term 1 because I’ve been on the east coast performing in a play called The Diary of Anne Frank. After a successful season at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne, we have moved on to the State Theatre in Sydney and we are currently in tech and dress rehearsals before we open the show on Thursday night. The Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne is a lovely, old theatre that has lots of character. The State Theatre in Sydney is the most beautiful and prestigious venue I’ve ever performed in! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I walked on stage for the first time. I’m having an amazing time performing on these big and beautiful stages, but I’m missing the St Lawrence community, and I look forward to returning in Term 2!

Mrs Grace Whitney

Music Teacher

Our Rainbows Program has started however it's not too late for your child to take part.

If you would like to register your child/children for the Rainbows program or would like further information, please email me at louise.frenzel@cewa.edu.au

Ms Louise Frenzel

Rainbows Coordinator

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/

Account Statements were issued by email mid-February for all families.

Thank you to all families who have made early payments and/or returned their Payment Option Forms.

The Payment Option Form is required to be returned if you will be making payment instalments throughout the year. Please return this form before 27 March 2026.

Thank you.

Mrs Alica Mayo

Finance Officer

We would like to extend a big thank you to all who are participating in our Easter Fundraiser for 2026! The boxes have now been sent home. Please note the funds are due back by the end of Week 1, Term 2. For those who opted out of selling a box but have opted to contribute a $25 donation, please note this can be paid by cash or card to the Office and is also due by the end of Week 1, Term 2.

P&F TEAM

CHILDREN'S LITURGY

The Children’s Liturgy is offered at the 5pm Mass on the 2nd and 3rd Sundays of the month, during school term.

At the beginning of Mass, all primary school children are invited to join our Children’s Liturgy team, in the Parish hall, for activities tailored to help them better understand ‘The Liturgy of the Word’. The children return to church when the offertory gifts are taken up. Please encourage your kids to join in.

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

information about happenings in our parish.