Term Four Week Two – Commencing Monday 20th October 2025

Colour Run
The end of the week will certainly be an exciting time for the community as the school’s annual Colour Run takes place. Further information for the families can be found below and to ensure that everyone is aware of the details will also be shared closer to the day. 

A reminder that sponsorship sheets are due back to school by Wednesday 22nd of October. The Colour Run is a fantastic opportunity to raise funds for the school to ensure that we continue to provide the children at St Emilie’s with all the resources they require for their learning. 

Whole School Testing Week
Next week at St Emilie’s, children between Year One to Year Six will take part in some online assessments. This testing aims to assess a child’s learning growth in the areas of Reading and Mathematics, with the data being used for school staff to analyse the areas where the school is performing particularly well, as well as identify any gaps that we need to address as a staff. 

Unlike the data from NAPLAN and Religious Education Assessment (REA), this data will not formally be shared with parents and carers. As with all data on learning collected throughout the year, this data will be used by our professional educators for assessing learning and deciding on future learning for individuals and cohorts of children. 

Children in Year Three, Year Four and Year Five will also take part in the General Ability test (AGAT) available through the Australian Council of Educational Research. The data from this assessment will be used as a data point in 2026 for staff as we select those children to be included in the Academic Extension opportunities that our school offers. 

As is the case with any formal assessments that take place across our school, staff understand that assessments are a snapshot of learning on one particular day, at one particular time. While we always ask our children to ‘strive for excellence’ as is one of our school’s values, striving for excellence is about effort and application. Our staff will ensure that these assessments are delivered in an age appropriate way. 

Please note that testing will not take place every day this week and that individual classes will decide on the best time for the testing to take place. 

2026 Staffing Update: Mr Ben Hewitt & Mrs Sarika Srivastava
We have come to that time of year again when schools turn their attention to staffing for the following year. 

As the year progresses, information will be shared with the community about staffing at St Emilie’s. Please find some information regarding staffing at St Emilie’s for 2026. 

Mr Ben Hewitt 

I would like to congratulate Mr Hewitt on his recent appointment to join the staff at St Michael’s School in Bassendean in 2026. 

Mr Hewitt joined the team at St Emilie’s after moving from St Joseph’s Northam at the commencement of 2022. Mr Hewitt has done a fantastic job teaching in the middle and upper years here at St Emilie’s and is known by all for his calm, positive and patient nature. 

Mr Hewitt currently teaches the children in Year Three Blue. 

Mrs Sarika Srivastava 

I would also like to thank Mrs Sarika Srivastava for her contribution to St Emilie’s over the last two years, as she concludes her time at St Emilie’s as an Education Assistant. Mrs S, as she is known by the children, has brought a very kind and caring nature with her in her time here at the school, often caring for our youngest children. 

As with all of our community members, past and present, Mr Hewitt and Mrs S will always be part of us here at St Emilie’s. Toward the conclusion of the year, we will farewell Mr Hewitt and Mrs S, and our community will have the opportunity to thank them for their time. 

We wish Mr Hewitt and Mrs S all the very best for the remainder of the year, as well as with their future endeavours in 2026. 

Optional Early Years T-Shirt in 2026
Late last term, staff and the School Advisory Council discussed the possibility of introducing an optional t-shirt for children in the Early Years (Kindy and Pre Primary) at St Emilies. The rationale behind introducing an optional t-shirt is to provide an opportunity for children to enhance their connectedness and belonging to the community by wearing an item of clothing, which is age appropriate that ties the children to the school. 

The optional nature of the t-shirt will not detract from the educational philosophy in this area of the school, where we promote autonomy and choice for our children through play based experiences. 

Final details will be workshopped with our current uniform provider, Perm A Pleat School Wear, and in the coming weeks, the children between Kindy to Year Two, will have the opportunity to contribute their artwork, which will eventually be screen printed on the t-shirt. This will ensure that the t-shirt is custom made for children at St Emilie’s and represents our school through the eyes of the child. 

More details will be shared about the progression of the Early Years t-shirt in the coming weeks. 

Interschool Chess & Interschool Numero Tournaments
Once again, there are many learning opportunities open to the children at St Emilie’s in Term Four in line with our holistic approach to learning. This week, we wish all of the children in the Interschool Chess Team and Interschool Numero Team all the very best as they represent the school. We also thank Ms Williams and Ms Clune for their time and effort in ensuring that these opportunities are available for the children at St Emilies’s. 

P & F Sponsors
Over the course of the year, our School P & F has been so very well supported by some very generous local businesses, most recently in Term Three, and over the course of Term Four. I would like to especially thank the following businesses for supporting our school. 

A HUGE thank you to: 

Briscola Homes

Lil Sprinkles Bakery

Lighten Up Candles Coogee

Canning Vale Groceries 

The wonderful events that are supported by our School P & F could not go ahead without the support of these very generous businesses. On behalf of everyone at St Emilie’s, I would like to say a huge THANK YOU! 

Class Term Overviews
A Class Overview will be sent home today or by Monday. This overview provides parents and carers with an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the teaching and learning program for your child’s class as well as any other information that is required to ensure that Term Four runs smoothly in your child’s class. 

2026 Class Requests
The period for parents and carers to lodge official class requests for 2026 has now opened. If you have any class requests for your child for 2025, these need to be sent in writing to the School Administration Account at stemiliesadmin@cewa.edu.au.  

At the end of 2024, there was a huge increase in the number of class requests sent to the school for the 2025 class placements. For 2026, I ask that parents and carers do not email through requests for friends that you would like your child to be placed with in 2026. As part of our usual process, children are asked by their class teachers to name five friends that they would like to be with for the following year. These names are then entered into our system, and each child in the school is guaranteed to have at least one of these children in their class. 

Requests for friends that are sent to the Administration Email will not be considered. 

While we will certainly take other requests into account when we are organising classes for 2026, requests are not guaranteed. The period for official class requests to be sent to school will close on Monday, 27th October. 

Notify School If Leaving
As we draw closer to the end of the year, planning has commenced at the school for the commencement of the 2026 school year. If your child is not returning to St Emilie’s for the 2026 school year, can you please email the School Administration Office at stemiliesadmin@cewa.edu.au to notify the school. 

Fee Balances
As we enter Term Four, it is timely for families who have remaining fee balances to work toward closing these balances for the year. The school fees that parents and carers pay at St Emilie’s are a vital source of funding for our school and ensure that we can resource the school in the best way for the children in our care. 

We recognise from time to time that families may have difficulty in paying school fees. If this is the case, I would ask that you contact the Administration Office to arrange a confidential conversation with myself. 

Wellness Dog Trial
As was shared on Thursday, this week, Lucy, the School Wellbeing Dog, will commence a trial here at the school for Term Four. I encourage all families to please read the information sent home about Lucy and ask that if you would prefer your child does not interact directly with Lucy, you please send me an email at chris.burns@cewa.edu.au and I will take note. 

High Standard of School Uniform 
As we enter Term Four, I would like to remind parents and carers of the School Uniform Procedures for the school, which can be found on the school website page here.  

A reminder to all families that as part of the School Uniform Procedures, there are clear guidelines for the wearing of accessories, as well as for haircuts, which all parents and carers agree to upon enrolment of their child here at St Emilie’s. Locally, our school enjoys a strong reputation, and this is partly down to the standards that are expected for children around such things as uniforms. I encourage parents and carers to ensure that ‘holiday haircuts’ do not return with your child back to school this term, and that you continue to support the school in upholding standards around uniform. 

Children Must Have a School Hat
As the warmer weather starts to creep in, please ensure that your child brings a school hat to school. Children in Kindy and Pre-Primary may wear any hat they wish from home. 

Term Four Planner Online
To stay up to date with all of the great things happening this term at St Emilie’s, please find the School Term Calendar here.

Charism Art Exhibition
As part of the Charism Art Exhibition, children from Catholic schools have been invited to share art pieces for display. Each school has been invited to share two pieces of art for the Charism Art Exhibition, and we are pleased to share that we will be entering two portraits from St Emilie’s. One of the portraits will be from Year One, which has been designed using watercolour, and the second is a digitally created portrait of St Emilie. 

To see these works of art as well as many more from across the system of schools, please visit their website, here.