Term One Week One – Commencing Monday 2nd February 2026

Dear Families,    

On behalf of the staff here at St. Emilies Catholic Primary School, I would like to welcome you all back to the school year for 2026. 

I hope that this first edition of the Weekly Reminders finds you well, that you and your loved ones had a very happy and Holy Christmas, and that the break over the Summer with your children has given you plenty of opportunities to make special memories.  

We currently find ourselves in the Nyoongar season of Birak, which is characterised by very hot weather and symbolised by the colour red. Birak is certainly living up to its reputation with some very warm weather in Perth, as is usually the case, however, it is very hard to beat the beautiful Perth sunsets that we have been having lately, too. Please ensure that as your children come to school each morning, they have a hat, suncream, a full water bottle and perhaps something to keep their lunch boxes cool. 

2026 promises to be another terrific year at St Emilie’s where our children continue to ‘Grow in Grace’ with the guidance of families and our dedicated and talented school staff here at St Emilie’s. Our staff are very excited to welcome your children back to school on Monday the 2nd of February, to commence the year.  

This week in particular, we are very excited to welcome our very first cohort of Three Year Old Kindy children who will take their place at St Emilie’s for the very first time. These children will join with Mrs Bolding and Mrs Klatt on Thursdays throughout the term, playing and making beautiful memories at Three Year Old Kindy like all little people should. This is an exciting step for our school, as we continue to strengthen our focus on the importance of The Early Years, as per our Vision for Learning. 

We sincerely thank our community for the support of our foundation Three Year Old Kindy Program which, has been filled with enrolments from current families. The uptake has been most pleasing. 

To commence our year, I share with you all our school prayer. This is a prayer to St Emilie to guide and inspire us as the year progresses. May we continue to draw on her grace and inspiration throughout 2026. 

Prayer to St Emilie 

St Emilie, our mother and guide, 

you were so filled with the love of God, 

that you helped others in difficult times. 

Please help us to be like you and love others. 

Amen. 

St Emilie, pray for us. 

Welcome to New Families 
A very warm welcome to all of the new families who have joined our community in 2026. We have a full Kindy cohort this year with many new families joining. As mentioned previously, we also welcome children in to Three Year Old Kindy Program, and we are also pleased to share that we will be welcoming many new families into the school across various other year levels too. We know that those in our community will go out of their way to ensure that our new families are settled and made to feel welcome.  

Welcome to New Staff 
We are also pleased to share that we welcome two new staff members to the school in 2026. As shared at the end of 2025, Mrs Jessica Cullen will join our staff as the Kindy Blue Teacher. Jess joins us from Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Hilton, and we are delighted to have Mrs Cullen here at St Emilie’s. 

Jenny Mair-Wieman also joins our school staff in the role of School Psychologist. Jenny’s experience across the CEWA system is a wonderful addition to our staff. Further information about how Jenny’s role will look in the school will be shared later in the term after Jenny has had time to settle in and meet those in our community.

In true St Emilie’s fashion, I know you will make Jenny and Jessica feel at home here at St Emilie’s. 

Sacramental Commitment Masses
Sacramental Commitment Masses for children celebrating the Sacraments of Reconciliation (Year Three), First Holy Communion (Year Four) and Confirmation (Year Six) will be held across the weekend of Saturday 7th of February and Sunday 8th of February, as well as over the weekend of Saturday 14th of February and Sunday the 15th of February. During these Masses, children from St ‘ will join with parishioners from the parish to show their commitment to preparing for the Sacraments in 2026. 

Sacramental Enrolment Forms are available from the Parish Church from this weekend. Last year, we had a very pleasing uptake of families completing these forms, and we once again ask for your support in 2026. 

As the year unfolds, children from St Emilies will prepare for the celebrations, and we keep these children, their families and the staff involved in their preparations in our prayers.  

Ash Wednesday Mass
As a Catholic learning community, Lent is a very important and special time for our school. Ash Wednesday signifies the commencement of Lent, and this year, Ash Wednesday Mass will be held at the Parish Church on Wednesday, the 18th of February at 9:00am. All families are invited to join the children and staff for this celebration, led by the Year Five class. 

Strategic Plan
We are very excited to share that our School Strategic Plan, ‘Growing in Grace Toward 2030,’ is now ready to be launched and shared with our community. This plan, which has been a year in the making, will serve as a road map for our community between now and 2030, ensuring that we continue to accentuate our strengths, whilst at the same time, embracing the opportunities that exist to ensure that we continue to provide a quality Catholic education here in Canning Vale. 

On Wednesday evening, during the Parent Information Evening, the Strategic Plan will be shared with the community so that parents can understand the future direction of the school. The Strategic Plan will later be posted on the school website. 

Parent Information Evening
A reminder for all parents and carers that on Wednesday 4th of February, we will be hosting our Parent Information Evening. Parent Information Evening is an essential part of the school year where parents and carers have an opportunity to meet the staff who care for their child. It is also an opportunity for parents and carers to hear about the newly created St. Emilie’s Catholic Primary School Strategic Plan, ‘Growing in Grace Toward 2030’, as well as for staff to share some updated information about how Purposeful Practice looks at St Emilie’s. 

The timetable for Wednesday evening is as below:  

• 5:00pm – 5:30pm Classroom Session One  

• 5:40pm – 6:00pm Strategic Plan & Purposeful Practice (Whole School Session) 

• 6:10pm – 6:40pm Classroom Session Two  

Please note that Classroom Session One and Classroom Session Two will be the same presentation, which is repeated for families with more than one child at the school. 

Extreme Heat
The weather forecast for the return to school is scheduled to be very warm, with the temperature hovering around 40 degrees on Monday. 

At a school level, during cases of extreme weather such as these, our Extreme Weather Procedures are put in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children, staff and visitors to the school site.  

During days when the temperature is deemed extreme, children will stay inside at lunch time during the heat of the day to ensure they stay cool. Physical Education lessons will be modified to avoid the heat.  

Please be mindful of what you place in your child’s lunch box this week, as some food items do not cope well in the heat. In the car park, we continue to ask for your patience and consideration as we endeavour to get children into cars as quickly as possible after school.  

Carpark Procedures
As you enter the car park for the first time this year, you will notice that there have been some speed humps installed in the school car park. One of the speed humps that has been installed is located directly at the entrance to the school car park from Amherst Road. This speed hump has been positioned to ensure that those cars entering the car park are travelling at the appropriate speed. 

You will also notice that some permanent bollards have been placed at the crosswalk, which leads out onto Amherst Road. Please drive carefully and follow the arrows that indicate traffic flow as usual. 

An important reminder that the safety of the children is of the utmost importance here at St Emilie’s. It is important that you familiarise yourself with the carpark and drive-through procedures. Additionally, we highly recommend that you share this information with grandparents/relatives/friends who may collect your child/ren. 

St Emilie’s has established a drive-through system to facilitate a safe and efficient means of delivering and collecting children by car without the need to park. A one-way system around the school block has been designed for both morning drop-off and afternoon pickup, to ensure traffic movement is predictable, safe and efficient. All cars must enter via the Amherst Road roundabout entrance. 

Please click here to view the procedure and map. Please ensure anyone who is picking up your child/ren at drive-through has a name tag displayed. Contact the office if you need additional name tags. There is also some information below from the City of Gosnells about safer school parking. Please read this information as well. 

School Fees 2026
School Fee Statements for 2026 will be sent to families early this term. At St Emilie’s, we provide many options for families to pay off school fees, which are essential in ensuring our children can operate and offer the children the learning opportunities that we do. 

 Throughout the year, if you are finding payments difficult to make, please contact the school to make a confidential appointment to meet with myself.  

A reminder that if you have a Health Care or Pension Card with your child’s name on it, please ensure that the school has an up to date copy of the card to ensure we can pass on the relevant discount.  

Absentees on Website
A reminder that, should your child be absent from school on any given school day, we encourage parents and carers to provide information about their child via the school website. When you fill out the absentee form on the website, notification comes to both the Administration Office and your child’s class teacher.  

Black School Shoes (Year One to Year Six) 
Children from Year One to Year Six are required to wear all black school sports shoes to school each day. Children only need one pair of school sports shoes for the week. We ask that children wear sports shoes only and do not wear ‘skate shoes’ as classes participate in physical activity each day. Other coloured shoes are not permitted at St Emilie’s, nor are black shoes with large amounts of colourful designs or logos present on the shoes. 

Hair 
Many children will have a haircut before they return to school. Parents and Carers, please ensure that all children’s hairstyles to commence the school year are in keeping with our School Uniform Procedure, which essentially asks for modest hairstyles. Hairstyles should not have extremes in length i.e. ‘mohawk’ or ‘mullet’ styles, have unnatural colours through the hair or have lines, patterns and designs shaved into the hair.  

Quite simply, hairstyles should not distract children or other children from learning throughout the day or become a competition. While I understand that children will often ask for the trendiest hairstyle, if we all give the same message in line with our school’s School Uniform Procedure, it ensures a united message.

Socks 
School socks should be white, high anklet socks only.  

Uniform Exemption Notes from Parents & Carers 
At St Emilies, our staff understand that life with children is busy, and from time to time, your child may not have the correct uniform. Please do not stress. The most important thing is that your child comes to school. You are asked, though, if your child does not have the correct uniform to provide an exemption note to your child’s Class Teacher. This aids in keeping the lines of communication open between school and home, and often makes children feel less anxious about not having the correct uniform.  

No Family Picnic in 2026. All Families invited to attend Parish 25th Year Celebration
At the commencement of each year, the community at St Emilie’s gathers to celebrate the new year, catch up with old friends and meet those new members of our community during the Family Picnic. 

This year, our parish celebrates a very special milestone as we turn 25 years old! On Sunday, the 15th of March, the parish will be celebrating this wonderful milestone with a celebration to be held on the school grounds. All school families are invited to attend! 

In order to support our parish in the best way we can and get as much school representation to the celebration as possible, the decision has been made not to host our usual Family Picnic at the start of the year, in the hope that school families will use the parish celebration as a chance to come together to commence the year. While we know that school families very much look forward to the Family Picnic, it is important that we support our parish, and by attending the upcoming celebration, this is a perfect way we can all support. 

Further information will be shared with school families about the parish celebration, however, for now, I would ask that you save the date for Sunday, the 15th of March. 

Weekly Reminders 2026 
Each Friday throughout the term, the Weekly Reminders will be shared with all families. This is a one stop shop with all of the information required for the school week, and it is vital that parents and carers read this information each week.  

Parish Bulletins & Links
In 2026, the St Emilie de Vialar Catholic Parish continues to go from strength to strength with many opportunities available for both children and their families to deepen their faith and be part of an authentic community that models itself on the life of Saint Emilie and on the Gospel values. 

On the first page of the parish website, families can find the Parish Bulletin, which is updated every week by the Parish Office. 

To access further information about the St Emilie de Vialar Catholic Parish located on the same site as the school, please click here.

A drop down box for the St Emilie de Vialar Parish can be found underneath the ‘From The Principal’ section in the Weekly Reminders. 

Term Calendar
Parents and carers are reminded to please continue accessing the calendar and note any important dates in your diary. 

The school calendar can be found here.

Parent Contact Lists & P & F Year Level Reps 
For families with children enrolled in 2025, you would have received an email at the end of last year sharing details about your cohort’s P & F Year Level Reps as well as Parent Contact Lists for those who have ‘opted in’ to this initiative. This information is shared deliberately so parents and carers have the option of connecting with others in the year group if they wish to do so over the Christmas Holidays. 

In really great news, we have P & F Year Level Reps for all year levels here at school, including our Three Year Old Kindy cohort. A link to Year Level Reps across the school can be found on the school website and will be updated in the cm,oning weeks. We will inform parents and carers when this section has been updated.

Medication Administered at School
From time to time, we understand that your child may require medication to be administered at school. In our Administration Office, our school enacts very robust and sound processes, in line with CEWA directives, to ensure that medication is administered safely and appropriately at all times. 

In 2025, the amount of medication that was asked to be administered by our Administration Team increased dramatically. In 2026, we remind parents and carers that, should you be able to adminsiter medication to your child at home before the school day, you do this. A prime example of this may be antihistamines, which usually last for the entire school day. 

We also ask that parents do not bring in any medication ‘just in case’ as we do not have the capacity to store it. For example, we ask that you do not bring in any Panadol or Nurofen. While we have a stock of this medication if needed, generally, if a child requires Panadol or Nurofen to get through the day, school is not the best place for them. 

We understand that on occasion, a child may require medication to be administered for a short amount of time e.g. if a child has their tonsils removed. Parents and carers will be asked to complete a form for this medication to be administered. 

Our Administration Team do an amazing job attending to all of the needs that arise in our office. I once again ask that parents and carers work with our team when administering medication to ensure that between school and home we continue to administer safely and appropriately where necessary.

Updated Purposeful Practice Procedure
In 2025, school staff reviewed the way that our school offered Purposeful Practice to the children. 

This year, some updated information around Purposeful Practice will be shared with parents and carers to ensure that there is clarity around why Purposeful Practic is sent home, what will be sent home as part of Purposeful Practice, how much time we reccomend children spend on Purposeful Practice, as well as defining the roles of school staff, children and parents and carers around Purposeful Practice. 

In the coming weeks, this updated procedure will be uploaded online for parents and carers to reference. 

Parent Handbook 2026
The updated Parent Handbook for 2026 is almost ready to publish. The document is just receiving a final edit. Once the document is ready and uploaded to the website, we will inform parents and carers. 

Please note that you can still access the 2025 Parent Handbook via the website. 

Work over the holidays
A huge thank you must go to Mr Cogger and our regular maintenance contractors for the hard work and effort that has gone into improving and maintaining our school over the holidays. Amongst the many jobs undertaken were pruning, deep cleaning, sifting of playground sand, as well as general plumbing and electrical work to ensure that our school remains safe and clean for our children.