Term One Week Three – Commencing Monday 16th February 2026

Dear Families, 

Today was a very exciting day at our school as our Year Six children participated in the Year Six Leadership Retreat Day. The day for the Year Six children was spent reflecting on their learning from Growth Hunting in 2025, as well as diving deeper into the Fruits of the Holy Spirit and the School Vision for Learning. 

Mr Munro spoke with the children about his faith journey growing up in the Kimberley region on Koolan Island, and in the afternoon, the children were joined by Father Jean Noel Marie, our Parish Priest, Mr Terry Healy MLA, and Mrs Tania Thuijs, former Principal at St Emilie’s for eleven years, about their leadership experience. The children are truly blessed to have such esteemed leaders working with them throughout the day. 

Next week, you will see that our Year Six children are sporting their brand new Leavers Shirts, which were presented to the children today at the Leadership retreat Day. Congratulations, boys and girls. 

Days like this do not just put themselves together, and I would like to thank Ms Clune and Ms Dreyer, who facilitated such an engaging and worthwhile day. 

To all of the football fans in our community, especially to those who support the Eagles and Dockers, this week, we unite as the Western Australian State of Origin Team goes up against Victoria. 

Good luck to our WA players! 

Sacramental Commitment Masses
This weekend marks the final weekend for our Sacramental Commitment Masses at the Parish, with children who are committing to prepare for Reconciliation, First Holy Communion and Confirmation attending a Mass over the next two weekends to formally commence their preparation. 

Sacramental Enrolment Forms are available from the Parish Church. 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 preparation 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. 

This year, as our classes prepare to lead our community in Mass in the Church, you will notice, as you enter the Church, that artwork from the class leading the Mass is on display for all to see. 

As educators of children in their faith, we are aiming to ensure that liturgical celebrations are integrated authentically into the teaching and learning program for the classes and that the children are fully aware of why, as a community, we are celebrating. Artwork that is prepared will be a visible link between the school and the parish and ensure that, as a parish community, we journey together. 

Shrove Tuesday
Next week, we enter the liturgical season of Lent. Lent is a time for us as a Catholic school community to journey with Jesus during his most difficult time in the lead-up to his crucifixion and triumphant resurrection.

The day before Lent commences is Shrove Tuesday. Historically, Shrove Tuesday is a day when Catholic people come together to feast and use up some of the supplies they had gathered before the fasting that occurs in Lent. This year, we are calling for some parent volunteers who may be willing to come to school on Tuesday morning after drop off and assist with cooking pancakes for the children in the school.

This is a great way for us to teach the children about sacrifices made during Lent as well as share some of the historical understandings of this day while sharing a meal together.

If you are willing and able to assist on Tuesday morning by cooking pancakes on the BBQ, please share your interest on chris.burns@cewa.edu.au

Hopefully, we will have enough parent helpers for this learning opportunity to go ahead. Further information about Tuesday morning will be shared in this week’s edition of the Weekly Reminders. 

Extreme Heat
The weather forecast for the start of next week appears to be fairly mild, with no need for extreme weather procedures to be enacted. 

At a school level, during cases of extreme heat when temperatures exceed 35 degrees Celsius and above, 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. We strongly recommend that parents and carers place ice blocks into their child’s lunch box. On warmer days, you may need to include more than one ice block. On days when the temperature is very warm, when appropriate, Class Teachers will ask the children to move their school bags or lunch boxes into the classroom to ensure that they stay cool. This will be done at a time that the Class Teacher deems appropriate, before the heat of the day sets in, and not necessarily at the commencement of the day when the classroom is at its most busy and staff are trying to settle children into teaching and learning routines for the day. 

In-House Swimming Training (Year Four to Year Six)
A reminder that children in Year Four to Year Six are invited to join in during In-House Swimming Training at Riverton Leisureplex on the morning of Tuesday, the 17th of February, between 7:15am and 8:00am. Sessions will assist children in preparation for the House Swimming Trials on Monday, the 23rd of February.  

If your child is interested, please keep an eye out for information to be shared by Mr Davis and respond to register your child. 

In order to attend the swimming training, the children must be accompanied by an adult who will then drive the children to school. Please note that the training is not designed to be a swimming lesson, and your child must be able to swim 50 metres in order to attend. 

Accessing Support Through the St Emilie’s School Social Worker & School Psychologist
We are delighted that Kylie Goodes, our School Social Worker, continues to serve our community this year at St Emilie’s in the role of School Social Worker.  

In 2026, we are pleased to share that Jenny Mair-Wieman has joined our team in the role of School Psychologist as well, which adds to our suite of support for the children here at St Emilie’s. 

While we fully understand that the time and skill sets that both Kylie and Jenny are able to provide is sought after, it is important that parents and carers continue to make their child’s Class Teacher the first port of call in relation to your child. Your child’s Class Teacher will then be able to direct parents and carers in the right direction in regard to additional support.  

St Emilie’s School Bag Exchanges @ Perm-A-Pleat
Perm-A-Pleat commenced as our school uniform supplier at the commencement of 2025, with uniforms being sold from a purpose-built store in Forrestdale. 

In the transition from our previous supplier, there were a number of school bags that were transitioned over to Perm-A-Pleat from the previous supplier, which have unfortunately, not stood the test of time in regard to the front screen print falling off. 

To ensure that our families were supported in the transition, our school was covering the cost of the faulty bags when they were returned to Perm-A-Pleat, so children had a product that was of quality and that would last. 

It has come to my attention that there have been some instances of community members presenting to Perm-A-Pleat to exchange bags that were a number of years old and were damaged through wear and tear, not through faulty screen printing. Please note that the school will not be replacing these bags. 

I have since advised Perm-A-Pleat to only exchange bags purchased within the last three years and when the family have a receipt as proof of purchase. Perm-A-Pleat inform me that there are no more school bags left over from the previous supplier and that the new school bags have all been produced by Perm-A-Pleat, which is positive for our community. 

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 them 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.   

No Family Picnic in 2026. All Families invited to attend Parish’s 25th Year Celebration: Families Must Register
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 support. 

Please note that families intending to attend the celebration are required to register their attendance using the link below. 

Further information can be found on the parish website https://stemilie.net/ 

Happy Birthday Bracelets
Last year, each child would have received a Happy Birthday pencil on their birthday, which were handed out during my daily class visits. 

This year, children will once again receive a small treat on their birthday in the form of a Happy Birthday bracelet. 

Your child is most welcome to wear the bracelet on their birthday and then bring the bracelet home to wear when they feel. We ask the bracelets not return the next day to school so we can ensure that only the children who are celebrating a birthday can have their time to shine! 

Digital Device Agreement: Please Sign and Return
A reminder for parents and carers across the school to please facilitate a conversation with your child about staying safe online when using school devices at school and at home. We ask that each parent sign and return your child’s Digital Device Agreement to school. 

We appreciate your ongoing support in promoting safe and positive use of technology here at St Emilie’s. 

Do you require an interpreter?
Do you speak a language other than English or know someone who does? If so, we are pleased to share that once again, St Emilie’s is offering interpreter services which are free of charge to families. Interpreter services can be made available in a face to face capacity, over the phone or online. 

If you would like an interpreter for any meetings here at school, please ensure that you let the staff member know who you are meeting with, and this can be organised. 

Welcome Back to Elle
We are delighted to share that Elle Mangan, who formally worked in our community as a Speech Therapist, will once again join the community here at St Emilie’s. Elle returns to St Emilie’s this term to join the team at Canning River Speech Therapy. Welcome back, Elle. 

A message from the City of Gosnells regarding Parking
Last week, the school received notification from the City of Gosnells that they will continue to conduct visits to the school throughout the year to inspect parking during drop-off and collection times, issuing fines where appropriate. 

At St Emilie’s, we offer a safe and efficient way to park and collect children, or alternatively, to drop and collect children via the drive-through. 

Please drive safely and follow the road rules, being sure not to cause obstruction or park in areas where parking is prohibited. 

Staff Spotlight
By popular demand, the Staff Spotlight profiles returned to St Emilie’s this term. 

This week, we are delighted to share the profile of Jenny Mair-Wieman, our School Psychologist. We hope you enjoy meeting Jenny in this week’s Staff Spotlight. Jenny’s profile can be found below.