Term One Week Two – Commencing Monday 9th February 2026

Dear Families,    

What a fantastic first week back at school it has been at St Emilie’s. Staff at the school have enjoyed catching up with the children in their care about the school holidays and have started ensuring that children are aware of the teaching and learning routines for 2026. 

A very important part of Term One, in particular, is the time placed into creating authentic, trusting relationships with the children. As educators at St Emilie’s, we know that when children feel connected to their school, learning occurs. The staff at St Emilie’s are intentional and deliberately ensuring that time is spent at school in these early days to build relationships, because, as professionals, we believe in this! 

We are very much looking forward to another successful week at school this week. 

This weekend marks the first of 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 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 preparation in our prayers. 

Thank you to all of the parents and carers who were so generous with their time on Wednesday afternoon to attend the Parent Information Evening for 2026. The Parent Information Evening is the perfect opportunity to commence the collaboration between school and home in the best interests of the children. At St Emilie’s, we understand that parents are the first educators of their children, and we strive to authentically partner with parents so that your child is given every opportunity to grow to their full potential. 

I would like to thank all of the educators at St Emilie’s for staying back after school after a full day of teaching and learning to meet with parents. 

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. 

School Census Day – Friday the 13th of February 2026
This Friday 13th of February, is February School Census Day. School Census Day is an important day for our school as it is a main source of information that is used for the federal and state governments in resourcing our school. 

As usual, all children, unless unwell, must be at school on Friday 13th of February, besides those Kindy children whose day is not rostered. If you know in advance that your child will be away from school on this day, please ensure that a written reason for absence is provided to the school before Friday. If your child is unwell on the morning of Friday 13th of February, please ensure that you provide a written absentee note prior to 9:00am. 

We appreciate your assistance in ensuring that this day runs smoothly. 

Student Class Code of Conduct – Following In The Footsteps of Saint Emilie
At St Emilie’s, our educators strive to ensure that each and every child is safe at school and that they feel connected to their peers and to school staff. Each class at the start of the year spends time speaking about appropriate behaviour in class to ensure that every child is afforded the opportunity to learn and play in a safe space. 

In 2026, each class between Kindy to Year Six will spend time creating their own Class Code of Conduct, which will be named, ‘Following In The Footsteps of Saint Emilie’. This will be done in a developmentally appropriate way, depending on the age of the children. 

These codes of conduct will be based on our school’s four core values and will be displayed in the class to ensure that this agreement is visible. Classes will also spend time workshopping what the children can do if the Code of Conduct is not being followed, and how the children have an active role in this. Once complete, parents and carers will be informed. 

Throughout the year, small groups of children will be invited to work with members of the Leadership Team to co-construct how children should be conducting themselves in line with our four school values in the Early Years Playground, Year One and Year Two Playground and Senior Playground. The work from these children will then be made into signage and displayed across the school, to ensure that children are accountable to one another in creating safe play spaces. 

Strategic Plan
Thank you to those parents and carers who attended the Parent Information Session on Wednesday to learn more about the School Strategic Plan, ‘Growing In Grace Toward 2030’. You can find the School Strategic Plan on our website here: ‘Growing in Grace Toward 2030’.

Extreme Heat
The weather forecast for the return to school next week looks to once again be warm. 

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. 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, where possible, Class Teachers will ask the children to move their school bags or lunch boxes into the classroom to ensure that they stay cool. 

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.  

Year Six Leadership Retreat Day
This Friday, our Year Six children will join with various school staff to spend the day in retreat learning and reflecting on what it means to be a leader in the Catholic school context. At St Emilie’s, we expect a lot from our Year Six children and their leadership. Over the years, it has been evident to see that our children are capable of rising to the challenge. 

The Year Six Leadership Retreat Day will take place in the School Hall, and children will take part in a special morning tea to make the day special. 

The work for the day will flow on from the children’s participation in Growth Hunting at the end of Year Five. 

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 10th of February, between 7:15am and 8:00am. Sessions will take place over the next two weeks, 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. 

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. 

Consent To Interact With School Wellbeing Dog (Lucy)
Our wonderful School Wellbeing Dog, Lucy, is back once again to join our staff in 2026. Lucy, who joined our staff last year, has slipped into life at St Emilie’s beautifully and is a much loved addition to St Emilie’s. 

We understand that some children would prefer not to interact with Lucy for many reasons, and Lucy is more than happy to be a friend from afar. 

In the coming days, permission for your child to interact with Lucy will be sent home to parents and carers. We ask that you complete this permission to ensure that if you would prefer your child not interact with Lucy, we are aware. 

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. 

Carpark Procedures – Please Use Crosswalk & Pedestrian Gate
As you enter the car park 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 hereto 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. 

I also ask that all times, parents and carers use the school crosswalks and pedestrian gates. While I understand that at times parents and carers are in a rush in the morning and afternoon, it is vital that at all times we are teaching our children how to be safe on the roads. 

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.  

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.  

No Family Picnic in 2026. All Families invited to attend Parish’s 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 support. 

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

Parents and carers, please be advised that families are asked to register their attendance to the celebration. This will ensure that the parish has a rough idea of numbers for their planning. 

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.  

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.

Purposeful Practice – Commencing Week Two
Those parents who attended the Whole School Information session on Wednesday evening have been updated on the changes to the school’s Purposeful Practice Procedure. Information on Purposeful Practice was also shared in each class information session on Wednesday evening. 

In the coming weeks, the Purposeful Practice Procedure will be added to the school website. Parents and carers will be informed when this takes place. 

Please be advised that Purposeful Practice will commence this week. 

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. 

Consent 2 Go App
At St Emilie’s, our staff use the Consent 2 Go system to plan for excursions and to seek permission from you for your children for a variety of different reasons. Please be advised that Consent 2 Go now has an app that links to your profile and has a link to the school website. 

Check it out!