ÐãÐãÖ±²¥

From the Vice Principal – Term 3 Week 4

Jenni Vile on 15/08/2025

Pupil-Free Days – Friday 22 August and Monday 25 August

You are reminded that we have pupil-free days for all students coming up at the end of Week 5. On Friday 22 August, our staff will be participating in a wellbeing day with a focus on service. Staff will be working on a range of activities, including cooking for Shopfront, flatpack construction for No Limits and more. Monday 25 August is Catholic Day. We hope many families will be able to make the most of this extended time together.

ÐãÐãÖ±²¥ Parents Forum – Save the Date

We are excited to invite you to our Term 3 ÐãÐãÖ±²¥ Parents Forum, where we will be trying something new! This time, you can choose the sessions that interest you most, with each presentation running twice.

Come along to:

  • Discover what’s changing in Social Media Legislation and discuss considerations for school, parents and students
  • Explore our rich Marist Identity and what it means for our community
  • Learn practical ways to help students build resilience
  • Gain insight into the Equip, Guide, Thrive program

It is a great opportunity to connect, learn and be part of important conversations shaping our school community. Full details and registration information will be sent out soon.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Year 12 Legacy Project – Do It For Cancer

The 2025 Student Leadership Team have spent time this year reflecting on what kind of legacy they want to leave behind. As a team, they wanted to do something to genuinely make a difference within the ÐãÐãÖ±²¥ community and beyond. Through a number of workshops, they considered how they could increase student engagement through hope and connection. They felt this could be achieved by supporting a cause that affects many Australians and many of our own families.

The Class of 2025 are supporting the Cancer Council’s Do It For Cancer fundraiser. Year 12 students are either cutting their hair or committing to a physical challenge over the next month in the hope of raising awareness, hope, funds, and hopefully building a meaningful Class of 2025 legacy.

So far, the team has 40 participants and has already raised over $16000! The haircuts will take place in Week 8 during their Extended PCG.

If you wish to have a look at the team page or donate, you can do so at the following link:

If there are any families who may be able to assist with the haircuts, please contact Mrs Carla Pastorelli, Deputy Principal Secondary via email carla.pastorelli@newman.wa.edu.au

The Class of 2025 thanks you for your support.

Wellbeing Week

Feeling well, or ‘wellbeing’ is fundamental to our overall health and enjoyment of life. We recognise the importance of education, raising awareness and providing opportunities for students to develop their own wellbeing and to contribute to and participate in our flourishing community. This year, Wellbeing Week will be celebrated in Week 6. Each day will focus on a different element of wellbeing; Together Tuesday, Wellness Wednesday, Thankful Thursday & Fitness Friday.

On Friday 22 August, staff will be participating in a Wellbeing Day focusing on service. We are calling for parents or students to submit messages of appreciation or gratitude to our staff, which will be delivered on our Staff Wellbeing Day. You are invited to enter a message using this .

Hours of Supervision

Parents are reminded that the hours of supervision for students are outlined below. Students are not permitted on Campus outside of hours unless attending a prearranged College activity (such as Homework Club). Students are not permitted to wait for their parents inside the Auditorium or other College facilities.

College Policy Updates

The following College Policies have been recently updated:

After-Hours Access to College Grounds

We are fortunate to have beautiful College facilities that are enjoyed by our students, families and local community through College programs, club activities and special events. To keep these spaces safe, well-maintained and available for their intended purposes, we ask for your support in ensuring that our grounds are respected and used appropriately.

Please be reminded that no students or members of the public should be on College grounds outside of school hours unless:

  • Participating in College-organised activities
  • Taking part in activities run by our on-site clubs
  • Attending events in the Auditorium

Unfortunately, in recent weeks, there have been instances of anti-social and unsafe behaviour after hours on College property. While the majority of our community does the right thing, a small number of individuals have caused disruption and acted in ways that are not acceptable in our community.

We are asking parents and caregivers to speak with their children about the importance of respecting school grounds and the people who use them, and to reinforce that being on site outside of the times above is not permitted. If you become aware of any after-hours activity on our grounds, please contact the College or, if urgent, the police.

Together, we can help maintain a safe, welcoming and respectful environment for all who use our facilities.

Mr Michael Chiera

VICE PRINCIPAL

Primary Update – Term 3 Week 4

Jenni Vile on 15/08/2025

5B Assembly

Last Friday delighted us with an assembly dedicated to dogs and all we can learn from them. We were reminded that dogs embody many of our Marist characteristics. My apologies to those whose child came home with a long list of reasons as to why they should get a dog. Ironically, last Friday was also International Cats Day, so a special mention to all of the cats in our community.

Catholic Performing Arts –Dance Troupes

On Wednesday night, I had the great pleasure of attending the Catholic Performing Arts – Dance Creative at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre to watch our magnificent Primary dance troupes Genesis (Years 1 and 2) and Ascend (Years 5 and 6). Congratulations for a wonderful performance. A special thank you to our very talented teachers, Ms Kathy La Brooy and Mrs Samantha Wynne for their tireless work in preparing the girls for the stage.

Lavalla Carpark

We have been working hard to ensure the smooth flow of traffic at school pick up. I wish to thank you all for embracing our Marist characteristics, allowing everyone to exit the carpark in a timely manner. To support this, I request:

  • PK and Kindy parents promptly collect their child at 2.45pm and vacate the carpark promptly prior to the rush.
  • Year 3-6 families arrive at Kiss n Ride at 3.10pm, allowing our junior primary students to pick up first. I understand that this is not always possible if you have children across different year groups.
  • You ensure your surname is easily visible on your dashboard or car visor, allowing duty staff to prepare your child for pick up.
  • If the Kiss n Ride lane is full, please loop around where you will be given priority to re-enter the queue. Please DO NOT block cars wanting to enter the carpark in waiting to enter the Kiss n Ride lane. There have been times where cars have been backed up to Empire Ave due to this.

PP to Year 6 Disco

Get your dancing shoes ready! Our School Disco will be held on Friday 19th September.

  • Pre-Primary to Year 2: 4:00pm – 5:00pm
  • Year 3 to Year 6: 5:15pm – 6:30pm

To purchase your tickets just .

 

Book Week Parade

Our book week dress up and parade will be held on Tuesday 19th August in the undercover basketball courts.

  • 8:50am: PP, Y2, Y4, Y6.
  • 9:50am: Kindy, Y1, Y3, Y5.

Athletics Carnival

The PP-6 Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 12th September. More information is coming soon.

Student Illness

As we travel through the middle of the winter months, it is important to remind families of the importance of keeping children home if they display symptoms of being unwell. Illness spreads quickly amongst primary students, so we ask that if your child is sick that you do not send them to school. Please keep them home until symptoms clear, to avoid passing on sicknesses to other students and staff. This is particularly important for vulnerable members of our community. Students that present to school with symptoms of being unwell will be sent home. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Mrs Sarah Pagett

ACTING HEAD OF PRIMARY

From the Principal – Term 3 Week 2

Jenni Vile on 01/08/2025

Dear ÐãÐãÖ±²¥ Families,

Welcome back to Term 3! A great occasion as our PK to Year 2 students, staff and parents moved over to the Lavalla campus on the first day of this term. Thank you to all staff for the work they achieved over the break to have everything ready and running for our students. I also thank parents for their support of the move. So many families commented on the facilities and the warmth of the welcome. New students and families started their ÐãÐãÖ±²¥ journey this term and I hope they are feeling settled and a part of the Family Spirit.

Emil and The Detectives plus Catholic Performing Arts Festival

Congratulations to the Arts team, Marist Auditorium team and the talented students who performed Emil and the Detectives on Thursday. Their last performance is tonight, Friday. The opening performance was fantastic and showcased the further development of the Arts at ÐãÐãÖ±²¥.

We are in the season of the Catholic Performing Arts Festival and Over 400 students are performing from our College over the next 6 weeks. Best of luck to our orchestras, ensembles, soloists, artists, dancers and actors. Following the Catholic Performing Arts season, we will host fellow Marist School, Sacred Heart College, Adelaide, for the Marist Music Exchange. What a great term to celebrate everything to do with our Arts and then lead into Term 4 events with Arts Week and the Dance Showcase, Art Exhibition and the final Music Night.

Celebrating Academic Success

On the Marcellin Campus (Secondary), we will be holding our first Celebration Assembly for Term 3. This assembly focuses on Semester 1 academic high achievement and sits with the beginning of Year Academic Assembly and end of Year Awards Night, as the most prestigious of academic celebrations in the College. We are really looking forward to recognising this achievement alongside the students’ parents who have been invited to the event.

Planting for the Future

Today, a group of Year 6 and Year 12 Student Leaders planted over 200 native plants and trees on the Tuscany Way embankment. This is the next stage of the planting program that began in 2023, and we thank the City of Stirling for the donation of such important plants and trees to support corridors of green for native animal habitats. In a few weeks, staff will also be planting another 300 plants as a part of their service program.

100 Days of School

What a great delight to visit Pre-Primary on Thursday to celebrate the fun of 100 days at school. We all enjoyed dressing up like Centenarians to celebrate their 100th day. Pre-Primary students kindly reminded me that I was closer to 100 than them, as I paraded my ‘aged’ attire. A great laugh with the students and staff!

ÐãÐãÖ±²¥ Hearts Winter Edition

The second edition of ÐãÐãÖ±²¥ Hearts has been distributed electronically to families and the community. This publication is growing and doing a great job of providing more stories and photos of the great engagement of ÐãÐãÖ±²¥ students and alumni. I hope you enjoy the read.

Your Support

We have significant College events coming up in the weeks ahead. Assumption Day Mass and Fete, Marcellin (Secondary) Guild Athletics Carnival and Lavalla (Primary) Athletics Carnival. While I do not really need to remind primary students that they need to attend these events, I do have to remind secondary students that these are compulsory days to attend (excluding those Year 11-12 students who are required at TAFE for these days). With a few weeks to go before the events, I ask you to discuss at home the compulsory nature of such days. Thank you in advance.

Wishing all ÐãÐãÖ±²¥ Families a great fortnight ahead.

Mr Andrew Watson

PRINCIPAL

From the Vice Principal – Term 3 Week 2

Jenni Vile on 01/08/2025

Catholic Performing Arts Festival

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of joining Ms La Brooy, Leader of Learning – The Arts, and a group of students at the Opening Mass for the 2025 Performing Arts Festival, held at St Mary’s Cathedral. This Mass marks the beginning of a vibrant celebration of the arts within Catholic education.

Now in its 36th year, the Performing Arts Festival brings together more than 20,000 students from 162 Catholic schools across Western Australia. The Festival runs from 25 July to 5 September, with a wide variety of live and recorded performances taking place across multiple venues. We are excited to be hosting the Final Concert on Tuesday 16 September in our Marist Auditorium.

The Performing Arts Festival is a significant event in our College calendar, showcasing the creativity, talent and dedication of our students and staff. We look forward to seeing many of our students participate again this year.

Assumption Day Mass and Fete

Friday 15 August marks the Feast Day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is also the patronal feast of the Institute of the Marist Brothers. 

Our College community will celebrate Assumption Day with Mass, followed by Fete Day activities. Attendance on this day is compulsory for all students.  

The Assumption Day Fete will raise funds for Australian Marist Solidarity (AMS). AMS is the international agency for aid and development work of the Marist Province of Australia throughout Asia and the Pacific Islands. All funds raised go towards supporting the projects of AMS, including the organisations our Year 11 Philippines Immersion students will visit later this year. Families can learn more about the work of Australian Marist Solidarity online:

Further information regarding the day will be provided to families in due course.

We look forward to our students joining with the Marist Brothers Community and Marists in celebration this special Feast Day.

Lavalla Carpark

As many of you know, we have been working to ensure a safe, smooth and efficient drop-off and pick-up experience for families. Thank you for your ongoing feedback and patience as we continue to refine this process.

We are still assessing whether the current left-turn only exit from the Lavalla carpark is effectively improving traffic flow, especially in the afternoons. To assist with this, we will trial allowing right turns from the carpark next week. During this period, we will closely monitor the impact on both safety and traffic movement.

Based on our observations, we will make a more permanent decision about exit directions by the end of the week.

Child Safeguarding

All children and young people who come to ÐãÐãÖ±²¥ have the right to feel and be safe. We are committed to providing a child-safe and child-friendly environment, one where they are protected, feel secure, and are empowered to actively participate in decisions that affect their lives.

The College places the highest importance on its child safeguarding responsibilities and is committed to providing the resources needed to uphold a child-safe culture and comply with all relevant child protection laws and regulations.

We have recently displayed posters in both the Marcellin and Primary reception areas to reaffirm our commitment to Child Safeguarding. These posters also include links to the College’s Child Safeguarding resources. All our information and policies concerning Child Safeguarding can be found here.

Mr Michael Chiera

VICE PRINCIPAL

Primary Update – Term 3 Week2

Jenni Vile on 01/08/2025

We’ve had a fantastic start to our first two weeks as a united Pre-Kindy to Year 6 Primary Campus. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all staff for their tireless efforts over the school holidays in preparing the classrooms to warmly welcome our youngest students.

It has been a joy to see students proudly showing their parents around their new learning spaces. The excitement and energy across the campus have been palpable, with students thoroughly enjoying their new classrooms and playgrounds.

4 Green Assembly

Today, 4 Green took us on a Star Wars inspired journey through the galaxy, reminding us of the power of choosing the path of good and showing how setbacks can strengthen us and sometimes turn out even better than we imagined.

A big thank you to the students and teachers of 4 Green for their creativity, energy, and meaningful message.

6 Green Assembly

Last week, 6 Green led our first assembly of the term with the theme centred on recognising the unique gifts and talents that God has given each of us. They reminded us that God calls us to use these gifts in positive ways to support and uplift others, helping us grow as good Christians and good citizens. Well done to 6 Green for starting the term with such a thoughtful and inspiring message.

Lavalla Carpark

We have been working hard to ensure the smooth flow of traffic at school pick up. I wish to thank you all for embracing our Marist characteristics, allowing everyone to exit the carpark in a timely manner. To support this, I request:

  • PK and Kindy parents promptly collect their child at 2.45pm and vacate the carpark promptly prior to the rush.
  • Year 3-6 families arrive at Kiss n Ride at 3.10pm, allowing our junior primary students to pick up first. I understand that this is not always possible if you have children across different year groups.
  • You ensure your surname is easily visible on your dashboard or car visor, allowing duty staff to prepare your child for pick up.

As per my correspondence last week, we will be trialling right hand turns onto Empire Ave from week 3. I will update you on how this goes. Thank you again for your patience and cooperation over the past two weeks.

Child Safety

We have had some instances of older siblings dropping off Pre-Primary students to class. A friendly reminder to please ensure that an adult drops off Pre-Primary students. We have also had some instances of students waiting in the auditorium for sport practice after school for up to 90 minutes without any supervision. We are blessed at ÐãÐãÖ±²¥ to have OSH Club before and after school, fees may be eligible for government rebates .

Homework Club

Homework Club for years 3-6 is up and running for Term Two, taking place every Tuesday from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm in the 3–6 Building (Ground Floor).

To ensure the safety and accountability of all students:

  • Teachers will sign in students upon their arrival.
  • Parents or guardians are required to present themselves to sign their child out at the conclusion of the session.
  • If you wish for your child to be dismissed without parent collection, please inform us by emailing primary.admin@newman.wa.edu.au no later than the Friday prior to the Homework Club session.
  • We kindly ask that all students are collected promptly at 4:30 pm to ensure staff can conclude the session on time.
  • Primary students are NOT permitted to attend secondary Homework Club in the JHN Learning Hub.

We appreciate your cooperation in maintaining a secure and supportive environment for our students.

PP to Year 6 Disco- Save the Date

 Get your dancing shoes ready! Our School Disco will be held on Friday 19th September.

  • Pre-Primary to Year 2: 4:00pm – 5:00pm
  • Year 3 to Year 6: 5:15pm – 6:30pm

Stay tuned for more details and the booking link coming soon!

Book Week Parade

Our book week dress up and parade will be held on Tuesday 19th August in the undercover basketball courts.

  • 8:50am: PP, Y2, Y4, Y6.
  • 9:50am: Kindy, Y1, Y3, Y5.

I can’t wait to see all of the fantastic costumes

Mrs Sarah Pagett

ACTING HEAD OF PRIMARY