Dear Parents and Carers,

The Sisters of Mercy, our founders, celebrate their special feast day on September 24. This was the day that Catherine McAuley opened the first House of Mercy in Dublin, Ireland in 1827. It is a time to reflect on the Mercy mission and values and to acknowledge that we are part of the wider Mercy community.

Mercy Mission

We carry out the mission of mercy guided by prayerful consideration of the needs of our time.

Our daily lives as Sisters of Mercy are rooted in four core values inspired by the life of our founder, Catherine McAuley:

Mercy Values

Spirituality

The example of Jesus leads us, the Gospel guides us and Catherine McAuley’s spirit enlivens us. Ours is a life of contemplation and action, prayer and service.

Community

Living in community deepens our relationship with God, strengthens us for mission, and continually inspires us in our call to serve others.

Service

We see Jesus in the most marginalized people and take a vow of service to perform works of Mercy that alleviate suffering. We strive to follow Jesus’ example in all that we do.

Social Justice and Our Critical Concerns

We work passionately to eliminate poverty, the widespread denial
of human rights, the degradation of earth, the increase in violence and racism, the continued oppression of women, the abuse of children, the mistreatment of immigrants and the lack of solidarity among people and nations. (http://www.sistersofmercy.org)

We were very fortunate to have our dads, grandads and father figures at school for our Fathers’ Day Breakfast. What an outstanding sign of a strong and committed community!! Children whose families are involved in their schools and support the mission of the school including building good relationships between home and school are more likely to experience success and aim for higher outcomes. Thank you to all for attending and demonstrating your commitment and support for your children and our school. Thank you to the team of mums and staff who were here very early in the morning setting up and preparing for the breakfast – your efforts are much appreciated.

I had the pleasure of attending the Tournament of Minds at Edith Cowan University recently. The teamwork, joy and creativity demonstrated by each group was impressive. Both teams were successful in making it to the state finals which will occur this weekend. Congratulations to all teams and thank you to families and staff for attending and to Mrs Hales for coordinating and leading this opportunity for our students.

“RUOK? day” occurred last Thursday. This is about reminding us to check in with those around us and making sure that everything is OK. It’s important that if we haven’t heard from someone in a while or if someone is behaving differently that we check in on them to see how they are going. Speak with your children about who they trust and who they can talk to if they are feeling unsafe or insecure. There are many resources available on the RUOK website and the following link shares with us how we can approach asking whether someone is ok and what to do in a range of situations: https://www.ruok.org.au/join-r-u-ok-day 

Congratulations to all students for their participation in the Junior and Senior Athletics Carnivals last week. Sportspersonship was outstanding with students cheering each other on demonstrating a real joy for each others’ success. Well done to Mrs Richards and Mrs Knox for coordinating such successful events and thank you to all families for your support and to all staff for assisting with the day. Our Year 6 students also had an opportunity to demonstrate their leadership skills and did an amazing job of coordinating students and preparing them for their events.

As we come close to the end of Term 3, it is important that we recognise that students’ energy levels are plateauing. It is also important to remember that high expectations create more successful learners. Please ensure uniforms continue to be worn correctly and that all school items are brought to school so that learning can continue at a high level all the way to the end of the term. Term 3 concludes next Thursday 24th September and Term 4 commences for students on Tuesday 13th October. Students will be required to wear summer uniform.

I would like to thank all students, families, our parish and staff for another successful term at WCPS and wish you a happy and enjoyable holiday.

Best wishes and God Bless