Newsletter 13

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 recently at Edith Cowan University.  The teamwork, joy and creativity demonstrated by each group was impressive.  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.

Later this year, we will farewell Mrs Narelle Sumner and Mr Trevor Briggs.  Narelle has been an instrumental member of our support team and Trevor has shared his skills as part of our maintenance team.  Both are highly valued staff members who have contributed positively to make our school the positive place it is today.  We thank them for their many contributions and wish them well for the future.

“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

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 25^th September and Term 4 commences for students on Tuesday 14^th October.  Students will be required to wear summer uniform.

Thank you to the P&F for hosting the student Disco this Friday afternoon and evening.  Much work goes into this and we are grateful to families who have given their time and energy to provide this opportunity.

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.