REMEMBRANCE DAY PRAYER
God our Father, your Son Jesus gave up
His life to free us from the power of sin and death.
He showed us that the greatest love is in giving up one’s life for others.
Today we remember those who fought and died for our freedom.
We ask you to bless and console them together with their families.
Help us to understand the sacrifices they made in leaving their
loved ones to face the horrors of war. May we never forget their generosity.
May your Holy Spirit give us the courage to resist evil in all its forms and show us how
to be peacemakers through prayer and action, lest we forget those who fought,
suffered and died that we might have the freedom and peace we enjoy today.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Message From The Principal
Dear Parents and Carers
On Tuesday, our Year 6 students led us in a service over the PA system to acknowledge Remembrance Day – The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. This marks the moment the guns fell silent on the Western Front after the bloodshed of World War I in 1918. Today, Remembrance Day is a chance to recognise all who have lost their lives in service, including in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.
We have now passed halfway through Term 4 and students have demonstrated an excellent effort this year as a whole. It is important that we complete the year to the same high standard that has been set so far in regard to living our school values, using our manners, wearing uniform correctly and completing work and homework with care and attention to detail. Students begin to tire at this stage of the year as the busyness of this period catches up with us. They will thrive if they are in a supportive environment where staff and families have similar expectations and a commitment to working as a team.
In Week 3, I had the pleasure of spending three days at camp with our Year 5 students. This was an opportunity for the students to build their leadership skills, trust in each other, grow their resilience and develop cohesion. The students’ behaviour was outstanding with all students stepping up to help each other out and to encourage each other to try new things. We were accompanied by many generous staff who gave their time, care and effort to ensure the students got the most out of the experience. Whilst at camp, students had the opportunity to consider student leadership positions for 2026. Whilst there will be nominated school leaders, all Year 6 students will have leadership opportunities and through their example, their unity and their collaboration they can achieve much for the students at Whitford Catholic Primary School. Well done to all Year 5 students – it was a privilege to attend your camp!
Congratulations to our Year 6 students and their teachers for hosting the mini fete last Friday. The activities, the organisation and the running of the day are all led by the students. What a well organised and fun day they created for all our students. The care in setting up, the great manners and interaction and the efficiency and enjoyment they demonstrated was magnificent. Better still, they did all this whilst raising money for two very worthwhile causes – St Vincent de Paul and Wheelchairs for Kids. St Vincent de Paul strives to make a positive impact and provide relief for those who are marginalized and disadvantaged. They help to feed the vulnerable, provide clothing, shelter, and support. Wheelchairs for Kids sends wheelchairs all over the world to help children in very vulnerable communities to become mobile and to integrate more fully into their communities. Many children who receive one of these wheelchairs would otherwise sit on the ground and need to be carried around to interact with others.
Our School Annual Community Meeting and Sundowner is scheduled for Tuesday 18th November at 6.30pm. This is an opportunity to hear reports on the progress of the school in the past twelve months and to spend time together celebrating a successful school year and strong, trusting and collaborative partnerships. All community members are invited and welcome to attend.
November 14 is World Diabetes Day. The theme for World Diabetes Day 2024-26 is Diabetes and Well-being. The campaign focus for 2025 is diabetes and the workplace, with the slogan “Know more and do more for diabetes at work.”. The World Diabetes Day campaign will focus on:
- Physical well-being: the importance of physical activity and a healthy diet to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and manage all types of diabetes and its related complications.
- Societal well-being: highlighting the barriers that restrict a person living with diabetes from living a healthy and fulfilling life with their condition.
- Mental well-being: raising awareness of the challenges, stress and anxiety that living with a chronic condition like diabetes can bring and highlighting the importance of addressing the mental health aspects as part of a person with diabetes’ management and treatment plan. (https://www.diabetessociety.com.au)
Demand for places at Whitford Catholic Primary School is very high. Early next year, we will commence interviews for Kindergarten 2028. If you have younger siblings that you intend to send to our school, please complete an application form as soon as possible to ensure current families do not miss out on a place.
On 4th December, there will be a Carols Evening including Our Lady of the Mission Parish, Whitford Catholic Primary School and Padbury Catholic Primary School. As we are all part of one parish, it is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the joy of Christmas together. Our school Arts (Music and Dance) Showcase will take place on the same afternoon just before the Carols.
Parents and carers are invited and welcome to attend the P&F Colour Run on Friday. Our Whitty Dads will be running the sausage sizzle at Bunnings Joondalup on Saturday – if you’re in the area, drop in and see them.
Best wishes and God Bless
Mark Marando
Principal
Calendar
Week 5 | Year 1 Swimming Lessons
Thursday, 13 November
Year 3 Badminton Lessons
Kindy Gold 2026 Orientation
Friday, 14 November
P&F Colour Run
Saturday, 15 November
Whitty Dads Bunnings Joondalup BBQ Fundraiser
Week 6 | Year 1 Swimming Lessons
Tuesday, 18 November
Parent Only Sundowner & ACM
Wednesday, 19 November
Year 2 Gold Class Liturgy
Thursday, 20 November
Year 3 Badminton Lessons
Year 6 Italian Lunch
Friday, 21 November
Year 5 STEM Competition “The Contraption Cup”
Junior Assembly PPB
TERM 2025 DATES
Term 1
5 February to 10 April 2025
Term 2
29 April to 4 July 2025
Term 3
22 July to 25 September 2025
Term 4
14 October to 12 December 2025
TERM 2026 DATES
Term 1
2 February to 2 April 2026
Term 2
21 April to 3 July 2026
Term 3
21 July to 24 September 2026
Term 4
13 October to 11 December 2026
TERM 2027 DATES
Term 1
28 January to 9 April 2027
Term 2
27 April to 25 June 2027
Term 3
19 July to 23 September 2027
Term 4
12 October to 10 December 2027
Book Club Reminder
All Book Club orders need to be finalised by Monday 17th November.
Catholic Performing Arts: Music Students
Christmas Appeal
Please support the St Vincent de Paul’s Christmas Hamper Appeal for those in need in our community.
Each class has a basket and a nominated hamper item.
Hampers will be collected on Monday 1st of December.
Semester 2 Reports
Semester 2 reports for all students PP-Year 6 will be available through your SEQTA Engage portal from Friday 12th December after 4pm.
Year 6 families just a reminder that your child will be removed from SEQTA at the end of the year and to download and print/keep all reports that you wish to have a record of.
If you are new to the school and have not yet received your log-in details, have forgotten your log-in details or are having any other issues with your access to SEQTA, please contact the office admin@wcps.wa.edu.au before the end of term.
BOOKLISTS 2026
All orders must be completed online at www.campion.com.au by Friday 19th December 2025.
Ken's Club
Over the past couple of years, Ken White has been generously offering his time to support our Year 4 students with their times tables. We’re now excited to grow this wonderful initiative and invite WCPS Grandparents to join Ken’s Club 2026 – helping students build confidence and master their times tables!
If you would like to be part of this rewarding program, please email your expression of interest to: admin@wcps.wa.edu.au
FAMILIES NOT RETURNING TO WCPS IN 2026
A reminder that if you wish to withdraw your child/ren from the school, one term’s notice is required. This notice must be in writing and addressed to the Principal. Failure to do so incurs a penalty of one term’s tuition fees.
WELLBEING NEWS
World Kindness Day | 13 November
World Kindness Day is celebrated around the world on November 13. First introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, World Kindness Day offers an opportunity to highlight good deeds in the community and the common thread of kindness.
There is no single official theme for World Kindness Day 2025 however, the general focus is on the positive power of kindness and its role in child development. The day encourages small, simple gestures of kindness and is a time to celebrate compassion in homes, schools and communities.
On World Kindness Day, make it a goal to give genuine compliments to at least three people, make a resolution to perform one act of kindness each week throughout the year, share your favourite book with others, or create a kindness journal to capture wonderful moments to reflect back on throughout the year.
Remember, one act of kindness can have a ripple effect. See the video linked to enjoy how kindness can pass along Kindness Boomerang – One Day
Happy World Kindness Day!
World’s Children Day | 20 November
World’s Children Day, is celebrated on the 20th November, marking the date the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted. It is a special day to celebrate and stand up for child rights.
This year is the 36th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – a special moment where governments, including Australia, agreed on 54 different rights that every child under 18 years old should have to live a safe, healthy and happy life.
This year’s World Children’s Day is celebrating Every Child’s Right to Play and is encouraging communities, schools, workplaces and leaders to protect and promote this right for every child.
Play is how children learn, grow, connect and heal. Every child has the right to play, no matter who they are or where they live yet, millions of children around the world are missing out on this basic right because of conflict, displacement, inequality or a lack of safe spaces.
When we protect a child’s right to play, we are protecting their right to a full, healthy and happy childhood so plan a playdate, take your children to the park and let your inner child out through play.
EVENTS
WCPS Sundowner and ACM 2025 | SAVE THE DATE
🌄 Save the Date for the upcoming WCPS Sundowner and ACM! 🌄
Join us for a relaxed evening as we celebrate another fantastic year together with our wonderful staff and families. Enjoy drink, nibbles and short reports from our School Advisory Council and P&F.
📆Date: Tuesday, 18 November
📍Location: WCPS Quad
⏰ Time: 6.30PM
⭐ Please RSVP via School Stream by Monday, 10 November!
WCPS Family Mass | Saturday, 29 November
Please join us for the Whitford Catholic Primary School Family Mass.
📆Date: Saturday, 29 November
📍Location: OLM
⏰ Time: 6.30PM
Arts Showcase | Thursday, 4 December
📆Date: Thursday, 4 December
📍Location: O’Connor Oval
🎼 Junior Music Concert 🎼
Kindy to Year 2 | 3.30-4.30pm
Including the Tiny Trebles Choir
💃Senior Dance Concert 💃
Year 3 to Year 5 | 4.30-5.30pm
Junior Dance Team | Senior Dance Team Boys Crew | Christian Dance
❄️OLM Combined Christmas Carols | Thursday, 4 December
📆Date: Thursday, 4 December
🕐Time: 6pm to 7pm
📍Location: Whitford Catholic Primary School | O’Connor Oval
Children to sit with their families. Feel free to bring a picnic blanket and snacks. Each family will be able to use their device to access the lyrics for the hymns.
NATIONAL PARENT SURVEY AND P&F SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
“The Australian Government is delivering policies to delay children’s access to social media. From 10th December 2025, age-restricted social media platforms will have to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under the age of 16 from creating or keeping an account. Your voice matters. By completing this 2-minute survey, you are helping Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA) understand the real experiences, challenges, and hopes of families in our Catholic school communities. The insights gathered will directly shape our advocacy with Catholic Education authorities and Government. The survey will close on 31st October.”
The survey can be accessed here – Catholic School Parents Australia Survey
P&F and Whitty Dads
COLOUR RUN — THIS FRIDAY!
WOW, we’re almost at $10,000 raised! 💥
That means our first Teacher Dare will unlock this Thursday, just in time to crank up the fun before the big run! 👀
It’s not too late to register and join the colour chaos!
This is a whole school and family event, so make sure you’re signed up 👉 https://whitfordcatholicprimarycolourrun.goraiseit.com.au/signupforfundraiser
🕒 Event Schedule – McAuley Oval
Each Group will have 15mins to run as many laps as they can through our rainbow battlefields 🌈🏃🏾♀️🏃
1:30 PM – Kindy & Pre-Primary
1:50 PM – Year 1 & 2
2:10 PM – Year 3 & 4
2:30 PM – Year 5 & 6
2:50 PM – We need a miracle to hit the $20K mark! 💰
Grand Finale: Mr Marando’s Epic Run! 🏃♂️🎉 Let’s make this happen!
3:00 PM – Event Close & Year Group Winner Announced 🏆
Check out the course lineup – from the Splash & Dash Launch to the Foam to Finish, it’s going to be a wild ride of colour, slime, and foam! 💦🎨🫧
🚗 Parking reminder: Parents, please park at Albion Park on event day.
Let’s smash that $10K goal and see how much more we can raise before Friday! 🙌
Every dollar helps fund major playground upgrades for our kids 💙
♨️🌭 Whitty Dads Bunnings BBQ Fundraiser
📆Date: Saturday 15 November 2025
📍Location: Bunnings Joondalup
⏰ Time: 7:00am to 5:15pm (various shifts)
We need your help!
- This is our main fundraiser of the year and helps us subsidies all our dads and kids events.
- We still need some volunteers for some of the later shifts (11:00am – 1:15pm. 1:00pm to 3:15pm and 3:00pm to 5:15pm)
- Those that volunteer for the Bunnings BBQ Fundraiser 2025 will receive priority booking for the 2026 Whitty Dads Campout
- To book your spot, head to https://www.trybooking.com/DGOWH or see the Whitty Dads Group Event Page for more details
- If you can help, please book tickets through the trybooking link above asap or contact whittydads@gmail.com
CEWA Announcement | Three-week Mid-Year Break
Catholic Education WA (CEWA) has announced it intends to implement a three-week mid-year break across its 150 schools from the 2027 academic year. The implementation of this initiative will not only bring our school in line with practices at other Independent Catholic Schools but is based on significant research into how the change will positively impact teaching, learning, and wellbeing. I want to stress that there won’t be any changes to the hours of instruction your child receives as a result of this initiative, however small adjustments to individual term calendars and school timetables may be required. Please see the link below for frequently asked questions regarding the implementation of the three-week break.
Summer Uniform | Term 4
Students are required to wear Summer uniform in Term 4.
Reminder, this is the 3rd and final year of the new uniform transition and the last term your child can wear the old style Summer uniform.
Uniforms are available from Tara Matrix online (search for Whitford Catholic Primary School) or by visiting their showroom at 1 Hasler Road, Osborne Park.
Social Media
To stay updated with the incredible adventures and activities our students have been up to, from heartwarming moments in the classroom to exciting field trips and everything in between, make sure you follow our socials!
Simply click on the below to like and follow for more exclusive WCPS content…
After School Activities
Keyed Up Music
Learn music at Whitford Catholic Primary School!
Term 3 enrolments for Keyed Up Music lessons are now open, visit their website to save a spot to start your child’s musical journey. Enrolments • Piano Lessons and Guitar Lessons Perth – Keyed Up Music – Piano Lessons and Guitar Lessons Perth
- Keyboard and guitar starting from $22.55 for a group lesson.
- Held after school. Enrol now for lessons!
Contact: 0479 171 424
Instyle Tennis
WE RUN LESSONS ALL YEAR ROUND!
THURSDAYS 7:30 – 8:15am
COMMENCING WEEK 2 OF EACH SCHOOL TERM.
COST $160 FOR THE 8 WEEK PROGRAM.
Young Engineers STEM Club | Term 4
Young Engineers will dive into an exciting new theme – Game Zone!
Students will explore:
- Speed transfer
- Tilt sensors
- Gear transmission
- Coding coordination for sensors to manage speed
- Symmetry and asymmetry
- Snail transmission
Through hands-on builds and robotics projects, students will combine mechanical engineering and coding to design engaging, game-inspired models that bring STEM concepts to life while fostering creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving.
Community Notices
Discover Sailing Day | Free Event
Discover Sailing Day is a free event for the whole community, taking place on is on Sunday 23 November. It is a great way for families to visit and enjoy some time on the water, including on sailing boats, dinghy’s and paddle. Plus free family entertainment, live music and food specials.
BRICKS 4 KIDZ | Summer School Holidays
This Summer School Holidays Bricks 4 Kids are running Workshops with LEGO® and Coding with Robotics. The holiday programs are designed for kids ages 5 -12. There are many themes to inspire creativity and fun.
Online enrolment is at the following link:
Our Summer Holiday Workshops are located at the following locations:
- Davallia Primary School @ Duncraig
- Our Lady of Good Counsel School @ Karrinyup
- BRICKS 4 KIDZ City West @ West Perth
- Christ Church Grammar School @ Claremont
Whitfords PlayConnect+ Playgroup
Free playgroups for children 0-5 years with delayed development and/or disability (no diagnosis is necessary).
Where: Whitford Family Centre, 21C Endeavour Road, Hillarys
When: Tuesday (during school term)
Time: 9.30am to 11.30am
Netball – Spring NET Program – WDNA – Pre Primary and Year 1
In the NET program children are introduced to the basics of netball through fun, simple activities that keep them moving and engaged.
This program is run directly through WDNA not via Whitford Catholic Netball Club.
This program will be held over 8 weeks and is run on Tuesday afternoons, 4:00pm to 4:45pm at the far courts at WDNA (Kingsway Sporting Complex), from the 14th October to 2nd December.
This is for players born between 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2020.
Estimated Cost – $127
If you are interested in more information then please email the club at wcpsnetballclub@gmail.com
Curtin University Hockey Club – “Pirates!”
School’s back – Hockey Starts, if you are keen to play and still looking for a club, Curtin University Hockey Club – “Pirates!” are seeking a few extra players to fill their J5/6 and J7/8 hockey teams. Please reach out to Gabby via juniors@cuhc.org.au or on 0422 946 967.
Giants Basketball Club- Last spots remaining for Summer 25
The Summer Season is about to start, and we have a couple of spots still available.
Mullaloo Boardriders
Memberships from $50 to $150.
All inclusive club based on community and good vibes.
For more information
Junior Basketball Competition
We are currently seeking under 8’s, 14’s, and 16’s teams for a viable competition and there are also a few spaces left in the under 10’s and 12’s.
The program is open to all skills levels from beginners to advanced with a focus on fun and fairness.
For more information
Share Your World | Become a Foster Carer
You can make an extraordinary difference in the life of a young person by sharing those ordinary, everyday moments. To learn more about foster care
Saver Plus
Get up to $500 for education costs…
Achieve a savings goal for 10 months, and ANZ will match it up to $500.
To be eligible, you need to meet these requirements:
- 18 years or older
- A regular income (you or your partner)
- Attend free online financial education workshops
- Are studying yourself or have a child at school, or starting next year
- Current Health Care or Pensioner Concession Card
Contact: Saverplus.org.au or 1300 610 355
PCCRW
At PCCRW, we are working towards a sustainable approach to address this growing environmental concern. Everything that comes to PCCRW is repurposed, recycled, donated!
We accepted donations of op shop-grade clothing, school uniforms and much more…. Book in for a free pick up through our website: www.pccrw.com.au
2027 Kindy Enrolments Now Open!!
WCPS are now accepting Expressions of Interest for students starting Kindergarten in 2027!
Our Kindy programme aims to:
🌟Enhance personal development through a variety of stimulating activities and play, where children feel free to explore and experiment.
💙Build self-esteem and confidence in sharing cultural backgrounds, individual talents and needs
👍Encourage the development of positive social behaviour
☀️Create a safe, happy, and caring environment for all children, including those with special needs.
To find out more
School CCTV Notice
Please be aware that the school is monitored by CCTV for the safety of our students, staff and vistors.
For more information, please contact the office.
Dogs on School Grounds
Under no circumstances are dogs of any size or kind to be brought on to school grounds. Some students have allergies to dogs and others may be frightened of dogs or especially attracted to dogs, which may cause a dangerous situation for students and staff. Parent cooperation with this matter is appreciated.
Social Media
PUBLISHING PHOTOS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Please note that, while staff at WCPS take a lot of care to ensure that children who do not have permission to be published do not appear on the school’s social media, this process is undertaken manually and occasionally photos will be missed.
If you notice your child has been published and you would like their photo removed, please contact the school office.