Parents/caregivers are warmly invited to attend a special celebration on Monday 2 June at 9:00 am beginning with Community Prayer, followed by a morning tea.  Year 12 Kildare students have prepared the morning tea sourcing native Australian ingredients for our consumption. Uncle Ivan, Senior Aboriginal Elder, and grandfather to Isabella and Oliver, will be a special guest on the morning. We would love to welcome you there!

At Saint David’s Parish School, the wellbeing of our students is a top priority and an integral part of our school culture.

We continue to offer a variety of lunchtime initiatives to support student engagement and wellbeing. These include Chess Club, Lego Club, and opportunities for mindful colouring. In addition, the Wellbeing Room has become a popular space where students can enjoy quiet, calming activities such as knitting, providing a peaceful break during the school day.

At our recent staff development day, we explored the Real Schools concept of Positive Priming—a proactive approach to guiding student behaviour. Positive Priming involves clearly articulating the behaviours we want to see, helping students understand and align with our expectations. Rather than focusing on what not to do, we shift our language to highlight positive actions. For example, instead of saying, “Don’t slacken off,” we might say, “Keep pushing until the end—you’ve got this!” This approach creates a more supportive and motivating environment, helping students stay on track and focused.

Positive Priming is a powerful strategy that can also be effectively used at home. When we express confidence in our children and focus on the behaviours we want to see, they are more likely to respond positively. By affirming our belief in their ability to succeed, we help build their confidence and motivation. Jemma Rust offers a clear and insightful explanation of this approach in the video linked.

We continue to implement Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports (PBIS) as part of our ongoing commitment to fostering a positive school culture. PBIS is an evidence-based, tiered framework that supports students' behavioural, academic, social, emotional, and overall wellbeing. It promotes a more predictable and supportive learning environment, encouraging positive student behaviour and social-emotional growth.

As part of this approach, we are reinforcing our high expectations through clear procedures, some of which you may have noticed displayed around the school as visual reminders. These cues help ensure consistency and clarity for all students. Our Positive Play Point system also remains a key feature of our PBIS framework, recognising and celebrating students who make positive choices. The collection box is nearly full, which means a special celebration is just around the corner!

During our Week 4 staff meeting, we will be hosting a regional moderation session in collaboration with Our Lady of Hope and St Francis Xavier schools. Teachers from all three schools will come together as professional colleagues to moderate student work following a summative assessment task. This collaborative process ensures that judgements about student achievement are consistent, fair, and comparable across our schools.

As always, we thank you for your ongoing support and partnership in your child’s learning journey. Together, we continue to build a nurturing and engaging environment where every student can thrive.

Wishing all our families a safe and enjoyable week ahead.

Warm Regards,

The task began with research and careful planning, as students investigated the key phases of their selected life cycle and considered how best to visually represent each stage.

Using a range of recycled materials and artistic technique, they brought their ideas to life with vibrant colour, rich textures, and impressive attention to detail. The finished dioramas are a testament to their scientific understanding, creativity, and dedication.

Parking – Reminder

Please adhere to signage around the school in relation to parking and traffic flow. It is important that local residents have access to their property at all times. Cars are not to queue across Vizard Road and block the entrance to our surrounding neighbours and Church. Please be aware that the Church’s driveway and slip lane (Elizabeth Street and Vizard Road) are reserved for parishioners and the parking bays are designated for disabled parking only.

Please adhere to signage around the school in relation to parking and traffic flow. 

• It is important that parking restrictions are adhered to at all times.
• Cars must not queue across Vizard Road or block entrances to the church or local resident’s properties.
• The Church’s driveway and slip lane (Elizabeth Street and Vizard Road) are reserved for Parishioners and the parking bays are designated for disabled parking only.
• Under no circumstances should cars stop in the middle of the road to allow children to get into the car – please make sure you have parked appropriately to collect or drop off your child.

Please remember, safety of our children is everyone’s responsibility.

As social media and general media platforms have continued to expand, the ready availability of resources for parents/caregivers has also continued to appear across these platforms on the topic of raising healthy children – physically, emotionally and mentally.

This week, the focus is on some of the resources available for supporting boys in their development.

A husband and wife duo, Kasey Edwards and Dr Christopher Scanlon, have co-authored a book, ‘Bringing up boys who like themselves’ which has had many positive reviews:

The couple have also been interviewed widely regarding their research work on this topic. An interview is available at the link above, along with the opportunity to download the first chapter of this book for free.

Maggie Dent is another popular author and speaker on the topic of raising boys having raised four sons, and as a former teacher and counsellor:

‘Understanding Boys’ is a website developed by a school in Melbourne which provides many interesting resources on the joys and challenges of raising boys:

We hope you find some of these resources not only useful but very helpful in navigating your own individual journeys of developing healthy and resilient boys.

On Thursday 22 May, 54 of our students took to the fields at Modbury Vista Soccer Club, to represent our school in the annual SAPSASA Soccer Carnival. With six teams entered across the day, our students demonstrated not only their soccer skills, but also their teamwork, resilience, and school pride.

The weather couldn’t have been better—sunny skies and mild temperatures set the stage for a brilliant day of sport. There was a buzz of excitement as teams faced off against schools from across the district. Many goals were scored, plenty of laughs were shared, and our students embraced every challenge with enthusiasm and a positive attitude.

A huge congratulations goes to our Girls A Team, who were crowned Division 1 champions after a series of strong performances. Their success was guided by the expertise of Paul, who generously volunteered his time to coach and support the team—thank you, Paul!

We would also like to express our sincere thanks to the staff members who attended on the day and worked behind the scenes to ensure everything ran smoothly. Your support and supervision were invaluable. A big thank you also goes out to the parents and family members who came along to cheer on our teams, your encouragement from the sidelines created a wonderful sense of community and was greatly appreciated by both students and staff.

Overall, the SAPSASA Soccer Carnival was a huge success and a memorable day for all involved. Congratulations to all our players, you represented our school with pride, positivity, and passion. We’re already looking forward to next year!

SAPSASA District Selections – Congratulations!

We’re thrilled to celebrate the outstanding achievements of several of our students who have been selected to represent our district in SAPSASA sports!

A huge congratulations to Sienna T (Year 5) who was chosen to represent the district in Softball earlier this year during Term 1. We also extend a big congratulations to Iyla M (Year 6), Sloane W (Year 6), and Isla B (Year 5), who have been selected for the District Netball Team, which will compete later this term. What an incredible honour! These students have shown great commitment to their sport and have a bright future ahead.

Well done to all four students on your amazing accomplishment!

Entertainment Book

Link to purchase an Entertainment Membership Saint David's Parish School (entertainment.com.au)

Thank you to all our wonderful Volunteers and the time you give to support Saint David’s Parish School.

RRHAN-EC refresher module is now available for registered volunteers to complete. Please login to your plink account to complete. 

Please take a moment when you can to update your training, as there will be a backlog of issuing new Volunteer badges.

Once you have completed the training, please email your updated certificate to me and I will issue you with a new badge.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Wayne Holdsworth, founder of SmackTalk, shares his personal journey after losing his 17-year-old son, Mac, to cyberbullying and youth suicide. His presentations aim to inspire action againts digital threats. Trigger Warning: Discusses cyberbullying, sexual extortion, and youth suicide.