Junior School Bulletin - Term 2, Week 5

Dear Parents and Carers

Brrrr! The cold mornings have finally arrived and our beautiful winter weather is upon us. This week I have noticed more children than ever playing outside in the wonderful midday conditions. Please remember to label all jumpers and jackets as, although the mornings are cool, running around playing ‘it’ results in discarded jumpers and jackets fairly quickly.

I have also been given a lesson in resilience by those children not wearing jumpers first thing in the morning as they cheerfully tell me that they’ll be warm in ten minutes time in response to my ‘you must be freezing!’ comment. They are of course correct as they will soon be in their classrooms or running around with their friends.

I hope to see many parents on Friday at our Art display with Mrs Skelton. The students' work looks incredible and I know their will be lots of proud students ready to show off their creations.

Kind regards

Mark Douglas
Head of Primary School

On Wednesday 21 May, our Primary School students joined thousands of others across the country to take part in National Simultaneous Storytime - a fun annual event where students all read the same book at the same time.

This year’s story was The Truck Cat by Deborah Frenkel, illustrated by Danny Snell. It follows a cat and a truck driver who are separated on their journey, and gently explores themes like identity, starting over, and finding connection. The story can spark conversations about what it means to belong - and how “home” can sometimes be found in the most unexpected places.

Mr Davies read to the delighted students in 1WEL and 2FUS were treated to an expressive reading by Mr Douglas, while Mrs Fransz was joined by Pluto the Story Dog in the library for a special reading with our Kindy students.

National Simultaneous Storytime is a simple but powerful way to remind us how much joy a shared story can bring. Reading together helps build a sense of community and shows students that books aren’t just for learning - they’re for enjoyment too.

Natasha Robertson
Literacy and Numeracy Coach (Primary)

We are excited to invite you to our Primary Art Open Afternoon! Come and celebrate the creativity of our students as we showcase their amazing artwork.

Date: Friday 30 May

Time: After school until 4.00pm

Location: Primary Art Room

Join us for a colourful afternoon of art appreciation—we look forward to seeing you there!

Nat Skelton
Primary Art Teacher

We look forward to welcoming our Junior School students to another fun-filled School Disco on Friday 6 June 2025. The theme for both discos is ‘Under the Sea’. All children are welcome to dress up in a costume based on this theme, but do not have to dress up if they do not wish to.

Students will attend in two sessions, based on their Year Group. The discos will be held in the Year 4/5 Open Area at the following times:

• YEARS 2 and 3 will attend from 5pm until 6.30pm. The theme is 'Under the Sea'.
• YEARS 4 and 5 will attend from 6.45pm until 8.15pm. The theme is 'Under the Sea'.

Tickets can be purchased at the following link: https://events.humanitix.com/junior-school-disco-term-2-2025

Please ensure you collect your child promptly at the conclusion of the disco from inside the Year 4/5 Open Area. The $7 ticket includes a snack and drink. In the interest of safety, children must wear enclosed shoes at all times.

Medication at Disco: If your child has asthma or anaphylaxis, please ensure they bring their medication from home to the Disco; all medication is to be labelled and passed to Mr Pressley upon arrival at the Disco.

For disco enquiries, please contact Mark Pressley at mpressley@stmarks.wa.edu.au

For ticketing enquiries, please contact community@stmarks.wa.edu.au

The P&F invites Junior school parents to have a drink on us while your children are at the school disco.

See flyer for details.

If you would like to assist at either the Year 2/3 Disco or Y4/5 Disco on Friday 6 June, please click on the relevant link below and enter your details. Please note that only the first 5 offers of help will be accepted and parents will be contacted to let them know if they have been successful.

• Year 2/3 Disco - Parent Helper link (parent helpers will be needed from 5pm to 6.30pm)

• Year 4/5 Disco - Parent Helper link (parent helpers will be needed from 6.45pm until 8.15pm)

The Junior School Sustainability Garden requires some parent help to assist with watering for the remainder of Term 2 and during the upcoming holiday break. If you would like to obtain some parent hours by watering the garden during Term 2 or the upcoming holidays, please follow the link below and put your name down in any available time slots:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13T1V-KDn11aHur3yWjhnOO3JL1-0bvVRzVYhg1-eAqU/edit?usp=sharing

The annual St Mark's Busy Bee is scheduled for 14 June - 8.30am to 11.30am. This event is a great opportunity to bring our community together to support the School and will be followed by a sausage sizzle.

The focus for this event will be on mulching, building a path and a fence to support some pending trees planting and landscaping at the School. We will also be completing some general cleaning of the grounds and lockers.

Please bring your own tools on the day, including:

• wheelbarrows
• shovels, forks and spades
• sponges, buckets and squeegees.

Don't forget to bring gloves, hats and water bottles.

It would be great to see as many of our community members attending on the day.

Parent commitment hours are available for each family that attends and food and drink donations.

P&F Committee

We’d like to take a moment to remind all families about the importance of keeping children at home when they are unwell, especially when they have a fever or contagious symptoms.

Recently, we’ve had instances where parents have requested their children be allowed to remain at school despite having a fever. For the health and safety of all our students, it is essential that if your child is showing signs of illness, particularly a fever, they must be kept at home and arrangements should be made for their prompt collection if they are already at school.

Additionally, we would like to remind all families that if your child has experienced gastro symptoms, they should stay at home for a minimum of 24 hours after the last bout of symptoms to prevent spreading the illness to others.

We truly appreciate your cooperation in ensuring that our school remains a safe and healthy environment for everyone. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Health Centre Team

We would like to inform all parents and guardians of the upcoming release dates for student reports across different year levels.

• ELC and Primary: Reports will be available on Friday, 27 June.
• Years 6 to 9: Reports will be available on Friday, 25 July.
• Years 10 to 12: Reports will be released on Wednesday, 25 June.

Please take the time to review your child’s progress and celebrate their achievements. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the report, we encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher or year-level coordinator.

Thank you for your continued support in your child’s learning journey.

To Our Valued Members,

Last month, we announced that we would be holding a Special General Meeting (SGM) to vote on becoming unincorporated. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the SGM will be postponed, and we will proceed with a General Meeting in its place.

We will still be hosting our General Meeting next week, Tuesday 27^th May at 7pm in the PAC followed by a seminar hosted by ECU's Juliana Peloche, she will be discussing the Impact of AI and how our students use this technology.

This is sure to be an interesting session and will be followed by drinks and nibbles in the foyer.

We hope you can join us.

Many thanks,

The P&F Committee

Grab your Entertainment Membership this May and receive a bonus eGift card! You'll also be supporting All Saints Anglican School, Samoa in improving education and strengthening their community - it's a win-win! Offer ends May 31^st!

Purchase a $70 Single-City Membership (Perth, Southwest and Bali) – The P&F will donate the $14 to All Saints Anglican School, Samoa – purchaser receives a $20 VISA eGift card, as a thank-you!

OR

Purchase a $120 Multi-City Membership (Australia Wide, New Zealand and Bali) – The P&F will donate the $28 to All Saints Anglican School, Samoa - purchaser receives a $40 VISA eGift card, as a thank-you!

Click here to support our cause today: www.entbook.com.au/83g329 and get saving at all your favourite businesses!

Thank you to everyone who has helped to support this fundraiser so far!

Did you know that every Friday during term time, St Mark’s hosts a vibrant and welcoming playgroup for our youngest community members?

The Old Scholars' Association Little Lions Playgroup runs weekly on-site and is the perfect place for children up to school age to play, explore, and make new friends – all while their parents and carers connect with others in a warm, supportive environment.

Running from 8.45am to 10.30am, Little Lions offers plenty of fun, games, and laughter in a safe and engaging space. Whether you're a current St Mark’s family, have little ones not yet at school, or even if you’re simply looking to connect with other local families, you’re invited to come along. We especially welcome families whose Kindy classes aren't in session on Fridays – it’s a great way to stay connected with the school community.

Little Lions is proudly run in partnership with Playgroup WA, ensuring a quality experience for families. And while our Old Scholars' Association hosts it, you don’t need to be a former student to attend – everyone is welcome!

So, if you’ve got a little cub ready to roar with excitement, we’d love to see you this Friday. Come along, join in the fun, and experience the community spirit that makes St Mark’s so special.

To find out more or to book your place, email us at osa@stmarks.wa.edu.au
You can also join our Little Lions Facebook group HERE.

We can’t wait to welcome you and your little one for Term 2!

The Parents Prayer Group (PPG) meet fortnightly to pray for the students, staff and school community.

We will be meeting every second Friday 9am in the school chapel, starting 9 May. Please sign in at reception. All are welcome.

Please share any prayer requests by emailing parentsunitedforprayer@gmail.com or call Wing Shattock on 0433 002 151.

The 2025 Anglischools Piano Competition will be held on Friday 29 August at Peter Moyes Anglican Community School from 9am until 2.15pm. Students can enter the following categories:

Novice - Beginners (comments given, no adjudication)

Faith - AMEB Preliminary and Grade One or similar

Justice - Grade Two and Grade Three or similar

Integrity - Grade Four and Grade Five or similar

Respect - Duet/Ensemble

Inclusion - Composition/Arrangement/Improvisation

Courage – Sight Reading

Excellence - Grade Six, Grade Seven, Grade Eight and Diploma or similar

Music Scores ARE NOT required for this year’s Piano Competition, and private students may enter as well. Please complete the following form for your registration: https://forms.office.com/r/Hvv1iqXr1U

Closing date for registrations is Monday 4 August, and no late entries will be accepted.