Junior School Bulletin - Term 3, Week 9

Finishing the Term Well

It is hard to believe that we are already approaching the end of Term 3 and are nearly three-quarters of the way through the school year. We are also nearing the end of my first term at the School, during which I have had many opportunities to get to know our students, staff and families.

One of the strongest impressions I have formed, and something I have mentioned before, is that we are a community that genuinely cares for one another. I see this in the commitment of our staff, the enthusiasm of our students, and the encouragement and involvement of our families.

It has been a big term within an already full year, and there is still much to enjoy and accomplish before we reach a well-earned break. Our staff remain focused on providing the care, support and learning our students need, right through to the final day.

Thank you for the welcome, encouragement and support you have shown me throughout my first term. Let’s continue to encourage one another and finish the term well together.

Friendology Friendship Tip of the Week

How to support children with Fiery Friendships. https://urstrong.com/high-conflict-friendships/

Please sign up for a FREE lifetime membership to the Friendology Program using this link if you haven’t already. https://urstrong.com/parents/

Vita Ritmo Success!

The Viva Ritmo Voices Choir, made up of 24 dedicated students from Years 3 to 5, has won the Primary Choir Section of the North of Perth Festival for the third consecutive year.

Performing on Thursday evening at The Rise in Maylands before a packed audience of parents, students and family members, the choir delivered two outstanding performances. Their first piece, Carry the Light, opened beautifully with a solo by Samantha Davy. They then entertained the audience with the energetic Lightning, earning praise from adjudicators for their clear articulation, expressive singing and exciting choreography.

The choir is directed by Miss Leah Guelfi and supported by Ms Hilary Price. They have now been invited to perform at the Winners’ Concert on Saturday 11 October, where they will receive the shield for Best Primary Choir and compete for additional cash prizes.

A special thank you goes to our talented accompanist, Mr David Goldfinch, for his outstanding support on the night.

Congratulations to all choir members on this remarkable achievement. We wish them the very best for the Winners’ Concert in October.

Student Sign out Ticket Trial

To help us keep all students safe and ensure our sign-out process runs smoothly, parents collecting a child early from school will now be given a collection ticket at Reception.

Once you have signed your child out, please take this ticket with you and present it to your child's teacher when collecting them. The ticket lets the teacher know that your child has been signed out correctly and that they can be released into your care.

If you head to the classroom before signing out at Reception, the teacher may ask you to return to Reception first to complete the sign-out process and collect your ticket. While we know this may sometimes feel like an extra step, it helps us maintain accurate records and ensures we meet our duty of care responsibilities for every child.

Thank you for your support and understanding as we trial this process. As always, our shared priority is making sure every child is safe and accounted for throughout the school day.

Thank you for all you do to support our school community.

⭐ Footy Colours Day – Friday 25th September ⭐

Next Friday, the 25th, students are invited to come to school dressed in their favourite sporting team colours to help support the Fight Cancer Foundation, which provides vital assistance to children undergoing cancer treatment.

Our school will be making a donation to the foundation using funds raised from last year’s Lapathon, showing our continued commitment to helping kids in need.

Students can dress in their favourite AFL, NRL, soccer, or other sporting team jersey, scarf, or beanie to join in the fun and show their support.

Thank you for helping us make a difference.

The St Mark's office continues to receive regular feedback from businesses surrounding the School regarding the use of private parking spaces by members of our community. This includes parking while dropping off and collecting students, as well as vehicles being left in these car parks for extended periods during the day.

The areas affected include:

• Endeavour Business Centre (corner of Endeavour Road and Banks Avenue)
• Whitford Business Centre (including Mitre 10, Better Pets, Auto Masters and Supercheap Auto)
• Endeavour Childcare and Whitford Family Centre

While we understand the convenience these locations may offer, we ask all parents, caregivers and students to refrain from using private business car parks when attending the School. Year 11 and 12 students must continue to park in the Muzz Buzz car park.

St Mark's values the strong relationships we have built with our neighbouring businesses over many years. These partnerships provide valuable benefits to our School community, including access to the Muzz Buzz car park for student parking and overflow parking during major events, as well as a range of educational opportunities and community connections.

To maintain these important relationships, we ask everyone to respect the parking spaces provided for customers, staff and visitors of local businesses. Continued misuse of these areas will result in enforcement action during peak school times.

We also ask that all members of our community show consideration for our neighbours by avoiding parking on verges, across driveways, or in private car parks.

Thank you for your understanding and support in helping us maintain positive relationships with our local community.

Thank you,

St Mark's

Due to Athletics Carnivals, there will be no Running Club on Thursday morning in Week 7 (3^rd September) and Week 10 (24 September).

To ensure the safety and wellbeing of all students, it is important that play occurs only when appropriate supervision is available. Staff supervision is provided between 8:15am and 3:15pm. As such, all playgrounds and oval areas are out of bounds outside these hours.

Before School
This morning, a number of students arrived at school before 8:15am. Unless students are participating in a supervised before-school activity, they should not be on campus before this time.

We ask families to ensure that students arrive from 8:15am onwards, allowing them to be appropriately supervised as they begin their school day.

After School
Please note that all playground equipment and oval areas are also out of bounds after school.

To support families with after-school collection, teacher supervision is available in the following locations:

• PAC Drive Through
• Year 2/3 Gate Kiss 'n' Drive
• Inside the Library

Students who are waiting to be collected should remain in one of these supervised areas.

The safety and wellbeing of our students is always our highest priority. We appreciate your partnership in reinforcing these expectations with your children and thank you for your support in helping us maintain a safe environment before and after school.

If you are in need of some parent hours and love spending some time outdoors, please add your name to the attached watering roster for our flourishing Junior School garden.

With the weather set to warm up in the coming months we would love to keep our crops growing strong by ensuring they are getting enough water. The following link contains all the information needed to complete this task, along with a roster for the remainder of the year.

Pick a day (or a few), fill in your name and come along before or after school to help our garden grow.

JUNIOR SCHOOL GARDEN WATERING ROSTER Term 3 & 4.docx

Emma Chadderton (Y2/3 Sustainability Squad)

Tammy Duff (Y4/5 Sustainability Squad)

Helen O’Hara (School Gardener)

The Salvation Army Takeaway Food Containers Program is on again in Term 3 2026.

We are looking for volunteers to cook 10-20 meals for the Salvation Army Term 3 Takeaway Food Containers (either for Parent Commitment Hours / Student IGNITE Hours / Duke of Edinburgh Hours)

We are seeking volunteers to prepare meals at home this weekend 19^th and 20^th September for the Salvation Army Takeaway Food Containers Program to be collected on the morning of Monday 21^st September.

The empty containers are available for collection from the Junior School Reception.

• 10x Meals = 1.5 x Parent Commitment Hours
• 20x Meals = 3.0 x Parent Commitment Hours

Meals need to be substantial; no soups are required. It is preferred that full gluten products are used.

Below is a list of options that you can cook. Meal suggestions include:

• Chilli Con Carne (mild)

• Spaghetti Bolognese

• Pasta Bakes

• Pasta Carbonara

• Tuna Mornay

• Lasagne

(you may deviate from this list, but we ask that the meal prepared contains either a pasta or rice accompaniment and is not heavily spiced).

The (Takeaway Food) Containers are provided. These will have a sticker on them that you will need to complete with the name of the meal and the date it was cooked or frozen (Please state on the sticker).

Meals will need to be dropped off on the morning of Monday 21^st September. I will have a collection point from 7:45am by the Flag Pole round-a-bout in front of the junior school reception for you to “drop n go” the meals to me.

Please do not hesitate to email Andrew Coffin (andrewcoffin@bigpond.com) or call (0415862907) if you have any further questions.

The St Mark’s Community Art Show is looking for an MC for our Opening Night on Friday, 9 October, from 6:30pm–10:30pm.

It’s a fun evening celebrating and showcasing the work of local artists. We have organised Entertainment and our Welcome to Country, so the MC role will be focused on guiding guests through the evening and introducing the scheduled parts of the program.

Parent Commitment Hours will be provided for the event as well as preparation time.

If you’re interested or would like to find out more, please email artshow@stmarks.wa.edu.au.

Preparations are well underway for the 2026 St Mark’s Community Art Show, and we would love some extra help.

Raffle & Sponsorship Coordinator

We’re looking for a parent to help our committee with Raffles & Sponsorship. This is a flexible role helping us connect with local businesses and community contacts to source raffle prizes, donations and sponsorship for the Art Show.

You won’t be starting from scratch – we have previous contacts, information and a supportive committee ready to help. It’s a great way to get involved behind the scenes and make a valuable contribution to one of our wonderful P&F events.

Interested or want to know more? Contact us at artshow@stmarks.wa.edu.au.

Parent Volunteer Hours Available

If you’d prefer to lend a hand closer to the event, we also have plenty of opportunities to complete parent volunteer hours during the final week of the October school holidays, helping with preparations for the Art Show.

Sign up for volunteer hours here:
https://signup.com/go/jBfVnRs

Whether you can take on a role or simply spare a few hours, we’d love to have you involved.

The Parents Prayer Group (PPG) meet fortnightly to pray for the students, staff and school community. We will be meeting every second Friday 2pm in the school chapel, starting 31st July. Please sign in at reception. All are welcome.

For enquiries or prayer requests, please message Wing Shattock on 0433 002 151.

In just over two weeks, the Year 11 ATAR and General Drama students are set to unleash monsters as they present their Curriculum Production of ‘She Kills Monsters’. The play tells the story of high schooler Agnes Evans as she deals with the death of her younger sister, Tilly. When Agnes stumbles upon Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, she finds herself catapulted into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was her sister’s refuge. Utilising the techniques of Epic Theatre, the Year 11’s are excited to invite you into a world of monsters, some more obvious than others, adventure, magic and heart.

• 16-17 September 7pm
• Barbara Godwin Performing Arts Complex
• Free Tickets: www.trybooking.com/DNHRU