Thank you!

I’m delighted to share that last week I returned from a refreshing long service leave, which included a short and memorable trip. It was a wonderful opportunity to recharge and broaden my horizons.

I’d like to extend my thanks to Petra Cole for stepping into the principal role during my absence. Her leadership ensured everything continued to run smoothly and efficiently. I’m also grateful to Sophie Murdock, Rachel Powell, and Daniel Hunt for taking on additional responsibilities and supporting the team so capably.

I would also like to thank our School Community Council and our wonderful parent volunteers — Greg Watman, Jean Giese, Brooke Town, Jaimi Pigrim, Mel Guyatt and Rachael Andreata — for preparing and serving a sausage sizzle lunch for our staff and students last Thursday. 

It really is a privilege to be part of such a wonderfully supportive school community.

Congratulations! 

School Academic Reports

As part of our reporting process across Catholic Primary Schools, the Semester One 2025 student reports will include:

• Overall A–E grades for each subject in Years 1–6
• Indicators of progress in key learning areas such as English, Mathematics, and the Arts

Please note that written comments will not be included in this semester’s report. However, they will return in Semester Two.

Reports will be distributed via Compass on Monday, 30 June.

We encourage families to review the reports together and reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any questions or would like to discuss your child’s progress further.

Week 8 Open School Community Council Meeting

We also held our Week 8 Open School Community Council Meeting on Tuesday evening, and we’d like to thank all the parents and carers who attended. Your involvement and interest in our school community are appreciated.

A special thank you to Toni Pheiffer from SP Inclusion Services, who presented valuable information about their programs, including the Tuning in to Kids® program. This evidence-based program supports parents and caregivers of children aged 3–10 years, helping them develop emotion-coaching skills that foster emotional intelligence, resilience, and stronger parent-child relationships.

If there is enough interest, we are excited to offer this program to families at St Matthew’s. You can express your interest by scanning the QR code on the flyer linked below.

Program Overview – Tuning in to Kids® helps parents and carers:

• Notice children’s emotions before they become overwhelming
• Accept, validate, and empathise with their child’s emotions
• Help their child reflect on and name their emotions
• Support their child in working through emotions
• Assist with problem-solving when needed

This program has been shown to improve communication, reduce behavioural challenges, and support mental health and wellbeing in children and families.

Tuning_into_Kids.pdf

Congratulations to Our Confirmation Candidates!

Congratulations to the students who received the Sacrament of Confirmation last night at St Matthew’s Church. This is a significant milestone in their faith journey, and we are so proud of their commitment and preparation.

Thank you to our Religious Education Coordinator, Sophie Murdock, and Year 6 teachers, Daniel Hunt and Hannah Beissner, for guiding and supporting the students throughout this special time. We also thank the students and staff from St Vincent’s for joining us and sharing in this beautiful celebration.

We are especially grateful to Monsignor John Woods for presiding over the Sacrament and leading such a meaningful liturgy.

May the gifts of the Holy Spirit continue to guide and inspire our newly confirmed students in all they do.

 Winter Uniform Reminder

As we settle into the cooler months, a reminder that all students should now be wearing the full winter school uniform.

School Winter Uniform (not sports) (Monday, Wednesday, Friday):

• Tracksuit pants are not part of the winter uniform
• Students should wear dress pants or the tunic
• Joggers are not permitted with the regular uniform — these are for sports days only

Outerwear & Accessories:

• All students should bring their fleece jacket and wear long sleeves
• If purchasing a coat, please ensure it is navy blue
• Gloves, scarves, and beanies may be navy blue or maroon

Uniform plays an important role in creating a sense of belonging and pride in our school. Thank you for your support in maintaining our high standards.

Please refer to the image below for guidance on the correct winter uniform and acceptable school shoes.

Yours in Truth and Love,

Mrs Sarah Lowe

Communication

St Matthew’s Primary School values and promotes partnerships that develop between parents/carers, students and staff. We are committed to communication that is respectful, measured, sensitive and constructive. In adhering to these principles we aim to strengthen the goodwill and the positive partnerships between the school, our families, the parish and the broader Catholic community, in order to enhance the wellbeing and learning opportunities for our children.

In most instances, if parents and carers have concerns that need addressing regarding the social, emotional, or academic needs of their students, they are encouraged to contact the classroom teacher in the first instance. Please email your child’s class teacher or contact the front office to make appointments for face-to-face or telephone meetings.

On most days, because they are attending to teaching or other supervision responsibilities, teachers are generally unable to read or respond to emails between 8.30am and 3.30pm. So for time-sensitive or non-urgent matters, such as lost clothing or changes to pick up routines, parents are encouraged to telephone or email the front office. 

With the exception of extenuating circumstances or in an emergency, staff are not expected to access, nor to respond to emails outside normal working hours (ie 8.30am to 5pm). However, you can expect that your emails are responded to within two school days. 

Child Safeguarding Corner

The Child Safe Standards provide us with tangible guidance about how to create cultures, adopt strategies and act to put the interests of children first, to keep them safe from harm. Each fortnight, I will present one of the standards and ask you to reflect on how you think we’re addressing the recommendations. We welcome ideas and feedback from our families and community!

Child Safe Standard 4: Equity is upheld, and diverse needs are taken into account

The aim of this standard is that our students are provided with opportunities to participate to their full potential. The standard is important because our children need to build relationships, skills and knowledge, and have access to resources that keep them safe. By adapting to the diverse needs of children, they can have opportunities to feel welcome and participate in activities and programs. 

Our aim is to prioritise this standard for child safety in what we say and do:

• Our teachers actively anticipate children’s diverse circumstances and respond effectively to those with additional vulnerabilities
• Our students have access to information and support, and know how to report a concern if they need to. 
• We pay attention to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children with disability and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. 

If we are addressing this standard successfully, we would expect our children to say: 

• I feel proud of my background.
• I am treated fairly.
• I feel included.
• I feel safe to talk about my differences. 

We now have a page on our school website dedicated to Child Safeguarding, and we encourage you to view it. 

If you have any questions or feedback about how we are addressing this Standard, or about our new Child Safeguarding page, please email me (petra.cole@cg.catholic.edu.au). 

Sacrament of Confirmation

This week, we celebrate a very special moment in the faith journey of our Year 6 students as they received the Sacrament of Confirmation. On Wednesday evening, they were sealed with the Holy Spirit in a beautiful and reverent ceremony. We keep them in our prayers, asking that they continue to grow in faith and feel the presence of Jesus in their lives.

St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal

This Friday is our PJ Day! Students are invited to come to school in their pyjamas, dressing gowns, and slippers (please remember to pack runners and a coat for outside play). We ask for a gold coin donation, with all funds going towards the Vinnies Winter Appeal. We are also collecting new warm winter items (such as blankets, socks, gloves, and beanies) up until Thursday of Week 10. These donations help support those who are struggling during the colder months, and we are proud to support the great work of Vinnies in our community.

Making Jesus Real Groups

Last Friday, we launched our first Make Jesus Real (MJR) groups for the year. These multi-grade sessions provide students with the opportunity to connect as a faith community. Our focus was on the theme of Pilgrims of Hope. Students enjoyed creating “Pilgrims of Hope” postcards with messages and drawings of hope, which are now displayed around the school as a reminder to keep spreading hope on our journey together.

Sophie Murdock

Religious Education Coordinator

14-15 June The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (C)

ONE YET THREE AND SEEKING COMMUNION

Last week as Trinity Sunday. We speak of God as one yet three. We affirm this truth each time we make the sign of the cross. However, it was some centuries before the Church came to this understanding at the Councils of Nicea (325 AD) and Constantinople (381 AD). The development of this doctrine is an affirmation of ‘the one deposit of faith’, that is, the Church’s prayerful reflection on scripture and tradition to articulate what we believe under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We begin by understanding that the Israelites understood God as totally other and one. So it is that our First Reading speaks of ‘Wisdom’ as ‘master craftsman’ to account for the earth’s creation, or as Henry Wansbrough has put it, “how God could ‘dirty his fingers’ by creating the world.” Wansbrough further comments, “So there is in God something which both is God and is not the same as the Creator.” He goes on to note that “in the New Testament Jesus is known as the Wisdom of God and as the Word of God... This is the beginning of the understanding of the Trinity”. Indeed, Jesus speaks of God with intimacy as ‘Abba ’ or Father or more truly, the informality of ‘Dad’. In turn, the early Church understood that in Jesus they were drawn into a personal relationship with the Father involving a third divine person, the promised Advocate poured out at Pentecost, as we celebrated last week. “So, without injury to the
basic monotheism from which Christianity derived from the Jewish faith, the sense of Three Persons in the One God came into being –not as a remote heavenly mystery, let alone an arid theological puzzle, but as a way of expressing the Christian sense of being drawn into the divine communion of love. There they found the impulse and energy to be instruments of the saving outreach of that love into the world” (Richard Byrne SJ). This was radical and in sharp contrast to the then prevailing Greek philosophers' understanding of God as “distant, impersonal and immovable” (Sr Mary Coloe PBVM). Indeed, in our Second Reading, St Paul points out that God’s abiding presence and the resultant missionary impulse continue in spite of any suffering or hardship. As for them, so for us: the Spirit of God has been poured into our hearts (v.5) such that we have a founded hope in the depth of our being, whatever our
circumstances. And to it was that Pope Francis called us to be pilgrims of hope in Christ in this Jubilee Year of Hope. It is all about an awareness of God’s unstinting love in all circumstances and our response to this self-revelation of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
And so, we pray that ever old yet ever new prayer: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.”

 Fr John

South Belconnen Parish Priest

Music Performance Assembly

In Week 9, we will hold our whole school Music Performance Assembly, commencing at 1:30 pm in the school hall.

Each class will be presenting two uniquely Australian songs.

It would be wonderful to see as many friends and family as possible come along to watch the children perform.

Online Safety Basics

Your guidance can help them watch for risks and understand what is expected of them. Let them know you are always there to support them.

Advice for parents/carers

• Keep the computer or device in an area of your home that can be supervised. Check in regularly with your child to see what they are viewing.
• Stay engaged with their online activity. Consider setting up your own accounts with the sites they use most, or simply browsing the content, so you can see how they work and understand the risks. Before “friending” or “following” your child online, ask them. If your child says they don't want to connect with you online, it may be a good opportunity to talk about risks and rules.
• Explore the online world with them to help establish that you can share online activities as a family. You might want to play games with them or do a creative project together.
• Think about social media readiness. Most social media sites require users to be at least 13 years old before they can register, although some sites are created especially for children under 13. See if they are old enough?
• Encourage respect and empathy. Teach your child to avoid sharing or posting things that may upset others. See, good habits start young.
• Start building resilience. Explain to your child that there are ways they can deal with material that worries or frightens them. This includes immediately telling you or another trusted adult of any concerns or uncomfortable material. See, good habits start young.
• Encourage them to learn about online safety by exploring the kids' section of this site.

Tech tips for parents

• Ensure your own devices are protected by a password or PIN, so your child can’t accidentally come across content not intended for children.
• If you are thinking about giving them their own tablet or smartphone, check if they are old enough.
• If your child does have their own device, avoid logging into your own accounts on that device. This will prevent any content you have stored in the cloud that may not be child-friendly from synchronising (downloading or sharing to) your child’s device.
• Use parental control tools you feel are right for the age and experience of your child. Be upfront and get your child on board. Let them know these can be reviewed and changed as they get older, if they show responsible behaviour. Consider installing a ‘child-friendly’ search engine that will allow them to explore a limited number of sites. See parental controls.

Daniel Hunt

ICT Coordinator

ACT Cross Country Championships

Congratulations to Annika S, Jocelyn B and Lisa M on representing St Matthews at the ACT level for Cross Country. Well done, girls! 

Athletics Carnival

Thank you to all of the parent helpers for yet another successful Athletics Carnival at the AIS Track and Field Centre. Well done to all of the students on their participation and efforts throughout the day. 

More information regarding the regional-level athletics carnival will be sent out shortly. Stay tuned for the date to be announced for the ribbon presentation. 

Sports Superstars!

Izak V and Lachlan C in Year 3 had the fantastic opportunity this weekend to do the Guard of Honour before the Brumbies game, and then played the half-time game. The boys play rugby union for the Gungahlin Eagles U9 team.

Travelling to Yass to play the Magpies. Zane won the player of the match for his huge improvement in running and tagging.

Well done, Zane, and keep it up!

Dillon Payne 

Book Fair

In Week 9 and 10, we will have the Lamont Book Fair visiting our school. It will be open before and after school, as well as during Parent-Teacher Interviews in Week 9. Please come and check out the selection of books - every sale helps us to buy new books for our students. Hope to see you there!

Botanic Gardens visiting Author Workshops

Sally Judd

Teacher Librarian

Non-government Schools Census Collection Notice

The Australian Government Department of Education (the department) would like to advise all staff, parents, guardians and students (where applicable) that it will collect certain information about our school, its staff and student body as part of the non-government schools census collection (the census).

How and what information is collected for the census?
Census information is provided to the department by your school legal entity (the approved authority) via the SchoolsHUB website.

The census provides information about our school, including the number and characteristics of our staff and student body, during a specific reference period.

Information and characteristics collected through the census include:
• teaching and non-teaching staff
• students’ year level and workload
• students’ gender and age (as on 1 July 2025)
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and students
• students with disability
• students receiving distance education
• day, boarding and overseas students.

The names of students and staff are not collected, apart from the name, position and contact details of the staff member nominated as the primary contact for the census.

Please see the flyer below for more details

Non-Government Schools Census Collection Notice

Squash Try Day

Squash ACT will be holding a kids come and try day on Saturday 12 July 2025 at Woden and Dickson Squash Courts. 

Primary School (Ages 6–12): 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM 

High School/College (Ages 13–18): 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Further details can be found in the flyer below.

Squash ACT Kids Come and Try Day Flyer0