Primary Archives - Newman College

From the Principal – Term 3 Week 8

Jenni Vile on 12/09/2025

Gryffindor… we love Guild

“You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry,
Set Gryffindors apart.

The line from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone focuses on the sorting hat determining which of the Houses the new students will be assigned. This week’s inaugural Year 1-12 Guild activity was not quite as dramatic, but in seeing students from Primary and Secondary coming together in Guild and Family spirit, there was a lot of excitement and deep connection that demonstrated pride and belonging. To see older students getting to know their Guild friends in Primary and our young ones being thrilled to be amongst the ‘big kids’ was a moment of magic. The activity was about building bonds, connections and unity under the name of the Guild. Well done to Student Leader Co-ordinator, Mr Mike Van Der Heever, the Guild Co-ordinators, Leaders of Wellbeing and Mrs Sarah Pagett and Mrs Anna Scanlan on an excellent moment in Guild. The last congratulations go to our students who really understood the historical moment they crafted.

Lavalla Father’s Day Breakfast

So many sausages! What a great morning we had a week ago when we invited Fathers, Grandfathers and Father- Figures to our Lavalla Father’s Day Breakfast! We all enjoyed the strong sense of community and fun that then followed in the liturgy and classroom visits. Thank you to the College Executive, Primary Leadership Team and a number of mums who fed the huge crowd.

Game Changers Graduation

Ends are not bad things, they just mean that something else is about to begin. This came to mind as we celebrated the Year 12 Game Changers Graduation evening this week. It is a heart-warming event every year where we celebrate the great work of students involved in our Game Changers program over the course of their time at Marcellin. Such wonderful students and families, strongly supported by great staff mentors in the program, and it is just a sample of the Class of 2025, who have committed deeply to all the College has offered over the years. That very day, many of our Year 12 students had taken part in the Great Shave and Haircut. This is their legacy piece, where over $56,000 was raised for Cancer support and cure. An amazing day to be a part of! Each of the days of these final weeks of term will be a significant ‘last’ for the graduating class. Please keep them in your prayers.

PP-Y6 Athletics Carnival

Beautiful weather and great involvement marked today’s Primary Guild Athletics Carnival. We have been amazed by the way in which Lavalla students and families have taken to being a part of the Guild system after the move away from the previous Primary factions. As with the Father’s Day Breakfast, where many mums jumped in to help, today’s event was made even more special by the work of parent volunteers on the sausage sizzle. Thank you to … for the donation of the sausages. The sales will go to the Archbishop’s Lifelink. Congratulations to the Primary and Grounds teams for their dedicated planning and running of the carnival.

ACC ISP Athletics Carnival

Carnival season continued this week and we were delighted to see the participation and commitment of our students in the Inclusive Sport Carnival. An excellent day always, the carnival is a keenly awaited event on the Education Support calendar every year.

R U OK Day

We are proud to work alongside the RU OK program every year to maintain a strong spotlight on mental health. Resources, conversation starters and awareness were a part of Newman College’s recognition this week, with the leaders of Wellbeing and the Wellbeing Captains leading us in recognising RU OK.

Our best wishes to the ACC Athletics team, who compete next week in the A Division Carnival.

I hope you have a wonderful fortnight ahead.

Mr Andrew Watson

PRINCIPAL

From the Vice Principal – Term 3 Wek 8

Jenni Vile on 12/09/2025

ACC A Division (Secondary) and IPSHA (Year 3-6) Athletics Carnivals

Next week, our Newman College Athletics squads head to their interschool carnivals. Years 7–12 compete at the ACC Athletics Carnival on Wednesday 17 September at the WA Athletics Stadium. Years 3–6 take part in the IPSHA Athletics Carnival on Thursday 18 September at All Saints College.

Thank you to Ms Marnie Barrett, Ms Hannah Barnsley and our Health and Physical Education staff for their work with the squads. Best of luck to all students competing, and we look forward to hearing of your efforts, teamwork and personal bests.

Year 12 Music Exchange

On Monday 22 September, the College will welcome 23 students and accompanying staff from Sacred Heart College in Adelaide, to join our students in a Music Exchange Program. Over the week, the two schools will combine for Percussion, Concert Band and Choir rehearsals and masterclasses, culminating in a concert on Thursday 25 September. Students will also visit a local retirement village to perform for residents (including Brothers Noel Hickey and Terry Orrell) and Sacred Heart students will spend time sightseeing around Perth. The program will be a great opportunity for students to diversify their musical training experiences and create connections with students from within our Marist School network.

Mr Michael Chiera

VICE PRINCIPAL

Primary Update – Term 3 Week 8

Jenni Vile on 12/09/2025

Father’s Day Sausage Sizzle and Liturgy

Thank you to all the fathers, grandfathers and father figures who attended our Father’s Day celebration last Friday. This was the first time that we have hosted a PK-6 Father’s Day event and it was so lovely to see so much family spirit. The weather held off until we were finishing up the Liturgy. A special mention to all the mums who gave up their morning to help with the cooking, Jane Short for preparing the beautiful Liturgy, and to all staff for their preparation and presence on the day.

Primary Athletics Carnival

Today we celebrated our first PP-6 Guild Athletics Carnival. The weather was magnificent, and the students had a wonderful day. Thank you to James Bristow and Hannah Barnsley for their preparation of this event. Also, thank you to all of the parents who volunteered to cook the sausage sizzle to raise money for Lifelink. I will let you know how much was raised in the next newsletter.

With so much action out there today, we ran out of time for the Relays. These will be run next week and the winning Guild and champion boy and girl for each year group will be announced at a later date.

Mary Poppins and Annie

Last Thursday, I had the absolute pleasure of watching our Annie and Mary Poppins Musical Excerpt in the Catholic Performing Arts Festival. Both performances were outstanding, and we received Certificates of Excellence for both performances. A massive thank you to our magnificent Performing Arts teacher, Samantha Wynne, for her tireless work, including evening and weekend rehearsals, script writing, and choreography creation. She was supported by Ms Laura Van Rijn, who also put in endless hours in preparing our students for their performance. Thank you also to the many parents who helped with all aspects of the production.

Disco

Get your dancing shoes ready! Our School Disco will be held on Friday 19 September.

PP to Y2: 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Y3 to Y6: 5:15pm – 6:30pm

Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.

Duty of Care Outside of Hours

Please note: Teachers are on duty from 8:15am before school and until 3:15pm in the carpark after school.

We have noticed an increasing number of students remaining on site unsupervised and/or using the play equipment outside of these times. As the College cannot provide supervision or duty of care beyond the hours stated, we ask that families ensure children are actively supervised if on school grounds outside of duty times.

We are fortunate at Newman College to have before and after school care available onsite. For more information, or to enrol, please contact OSH Club Newman College here.

Mrs Sarah Pagett

ACTING HEAD OF PRIMARY

Mission Update – Term 3 Week 8

Jenni Vile on 12/09/2025

When I speak to students or families about our Marist characteristic ‘In the Way of Mary‘, I often reflect on service; Mary’s response of saying ‘yes’ to God’s call. If we look around, we can see that same ‘yes’ in many quiet ways across our community: Mrs La Brooy and Mrs Simpson giving up their Wednesday mornings to run the junior dance troupe, the office staff arriving early to set up morning tea, or a student who notices their teacher struggling and offers to carry their bag.

I found myself reflecting on this on Wednesday night at our Game Changers Year 12 graduation dinner. As part of the acknowledgements, I spoke about Fr. Hyginus and Fr. Emmanuel, two of our priests who do so much to support our community, who were both in attendance. Whenever they are asked to celebrate Mass with us, whether months in advance or even the day before, they respond with a generous ‘yes’. This is the same for Fr. Kaz, who supports our primary school. At first, I was inspired simply by their willingness to answer the call. But more recently, I have noticed something deeper: not just that they say yes, but how they serve. At the end of Mass, they often thank us for the opportunity to celebrate together or express how much they enjoy being part of our community. You can feel that their service is not out of duty, but out of joy.

As Catholics, we often say ‘yes’ to service because we want to be good people who follow in Christ’s footsteps. But sometimes, in the busyness of life, service can feel like an obligation. The example of our priests challenges us to consider: Do we serve only because we feel we should, or do we embrace service as a gift, a joyful sharing in God’s love?

The week prior, we saw the same spirit at our Father’s Day breakfast in the primary school. Mums, teachers, maintenance staff, and school leaders cooked a sausage sizzle together. The chatter, laughter, and smiles made it clear that everyone genuinely wanted to be part of the day. How many of us may have started feeling an obligation to serve, only to be transformed by the joy of the moment?

When Mary said ‘yes,’ she was not reluctant or half-hearted. She was filled with trust and joy. When we seek to serve with the same spirit, we go beyond simply meeting a need…we share in the joy of Christ himself.

As St Paul reminds us: “God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Like Mary, my great hope for our community is that we may respond to the call to serve with generous hearts, finding joy in service and bringing Christ’s love to those we meet.

Performing Arts Scripture Reading Shield Winners

I would like to give a special shout out to three of our students who recently competed (yes, you read that right) in the Catholic Performing Arts Scripture Reading.

Many families would be surprised to know that this is even a category in the Performing Arts Festival, but it is a great opportunity to introduce students to the some of the finer points and techniques for delivering the Word of God to an audience in a clear, articulate, and reverend manner that fully conveys the meaning and emotions of the words that are being read. As my previous parish priest, Fr Thai Vu so beautifully shared with me one day, when you read Scripture aloud, you should prepare “like it’s your first, last, and only time”.

I would like to acknowledge and congratulate our Year 11 students for their hard work and preparation leading up to this event: Sam Cousins, Jack Polain, and Annie Clark. Each of them read beautifully and did a wonderful job representing themselves, their families, and the College.

I would like to offer a special congratulations to Annie Clark, who was judged best in the competition, being awarded the Performing Arts Scripture Reading Shield. Her reading of 1 Corinthians 13, about the joy of love, was shared with such warmth and gentleness, and the comments from the adjudicator said, ‘You have breathed new life into this reading. ’ Well done to Annie on her achievement! I would also like to thank Mrs LaBrooy for her support and hard work in preparing students for this competition. It will be lovely to enter again next year and defend our title!

Mr Stuart McClorey

DIRECTOR OF MISSION & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

From the Principal – Term 3 Week 6

Jenni Vile on 29/08/2025

Twenty-Six Simple Words

Do you know what made my whole week this week? Two simple anonymous messages. I was sitting at my keyboard, wondering what I should write in this Newsletter editorial. Yes, let’s cover the great learning and commitment inside and outside the class by students and staff, with the ever-present support of families! What else, though? The anonymous messages gave me the theme on which to write. This week is Wellbeing Week at Newman College. Naming one week as Wellbeing Week is both educational and a bit clichéd. We want to focus on what ingredients and actions support wellbeing, but not condense it into just one week of focused activity and awareness. Nor do we want to suggest that there are no significant challenges to mental health faced by many on a daily basis or at times in one’s life, that require professional resources and support. How do we make every week a week of exercising towards balanced wellbeing? Not a construct of expecting to be in a constant and heightened state of happiness, but the mindset and ability to manage the ups and downs, and the awareness of how to seek help. It has been a superb few days led by our Wellbeing Captains, Leyla Do and Jasmin Afflick, senior students and staff. Balance, gratitude, mindfulness and flow have been discussed and shown alongside emotional regulation, perspective, setback, grit and reframing – the really hard bits to handle. Short, heartfelt Gratitude Assemblies were held in each year group at Marcellin, where representatives from each Pastoral Care Group expressed gratitude to their PCG teacher (the block of Cadburys helped too!). A range of wellbeing focused activities were held during the week, including wellness, mindfulness and fitness sessions, messages of gratitude between students and a staff v student soccer game.

Much of the Equip Guide Thrive programs at Marcellin and the U R Strong – Zones of Regulation at Lavalla that are being delivered to students are about balancing life and deepening the toolkit to manage life’s ups and downs. On Wednesday evening in the Marist Auditorium, the event adjudicator for the CPAF Concert Band-Symphonic Orchestra performance spoke of the importance music and playing musical instruments have in wellbeing. Music, dance, dramatic performance, sport and physical activity are great animators of wellbeing. So is connection.

You may be wondering about the two written messages that I mentioned earlier? Twenty-six precious words that just said thanks from a parent and hoped I was having a good day from a student. Very grateful for these words and even more grateful to know that many more expressions of simple gratitude flowed to our staff from families and students.

Book Week and Celebrating Story Telling

There are few better weeks in the school calendar than Book Week. I know, as a parent who has gone through Book Week planning, that you might groan at the thought of meeting your child’s expectation for a flash costume to conjure for the Parade. ‘Book an Adventure’ was this year’s theme, and Lavalla students dived into celebrating and exploring the land of stories. In Year 7, the students dived into reading time for the week, while our Pre-Kindergarten classes began the initiative of Celebrating Storytelling- the invitation to parents and grandparents to share the magic of storytelling at school. Families connecting through culture and language.

Mullewa Immersion

Finally, our annual visit to Mullewa took place this week. This is a long-standing relationship between the Mullewa community and Newman College, with our Year 11 Game Changers and staff deeply involved in acts of service to the local primary school, parish and shire.

Wishing you a great weekend and fortnight ahead (Go Dockers!)

Mr Andrew Watson

PRINCIPAL