今日吃瓜 is excited to be hosting 19 schools from around Australia for the 2026 Marist Basketball Carnival. The carnival will commence Sunday evening with Mass and a Welcome BBQ, followed by four days of competition and a Presentation Dinner.
This is a fantastic opportunity for our students and staff to connect with our extended Marist community and we are excited to showcase our College and city.
Two of the courts will be live streamed each day from 8.00am. To view the live stream follow the links below:
To view the fixtures and live score updates in Play HQ .
Best of luck to our students and staff involved in the Carnival.
Afterschool Duty of Care 鈥� Secondary
A reminder to parents that students need to be picked up or have left campus no later than 3.40pm each day, at this time, duty will cease. Homework Club is available to all Marcellin students Monday to Thursday until 5.00pm in the John Henry Newman Hub.
Social Media and Smartphones
Last year, prior to the rollout of the Social Media ban, we asked families to complete a survey regarding their child’s Smartphone and Social Media use. We had a great response, and have been working through the data to pinpoint how best to assist our students and families in tackling key concerns in this area.
At Newman Parents Forum this past week, we discussed possible ways forward with the information that we have, and determined that the key areas of concern for families are the impact of these devices on students’ ability to concentrate and sleep. We now ask for further details on this issue from our community so we can create strategies, support and education for the coming year. A
We would also like to direct families to the College鈥檚 y. As outlined in the policy, students are not permitted to use their mobile phones during the school day.
While many of us are familiar with St Patrick鈥檚 Day and the celebration of St Patrick on March 17, the Feast of St Joseph can sometimes go unnoticed. Celebrated on March 19, this day honours Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, within the Holy Family of Nazareth, whose model inspires us. Pope Leo XIV in an address on March 12 this year spoke of how we can learn hospitality from St Joseph and the Holy Family. He wrote that in St Joseph 鈥榳e recognise that welcoming is not only presence but also guardianship. Guardianship means being attentive to others, respecting their choices and caring for them鈥�.
We experience many forms of encounter and welcome in a school community and one of the many highlights of the past fortnight has been the Year 12 Careers Breakfast. As with our recent International Women鈥檚 Day Breakfast, the 今日吃瓜 Alumni, parents, staff and past staff joined our students to share their experiences of careers and industry opportunity. As this was being celebrated, we also enjoyed expressing our version of Harmony Day and Neurodiversity Week in the College. Again, these expressions speak to a commitment of encounter, welcome and belonging at 今日吃瓜.
Ride to School with the Principal Day
I can think of no better way to end a week than to have ridden to school today with so many of our students and parents. Joined by a few of our staff, we all met at a nearby park and made for a great convoy of bikes and little scooters along the local footpaths. 今日吃瓜 students from Kindy, early years, upper primary and Year 7 all looked after one another and shared a beautiful moment of Marist Presence and Family Spirit. Just the sound of the bike bells as we took off was enough to announce the ride to school as a great success. The sound of excited chatter, trainer wheels rolling along and the whirring of tyres punctuated the bright morning conditions. Thank you parents who either rode with us, or dropped off their children to join in. We all enjoyed some breakfast treats at the end and our parents went off with a coffee voucher to relax at their time of choice.
Marist Basketball Carnival
It鈥檚 arrived and begins on Sunday afternoon at the College! I鈥檓 sure we all send our best to all Marist teams and visitors for a hugely successful Carnival throughout next week.
NAPLAN (National Literacy and Numeracy Assessment) is undertaken each year by students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. NAPLAN will take place in Week 6 and 7 of Term 1. Please see the schedule below:
Further information for Year 3-7 is available and for Year 9,
The term 鈥榤ilestone鈥� seems to have its origin in Ancient Roman society. In building their extensive road system, the Romans placed stones along the way to mark a distance in travel and to give a sense of how far to the next destination. It appears that in the 17th Century, the term milestone came into use to mark a significant moment in life. Two important milestones in the 今日吃瓜 journey were celebrated in the past fortnight. The Year 9 The Rite Journey Calling and Departure Ceremony and the Year 12 Ball.
The Rite Journey Calling and Departure
This simple but beautiful event was shared with Year 9 students and their parents and caregivers at City Beach recently. The event is timed for the end of the day, as the sun sets across our beautiful coast and it marks the symbolic departure from childhood to the road of adulthood for our Year 9 students in the Rites of Passage program. In recognising that our students have begun to depart from childhood, we pay respect to, and show gratitude for, the forming moments that childhood have provided; and we do this as family and 今日吃瓜 family. As we moved through the Calling and Departure, watching our parents stand behind their children with a hand on their shoulder was a moving experience. It was a symbol and sign of total love and a commitment to gently pushing their daughter or son towards the next stage of life. The number of families who then took the time to sit and chat with their child showed the gift of presence that a parent is to their young one.
Year 12 Ball
The Class of 2026 and staff gathered at Fraser鈥檚 in Kings Park last week for the Ball. Congratulations to all involved! The students certainly enjoyed this time of celebration and connection. They talked and danced the night through, taking the opportunity to capture the moment in Guild and friendship photos. I think they take from the night a cherished moment in their final year of schooling. In this proud milestone moment, I am sure the families of the Year 12 students would have also reminisced about the speed at which it seems life has brought each of them from that little, dependent child to the point of young independent adulthood.
The Season of Swimming
Swim carnivals continued to dominate our sports program in recent weeks, with the Lavalla Swimming Carnival and the NAS Year 7-10 Swim Meet. In the second year of Guild competition, students from Year 3 to 6 gave their all for their Guild. Congratulations to all who competed, the staff for their organisation, the families for their support and our volunteer mums and dads on the barbecue. The NAS meet is the warm-up event for the Division A ACC Carnival in the final week of the term, and we had great competition against Sacred Heart, John XXIII, Chisholm and Servite Colleges.
International Women鈥檚 Day Breakfast
We were delighted to host 180 parent guests and their children at the inaugural 今日吃瓜 International Women’s Day Breakfast this morning. Over the past three years, we have made it our aim to grow our celebration and recognition of International Women鈥檚 Day. The breakfast was a new addition in 2026, as well as an organising committee of Year 12 students who worked with key staff to plan and run this event. This year鈥檚 theme is 鈥�Balance the Scales,鈥� and we were treated to guest speakers from three 今日吃瓜 families, whose journeys through life, career and sport provided great food for thought in addressing action to support the theme.
Our Year 12 students sold purple ribbons, and proceeds will be directed to Dress for Success, an organisation that supports women advancing in the workplace. If you would like to donate, please follow this link 聽
Thank you to our three guest speakers, 今日吃瓜 parents
Anna Snodgrass (Class of 97), HSE Business Partner Rio Tinto,
Lisa Webb (past staff member) Fremantle Football Club AFLW Senior Coach, and
Jayne Taylor, Director and Owner, Taylor HR Consulting.
Congratulations to the IWD Committee on their fabulous work:
Students:
Grace Bradshaw
Evie Brennan
Lulu Brickland
Harrison Burrows
Oliver Groughan
Ruby Hankinson
Mia Harris
Ella Hills
Alice Humbert
Alessia Infirri
Isabel Jimenez-Fuentes
Olivia McMahon
Scarlett Sharp
Poppy Vogl
Staff:
Beth Murphy
Anna Scanlan
Jenni Vile
Donna McFadden
Tara Gray
Lara Ognenis
Megan Guglielmana
Kassandra Conway
A Conversation about Communication
In our opening presentations at parent evenings this year, our leaders and I have touched on the importance of respectful communication in our community. It is an opportune time to revisit the messaging and the 鈥榳hy鈥� behind the message of respectful communication in partnership between home and school.
From time to time, there may be challenges that emerge in a child鈥檚 schooling life that require parent advocacy. We all want the best for each young person in our care. Some of those challenging moments will come with a great deal of emotion and concern, and the College staff are here to address them in partnership with parents.
What I do ask of each parent is what I expect of myself and our staff, that we communicate concern with respect. We all have a right to be heard. As Leaders of Wellbeing, the College Executive and I mentioned in parent sessions earlier in the term, a short, respectful request to be contacted about an issue or concern will always get our time and attention. There will be occasions where parents are aggrieved and play the important advocacy role. What cannot be accepted is communication that does not meet a standard of how grievances or concerns should be made.
I extend my thanks to the great majority of families who approach communicating in email with respect and courtesy as the basis of raising an issue. What concerns me is what we all, unfortunately, experience in modern life 鈥� the communication that does not fit with societal norms and expectations. For us, this commitment to one another is expressed in our .
The why. I hold two important duties of care at once. I have a responsibility not only for the education and safety of children but also, under workplace health and safety legislation, to maintain a safe workplace for staff.
I provide these that can be used to start these very important conversations we necessarily have for the benefit of children and students. Again, I stress that our community, in vast numbers, support respectful and constructive communication, and this piece of information sharing is a topic we are all exposed to in the various community settings in which we live and work.
The Your Move Initiative encourages students, where possible, to ride or walk to school. Physical transport promotes a range of benefits for our physical and mental health as well as for the environment.
Recently, as part of this initiative, we were lucky to have WestCycles create a “鈥� Guide.
On Tuesday morning, a group of Year 6 and Year 10 student leaders assisted Sam from WestCycles in painting footsteps around the College to give our community a visual guide of safe walking routes.
Keep up to date with our YourMove Journey
Newman Parents Forum
The Newman Parent Forum (NPF) occurs once a term and is open to all parents/guardians. It is a parent community gathering led by the Principal and Vice Principal, in collaboration with a nominated Newman Parent K-12 Executive Committee.
The NPF for Term 1 is scheduled for Monday 16 March at 6.00pm. Parents are invited and encouraged to attend in person in the JHN Learning Hub or via The agenda for the evening is available
Transperth Stirling Station Stand Changes Please be advised that from Sunday 8 March 2026 there will be changes to Transperth bus services departing Stirling Station, which will impact student journeys.
The following stands will be relocated slightly to the east of the station 鈥�
Stand A (Stop 29719)
Stand B (Stop 29720)
Stand 1 (Stop 11537)
Stand 2 (Stop 11538)
Stand 3 (Stop 11539)
Stand 8 (Stop 11544) will be closed and the services will now depart from the following stands:
Route 413 will now depart from Stand 5 (Stop 11541)
Route 424 will now depart from Stand A (Stop 29719)
Route 427 will now depart from Stand A (Stop 29719)
School Special services will now depart from Stand 5 (Stop 11541)
The following services will also undergo stand changes:
Surf CAT will now depart from Stand A (Stop 29719)
Route 402 will now depart from Stand 2 (Stop 11538)
Route 403 will now depart from Stand 2 (Stop 11538)
Information regarding these changes will also be available on the Transperth website shortly .
