2024, Term 1, Week 3 Newsletter

Acknowledgement of Country

St. Patrick's School acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work, the Koroitch-gundidj people of the Maar Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. 

Prayer

The Fast Life

Fast from judging others;
Feast on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from fear of illness;
Feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute;
Feast on speech that purifies.
Fast from discontent;
Feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger;
Feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism;
Feast on hope.
Fast from negatives;
Feast on encouragement.
Fast from bitterness;
Feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern;
Feast on compassion.
Fast from suspicion;
Feast on truth.
Fast from gossip;
Feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm;
Feast on prayer that sustains.
Fast from anxiety;
Feast on faith.

- Author Unknown

Principal's Message

Dear parents and carers,

I hope this edition of the newsletter finds you ready for a wonderful and safe weekend.

Ash Wednesday & Lent

On Wednesday, our entire school came together to celebrate the beginning of Lent during Mass. It was a heartwarming experience to witness the unity of our school community as we prayed and gathered, marking not only the beginning of Lent but also the commencement of an exciting school year. A special thanks to Miss Rhiannon Lumsden for orchestrating such a remarkable Mass.

This week, the season of Lent began with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allow Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.

Our school proudly supports Caritas through various initiatives, including having a Caritas donation box in each classroom. This allows our students to actively participate in charitable giving, fostering a spirit of generosity and compassion within our community.

Project Compassion 2024 reminds us that the good we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come. Together, we can help vulnerable communities face their challenges today and build a better tomorrow.

School Advisory Council 

Last year we had two members of our School Advisory Council who finished their tenure with the council. We thank Emma Arthur (chair) and Clinton Perry for their commitment to our school’s SAC. Ms Shona Louden will be replacing me as the staff representative. This leaves Paul Andriessen, Carina Lane, Josh Porter, Shona and Myself. 

If you have an interest in and would like to be part of the School Advisory Council (SAC) please contact me principal@spkoroit.catholic.edu.au expressing your interest in the role. We will formalise and announce the new group members as soon as the group is formed.

Naplan Testing 18th-20th March

NAPLAN Testing is coming up. There will be a scheduled ‘catch up’ testing day to be held on 25th March.

Please see your child’s classroom teacher/s if you would like more information or have any questions regarding Naplan testing.

Learning Walk - Tuesday, March 12th 

You are invited to join me, along with Mr Tony Dalton, on a Learning Walk through our school on Tuesday, March 12th at 9.30am.

See the flyer below for more information.

We would love to see as many interested families as possible come along, especially new families to our school. It is a great opportunity to see learning in action at St Pat's. All parents who have participated in the past have found it a worthwhile experience.

If you're interested in coming please fill in the RSVP link .

Enjoy a great weekend,

Tegan McDonald

Principal

School Closure Day - Next Wednesday

As previously advised, next Wednesday, 21st February is a student free day.

Staff will be attending professional learning off site to enhance our implementation and support of Structured Literacy.

Structured Literacy Project - Sunlit

We are thrilled to announce that our school and many others have joined the Diocese of Ballarat's Structured Literacy Project. St Patrick’s has adopted the Structured Literacy approach in our junior classrooms and after seeing the growth, we are rolling it out across the entire school

What is the structured literacy project?

It is an evidence-based approach to Literacy instruction, which is the approach endorsed by the International Dyslexia Association, the International Literacy Association and the Australian National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy.

The Science of Reading and Learning tells us that a systematic, explicit approach to the teaching of the alphabetic code and the grammatical rules that underpin written English offers our students the best chance at becoming confidently literate. 

Our whole staff group will be working closely with the Structured Literacy team from the Catholic Education Office over the next few years, to learn more about the principles, elements and characteristics of a Structured Literacy approach. 

As part of the project, student data will be collected. If you do not wish for your child's data to be used in the study, please complete the attached form and return it to school at your earliest convenience.  If required, a printed copy can be obtained from the office.

School Photos

School photos this year are on Wednesday 6th March.  Please see flyer below for ordering details (hard copy will go home next week).

School TV - The Wellbeing Barometer 2024

The Wellbeing Barometer survey has proven to be an invaluable tool for schools, providing insights into the state of youth mental health and wellbeing. Whilst last year’s results focussed the spotlight on areas of concern, there were also many highlights that demonstrated the resilience and adaptability of students and emphasised the necessity of prevention strategies.

The Wellbeing Barometer survey is still open for participation.

Access the Wellbeing Barometer Special Report here https://spkoroit.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-wellbeing-barometer-2024-au

Respectful Relationships/Wellbeing

"Respectful relationships promotes respect and gender equality and helps students learn how to build healthy relationships. It prepares students to face challenges by developing problem-solving skills and building resilience and confidence."  - Dr Michael Carr-Gregg

At St. Patrick's, we prioritise collaboration with students and families to foster respectful relationships, cultivate resilience, and ensure a comprehensive understanding of rights.

During the year, students from each year level will engage with the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships curriculum. The inclusion of Respectful Relationships Education in the Australian Curriculum represents an opportunity to create positive change for a whole generation of young people. This was a key driver for change, going from weekly to fortnightly assemblies. The change allowed for students to engage in this learning for an extra hour per fortnight on top of their weekly lessons in class.

See below for topics being covered this term.

Foundation, Term 1

Emotional Literacy 

During the unit students will engage in activities that will assist them to:

• Recognise and identify their own emotions
• Describe situations that may evoke these emotions.

Personal Strengths  

During the unit students will engage in activities that will assist them to:

• Identify and describe personal strengths
• Explain how these strengths help them to contribute to family and school life
• Identify ways to care for others, including ways of making and keeping friends.

Year 1, Term 1

Emotional Literacy

During the unit students will engage in activities that will assist them to:

• Recognise and identify their own emotions
• Describe situations that may evoke these emotions
• Compare their emotional responses with those of their peers.

Year 2, Term 1

Emotional Literacy

During the unit students will engage in activities that will assist them to:

• Recognise and identify their own emotions
• Describe situations that may evoke these emotions
• Compare their emotional responses with those of their peers.

Years 3/4, Term 1

Emotional Literacy

During the unit students will engage in activities that will assist them to:

• Describe the influence that people, situations and events have on their emotions
• Investigate how emotional responses vary in depth and strength
• Understand how to interact positively with others in different situations
• Examine how success, challenge and failure strengthen personal identities.

Years 5/6, Term 1

Emotional Literacy

• During the unit students will engage in activities that will assist them to:
• Explain how emotional responses influence behaviour
• Explain the influence of emotions on behaviour, learning and relationships
• Analyse factors that influence their ability to regulate emotions.

For more information, please visit School Tv and view the videos and information published under the heading ‘promoting respectful relationships’. School TV can be accessed via our St Patrick’s School Website.

https://spkoroit.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/respectful-relationships

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent Teacher Interviews will be held on Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th February.  They are now available for booking in PAM.  Click on "Parent Teacher Interview" block below student names on the landing page.

Please contact the office if you have any difficulty in logging in to PAM.

Room 6 Parents - Although it is showing as Mrs O'Connor for interviews on both afternoons, Mrs Dwyer will be running the interviews on Tuesday afternoon.

Bookings for Parent Teacher Interviews will close on Friday 23rd to allow teachers time to prepare.

Lions Eye Health Program

We are fortunate to have the Lions club provide Free Vision screening for students in Foundation, Grade 1 and Grade 6 on March 5th.  A paper permission form has been sent home.

Please return the form to the school office by Wednesday 28th.

Start of Year Administrative Items

There are still a number of families yet to complete the administrative items mentioned in our bulletin from 8th February (https://spkoroit.schoolzineplus.com/_admin/cms/newsletter/128).

The CyberSafety Agreement, Code of Conduct and information regarding the use of the Church will all pop up as a reminder to attend to when you login to PAM.  It would be appreciated if you could please attend to these as soon as possible.

Assembly Schedule - Term 1

***Please note that Student Awards will only be published in the newsletter and presented on weeks where there is assembly.

Learning Walk

Parents & Friends

Sub Committees

We are still looking for someone or a couple of people to coordinate the Koroit Irish Festival sub committee!

Thanks to Mick and Celeste Lane for taking on the Port Fairy Folk Festival coordination role, Amy Atwell for Picnic in the Paddock and Mel Lilley for Student Engagement.

If you would like more information or to coordinate the Koroit Irish Festival, please contact me as soon as possible. Happy to discuss options or role sharing. It’s not as daunting as it seems and I am happy to help in any way! You won’t be alone.

The four coordinators would meet with the principal perhaps termly and as needed throughout the year as needed in preparation and reflection of fundraising activities.

Folk Festival Volunteers

It's not too late to sign up to volunteer at the Folk Festival.  Use the link below to register your details:

https://forms.gle/CooLXBHGPprBcnJDA

Opportunities to be involved

Please see details below for opportunities to connect with families and to get involved in P&F activities.

Picnic in the Paddock RSVP link: https://forms.gle/JjpBvBoKjk2KcXKy8

BBQ Picnic RSVP: https://forms.gle/J4fZxYzWqCHzrLbb6

Casserole Bank

The St Pat's community has a wonderful tradition of the "Casserole Bank" where families come together to provide a meal or snacks/lunchbox items for families within our school who are in need of support (for example, a new arrival, family illness or bereavement).

This year, the Casserole Bank will be coordinated through the school office.  If you are aware of a family requiring support, please contact the office.

If you are willing to help out during the year, please register your name details on the google form below & we will reach out when the need arises.  The more volunteers we have, the fewer times people will be called upon to help out.

Canteen & Cake Raffle Rosters

Thanks to those who have already signed up for the Canteen & Cake Raffle Rosters.

As you can see, there are still some spaces on the Canteen Roster for this term.  Please use the links below if you wish to sign up for a shift.

Canteen Sign Up Sheet - volunteersignup.org/WHHAM

Cake Raffle Sign Up Sheet - volunteersignup.org/PTFPM

CANTEEN ROSTER

Virginia Martin co-ordinates the canteen, arranging for the stocking of snack items and is happy to take questions from prospective volunteers  - 0419 883 657.

CAKE RAFFLE ROSTER (Term 1)

If you have any questions about the Cake Raffle, please contact Kate Dobson 0408 399 144.

Star of the Sea Parish Bulletin

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to the students and staff who celebrated their birthdays this week Maya Lilley, Olympia Jordan and Poppy Martin.  We hope you have had a great time celebrating with family and friends.

Book Club

Book Club catalogues have been sent home this week - check out some great reading options!

Family Assistance

We are reaching out to our wonderful community in search of families who could generously contribute to ensuring a student gets safely home each night until April. This role provides an opportunity for you to offset your volunteer levy and your help in this matter would be appreciated by both the student's family and the school.

If you can help in any way or have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the office.

Parent Education Opportunity

TheirCare Newsletter

Directwear Uniform

School Uniform is available from Directwear www.directwear.com.au  

Uniforms can be collected from the Directwear home address in Warrnambool or posted to you.

Tunics (Size 6-12) will available from the middle of Term 1.

Contact details for Direct wear are:

email info@directwear.com.au or phone Dion Jansz: 0412 654 406

Dates to Remember

REMINDERS

February

21st- School Closure Day

22nd- Hockey Clinics

23rd- Coffee catch up at Noodledoof

26th & 27th- Parent Teacher Interviews

27th- Moyne Tennis/Hot Shots

March

6th- School Photos

Community News