2024, Term 2, 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. 

Principal's Message

Dear parents and carers,

Happy Catholic Education Week! This Catholic Education Week is also marked by our Ballarat diocese 150 year anniversary. It's a time for us to pause and reflect on the Gospel's teachings, considering how we embody them in our daily lives.

This year's theme, inspired by Romans 12:12, urges us to find joy in hope and endure with patience in times of hardship.

To celebrate, our senior students are visiting Emmanuel College on Monday. They'll be meeting with other senior students from various schools in our area such as OLHC, St Pius X, St John’s, St Joseph’s and St Pat’s Port Fairy, along with the Year 7 students from Emmanuel. They'll kick off the day with a shared morning tea before participating in a "people’s choir" session led by Tom Richardson at the Emmanuel Centre.

I would like to thank and congratulate the Parents and Friends (P&F) group for their outstanding dedication and hard work at the Koroit Irish Festival! A big round of applause goes to Kate Dobson, Tammy Langdon and Celeste Lane, the co-ordinators, and all the incredible parent volunteers who contributed to the success of the day, particularly in preparing and selling the delicious loaded spuds and toasties. Thanks to everyone's tireless efforts leading up to the event and on the day itself, we managed to sell out over 600 spuds in less than 4 hours, this achievement is truly remarkable. Well done to all involved for your unwavering support and commitment to our school community!

To add to the outstanding results above, St Patrick’s was awarded the Best Float in the Street Procession at the Koroit Irish Festival! It was an incredible experience being part of such a vibrant celebration of Irish culture. Huge thanks to everyone who contributed and supported us! A very special thank you to the Van Rysingen family who made the tractor and trailer available for our use on the day! It was a great way to show our school’s commitment to the wider community, to support the wonderful efforts of the Koroit Irish Festival Committee and to advertise our upcoming Picnic in the Paddock to everyone there!

A special congratulations to Will Foster for winning the St Patrick’s Koroitrait competition, Sadie Langdon for her highly commended mention & Will Lane who also got a special mention in the competition! Very proud to have had such wonderful entries from our school. Keep up the great work!

Our cross country day on Wednesday was a day marked by the exemplary display of sportsmanship that embodies the spirit of our school community.

Throughout the afternoon, as our athletes navigated the twists and turns of the trail, I witnessed countless acts of kindness and encouragement. Regardless of team colours, students cheered each other on, offering words of support and motivation to their peers.

As the races finished and winners were celebrated, what stood out most was the camaraderie displayed. Whether crossing the finish line in first place or last, each student was greeted with applause and words of encouragement from their classmates.

It is moments like these that remind us of the values at St Pat’s —responsibility, respect, kindness, and teamwork. The lessons learned on the cross country course extend far beyond athletics, shaping our students into compassionate and empathetic individuals. I truly felt a sense of pride, knowing that our students have developed such wonderful life skills.

Have a fabulous weekend.

Kind regards,

Tegan McDonald 

Principal

150 years Anniversary Prayer

Blessed are you, God of all creation

Through your goodness we have received all the gifts we enjoy.

As we mark the 150th anniversary of our Diocese of Ballarat, we give thanks for the blessings bestowed upon us.

We recognise the communities who have lived on this land from ancient times. We honour the Aboriginal peoples, here for tens of thousands of years. We honour those who came from overseas and settled here before our diocese began. Yet out anniversary shines a special light on our years as the Diocese of Ballarat, a community of communities from the Murray to the sea.

We remember those who have gone before us, those who laid the foundations of our parish and school communities and our social services and health care.

We acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of our history. We celebrate the achievements and we ask pardon for the failures to live our Christian faith to the full.

May this anniversary year be a season of renewal for our diocese. Inspired by the Gospel and nourished by the Eucharist, may we follow the example of Jesus and the guidance of your Holy Spirit.

May we reach out in humble service, welcoming all and caring for all creation. May we grow in love day by day.

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help.

Pray for us.

Saint Patrick.

Pray for us.

Saint Mary MacKillop.

Pray for us.

Catholic Diocese of Ballarat

1874-2024

School Closure Days

A reminder for our upcoming school closure days on Friday 17th May and Monday 20th May.

These closure days are for staff to prepare for our School Review which occurs every five years and is part of our school accreditation and improvement process.

School TV - Wellbeing Resources

Our School TV item to share this week relates to "Respectful Language".

We encourage you to explore all of the School TV site for a variety of wellbeing resources.

School TV - Respectful Language

Shona Louden

Wellbeing Leader

Religious Education

Changes to Maths Reporting

Please see the below letter with important information regarding changes to Maths Reporting.

Koroit Irish - Thank you!

A huge thank you to all the parents and friends who assisted with preparation, production and pack up for the Irish Festival Baked Spuds and Toasties stall.

This is a huge fundraiser for our school and a great opportunity for us to be involved in the wider Koroit community.

Thanks also to our wonderful students who joined our float in the parade - we were absolutely thrilled to win a sash for the best float.  Special mention to the Van Rysingen family for the use of the tractor and hay.

Book Club

Issue 3 of the Scholastic Bookclub is now available.

https://issuu.com/scholastic_australia/docs/bc_3-24_issuu?fr=sMWM4YzcwNDI5MTA

The feature book for this issue is Roarsome and a $5 promotional credit on this issue when an order is placed through LOOP, plus, people can spend their $5 credit earned from issue 1.

The catalogue includes "Bowerbird Blues" by Aura Parker which we will be reading as part of National Simultaneous Storytime.  There is a diverse range of books available for $10 or less throughout the entire catalogue.

Toastie Tuesdays

Cross Country Results

Congratulations to all our students who participated in the Cross Country on Wednesday.  

The results have been tallied and the winner is CLARE.

Individual Results:

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 12

Next

Parents & Friends

Mothers Day/Special Person Breakfast

Mothers, Grandmothers and special people are all welcome to attend the breakfast, along with your St Pat's students and younger family members.  Orders can be placed via CDF Pay.  Please note that orders close on Monday 6th May.

If you have any disco lights that you would be happy to loan for the night, please contact Mel on  0419752980

Walk to School Day

This year, St Pat's will celebrate National Walk to School Day in conjunction with our Mother's/Special person breakfast.  We encourage families to walk safely to school (or part of the way) together followed by a delicious breakfast in our school hall.  (Remember, breakfast orders close early next week).

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. We now have a new Canteen Sign Up Sheet available for Term 2.  We appreciate everyone's help with Canteen - without your assistance, it can not run.

Canteen Sign Up Sheet - volunteersignup.org/BCXRE

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. 

There are still lots of gaps in this Term's Canteen Roster. 

CAKE RAFFLE ROSTER (Term 2)

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

Term 2 Assembly Roster

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Layla Bidmade, Annie McMahon, Wendy and Seamus who celebrate their birthdays this week.  We hope you all have a great time celebrating with family and friends.

Student Awards

Room 1

Jackson O’Grady for constantly being a respectful, responsible and safe member of Room 1. You are a wonderful role model for your peers as you are always kind, caring and helpful. Well done Jacko! 

Noah Lane for your amazing work in phonics this term. It has been wonderful to see your progress segmenting and spelling new words. Keep up the great work Noah!

Room 2

Hunter Noble - For your amazing work and perseverance in maths. It has been amazing to see you share your thoughts and ideas in the classroom. Keep up the good work Hunter!

Floss Young - For being an amazing positive force in the classroom. You give all things a go with a ‘can do attitude’ and inspire others to do the same. Keep shining brightly Floss!

Room 4

Harley Watson for being a very helpful, kind and respectful leader in room 4 this week. Harley, you have come into class smiling everyday, ready to learn, have a chat and help anyone who needs a hand. Thank you.

Harper Cuomo for being a very conscientious student in room 4 this year. Harper, you always add detail to your writing, when asked, and you love the challenge of completing harder maths tasks. Keep up the great work Harper!!

Tilly Balcombe for having the growth mindset of “I can do it” when running the second lap of the cross country on Wednesday. Tilly your persistence paid off and you were able to complete the course. Congratulations, we are all very proud of you. Well done!

Room 6

Charlotte Wright - For your amazing progress in Wendy’s Phormes group. Not only are you completing great learning, your confidence is thriving and continues to grow.  Keep up your amazing work Charlotte.

Sam Mahony - For your amazing progress in Wendy’s Phormes group and in our classroom. It is great to see you more confident and contributing to our classroom discussions.  Keep up your amazing work Sam.

Room 7

Tarneisha Harris- For listening really carefully to instructions to help you achieve your best. You are making great progress in Maths and spelling Tarneisha, well done!

Isla Dobson- for demonstrating initiative and independently researching an ANZAC project on a family member to share with the class. Isla, thankyou for sharing your discoveries with us, well done. 

Ava Monnier- for demonstrating initiative and independently researching an ANZAC project on a family member to share with the class. Ava, thankyou for sharing your discoveries with us, well done.

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.

Contact details for Direct wear are:

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

Sports Polo Shirts

The School Sports Polo shirts are purchased through the school via CDF Pay.

There has been an increase in the price of sports shirts to $50 - this is cost price from our supplier.

Dates to Remember

Please refer to the public calendar on the school website for the most up to date calendar items.

https://www.spkoroit.catholic.edu.au/news-events

Save the Date!

Community News

MIURA MATSURI - FREE COMMUNITY CELEBRATION IN THE JAPANESE GARDEN

We're opening up the gates to come and explore the Miura Friendship Garden, learn about the history of the site and enjoy a great day out! Sat, May 18 2024, 10am - 3pm, Miura Friendship Garden, Albert Park, entrance off Grafton Road, Warrnambool 

Further Information - https://whatson.warrnambool.vic.gov.au/miura-matsuri-free-community-celebration-japanese-garden