2024, Term 2, Week 5 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,

What a busy week it has been but a wonderful one at that. I hope you have all enjoyed and will continue to enjoy your long weekends. 

Our staff have been busy working hard to come up with goals that will inform the direction of our school for the next four years. We will continue to work together on Monday in preparation for our school review. The work we are doing at this time will go to an independent panel who will seek consultation with members of the school community (students, staff, leadership and parents) before providing us with a focus for the next review cycle. We are excited to foster a culture of continuous improvement.  

Communication

Our communication procedures are designed to ensure that your concerns are heard and addressed promptly. If parents/carers have any issues or concerns, we encourage them to communicate directly with their child's class teacher via email or class dojo. Should the need arise, the teacher will escalate the matter to the school principal for further support or contact.

Your voice matters to us, and by following these steps, we can ensure that the class teacher is aware of your query and can address it in a timely manner. We appreciate your cooperation in helping us maintain open lines of communication for the benefit of all involved.

This Sunday 19th May is Pentecost Sunday. Celebrating Pentecost is a beautiful reminder of the gifts of the Holy Spirit gifted to us. It's a time to reflect on the power of faith, hope, kindness and love, and how they unite us as a community. On Wednesday, I had the pleasure to be there to watch our children receive their first Confirmation sacrament at Infant Jesus, Koroit along with St. Patrick's Port Fairy, St. Pius X, and St. John's Dennington. 

I want to take this moment to thank and congratulate and thank Miss Rhiannon Lumsden for orchestrating such a meaningful celebration. On Sunday, as we celebrate Pentecost think about our students who were fortunate to celebrate their first Confirmation. Let us all continue to embrace the gifts of the Holy Spirit and spread love, kindness and compassion in our community.

Prayer for our school community

‘Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting.’ (Acts 2)

On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came rushing in like a wind. It filled the room as well as the people in the room. The Spirit gave them powers and abilities they didn’t think they had.

Prayer can do this to people too. Prayer fills our hearts and our souls. It connects us together in compassion, empathy, care and love. This weekend, pray for love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness. These are the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Have a fabulous weekend.

Kind regards,

Tegan McDonald 

Principal

School Closure Days

We hope you have enjoyed the day at home with your children today.  Our school closure continues on Monday 20th.

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

We share again our School TV item on "Bullying".

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

School TV - Bullying

Shona Louden

Wellbeing Leader

Religious Education

Congratulations to the Confirmation canditates from St Patrick's Koroit, St Patrick's Port Fairy, St John's Dennington and St Pius X who received the sacrament on Wednesday evening.  This is the first time we have jointly celebrated a sacrament with other schools in the Star of the Sea parish and it was a great success.

Many thanks to Miss Lumsden for all the work that goes into preparing the liturgy and co-ordinating with the other schools.

We will also jointly celebrate the First Eucharist later in the year.

After School Supervision

Our staff members ensure the safety of all students until 3:30 pm in the junior area after school. However, after this time, students will be directed to the school office for continued supervision until they are picked up.

We kindly request your assistance in reminding your children that they should wait with a teacher until they are picked up by the designated person. This ensures proper supervision and minimises any risks associated with playing in the playground or leaving the school grounds unaccompanied.

Your cooperation in reinforcing this message with your child is greatly appreciated, as it contributes to maintaining a secure environment for all students.

Thank you for your understanding and assistance in this matter. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sports Report

Congratulations to each and every one of our 25 students who competed at the Moyne District cross country and Moyne soccer day last Friday 10th May. Everyone proudly represented our school, achieved wonderful results, had a lot of fun and were very responsible.

In the Moyne soccer competition we would like to thank David Watson (Harley's Dad) for coaching our boys soccer team and Seamus Brady for umpiring most of the boys and girls matches during the day. Boths teams played very well, gaining a few wins, draws and a couple of losses.

In the Moyne cross country, students did an amazing job running the 2km and 3km distances. As a school we performed extremely well in the xcountry and soccer thanks to Mr Peter Varley for training the students at school and parents for facilitating some running training at home. Following are the top place getters, with 14 students qualifying to compete at the next level on Fri 17th May in  Warrnambool, Hamilton and Portland Divisional Cross Country. We wish Remi, Tayla, Ayla, Olivia, Poppy, Fraser, Zephyr, Jack, Harry, Ava, Sadie and  Layla the best of luck. Also, we wish Ellie Dobson the best of luck as she trials for the School Sport Victoria 12 & Under netball team in Ballarat.

Importantly, 'A BIG THANK YOU' to all the parents, grandparents and friends who come along to each of our sporting events supporting and transporting all of our students, ensuring they get to where they need to be and have uniforms ready to go. This is very much appreciated.

Another sporting event to note in the diary is our Moyne Winter Sports coming up next Tuesday 21st May at Victoria Park Koroit. All are invited to come along, watch and support our teams. Please if you can offer some assistance (eg. scoring any team, footy goal or field umpiring, netball umpiring, managing a team, etc.) please message me your availability. Thank you. Our grade 4, 5 and 6 students will be competing along with some selected grade threes. Please see permission forms for further details. 

Thank you
Kind Regards,
Helen SwarbrickTeaching Staff/Sports Coordinator

Changes to Maths Reporting

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

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

There will be no Toastie Tuesday next 2 weeks (21st & 28th May) due to many of our senior students being involved in representing the school at the interschool Winter Sports next Tuesday and our hall booked for another professional development day.  We apologise for the inconsistent dates for Toasties but they are beyond our control.

Volunteer Levy

There are many opportunities at school to claim off your volunteer levy.

As you would imagine, there are lots of jobs that need to be done at a school.  Between classroom responsibilites and duties during most breaks, there are many things that staff don't get the opportunity to do. In times gone by, some of these would be done at working bees.  In recent years, we have not had great success in attracting families to working bees as times do not always suit. 

If you see a job that needs to be done, that you are happy to take on, we would love your help and can arrange for the credit to your volunteer levy.

Some suggestions - Canteen deep clean, library tidying, lost property sorting.  This list is just a start.

Parents & Friends

Catering

This week our Catering Team provided morning tea and lunch for a Professional Development day run by the Catholic Education office here in our hall. Thanks to Tammy Langdon and Mary Gleeson for co-ordinating this event.

If you are able to help with supplying food or serving at future events, please indicate on the form below and we will be in touch when we have events scheduled.  If the date/time does not suit you, you do not have to commit to helping when you are contacted.

Catering Support Form

Disco

The countdown is on - one week until the school disco!  Get your dancing shoes on and get ready to have some fun at the school disco.  See details below.

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

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 Smits and Jobe Dobson who celebrate their birthdays this week.  We hope you have a great time celebrating with family and friends.

Star Of the Sea Parish Bulletin

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

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