2024, Term 3, Week 4 Newsletter

Acknowledgement of Country

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

Ngatanwarr - Welcome

Wow, I can’t believe we are already at Week 4 of Term 3! Time is flying by, and it's amazing to see how much our students have achieved so far. Be sure to check out our amazing student work in the gallery below—it's truly something to be proud of! I love seeing students in my office, sharing their achievements and taking pride in their work. It's always a highlight of my day!

To stay in the loop with all the exciting learning, achievements, and upcoming events, be sure to check out St Patrick's Facebook page, Instagram, and ClassDojo.

Thank you to Todd Noble for taking on the role of P&F chair. Todd brings exceptional organisational skills and experience to the role and is also a valued member of the school advisory council. 

Bullying No Way Week is coming up next week! From August 12 to 16, 2024, we'll be taking part in the National Week of Action to educate and empower our students at St. Pat's.

Bullying No Way Week is a commitment being made by thousands of schools and supporters across the country. It provides an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to bullying prevention at St Pat’s and in our world. 

The new hero colour for the campaign is purple – symbolising peace, strength and empowerment to take a stand against bullying behaviour.

The theme for this year's campaign is Everyone belongs. This theme highlights the importance of creating a sense of belonging and inclusion for students. We recognise bullying often thrives in environments where individuals feel marginalised or excluded, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that every student feels valued and respected.

“Positive school climates that value diversity and inclusion can foster a sense of belonging and provide a protective factor against negative peer relationships and reduce bullying.” (Australian Education Research Organisation 2023).

For more information about Bullying No Way Week and bullying prevention, visit the Bullying No Way website.

During the week we will be engaging students in meaningful discussions and activities aimed at promoting empathy, understanding, and respect for diversity. We encourage parents and carers to take this opportunity to have open and honest conversations with their children about the impact of bullying and what they can do if they need support. You can visit the Bullying No Way website for tips around how to have this discussion.

Please see below for some further information about bullying on School TV. I encourage parents to continue to explore the wide range of evidence based resources on school TV or contact myself or Shona Louden (Wellbeing) for more information.

You may have noticed a new addition to our school hall! We're excited to share that we've recently (Thursday) installed some brand new decals, thanks to Miss Louden’s efforts. These decals beautifully highlight our Catholic identity and the mission of St. Pat's. We’ve also added SWPBS (School Wide Positive Behaviour Support) values decals, reminding everyone—students, staff, and the wider school community—of our core values: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe (see first two images in the gallery below).

I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend spent with family and friends. Best of luck to those from our school community taking part in Football finals this weekend. Take this time to recharge and come back refreshed for the week ahead!

Kind regards,

Tegan McDonald 

Principal

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National Week of Action Against Bullying - Bullying No Way

Next week is the National Week of Action against Bullying. St. Patrick's is a registered school and will be participating in activities across the week.

The theme for 2024 is 'Everyone Belongs'. The official colour is purple, so students are invited to wear a touch of purple across the week - hair ribbon, socks, etc.  This is not compulsory, just a show of support.

On Monday, the Year 5/6 Wellbeing team has organised some activities for the whole school. One of these tasks is the opportunity to decorate a shirt with an anti-bullying message/picture. We are asking for each student to please bring in a cheap, plain white t-shirt to decorate and keep.

Thank you for your support.

Please contact me if you need more information.

Kind regards,

Shona Louden

School Closure Day - August 20th

A reminder that we have a school closure coming up on Tuesday August 20th.  Staff will be working off site to continue our Professional Development in the area of Structured Literacy.

NAPLAN Results

Hard copies of NAPLAN Results for students in Grade 3 and Grade 5 are now available for collection from the office.  Parents of Grade 5 students - please retain a copy of the results as they will be requested when completing Enrolment Applications for Secondary School next year.

An electronic version of the results will also be available in PAM. We are currently still waiting on the data upload to become available.

School TV - Wellbeing Resources

With Bully  No Way Week coming up next week, we are including a link to resources around bullying this week.

School TV - Bullying Resources.

Shona Louden

Wellbeing Leader

Book Week - Reading is Magic

Advance notice for Book Week.  The theme this year is "Reading is Magic".  

We will have a dress up and parade on the Monday morning (19th August).  Students can choose to dress in theme or as a character from their favourite book.  There is no competition element to our fancy dress parade - all participating students will go into a draw for prizes.  Imaginative and home made costumes are encouraged.

First Eucharist - Piety Shop

With the celebration of First Eucharist coming up, parents and grandparents may be interested in purchasing items from the Piety Shop.

The Piety Shop sells a wide selection of suitable Christian gifts for the significant sacraments and liturgical times of year.  Marita Flannigan can be contacted on 0402 431 053 for items from the Port Fairy Piety Shop.

Our Diocesan Community

Click here to read all the news in the latest edition of Our Diocesan Community.

Student Voice - Grade 3 and 4 Hooptime

On Wednesday 7th of August the Grade 3/4 students represented our school in Hooptime. The All Star Girls were undefeated and won the grand final and now are heading to  the Greater Western Region competition in Hamilton next term.

The Rookies mixed team played 4 games and were lucky enough to win all four! They all played as a team and improved as the day went on. They were very enthusiastic and encouraging to their teammates. Unfortunately there is no competition for them to progress to. 

The All Star Boys had one draw and two losses in their pool rounds.  In their consolation final, they had a cliffhanger, winning by 2 points.  This means they finished third overall but do not progress to Hamilton.

Thanks to Jess O’C, Emily B and Kate F who coached and scored the All Star Girls, Carina L and Mr Varley for scoring the All Star Boys and Kate D for scoring the Rookies team with Neve and Miss Beasley taking lots of photos on the day.

It was very exciting for us to be able to coach the All Star Boys (Will) and Rookie teams (Ellie) and share our love of basketball with them.

The students all had a great time and it was great to see some parents and grandparents there to support them.

Ellie Dobson and Will Foster

Staff - the Right to Disconnect

The Fair Work Act 2009, was recently updated to include provisions that give employees the right to disconnect from communication received outside of their designated working hours. This new rule takes effect from 26 August 2024. For schools, this includes communication from parents, students, colleagues, or others within the school community. 

Staff access their work emails normally between 8:00 am – 4.30 pm when possible and will endeavour to respond to emails within 24-48 hours. This applies to other forms of communication such as Class Dojo. Staff are not expected to respond in this time frame during weekends, public holidays, and, for teaching staff and during term breaks.

We ask all members of the school community to be aware of this new provision and to restrict communication with school staff to school working hours. If you communicate outside of these hours, please be aware staff may choose to but are not expected to respond outside their work hours.

Lost Property & Second Hand Uniform

With the onset of colder weather, you may have noticed you are missing a school jumper (ot two!). Please take a look in the lost property basket to find your lost items. 

If you could please remember also to label your uniform items so your uniforms don't end up here!

Second Hand Uniform Sale

Please see below information for the Second Hand Uniform Sale being held next week. Inquiries to Becc Sanderson 0423 956 556.

Beanies

Keep your head warm in winter! School Beanies are available for $15 on CDF Pay.

Parents & Friends

Catering

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

Singing Lessons

Danielle from South West Coast Performing Arts has some spots available for singing lessons at school on a Tuesday.

Please contact her if you are interested in this for your child.

Assembly Roster

Parents, siblings, Grandparents and friends are all welcome to join us for our assembly - held on nominated weeks in the school hall from 2.45pm - any late changes will be notified via ClassDojo.

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.

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 3.  We appreciate everyone's help with Canteen - without your assistance, it can not run. 

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. 

Canteen Sign Up Sheet - volunteersignup.org/ACK7W

Cake Raffle Sign Up Sheet - volunteersignup.org/PTFPM

CANTEEN ROSTER

CAKE RAFFLE ROSTER

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to Lachlan Gallogly and Ellie Dobson who celebrate their birthday this week! We hope you have a wonderful time celebrating with family and friends.

Star Of the Sea Parish Bulletin & website information

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

Moyne and Warrnambool Youth Strategy Consultation

Your contributions will help shape the region’s new Youth Strategy and guide what kinds of services and programs we deliver.

Kinder Fundraiser

Reach out to a Kinder family for more details or to place an order - if you're not sure who's at Kinder, start with Mel Lilley or Kristy Milward.

Or access the details via this link: https://www.warrnambooltheatrecompany.com/colouring-comp

Warrnambool Roller Derby

Come join us for our new Learn To Skate 18+ program on Sundays from 3-4pm, $5 a session, all gear included! This is followed by Skate Fun, a fun social skate for all ages and abilities, gear available, 4-6pm on Sundays, $10.Skate Fit (also for all ages) from 6-7pm on Sundays.Junior Derby training runs in sessions according to age and ability. Primary aged students are welcome to come and try on Tuesdays from 5-6pm, and secondary aged students start on Tuesdays from 6-7pm. The first session is free to try! $10 per session, and gear is available.
Please contact us at warrnamboolrollerderby@gmail.com for any queries, or check out our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WarrnamboolRollers