2024, Term 4, Week 1 Newsletter

Acknowledgement of Country

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a chance to rest, recharge, and enjoy some downtime over the break. As we head into our final term together, I’m excited for what’s to come and the warmer weather that spring brings! 

We have a busy but fun term ahead, full of exciting learning opportunities and special events! Let’s make the most of these last weeks of the school year, working together to finish strong and celebrate all we’ve achieved. 

A big thank you to Nicole and the Jervies family for taking such great care of our chooks over the break! We truly appreciate your time and effort in keeping them happy and healthy while we were away. Your help is greatly valued!

Correct St Patrick’s uniform reminder - hats will be needed this term.

Summer Uniform (October - April) 

Tops
Green check dress 
Green polo shirt with logo
School jumper

Bottoms
Activewear short or skort
Grey emblemed Shorts

Accessories
School hat
Black socks
Plain black shoes (runners can be worn on Wednesdays only)

Wednesday sports uniform

Coloured House Polo Shirt with selection of Activewear (black logo trackies, black logo skort or shorts)
School Jumper
Coloured runners are to be worn for sports uniform only. 

All black runners are acceptable as school shoes

Looking forward to seeing everyone refreshed and ready for a wonderful Term 4!

Tegan McDonald 

Principal

Picnic in the Paddock

The countdown is on! Excitement is building for the Picnic in the Paddock - happening here at St Pat's on Sunday 27th October.  This is a wonderful community event which we host.

As mentioned in the letter sent out at the end of term, discounted pre-purchased wristbands are available to be purchased on CDFPay (school families) or at the office or via social media pages for other friends and family wanting to come along.

We can't wait for all the fun rides, activities and entertainment!

School Swimming

Please check your PAM account for details of our swimming program and the permission form for students in Foundation to Grade 4.

Our swimming program is held at Belfast Aquatics on Thursdays for the first 8 weeks of Term 4.

Students should come to school with their bathers on under their school uniform to ensure they are ready for lessons when arriving at the pool. A waterproof bag is required for wet towel and bathers.

Goggles are required and please remember to pack underwear.

Students are welcome to bring slides/thongs to wear to and from the pool.

Students are encouraged to get dressed independently after the lesson - please select whatever uniform option is easiest for your child (eg, sport or summer uniform).

Bullying -School TV

STEM Resources

STEM Resources. In STEM this term we are looking at physical sciences with a focus on forces. We will be doing lots of creating and building. If families have any of the following materials they would like to donate it would be much appreciated. 
- Recyclable materials such as plastic bottles in particular 1.25l and 600ml, milk cartons, juice bottles etc. 
- Egg cartons 
- Cereal boxes 
- Shoe boxes 
- Plastic or paper bags 
- Any other materials that are similar to the above are also welcome.

Thank you,

Bridget Van Den Broek
STEM Teacher 

Book Club - Issue 7

Issue 7 of Scholastic Book Club is out now.

• BUMPER ISSUE – 40 pages of reading goodness.
• A $5 promotional code with every Issue 7 order. This can be redeemed on Issue 8 with every order over $15. 
• Get up to 3 FREE BOOKS when you spend certain amounts.
• Best of 2024 on pages 8 & 9.
• Dog Man packs on page 21.  Did you know the New Dog Man movie is coming out soon?
• Graphic Novel selection starting on page 24.
• Dragons Vs Wolves is thefeature book for Issue 7 

Knitting/Crochet Supplies

We have some students interested in knitting and crochet - if you have any supplies surplus to your requirements, we would welcome them at school.

Whooping Cough

The incidence of Whooping cough cases is continuing to increase across Victoria, particularly among school-aged children.

Whooping cough is a very contagious infection, mostly spread through coughing or sneezing. 

Symptoms include:

• blocked or runny nose
• tiredness
• mild fever
• severe bouts of coughing, often followed by a ‘whooping’ sound on breathing.

Whooping cough can lead to life-threatening infections in babies.

If your child is unwell, they should not attend school. Please see a doctor if you or your child develops whooping cough symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment will help reduce the spread of the infection.

Students diagnosed with whooping cough must not attend school

If your child is diagnosed with whooping cough, they must not attend school for 21 days after the onset of the cough, or until they have received 5 days of antibiotic treatment.

You must notify the school if your child is diagnosed with whooping cough.

To further reduce the spread of infection to your child and the school community, the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2019 require that some students who were in the same classroom as a student diagnosed with whooping cough should not attend school.

Your child should not attend school for 14 days after they were last exposed to a person diagnosed with whooping cough, or until they have taken 5 days of a course of antibiotic treatment if they are:

• aged less than 7 years; and
• not fully vaccinated with 3 doses of whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine.

This exclusion is required by law – refer to the School exclusion table for primary schools and children’s services.

If your child is diagnosed with whooping cough, please contact the school to let us know.

Your support in keeping our students safe and well is greatly appreciated.

For more information about whooping cough, refer to Whooping cough on the Better Health Channel.

Vaccination is the best way to reduce the risk of whooping cough. The Department of Health recommends staying up to date with immunisations, including booster doses. A free booster dose of the pertussis vaccine is covered under the national immunisation program for students aged 12 to 13. If you are unsure about your child’s vaccination status for whooping cough, please discuss with an immunisation provider, such as your doctor.

Lost Property & Second Hand Uniform

With the onset of colder weather, you may have noticed you are missing a school jumper (or 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

Please speak to Becc Sanderson 0423 956 556 if you wish to purchase or donate some preloved items of uniform.

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

Social Functions

Ladies night was a great success!  Thanks so much to Amber Thomas for organising and special thanks to Stacey Williams for running our class. We all learnt so much with a laugh along the way. It was great to catch up with mums in our school community without being interrupted by little ones. We are already looking forward to the next one.

This Friday, we have our Dad's Night at the Golf Driving Range followed by dinner at the Flying Horse.  Please RSVP to Amber.  See details in image below.

Social Connections Team

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/HJWFR

Cake Raffle Sign Up Sheet - volunteersignup.org/PTFPM

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Marli De Graaf who is celebrating her birthday this week.  We hope you have a fantastic 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