2025, Term 1, Week 8 Newsletter

The Child Safety Officer at St Patrick's is Shona Louden. slouden@spkoroit.catholic.edu.au

Acknowledgement of Country

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to week 8!

This week is sure to be a busy one for everyone with St Patrick’s Day, the athletics carnival, and leaders congress.

Last week, our students demonstrated remarkable dedication in completing the NAPLAN assessments. We can’t wait to see the results later this year!

Today, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day, honouring our patron saint and embracing the values of community, faith, and service that he represents. St. Patrick, known for his mission to spread Christianity and his dedication to helping others, inspires us all, regardless of our backgrounds. His message of hope and unity is something we can all relate to as a school community.

Our celebration was filled with spirit as many of us wore green, showcasing our vibrant school pride. We gathered together for a whole school Mass, and I want to extend a special thank you to Mrs. O’Connor for her hard work in preparing the Mass and organising our students to lead it alongside Fr. Bill. As we bid farewell to Fr. Bill, we reflect on the positive impact he has had on our community.

The day was also filled with engaging St. Patrick's Day activities, where students participated in fun and creative projects, culminating in our tradition of green faces. The acts were original and truly enjoyable, bringing joy and laughter to our school.

Thank you for being a part of our celebration today, and for supporting our school community.

Folk Festival

A HUGE thank you and shoutout to Celeste and Mick Lane, as well as Emily Batt, for their incredible work in planning, preparing, and organising all things Folkie! Like any successful event, the BBQ compliance came down to the wire—nothing like a little last minute excitement to keep us on our toes!

We also want to extend our thanks to the parents who volunteered their time in our tent during the festival and those who helped with the pack up.

Events like these show our community spirit and would not be possible without your support. Thank you all for making it a success!

Athletics Day

Just a quick reminder that Athletics Day is on Tuesday at Baruerander Park. Please see the communication from Helen Swarbrick for details.

As with any whole school event, we apologise in advance if the schedule doesn’t go as planned—sports days can get busy! A big thank you to Helen Swarbrick for her hard work and dedication in organising this fun day for our students. We truly appreciate all her efforts! Looking forward to a great day!

Leaders Congress

This week, four of our school captains will attend a Student Leaders Congress at Deakin University in Warrnambool, alongside students from local government and Catholic primary schools. This is a fantastic opportunity for our leaders to collaborate and work on a community benefiting project. Stay tuned for more updates and pictures from the day!

Playground Update

Great news, everyone! The playground has been located after a wild goose chase—we felt like playground detectives on a mission! It turns out the receiver went into administration, but after a lot of sleuthing (and some stress), we’ve finally tracked it down.

We know the kids have been eagerly asking about their promised playground, and we’re excited to announce that it will be picked up next week. Stay tuned for the grand arrival—we can’t wait to see those happy faces! I hope they think it’s worth the wait.

Kind regards,

Tegan McDonald 

Principal

This week we are sharing what SWPBS looks like at St Pat's when we are in the Office Area.

School Sports - TOMORROW 18th March

Our School Athletics sports are fast approaching.

These events are always busy days and we appreciate any parent help we can get.

The link below lists parent and secondary school student volunteers against the event they have been allocated.  

If your availability has now changed, we are always happy to have extra helpers on the day - please see me or step in and assist where you see a need.

Thanks,

Helen Swarbrick
Sports Co-ordinator

Concussion – Important information to be aware of

If your child has experienced concussion outside of the school setting it is important that they rest for a period of 24 to 48 hours and then gradually return to activities after this time. Returning to school can be a graduated approach with the aim of increasing tolerance to a full day, the same situation could occur with sporting activities. It is always important to check with your doctor and seek medical treatment after a child sustains a concussion.

It is important to inform the school if your child has sustained a concussion outside of school; this is to ensure the school can monitor your child’s wellbeing and adapt activities as required.

This factsheet link below from the Royal Children’s Hospital is valuable to read and understand.

https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Head_injury_return_to_school_and_sport/

There is also a great evidence-based app from the Murdoch children’s research institute that walks you through what to do in the result of a concussion.

https://www.headcheck.com.au/

Yarning Circle and Sensory Garden

We are thrilled to excited that we've been lucky enough to receive the 2024 Woolworths Grant! With these funds, we've been able to begin the construction of a Yarning Circle and Sensory Garden.

A Yarning Circle is a culturally significant space where people gather to share stories, ideas, and experiences, promoting respect, understanding, and community connection. It is a wonderful way to honor and celebrate Indigenous traditions of communication.

The Sensory Garden is designed to engage the senses, providing a space for relaxation and exploration. It features plants and elements that appeal to sight, touch, smell, and sound, offering an inclusive environment for everyone to enjoy.

While these projects are still a work in progress, we are excited to share our journey with you all and look forward to seeing these spaces grow and flourish in the future!

The aim of our project is to stimulate the senses, improve wellbeing and explore our curriculum. The children will be involved in designing and constructing elements and features of the garden that they want to see, smell, touch, taste and hear. The expected (environmental and educational) outcomes of the project include increased biodiversity within the school grounds and create a shaded play area that stimulate and calm children’s thoughts and feelings.

NCCD Parent Information

Over the coming weeks at St Patrick's classroom teachers are holding Program Support (PSG) Meetings for students who are a part of the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) count in August of each year. If your child is a part of these meetings I will have contacted you via email or phone. 

I have attached a parent information sheet below for you to read about this process. 

Bridget Van Den Broek,
Learning Diversity Leader

Wellbeing - SchoolTV Free Webinar

Please see the below flyer for information on a free webinar on Digital Media Literacy & Safety featuring Michael Carr-Gregg and Susan McLean.

Mental Health in Primary Schools

This year St. Patrick's is taking part in the Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) initiative that is being rolled out across Victoria.  The leader of MHiPS is called the MHWL (Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader).  At St. Patrick's this will be Shona Louden.  The MHWL works 2 days per week, creating a safe school space for all.

The role is not a counselling role or a clinical role working 1:1 with children.

The role involves a whole school approach to improve :
1. Staff Wellbeing
2. Whole Class Support
3. Small Group Interventions
4. Family Engagement
The jigsaw image below outlines the role of the MHWL.

Wellbeing - CASEA Program

St Patrick's Koroit is fortunate to have been selected to participate in the CASEA program in Term 2.  This is a fantastic opportunity for our students.

CASEA = CAMHS and Schools Early Action, CAMHS = Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Easter Egg-stravaganza

You may have heard the exciting news! We are hosting an Easter Egg-stravaganza on Thursday March 27th from 2-4pm. This is an opportunity for us to showcase our wonderful school community to the local kinder families and to encourage families to consider us in their search for a school.

Parents & Friends

We’d love to see more families join in and help make our school events successful and fun! If you would like any further information or have ideas of opportunities we can take advantage of, please contact either myself or Todd Noble on todd.james.noble@gmail.com.

Tegan

Easter Raffle

Drawn at the Easter Egg-stravaganza!  Tickets have been sent home.  You can utilise both sides of the tickets.

Thanks for your support.

Dads Night

Attention Dads of St. Patrick's Primary!

We are excited to announce that we’ll be hosting several social catch-ups throughout the year. Last year's events were enjoyed by all who attended, and we look forward to making more great memories together!

Join us for our first gathering on 27th March at 6:30 PM at Dukes Commercial Hotel! If you're interested please text Sam at 0438 791 427.

We will create a group message to keep everyone up to date on events. We hope to see you there!

Canteen & Cake Raffle

The Canteen & Cake Raffle are coordinated by our P&F.

Canteen operates at lunchtime on Wednesday and Friday.  Wednesday is sales of  icy-poles and snacks and Friday includes distribution of lunch orders. 

Click here to sign up for the Term 1 Canteen Roster

Cake Raffle is just something for fun! Students can purchase tickets in the classroom on Friday mornings for 20cents and the raffle is drawn by a student from the family who has supplied the cake.  "Cake" is a general term - the prize does not have to be home made and you can choose to bring whatever you like biscuits, slice or chocolates.

Click here to sign up for the Cake Raffle Roster

You will receive a reminder email from the Volunteer Sign Up platform a couple of days prior to your duty and once we have some people signed up, the roster will be published in the newsletter.

Assembly Roster

Assembly is held in the hall at 2.45pm Fridays. Parents, siblings, grandparents and friends are welcome to attend.  Any changes to assembly times will be notified by ClassDojo.

Student awards are presented at assembly and published in the newsletter the following week. If your child is receiving an award, we do try to notify you beforehand.

Hats

In line with SunSmart requirements, students are required to wear hats outside during recess and lunch.  Please ensure your child brings their hat to school each day.  

If you do require a new hat, they can be purchased through CDF Pay.  

Lost Property & Second Hand Uniform

We've cleared out some long term items from the Lost Property but we don't want to refill it - please remember 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.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Samual Wood and Roy Wright who have celebrated birthdays this week.  We hope you had a fantastic time celebrating with family and friends!

Star of the Sea - Parish Bulletin

Book Club

Issue 2 is out now! 

Sports Shirts and School Bags - pricing Update

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

There has been an increase in the price of sports shirts to $55 and School Bags to $57 - these are cost price from our suppliers.

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

GREY TROUSERS WITH LOGO - We are over stocked and need to reduce what we have.

RRP $59.50

From now until 30th June 2025 unless sold out prior -  $29.75, that's half price!

First in best dressed.

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

Information on Koroit Saints Netta program will be shared the coming weeks.