2025, Term 2, Week 8 Newsletter

Child Safe Statement and Commitment

The Child Safety Officers at St Patrick's are Tegan McDonald and Shona Louden. slouden@spkoroit.catholic.edu.au

Acknowledgement of Country

Prayer

Pentecost invites us to pause and reflect on the gift of the Holy Spirit, God’s presence among us, comforting, guiding, and strengthening us. In the Catholic tradition, Pentecost is often called the birthday of the Church, when the disciples, once afraid and unsure, were filled with courage and purpose.

The Spirit came to them not with noise or force but with peace and power, a power that calls us, even today, to speak and act with love, hope, and justice.

In our school community, Pentecost reminds us that every person has gifts to share and that together, we are called to build a place where all feel safe, included and uplifted. Whether we name that Spirit as God, love, breath or simply connection, may we be people who bring peace to our world.

Pentecost Prayer – Welcoming the Spirit

Spirit of God,
As we celebrate Pentecost, we remember how your Spirit filled the disciples with courage and love.

Be with us in our classrooms and conversations.
Help us to be people of peace, kindness, and understanding.

May we welcome and support one another and use our gifts to build a caring community.

Amen.

Principal's Message

Dear parents and carers,

Welcome to Week 8!

I hope everyone enjoyed a nice long long weekend.

This term, our Year 5 students have been enjoying their visits to the kinder as part of our transition and leadership program. These visits help prepare the kinder children for school and develop our Year 5 students' leadership skills. Next term, the kinder children will visit St Pat's to experience life at our school. 

2026 Foundation enrolments are still open until the 4th July. Spots are filling up quickly, which is a wonderful celebration for our amazing little school. We look forward to welcoming our existing families and new Foundation students and families to our school community from next term with Little Learners, Kinder Transition and Foundation Interviews.

Kind regards,

Tegan McDonald

Principal

Enrolment Information

Enrolments close 4th July and acceptance letters will be sent out along with your Foundation interview time and date in early Term 3.

Digital Media Literacy & Safety Webinar

Though our association with SchoolTV, parents, carers, grandparents, educators and school leaders are able to attend an exclusive webinar supporting primary and secondary students.

WEBINAR: Digital Media Literacy & Safety (Part II)
DATE: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
TIME: 7:30 pm

Join us for an exclusive session with two of Australia's leading experts in youth wellbeing and cybersafety, Susan McLean and Dr Michael Carr-Gregg. They will share invaluable insights on how to empower young people to navigate the online world safely and responsibly.

Topics in this webinar include:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Misinformation & Algorithms
• Sexting and Sextortion
• Online Grooming

Register here: http://spkoroit.catholic.schooltv.me/webinar/east-coast-digital-media-literacy-safety-part-2

School TV - Navigating Friendships

School TV has a wide range of resources available with lots of information on different wellbeing and parenting topics.  These can be accessed via the school website under the Parents and Community menu.

This week, we share the topic of Friendships and Belonging - 

Friendships and Belonging

SWPBS -Positive Behaviour at St Patrick’s

At St Patrick’s, we follow the School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) framework. This is all about creating a safe, respectful, and supportive learning environment where every child can thrive.

We have three clear expectations for all students:
Be Safe – Be Respectful – Be Responsible

We teach and model these behaviours every day so students understand what is expected, both in and out of the classroom. We use positive reinforcement like our ladder system, Class Dojo points, prizes, and other acknowledgements to celebrate students making great choices.

When behaviour falls short of expectations, we follow a clear and fair process, helping students learn from their mistakes and make better choices next time.

We also keep track of positive behaviours and any challenges that arise. This helps us see patterns, support students early, and make sure we are always improving.

Just like we teach children how to read, write and count, we also teach them how to behave. As the quote says:

“If a child doesn’t know how to read, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to behave, we teach them how to behave.”

Respectful behaviour at home.
The way we speak and act around children, especially in moments of frustration, has a lasting impact. Together, when school and families work as one, we can help all our children grow into kind, confident and respectful young people.

A Thought from Karen Young - Words Matter

Children are always listening, even when we think they’re not. The way we talk in front of them helps shape how they see themselves and how they behave.

As Karen Young reminds us:
"Our words become their inner voice. When we speak with calm, respect and understanding, especially during challenging moments, we teach them how to respond to the world and to themselves."

When we model calm and kind communication, we give our children the tools to do the same.

Communication Process
If you have any concerns about your child’s behaviour at school or at home, please contact your child’s classroom teacher in the first instance. From there, the teacher will raise the concern with the appropriate school leader if further support is needed.

From the acting sport coordinator- Georgia O’Keefe

Hi Families,

We had a great day out at Winter Sports on Friday! A big well done to all our students for braving the cold and competing in football and netball. Everyone showed fantastic sportsmanship and represented our school with pride.

Congratulations to our mixed A team who will move on to the division competition next Friday — good luck! While our footballers and B girls team were close to a few wins, they played with great effort and should be very proud.

Thank you to our wonderful parent helpers — Mel Lilley, Tammy Langdon, Kristy Milward, Rachael Fechete and an extra thank you to Carina Lane who took home the muddy footy jumpers! Also, a special mention to Jonah for bringing along fruit and lollies for halftime — what a treat!

Book Club

Issue 4 is out now! 

Scholastic Book Club: Issue 4 2025 by Scholastic Australia - Issuu

NCCD Information

Student Awards

Congratulations to the recipients of the Student Awards, announced at assembly last week:

Room 1

Grace Lilley: For your amazing work solving addition problems using the count all strategy this week! Keep up the great work! 

Maya Lane: For having a positive attitude and trying your very best in all learning activities this week!! Keep up the great work Maya!

Room 2

Henry Courtot - You have been fantastic in the classroom this week! Your work has been exceptional, and it's been a joy hearing you share your favourite parts of the day with the class. Keep up the great effort and your positive attitude, you’re a star!

Elliott King - Your writing is really beginning to stand out, and it's wonderful to see how eager you are to share your amazing work. You should be incredibly proud of all you've accomplished this term, keep up your amazing effort!

Room 4

Anika Nagorcka for consistently showing remarkable patience, empathy, and kindness, making our classroom a more supportive and welcoming place for all.

Hector Warrick for consistently demonstrating responsibility and a willingness to help others, setting a positive example for the entire class.

Room 5

Tilly Balcombe: Tilly, you have been absolutely shining in your fluency reading! You track along beautifully, work so well with your partner, and set a fantastic example for others to follow. You are also a very kind and caring friend, always ready to help and always sharing a smile or a hello that can brighten people’s day. Keep up the amazing work!

Max Hillam: Well done Max for bringing such a positive attitude to the classroom and showing great determination and effort in your schoolwork this term! You have been giving everything your best go and showing strong focus and work ethic, which has been amazing to see. I’m so proud of how hard you’ve been working, and the bright, fun energy you bring to our class each day!

Room 6

Lydia Andriesson you are always focused during your learning and actively contribute to our classroom discussions. You are willing to try your best each day and should be very proud of your efforts!

Ted Porter for showing respect and kindness to others. You do this on a daily basis and use your initiative to support others when they may need help. Well done for showing our school values!

Room 7

Isla Dobson - For showing incredible improvement in your reading! Your hard work and dedication to your learning is outstanding. You are a kind, caring classmate who is always ready to support others. Keep being amazing!

Sam Mahony - For being an outstanding member of our classroom! Your positive attitude, consistent effort, and kind heart make our learning community a better place. You show us what it means to be respectful, responsible, and ready to learn. Keep up the amazing work!

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.

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 2 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

Assembly Roster

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 to Hudson Smits who celebrated his birthday this week.  We hope you had a fantastic time celebrating with family and friends!

Star of the Sea - Parish Bulletin

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