2022, Term 3, Week 2 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,

Help Us To Be There

Holy, life-giving Spirit,

infuse in us your ability to remain present to your people.

Help us to be there,

to be right there,

for the people who need us.

There for young people,

there for the elderly,

there for the brokenhearted;

fire our hearts with your life-changing presence.

Even though we know you to be everywhere

and in everything,

give us the ability to be fully in one place at a time,

open and ready to love.

- Author Unknown 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms Tegan McDonald for her role as Acting Principal in my absence at the beginning of this term. Thank you, Tegan and all staff at St Pat's, for your roles and duties over the past few weeks. I am more than happy to share the numerous fishing photos with anyone willing to look and listen!

COVID Updates

Please see further in this newsletter for updates regarding COVID-19 measures that are being strongly suggested at this time. As part of these recommendations, we are strongly suggesting that students (aged 8 and above), staff and school visitors wear a facemask when inside at school. This is a simple request to ask so that we are keeping ourselves and each other as healthy as possible during the winter months. 

Basketball Court Cover

It is very exciting to see our basketball court cover being constructed. There is a slight delay due to some works that need to be conducted by Powercor due to the proximity of the structure to the power lines.  The height and position of the structure are impacted by this proximity to the power lines. I will keep the school community updated with further developments as they arise. We are in regular communication with the building company regarding the progress and specifications of the structure. 

Community Safety in Koroit today

I would like to thank students, staff and families within our school community for your support, understanding and cooperation with the changes to our daily routine today. We took several measures to ensure we kept our community as safe and calm as possible during the public safety concern in our area today. Thank you.

Kind regards,

Nick Murrell

Principal

COVID - 19 Updates

Masks in schools 

We are once again asking for the support of students, families and staff to ensure that we are remaining as safe and healthy as we all can be during the winter period. A joint education sector statement released (please see below) this week is strongly suggesting that students aged 8 years and above wear masks when inside the school. We are asking all students in this age bracket, staff and visitors to our school to wear a mask. 

Reminders for us all to be COVID safe

- Wearing a mask indoors

- Practising thorough hand hygiene

- If you are a household contact, ensure you test daily prior to attending school. 

- Communicating to the school about any student COVID cases. 

- Working in well-ventilated areas where appropriate. 

Reduction of Testing and Isolation Exemption Period.

The period of time when someone is considered a recently confirmed case and therefore exempt from testing and isolation requirements has been reduced to 4 weeks. Previously, this period was 12 weeks.

This means, staff or students that have recovered from COVID-19, are not required to get tested or isolate/quarantine again if they are re-exposed to a case within 4 weeks of ending the isolation period.

After 4 weeks, the relevant advice must be followed depending on the type of contact.

Additionally, where a student or staff member who is a household contact wishes to attend school (and not isolate for 7 days) they must:

• Continually test negative using a rapid antigen test, on at least 5 days out of the 7-day period (ensure tests are spaced at least 24 hours apart)
• wear a mask indoors when outside your home (for those over 8 years of age)
• notify their employer/school, and
• not visit hospitals or care facilities.

Rapid Antigen Tests

RATs will continue to be provided to the school for the remainder of Term 3. We will distribute these to families as they arrive at school. 

Students of the Week

Room 1 &  2

Ora Cuolahan for her outstanding decoding skills in reading and for being a respectful listener in class at all times. Well done Ora, keep up the great work.

Sam Wood for his outstanding participation in library this week. Mrs Brown was so impressed with your enthusiasm! Keep up the great work Sam! 

Charlotte White for her outstanding work in writing this week and getting a special prize from Mr. Murrell for her hard work. Well done Charlotte, keep up the super work!

Room 4

Mazie Fechete for being a very conscientious student in room 4, always adding detail to your writing and inquiry work. Also, Mazie you always engaged in class discussions in such a respectful manner, contributing your ideas and listening to those around you. Well done, on a very good week's work.

Remi O’Connor for being a very conscientious and responsible student in room 4, always adding detail to your writing and completing set work on time. Well done Remi on a very good week's work.

Room 5 

Beau Porter For consistently applying yourself in all your learning, even when it is not easy and for demonstrating respect to teachers and classmates. 

Billy O’Connor For completing tasks to the best of your ability throughout the week by increasing your work stamina and focus. Well done.

Room 7

Hayden Van Rysingen for his amazing participation in Multiplication activities.  Hayden, the respectful way in which you listen and engage as a learner in Maths has seen you make fantastic progress.  Excellent work!

Oliver McMahon for the responsible approach you have taken towards learning tasks this week. Oliver, you have engaged meaningfully in class discussions on the solar system and put extra effort into the presentation of your work, joining your handwriting. Well done! 

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Harley Watson, Max Hillam and Diesel Watson who are celebrating their Birthday at this time.

Dates to Remember

REMINDERS

JULY

29th  - Assembly - Room 7

August

2nd - Junior Grade 3 & 4 Moyne Hooptime

5th - Little Learners 10.00-11.00am

5th -  Assembly - Year 6 Leaders

10th - Lion King Performance - Brauer College

12th - 15th - Circuit Breaker long weekend

16th  - Grade 5 & 6 Moyne Hooptime

19th - Little Learners 10.00-11.00am 

           Assembly - Year 6 Leaders

26th - School Closure Day

29th - Book Fair Sale

31st - Parents & Friends Meeting  7.30pm

September

12th - 14th - Grade 5/6 Roses Gap Camp

16th - Footy dress up day

Last day of Term

School office and visiting during the day

A reminder to please sign in at the school office when dropping things off or picking students up during the day and see Bronie, Kate or Nick before entering classrooms and school grounds. This is to ensure student safety and OH&S compliance within the buildings at all times.

IMPORTANT reminder about school starting times and morning drop off

Classroom doors open at 8:40am, students are encouraged to play in the yard until 8:50am to ensure adequate supervision. The yard is supervised from 8.30am every morning. Our school day begins at 8:50am with 10 minutes of fitness across the whole school. Students are then back in the classroom to begin their learning at 9:00am.

If you need to drop your child/ren off earlier than 8.30 to school, TheirCare offers before school care as well as after school care. See below for information and how to register.

Scholastic Book Fair

Next Friday 29th July is our Scholastic Book Fair, this is set up in the school hall.  Each class will have the opportunity to browse and buy from 9.30 till 1.00pm on the day. Parents are welcome to call in at any time to browse the books for sale.

Parents can pay online and send students with a receipt to collect book/s on this day or students can bring cash to pay for items.  Our school library receives a percentage of the profits from sales.

Instructions for paying online- Parents

1. Click on the online payment portal https://parentpayments.scholastic.com.au/BookFairs(as per wish List)
2. Enter State and School
3. Enter credit card details and amount
4. Record receipt number on the Wish List or print receipt
5. Bring Wish List back to the school to collect books

Nits

Recently, cases of head lice have been identified in the school 
Whilst lice are nothing more than a nuisance, it is important that children are checked on a weekly basis so that any head lice can be dealt with quickly and before they are allowed to spread.
Further advice on the treatment of head lice can be found on the Dept of Health Website

Cake Raffle Roster

Thanks very much to those who have already provided Cake Raffle during the first half of the year where I had been asking directly week to week.  I finally got myself organised to write up the roster for the rest of the year during the holidays!

If the nominated week doesn’t suit you, please try to arrange a swap with someone else.

Remember - no pressure! It doesn’t have to be fancy or even anything homemade - the cake raffle is something fun for the kids.

Thanks again,

Kate Dobson

0408 399 144

OSHC Changes - TheirCare

Our out of school hours care program has changed to ‘TheirCare’ which is held at Koroit and District Primary School. From Monday 18th July, the school bus will stop at St Patrick’s first (3.30pm) to accommodate this change. The bus will drop our out-of-school hours care children to ‘TheirCare’ at KDPS. All families who currently utilise this service already have been notified of these changes. If you wish to enrol in this service going forward, please visit www.theircare.com.au and register by clicking on the blue ‘book now’ button. If you would like assistance, don’t hesitate to contact the school office. The service offers before and after school care as well as holiday programs.

Thank you.

Eucharist

A reminder to parents who wish to enrol their children in the First Eucharist Sacrament to please make contact with Ms Tegan McDonald asap. You will need to collect the sacramental booklet, Tegan will run through this with you and what to expect. See below for some key dates.

• 20th July  Eucharist Formation Evening 

• Week 1

• 25th July Module 1 Theme: Celebrating Being Christian 

• Week 2

• 1st August Student photos displayed at parish Masses 

• 1st August Module 2 Theme:  Remembering Jesus 

• Week 3

• 8th August Module 3 Theme:  Jesus Present 

• Week 4

• 15th August Module 4  Theme:  Called and Sent Out 

• 19th August Liturgy practice (S)

• 21st August Celebration of First Eucharist 

• Sunday 21st 9.00am

KFNC Community Round

On Saturday the 6th of August- Koroit Football and Netball Club are hosting a Koroit V's Port Fairy match at Victoria Park, Koroit. Many community groups have been invited to participate in a variety of ways on the day, such as the SES, etc. All local primary schools from Koroit, Port Fairy and Woolsthorpe have been invited. There will be free entry on the day for all- Staff, students and families! As there will be NO reserves match on the day, KFNC volunteers will be running a round robin football competition for any boys and girls who would like to play. We ask that they meet next to the canteen on the day at 12.30pm, where the volunteers will organise the kids into teams. If there are enough kids from each school, we will keep them together in 'school teams'. Kids will just need to wear their footy gear and any top/footy jumper.

Scouts - Come and Try Night