2022, Term 3, Week 3 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,

Health update - Thank you

We have been experiencing large numbers of school absences from both students and staff. There are many bugs and illnesses in our community at the present time. With all of the lockdowns and social distancing of the past few years, we haven’t been exposed to a lot. That means that this winter, they are all back in abundance...and not just COVID! Thanks so much for keeping your children home when they are unwell. That helps to keep the rest of our community safe. 

School Closure Days

The upcoming DOBCEL circuit breaker long weekend is in response to the above health concerns. The long weekend will be Friday 12  August and Monday 15 August, inclusive. All Warrnambool Network Catholic Primary schools will observe this long weekend. There is also a school closure day that had been arranged prior to the announcement of the aforementioned long weekend. The day is Friday, August 26th. The purpose of this day is for staff to undertake professional development in teaching our students writing to ensure our curriculum and pedagogy are up to date with current research.  

Term 3 Closure Days

Friday, August 12th

Monday, August 15th

Friday, August 26th

3 Way conferences (Parent Teacher Interviews)

We had planned to conduct our 3 Way Conferences for Term 3 in Week 6 of this term, however, this now clashes with a school closure day, we will reschedule these conferences for later in the term. 

Employment Update / Thank you

Welcome, Brendan Wilkinson who has taken on the cleaning role at school as of this term. Brendan comes to us with a great deal of experience and is already proving to be an amazing asset to our team. You will see Brendan has already cleaned/polished the vinyl around the school and shampooed some carpet areas of the school. Welcome Brendan, we are very glad to welcome you on board. 

Thanks to Ellousia Miller (Miah, Jehtt and Oliver's mum) for filling in and cleaning our school during Term 2. Ellousia took on this role without fuss and with flexibility, keeping us going for the whole term. We are greatly in debt to Ellousia for keeping our students, staff and school community in a clean school throughout term 2!

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. The Picnic in the Paddock team is reminding me it needs to be completed by October 30!

Enjoy your weekend.

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

Max Hillam for following directions in writing time and creating a wonderful imaginary animal for your information report. Well done Max.

Lydia Andriessen for being a superstar all day everyday. You are always respectful, responsible and safe and take great pride in your learning.

Olivia Foster for your brilliant participation during the Music in a Suitcase incursion! You were super respectful and participated with enthusiasm!

Room 4

Zephyr Lane for being responsible in using and showing everyone in our class how to use the Bee Bots in STEM carefully and safely. He has also been a great friend to all in our class. Well done Zephyr, keep up the great work!

Isla Dobson for being a responsible student completing her school work and then helping others complete their work, particularly in maths. She has been kind and caring to everyone in room 4. You are amazing!

Room 5 

Arli Langdon for showing responsibility and helping out around the classroom whenever someone needed assistance this week. Arli, you are happy to work with other students to help them, and that you can help teachers when they need it, which shows maturity. Thank you.

Beau Porter for completing your work neatly and to a high standard in every lesson. Beau, we are impressed with how you challenge yourself to improve your work or your knowledge at every opportunity. Thank you.

Room 7

Phoenix Lane for the respectful attitude you have displayed this week towards your peers and teachers within our school. I am so impressed with the growth you are making. Keep it up! 

Nash Bidmade for the outstanding artwork you have produced of Uluru. Your engagement and the commitment you demonstrated during these art sessions is to be commended. Well done, I am very proud of you.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Diesel Watson and Ada Leishman who are celebrating their Birthday at this time.

Dates to Remember

REMINDERS

August

2nd - Junior Grade 3 & 4 Moyne Hooptime

5th - Little Learners 10.00-11.00am

5th -  Assembly - Year 6 Leaders

5th - Dad's night @ Duke's

10th - Lion King Performance - Brauer College

10th - Dim Sim Day (P&F) - Info on SZApp next week

12th - 15th - Circuit Breaker long weekend

16th  - Grade 5 & 6 Moyne Hooptime

19th - Little Learners 10.00-11.00am 

19th - Assembly - Year 6 Leaders

26th - School Closure Day

31st - Parents & Friends Meeting  7.30pm

September

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

16th - Footy dress up day

Last day of Term

Dad's Night

The next Dad's night @ Duke's Hotel is just around the corner!

Key details are:

Fri 5th Aug Start 5.30pm

Duke's Commercial Hotel

RSVP Josh Porter 0410 405 143 or reply to the Facebook post. 

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

Our Scholastic Book Fair is set up in the school hall till Wednesday the 3rd August. 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

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.

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