2023, Term 1, 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. 

Be Our Light for the New Year

Come, Holy Spirit,
Spirit of the Risen Christ, be with us today and always.
Be our Light, our Guide, and our Comforter.
Be our Strength, our Courage, and our Sanctifier.
May this new year be a time of deep spiritual growth for us,
A time of welcoming your graces and gifts,
A time for forgiving freely and unconditionally,
A time for growing in virtue and goodness.
Come, Holy Spirit,
Be with us today and always.

Amen.

Principal's Message

Welcome 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to our first newsletter and the 2023 school year. This week we have welcomed our Foundation class who have been settling in very well, our returning students and some students new to our school Elise, Sam, Jonty, Octavia, Banjo and Tayla (returning). We wish all at St Pat's a fun, successful and safe 2023. 

Parent Access Module (PAM)

Yesterday, you will have received an email asking you to sign in and set a password for your new PAM account. The restructure of PAM allows for multiple parent accounts and makes using PAM easier by downloading the Simon Everywhere app. This allows simplified access to students absences, permission notes, student reports, your child's medical information, reset your password without school assistance and more. Parents/Carers will need to follow the instructions in this email to set up your account before downloading and using the Simon Everywhere app.

See below for an image of what to look for in your app store. Should you require detailed instructions on setting up your account within the app, please see the details below.

School Uniform

In Term 2, our school uniform supplier is changing to Directwear.

School uniforms continue to be available through CDF Pay during term 1.  Upon transitioning to Directwear you will notice price increases as Directwear is a business. Our school uniform shop has stock of most uniform items if you would like to take the opportunity to purchase uniform before the price increases in Term 2. The St Pat's school uniform shop sells school uniform at cost price to families. 

If there are uniform items unavailable on CDF Pay in term 1, please contact the school office to arrange purchase. 

School Advisory Council (SAC)

We thank Erin Holscher for her time with our SAC. Erin's period of service is complete and we are currently looking for one parent/carer from our school community to join our School Advisory Council (SAC). Our school's SAC is a representative body, bringing together in a formal way all parties connected with the school. Some key roles of the SAC are to offer ongoing advice around the alignment of the school vision with the school’s plans for improvement and growth and provide strategic advice and support to the principal on matters relating to school operations and ongoing improvement. 

Our current members staying on are: Emma Arthur (Chair), Paul Andriessen, Clinton Perry, Josh Porter, Ms. Tegan McDonald (staff representative) and Nick Murrell.

If you are interested in joining our SAC or would like to know more, please contact Nick at school or via email principal@spkoroit.catholic.edu.au 

Yearly Calendar

We will soon be sending home a paper copy of our school yearly planner for all families to assist with planning your 2023 year with school events in mind. Please keep an eye out for this. With today's newsletter I have provided a digital DRAFT version (with dates still to be added), of the calendar for your early reference. As much as we try, there will be some dates that may need to alter as the year progresses. 

Kind regards,

Nick Murrell

Principal

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to all the students and teachers who celebrated their birthday during the holidays and to Josephine Foard, Tessa Shanahan and Ella Van Ryginsen who are celebrating their Birthday at this time.

Dates to Remember

REMINDERS

February

6th - Geelong Cats Visit 1.00-2.30pm

14th - Hockey Clinics

21st - Shrove Tuesday

22nd - Ash Wednesday / School Mass 10.00am 

24th - Moyne District Tennis W'bool Lawn

March

2nd - Division swimming Aquazone W'bool

7th - Lions Eye Testing

9th - WPH Division Tennis W'bool Lawn

10th -13th Port Fairy Folk Festival

13th - Labour Day Holiday

16th - School Photos

17th - St Patricks Day

21st - Harmony Day

30th - School Athletics Sports Day

April

3rd - Easter Arts Show 5:00 – 6:00pm

6th - Last Day Term 1

7th - Good Friday

9th - Easter Sunday

Parish Bulletin

School Fee Direct Debit Payments

If you currently have a direct debit payment plan set up for 2022 it will automatically continue for 2023 unless you notify Bronie in the office. Payments will begin next Thursday 9th February with the final fortnightly payment being on the 14th December. If you would like to start paying your fees via direct debit please complete and return the attached direct debit form or call into the office.

Family Fee Assistance

In 2023 the Catholic Education Office Ballarat will still be offering the Family Fee Assistance program. Families that qualify for the scheme will pay $520 per annum ($10 per week) for primary school tuition fees. The discounted fee covers tuition and capital fees only. It does not cover additional charges such as camps, book hire, subject levies.

The State Government will also be offering the Camps, Sports & Excursion Fund (CSEF) of $125 per student.  These support funds are available to Health Care Card Holders only.

Please contact Bronie in the office if you have a Health Care Card  ph: 55658208

Daily Timetable 2023

This year we have slightly altered the daily timetable. Our 2/2/1 learning hours remain the same. Bell times and eating times are listed below. There are no changes to morning and afternoon supervision times to ensure there is no impact on drop off and pick up times for families. Yard duty supervisions will continue to commence at 8.30am in the morning and run until 3.40pm at the conclusion of the day. Recess and lunch eating times are a guide and students can remain eating longer if needed. 

Cyber Safety user agreement

PLEASE GIVE YOUR CHILD PERMISSION VIA YOUR NEW PAM ACCOUNT.

In accordance with St Patrick's Acceptable Use and Cyber Safety Agreement, it is a requirement for parents/carers to discuss the attached agreement with their child/ren and accept the terms. This agreement is to ensure that all students that have access to the school’s digital resources are aware of their responsibilities and agree to abide by the school’s Acceptable Use and Cybersafety Agreement. The following agreement covers the student’s use of technology equipment (such as computers, chromebooks, macbooks, hand held devices, camera, printers), and digital platforms (such as Internet, networks and email. social media, apps, and software). Permission is required for each child in your family from Foundation to Year 6.

SIMON Everywhere

Please see the below details if you require more information on setting up your account within SIMON everywhere.

Food Bank

Canteen Helpers

Port Fairy Folk Festival 2023

It that time of year again and folkie will be upon us in no time.
This year we are encouraging junior tickets for working age teenagers, these tickets are for 2x 2.5hr shifts, we ask that the teens have a parent/friend/adult that knows them to work and watch over them during their shifts.

We are also no longer doing setup on the Thursday morning.
Koroit St Pats will be doing pack up on the Monday afternoon from 2:30pm, we need at least 6 men to help with some heavy lifting, 3 or 4 ladies for lighter packing and 3 trailers for moving equipment back to the shed at St Pats PF, if you could spare a couple of hours on the Monday arvo it would be greatly appreciated and the time will be credited to your volunteer levy.

Please could you return your folkie volunteer forms to the office or text me on 0435779853 if you’re interested in help out with one of our main fundraisers of the year, Thanks to anyone who has already returned their forms.

Thanks
Trish Watson

AFL Players visit - Geelong Cats

Monday 6th Feb, 1-2.30pm, (this coming Monday) we will be welcoming some Geelong Cats players to our school. Students will participate in some footy drills and Q & A with the players.

All students are to wear their sports uniform Monday and can wear a footy jumper / sports team top with their sports uniform. 

Community News