Newsletter 20/11/2023 Term 4 Week 8

A Prayer for Peace

From the Principal

Dear parents and carers,

We were able to complete the majority of our assessment tasks last week, which gathers the information needed to accurately report your child's progress. Despite our best efforts to reduce stress around this process, many children found the process challenging but they were able to display the learning achieved this year. There are a number of students who still have some work to do this week.

2023 St Patrick's Arts Night

LEARNING AND TEACHING

Important Dates

A few important save the dates!

Wednesday the 13th December - Grade 6 Graduation - 6pm

Thursday the 14th December - End of Year Mass - 11.30am

Friday the 15th December - Students last day of school - 3.15pm finish time

The Week Ahead

3/4 Hooptime Team

Our 3/4 girls Hooptime basketball team have qualified for the state Hooptime championships which is very exciting news.
This event wil be at the Dandenong Stadium on Monday December 4th.
A big thank you to Josh Brebner who has given up some time to come in and take students for some lunchtime training - it is much appreciated.

5/6 Hooptime Team

Our 5/6 girls Hooptime basketball team competed last Thursday in the Regional competition in Hamilton. Our girls once again were fantastic in their efforts. They played 4 pool matches that were all close. Winning two by one point, a draw and losing one match by 6 points. 
They managed to qualify for a final and were devastated to lose - again by one point! 
Jocelyn Fitzgerald was awesome in her role as coach and the girls were fantastic and gracious in defeat. Overall a terrific day out.

Grade 2 Excursion

Our Grade 2 students will be going on their excursion to Flagstaff Hill in Warrnambool, this Friday the 24th of November. We hope they have a wonderful time exploring this amazing facility. 

Grade 3 camp to Coorimungle

Our Grade 3 students will be heading to Camp Coorimungle next Monday the 27th for their overnight camp. This is an exciting opportunity, full of fun and challenges.

WELLBEING

CATHOLIC SCHOOL CULTURE

Final School Mass

Our final school Mass will be at 11.30 on Thursday 14th December.

Don’t forget to mark it in your diary or on your calendar or in whatever device people use these days!

In our continuing reflection as we prepare for the season of Advent in the lead up to Christmas we will now look at what Jesus said. 

Jesus: What did he say?

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous’” (Matthew 5:43-45).

The Bible provides us with many examples of what Jesus said when he commenced his public life. It should be noted here that the Bible was written by many authors, and Jesus’ words and actions were often recorded by different people. This helps to verify the truth of what he said and did.

Jesus had a particular style of communicating. For example, he often used parables. This was very effective, as it invited the listener to think deeply about what he was trying to teach. A well-known parable is The Good Samaritan. You can read it in the Bible, in the Gospel of Luke (10:25-37). 

Jesus held the Jewish leaders to account. When he saw the teachers of the law and the pharisees substituting their own laws for God’s laws, and putting themselves above the people in their community, he astonished them by calling them hypocrites (Matthew 23:13-37). This was a dangerous thing to do and would bear consequences. 

Jesus taught the people to pray. One of the greatest prayers, the Our Father – or the Lord’s Prayer – was taught by Jesus himself. You can read it in Matthew 6:9-13 or Luke 11:2-4. This prayer, which summarises the essentials of how to live as a follower of Jesus, has endured throughout the centuries.

Jesus said challenging things. Addressing thousands of people, he said the poor, the sick and those in mourning were blessed. He asked people to love their enemies and to forgive those who harmed them in any way (Matthew 5:43-48). This was as counter- cultural back then as it is today.

Jesus called his followers “friends”. This might have seemed strange given he was God. But Jesus emphasised the importance of friendship and service, rather than domination (John 15:15).

Jesus also spoke of the kingdom of God – God’s kingdom on earth and in heaven – one where love of God and love of neighbour would abound. The idea of any other kingdom than what currently existed was deeply offensive to the Jewish and Roman leaders.

Adapted from The Catholic Enquiry Centre

Kind regards,  Mr. S. 😃

Parish Bulletin

LEADERSHIP AND STEWARDSHIP

School Advisory Council Nominations

At the SAC Annual General Meeting last week we held elections for the new executive for 2024. I am delighted to let you know that the new chair of the council is Xan Colman, the deputy chair is Nina Pasque and Hollie Theodore will be the secretary. We thank these people for their committment taking on these vital roles. We are waiting for the nomination period for the three new members to end Wednesday, before announcing the complete SAC team.

Parents and Friends AGM

Our P&F will conduct their AGM on Wednesday the 29th of November at 7pm at the Hampden Hotel. If you wish to join us for the meeting or dinner please come along. 

Schoolzine App

We have noticed on our records that quite a few parents have not subscribed to the SZApp.

The Schoolzine App is a vital way that we communicate with our parents.

If you do not have the app on your phone could you please ensure you download it as soon as convenient.

It will ask you for a passcode which is 2561.

Attached below are the instructions on how to download the app.

Known Dates for Term 4

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Container Deposit Scheme

We have registered our school for the container deposit scheme that has now commenced in Victoria. The nearest deposit machines are located at Cobden, Timboon, Terang & Warrnambool.

How to claim your refund at a CDS VIC Return Point;

Charity Donation
You can donate some of your 10c refund directly to St Patrick’s School.
You can donate via:
 -the CDS Vic West app
– select your preferred “Charity” as your active payout
– scan your app barcode at the machine
– insert your 10c drink containers and select “Transfer” directly on the screen of the machine when finished. 100% of the donated refund will be transferred to the donation partner you selected within the next 5 to 12 days.

Noorat Show

With the sun out for a change, it was great to see many of our students competing and enjoying the spectacle of the Noorat show last Saturday.

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to the following students who celebrate their birthday this week.

Evie W &  Coby C-G

Community Events

Cobden Swimming

Swim Club - Terang

MRC Car Raffle

Camperdown Swimming Pool

Free Golf Coaching Clinics - Cobden

Junior Netball Trials -CFNC

Basketball Clinic - Terang

Camperdown Magpies Junior Netball Tryouts