Newsletter 05/02/2024 Term 1 Week 2

Our Prayer

From the Principal

Dear parents and carers,

The 2024 school year has begun in a very positive and calm manner. We have both students and teachers in new class groupings and it is important to give everyone time to settle into school and establish positive learning groups. This year we will not be having a welcome BBQ but we will be having a Beginning of Year Mass this Friday at 9.30am and a family picnic for St Patrick's Day on Friday 15th of March. This will be a great way for new families to connect with the school community after the business  of the start of the year has settled down.

LEARNING AND TEACHING

Parent Teacher Chats

Parent Teacher Chats will be held on Tuesday the 13th, Wednesday the 14th and Tuesday the 20th February from 3.30pm - 4.40pm.

You will need to book a suitable time on PAM with your  child's teacher. These chats are designed for parents and teachers to discuss your child's needs and how they have settled in to their new class. These chats will be face-to-face at school.

Please note that due to Foundation parents and students having an interview late last year you will not need to book in for a chat time.

Foundation Parent Information Session

On Thursday the 15th February there will be a Foundation Parent Information Session in the Foundation classroom  (Room 5) at 2.30pm.

Wellbeing

St Patrick’s SchoolTV

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

St Patrick’s is very excited to introduce a new initiative to help support the wellbeing of your students and better resource key staff. After all, happy and well supported students are better equipped to learn and succeed.

Because parenting doesn’t come with instructions, SchoolTV is an online wellbeing resource that can support you in the challenges of modern-day parenting. This award-winning resource helps build relationships, foster connections, enable understanding and break down barriers to navigate a pathway towards better mental health and wellbeing for young people. It can assist you in starting conversations on topics that are sometimes awkward or difficult to tackle. 

Parenting is a learning journey and SchoolTV supports families by providing credible information from trusted sources offering practical strategies with a focus to empower confidence when difficulties arise.

We invite you to visit our SchoolTV site and view the content. Discover a host of interesting topics featuring interviews with leading youth wellbeing experts and researchers from around the world offering hours of relevant and practical information. Additionally, each topic includes a compilation of related resources from key organisations providing a comprehensive stream of content. Resources include informative fact sheets, articles, apps, books, podcasts, websites, and other videos - all related to a single topic, in one place for easy access!

Start exploring SchoolTV today!  https://spcamperdown.catholic.schooltv.me

School Student Broadband Initiative

Get Back to School Ready with the School Student Broadband Initiative: Free nbn internet until
December 2025!
To boost education opportunities and narrow the digital divide, the Australian Government is providing up to 30,000 eligible families with no internet at home a free National Broadband Network (nbn) service.
The Australian Government has announced that they have extended School Student Broadband Initiative, which now means free nbn internet service for all new families that take up the offer until 31 December 2025.

How can SSBI help your child?

• Children who can access online learning at home as part of their education are more likely to engage in
classroom activities.
• Access to fast internet at home can also support children to build their digital skills, learn how to safely
use the internet and participate in a world that is more dependent on digital technology.

Is your family eligible for the SSBI?

To be eligible your family must:
• Have a child living at home that is enrolled in an Australian school (up to year 12 including Prep in
Qld/Vic/Tas, Kindy in NSW, Reception in SA, Transition in NT/ACT and Pre-Primary in WA).
• Not have an active nbn Internet service at home. (Having a mobile internet service does not affect
eligibility).
• Live in a premises that can access the nbn via a standard connection – this will be checked for you.
• Not have had an active nbn connection during the previous 14 days.

Check your eligibility, by following these simple steps:
1. Contact the National Referral Centre on 1800 954 610 (Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm AEDT) or by visiting
www.anglicarevic.org.au/student-internet.
2. The National Referral Centre team will then help assess your eligibility for the SSBI, by checking several
things including your residential address and current financial situation.
3. If eligible, you will be issued a voucher which can be redeemed at any of the participating SSBI retail
service providers.
4. If further assistance is required, the National Referral Centre will also be available to assist with
contacting your SSBI retail service provider of choice and providing follow-up support.

Specialist Timetable

The specialist timetable for Term 1 is attached below. Please use this to find which day your child/children have PE classes and need to wear their PE uniform.

Family Assistance Scheme

Family Assistance Scheme ~ are you eligible?

The Family Assistance Scheme introduced by the Catholic Diocese which reduces your Tuition fee to $520 will continue this year. To be eligible you must produce a Commonwealth Health Care Card to the office (which we are required to photocopy) and complete an application form. This needs to be done by Thursday 29th of February at the latest as no late applications are accepted.

If you received this last year, we do not require to see your HCC again, your details will roll over.

Conveyance Allowance

There is funding available for families if you have to travel more than 4.8km to pick-up or drop off students at Contract or College Bus pick-up points. Parents should apply for the reimbursement applicable through the Private Car Conveyance Allowance Application.

Please contact the office if you think you may be eligible.

School fees

Our preferred options for payment of school fees are an upfront payment or for families to set up a direct debit through the school.  Direct debits can be done weekly, fortnightly or monthly.  Please contact the office to arrange this.

School fees are payable by the end of October each year.

Foundation Rest Days

Our foundation students will not come to school this Wednesday 7th of February for our first rest day of 2024.  We encourage families to take the opportunity to ensure this is a restful day for their children to avoid the physical demands of beginning school life. 

Our foundation students will have a rest day on each Wednesday until the long weekend in March. This will be the 7th, 14th, 21st & 28th February and the 6th March.

School Uniform

Our senior students have begun wearing "Crocs" at school and this is causing some concerns for safety and hygiene. We will be asking students not to wear these from now on. Thank you for your cooperation.

Friendly Reminder

This is a friendly reminder to send your child with their named school hat to school during Term 1 as the weather is warm and the children are not allowed outside without one.

Canteen Changes

Mercy Regional College have informed us, that at this stage, they will not be opening the canteen on a Monday for 2024. 

Please make sure to send your child with lunch and snacks every Monday.

Zooper Dooper Sales

Throughout Term 1 the Student Representative Council will be selling Zooper Doopers to raise money towards the Grade 6 camp to Melbourne.

These will only be sold at second lunch.

The cost will be 50 cents each.

3-6 Swimming Program

Our Grade 3-6 Swimming Program will start on Monday the 19th February at the Camperdown Swimming Pool.

Swimming lessons will be on Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday of that week with our Swimming carnival to be held on the Friday (23rd February).

Swimming lessons will continue on Monday the 26th and Tuesday the 27th February.

A PAM permission and timetable will be available for each class this week.

Grade 5 Portsea Camp

Our Grade 5 Portsea Camp will be held on Wednesday the 28th,  Thursday the 29th of February & Friday the 1st March.

If you have not given consent on PAM for your child to attend this camp, could you please do so at your earliest convenience. 

CATHOLIC SCHOOL CULTURE

Opening School Mass

Our opening school mass will be held on Friday the 9th February at 9.30am at St Patrick's Church in Camperdown. We warmly invite all our school families to come along and celebrate with us.

The whole school will attend this mass which will be presided over by Fr. Neville. 

Ash Wednesday Mass

On Wednesday the 14th February we will attend an Ash Wednesday Mass at the church at 11am.

Parish Bulletin

LEADERSHIP AND STEWARDSHIP

School Calendar

To date, we have not fully utilised the school calendar on our Schoolzine program. This year we will be adding all school events to the calendar and this information will appear in four locations. In the side bar of the school newsletter, in the icon at the top of the newsletter when viewed on a computer, on the "School Calendar" tile on the app and in the "News and Events" tab on our school web page.

Building Program

The construction of our new Senior Wing commenced over the school holidays and demolition is now underway. There have been some delays due to documentation and asbestos removal, however we expect bulldozers to begin on Monday 12th of February. The project is estimated at 7 months so we are hoping to have students in the new rooms some time in 4th term.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

P& F Fundraising Events 2024

Easter Raffle Coordinator and helpers needed ASAP!

Term 1 fundraiser is the Easter Raffle. This is now ran by the junior school F-2 (it was ran by Foundation in previous years). This raffle will be held on the last day of Term 1 on Thursday the 28th March.  

Please contact the office on 55 931962  if you may be interested in coordinating or helping with this fundraiser. Thank you. 

Term 3 Fundraiser -  Trivia night - Grade 5 & 6

Grade 3 & 4 fundraiser to be announced after the P&F meeting.

Safer Internet Day

Safer Internet Day is on Tuesday 6th of February. It is a global initiative to raise awareness about online safety issues and to create safer, positive online spaces. Please visit esafety.gov.au (eSafety Commissioner) for information and strategies to help keep children safe on the internet including emerging online safety issues, bullying and exploitation, online risks and behaviours, screen time and webinars for parents etc. It would be timely to check your online filters, children's viewing content and re-establish boundaries around technology and screen time to encourage safe, healthy and respectful practices. 

Margaret Lucas

On Friday the community celebrated the life of Margaret Lucas with a funeral service in St Patrick's church. St Patrick's school would like to recognise the many year of service Margaret gave to the school through her tireless work as canteen manager and as a vital member of the school community.

Piano Lessons

Would you like to learn piano?
Lessons are available at school from Mrs Michelle Mackinnon (A.MUS. A., B. MUS. ED.) on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Phone Michelle on 0458 345 303 for any enquiries.

Bunnings BBQ

The P&F have locked in a date to host the BBQ fundraiser at Bunnings in Warrnambool. The date set aside for this is Saturday, 17th of February 2024. We will be holding a meeting on Tuesday 13th of February at 7pm to help organise this event. 

The sausage sizzle will run from 9am - 4pm.

If you could spare an hour or two  on this day and volunteer some time please contact the office.

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.

Birthdays

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

Maisy H, Belle-Rose E, Sophie Mc, Savanna W, Fergus L, Edward M, Darby S & Lewie W

Community Events

Noorat to Terang Fun Run and Walk

Parenting 101

March 4 @ St Patricks