Newsletter 4/4/2022 Term 1 Week 11

Our Prayer

From the Principal

Dear parents, carers and community members,

We have made it to the final week of term in, what has been, a challenging but rewarding eleven weeks of school. I would personally like to thank the entire community for the welcome I have received at St Patrick's this year. I am enjoying discovering the love people have for the school, the close relationships of all involved and the commitment to the care and education displayed by parents and staff. I hope all our families have a safe and enjoyable term break and return rested and refreshed for term 2 on Tuesday the 26th of April.

Staffing Update

We have a number of changes to staff at St Patrick’s at the moment. Nora Bone and Sharna Anderson have commenced long service leave and will be away for an extended period of time. Sara Pope and Kate Daffy have also decided to finish up at St Patrick's at the end of this term. We thank Kate for her work and dedication over the last 28 years and Sara for her care and commitment over the last 10 years and wish them both the best for the future. We will say farewell to them both at our assembly this Thursday. 

Paul Kingston will be on leave next term and we wish him all the best until his return. We have begun the task of finding replacement staff for each of these positions and hope to introduce them to you as they are appointed.

Free Piano

There is an old, disused piano in the Junior passage that we would like removed from the school. It is not in great condition but it would be fine for a beginner or someone interested in restoring it. It is free for the family that wishes to organise for it to be removed from the school. Please contact the school office if you are interested. 

Winter Uniform

We will commence wearing winter uniform in the first few weeks of term two when the weather turns cold. Unfortunately supply issues have meant that we are no longer able to source our girl's winter tunics at the moment. 

We have some families who have placed orders for these now and there may be more needing new tunics when we finally begin to wear them. We are hoping that there are many unneeded tunics in cupboards at home and that people are prepared to either donate them back to the school or send them in with a note stating the family name and a price for resale. This will, hopefully, get us through term 2 and 3 this year.

Woolworths Offer

We have had an offer from Woolworths to supply free ingredients for parents to cook some meals that can be kept in our Food Bank at school for needy families in our community. We are asking for a parent to volunteer to coordinate this initiative and to liaise with Woolworths and our parents to get the idea off the ground. If you are able to help, please contact the school office. 

P & F Meeting

We will be holding our next Parents and Friends meeting tomorrow, Tuesday the 5th of April at 7:30pm in the staffroom. We hope to have another strong turn up to this gathering. 

District Aths Carnival

Last Friday we had 32 students compete in the District Athletics Carnival for the schools in our area. The children did an amazing job competing in each of the events on the program and scoring points for the age group championship and the teams event. We had four students named as age group champs:-

• Tyra Sambell, 12 years girls,
• Harry Sinnott, 10 years boys
• Stella Hinds, 10 years girls,
• Elaine Ryan, 9 years girls

St Patrick's also won the overall teams event on the day. Thank you to our staff, Paul, Amy, Tom and Stacey, who gave of their time and energy to make this such a successful day. We also had students from Mercy Regional College and four of our parents help on the day and we thank them for their support.

ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day this year falls on the Monday of the first week of Term 2. As this is a public holiday, school will resume on Tuesday the 26th of April. The children are invited to join the march as a school at 10.30am at the clock tower. Students are asked to wear their school uniform and gather as a group around our school banner.

The RSL have, once again, provided us with ANZAC badges and items for the children to purchase. Our school captains will take these to the classrooms in the final weeks of this term. 

Final Day of Term - Thursday

Stations of the Cross

We will conduct a Stations of the Cross Liturgy at 10:35am in the big room to help reinforce the message of Holy Week and Easter before we head off on school holidays. 

Green Faces

With restrictions preventing our Green Faces activity on St Patrick's day, they have been moved to this Thursday. We will hold this at 11:30am in the big room.

Easter Raffle

Our much anticipated Easter Raffle will be held this Thursday at 2:15pm in the big room.  The raffle tickets need to be returned to the office this week as soon as possible to get them into the draw.

End of the day

School will end this Thursday at the normal time of 3:15pm with our normal means of transport available. Remember, there is no school for students this Friday the 8th of April. Have a wonderful holiday.

School Closure Day

We will have a school closure day on Friday 8th of April, where staff will work through professional development training opportunities. This means that Thursday the 7th of April will be the students last day of term and will conclude at the normal time of 3.15pm.

School Photo Day

Our school photos will take place on Wednesday April 27th which is the second day of term 2. On this day we ask parents to dress their children in their summer uniform please. Envelopes will be coming home this week to families.

How long do I have to order photos?

Parents have 1 week post photo day to order before incurring a 20-dollar late fee.

Do I need to return the envelope if I have ordered online?

No, Envelopes are only required to be brought back if the family is paying cash.

What do I do if I have lost my shoot-key?

If a family has lost their child’s envelope and wish to pay online via msp.com.au they can call MSP at (03) 9115 1642 so they can supply the shoot-key.

Catholic School Culture

Winter Appeal

The Mini Vinnies Volunteers are organising a Winter Appeal for term 2. They will collect blankets, sleeping bags, coats, hats etc. to donate to those in need. If you have any items that you wish to donate, please wash them over the holidays and send them to school next term. The Mini Vinnies children will collect these items from the classrooms and bundle them together for donation. Thank-you for supporting this cause.

Stations of the Cross

Children and staff will come together on Thursday for a liturgy of Stations of the Cross which commemorates Jesus’ last days on earth as a human. After this we have the great celebration of Easter where he rose again. We eat hot cross buns which depict the cross that Jesus carried and we also give Easter eggs which represent the tomb in which he emerged. Easter eggs symbolise new life, just as a chick emerges from an egg. Bunnies and rabbits are associated with new life which may explain why Easter Bunny comes to visit at Easter.

Confirmation

Please continue to pray for the children who are preparing to make the Sacrament of Confirmation on Friday 29th of April at 6pm; Alexis Barake, Millie Bourke, Brodie Burkett, Theo Cheeseman, Matthew Cridland, Tommy Fox, Isabelle Gordon, Alexander Huggins, Lucy Kleinhenz, Max Lucas, Abby Mulholland, Liam Pascoe, Evie Wagner, Flynn Wagner, Clancey Wagner, Sydney Wagner.

 Project Compassion (5th Week of Lent)

Caritas Australia are working with Caritas Ukraine to provide support in the form of food security; water, sanitation and hygiene; shelter, health care outreach and education support for the most vulnerable during the unfolding crisis in Ukraine. 

This week through Project Compassion we learn about Shaniella who is attending a vocational school in the Solomon Islands supported by Caritas Australia Solomon Islands (CASI).

Not long after Shaniella started, the school was hit by a landslide, flooding, and a cyclone, all in quick succession. 

With your kind support, CASI helped install water tanks, restoring clean water access to nearby schools, health centres and the wider community. Training was held in agricultural skills to help boost the school community’s food security, as well as in environmental risk management and emergency responses.

Now, Shaniella can complete her skills training, with enough water and food to eat, and improved sanitation. She is improving her ability to earn an income, learning skills which will expand her job opportunities. Students are also better prepared to respond when disaster strikes. 

Watch a short film about Shaniella’s story here. 

Please support Project Compassion: lent.caritas.org.au

Please support Project Compassion: lent.caritas.org.au or send in coins to the donation boxes at school – thank-you!

Mass of the Oils 2022

The Mass of the Oils will be held on Monday, April 11, 2022 at St Patrick’s Cathedral. Ballarat at 6.30pm. Supper will follow in the Hall and any COVID restrictions applicable at this time will apply to the Mass of the Oils.

I can Program

This year we will once again be running the I CAN Imagination Club in Terms 2, 3 & 4 at St Patrick’s School with sessions offered in the grades 1/2, 3/4 & 5/6 areas. 

The I Can Imagination Club Program is a program for students who are either on the autism spectrum, have learning differences or experience social anxieties or lack of social confidence. The beauty of this program is that it can be used by the school to engage a broad range of students that require some extra social skills assistance.

We plan in early Term 2 to host an information night. When the date is confirmed we will advertise it for parents and guardians to come along if you think your child would benefit from participating in the I CAN Imagination Club. It would also be worth discussing this with your child's teacher, Annie Judd or Tim Bourke. We have had many children participate in the program over the years. More to come as an information night date is still to be confirmed.

Equestrian Event

Good luck to Tyra Sambell, who will represent St Patrick's at the Schools Equestrian event being held over the holidays! 

Parish Bulletin

Student of the week

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to the following students who celebrate their birthdays this week and over the holidays .

Kara Bell, Scarlett Nolan and Abigail Sinnott

COMMUNITY EVENTS