Newsletter 29/08/2022 Term 3 Week 8

The Feast of Saint John the Baptist

From the Principal

Dear parents, carers and community members,

Our inservice day on Friday was a valuable opportunity for our staff to continue their understanding of teaching Religious Education using scripture passages and making this message meaningful to the students. After four cancellations for various reasons over the past two years, it was wonderful to have a quality presenter such as Liz Dowling to guide us through this challenge.  We apologise for the lateness of this week's newsletter, we had internet issues!

Insight Surveys

Yesterday sixty of our parents received an envelope in their child's bag with the details of a survey that discusses the health of St Patricks.

If you are one of the lucky few, I ask that you take the time to complete this task as the data gathered will influence the next five years of our School Improvement Framework. We look forward to receiving the results of as many of these as possible.

COVID Cases

We are still having a constant number of COVID cases across the school despite the precautions we are taking. I would like to express my thanks to families for the way they are coping with this and the support given to the school with isolation and close contact expectations. We will continue to notify you of cases via email each day. It would be great to see the number of infections reduce at some stage.

Please call the office if you require more test kits to be sent home

Father's Day Activities

Father's Day this year falls on Sunday the 4th of September so we will be conducting our Father's Day stall and breakfast this Friday the 2nd of September. Families are asked to send in one gift per child to be sold at our Father's Day stall. 

Breakfast
Breakfast for fathers and special carers and their children will be available at school from 7am in the big room at St Patrick's Friday 2nd September. We look forward to seeing as many people as possible here on the day.  To pre pay please send $5.00 per person into the office in a named envelope.

Stall
Families are asked to send to school one unwrapped Father's Day gift around the value of $2 for each child at the school to be sold in the Father's Day Stall. The students will bring $2 on the day to buy a present for their father's on this day. To allow the P&F families responsible for the event time to organise the stall, we ask that these gifts be sent to school as soon as possible.

Please follow the link and book your tickets for father's day breakfast. 

Book your Father's day tickets

Fun Day

On Thursday the 15th of September the Senior students will be conducting our "Fun Day" activities. Students from the other classes will bring along some coins to pay for the activities and games organised by our Grade 5 and 6 students. This is the second last day of term so we will have a Footy Colours Day on this day as well to mark the end of the AFL season on the school holidays. In previous years money raised on this day supplemented the cost of the Grade 6 Canberra Camp. With our change of venue, the cost of the camp is significantly reduced and the money will now be donated to the missions.

Grade 2 Historical Society and Heritage Walk

This  Thursday September 1st.

Grade 2 children have been learning about their place in the world.  We have explored global and local connections and are currently looking at the history of significant people, buildings and local sites. We  will be going on a town walk and visit to the Camperdown Historical Society this Thursday September 1st during school hours. 

MRC Discovery Days

The Grade 6 students attending Mercy Regional College next year will have the opportunity to visit the Noorat campus on Monday the 12th of September to continue our transition process.

Because our Grade 5 students missed the transition day earlier this year, they will be travelling to Noorat on Thursday the 8th to tour the campus and take part in some activities. 

Grade 1 Excursion

Our Grade 1 students will be going on an excursion to the Cudgee Wildlife Park on Wednesday 14th of September. The children will leave from St Patrick's after the morning bell and return to school in the afternoon, before the final bell sounds.  Please give your permission on PAM.

Medication Administered at School

If your child requires medication to be administered at school, please fill out the online medication form which can be found on our app and web page. The medication needs to be clearly labelled with the child's name and the dosage.

PAM Connect

We have a new field called simon connect, documents and or questions will be added to this field that require parents to confirm and give permissions.  The document and questions will show in PAM as incomplete Connect Fields, this will not go away until you have reviewed the document and or  answered any outstanding questions. 

If you haven't already done so please click on the incomplete symbol if one appears and review your childs/rens local excursions agreement. 

SAC Meeeting Postponed

Our next meeting of the School Advisory Council will need to be postponed until Tuesday 6th of September at 7:30pm in the school staffroom.

Catholic School Culture

Thursday - World Day of Prayer 

The Season of Creation begins on Thursday September 1st with World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and the theme is Listen to the Voice of Creation.

Creator of All,

From your communion of love your Word went forth to create a symphony of life that sings your praise. By your Holy Wisdom you made the Earth to bring forth a diversity of creatures who praise you in their being. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. You called human beings to till and keep your garden. You placed us into right relationships with each creature so that we could listen to their voices, and learn how to safeguard the conditions for life. But we turn in on ourselves and away from our co-creatures. We close our ears to the counsel of our fellow creatures. We fail to listen to the cries of the poor and the needs of the most vulnerable. We silence the voices of those who hold the traditions that teach us to care for the Earth. We close our ears to your creative, reconciling and sustaining Word that calls to us through the Scriptures. We lament the loss of our fellow species and their habitats that will never speak again. We grieve the loss of human cultures, along with the lives and livelihoods that have been displaced or perished. Creation cries out as forests crackle, and animals alike flee the fires of injustice that we have lit by our unwillingness to listen. In this Season of Creation, we pray that you would call to us, as from the burning bush, with the sustaining fire of your Spirit. Breathe upon us. Open our ears and move our hearts. Turn us from our inward gaze. Teach us to contemplate your creation, and listen for the voice of each creature declaring your glory. For “faith comes from hearing.” Give us hearts to listen for the good news of your promise to renew the face of the Earth. Enlighten us with the grace to follow the Way of Christ as we learn to walk lightly upon this holy ground. Fill us with the hope to quench the fires of injustice with the light of your healing love that sustains our common home. In the name of the One who came to proclaim good news to all creation, Jesus Christ. 

Amen.

More information can be found at https://seasonofcreation.org/2022/08/19/gearing-up-for-season-of-creation-2022/

Mini Vinnies - Food Drive

On Friday volunteers from the St. Vincent de Paul Centre will visit to meet with the Mini Vinnie volunteers to collect the Food Drive items. Thank-you to all of the generous families who have donated to the Mini Vinnies Food Drive. These food donations will go a long way towards helping people who have fallen on tough times. We are very grateful for your support and the Mini Vinnies Volunteers have done a fabulous job collecting these items.

Friday Mass 

This Friday 2DS & 5/6W will attend mass with Fr. Neville at St. Patrick’s Church at 9:30am. 

Cybersafety

Children have been learning the importance of being cybersafe and following these guidelines which are suitable for school and home use. 

• Never share personal information online.
• Don’t respond to emails, texts, or messages from strangers.
• Don’t post or share photos online.
• Don’t click links, open attachments, or accept gifts from someone you don’t know.
• Never agree to meet someone you met online.
• Let your parents or another trusted adult know if you need help.
• Always be positive and kind. 

Please don’t forget to set appropriate filters and check the online content that your children are exposed to.

Foundation Transition Dates

With the reopening of schools to the community, we are delighted to be able to offer an number of transition days to our Foundation students for 2023.

1. Wednesday 10th August - Pru and Mick visited the kinder (Complete)
2. Thursday 1st September - Kinder will visit St Patrick's for specialist activities 9:30am until 11am
3. Thursday 10th November - A half day visit to St Patrick's for just those children attending the school in 2023
4. Tuesday 6th December - "Move Up Day" 

We hope these events help to make the challenge of coming to school next year a positive and enjoyable experience.

Positive Start Program

Holiday camps for eligible students
Holiday camp providers are accepting bookings for terms 3 and 4, and interested families are encouraged to get their expression of interest in now. Places are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. To secure student places for Term 3 holiday camps:
   • check student eligibility at Positive Start holiday camps
   • share the Positive Start in 2022 – Free holiday camps letter with families of eligible students. 
  • share the holiday camps flyer with families of eligible students to promote holiday camps. If students want to go to a holiday camp, parents and carers will need to book. Schools do not need to organise these camps for students. Your communication to families is critical to ensuring students have the chance to participate. 

Find out more

For more information or to book Positive Start experiences and camps, refer to Positive Start camps and experiences. For further enquiries, contact the Positive Start team by email: positivestart@education.vic.gov.au 

Production Update

Preparations for our 2022 school production are going very well with dancing practice and rehearsing of speaking roles happening all over the school. The date of the production has been shifted to term 4 in the second week, Tuesday October 11th with two shows: one @12pm and the second @7pm in the church. This is to allow for more time logistically to pull the show together due to interruptions with illness and school events this term.

Birthdays

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

Paige, Sienna, Taylor, Tyra, Lilliana, Lilah and Charlotte D.

Parish Bulletin

Student of the week

School Holiday Program

COMMUNITY EVENTS