Newsletter 145- August 15th 2024

Prayer of the Week:

Thursday marks the feast of the Assumption, which is a special day in the Church year. It is the day when we remember and celebrate that God took Mary into heaven, body and soul, to be with Jesus forever because she helped him to keep his promise of bringing us a Saviour Jesus Christ. 

Lord,
Guide us as we walk in the footsteps of our mother Mary as we say yes to God with courage and love. 
Help us to be grateful for the gifts You have given us as we put our trust in You each and every day. 
We ask this through Jesus our friend. 

Amen.

Principal's Report:

Dear St Patrick’s community,

Olympics

What a glorious day it turned out to be after the misty rain cleared away. It was wonderful to witness the Olympic spirit alive in our students. Although I could only catch glimpses due to being online for a university lecture all day, I know the staff and families made it an exceptionally special day for the students. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the staff for going the extra mile to organise everything and to our families for their unwavering support of the students.

Hats

Thank you to all the families for your swift response to our request for hats this week, as the UV index has risen above 3 (moderate). Nearly all students arrived with their hats on Monday which greatly helps us as a staff in promoting skin care and sun safety.

To avoid daily confusion about whether its above 3 or not and whether hats are needed, we’ve decided to implement a blanket “hats on” policy from now until the end of the year. Looking ahead, I think when we take into account Stawell’s weather and this updated Sunsmart policy, hats will be staying on a few weeks into Term 2 and coming out again around the middle of Term 3 each year. 

Book Week

I’m very excited about Book Week next week. It’s been many years since I’ve been in a primary school during Book Week, and I remember just how special that day is. The school will be providing a morning tea after the parade, and I look forward to celebrating with everyone.

Dental Van Visit

Term 4: 28th Oct - 1st Nov 2024

We’re pleased to have the Australian Smile Group bringing their mobile dental van to our school in October. Typically, these services are only available to students enrolled at the school but I have made contact with the company and they’ve agreed to extend services to any eligible siblings, whether younger or older.  I always want to have what we do at St Patrick’s benefit our families and community as much as possible so if we have dental services at our school, I want as many children connected to our school to have access to those services. 

Under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS), basic dental services are available to children aged 2-17 years. More information will be provided closer to the date to help you determine if your child/ren are eligible for treatment under CDBS. If your child/ren are eligible, there will be no out-of-pocket costs. CDBS provides easy access to essential dental care for children.

Have a great week, 

Bettina

Wellbeing:

What is bullying?

Bullying is a complex social issue. It resists simplistic ideas and solutions.

Knowing exactly what bullying is and understanding why it happens are critical to finding positive and evidence-informed solutions for everyone involved.

The national definition of bullying for Australian schools. External link (transcript (DOCX, 29KB)) < clink the links for videos. 

Says:

Bullying is an ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a group misusing their power, or perceived power, over one or more persons who feel unable to stop it from happening. Bullying can happen in person or online, via various digital platforms and devices and it can be obvious(overt) or hidden (covert). Bullying behaviour is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time (for example, through sharing of digital records). Bullying of any form or for any reason can have immediate, medium and long-term effects on those involved, including bystanders. Single incidents and conflict or fights between equals, whether in person or online, are not defined as bullying.

Bullying research

Good quality research on bullying in schools is critical to guide effective practice.

An enormous amount of literature exists on this topic, and it can be daunting to know where to start.

Bullying No Way has reviewed the research on bullying for Australian educators and produced a series of research snapshots which outline the implications of the research for educational policy and practice.

Download individual research snapshots below or all (links below)

8 research snapshots in a single document (PDF, 880KB).

• What is bullying, including online bullying? (PDF, 698KB)
• What is the prevalence of bullying in schools? (PDF, 453KB)
• Who is involved in bullying? (PDF, 705KB)
• What are the impacts of bullying? (PDF, 697KB)
• What role do parents and carers have in relation to bullying? (PDF, 697KB)
• What is the role of school culture and school climate in countering bullying? (PDF, 697KB)
• What is the role of school policy? (PDF, 702KB)
• What evidence-based practices can schools adopt? (PDF, 699KB)

Signs of bullying

Each student who has been impacted by, or involved in, bullying others will respond and act differently. A student's behaviours and moods can change for a variety of reasons. Teachers, parents and carers need to be alert to the possibility that a change in a child's behaviours and moods could be related to bullying. If you are concerned about your child’s behaviour or mood, talk with them about school and ask general questions about how things are going.

Download a list of possible signs of bullying (PDF, 82KB) (RTF, 82KB)

For parents and carers

Signs a parent or carer might notice include if their child:

• doesn't want to go to school or participate in school activities 
• changes their method or route to school or is frightened of walking to school 
• drops in academic performance 
• experiences changes in sleep patterns 
• experiences changes in eating patterns 
• has frequent tears, anger, mood swings 
• takes money from home 
• has unexplained bruises, cuts, scratches 
• loses or brings home damaged belongings or clothes 
• arrives home hungry. 

The signs of possible cyberbullying can be the same as signs of other bullying, but include other behaviours with phones, computers and other devices, for example:

• being hesitant about going online
• seeming nervous when a notification, message or phone call appears
• being visibly upset after using their phone or computer, or suddenly avoiding it
• closes the screen, or hides the mobile phone when others enter the room
• spending unusually long hours online
• receiving suspicious phone calls, emails or packages.

Types of bullying

Bullying is usually described by the types of behaviours involved, so we talk about verbal, social and physical bullying. Bullying is sometimes also labelled by where it occurs or by what type of harm is done. These words can be used alone or in combination. It can be confusing! The most common ways that bullying is described are outlined below.

Type of behaviour—verbal, physical and social

There are 3 types of bullying behaviour:

• Verbal bullying which includes name calling or insulting someone about their physical characteristics such as weight or height, or other attributes including race, sexuality, culture, or religion 
• Physical bullying which includes hitting or otherwise hurting someone, shoving or intimidating another person, or damaging or stealing their belongings 
• Social bullying which includes consistently excluding another person or sharing information, images or other digital content that will have a harmful effect on the other person.

The behaviours alone don't define bullying. 

If any of these behaviours occur only once, or are part of a conflict between equals (no matter how inappropriate) they are not bullying. It is important to note that when a behaviour occurs online and is published, distributed or shared to a wider audience, that this may be considered bullying. Verbal, physical and social bullying can occur in person or online, directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly.

Setting—in person and online

Bullying can happen in person or online settings. When bullying occurs online, it is known as cyberbullying. Verbal, physical and social bullying can happen in person. Verbal and social bullying can happen online, as can threats of physical bullying. Online settings have added complexities which can create additional concerns for students, parents and carers, and teachers. For example, cyberbullying includes the potential for content to be recorded, distributed and viewed by an audience far beyond what was intended. Research shows that children who experience cyberbullying are often also bullied in person. This means that effectively dealing with cyberbullying may require an examination of bullying behaviour in other settings.

Means—direct and indirect

Bullying can be by direct or indirect means.
Direct bullying includes behaviours which are obvious and easily observed by others, that is, the identity of the person displaying bullying behaviours is usually known. Examples of direct bullying include pushing, kicking, name calling and excluding others from social activities.
Indirect bullying is not always immediately observable and acknowledged as bullying. Indirect bullying can be discreet and anonymous, and the person experiencing the bullying behaviour may not realise until after it has occurred. Examples of indirect bullying can include damaging another person’s social reputation, relationships and self-esteem through actions such as jokes shared with a group demeaning someone’s personal attributes, discreetly stealing personal belongings from a bag or anonymously sharing unflattering images or information online without that person’s permission.

Visibility—overt and covert

Bullying can be easy to see, called overt, or hidden from those not directly involved, known as covert.

Overt bullying involves physical actions such as punching, kicking or pushing, or observable verbal actions such as name-calling and insulting. Overt, direct, physical bullying is a common depiction of bullying (this is sometimes called 'traditional bullying'). However, overt physical bullying may not be the most common type of bullying.
Covert bullying can be challenging for people outside the interpersonal interaction to identify. It can include repeatedly using hand gestures and weird or threatening looks, whispering, excluding or turning your back on a person, restricting where a person can sit and who they can talk with.
Covert social or verbal bullying can be subtle and even sometimes denied by a person who claims they were joking or 'just having fun'.
Some bullying is both covert and indirect, such as subtle social bullying, usually intentionally hidden, and very hard for others to see. This type of bullying is often unacknowledged at school, and can include spreading rumours, threatening, blackmailing, stealing friends, breaking secrets, gossiping and criticising clothes and personalities.

Indirect covert bullying mostly inflicts harm by damaging another's social reputation, peer relationships and self-esteem, that is, through psychological harm rather than physical harm.

Harm—physical and psychological

Bullying has the potential to cause harm.

The physical harm caused by some types of bullying is well recognised.
More recently, research has confirmed that short-term and long-term psychological harm can result from bullying. This includes the harm to a person's social standing or reducing a person's willingness to socialise through bullying (particularly covert social bullying).
In fact, just the fear of bullying happening can create distress and harm. The ongoing nature of bullying can lead to the person being bullied feeling powerless and unable to stop it from happening.
The effects of bullying, particularly on the mental health and wellbeing of those involved, including bystanders, can continue even after the situation is resolved.
Sometimes the term 'psychological bullying' is used to describe making threats and creating ongoing fear, but it is more accurate to describe this type of behaviour as 'verbal or social bullying' and the impact on the person being bullied as 'psychological harm'.

Context—home, work and school

Bullying can happen anywhere. It can happen at home, at work or at school, and can occur between students, staff and parents. It can happen to anyone.
Bullying No Way focuses on bullying between students, usually called student bullying or school bullying.
Teachers who are experiencing bullying at school should contact their supervisor, health and safety representative, human resources department or union. Information related to workplace bullying is available at Australia's Fair Work Commission.

Lillie Marshman - Wellbeing Leader

Teaching and Learning:

School Assemblies:  Our assemblies happen each Friday afternoon starting at 2:45pm in the school hall.  Students are dismissed from the hall on this day.  We invite all our community to come along.

Week 5: Foundation

Week 6: Book Week
Week 7: Senior M
Week 8: Middle C
Week 9: Junior R
Week 10: Foundation

Professional Development:  At St Patrick’s Primary School we are committed to Professional Development of our team.  At various times staff members will be working off site or online which may result in classroom teachers being out of the classroom.

Term 3 Week 6-
Thursday 23rd/Friday 24th August, 2024 - Ms Maryanne Comitti    Religious Education Leaders Conference

Foundation

Friday Favourites in Foundation 

What a big week we have had in Foundation, our brains have been super busy learning many new skills in all areas of our learning. We have been transferring our new sounds into our writing of sentences. Throughout maths we have been looking at subtraction and 3D shapes. We had a fun and exciting visit from the Grade 3 & 4 children last week where we completed a craft activity together on Mary Mackillop. We were all super excited to be joined by Grades 3 &  4 as we don’t often get the opportunity to see other children within our school. 

Our favourite things about this week: 

Amelia: My favourite thing this week has been doing guitar lessons. 

Zeke:  My favourite thing this week has been playing on the monkey bars. 

Ziorachukwu: My favourite thing this week has been doing mindfulness. 

Juliet:  My favourite thing this week has been InitiaLit lessons. 

Flynn: My favourite thing this week has been playing soccer. 

Judd: My favourite thing this week has been writing sentences. 

Aurie: My favourite thing this week has been playing soccer. 

William: My favourite thing this week has been playtime. 

Anthony: My favourite thing this week has been working on the Mark Mackillop craft. 

Rhylen: My favourite thing this week has been practising my counting skills. 

Bobby: My favourite thing this week has been playing soccer. 

Billie: My favourite thing this week has been maths. 

Leon: My favourite thing this week has been drawing in the library at playtime. 

Indiana: My favourite thing this week has been sentence writing. 

Scott: My favourite thing this week has been playing soccer. 

Charlie: My favourite thing this week has been playing with my friends. 

Thea: My favourite thing this week has been preparing for book week. 

Levi: My favourite thing this week has been drawing a T-Rex. 

Ada: My favourite thing this week has been making new friends. 

Aynsley: My favourite thing this week has been Science. 

Lillie Marshman

Book week this year runs from August 17th to August 23rd, 2024. During this time all classes spend time each day celebrating books, Australian children's authors and illustrators.  The theme for book week this year is:  Reading is Magic.  

“We're celebrating reading stories and their amazing power to transport minds. We are encouraging kids to be curious about the wonders in our world. It is a positive and affirming message for our young people. The magic of reading also lies in its power of enticement; a good story provokes conversations. Talking about the stories with others connects the reader with other readers. Wrapped around all of this are the "tricks" and skills of our amazing writers and illustrators, as they use all their powers of language and illustration to engage the reader in this world they are building.”
The Children’s book council, Australia. 

The highlight of book week is on Friday 23rd August where students are invited to dress as their favourite book character with a whole school parade where our community is able to attend.  After the parade our community are invited into the classrooms to join in some of the book week activities.  This is then followed by a cuppa in the Hall. 

The book week parade will start at approximately 9:00 am in the school hall.

Olympics:

The spirit of the Olympics was alive and well with the Olympic values of Excellence, Respect and Friendship being on show for all to see. It was a true celebration of fun, sportsmanship and everything St Patrick’s School strives for. 

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who came along to celebrate our St Patrick’s School Olympic celebrations. Your enthusiasm and support helped make the event a memorable experience for our entire school community.

A special thanks to our amazing P&F for the beautiful lunch which the student’s enjoyed and all those community members that helped us throughout the day to ensure the day ran smoothly.  All the work you do behind the scenes does not go unnoticed and is greatly appreciated by all. 

Students of the Week:

Living in Faith:

Indigenous Book Swap Term 3

Do you have any unwanted books that you could donate to our Indigenous book swap?  If so any donations would be gratefully received at the school office. 

Literacy is a major issue facing remote Indigenous communities. Being unable to read and write is a significant barrier to education, employment, health and wellbeing. The Indigenous Literacy Foundation works to address this through providing books and literacy resources (some in first languages) to families, schools and service organisations in remote communities; and publishing stories by Indigenous people that are reflective of community life and culture.

Students are encouraged to bring gold coins to purchase books.  We have hundreds of books to choose from ranging from picture books to chapter books.  

When?   Monday 19th & Tuesday 20th  August, 2024.  
Students will have the opportunity to purchase a book from the book swap throughout the day. Book swap will be open to the public 3:15-5:00pm on Monday 19th August, 2024.  

Why? This is a Mini Vinnies  initiative and has been co-ordinated by our dedicated group of students that are in our Mini Vinnies team. As a Catholic School as part of our education of the Catholic Social Teachings (CST).  CST offers a way of thinking, being and seeing the world.  It provides a vision for a just society in which the dignity of all people is recognised, and those who are vulnerable are cared for.  Learn more about Catholic Social Teachings at https://www.caritas.org.au/learn/cst-toolkit/ 

“Without the right to education there is no real freedom, which allows every person to be the protagonist of their own destiny!” 

Pope Francis 2018 

Our annual Fathers day/special persons celebrations will take place on Friday 30th August, 2024.  While Fathers Day is a celebration of fatherhood, it's a time for us to honour, celebrate and to be thankful for all of the men, father figures and male role models in our lives.  We recognise the very important role you have in the lives of children. 

Program for the day: 

8:15 - 8:50 am - after dropping children off dads/grandads and special male figures in our children’s lives are invited up to the hall for brekkie, cuppa and a chat.

9:00 am - whole school will gather in the hall for a liturgy praying for our dads

9:15 am to 10am - Open classrooms - if you are unable to attend please call in throughout the day. We invite our dads/grandads and special male figures in our children’s lives to come into the students' classrooms and interact with them during their learning. This is a great opportunity to see first hand the wonderful learning our students are doing.  

A note has gone home with students today.  For catering purposes please complete and sent back the RSVP by Monday 26th August, 2024. 

Mary MacKillop Award:

Mary MacKillop lived a life dedicated to her faith and serving the needs of others. Wherever and however she could, Mary MacKillop did everything possible to improve the lives of others. This award acknowledges the thoughtful actions of the students at St Patrick’s to help others. “We must teach more by example than by word” Saint Mary MacKillop

Sustainability:

Recently, students completed mosaic sections in the sensory pathway, in the lawned area outside the art room. Students learnt how to mix the cement/concrete before they inserted stones, tiles, mirror pieces and scratched patterns into the concrete.

Parents & Friends:

Upcoming Events:

Book Week Morning Tea: 

Next week we will be providing the sweets for our annual Book Week Morning Tea. We are kindly asking for donations of a slice, cake, rum balls, etc. If you’re able to, can you please drop them to the office by Thursday afternoon or at school drop off on Friday morning and then stay around for the parade and a cuppa afterwards. Please let me know on 0439 479 994 if you are able to donate something. 

Fathers Day Stall:

The annual gift buying day for our 'Rad' Dads is fast approaching. We have an array of exciting gifts for the kids to purchase ranging from $2 - $15 gift packs. The stall will be open on Friday August 30th during school hours. 

Black Range Sports: 

St Pat’s P&F have been given the opportunity to host the canteen at this years Black Range Sports Day, where we hope to feed roughly 200 students and their families. Whilst we have enough helpers on the day, we will be putting a call out for donations of food items in the coming week. These will include soup, sandwich fillings & slices. 

We thank you all for your ongoing support of the P&F this year. We’re excited to see our fundraising efforts coming to fruition. 

Regards, Kate Field
President 

Birthdays:

Congratulations to this student who celebrated their birthday  this week: 

Harry S

Diocesan/Parish news:

Mass Times: 
Ararat Sunday 8.30am 
Stawell Sunday 10.30am
Lake Bolac 1st, 3rd, 5th Sundays 6.30pm Vigil Sat 
Landsborough 2nd, 4th Sundays 12.30pm
Glenthompson (Hamilton Parish) 2nd, 4th Sundays 8.30am

Please find below the link for the July 2024 edition of
“Our Diocesan Community”
This Magazine is a way to share the good news stories of our schools, parishes and agencies across the diocese.

 https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ODC-July-2024-web.pd

Around Our Community:

Please follow us on instagram; stpatsstawell

Upcoming Events:

Our Vision and Mission:

Vision Statement: St Patrick's School is a community which reflects and celebrates Christ as its centre point:  By honoring our story we value our whole community.  By coming together our vision is for a loving, just, compassionate and tolerant world.     Mission Statement:  In the tradition of St Patrick, we are committed to: Promoting and celebrating a love of God, self and community.  Recognizing and enhancing the talents and uniqueness of each person through our vision of Prayer, Care and Learning.  PRAYER We nurture and grow our relationship with God as members of a faith community.  CARE We foster recognition of difference, compassion for others and the strength to act on our beliefs. LEARNING We develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills essential to reaching our full potential as life- long learners.