Newsletter 151- October 10th 2024

Prayer of the Week:

Almighty Father
We give you our school. 
We give you all the teachers and staff who work here,
We give you all the children and community of our school  
We pray our school is a place of great discovery, adventure and creativity. 
May it be a place where we love to learn and where we learn to love, 
A place where everyone is respected and all are deeply valued.
We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen.

Principal's Report:

Dear St Patrick’s community,

Welcome to Term Four! We hope you’ve all had a restful break and are feeling recharged for the final stretch of the school year. As we step into this last term, it’s a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the growth and achievements made throughout the year and to set our sights on finishing strong. Just at the end of Term Three, NAPLAN released the state and national data, allowing us to compare our results in Reading, Writing, Grammar and Punctuation, Spelling, and Numeracy to the broader state and national data. We are thrilled to report that our school is excelling in several key areas, particularly in Reading and Grammar and Punctuation. This is a testament to the learning that our staff have completed in Structured Literacy, their commitment to building reading within our school, our LSO staff and their engagement in intervention sessions as well as the leadership of Maryanne in our Learning and Teaching. Our attention through Term Four is building our professional understanding of the revised Maths 2.0 curriculum that must be implemented in 2025. 

Coverage of Lillie’s Family Leave at the end of term

From November 22nd, we wish Lillie all the best as she begins her Family Leave. We have been able to make changes to the timetable to have Maryanne available to take most of this class for the remaining weeks of the year. There may be a day here or there that will be covered by other staff or Jen Rathegeber who is a regular CRT with us but the majority will be done by Maryanne. 

2025 Planning 

Although we’ve only just begun the term, planning for 2025 is already well underway. At this stage, we do not anticipate any major changes to the school’s class structure for next year. I am currently finalising our staffing arrangements and will share the classroom teacher placements later in the term.

All students will participate in a transition day on Tuesday, December 10th. On this day, they will spend time in their 2025 class with their new classmates and teacher. Our 2025 Foundation students and new enrolments will begin their transition with four sessions, starting on Monday, October 28th.

I’m sure this term will fly by and I’ll keep you updated on all the exciting things! 

Have a great week, 

Bettina

Wellbeing:

Breakfast Club Term 4

Mindfulness and Wellbeing 

Looking after our mental health is not something we should just do if we are struggling, or feeling low, anxious or stressed. It's actually something we should think about all the time and really invest in, just like with our physical health. Staying on top of our mental wellbeing is good for us now but also helps us manage difficult times in the future. Over time, it can also reduce our risk of physical health problems. There are lots of things we can do to look after our mental health and wellbeing every day. Make a start with 7 top tips from the NHS “Every Mind Matters” website at

https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-wellbeing-tips/top-tips-to-improve-your-mental-wellbeing/

This website includes short video clips to support you with (amongst other things) mindful breathing, healthy living, how to improve your sleep health and how to reframe negative thoughts.

Get outdoors to improve your wellbeing! There is lots of fun to be had in the woodlands and countryside around us.

Why not:

• Build a den. Take along some old blankets or tarpaulins, some string and some pegs. 
• Go wildlife spotting. Take a camera, or download a spotters’ guide from the internet.
• Take part in a scavenger hunt. Choose a theme such as signs of spring, colours or textures.
• Be inspired to create some woodland art using only what you find around you.

Are you worried about a loved one? Are you wondering if they are really as “Okay”, as they say they are? 

• Trust your gut. If you have a strong feeling something is wrong, you are probably correct. 
• Ask twice. We can all be guilty of quickly answering “Fine thanks”. Ask again, “Are you really fine?”
• Be a friend. Don’t try to fix the problem yourself. Sometimes people just need someone to listen.
• Ask them to “traffic light” their day: red/amber/green. What does this tell you?

 Mindfulness and Creativity 

Creative activities can be fun for all the family, and sitting down together to create something can be a good bonding exercise, stimulating conversation and encouraging sharing. Here is a simple idea to try. Take a clean jam jar, decorate it and fill it with things that will cheer you up and make you feel positive. They could be written affirmations, little toys, sparkly gems or smooth pebbles: anything that brings you joy and makes you feel calm.

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 1: Middle B

Week 2: Junior R
Week 3: Senior M
Week 4: Foundation
Week 5: Middle C
Week 6: Junior B
Week 7: Senior H
Week 8: Middle B
Week 9:  Junior R & Junior B
Week 10: Grade 6
Week 11:

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 4 Week 2-
14/10/23 Fiona Harney  - Professional Development

Middle B:

All the students have jumped straight back into their learning this week after their holidays and have shown amazing focus and self motivation towards their tasks.

Some of the learning highlights from this week have been….

Wellbeing

We read the story The Big Brag and discussed the concepts of boasting or bragging and the effects this can have on people and how it can make us feel. After reading the story, students illustrated their favourite part of the story. Their drawings were amazing and they really enjoyed the story and activity.

Inquiry - Music

This term we will be exploring the area of Music. We began by learning about the 8 elements of music. The first two elements that we are learning about are beat and rhythm. We learnt some hand clap games that helped us to keep a beat and follow a rhythm.

Sentence a Day/Writing

This week we have been focusing on developing our descriptive sentences. We are currently learning how to write a narrative and we have been focussing on Fairy Tales. 

Here are some of the fantastic sentences the students have written in response to some visual prompts.

Boston - I'm going to share my sentence a day! Baby bear was freezing and wanted to warm up so he had delicious soup and he devoured it!!!  

Emila - The little cute bear decided to finally sit down at the dinner to eat the delicious soup in front of him.

Lexie - Bobby the baby bear excitedly and quickly ran into the kitchen, after he had been playing dress ups, to eat his burning hot soup that he had been waiting patiently for days for.

Alivia - In the dark windy forest, I heard water crashing.

Prithvi - I followed the path to a secret waterfall.

Fletcher - As Baby Bear’s tummy was growling he sat down on a small chair and joyfully was slurping and devouring the great tasting porridge.

Sophie - As I walked closer and closer to the running water, misty fog was covering my way. I started to panic and could not breathe. 

Tahlia - The mossy bushes were covered up in colourful flowers. 

Lilly - The nice clear and wavy water was so soothing in the open air.

Aaliyah - The pink flowers are scattered in the vibrant lime green bushes.

Willow - The dark rainforest had moss climbing up the trees.

Kayde - Baby bear ran joyfully to his chair and picked up his spoon then slurped up his delicious porridge.

Jack/Peter- The giant, old trees were lurking over the evil-like ground, making only some light appear. Silver beams shimmering like jewellery, making vines and moss coming out of its hiding spot.

Lenny - As the playful bear scoffed his pink porridge he knocked his favourite blue dinosaur drink bottle. In the foggy dark forest I saw tangled twisted mossy vines.

Henry - The bright gloomy forest had moss and vines on the beautiful oak trees.

Mason - Moss feels like really short grass and sand mixed together.

Mac - As I walked off the path I saw a twisted tangle tree.              

Miss Melissa Bonney

Students of the Week:

Living in Faith:

Fundraising: 

From this Friday (11th October) each Friday till the end of the year our MiniVinnies group will be selling Zooper Doopers for $1.00each.  The money raised will go towards Stawell Inter Church Council Welfare Centre and St Vincent de Paul Sponsor a student program. 

As always we thank our St Patrick’s community for your support. 

Why do we at St Patrick’s raise money for the poor?  

Catholic schools participate in the Church’s mission “to bring the Good News to the poor” (Luke 4:18). In partnership with parents, parishes and other agencies within the Church and the broader community, Catholic schools are called to give witness to a faith which does justice with love. All have a responsibility to read the signs of the times and to respond with love and compassion, ever seeking to protect human dignity and serve the common good. The Catholic Church teaches that the poor represent those who are marginalised in society. Jesus himself taught the importance of helping those who are poor and need help.

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. “No duty is too little to be done well” Saint Mary MacKillop

Birthdays:

Congratulations to these students who celebrated their birthday this week and over the Holidays: 

Luke, Lilah, Rhylen, Sophie, Arli, Harry, Emila, Charlie M & Klia

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.