Newsletter 160- December 18th 2024
Prayer of the Week:
On the fourth week of Advent, we light the final purple candle to mark the final week of prayer and penance as we wait for the birth of Jesus. This final candle, the “Angel's Candle,” symbolizes peace.
Dear Heavenly Father, this Advent season, we especially are in need of peace. War rages on in parts of our world. It impacts the daily lives of millions in different ways. This year, as much as ever, we need Jesus, Prince of Peace, in our world and in our hearts. We pray that Jesus transforms our world as we await His coming again.
Amen
Principal's Report:
Dear St Patrick’s community,
Leadership positions in 2025
As we prepare for the year ahead, we are excited to share the updated leadership structure for 2025, reflecting our continued focus on growth and excellence:
- Melissa Bonney will take on the role of Leader of Pedagogy: Literacy and Languages, supporting our Structured Literacy journey and the continuing development of Auslan.
- Leon will step into the role of Leader of Pedagogy: Numeracy while continuing as our Sports Coordinator.
- Kerrie will continue her dedicated work as our Learning Diversity Leader.
- Lauren Broadbent will be our Student Wellbeing Officer during Lillie’s family leave.
- I will oversee the Religious Education Leader role for the 2025 school year.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Maryanne for her outstanding contributions as Deputy Principal, fulfilling many of these roles over the past couple of years.
We look forward to working together in this new structure to support the learning and wellbeing of our students.
LSO appointment
We are pleased to announce that India Warren will be joining our team as a Learning Support Officer (LSO) in the Year 5/6 classroom next year. India will be a familiar face to many of our families through her involvement in local sporting clubs and her work as a swimming instructor at the pool. We are excited to welcome India to St Patrick’s and look forward to the valuable contribution she will bring to our school community.
Student Free days in 2025
We have locked in our student-free days for 2025. In planning these dates, we have carefully aligned them with long weekends or holidays to minimise disruptions to students’ learning throughout the term.
We have successfully applied for an additional student-free day in 2025. This extra day, scheduled for 29th January, will focus on staff wellbeing and welfare. This initiative has been a long-standing aspiration of our staff, and we are thrilled to bring it to fruition.
The wellbeing of our staff is fundamental to fostering a thriving and successful school community, and I am confident that this sentiment is shared by our parent community. Prioritising staff welfare ensures they are best equipped to support our students in their learning and development.
Below is a note from Tom Sexton, Chief Executive Officer of DOBCEL, regarding the setting of school closure days.
Student-free days are days where students do not attend school within the gazetted attendance period but are designated for staff professional development, school professional development activities, planning and/or report-writing. Each year, the first day of term one and the last day of term four will be a student- free day in all schools. In exceptional circumstances, the Executive Director of Catholic Education Ballarat or delegate can approve days beyond the normal six student-free days.
Our student free dates are:
Tuesday January 28th
Wednesday January 29th (students resume Thursday January 30th.
Tuesday 11th March (extra-long Labour day weekend)
Wednesday 14th May (sorry- we had no flexibility in this date)
Tuesday June 10th (extra-long King’s birthday weekend)
Monday July 21st- students resume Term Three on Tuesday July 22nd.
Monday October 6th- students resume Term Four on Tuesday 7th October.
Friday December 19th- students will finish the year on Thursday 18th December.
May the joy and peace of Christmas fill your hearts and homes this festive season. As we celebrate the birth of Christ, may His love bring you hope, happiness, and togetherness. Wishing all our families a safe and blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with grace and joy.
Merry Christmas from all of us at St Patrick’s!
Kind blessings,
Bettina
From the Office:
Dear Parents and Guardians,
2025 School Fees have now been finalised and are attached for your information.
The School continues to endeavour to keep fee increases to a minimum whilst aligning with DOBCEL and CPI recommendations. We are pleased to be able to keep our 'Per Student' items unchanged in 2025, however our 'Per Family' and Camp costs have increased as follows;
- Capital and Tuition Levy increased by a total of $40 per family, from $1,320.00 to $1,360.00 in 2025.
- Camp fee increased from $350.00 to $375.00 per student (Grades 3-6) in 2025.
The School continues to seek cost saving opportunities for our families such as bulk purchasing of student devices through DOBCEL and subsidised sport and affordable camp and extracurricular activities, however these increases are reflective of increasing costs for providers and associated expenses.
We will communicate with families early in Term 1 regarding fee assistance available to eligible concession card holders, and as always, encourage anyone experiencing financial difficulty to reach out at any time for a confidential discussion around available support.
In the meantime, please take this opportunity to review your school fee account and payment arrangements with next years' fees in mind. Families with additional children commencing in 2025 are encouraged to consider increasing their payments now if possible, in order to minimise the instalments payable throughout next year. Anyone wishing to commence or amend a fortnightly direct debit payment plan is asked to please contact me in the office as soon as possible.
Thank you to all of our families for your ongoing support.
Anna Wadge
Business Manager
The Opening the Doors Foundation provides grants to families to assist with the extra costs incurred in the schooling of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary or secondary school students. The 2025 Grant Round is now open, with a closing date of 14 March 2025. For students to commence the 2025 school year with the necessary items, the ideal time to apply is now or before the start of Term 1.
Please note that due to a substantial increase in applications, the Foundation’s Trustees have had to modify the eligibility criteria. The updated criteria and guidelines are outlined on both the Opening the Doors Foundation website and the Opening the Doors Foundation Application.
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 11: Farewell
Term 1 2025 Week 1: Welcome Assembly
Graduating Class of 2024:
Living in Faith:
Congratulations
Congratulations to Isaac, Mac, and Marianne on receiving the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. This special milestone marks a beautiful step in their faith journey, as they grow closer to Jesus and embrace His love in a deeper way.
May the joy and grace of this sacred moment stay with them always, and may they continue to feel God’s presence guiding and strengthening them in the years to come.
As a community, we celebrate with them and pray that their faith continues to flourish as they walk this blessed path.
Sustainable Christmas
With only a few weeks till Christmas most have begun our preparations. In Pope Francis’ encyclical
Laudato Si’ published in 2015, Pope Francis invites us to choose a different lifestyle in a world where “the market tends to promote extreme consumerism in an effort to sell its products” (No. 203).
Pope Francis calls us to move towards “more sustainable lifestyles”. There are ways to live a sustainable Christmas in harmony with our common home.
Below are a few ideas to consider for a more sustainable Christmas:
Cards
- Have you heard about “plantable” cards? They can double as a card and a gift!
- Reuse old Christmas cards to create your own unique ones.
Gifts
- Consider the packaging when purchasing gifts and food. Look for items with as little packaging and plastic as possible.
- Shop in local stores.
- Give a potted Christmas tree as a gift. The receiver can grow it and even plant it later on.
- Opt for fabric products that are certified to be eco-friendly and toxin-free.
- Buy toys or gifts that have the least amount of plastic, and do not use batteries.
- Use your creative talents to make a gift or vouchers for services you will provide.
- Offer an experience like concert tickets, a hot air balloon trip or a spa day.
Gift wrapping
Instead of paper, wrap gifts in reusable materials like fabric or recyclable ones like recycled wrapping paper or brown paper (especially for large packages), children’s artwork or newspaper.
- Make gift bags and tags made from old newspapers, cloth or other strong recycled material.
- Raffia, string or twine are eco-friendly replacements for colourful plastic ribbons.
- Reuse shipping materials when sending packages and avoid purchasing bubble wrap.
After Christmas
- Recycle as much as you can! Collectively, we can make a huge difference in the world we live in—let’s make it a joyous time for Mother Nature as well.
- Decide how to save your potted Christmas tree.
- Think about any unwanted presents. Return them, regift them, or give them to charity rather than letting them collect dust or tossing them into the trash. Remember that one person’s trash is another’s treasure!
Do you know someone who is doing it tough?
Please ask them to come to The Cottage 20 Sloane St Stawell. We are open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 10:30am and 12:30pm. For out of hours emergencies ring 0408038949. If anyone needs help at Christmas, please come to the Cottage in November to put their name down. Christmas distribution will be on Tuesday 17th December.”
Thanks,
Mary Rita Thomas
Secretary Stawell Inter Church Council
School Disco:
Parents & Friends:
President,
Kate Field
Diocesan/Parish news:
2024 Christmas Masses:
Reconciliation Lake Bolac During Mass this Saturday December 14th
Christmas Eve-
6 pm Stawell
7 .30 pm Ararat
9.15 pm Lake Bolac
Christmas day -9am Landsborough
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 November 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.
Around Our Community:
Please follow us on instagram; stpatsstawell
Stawell Wildcats Basketball Association Inc
We are seeking expressions of interest from all age groups for a shorter season of the Stawell domestic basketball competition and Wildcubs development program, commencing in February 2025 and running for duration of the 1st term of school. Please fill out and submit the attached form by the 22nd of December so we can gauge interest. If you have any questions or queries, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfiAG_nsZEbzKJ3HD54YS7QNE_6AcCU3AXcIcN6U1X0D1JJqg/viewform
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.