Newsletter 164- March 20th 2025

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 8: No Assembly - Harmony Day
Week 9: Junior C
Week 10: Year 6 - Stations of the Cross

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 1 
Week 10- Weds 2 April - Fri 4 of April - Miss Lauren Broadbent -  Mrs Bea Greenhalgh in 

Junior B:

We have all enjoyed a wonderful start to the school year in Year 1. It has certainly been a flying and very warm start to the year with all students working very hard in all subject areas and showing much enthusiasm and dedication to their learning.

Our InitiaLit program has begun with gusto. We begin each day with InitiaLit, learning about sounds, letters, tricky words, words and sentences. It is always wonderful to witness all of the children participating actively in all classes and making the most of each and every lesson. Congratulations and a big thank you to all students and parents for your continued commitment to our home reading program. It is always a delight to see children and parents ensuring that home reading books are changed each morning (or when needed) and the reading diaries being so diligently completed. We hope you enjoy reading with your child and the opportunity to have a very positive and important influence on their literacy development. Thank you all!

We have a group of very self-motivated and interested writers in Year 1. The children are all very keen to express themselves in written form. I have been so impressed with the way they continuously take risks when spelling unknown words and using new vocabulary. We have been following some units of work from ‘The Writing Revolution’. This has involved reading literature, learning new vocabulary from the texts, discussing fragments and sentences and then writing our own. We are all working on writing super sentences - sentences which begin with a capital letter, finish with a full stop and have a subject (who or what the sentence is about) and a verb (what they/it are doing).

In Religion we are presently learning about developing right relationships with others, our world and God. We have been talking about Ash Wednesday and Lent and how Lent is an opportunity for all of us to work on making sure our relationship with others and God is the best it can be. We do this through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. All of the students have been thinking about their Lenten promise/s and have made their own ‘prayer hand’ with their promise. We enjoyed listening to the story of Zaccheus and how Jesus showed so much love and forgiveness for him. 

We have been learning about living things in Science and as part of this program have had the pleasure of growing our own plants. The children are always very excited to enter the classroom each day in anticipation of their plant growing overnight. They are very eager to water their plants and compare theirs with others. We look forward to admiring some sunflowers and peas in the coming weeks.

Each week we take part in a number of Auslan lessons. Once again, the children are extremely curious and self-motivated in this subject area. We have been learning about greetings, being polite, making eye contact, facial expressions, asking questions, classroom instructions and using our fingers to represent people or things. 

We all look forward to each Wednesday when we take part in Art, Sport and Wellbeing. The children are always excited to enjoy working with other teachers in different subject areas.

Following a wonderful start, we look forward with much anticipation to the rest of the year!

Week 7: No Awards this week

Week 8:

Bridgette Harrington - For settling well into the St Patrick's community and demonstrating a growth mindset while practicing your number writing.

Emilia Nelson - For demonstrating the Learner Superpower of being a risk-taker by trying your best in learning and always being ready to help others.

Amelia O'Callaghan - For displaying all of the superpowers each and every day. Congratulations on being such a wonderful learner in our classroom. Well done!

Rhylen Mullane - For being such a dedicated and wonderful learner. Congratulations on showing all of the super powers each and every day. Keep this up Rhylen!

Zoey Tyler - For the enthusiasm and self-motivation you demonstrated during our St. Patrick's Day activities. Keep up the wonderful work Zoey!

Kaison Portelli - For the awesome work you have been showing in Maths. You are accepting challenges and assisting others in their learning. Great work Kaison!

Alfie Freeland - For being a self-motivated learner and demonstrating a wonderful work ethic. Keep it up!

Emila Jones - For assisting others during our St Patrick's Day activities. Your patience and kindness make you a valued member of our class.

Curtis Calantog - For showing great efforts and improvements towards your doubles strategy in maths. Keep it up!

Evie Field - For your readiness to learn and focus during working time. Well done, Evie!

Mia Bailey - For the great leadership and self-motivation you showed at the Maths Olympics. You are a superstar!

Boston McGaffin - For consistently being the best learner you can be and completing tasks as best you can. Well done on seeking clarification when needed. Keep working hard!

Ella Tyler - For being a self-motivated learner by seeking help when needed in Maths. Well done Ella!

Jack Duxson - For the amazing leadership skills you showed at Maths Olympics on Wednesday. Well done Jack!

Harmony Day

This year we will be celebrating our Harmony Day on Friday 21st March. 

Harmony Day is a day where we celebrate our cultural diversity, it is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. 

We are thrilled to announce that The Circus Crew will be joining us as we create a ‘Circus in a day’. 

In the circus sessions children will explore this idea of belonging through performance. Students will work with the circus instructor at an allocated time during the school day to learn their act.  Students and our St Patrick’s Community are then invited to come together for an evening celebration which will commence at approximately 5:00 pm. 

A detailed timetable will be sent out on Class Dojo closer to the date. If anyone has any queries or would like to become involved in our Harmony Day activities please the office.

Harmony Week is celebrated annually during March to highlight our diverse cultures and help us better understand each other’s experiences and backgrounds. During this week, the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is also acknowledged on the 21 March. Harmony Week is an opportunity to recognise Australia's multiculturalism, which embraces people from all over the world, especially indigenous Australians. As a nation, we are encouraged to promote respect, understanding and appreciation for all cultures.

https://spstawell.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-celebrating-harmony-week-au

Preparing for Project Compassion 

During Lent, Christians are asked to focus on ‘Almsgiving’, which simply means donating money or goods to those in need. In every classroom, in the office area and each family will have been sent home a Project Compassion money box from Caritas that we have made available for monetary donations. We encourage students to think of those in need and donate when and if they can. An example of being kind and generous can be when a child donates their money and goes without buying a treat such as a lunch order or an ice-cream that’s Almsgiving

Thankyou for your support.   

A quote from Pope Francis:

"Love and charity, are service, helping others, serving others. There are many people who spend their lives in this way, in the service of others. When you forget yourself and think of others, this is love! "

Fundraising: 

Each Friday till the end of Term 1 our MiniVinnies group will be selling Zooper Doopers for $1.00 each 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.

Do you know someone who is doing it tough?

Do you or someone that you know need some help?

 If you need help with groceries and shopping vouchers go to -

The Cottage 20 Sloane St Stawell.  Open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 10:30am and 12:30pm. In out of hours emergencies ring 0408 038 949.

If you need help with fresh fruit and vegetables go to -

Stawell Neighbourhood House 42 Sloane St.  Open Mondays – Fridays 9am -5pm.  If you need help other than groceries and food, contact – Stawell St Vincent de Paul Society – 0437 344 324 and leave a message.  They will contact you within 24 hours.

Mary Rita Thomas
Secretary Stawell Inter Church Council

Evelyn H

For showing kindness to others when they were upset.

Thank you for your Kindness.

Congratulations to these students who celebrated their birthday in the last fornight: 

Mia B, Akech, Evelyn H, Leon, Marnie, Kayde, Aurie, Wilem, Maya & Nate