Newsletter 34 - October 28th 2021

Prayer of the Week:

Next week the Catholic community celebrates two significant feast days. These are All Saints Day (1 November) and All Souls Day (2 November). In commemorating these two feast days, the Church celebrates the role of people who have gone before, who are recognised officially by the Church community or not, for their work in bringing about the Reign of God, or by partnering with God in bringing God’s great dream for creation to reality. 

The saints inspire Catholics to lead joyful lives; they serve as role models; they teach that holiness means being who you are.  The saints are not just historical figures who lived in some distant past or people who pray for us in heaven. The saints are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and they are present with us.

Catholics look to the saints because they teach what it means to live as disciples of Christ and give us a model to follow.

O God, grace me with a rejoicing and glad heart. 

Bless me with saintly vision and uphold me in the times of doubt.  

Keep me aware, O God, of your constancy in my life. 

Amen 

Please click on the 3-Minute Retreat which invites you to take a short prayer break and some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage. 3 minute retreat

Principal's Report:

Welcome

The Victorian Government has announced a further easing of coronavirus restrictions from 6pm on October 29th. This means that the school will be able to now run a number of events including school photos, transition days, camps and excursions.

For families with students starting school next year, I am very pleased that the school can now run transition sessions at school. Our first onsite session will take place on Wednesday November 3rd. Further details have been sent to families, if you have any questions please contact the school office. 

I can also confirm that school photos will be going ahead on Friday November 5th. If you have already placed an order there is no need to re-order. If you have not returned your order form to school please send it with your child on the day. We ask that all students be dressed in the correct summer uniform. Grade Six students are asked to also bring their rugby jumper. 

Further information on upcoming camps, excursions, and other end-of-year events will be shared shortly. 

Snake Safety 

As the weather warms up it is a timely reminder to be on alert for snakes when out and about. A snake was discovered at the school this week. The snake has been relocated and the school has been inspected by a reptile catcher. The school will always ensure that student safety is our highest priority. Below is a short video about how to keep safe during the warmer months:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_zdLjNBAJs

Fullness of Life for All 

Thank you to those who attended the 'Fullness of Life for All' online information sessions this week. Jim Waight from Catholic Education Ballarat delivered an entertaining and informative presentation. For those who were unable to attend I have attached the presentation from the session. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

With Faith in our Future 

Chris McAloon 

Wellbeing:

Teaching and Learning:

3/4 H:

It has been wonderful to have the children back on-site full time this week. Students have returned to school ready and engaged in their learning. 

In Reading, we have been investigating wordless pictures and discussing the illustrator's choice of colour, objects and placement within each image. Students have also been working on commas and practising using them in different parts of their writing. During Teacher Lead groups, we have been book detectives, making inferences about different wordless texts. 

In Writing, students have written a letter to Mr Mac to persuade him for certain things they’d like to happen around the school. The students have thoroughly enjoyed this topic and cannot wait to share their letters with Mr Mac. We have just begun a new topic, writing Narratives  and they will share their completed published work with the Prep students. 

In Grade 3 Maths, we have been learning about fractions. Students have been focused on adding fractions and writing mixed numerals.  The Grade 4s have been learning about decimal fractions. 

We have also been enjoying our Religion lessons each week. The students learnt about conscience and how it affects the decisions we make in our everyday lives. 

Regards, Natalie

Teaching and Learning:

School wide we have begun our Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) Assessment for Reading and Spelling.   These tests measure each individual student’s knowledge, skills and understanding in reading.  Teachers work through analysing each individual student's learning journey and what they need to progress.  Teachers can also see what students have established and then challenge them at the appropriate level for effective teaching. We are also able to use the data to measure student learning growth over time. 

Next week students across the school will work on their PAT Maths assessments. 

Students across all year levels will also complete their "Cold Write".  A "cold write" is where students are required to write a genre of writing with no support.  This assessment is a diagnostic tool which teachers can use to inform planning and students' future learning. 

You may remember earlier this year our school undertook our ECSI survey. Every five years Catholic schools across Australia undertake extensive investigations into their religious identity, gathering data from students, parents, teachers and community members. This investigation is known as the Enhancing Catholic Schools Identity (ECSI) Project run in part from the Leuven University in Belgium.

A special thankyou to the thirty families that completed our ECSI survey earlier this year.  We are so grateful that you took the time to help us become better at teaching Religious Education  at St Patricks. 

As part of our commitment to ensure continual professional development and quality religious education teaching we welcomed Fr Andrew Hayes this week to work with staff on Scripture. 

Each term during Religious Education we engage regularly in dialogue about one or two pieces of Scripture with children. Scripture plays a key role in Faith and Life inquiry as it allows us to know the Christian story of God and humanity. In a Catholic Dialogue School, the dialogue involves engaging with the Catholic tradition in light of our own interpretations. The dialogue invites each person to reflect on the Christian story and their place in it. We refer to this process of dialogue with children as the Hermeneutical-Communicative Model. It is Hermeneutical as each member of the dialogue seeks to make meaning by interpreting the Biblical text. When we interpret the text we draw upon many parts of our being including our prior knowledge, religious beliefs, cultural and life experiences. Interpretations are not the same and often raise more questions than answers. It is Communicative as adults and children dialogue with each other. We listen to each other’s interpretation respectfully, without judgement. This communication is a process of dialogue, where we draw on thinking including making connections and raising questions. 

Maryanne Comitti 

Please see above the wonderful results from the virtual Stawell Show this year. Congratulations to the above students for your great 3D Art pieces.

Parish Bulletin:

Please Note:

Hardcopies of November and December rosters for St Pat’s Church ministries are available at the back of the church

Students of the Week:

Emila Jones - for being a super learner and giving your best in all your writing tasks. Keep up the fabulous learning!

Rosalie Dunn - for always being ready to learn and using your letters and sounds in your writing. Well done!

Aaliyah Carlsen - for always trying your best in your learning.  It has been wonderful to see you putting your hand up and sharing your ideas with your class.  Keep it up!

Tahlia Darker - for the wonderful ideas you had when talking about how we can be a superhero at school.  What a kind, caring and thoughtful girl you are!

Jack Wadge - for the excellent way you are working in your reading rotations and the great results you are getting reflecting this 

Tamieka Austin - for trying so hard when you have been writing your wonderful story 

Charlie Sullivan - for his excellent work across all subject areas particularly during our persuasive writing lessons. Great job Charlie!

Chloe Pearce - for always striving to do her best during all subject areas and for being a positive role model to her classmates. Fantastic work Chloe! 

Callum Reading- for the fantastic efforts you have been putting into your Writing pieces and skills. Well done and keep it up!

Pavneet Kaur- for the amazing efforts you have been putting into your handwriting skills. 

Torah Pickering - for achieving another level in her reading assessment.

Jack Monument - for successfully completing another reading assessment

Liam Nicholson -  for the fantastic effort you have been putting in towards all of your learning - you should be so proud of yourself. 

Bonnie Kuchel - for being so resilient transitioning back into learning at school and for always completing tasks with your best effort.

Upcoming Events:

Friday 29th October 2021 - Australia Celebrates World Teachers' Day

Monday 1st November - School is open, business and buses will be running as usual

November 2nd Melbourne Cup Day Public Holiday - No School

November 3rd - Foundation 2022, 2nd - Onsite Transition day 9-9:45am, 10 - 10:45am Parents are welcome to stay and have a cuppa in the Library

November 5th - School Photos are finally happening! Please ensure your MSP order envelope is sent in with your child on the day if not already handed in to the office.  

November 12th - School Closure Day - Staff Professional Development 

November 15-17th- 3/4 Camp TBC

November 18th -  Foundation 2022 3rd Transition day

December 7th- Statewide 2022 Transition Day

December 8-10th - 5/6 Camp TBC 

December 16th- Students final day 3:15pm dismissal

December 17th-Teachers Final Day

Acknowledgement of Country:

We acknowledge Traditional Owners and Custodians of this land on which our school stands.
We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging.
We thank them for sharing their cultures, spiritualities and ways of
living with the land in this place we all now call home.