Newsletter 36 - November 11th 2021
Prayer of the Week:
God of peace you call us to peace
Peace within and peace without
Peace before us and peace behind us
Peace on our right and peace on our left.
Christ of Peace you call us to peace,
Peace with our brother and with our sister,
Peace with our neighbour and with the stranger
Peace with friends and with foes
Spirit of peace you call us to peace,
Peace in work and in play
Peace in thought and in deed
Peace in word and action
Grant us peace, O God of peace
Principal's Report:
Welcome
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic the school has adhered to the Catholic Education Commission Victoria’s School Operations Guide. The guide has been frequently updated to ensure that Catholic schools throughout the state meet all Victorian Government regulations and keep our communities safe.
The latest update to the School Operations Guide includes requirements for the visual verification of the vaccination status of adult visitors to school buildings. Parents, guardians or visitors who enter school buildings for a period longer than to just drop off and pick up students, are now required to check-in with a QR Code and have their vaccination status verified. Vaccination information only needs to be sighted by a staff member and no records will be kept by the school.
This requirement will apply to any indoor school events or parent meetings. Visitors attending the school site for drop off and pick up who do not enter school buildings do not need to comply with vaccination requirements.
In the spirit of inclusivity the school will offer virtual alternatives for any upcoming indoor events or for any parent meetings that are required.
Staffing Announcements
We are pleased to announce that Ricky Bowen has joined our staff as the Grounds and Maintenance Officer. We welcome Ricky to the St Pat’s school community!
The school has also engaged the services of Carli Lamb from SQ Solutions to support the school in the areas of risk and compliance. Carli currently works with nine other Catholic schools in the Ballarat Diocese and brings with her a wealth of knowledge. Carli will be onsite for one day a month and complete other work remotely.
Student Reports
Teachers have started to gather assessment information for this semester’s student reports. Given the interruptions of remote learning the reports will focus on the core learning areas of English, Mathematics and Religious Education. The reports will include comments highlighting student’s areas of growth and further development. The reports will be sent home on December 10th and there will be an opportunity for parents to meet with teachers either in person or virtually before the end of the year to discuss any questions or concerns.
With Faith in our Future
Chris McAloon
Wellbeing:
Hi all, welcome back to another week of wellbeing. How quick is this year zipping by? Week 6 already! This weekend Saturday 13th of November is world kindness day, which we at St Patrick’s Primary school celebrate each day with our kind and nurturing students.
World kindness day
World Kindness Day is a nationally recognised day for the celebration of kindness in society and day-to-day life. This year it is taking place on Saturday 13th November.
Individual acts of kindness are encouraged on this day. There are a huge number of benefits to being kind so see how many ways you can find to be kind—you can use the attached ‘Kindness Wheel’ to come up with ideas.
Have a lovely weekend everyone and don’t forget to be kind!
Lillie Comitti - Wellbeing Officer
Over the weekend you could try some of these simple acts of kindness:
Teaching and Learning:
5/6F:
Back to School:
It has been a rough year with all the remote learning and the sudden lockdowns, but recently we came back to school and we now have so much to look forward to.
First of all us year 6’s have an excursion to Trees Adventure where we get to climb trees with obstacles and jump off things, and us year 6’s also have our transition day to Marian College.Second of all as a whole 5/ 6 group we have our camp in Cape Bridgewater to look forward to, and only four days after that, as an entire school, we get to have our pool day. Coming back to school after a long time of remote learning is great, we got to see our friends again, we can do our work face to face, and we now have so many things to look forward to.
By Jasmine
Writing:
This week the Grade 5/6s have been learning to write descriptive writing. In this subject, the grade 5/6s have learned to describe an image by using the 5 senses. We have also learnt to break down the parts of a descriptive paragraph by finding the who, what, where, how, do and conjunctions, as well as recognising any figurative language in the text.
By Willow and Eve
Grade 6 Maths:
In the past term, the grade 6s in Maths have been learning chance and probability, long division algorithms, calculating percentages, fractions, and a small hint of algebra. Including a PATM to test how well the Grade 6s can calculate certain problems with a variety of 40 questions.
By Mia and Tyce
Religion:
Through the term, we have been learning many different subjects within our Religion block. So far, we have been learning about different celebrations in certain countries and we are now learning about choices. Many cultures like Islamic and Judhisim have similar celebrations and events that are like variations of Christian traditions such as Christmas and Easter. We are learning about the effect that our choices can have on the reaction and result of the situation.
By Will and Teepika
Grade 5 Maths:
Bing! There goes the bell. It's time for Maths. Let's get into it. In Grade 5 Maths throughout the week we have been learning about some new and different things. Personally, I think it has been challenging, and don’t worry that is great! In Grade 5 we have been learning about division algorithms and also remainders from the algorithm and also putting the remainder into a fraction. I would say the whole class has been finding Maths hard but that is good because that means we are learning new things and will do more of this during this last term of 2021.
By Arlee
In other learning areas:
ART: A few weeks ago the local council did a video presentation for Children's Week. The mayor made special mention of some of St Pat's student's artwork. The artwork is featured in a virtual gallery. The link to the Gallery is https://www.artsteps.com/
REPORTS AND ASSESSMENTS: Staff are beginning their preparation of student reports for Semester 2. Again this year, as a result of the significant period of remote learning, there are changes to the requirements of schools in the way these reports are provided. The Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd (CECV) has worked with the other sectors in Victoria to develop a consistent approach to the reporting of student achievement and progress.
For English and Mathematics students will be provided with an overview of what has been covered and an achievement standard with report progress from Semester 1.
As per Semester 2 2020 for all other curriculum areas delivered including Religious Education students will be provided a short description of what was taught throughout the Semester. A general comment will also be provided for each student.
Reports will be sent home by Friday 10th December, 2021.
Science of Reading Professional Development:
All staff will be taking part in our Professional Development session Friday 12/11/2021 on the Science of Reading. We are fortunate to have two guest facilitators from Multilit sharing their expertise with us. Multilit and Five from Five is an educational initiative that aims to improve literacy teaching practices and students outcomes. They are a research initiative of Macquarie University, Sydney. At St Patrick’s we are committed to the promotion of the Science of Reading and evidence-based best practice to ensure we keep abreast of current research and best practices.
Remembrance day:
This morning we students were invited to enter prayer for Remembrance day.
On this Remembrance day may we:
Go out into the world in peace.
Be brave; keep hold of what is good.
Never pay back wrong for wrong; encourage the faint hearted.
Support the weak and distressed; give due honour to everyone.
Be always joyful and give thanks whatever happens, for this is what God wills for you.
Amen.
First Aid:
Last week all staff completed their annual CPR Training. We are fortunate to have a defibrillator at school that is located in the school office.
Sacrament news
It is pleasing to confirm that after eighteen months of uncertainty due to COVID regulations our students that have been preparing for their Eucharist and Confirmation will be celebrating these sacrements on the following dates:
Wednesday 1st December, 2021
Sunday 5th December, 2021
Please contact me if you have any queries. Maryanne Comitti
The Hindu religious festival of Diwali also called Deepavali was celebrated last week.
Diwali is the five-day Festival of Lights, celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world. Diwali is one of the most celebrated Hindu festivals, commemorating the victory of good over evil. Diwali means ‘row of lamps/lights’ and refers to the rows of lamps that celebrants place around their homes or on top of temples.
Around the town:
Swifts/Great Western cricket club are offering the Junior Blasters program for 5-10yrs it's an introduction into Cricket.
This is the link for registering online....
Swifts - Great Western Cricket Club
The Stawell Little Athletics Season will commence on 11th November. We would appreciate it if you could please provide your students and families through your newsletters the attached information.
Thanks
Kristen Ankerson
Secretary
0429 937 319
Parish Bulletin:
Students of the Week: congratulations
Edwina Crouch - for being a fabulous listener in all our class discussions and always being ready to share your thoughts and ideas.
Curtis Calantog - for working hard with your counting in Maths and counting all the way to 30! Well done.
Beverly Parkin Alamo - for the wonderful reading you are doing. Your decoding and comprehending is amazing. Keep up the hard work!
Lilly Hine - for having a wonderful attitude towards your learning. You always give everything a go and do the best that you can. I am so proud of you!
Brooke Lin - for your excellent reading assessment results
Noah Dunn - for the great quarter of maths learning you have had
Savannah Farrell - for the efforts you have been putting into working out the correct change with money Maths. Keep up the excellent work!
Mishka Greyvensteyn - for the excellent strides you have made with your narrative and persuasive writing tasks. Keep up the wonderful work!
Jack Cameron - for your fantastic work researching alligators for your oral presentation.
Mahli Willis - for your amazing efforts in all areas of your maths learning.
Deegan Blake - for your fantastic efforts with your cold write - well done Deegan!
Tom Jess - for your positive outlook on all learning areas and for always trying your best.
Rhianne Guerrero - for your amazing result in your recent Pat Maths assessment.
Angok Kur - for demonstrating amazing mathematical knowledge in your Pat Maths on Wednesday.
Upcoming Events:
November 12th - School Closure Day - Staff Professional Development
November 15-17th- 3/4 Camp
November 16th - Marian College Transition Day Grade 6
November 18th - Foundation 2022 3rd Transition day
November 26th - Grade 6 Tree tops adventure
December 3rd - Morning tea for Classroom Helpers
December 7th- Statewide 2022 Transition Day
December 8-10th - 5/6 Camp to Cape Bridgewater
December 10th - Reports go home
December - 14th Grades 3-6 Pool Day/junior event TBC
December 15th - Grade 6 Liturgy 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.