Newsletter 21 - July 16 2021
Principal's Report
What a week we have had! Having only just returned to the routines of school we have just as quickly returned to lockdown and remote learning. Hopefully this will only be a short term situation and all students will be able to be back onsite soon. I had planned to share with the school community an overview of updated restrictions and a schedule of events planned for the term. However, the circumstances of the week and the current uncertainty means that is not possible at this stage. We pray that the COVID situation can be brought under control as soon as possible.
Earlier in the week the school community faced the very real implications of the current COVID situation. A family from our school community happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and found themselves at a Tier One exposure site. Upon being notified the family followed all health protocols, has been tested and is isolating. Thankfully, all tests have returned negative results. I wish to thank the family for their communication with the school and adherence to all guidelines. It is a timely reminder to us of the importance of following restrictions and ensuring we check-in at venues.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Our parent-teacher interviews that were scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday next week will now be held a week later on July 27th and 28th. All booking times will cary over. If you would like to book an interview time you can do so via PAM or contacting the school.
New Newsletter Format
You will notice that we have changed our newsletter format. We are still learning the process and the possibilities of this new format. We welcome any feedback.
With Faith in our Future
Chris McAloon
Teaching and Learning
Upcoming school closure day – Friday September 3rd , 2021
Why do we have Professional learning days?
School development days are used by schools to improve the skills of our teachers, school leaders and school administrative support staff.
They improve the learning outcomes of students by:
- providing targeted professional learning activities aligned to school strategic directions and Department of Education priorities
-enabling whole school planning and enhancing teacher quality, school leadership and management practices
- implementing legislative and policy requirements
What will staff be doing on this day?
Staff will be learning about the current research and evidence into the Science of Reading. The workshop is designed to give staff an introduction to the evidence base supporting effective reading instruction. We will be working though the theoretical and scientific evidence for best practice in reading instruction. The workshop will be facilitated by Sydney based instructors from MultiLit Pty Ltd via video conference.
Living in Faith
Australian Catholic Education 200 years - Family Week 8-14th August
Family Week will be held from the 8th - 14th August 2021 and is an opportunity for Catholic school communities to celebrate the important role of families in Catholic education in Australia. Family Week recognises the significant contribution families have made to the foundation, growth and continuity of Catholic schools in Australia over 200 years. The week also coincides with the Feast Day of Australia’s First Saint, Mary MacKillop, who was a passionate educator and advocate for children and families. We look forward to celebrating this week in our community. Our celebrations will depend on Covid Regulations and we will advise as soon as possible.
Catholic School Parents Victoria
Earlier this year CSPV conducted research of parents to understand areas of concern for them when it comes to their children's learning. One of the areas of concern was online safety. The eSafety Commissioner provides opportunities for parents to be more engaged in their children's safety online through a series of webinars on specific topics that are challenging for parents to monitor and manage.
eSafety’s parent guide to online sexual harassment and image-based abuse
Free webinar for parents and carers of secondary school students
1 in 3 young women and 1 in 5 young men have experienced online sexual harassment. When young people experience this type of online harassment and abuse it can have serious impacts. This webinar is designed for parents and young people to attend together to learn how to report and where to go for support.
Visit esafety.gov.au for more information on parent webinars and to register.
eSafety’s parent guide to popular apps
Free webinar for parents and carers of primary and secondary school students
Understand the risks when using apps like Tik Tok, Snap Chat, YouTube and Instagram. This webinar also covers strategies for staying safer on social media and how to report if something goes wrong.
Visit esafety.gov.au for more information on parent webinars and to register.
Regards,
Rachel Saliba
Executive Officer - Catholic School Parents Victoria
PO Box 3, East Melbourne Victoria 8002
Mob: 0419 371 876
executive@cspv.catholic.edu.au
NAIDOC Week 4-11th July, 2021
NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for Indigenous and non-Indigenous
Australians to come together to celebrate not only Indigenous
achievement but also the history, rich culture, and survival of the oldest continuing living culture on the planet.
God of all creation, as we journey together in this Great Southern Land,
We pray for healing, forgiveness, and unity, creating a path of good will, with justice and compassion.
Jesus, through the power of your love,
You have given us the courage, wisdom, and strength to share our gifts and talents in humility.
In peace and understanding, we reconcile with each other.
Creator Spirit, we come together in prayer and thanksgiving for the many blessings, we have received.
Allow your Spirit to wash over us and give us strength to walk together as one.
Great Book Swap - happening at St Patrick’s Primary School
Term 3 Week 7
Literacy is a major issue facing remote Indigenous communities. Being unable to read and write is a significant barrier to education, employment, health and wellbeing. The Indiegnous Literacy Foundation works to address this through providing books and literacy resources (some in first languages) to families, schools and service organisations in remote communities; and publishing stories by Indigenous people that are reflective of community life and culture.
Low literacy levels is a major issue affecting Indigenous communities today. Being unable to
read and write is a significant barrier to education, employment, health and wellbeing.
Remote Indigenous communities are the most disadvantaged. 2017 NAPLAN results show
only 35% of Indigenous Year 5 students in very remote NT communities meet the minimum
standard for reading, compared to 95% for non-Indigenous students in major cities.
Social Justice are working on our School and Parish community taking part in The Great
Book Swap in support for Indigenous Literacy. The idea is that our school/parish community would donate any quality, unwanted children’s books, Social justice will then conduct a Book swap where students are able to purchase any of these donated books for a gold coin donation. All money raised will be donated to the Indigenous Literacy foundation.
Please send any donated books into school, thanks to those who have already donated.
Plastic Free July
Social justice – Sustainability
This week Social Justice are in the process of changing over our rubbish and
recycling bins with the aim of reducing our school waste and the school's footprint on the
planet. As a Catholic School we are called to care for the environment and educate
those around us of the need to care for creation.
Stay tuned for next week's update.
Education in environmental responsibility can encourage ways of acting which directly and
significantly affect the world around us, such as avoiding the use of plastic and paper,
reducing water consumption, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care
for other living beings, using public transport or car -pooling, planting trees, turning off
unnecessary lights or any number of other practices. (Laudato Si’ no 211)
In response to Pope Franics’ Laudato Si (Open letter on the environment). The
encyclical addressed all citizens of the world and comments on the deteriorating
relationship between people and nature.
Click here to access Laudato Si
Wellbeing
Welcome back to Term 3 everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! This week we are looking at anchor breathing and internal weather.
Anchor breathing:
Feeling nervous? Wound up? Over excited? Possibly can’t focus. Find your ‘anchor spot’, a place on your body where you can feel yourself breathing. Boats use anchors to keep them in one spot in the water. Waves push the boat up and down and side to side, but still the boat remains where it is. When we notice our breath, we are finding our anchor spot, which grounds us and reminds us that we are here in this moment. As you breathe in, say to yourself: “in”. As you breathe out, say to yourself: “out”. You can do this at the start of class, during your break, or at the end of class – any time, all you need is two minutes. You are practicing mindful breathing – a good thing to do while you are calm.
On Internal Weather:
How is the weather today? Sunny? Rainy? Windy? Freezing? Will it be the same tomorrow? Probably not. And neither will our mood. Our emotions come and go. Sometimes it is super easy to let our strong emotions like anxiety or anger be the boss of us, instead of the other way round. One way to be the boss of our emotions (which means we make an active choice in the best way to respond) is to tap into our internal weather. How do you do this?
- Stop and breathe. What am I feeling and where in my body am I feeling?
- If there is a storm raging what can I do to calm it down a little?
- Take three deep breaths and remind yourself this moment won’t last!
Have a lovely weekend,
Wellbeing Officer - Lillie Comitti.
Students of the week:
Daniella Parkin Almo – for having a positive attitude to your learning and working hard to write a recount about your holidays.
Mac Bibby – for being brave and using your sounds to write a great information fact about jellyfish.
Lilly Hine - for the wonderful attitude you have towards your learning. Keep up the fantastic work!
Oliver Sutherland - for correctly identifying how many tens and ones in two-digit numbers. You are a superstar!
Brooke Lin - for your great spelling test results, keep up the great work.
Jack Wadge - for the excellent way you are working independently during your reading rotations.
Lolah Freeland-for her excellent work during independent reading activities as well as her positive attitude within the learning environment. Keep up the great work Lolah!
Eshaan Komerelly-for his ability to work independently during maths and reading tasks. He has also displayed a willingness to help others when they have found something challenging. Great work Eshaan!
Jobe Allen - For your great work with the spelling rules for adding 'ed'. Well done.
Jackson Notting - For your great work with odd and even numbers. Keep it up!
Jack Monument - For the amazing work you did in writing and constructing a website on rattlesnakes.
Alice Nellthorp - For continuing to show the wonderful leadership that you demonstrate in and out of the classroom.
Claire Scott - for your positive start to the term and taking on all learning tasks.
Eedie Hanns - for always giving everything your best go and being a positive member of our class community.
What's new around our school:
Our new carpeted foyer in the grade 1/2 hub
Newly repaired shade sails over our eating and outdoor learning area
Child Safety
As we launch our new newsletter format it is a good time to reaffirm the school's commitment to child safety. At St. Patrick’s we hold the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people as a central and fundamental responsibility of our school. Earlier this year, the school updated it's Child Safety policies which can be found on the school's website.
The school also appointed two Child Safety Officers for the 2021 school year - Mr Leon Moloney and Miss Lillie Comitti.
Upcoming Events
27 July - Parent teacher interviews for all classes
28 July - Parent teacher interviews grades 1 and 2 only
4 August - School photos
3 September - School Closure Day