Newsletter 55 - May 20th 2022
Prayer of the Week:
Creator God
We celebrate Catholic Education, this week across the The Ballarat Diocese.
We give thanks for our communities of hope and transformation that are spread from the Murray to the Sea.
We pray that we will be energized with courage and hope to continually spread the Good News.
We ask this through Jesus our brother.
Amen
Principal's Report:
Welcome,
Mental Health and Wellbeing
On Monday evening I attended a Resilience Project session along with several staff from St Pat’s and other schools from throughout the Northern Grampians Shire. The session was run by the Resilience Project’s Education Manager, Belinda Galloway, and focussed on the wellbeing of educators.
The session stressed the importance of educators looking after their own wellbeing. The take home message was that self care is not selfish. Belinda stressed that in order to be the best you for your loved ones, you need to look after yourself. She also spoke about the importance of incorporating healthy habits into your daily routine.
As a father of three young children, I couldn’t help but think that many of the messages and strategies for educators also related to parents. Often we are so concerned with looking after others that we forget to look after ourselves. This resonated with some professional learning that St Pat’s staff undertook in 2021 through the Grow Your Mind organisation. The quote that stuck with me from that day was: ‘‘You can’t fill from an empty cup, take care of yourself first’’.
The mental health and wellbeing of staff, students and families remains an ongoing focus at St Pat’s. This year the school is involved with the Mental Health in Primary School pilot program and through this program Lillie Comitti is our school’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinator. We have also continued to partner with the Northern Grampians Shire and other schools in the region to incorporate the Resilience Project resources into our Social and Emotional learning program.
We are also very excited to be joined by Jodie McGeary from Catholic Care Victoria as our School Support Worker. Jodie will be with us at St Pat’s on Mondays and will deliver one-on-one and small group counselling sessions. For students to see Jodie a referral needs to be made from a teacher or parent and always parent permission is required. I believe Jodie will complement the wellbing supports we have in place at the school.
NAPLAN
A big congratulations to all the students, staff and families of the Grade Three and Five students who completed their NAPLAN assessments over the last two weeks. For the first time at St Pat’s the assessments were delivered through NAPLANs online portal except for the Grade Three writing assessment.
The students tackled the assessments with a great attitude and gave it their best efforts. It is important to remember that NAPLAN is just one set of tests at one moment in time. It only measures a particular set of skills. As a school we are constantly assessing student learning and progress.
Staffing Announcement
Last week Ricky Bowen let me know that he will be finishing up at St Pat’s in his gardening and maintenance role. He has enjoyed his time at the school but the balance was difficult with his position at Skene Street and family life. I thank Ricky for his service and wish him all the best.
With Faith in our Future
Chris McAloon
A Word from the Office:
* Please note new school Photo Day - Wednesday 22nd June
Kind regards,
Anna Wadge, Business Manager
* Can all families please provide 1 box of tissues to their childs class, as the ongoing flu season is exceeding our supply. Thankyou for your assistance.
Wellbeing:
Hi, to all students, staff and parents of St. Patrick’s Primary School.
My name is Jodi McGeary, and I am so pleased and excited to be a part of your school community. Every Monday I will be fulfilling the role as the Pastoral Care Officer, offering support to students and families to promote positive welfare & wellbeing.
Outlined in the school newsletter, is some information regarding CatholicCare and the support and services that I can provide, during my time at St Pats.
I am a qualified Counsellor with experience working with children and young people. I hope to incorporate ‘Mindfulness techniques’ along with social and emotional support to ensure a positive safe environment for students and their families.
I look forward to meeting and getting to know the school community.
Teaching and Learning:
Assembly:
How exciting - Whole school assemblies are back. We are able to have all parents & friends in the hall. All assemblies commence at 2:50pm on Friday afternoons in the Hall.
Assembly roster for term 2:
Week 4 Junior R/1
Week 5 Senior F
Week 6 Middle B 3/4
Week 7 No Assembly
Week 8 Senior M 5/6
Week 9 Foundation
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 which may result in classroom teachers being out of the classroom.
Week 4
Tuesday 17/5/22 Compliance Meeting CEB Mr Chris McAloon
Thursday 19/5/22 Parent & Family Engagement Meeting CEB Ms Maryanne Comitti
Thur/Fri 19,20/5/22 Principals Meeting Mr Chris McAloon
Junior R1 News:
What a busy start to the term it has been! Some highlights for our class have been the Mother’s Day Liturgy, Science, School Sports and our excursion to the Town Hall.
In InitiaLit we have been learning about different types of words including verbs, nouns and adjectives. We have been learning to define each of these and identify them in a super sentence. For writing we are learning to write a narrative. We have learned that you must use your imagination and your story has to have a beginning, middle and end. We are learning to start our sentences with a sound or dialogue rather than ‘One day…’
In Maths, we have been learning to use the Count On strategy when adding numbers. We measured items to see what was longer, shorter, wider and higher. We have now started learning how to subtract using the Count Back strategy.
In Wellbeing, we have been identifying different emotions and what to do if we are feeling that way. We also looked at what we want to do when we grow up.
We are loving Science! We have been investigating how materials change when they are combined. We combined oil, salt, flour, cream of tartar and water. We predicted what could happen, discussed the outcome and whether or not we could turn the materials back again. (Spoiler alert - it makes play dough and cannot be changed back). We have also been identifying the ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples combine different materials to produce utensils. Next week we will design and make our own utensils.
In Religion we have been looking at the symbols of the church and what they are used for. We looked at what a chalice, ciborium, cruets, host, paten are used for as well as many more. We know that there are seven different sacraments that Catholic people celebrate and briefly talked about what they are and what happens during the celebration.
We hope you all have a wonderful weekend. See you in Week 5!
Why wear a school uniform?
The reason for our school uniform is to ensure that our children are identified as students who belong to the community of St. Patrick’s Primary School. Uniforms give students a sense of belonging and enhance pride in their school. Wearing a uniform shows unity and identity. In much the same way football followers will wear their team’s jumper or scarf, a uniform builds a sense of community. When some students continually ignore aspects of the uniform policy, this causes disharmony for other students and families. We encourage families to be supportive in your role so that the school uniform is respected and adhered to and that there is a strong level of equality and fairness in the management of the uniform protocol.
National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS)
National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is an annual event that aims to engage children of all ages to enjoy books by creating a sense of excitement around reading. Now in its 22nd successful year, it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy.
On this special day (Wednesday 25th May) students and teachers all read the same book. This year, we’re excited to be reading ‘Family Tree’ by Josh Pyke and Ronojoy Ghosh. FAMILY TREE It started with a seed, and that seed was me. And, over time, laughter filled my garden . A heartfelt celebration of family, community and the seasons of life to cherish and share.
MIDDLE/SENIOR ART:
The students started looking at lines and how to manipulate them in many different ways, such as a simple portrait of their class mates. The results speak for themselves. We have some very talented budding artists, maybe you could have some fun at home with this style of line drawings.
Living in Faith:
Catholic Education Week 2022, 22-28 May.
Our theme for this year is “Share the Good News!” which comes from the Gospel passage “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.” – Mark 16:15.
Our communities are beautiful places that can and do enrich the mystery of Christ’s identity and enable his way to be continually raised up in and by community. We pray that our communities inspire from within to be people of peace, hope and love in these times of displacement, anxiety and concern for Earth as our common home: to realise each unique community’s intimate connection in proclaiming who Jesus is and what it means to follow in the light of the gospel for these times. Catholic Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate and enhance the reality of this identity, to dialogue with the Catholic faith tradition and the world in which we live to interpret and proclaim the good news.
On Monday 23rd we will have a Whole school Liturgy for the beginning of Catholic Education Week. This will be in the Hall all are invited to attend.
Tuesday between 9-10.00 we welcome any prospective new families to take a tour of the school.
Friday - 9;00-10;00 open classrooms. We invite our community to come in and see learning in action at St Pats.
- 2:50pm Whole school assembly in the Hall hosted by Senior F. We will be concluding Catholic Education Week with an imovie celebrating Catholic Education and St Patrick’s Primary School.
SAVE THE DATE...
ANDREW CHINN is back
WHOLE SCHOOL EVENING CONCERT & PICNIC
WEDNESDAY 19th OCTOBER, 2022 6.00pm
Parish Bulletin:
Students of the Week:
Georgia Aird - For the perseverance you showed while learning to count from 1-20. Keep up the great work Georgia.
David Duxson - For your excellent work sounding out words and putting them back together. You are a superstar, well done David.
Jayson Daniel - For the wonderful reading you have been doing. You are sounding out and putting your words back together beautifully. Keep up the hard work!
Marianne Duxson - For the excellent introduction to your narrative. I love how you used a sound to start your story. I cannot wait to hear the rest of it!
Boston Mc Gaffin - For concentrating so hard during Maths and gaining success when adding and subtracting 2 digit numbers. Well done Boston!
Gurshan Randhawa - For working so hard at spelling the tricky words and showing impressive improvement.
Jack Duxson - For your brilliant opening statement paragraph for your Ferdinand Magellan explorer information report. It definitely captured the reader's attention. Well done!
Mackenzie Farrell - For your excellent opening statement paragraph for your Ferdinand Magellan explorer information report.
Noah Dunn -For your listening and responding during writing when completing activities on different explorers. Keep up the great work!
Mia Bailey - For showing the attributes of an excellent learner in all areas of the curriculum particulary in Maths where you continually strive to excel. Keep it up!
Arlee Seehusen - for always sharing your learning and knowledge in classroom discussions and for the super work you have been doing in maths.
Callum Reading - for displaying the qualities of a learner by having a positive mindset towards all tasks. Keep up the great work.
Jack Cameron - For achieving a perfect score in your Module 5 Maths check-up.
Nate Thomas - For your ability to identify different parts of a sentence during our recent Misty Cycle.
Birthdays:
Congratulations to these students having a birthday this week:
Jack Monument
Maddox Austin
Ryder Sullivan
Mac Bibby
Around Our Community:
Please follow us on instagram @stpatsstawell
School Sport Victoria and Golf Australia are proud to inform schools that the SSV Primary Golf Tournament is to be held at the Stawell Golf Course on Friday 21st October 2022.
This is a perfect opportunity for students to participate in a shortened 9-hole course to represent their school. No experience or equipment is necessary. Equipment can be borrowed on the day. Place holders will then qualify to compete in the regional finals and then the state finals if they qualify at the regional finals.
The entries are open to students in year levels 3 through to 6 enrolled at a School Sport Victoria member school.
I have attached a file to the email outlining all the details about the event.
If any student wishes to compete entries can be done online at Events Calendar | Golf Australia
Please reach out to me if you have any questions about the event. Many Thanks, Jayne Young
Upcoming Events:
Monday 23rd May - we will have a Whole school Liturgy for the beginning of Catholic Education Week. In the Hall, all are invited to attend.
Tuesday 24th May - Open Morning 9am - 10am we welcome any prospective new families to take a tour of the school.
Friday 27th May - 9:00-10:00am open classrooms. We invite our community to come in and see learning in action at St Pats.
Thursday 2nd June - Junior R and H excursion to Historical Society
Friday 3rd June - Senior 5/6 Winter Sports Day - note change of date
Tuesday 7th June - Wellbeing Day
Friday 10th June - School Closure Day for students - RE PD for staff
Monday 13th June - School closure Day for staff and students - Queens Birthday public holiday
Tuesday 21st June - Discovery Day at the SSC
Wednesday 22nd June - School Photos 😁
- Reports to go home
Friday 24th June - Last day of term 2 early dismissal - 2:15pm
Monday 11th July - First day Term 3
Acknowledgement of Country:
We acknowledge the Djab Wurrung and Jardwadjali people as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of this land. 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.