Newsletter 59 - June 17th 2022

A Prayer for St Patricks

Almighty Father 

Thank you for the many sisters, priests, and laypeople who have dedicated their lives in service to our Catholic schools.

Thank you to those who work tirelessly to sustain our schools today.

Thank you for the parents who have given support and witness to the importance of Catholic education in their daily lives.

Thank you for the students who work hard to further their education.

May St Patrick’s be a home for those who seek to grow in faith, knowledge, and service of others.

May our community always support one another and exhibit hospitality to newcomers.

Fill our minds with knowledge and wisdom.

May our understanding of the world help us to grow in appreciation for it.

Fill our hearts with gladness.

May we always turn to you in times of need.

Fill our hands with the tools we need to serve others.

May we show them your unceasing love through our actions.

Amen

At a glance

• Teasing and bullying are different.
• Not all teasing is bad. Sometimes it’s playful and helps kids bond.
• When teasing is meant to hurt and done over and over, it can become bullying.

Teasing becomes bullying when:

• The content of the teasing turns from affectionate to hostile. 
• There is a power imbalance: the person teasing has more power among peers compared to the person being teased.
• The teasing occurs repeatedly.
• The child who is teasing means to upset or hurt the child being teased.
• The child being teased is upset or hurt by the interaction. Keep in mind that some children, boys especially, may not show that their feelings are hurt. If you are not sure whether the teasing is hurtful, pull the child being teased aside to ask them how they feel about it.

What Adults And Educators Can Do When Teasing Turns To Bullying     INTERVENE!

Always acknowledge that the bullying is unacceptable and will not be tolerated

• Talk with the child who is teasing about why they are teasing. Use that information to inform a discussion of alternate ways of connecting with peers. Does the child know how to engage with others, or is he/she resorting to teasing or bullying as a way of getting attention and connecting with peers? Maybe this child has learned to use power to hurt others by observing similar dynamics at home, in which case it will be important to discuss that those behaviours are not tolerated in the group and must be adjusted.
• Talk with the child who is being teased to find out how they are feeling. Let them know they deserve to be treated with respect. If the child has trouble asserting himself/herself, discuss and practice ways he/she can confidently tell a child who is teasing or bullying to stop. Make sure the child knows they need to talk to a trusted adult or supportive peers if the teasing or bullying continues.

• TRUST YOUR GUT INSTINCTS! If you feel that the teasing is negative for anyone involved (even yourself as a witness), then it is worth further investigation!

Always consider your own behaviour

• Be aware of your own use of teasing - make sure that the impact is positive.
• Keep in mind that younger children may not understand teasing, especially sarcasm, and may experience your teasing as hurtful.
• Think about your own experiences with bullying, and how those experiences and associated feelings and/or opinions may be impacting the way you handle bullying situations.

What To Do In The Classroom To Prevent Teasing From Turning Into Bullying

• Talk with the whole group of children about bullying and treating others with respect.
• Create a list of group rules that focus on what it looks like to treat someone with respect (e.g., respect an individual’s physical space, encourage others as they try new things, listen to others when they are speaking).
• Talk with the whole group about how to repair a relationship after being disrespectful. For example, discuss apologies (both giving and receiving), as well as acting respectful in the future to show the person you hurt that you have learned from your relationship mistakes.

It is important that all children understand the differences between teasing and bullying. We don’t want children getting confused as they’re very different. 

Teasing and bullying are not tolerated at St Patrick’s. 

Assembly:

It is fantastic to once again have our Friday school assemblies happening.  Our assembly start at 2:20pm every Friday in the hall. This week Senior M 5/6 will be presenting.

Assembly roster for term 2:

Week 9 Foundation - Early Dimissal so assembly at 1:50pm. 

Professional Development:

School closure day - Staff Professional education 

Topic: "In the Footsteps of Jesus as Mary MacKillop Showed Us" 

This year St Patrick’s is in our one-hundred and fifty third year of educating students from Stawell and surrounding districts.  It’s quite amazing when you think of it.  Catholic schools have only received partial government funding from 1964, this means our school for ninety-five years has operated from charity and the generosity of the Catholic community. 

How can we as a community draw strength from our rich Catholic  history in the pluralist world we are living in? How can we as a school community draw strength from St Mary MacKillop, co-founder of the Josephites who established schools and places of refuge across 19th century Australia, a time when poverty was a crushing reality? St Patrick’s primary school was run by the Josephite nuns for approximately 80years.  This is why we celebrate Mary Mackillop and the Josephite tradition which has been very much part of our school life.  Catholic schools point of difference is that we are anchored in the Catholic faith tradition and use Jesus as our role model.

The challenge we face in our current climate is to ensure that at the core of who we are teaching, our students, are able to develop an awareness of justice, empathy, compassion and transformation of themselves in the world around them. 

As educators it is a blessing to have the opportunity to help make a difference in supporting families to help shape the lives of our children through the work we do at St Patrick’s.

Who was Mary Mackillop & why is she important to St Patrick’s school:

Mary was an ordinary Victorian farm girl who devoted her life to the service of God and did great things for Australian and New Zealand families.

Mary MacKillop’s Feast Day is celebrated on the 8th of August. This is also the date of her death in 1909.

• In 1866 Mary MacKillop and Father Tenison Woods started the religious order of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart (the Josephites) and in 1867 Mary MacKillop became a nun – Sister Mary of the Cross.

Well who can believe we are in the second last week of Term 2 already. Despite some minor interruptions due to COVID and Influenza and plenty of extra-curricular activities outside of school, our class has had a very productive semester.

Throughout Semester 1 we have been reading the novel ‘Two Wolves’ by Tristan Bancks, a narrative which details the exploits of the Silver family who accidentally have a large sum of money transferred into their bank account. I think most students would agree that the twists and turns of the story have kept us on the edge of our seats every step of the way, we can’t wait to read the climax!

After completing our focus on narratives in Writing, our focus has turned to explanation writing where students are required to explain ‘how’ or ‘why’ something happens. Some of the topics students are exploring include: 

How is paper recycled? 

How does the moon affect the tides? 

How is glass made?

In Maths, Grade 5 students have finished the semester learning about how to create a financial plan and how to identify and create increasing and decreasing patterns in whole numbers, common fractions and decimal fractions. On the other hand, Grade 6 students have completed a series of lessons focussing on measuring and drawing angles. Both groups will finish the term by completing their Module 3-6 Stepping Stones quarterly assessment.

In other subjects such as Religion, Science and Inquiry, all students have been busy completing assessments to demonstrate what they have learnt during Semester 1.
See you at assembly

Mr M and Senior 5/6

Leadership Visible Learning Professional Development

On Monday the Leadership team (Chris McAloon, Maryanne Comitti, Lillie Comitti, Kerrie Ryan and Leon Moloney) gathered together with our Visible Learning Educator Shane Crawford (not the footballer).  Shane will be partnering with us over the next three years on our journey into improving teaching and learning practice and student outcomes. 

It was such an exiting day as we formulated a twelve month learning plan for St Patrick’s.  Working through the day we delved into current research on focused on learning and what we want our students to academically achieve within the next twelve months. At times it was professionally challenging our practice but working together we understand the awesome responsibility we have in educating our students. At the conclusion of the day we had formulated three baseline evidence statements, our aspiration for our students and three areas of focus for the next twelve months.  

We look forward to sharing this with our community as it evolves. 

Please keep our children who are preparing for their Sacrament of Reconciliation which will take place in early Term 3  in your prayers.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation in the past has also previously been called Confession.  The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of two sacraments of healing in the Catholic tradition (the other being the Anointing of the Sick).  Reconciliation celebrates God’s love and mercy towards us.  It is about acknowledging and naming those times when we know we have done wrong, and then making peace and restoring the relationships with those who have been affected by our poor choices.  

Charlie Matthews - For the wonderful work you’re doing, taking your time when writing sentences. Keep up the great work.

Evie Field - For the sensational job you’re doing, learning to spell the tricky words. Keep being a superstar Evie.

Arli Werry - For having a wonderful attitude towards your work.  You always try your best and do so with a smile on your face.  Keep up the hard work!

Jayson Daniel - For the wonderful writing you are doing.  Well done on including full stops, capital letters, finger spaces and using your phoneme fist to spell words.  You are a superstar!

Sophie O'Callaghan  - For your outstanding assessments in Maths! Congratulations on always working so hard during Maths and always being willing to be extended! Keep it up Sophie!

Tahliah Darker - For working and concentrating so hard during every learning opportunity and for the great progress you have made this term! Keep it up Tahlia.

Diana Daniel - For the great results you achieved on your recent Cars and Stars Reading review. Well done!

Eleana O'Kwor - For the wonderful "I Am Mary' poem you created. You used your imagination and considered events and feelings from Mary's perspective. Well done

Charli Pickering - For your excellent results in your maths learning.  It has been wonderful to see your confidence blossom this term.  Keep working hard and challenging yourself.

Thomas Truong - For your thorough research and incredibly detailed Google Jamboard displays during independent reading activities.  You have taught your classmates some interesting new facts.  Keep up the great work!

Laura Martin - For the positive attitude you have had towards all of your learning and for always taking on feedback to get the best out of each task.

Aiden Guerrero - For your contribution to classroom discussion and the positivity you have been displaying. Keep up the super work.               

Will St Clair - For the amazing improvements you are making in all areas of Literacy. Keep up the great work Will!

Marli Scott - For completing the final level of your Fountas & Pinnell Reading assessment. Great job Marli!