Newsletter 62- July 22nd 2022

World Grandparents Day Sunday July 24th. 

God of love,

We thank you for our wonderful grandparents.

They bring such joy and happiness into our lives.

Thank you for all the special times that we have with them.

Please watch over them, protect them and care for them now.

May they know your goodness and love always.

“In old age they will still bear fruit” – Psalm 92:15

Pope Francis has chosen this theme to awaken our collective sense of gratitude and respect for the elderly and to seek new ways of making the elderly a living part of our community.

Not only are young people called upon to show their respect for the lives of older people, but the elderly also have a mission – to pass on their faith.

Each of us, whether single or married, religious or priest, share in this mission. Let’s reflect on some particular ways in which it is lived out by grandparents and the elderly.

Bearing Fruit…

… through Time

Generally, the elderly have more time than in their younger years, time that can be spent fruitfully … helping children to read, in play, and to pick them up from school.

… through Presence

Just ‘being around’. We could call it ‘silent love’ (but it’s often anything but silent!). There’s nothing a child appreciates more than the reassuring presence of someone familiar who loves them. Even when separated by distance, ‘tech-savvy’ grandparents can be a presence in their lives.

… through Memories

Most elderly people carry memories of five generations – their own, that of their parents and grandparents and the two generations following them. Their vast reservoir of stories from a bygone era are beyond the imagination of many young people.

… through Tenderness

The Pope calls the elderly to be ‘Artisans of a Revolution of Tenderness’ – to foster a compassionate recognition of others as our brothers and sisters. He calls them to see others with the same love and caring that they have for their own grandchildren.

… through Blessing

Along with old age and white hair, God continues to give the elderly the gift of life. Trusting in him, we find the strength to praise him still and to see that growing old is more than the decline of the body, but the gift of a long life. “Aging is not a condemnation, but a blessing!”, says Pope Francis. And he should know!

After a Covid-related interruption, our school's Student Representative Council is back up and running. Two students from each class, Grade 2 and older, have been elected by their peers. The SRC will also be made up of the School and Vice Captains. The SRC will meet with the Principal fortnightly on a Friday afternoon during lunchtime to discuss ideas and issues around the school. It is great to have student input on decisions for the school. Congratulations to Tanner, Bailey, Mahli, Jett, Archie, Eleana, Akuol, Molly, Edward and Matilda on being elected Class Representatives.

I-PADS 4 SALE

We have 12 iPad 2’s (model A1395) up for sale. These are older iPads and are not compatible with all apps.

All are in covers and most have chargers.

We are asking $20, please pay in cash at the front office.

LOST PROPERTY

We currently have a number of school jumpers in the lost and found tub, none of which have identifiable names on them.  If your child has misplaced their school jumper, please feel free to drop in to the office and have a look through what's here.  Please also remember to clearly label your child’s clothing so it can be returned if handed in.

Anna Wadge Business Manager

St Patrick's Primary School  55 Patrick Street STAWELL . VIC . 3380

 5358 2493

Great Book Swap - happening at St Patrick’s Primary School 

24th & 25th August, 2022.

Our school community can donate any quality unwanted/preloved children’s books, Social justice will then conduct the Book swap in the hall, 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.  

Maryanne Comitti      Teaching & Learning Leader

Please send any donated books into school, thanks to those who have already donated.

Last week Jackson Notting represented St Patrick's at the State Cross Country Championships in Melbourne. Jackson completed the 2000 metre course in a time of 8 minutes and 46 seconds to finish 79th overall in a field of over 100 runners. Well done Jacko!

Save the date:        

STEAM expo - Wednesday 7th & Thursday 8th September, 2022.  

St Patrick’s Primary School Hall 

Parents and community members are invited to attend the Expo to view a variety of creative projects completed by our students this year.   

Time to be advised. 

What is STEAM?

Steam is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics.  STEAM education focuses on the foundation skills of developing science, technology, engineering, and art learning, promoting problem solving, critical analysis and creative thinking skills. 

The expo will incorporate students STEAM learning over the course of the year. 

So how do you incorporate STEAM into your child’s world? Surprisingly, you are probably already doing this every day. Have you ever cooked with your child at home?  Think about all of the STEAM moments that were happening:

- Adding a cup of flour / oil / water = Maths (capacity and volume)

- Adding an ingredient one by one, such as three eggs = Maths (numbers, counting and one-to-one correspondence)

- How are we going to get the eggs out of their shell? = Engineering

- Mixing different ingredients and observing the outcome = Science

- Using senses to see, touch, smell, taste and hear = Science

- Was the recipe from a book or was it from an online source? = Technology

- Placing the mixture in the oven and watching it rise = Science

- How many cupcakes did we make? = Maths

- How can the cupcakes be decorated? = Art 

Book Week:

The theme for this year is:  Dreaming with eyes open…

Book week this year runs from August 22nd 2022, to August 26th, 2022. During this time all classes spend time each day celebrating books and Australian children's authors and illustrators. The highlight of book week is on Friday 26th August where students are invited to dress as their favourite book character with a whole school parade where our community is able to attend.  

Assembly:

It is fantastic to once again have our Friday school assemblies happening. Assembly starts at 2:50pm every Friday afternoon in the hall. All family and community members welcome. 

Assembly roster for term 2:

Week 2 Junior H 

Week 3 Middle H

Week 4 Junior R

Week 5 Foundation

Week 6 Senior M

Week 7 Middle B

Week 8 Senior F

Week 9 Junior H

Week 10 Foundation - Earlier time 1:50pm

Professional Development:

Week 3

26/07/22 Miss Kerrie Ryan - Mrs Howard 

Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,

Re: Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about support provided to students with disabilities. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019). 

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• year of schooling
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools 
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disabilities.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on students and your students will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please do not hesitate in contacting me at school on 53582493 or via email kryan@spstawell.catholic.edu.au

Kind regards

Kerrie Ryan   Learning Diversity Leader

The Grade Two’s have settled beautifully into Term 3 and we can’t believe that it is already the end of week two. Last week we farewelled Gurshan as he and his family are moving to Melton. 

Reading

Our Initialit comprehension and fluency lessons have included the strategy of ‘asking questions’ before reading, during reading and after reading. Questions such as Why? Where? Who? When? How? and I wonder? Asking questions is a good way to make sure that we are thinking about what we are reading. We enjoyed reading and asking questions about the text “The Lost Ring”.

Writing 

This week in writing we have been learning about writing narratives. All students were shown a picture of a cheeky monkey and their stories were based around what would happen if they woke up to a monkey in their room. There have been some very entertaining stories written as I am sure you can imagine!  While writing  our narratives, children have been exposed and experimented with writing paragraphs, including talking marks and using strong words. 

Spelling:

Our spelling words have included spelling the tricky words; minutes, great and these. We also learnt about the prefix ‘re’ as in reread, recharge, reuse, etc. Our spelling lessons have included sentence dictation too. 

Maths:

In Maths, as always we start the lesson with counting using 3 digit numbers by 5s and 10s, forwards and backwards.
Our lessons and book work have included working with 3 digit numbers, involving recording and ordering. We have also  worked with addition and subtraction and relating the two operations. 

Religion:

Our unit of work  in Religion is based around the topic ‘wisdom’ and the last two weeks our lessons have involved listening to a story called  ‘The True Story of the Three Little Pigs’ which is all about the wolf's perspective of the story. The children then designed and made their own houses. The purpose of these lessons is to ‘hook’ the children into the topic of ‘wisdom’.

Science:

In Science this term we are learning about Earth and Space Sciences. Last week we learnt about how the sun appears in our sky during the day and this week we learned about different landscapes. This unit will then progress into the night sky, seasons and weather changes. 

Inquiry:

In Inquiry our topic is ‘Belonging to Places’. The unit starts with an original story about a man’s life from the time he is in utero until he is moving into a nursing home. The story highlights special places and times within his life and on the memories that he has created. The theme of belonging continues to be explored through a series of lessons that include investigating how people have connections within local communities, significant events, why people visit other places, and investigations into how living things grow and change. 

Please keep our children who are preparing for their Sacrament of Reconciliation which will take place on Wednesday 3rd August 2022. 

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.

Maryanne Comitti

Religious Education Leader 

Congratulations to these students having a birthday this week:

Chloe Pearce

Rosalie Dunn

Jackson Notting

Serena Daniel

Saviero Di Pietro

 Jai Hine - For the fantastic persistence you’re showing towards improving your writing skills. Keep up the great work Jai! 

Ace Rowe - For the wonderful determination you are displaying towards improving sounding out words and putting them back together correctly. Keep up the brilliant work Ace! 

Isaac O'Callaghan - For the amazing attitude and wonderful efforts you are putting into all areas of your work.  You are a superstar!

Lexie Bailey - For correctly identifying how many tens and ones in a 2-digit number. Keep up the hard work!

Peter Aird - For working so hard during all learning activities. Keep up the great work Peter!

Brooke Lin - For your excellent narrative and the usage of adjectives to make your writing more interesting. Keep up the great work!

Jackson Notting - For the great efforts you have been putting into developing your paragraphs in your narrative writing piece.

Beverly Parkin Alamo - For always participating in our class discussions and turn and talk sessions. Your considered and insightful comments make you a valued contributor. Keep it up!

Mahli Willis - For your amazing work during Writing lessons.  You produced a variety of wonderful new sentences following the author's structure.  You have showed the qualities of an excellent learner.  Well done!

Emily Nutting - For your efforts in writing a narrative story.  Your starting paragraph captivated the reader and made them want to find out more.  You are really showing the attributes of a great learner.  Keep it up!

Zarah Job - For your fantastic start to the term and your positive outlook towards all learning areas.

Molly Ratcliffe - For the fabulous way you have settled into our school community and for your contribution to classroom discussions.

Lolah Freeland - For achieving a perfect score on your Module 7 Maths check-up. Keep working hard!

Archie Ross  - For achieving 20 out of 20 in your Module 7 Maths check-up. Great work Archie!

St.PATRICKS OP SHOP is looking for volunteers to help sort on a Monday morning.

If you think you can help with this please contact:

 June Raeburn  0427 670 658

Parents and Friends:  Next weeeks catering at the Town Hall has been postponed. Thankyou to everyone who offered to help cater please keep an eye out for new date.