Newsletter 70- September 16th 2022
Prayer of the Week:
END OF TERM PRAYER
We thank you Lord, for this term.
For the challenges, the successes, and the mistakes from which we have learnt.
Be with us as we spend our time with family and friends.
Give us strength and courage to do what is right; to be witnesses of our faith.
Help us to be a practical Christian these holidays, to appreciate what others do for us, to
give time and effort to help others, to be peacemakers in our family.
Keep us safe in our activities; give us good rest and good fun.
Bring us back refreshed and ready for a new term.
We thank you for our classmates, staff at St Patricks, parents/carers and a community that cares for us.
May we always be conscious of you in our lives.
Amen
Principal's Report:
Welcome,
The days are getting a little longer, the blossoms are starting to bloom, and the footy finals are upon us. This all means that Spring is finally here! This is a wonderful time of year but even more special this year given the challenging winter we have had.
Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has impacted our lives for the third year in a row. From a school point of view, this year we have managed to avoid lockdowns and remote learning but we have had a number of students and staff away from school due to illness. On some days this year, we have had up to 20 percent of students absent. It is fair to say that all staff and students have at least missed some days of school over the course of the year.
These constant changes have made continuous learning challenging but due to the hard work of staff, students and families we have made the best of this situation. I would like to again thank the staff, students and families of St Patrick’s for their shared commitment to ensuring the best for our students. It really is a shared effort!
Upcoming Events
Term Four will again be action packed with lots of school and community events. A real highlight will be the Andrew Chinn community concert on Wednesday October 19th. Andrew is a former teacher and leading Christian musician. He will work with the students on songs during the day which will be followed by a whole school concert after school. To make it even more special the evening is being catered by Matt Cameron of Valhalla BBQ.
Term Four Uniform
As we head into Term Four a reminder to get Summer uniforms ready. Please check these over the holidays to ensure that skorts/shorts/dresses fit and are the appropriate length. The school has a number of Summer uniform items in the uniform bank. Hats are always required in Term Four - please also make sure that they are named.
School Improvement Survey
This InsightSRC School Improvement Survey has been extended until Friday, September 16th. Although the survey is voluntary, having as many responses as possible would be great. The more information the school receives the greater insight we have into the perceptions of the school. The survey results play an essential role in the future planning for the school.
With Faith in our Future
Chris McAloon
A word from the Office
AFL Public Holiday & Direct Debit Processing
Please note we have been advised by Catholic Development Fund (CDF) that, due to the AFL Grand Final Public Holiday, direct debits scheduled for Friday 23rd September (Schedule A) will be processed on Monday 26th September. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes.
Kind regards,
Anna Wadge Business Manager
Wellbeing:
Hi all,
Thank you for continuing to support and nurture your child's wellbeing throughout each term. We are very happy with how the students of St Patricks can bounce back from situations and regulate their emotions. Week 10 Term 3 already, how quick is this year going. Below are some ideas for an active holiday break.
Please continue to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
School Holiday Activity Ideas
- Burn energy and get outside
These school holidays are the perfect time to use the warmer weather to get outside and get active.
You might like to go on a bushwalk, in which case we have some great tips and locations for people who are just looking to get started. You might even just want to check out a playground or park in your local area. While the weather is milder, it’s still important to be sunsmart, as the UV from the sun can still damage your skin on cloudy days.
Get back on the bike
As the saying goes, it may be true you never forget how to ride a bike. The school holidays are the perfect time to dust off your bike, skateboard, scooter or rollerblades and take the family for a ride. Remember it’s still important to avoid getting too close to others.
If it’s been a while between rides, Be Healthy has some great tips for getting back on your bike here.
Work on wellbeing
While getting out and about is fun sometimes some quiet time is needed. Mindfulness activities are a great way to help your kids develop resilience, and Andrea from Kids Thrive shared links to some great options for kids to try at home:
You can read our article with more Kids Thrive activity suggestions here, including ways to get them involved with daily tasks to help you around the house.
Get cooking
Did you know that kids are more likely to try fruits and veggies if they help cook with them? The school holidays are a perfect time to get kids excited about cooking easy healthy recipes. If they like them, you can even use them for school lunches when school returns!
Here are some recipes your kids will love – all given the tick of approval by the dietitians in our healthy eating team:
- Easy lunchbox quesadillas
- Leftover curry veggie parcels
- Easy veggie fritter Make learning fun with a day out
- Museums, galleries and zoos are the perfect opportunity to take kids on a fun day out where they can learn as well.
Museums Victoria’s facilities (Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks and Immigration Museum) are fantastic for teaching kids all about natural history, science and our state’s multiculturalism, while the NGV is perfect for kids with creative flare. Zoos Victoria is always a family favourite and has a vast array of animals to visit across three locations, with a strong message around protecting animals and our environment.
There are plenty of ways to keep kids entertained these school holidays. Whether it’s getting outside and enjoying nature, fuelling imagination at home, going for a bike ride or cooking, there is something for everyone.
Regards,
Lillie Comitti - Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinator.
Teaching and Learning:
Assembly:
It is fantastic to once again have our Friday school assemblies happening. Assembly starts at 1:50pm this Friday afternoon in the hall. All family and community members welcome.
Assembly roster for term 3:
Week 10 Buddies and Foundation - Earlier time 1:50pm
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 or online which may result in classroom teachers being out of the classroom.
Term 4 Week 1.
4/10/22 Ms Maryanne Comitti The Writing Revolution (onsite)
Term 4 Monday 3rd October is a School Closure day.
As we have previously mentioned St Patricks has embarked on an exciting Professional Development journey over the next three years. We will be learning and implementing Visible learning which is a research based approach to developing life-long learners. It is based on the research of Professor John Hattie and his metastudies involving over 300 million students and what has the most impact on student progress at school. Visible learning research explores seven core strategies for learning success: working together as evaluators, setting high expectations, measuring learning with explicit success criteria, establishing developmentally appropriate levels of learning, viewing mistakes as opportunities, continually seeking feedback, and balancing surface, deep, and transfer learning.
On Monday 3rd October our whole staff will gather to work with our Visible Learning consultant (Shane Crawford) to develop our knowledge on the importance of Learning Intentions and Success Criteria.
What are Learning Intentions and Success Criteria?
The basic premise is that the students have the same idea as their teacher about what learning is occurring, and what they should be learning as a result of doing. Many students are not going to know this unless it is clearly directed- learning intentions (or objectives), and learning outcomes (or success criteria) provide this direction.
Term 4 uniform.
* Hats - are required to be worn from the start of Term 4. Please ensure hats are named.
Skort/shorts/dresses - please check these over the holidays to ensure that they are of appropriate length. We have some skorts/shorts/dresses in our uniform shop if needed.
Living in Faith:
SAVE THE DATE...
Who is Andrew Chinn?
Andrew worked as a classroom teacher in Catholic Primary Schools in Sydney, Australia for nearly twenty years before moving into his full time music ministry. Andrew has visited more than 1000 Catholic primary schools, performing in 2000 concerts across Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada sharing his music and his faith with children, teachers and parents. Andrew was last with us at St Patrick’s in 2016 and is the writer/singer of our school song “Always Faithful, Ever True.” He has released 10 CDs, 5 DVDs and 5 picture books, which are used widely by teachers and catechists in the faith development of children. We are all very excited to welcome Andrew back.
ANDREW CHINN CONCERT and PICNIC:
Catering - Thankyou to Valhalla BBQ - Matt Cameron (dad of Liam and Jack) who will be catering for our dinner and has generously offered to cater for this at cost price. This is greatly appreciated by our school and community.
Valhalla BBQ
American style BBQ, low and slow cooked beef brisket, pulled pork, chicken maryland.
Salads - Tossed salad, coleslaw, potato salad
RSVP sheet will be sent home at the start of next term. Pre-payment is required then tickets will be issued.
When: Thursday 19th October, 2022
Where: School Hall
Time: All required to be seated by 5:45pm Concert to start at 6:00pm
Dinner: To be served at approx: 7:00pm
Cost: St Patrick’s Primary School children free thanks to Parents & Friends
Adults - $15:00 per person
Children 2-15years - $10per person
On this special day and week let’s all be mindful of the sacrifice, dedication and love of the profession that it takes to be a teacher, school counselor, nurse, education support, secretary, driver, foodservice, groundskeeper or custodian in the world today. I’m grateful to be working beside the quality and professional corps of educators that we have here at St Patricks and our students are the benefactors of your impressive skill set.
Church Bulletin:
Birthdays:
Congratulations to these students having their birthday this week:
Jack Duxson
Mackenzie Farrell
Alivia Rolph
Students of the week:
Marley Carlsen - For the sensational work you did with our Possum Magic writing, keep up the hard work!
Bonnie Wickham - For the brilliant work you are doing in InitiaLit. Your dedication and persistence towards your learning in phenomenal.
Oscar Erwin - For the excellent results you achieved in your Stepping Stones Quarterly test. Congratulations on getting a perfect score, 20/20!
Edie MacPherson - For the effort and detail you put into your Who am I? information report. I really enjoyed reading and guessing your animals.
Aaliyah Carlsen - For the thoughtful and caring nature you display with our classroom and for producing excellent work! Congratulations Aaliyah!
Jack Wadge - For the excellent results you achieved in your Stepping Stones Quarterly test. Congratulations on the huge growth you showed!
Adi Ratcliffe - For the fabulous work ethic you display throughout all your learning. Keep it up!
Henry Wadge - For the great independent paragraph writing you did with your Water Cycle explanation. Well done Henry!
Vibeesh Ranjay - For the sensational work you did with your Water Cycle writing. You have included: technical language and a clear explanation of each element. Well done!
Mia Bailey - For your results with your Stepping Stones tests. Your knowledge and efforts with Mathematics continue to amaze me. Keep up the excellent work!
Zach Ford - For the fantastic work you have been doing with your writing and for presenting your discussion piece.
Molly Ratcliffe - For the confidence and effort that you put into your oral presentation. Keep up the super work Molly.
Grace Monaghan - For the fantastic detail you have put into your discussion piece of writing. Great job Grace!
Tyler Jantzen - For the confidence you showed to stand up in front of your classmates to present your discussion speech. Well done Tyler!
Around Our Community:
Over the September school holidays, the Halls Gap Parks Victoria staff will be running the Spring Junior Ranger Program. This is a wonderful opportunity to get young kids and adults into nature. Through 7 individual Junior Ranger activities, kids between the ages of 6 and 12 can learn about the parks flora and fauna, how to use a compass, search for tracks and traces, participate in a scavenger hunt and be skilled up as Junior Ranger firefighters. The activities are free but do require a booking. Bookings can be made by scanning the QR code or visiting the https://juniorrangers.com.
If you have any questions please send through an email.
Kind Regards Abbey Ralph <Abbey.Ralph@parks.vic.gov.au>
The Stawell Interchurch Netball competition for Term 4:
Register your child's interest by clicking the above link to particpate in a Wednesday afternoon netball competition.
8 week netball and gameplay from Wednesday October 12th - Wednesday November 30th 2022 - running from 4.30-5.30pm.
Ages 6 - 13 years.
Cost will be $70 for Non Netball Victoria members and $10 for players already registered with Netball Victoria for 2022.
*Please, one form per player.
Details are subject to change at committees discretion.
Please return registration forms to stawellinterchurch@gmail.com by Sunday September 25th 2022.
Upcoming Events:
Friday 16th September - Last day of Term 3 early dismissal 2:15pm, Assembly 1:50pm.
- Hoodie, Oodie or Footy colours Day - a food/household item for Social Justice donation.
Monday 3rd October - School Closure day for Students - Staff Visible Learning PD
Tuesday 4th October - First day of Term 4 - Students
Wednesday 12th October - Maths Olympics Grade 5/6 at the SSC
Wednesday 19th October - Andrew Chinn all day - Concert & Picnic Tea at school RSVP to follow
Friday 21st October - Black Ranges Cricket Day- Grade 5/6
Friday 28th October - Grandparents Day - TBC
24th October - 2023 Foundation 1st transition Day
7th October - Greater Western Region Athletics - for eligible students
Tuesday 1st November - Public holiday for Melbourne Cup Day - No School
9th November - 2023 Foundation 2nd Transition Day
Monday - Wednesday 14,15 and 16th November - Grade 3/4 Camp
24th November - 2023 Foundation 3rd transition Day
29th November - Marian College year 7 Transition Day
08th December - Reports Go Home
13th December - 2023 State wide Transition Day
14th December - Grade 6 Graduation/Mass
Friday 16th December - Last Day for all students
Tuesday 20th Last Day for Staff
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.