Newsletter 85 - February 24th 2023

A prayer for Lent

God of all generations,

We thank you for those who have gone before us, especially those who have cared for your earth

and who inspire us to help respect your creation and contribute to its healing.

We thank you for those with whom we share our lives today, especially those who work for justice and peace.

May we welcome the opportunity that Lent brings to walk more closely with you, especially through fasting, almsgiving and prayer.

We thank you for the challenge of the future.

May the cross of Jesus remind us that only love finds a way forward. As we work with big hearts, may we join with Mary in her hope that from now on all generations will experience the great things you will do through us.

We ask this in Jesus’ name. 

Amen.

If you haven’t already done so, please download the latest version of the Simon everywhere/PAM app and log in using your new credentials. If you had an active PAM account prior to the upgrade, your child’s medical details will be pre-loaded and you will simply be asked to review and confirm these.

*For those new to PAM, please activate your account and your child’s medical profile as a matter of urgency as there are a number of events coming up that require electronic permission, as well as giving you access to book Parent Teacher Interviews (bookings for PTI’s on 8th March 2023 will open soon). Please let me know if you require any assistance.

All invoices for 2023 School Fees have now been sent home with students, together with
information on payment options. If you wish to commence a fortnightly direct debit plan, please return your completed authorisation as soon as possible.

If you have any questions regarding your school fees or eligibility for assistance, please contact me in the office.

Grade 5/6 Camp is happening from March 29th to 31st and it is a requirement that the $350.00 Camp component of your school fees is fully paid prior to the event. It also serves as a timely reminder for parents/guardians of students who keep medication at school to please ensure all management plans are current and medications are in date. This includes students with sensitivities who are required to provide their own sunscreen.

Paperwork also went home with students recently regarding Media Permissions and Technology Use Agreements (some families had multiple copies sent home as it's one per child and only one has come back in some cases, please check to see if you still have these at home and sign and return as soon as possible). The new DOBCEL Media Permission form replaces the version in our Enrolment Form and will remain in place for the duration of your child’s enrolment. If your preferences regarding media permission changes, it is your responsibility to update the school by completing a new form.

Also a reminder that if any of your own details (name, address, contact details etc.), or those of your emergency contacts have changed, please request a form from the office so these can be updated.

With thanks and kind regards,
Anna Wadge
Business Manager

Naplan: Grade Three and Five children will be sitting the NAPLAN testing in mid  March.  Previous years NAPLAN had been in May, however the NAPLAN schedule has now been brought forward. 

NAPLAN is a nationwide measure through which parents, teachers, schools, education authorities, governments and the broader community can determine whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community.

NAPLAN results allow parents/carers and educators to see how students are progressing in literacy and numeracy over time – individually, as part of their school community, and against national standards. The tests provide an important contribution to monitoring and evaluating the performance of schools and school systems in these fundamental capabilities. They also provide schools, states and territories with information about how education approaches are working, the areas to be prioritised for improvement, and those schools requiring support in the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy. The results can assist teachers by providing additional information to support their professional judgement about students’ levels of literacy and numeracy attainment and progress.

NAPLAN tests are one aspect of each school’s assessment and reporting process and do not replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by teachers about each student’s performance. Each teacher will have the best insight into their students’ educational progress.

Our Year 3 and 5 students will participate in NAPLAN assessment focusing on: • Reading

• Writing • Spelling • Grammar and Punctuation • Numeracy

Classroom helpers:

We are thrilled to be able to welcome back our classroom helpers for 2023.  We value and appreciate everyone who supports our classroom learning. If you would like to help in our classrooms please contact me via dojo or leave a message at the office and I will get back to you.  

At St Patrick’s PrimarySchool we encourage our community to actively support student learning by becoming involved in a range of school and classroom activities and greatly appreciate the parents and community members who assist and support our programs. 

School closure day - next Friday for students - March 3rd, 2023.

What is Visible Learning?

Visible Learning is an approach to learning and teaching, based on evidence based research and writing of Professor John Hattie, that assists educators and students alike to foster an environment that supports and develops critical thinking, measures progress, gives clear outcomes and feedback and promotes reflective tools aiding continually self-aware improvement. Visible Learning looks at what factors have the biggest impact on student learning, and provides tools measuring these to improve teaching and learning throughout our school.

The 'Visible Learningplus school change model' of professional learning is based on one simple belief: every student should experience at least one year’s growth over the course of one school year.

We are in our second year of a three year commitment with Corwin Visible Learning. At St Patrick’s we are continually striving to ensure consistency in learning across all year levels and classes thus striving for the greatest positive impact as we work towards the virtue of excellence and at least a full year’s growth for every student every year.

School Assemblies: Our assemblies are led by a different class each week (see roster below) and happen each Friday afternoon starting at 2:50pm in the school hall.  Students are dismissed from the hall on this day.  We invite all our community to come along.  

* Please note:

Week4: No Assembly

Please note there will be no assembly this week due to school swimming sports or next Friday 3rd March due to School Closure Day.  

Week 5: No Assembly

Week 6: Middle B - Friday the 10th March

Week 7: Junior F

Week 8: Middle C

Week 9: Junior R

Week 10: Senior M

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.  We will endeavor to make note of this in the newsletter whenever possible.  

Week 5:

Tuesday 28/3/2023 Ms Maryanne Comitti DOBCEL  Family & Community Engagement        Meeting - Ballarat. 

Parent teacher interviews:

Parent Teacher interviews will take place on Wednesday 8th March, 2023.  Closer to the date, we will open up online booking via PAM for time slots. Instructions and more information will come closer to the date. 

The purpose of these meetings is to meet your child’s teacher and begin to develop a positive relationship to benefit your child and their learning. Effective partnerships are based on mutual trust and respect. Together as educators, school staff, parents and family members we share responsibility for each child at St Patrick’s.  We look forward to continuing collaborative relationships over the year. 

How to Report Bullying or Cyberbullying: Bullying and cyberbullying should be reported to your teacher, eSmart team or the Principal either face to face or by email. 

If cyberbullying occurs please record a copy of it before deleting it as it is important to have proof. (This can be done as a screenshot on your Chromebook.) 

*If emailing please include when it happened, where it happened, who was involved and what the bullying incident was. The report will then be followed up by the teacher, eSmart team or Principal. 

Please use the following email which we have set up for this:

safe@spstawell.catholic.edu.au

Shrove Tuesday: 

The name Shrove Tuesday comes from the custom of ringing the ‘shriving bell’ to summon the people to church to be ‘shriven,’ that is to confess their sins at the beginning of Lent. At that time, certain foods like eggs, milk, meat and rich buttery dishes were given up for the duration of Lent. One way that they used up the eggs, milk and fats in the house was to add flour to make special pancakes. In England, the popularity of pancakes caused Shrove Tuesday to be called Pancake Day, a tradition we also follow here in Australia.

Ash Wednesday Liturgy

On Wednesday we held a whole school liturgy in the hall to celebrate the start of the Lenten season called Ash Wednesday. Lent is a time for strengthening of  faith, a time to reflect on who we are and where we are going. It is a time of quietness and prayer, a time of penance and meditation, a time to become aware of our strengths and weaknesses. During Lent we Christians try to  make a conscious effort to prepare ourselves for Easter. We can do this by increasing  prayer, helping others, fasting, giving up things we particularly like, and supporting Project Compassion. Lent urges us to identify and walk with Jesus as he travels towards Jerusalem and the place of his death and resurrection. In the spirit of renewal and conversion we observe Lent by reflecting on the central events of Jesus’ life and welcoming the opportunity to grow through changing our lives.

Catholic school Parents Victoria Newsletter

Now we are well into the new school year, there are various topics of interest to share with parents. Please find a link below for our February issue of CSPV Connect News.

In this issue we have included two important surveys for parents to provide their voice and perspective for key issues in education. Please share the newsletter with your parent community so they are enabled to provide their perspective on very important issues.

We hope you enjoy the information we share and that you are able to publish in your school newsletters or on your school website. Please share with parents and follow us on social media so you can access other information that is relevant to you.

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for reading and sharing our content and look forward to supporting you and the families in your school in 2023. Click to download the email update - CSPV Connect  Regards, Rachel Saliba

Project Compassion coming home this week

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allow Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to alleviate poverty, hunger, oppression and injustice. We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent through your prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion. 

Each family will receive a Project Compassion box for their donations or you can donate online via our website at lent.caritas.org.au Let’s Go Further, Together!  

For more information: https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion/

We are thrilled to be able to invite our school community to celebrate Harmony Day on Monday 20th March, 2023. 

Harmony Day is a day where we celebrate our cultural diversity, it is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. 

Students will work with the footsteps dance instructor from Melbourne at an allocated time during the school day to learn a cultural dance from another country.

Students and our St Patrick’s Community are then invited to come together for an evening celebration which will commence at approximately 5:00 pm followed by a community meal.

*Parents & Friends will be organising a casserole dinner, more details to come. 

Every Friday for Term 1 the Social Justice Team will be selling Zooper Doopers during lunchtime.  Zooper Doopers will be for sale for $1.00 each with all money raised going towards the St Vincent de Paul Sponsor a Student Program.                   Maryanne Comitti, Religious Education Leader 

Book Fair: 2023 Theme: Bookaneer, where books are the treasure.
During the day of Thursday March the 9th and Friday 10th of March our school will be hosting our yearly Book Fair. The school will receive a commission calculated according to the number of books sold.Each class will be given the opportunity to preview the books during Thursday the 9th and purchase during Friday the 10th.

Children are allowed to write down any book/s  they are interested in for parents/caregivers to consider. Parents/careers are welcome to come and browse during preview and buying times as well as before and after school on both days. Times will be given to each class when finalised.

Money can be sent to school in an envelope with the child/s name,class and book they wish to purchase correct money would be much appreciated. We understand that sometimes families are unable to purchase books from the fair, there are no expectations from the school for families to do so. We are hoping that we can have many of the books in our school library for everyone to enjoy.

If you would like to know more about the Book Fair please feel free to see Mrs Marnie Smith at school, many thanks. 

Congratulations to these students who are celebrating their birthday  this week:

Adalind Ratcliffe and Allyshia Bourke