Newsletter 87 - March 9th 2023
Prayer of the Week:
A prayer for Lent: Invite Us Deeper
Almighty and ever living God, you invite us deeper into your world, your people, your Lent. May this time be one of outward focus; seeking you in those we often ignore. Help us live a Lent focused on freedom, generosity, and encounter. Give us hearts hungry to serve you and those who need what we have to give.
Amen
Principal's Report:
Welcome,
NAPLAN
Next week our students in Years 3 and 5 will undertake the annual NAPLAN assessments. Many will ask what exactly are NAPLAN assessments and what is their purpose? NAPLAN stands for National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy. It is a series of standardized tests that are administered to Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. The purpose of NAPLAN is to assess and report on the literacy and numeracy skills of students in Australia and to provide a snapshot of student performance across the country.
NAPLAN tests assess students' abilities in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar, and punctuation), and numeracy. The tests are designed to measure student achievement against national standards and to provide information to students, parents, teachers, and schools about individual student performance and areas for improvement.
The results of NAPLAN tests are used by schools and education authorities to identify areas of strength and weakness in their teaching programs and to develop strategies to improve student learning outcomes. The results are also used to inform policy development and decision-making in education at the national level. However, it's important to note that NAPLAN results are just one measure of student achievement and should be used in conjunction with other sources of information to assess student progress and inform teaching and learning strategies.
We know that all children have their own unique gifts and talents. To quote the words of Albert Einstein: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
Lenten Reflection
As we continue the season of Lent, it is important to take time to reflect on the significance of this season in our lives. Lent is a time of preparation, sacrifice, and self-examination as we prepare ourselves for the celebration of Easter.
During this season, we are called to give up something that is important to us as a way of recognising the sacrifices that Jesus made for us. This act of sacrifice reminds us that we are not just individuals living for ourselves, but that we are part of a larger community that needs our support and sacrifice.
As we reflect on this season, it is important to remember that Lent is not just about giving something up, but it is also about taking something on. We can use this time to deepen our faith, strengthen our relationships with others, and give back to those in need.
Let us take this Lenten season as an opportunity to grow in our faith and in our relationships with others. Let us support each other and remember that we are all part of a larger community that is striving to live in love, kindness, and compassion.
With Faith in our Future
Chris McAloon
A word from the office:
*School Photos - Tuesday 4th April 2023
Book in your haircuts! We've locked in MSP Photography Ballarat once again to provide our school photos, on Tuesday 4th April 2023.
MSP Photo Envelopes have been sent home with every student today - please check your child's bag/s. These envelopes are individually named and include an MSP 'Shoot Key' unique to each student - you will need this shoot key when placing your order.
*Anyone wishing to order a sibling group portrait (including families who qualify for a free sibling group portrait) will need to collect a Family Envelope from the school office.
Photos can be ordered via the MSP website - please follow the instructions on the MSP envelope. Any questions regarding your order or products etc should be directed to MSP - Phone 5333 5577.
To ensure the day runs smoothly, please:
- Have your order finalised prior to photo day
- Return your completed MSP envelope/s to the school office ASAP (prior to photo day please so we don't need to go hunting through bags on photo day)
- Ensure your child is at school by 8.45am on photo day
School photo day can be a little hectic and the photographers are running to a tight schedule so your assistance with this is very much appreciated.
Kind regards, Anna Wadge Business Manager
Wellbeing:
PURPLE DAY – 26 MARCH
Purple Day is a global initiative dedicated to raising epilepsy awareness, dispelling myths, and increasing support for people living with epilepsy. Founded in 2008 by nine-year-old Cassidy Megan of Nova Scotia, Canada, the Purple Day concept was born out of Cassidy’s own struggles with epilepsy, her motivation to get people talking about the condition, and her desire to let those impacted by seizures know that they are not alone. Cassidy named the day ‘Purple Day’ after the internationally recognised colour for epilepsy, lavender.
Since that time, Purple Day has grown into a much loved and supported national awareness day with thousands of people across Australia rallying their private, academic, and corporate communities to raise much needed awareness and funds to provide services for more than 250,000 Australians currently living with epilepsy.
Find more information at the link below: Epilepsy Action Australia
Thank you, Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinator - Lillie Comitti
Teaching and Learning:
Middle B:
Over the past few weeks we have been focusing on developing our understanding of sentences so that we can improve our writing skills.
Before Writing:
We started by activating our background knowledge around floods. We watched videos, looked at images and discussed our own and others experiences before responding using art.
Read & Respond:
We took all our knowledge and understanding of floods and created a ‘flood’ picture. Then as a class we read the book ‘Flood’ written by Jackie French and illustrated by Bruce Whatley. Next, we worked with Mrs Cox-Hayward to colour our pictures using water colours. We used water colours because the illustrator of the book ‘Flood’ used watercolours too.
Identifying & Transforming:
Miss Bonney chose a passage from the book ‘Flood’ for us to explore in depth. We had to identify the parts of the sentence and its punctuation together as a class. We used different colours to identify nouns, verbs, adjectives and phrases. Our next activity was to take the original passage from the book and transform it into a new passage around the theme 'Flood', but it still had to make sense. We all did really well with this skill and Mrs Howard, Mrs Evans and Miss Bonney were impressed with our new sentences.
Patterned Writing:
Next, we looked at patterned writing. We identified the writing pattern (word types and punctuation) the author used in her writing and tried to copy the pattern but using our own words. We did two activities with patterned writing and ended up with some very creative sentences!
Stories:
We now had to transfer everything we had learnt and incorporate it into a story. We used our pattern writing from our second activity to help us with this.
Please click on the photos below to have a closer look at the students learning.
See you at Assembly tomorrow 2:50pm
Middle 3/4 B
School Assemblies:
It is fantastic to have our Friday school assemblies happening. 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.
Week 6: Middle B
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 7:
Thursday 9/03/23 - 17/03/23 Miss Kerrie Ryan Long Service Leave
Tuesday 14/03/23 Mr Chris McAloon & Ms Maryanne Comitti Structured Literacy V/C
On Friday 3rd March our whole school teaching staff continued our Visible Learning journey.
Areas of focus:
St Patrick’s Primary School Learning Super powers St Patrick's Learner Superpowers please click for further details.
These are qualities that successful learners use in their everyday life: self - motivated, curious, resilient, collaborative, risk-taker. We have been focussing on these qualities throughout the term and will continue to reinforce and apply these skills in the classroom and in everyday life.
We are committed to ensuring that our whole school community has an understanding of what each super power means. This week we will unpack our Self-motivated learning superpower.
Self-motivation is the force that drives you to do things and is a result of several factors.
The ability to motivate yourself—self-motivation—is an important skill. Self-motivation drives people to keep going even in the face of set-backs, to take up opportunities, and to show commitment to what they want to achieve.
There are two types of mindset, fixed and growth:
- Those with a fixed mindset believe that talent is ingrained, and that we cannot change our level of ability.
- Those with a growth mindset believe that they can improve their skills through hard work and effort.
Research shows that those who believe that they can improve—that is, who have a growth mindset—are far more likely to achieve in whatever area they choose. A growth mindset is therefore an important element in a personal drive to succeed.
Naplan
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2019 for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students will be held on 15th - 17th of March, 2023. NAPLAN tests assess student knowledge and skills in Writing, Reading, Language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy.
Teachers will ensure that students are familiar with the test formats. Excessive preparation is not useful and can lead to unnecessary anxiety. At St Patrick’s we view this testing as an additional piece of information about a student’s learning. It should not be viewed in isolation and does not provide a thorough or detailed account of a child’s abilities. We aim to help students be as relaxed as possible and to view the NAPLAN testing as part of learning rather than fixating on the results.
CHOOKS:
This week we welcomed three new chickens to our Chook Pen. The chickens have kindly been lent to us by Bonnie Wickham (Grade 1) and her family. On Tuesday Bonnie and her mum, Lou, delivered No Neck, White Tail and Chicky to their new home. The Grade 1 students were very excited to learn about how to care for a chicken and we watched them play and dig around when they were released.
Book Fair: 2023 Theme: Bookaneer, where books are the treasure.
Today and tomorrow 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 are below for each class.
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.
Thursday 9th March Preview times:
9-9:30am Foundation
10-10:30am Senior H
10:30-11am Senior M
11:30-12noon Middle B
12-12:30 Middle C
12:30-1pm Junior F
1-1:20 Junior R
Friday 10th March buying times:
9-9:30am Foundation
9:30-10am Middle B
10-10:30am Senior H
10:30-11am Senior M
11:30-12 noon Junior R
12-12:30 Junior F
12:30-1pm Middle C
If you would like to know more about the Book Fair please feel free to see Mrs Marnie Smith at school, many thanks.
Swimming Sports:
On the 24th February, students from Grades 3 - 6 participated in our school swimming carnival in beautiful conditions at the Stawell Sports and Aquatic Centre. It was great to see so many smiles as students encouraged others, displayed amazing sportspersonship and gave their all in four individual events, a house relay and the most important event of the day, the annual parent/teacher versus student race, which was a nail biter between Mr Mac and Maddi. Although not participating in any events, our junior students were also able to enjoy the atmosphere and have a sausage sizzle while watching the final few events. A big thank you to all those who attended the day to support the students and those who assisted on the day whether it was scoring, timing, handing out place-getter cards or helping the P&F with the BBQ.
House Results:
1st place: Barrett - 457 points
Equal 2nd place: Mackillop & Joseph - 398 points
*Awards will be presented at next Fridays assembly - 17th March
Individual Results:
12 & Over Girls:
Champion: Maddison Prydderch
Runners Up: Molly Ratcliffe
Sportsperson Award: Catherine Fulton
12 & Over Boys
Equal Champions: Ethan Jones & Callum Reading
Runners Up: Edward Redford
Sportsperson Award: Jobe Allen
11 year Old Girls
Champion: Milla Woolley
Runners Up: Greta Thomas
Sportsperson Award: Ally Smith
11 Year Old Boys
Equal Champions: Archie MacPherson & Jackson Notting
Runners Up: Jack Sullivan
Sportsperson Award: Andy Papadopoulos
10 Year Old Girls
Champion: Mia Bailey
Runners Up: Adalind Ratcliffe
Sportsperson Award: Eleanor Erwin
10 Year Old Boys
Champion: Ethan Prydderch
Runners Up: William Lasslett
Sportsperson Award: Kobe Power
9 Year Old Girls
Champion: Sophie O’Callaghan
Runners Up: Lily Sanderson
Sportsperson Award: Akech Kur
9 Year Old Boys
Champion: Tanner Freeland
Runners Up: Fletcher Thomas
Sportsperson Award: Oliver Sutherland
Living in Faith:
Give generously to Project Compassion
In every classroom, in the office area and each family will have been sent home a Project Compassion money box from Caritas that we have made available for monetary donations. We encourage students to think of those in need and donate when and if they can.
Spanning across the four weeks of Lent, Project Compassion brings thousands of schools, parishes and supporters together to raise funds for the most marginalised communities around the world.
This year's theme of Project Compassion is ‘For All Future Generations’, and reminds us that the good we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come. It is also a call for all of us to play our part in making the world a better place by working together as sisters and brothers in finding long-term solutions to global issues.
To learn how to make a real difference visit Caritas Australia website.
A quote from Pope Francis:
"Love and charity, are service, helping others, serving others. There are many people who spend their lives in this way, in the service of others. … When you forget yourself and think of others, this is love!
St Patrick's Day Liturgy:
Students will be gathering in our school hall for a St Patrick’s day liturgy next Friday 17th March, 2023. All our community are welcome to come along. After our liturgy we will have lunch as a whole school on “Paddy’s Paddock” (school oval).
Children are encouraged to wear green for the day.
Who was St Patrick?
Although many think of Ireland when we talk about St. Patrick, he was actually born in Britain in the 5th century.
He was snatched by Pirates, thrown in a ship, bound in chains, and taken over the sea to Ireland. He was sixteen years old. For six years, Patrick was a slave in Ireland. He was put to work watching sheep and cattle.
During those years, Patrick started to pray. He thought about God all the time, and it gave him peace of mind. He knew that no matter how much he was suffering, God loved him.
Eventually, Patrick escaped from slavery and traveled to France. He then returned to Ireland and spent his life as a Christian missionary credited with converting Ireland to Christianity in the AD 400s.
His real name is believed to be Maewyn Succat and he took on the name Patrick upon becoming a priest.
Maryanne Comitti
Religious Education Leader
We are thrilled to be able to invite our school community to celebrate Harmony Day on Monday 20th March, 2023.
The school children will perform a dance and then we will all join together for an International Feast.
As this is our biggest community event of the year and we are back to catering for this event, could you please help us with RSVP to the office by Friday 17th March, 2023.
Children are encouraged to wear orange the colour of Harmony Day.
Orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Week. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.
The school children will perform a dance and then we will all join together for an International Feast. The Parents and Friends committee kindly ask all our families to provide a casserole we encourage you to bring along a casserole that represents a different nationality to share with our school community. If you are unable to provide a casserole, but would like to enjoy a shared dinner the cost will be $5 per person. All dishes supplied will need to have a list of ingredients please.
It is MacKillop House P&F that are coordinating this evening, if your child is in MacKillop House, could you also please complete the appropriate section of the form that went home this week.
Any questions to MacKillop parent coordinators
Kate Field 0439 479 994 or Melissa Sutherland 0417 448 569.
Catholic School Parents Australia is seeking nominations for a parent of a child in a Catholic school to hold the position of Independent Chairperson. The successful applicant requirement is for a parent of children who are currently enrolled in a Catholic primary, secondary or special school.
Catholic School Parents Australia is recognised as the national body representing and advocating for the parents* of over 785,585 children and young people who attend the 1755 Catholic schools across Australia. CSPA works in collaboration and consultation with the National Catholic Education Commission and is recognised by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference through the Bishops Commission for Catholic Education. *Parent includes natural, adopted or foster parents, guardians or care givers of young people attending Catholic Schools.
A full description of the role and responsibilities of Chairperson for Catholic School Parents Victoria is attached below for further information.
Please contact Victorian Representative, Rachel Saliba (CSPV Executive Officer) with your expression of interest or for recommendations for this position email: executive@cspv.catholic.edu.au
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.
Please follow us on instagram; stpatsstawell
Parents and Friends News:
Harmony Day: Is fast approaching and MacKillop House P&F are coordinating Harmony Day/evening, if your child is in MacKillop House, could you please complete the appropriate section of the form that went home this week.
Any questions to MacKillop parent coordinators:
Kate Field 0439 479 994 or Melissa Sutherland 0417 448 569.
Thank you - Parents & Friends Committee
Students of the week:
Harry Devery - For being a curious and dedicated learner. I’m very proud of you Harry, keep up the sensational work!
Evelyn Christie - For displaying the attributes of a successful and independent learner in all learning areas. Keep up the brilliant work Evelyn!
David Duxson - For using all of your Learning Super Powers in class. You are a wonderful learner. Keep it up!
Khoor Kur - For taking risks in your learning and trying new tasks on your own. I am so proud of you!
Arli Werry - For being such a kind, helpful and collaborative member of our class. Well done Arli!
Lexie Bailey - For being a self motivated learner and always trying to do your very best work. Well done Lexie!
Lily Sanderson - For challenging yourself as a learner in Maths and achieving a perfect score on your Module One Check Up!
Beverly Parkin-Alamo - For accepting feedback and using it to enhance your wonderful narrative writing piece.
Luke Fulton - For being a self-motivated learner in all aspects of your learning and for always contributing your ideas during class discussions.
Brooke Lin - For being a resilient learner and overcoming your nerves during our swimming sessions over the last three weeks.
Charlie Sullivan - For working so hard during our persuasive writing and being resilient when parts became hard. Your end piece of writing was impressive!
Kobe Power - For tackling learning tasks with determination and persistennce! Keep it up Kobe!
Aiden Guerrero - For achieving a perfect result in your Module 1 Stepping Stones check-up. Keep striving to achieve your goals Aiden!
Milla Mitchell - For your oustanding result in your recent Module 1 Stepping Stones check-up. Keep challenging yourself as a learner Milla!
Mary Mackillop Award:
Mary MacKillop lived a life dedicated to her faith and serving the needs of others. Wherever and however she could, Mary MacKillop did everything possible to improve the lives of others. This award acknowledges the thoughtful actions of the students at St Patrick’s to help others.
This weeks award recipient is Greta . For assisting another student during swimming. Well done.
Birthdays:
Congratulations to these students who celebrated their birthday this week:
Evelyn Christie, Vibeesh Ranjay, Mia Bailey, Akech Kur
Around Our Community:
GLENORCHY SMALL HALLS MUSIC FESTIVAL:
The acts/artists are two folk contemporary groups that play at Port Fairy Folk Festival and then tour 20 small halls in Victoria
Saturday 1st April
Tickets $20 Under 12s are free
Valhalla BBQ selling food
Supported by NGSC with funding due to the Glenorchy Floods
Link for date and details and tickets
https://festivalofsmallhalls.
or
https://smallhalls.iwannaticket.com.au/event/festival-of-smalls-halls-autumn-2023-port-fairy-folk-festival-and-regional-victoria-Mj
Upcoming Events:
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.