Newsletter 90 - March 30th 2023

Merciful God, as we enter Holy week, turn our hearts again to Jerusalem, and to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Stir up within us the gift of faith that we may not only praise him with our lips, but may follow him in the way of the cross. Amen

Palm Sunday is a Christian festival day.  It happens on a Sunday but the date each year changes.  It is a day to celebrate the day that Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem in Israel .

2023 SRC Reps

School Captains: Lolah Freeland and Jack Cameron 

Vice Captains: Molly Ratcliffe, Laila Gready, and Akuol Kur 

Class Representatives: 

Senior M: Greta Thomas and Jackson Notting 

Senior H: Monti Repper and Andy Papadolopus  

Middle B: Adi Ratcliffe and Akech Kur 

Middle C: Mia Bailey and Sophie O’Callaghan 

Junior F: Lexie Bailey, Arli Weary 

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 9: Junior R

Week 10: Senior M

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 Collaborative learning superpower. 

Collaborative:   

This week we will unpack the Collaborative superpower “Collaborative”

Research shows that educational experiences that are active, social, contextual, engaging, and student-owned lead to deeper learning. The benefits of collaborative learning include:

• Development of higher-level thinking, oral communication, self-management, and leadership skills.
• Promotion of student-faculty interaction.
• Increase in student retention, self-esteem, and responsibility.
• Exposure to and an increase in understanding of diverse perspectives.
• Preparation for real life social and employment situations.

There will be a meeting with Fr Andrew for the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation on Wednesday 3rd May, 2023 at 3.20pm or  5:00pm in the Middle/Senior hub. 

If your child completed their reconciliation last year you will need to come along to the meeting to check in regarding your child’s preparation readiness for Eucharist and Confirmation. 

Stations of the cross

You are invited to our Grade 6 presentation of the Stations of the Cross.

When: Next Thursday 6th April, 2023

Where:  School Hall 

Time: 1:50 pm sharp 

Next Thursday our school community is invited to watch the Stations of the Cross which will be performed by the Grade Six students.  

The Stations of the Cross is a form of prayer used traditionally in Lent. Each of the 14 Stations retells a part of Jesus’ Passion (his suffering and death) through images and words. These Stations of the Cross introduce children to Jesus’ Passion, breaking it down into stages that they can reflect upon and remember. The Stations are more than the retelling of a story: they are a prayerful participation in the event that lies at the heart of Christianity – Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. 

The stations of the cross and other acts of prayer forms were used as an imaginary pre print press to enable the ordinary person to reflect on their faith and life of Jesus. In the Stations of Cross we follow Jesus from his Judgment to his Resurrection. Some modern forms include the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

As this is a solemn reflection we ask that upon the conclusion of the Stations of the Cross families exit in a quiet respectful manner. 

When:  Next Thursday 6th April, 2023

Fundraiser:  Gold coin donation to Peru landslide victims and Turkey/Syria Earthquakes. 

Lunch:  The school will provide a free sausage sizzle for students lunch on the day. 

Turkey/Syria Earthquakes: 

• On February 6, 2023 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southeast Turkey near the Syrian border.
• On February 20, 2023, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Hatay province in southern Turkey, causing more damage 
• More than 850,000 children remain displaced in Turkey and Syria.
• Over 1.9 million people are seeking shelter in tents and temporary shelters in Turkey and 500,000 people in Syria are homeless.
• Even before this disaster, more than 6.5 million children in Syria needed humanitarian aid due to the ongoing conflict.
• The combined death toll has surpassed 46,000 in both countries, with many more injured.

Peru: 

Heavy rainfall has been affecting most of Peru since January 2023, causing floods, rivers to overflow and triggering landslides that have resulted in casualties and damage.  The Government has declared the state of emergency for 1,030 districts (54% of the total of districts across the country). 

Some of our students have been learning about Catholic Social Teaching and the reasons why Catholic Christians choose to support those in our communities who are not as fortunate as we are. Just like Jesus, we want to look after the poor, respect human dignity and work towards the common good. 

This is a social justice/Mini Vinnies St Patrick’s School initiative. 

Maryanne Comitti

Religious Education Leader 

St Patrick’s Parish mass times for Holy Week are as follows:  

Palm Sunday  2/04/23         10:30am  

Easter Sunday  8/04/23       10.30am

Please consider Ethical Easter egg purchasing:

Around 70% of the chocolate we consume comes from West Africa, where it's estimated that more than two million children and young people under the age of 18 work as labourers in cocoa harvesting. Some of these children are trafficked; many are working under harmful labor conditions. The cocoa they produce that ends up in the chocolate we eat.

Some suggestions for ethical chocolate brands following:

• Aldi's UTZ Certified Dairy Fine, Choceur, Moser Roth and Specially Selected Easter chocolate ranges.
• Chocolatier Australia's Fairtrade milk and dark chocolate 100g eggs, available through Coles, Woolworths, David Jones and other chocolate suppliers.
• Coles also has a range of branded UTZ, Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance-certified Easter chocolates.
• The Haigh's Chocolate-made Easter egg range is UTZ Certified.
• Devine chocolate eggs and bunnies are Fair Trade certified, and are available through IGA, other selected stores and online. 

You can find the Be Slavery Free Chocolate Scorecard here. The scorecard features most of your favourite brands and explains how they rate in several key areas including child labor, payment of a living income and the impact on climate. 

Chevy Hayes For being a sensational new member of our classroom. We are pleased that you’re a part of our school Chevy.

Mackenzie Stevenson  For the sensational work you're doing with sounding out words and putting them back together. Keep it up, I’m very proud of you.

Dixie Davenport For being a self-motivated learner, especially in writing.  You should be very proud of your poster on rabbits!

Mason Scott For showing resilience and having a go at all tasks, especially when completing number lines in maths.  Keep it up!

Mason Whitfield For being a self-motivated learner and seeking help and feedback when needed.

Emila Jones For being a collaborative member of our classroom and sharing your thoughts and ideas. You are a superstar.

Thomas Truong For showing great collaborative skills during Maths and volunteering your thoughts and answers. Well done.

Tamieka Austin For being a risk taker during our Writing lessons and demonstrating an understanding of different types of sentences.

Zarli Nicholson  For always being a self-motivated learner and being prepared to share your wonderful ideas with the class.

Texas Davenport For being a resilient learner and always trying your best in all areas of your learning. Keep it up!

Jack Sullivan For being a self-motivated learner by being prepared for lessons and willing to push yourself to achieve excellent learning outcomes.

Chloe Pearce For being such a hard working student who always displays an excellent work ethic and produces excellent work! Well done Chloe!

Greta Thomas For being a great leader in and out of the classroom, you are a wonderful role-model for your peers.

Emily Nutting For the amount of detail you put into your narrative piece of writing over the last few weeks. Well done Emily!

Congratulations to these students who celebrated their birthday  this week: 

Nasar Werry, Aaliyah Carlsen, Aiden Guerrero, Ethan Prydderch