Newsletter 98- June 15th 2023
Prayer of the Week:
God, Our Father, loving and merciful, bring together and keep all families in perfect unity of love and mutual support.
Instill in each member the spirit of understanding and affection for each other.
Keep quarrels and bitterness far from them, and for their occasional failures instill forgiveness and peace.
Instill in children self-respect that they may respect others and grow in mature independence.
May the mutual affection and respect of families be a sign of Christian life here and hereafter, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Principals Report:
Welcome
School Closure Day
On last Friday’s School Closure Day, the staff worked through the School Review process to set goals for future improvements for our school. The school improvement cycle is an ongoing five-year process with specific focuses each year as well as annual improvement goals.
This year St Patrick’s is in the final year of the cycle, which includes an external review from a panel made up of an independent chair who is a retired Catholic School Principal, staff from the Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited, and a Principal from another Catholic School in the region.
The school prepares a report for the panel with key school data and our achievements over the past five years as well as the areas of future improvement. The report is based on the aspects of the Characteristics of a Highly Effective Catholic School (CHECs) which are Vision and Mission; Catholic School Culture; Teaching and Learning; Wellbeing; Community Engagement; and Leadership and Stewardship.
The panel will spend two days at school in September where they will meet with students, staff, and families to validate the information in the report. At the conclusion of this process, the school will have three major improvement goals for the next five years.
As a parent, I know that school closure days can be a major inconvenience for families. The school is required to have at least four school closure days per year. Based on the feedback from the School Advisory Council, where possible the school has endeavoured to provide families with as much notice as possible and minimise the disruption to students learning.
New Principal Community Survey
Thank you to those parents who attended Tuesday’s New Principal Community Consultation session with Janet Claassen from the Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited. For those who were unable to attend, you are still able to have your input through the online survey.
Your feedback is important and will provide input to the interview questions and support the panel in the discernment process for the next Principal of St Patrick’s. The survey will close at 4:00 pm on Monday, June 19th, 2023.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdYMO6CrFdokJFCcrjtT_f6minFUTad82vgXZWZkQjjcNcbaw/viewform
With faith in our future
Chris McAloon
A word from the office:
Dear Parents & Guardians,
A couple of quick reminders in the lead up to the school holidays:
- If you are able to spare a few minutes to complete the New Principal Community Survey, please do so by Monday 19th June. Your feedback is important and will assist in the recruitment process. The survey link can be found in Chris's Principal's Report or in my Class Dojo post earlier in the week. If you are having trouble accessing the survey or would like the link emailed directly to you, please let me know.
- Positions for our 2024 Foundation Class are filling quickly and applications are due to close next week. If you or someone you know has a child due to commence school next year and you have not yet returned an application for enrolment, please contact the office for an enrolment pack. Enrolment interviews for Foundation 2024 will be conducted during the week of July 17th to 21st (Week 2 of Term 3).
- A reminder that Parent Teacher Interviews are happening on Tuesday 20th June and bookings can be made through SimonEverywhere (PAM). If you require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me in the office.
- If you are paying your school fees via installments per Term, please ensure your Term 2 payment is made prior to the commencement of the school holidays next week.
Thank you all for your ongoing support, enjoy the break!
Kind regards,
Anna Wadge Business Manager
Wellbeing:
Peaceful Kids
Mindfulness & Positive Psychology Program
The 'Peaceful Kids' program is a Mindfulness and Positive Psychology based program to lessen anxiety and stress and increase resilience in children. This program helps children to build their emotional resilience so they are better equipped to deal with the day to day stresses that life brings them. The Peaceful Kids program can be run in schools, organisations, hospitals and in private practice by teachers, wellbeing leaders, counsellors, psychologists, school nurses, chaplains, social workers and wellbeing practitioners.
Technology is hard to escape in this fast-paced world and it seems it’s having an affect on our parenting.
A new report has shown parents who rely heavier on technology cannot engage with their children when it comes to using their imagination.
Counsellor and psychotherapist Georgina Manning joins John Stanley to talk about the short and long term effects this has on our children and how parents can unlock their imagination once again
Teaching and Learning:
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.
Week 8: 16th June Junior F Week 9: 23rd June Foundation
School Uniform
Why do we ask students to wear a school uniform?
Wearing a school uniform has many benefits and reasons:
It promotes a sense of equality among students. When everyone wears the same uniform it creates a more inclusive environment.
- Wearing our school uniform fosters a spirit of community and belonging.
- Students are less likely to become distracted and be subject to peer pressure related to the clothes they wear.
- School uniforms make it easier to identify students when we are in an outside environment.
- Wearing a school uniform instills a sense of discipline and professionalism. It prepares our students for future endeavors where adhering to a dress code is required.
A reminder that school socks are plain white for girls and plain grey for boys. On sports days plain white socks. Please note there is to be no visible branding on socks. Also, students are not permitted to wear nail polish or make up while at school as per the uniform policy. Thankyou for your continued support in making this school one we can all be proud to be a part of.
*Please remember that we do have our school uniform bank if you need help with correct uniforms.
Reports:
As another Semester draws to a close and reports are sent home it is really important that we remember to look at the big picture and recognise our students will always be more than a report dot. As a staff we pride ourselves on striving for academic success in each and everyone of our students. However, equally at St Patrick’s we believe in a holistic approach to educating our students. We emphasise that we teach development in our students mind, body and soul. While the dot/grade on your student report will show an academic measure it will never tell the full story of a student. We encourage you to have a conversation with your child not only about their academic results but also their personal growth, character development, effort and engagement, creative thinking and their ability to communicate, to name a few.
At St Patrick’s we value our partnerships with our families and acknowledge that together we nurture our children/students to become lifelong learners and wonderful citizens of our world.
Parent teacher interviews
Parent Teacher Interviews will take place on Tuesday 20th June, 2023. Interviews will start from 3:30pm, please login to SIMON/PAM to book your time.
Parent-teacher interviews provide an excellent opportunity for parents and teachers to come together and discuss a student's progress, strengths, areas for improvement, and any concerns. These meetings foster open communication and collaboration to support the child's educational journey.
Junior F:
Reading/InitaLit: Johanna, Arli
We have been learning about questioning to help us with comprehension. We have learnt question words to help us, they are Who, What, Why, When, How, Where and I wonder. We read about starfish and we made questions that we were curious about before we read the text and during reading.
Writing: Alivia, Lexie
We have been writing an informative text about starfish. We have been researching about starfish and finding interesting facts about them.
Maths: Marianne, Emila, Henry
In Maths we have been learning about addition, shapes, subtraction and drawing quadrilaterals.
Religion: Mac, Isaac
We have been learning about love. We learnt about love for creation, love for ourselves and love for God. We drew pictures that we think show love.
Art: Daniella, Jack, Edwina
We have been learning about symmetry and the line of symmetry. We drew a picture of a pizza.
Sport: Oscar, Mason
We have been learning how to play soccer. We got to make up our own rules for one game.
Chinese: Curtis, Lucas, Edie
In chinese we have been learning new words. The new words we have learned are
Teacher is Lǎoshī Student is Xuéshēng Listen is Tīng Look is Kàn
Structured Literacy - School closure day - Friday 28th August, 2023
All staff will be traveling to Ballarat to St Francis Xavier School to join with other schools in our Diocese who are also studying the Structured Literacy Approach.
At the start of the year St Patrick’s commenced our journey as part of the SunLit Project which is a Diocese led Structured Literacy Professional Development Project. We are currently developing a Scope and Sequence (what is to be taught and how we teach it) for the whole school aligning Science of reading evidence with students expectations at each grade level. This Scope and Sequence will provide a sustainable and school-wide improvement to our literacy instruction. Moving into 2024 we will continue to embed effective evidence based literacy practices across our school to ensure high literacy expectations and outcomes for all students.
Maryanne Comitti
Teaching and Learning Leader
* With the sniffles well and truly here can each family please provide a box of tissues to help our students stay safe. Thank you
Students of the week:
Mia Ampt - For the brilliant work you’re doing with your sentences. Keep up the great work Mia, I’m very proud of your achievements.
Harry Devery - For the resilience and perseverance you've shown towards improving your writing skills. Keep up the wonderful work Harry.
Bonnie Wickham - For your 'Never Give Up' attitude towards towards your work. You work hard and always try your best. Keep it up!
Beau Cullen - For always using your Learning Superpowers in the classroom. You give everything a go and ask questions. Keep up the hard work!
Marianne Duxson - For always being the best learner that you can be and the success you have had with recent assessments. We are very lucky to have you in our classroom.
Curtis Calantog - For being such a resilient learner and always completing learning tasks with a growth mindset.
Tamieka Austin - For being such a self motivated learner and working hard to improve your reading skills and strategies.
Adi Ratcliffe - For the amazing efforts you put into all your writing pieces, especially your information text on Zebras. Well done!
Brooke Lin - For being a resilient learner and taking on feedback to make your Dreamtime-Inspired Story more detailed. Great Work!
Mia Bailey - For always demonstrating a great attitude towards your learning and setting a great example for your classmates. Keep it up!
Catherine Fulton - For always being a persistent learner, particularly in your writing this week. Well done Catherine!
Jayde Lowe - For all of the hard work and persistence you have shown in your learning, particularly in reading. Well done Jayde!
Laila Gready - For continuing to achieve fantastic results in your Maths assessments. Well done Laila!
Maddox Austin - For the amazing results you have achieved in your recent Fountas & Pinnell reading assessments.
Mary McKillop 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.
"When I could not see my way God kept my heart full of trust to make all come right". Saint Mary McKillop
This weeks award recipient is Maddox.
For the compassion he showed a friend who was having a hard day. Thank you
Living in Faith:
Sacrament News: Please keep our children (below) who are preparing for their Sacrament of Reconciliation, which will take place on Wednesday 21st June, 2023. 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.
Parents and Friends News:
Winter Sports-
Firstly, we thank all the people who have put up their hands to help for the Winter Sports, on all 3 occasions. We acknowledge everyone who has taken a day off work or rescheduled other activities to assist the Parents and Friends to run not just one but two canteens today.
Year to date, this is our biggest “outside of school” fundraiser event and the school community support has been fantastic, showing the ability to be flexible with the 2 postponements due to bad weather.
We also thank the various businesses for helping us to cater for this event, namely Halls Gap Bakery, Waacks Bakery and Stawell IGA. Plus our very generous St Pat’s community for slices and soup. It doesn't happen without you all.
Today was a successful day and we hope all the students enjoyed their day.
Birthdays:
Congratulations to these students who have celebrated their birthday this week: Savannah, Scarlett and Oliver P
Parish news:
Mass Times:
Ararat Sunday 8.30am
Stawell Sunday 10.30am
Lake Bolac 1st, 3rd, 5th Sundays 6.30pm Vigil Sat
Landsborough 2nd, 4th Sundays 12.30pm
Glenthompson (Hamilton Parish) 2nd, 4th Sundays 8.30am
Please follow us on instagram; stpatsstawell
Around Our Community:
St. Pat’s Op Shop is quite low on children’s clothes for sale at the shop!
If anyone has any children’s clothes to donate they would be much appreciated. The shop is located at 164-166 Main Street Stawell and is open from 10.30am until 4.00 pm each week day and from 10am until 1.00pm on Saturdays. Donations can be left at the shop or in the blue bin at the back of the shop.
What is on at the Horsham Town Hall:
https://www.horshamtownhall.com.au/exhibitions-whats-on/horsham-regional-art-gallery/exhibitions/
https://www.horshamtownhall.com.au/
Upcoming Events:
Our Vision and Mission:
Vision Statement
St Patrick's School is a community which reflects and celebrates Christ as its centre point:
- By honoring our story we value our whole community.
- By coming together our vision is for a loving, just, compassionate and tolerant world.
Mission Statement
In the tradition of St Patrick, we are committed to:
- Promoting and celebrating a love of God, self and community.
- Recognizing and enhancing the talents and uniqueness of each person through our vision of Prayer, Care and Learning.
PRAYER We nurture and grow our relationship with God as members of a faith community.
CARE We foster recognition of difference, compassion for others and the strength to act on our beliefs.
LEARNING We develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills essential to reaching our full potential as life- long learners.