Newsletter 10/02/2025: Term 1, Week 3

From the Principal

Dear St Patrick’s Community,

I thank you all for your support during our parent teacher interviews over the last two weeks. It has been excellent to see so many families in our school and our teachers have loved the opportunity to get to know more about your children.

Tomorrow we have a whole school closure as our staff will be participating in a professional development day at our school. We will be joined by schools from around our Ballarat Diocese to continue our learning on Structured Literacy. 

Our 3-6 students will continue their swimming lessons which will culminate in our swimming carnival next Wednesday. We look forward to seeing our 3-6 students in their house colours for the swimming carnival. As always, parents are welcome to come along and cheer on all the Year 3-6 students in their events, possibly even some teachers as they try to stay afloat. This invitation may be a great opportunity for parents with children in Year 2 as you will see all the fun and experience the school atmosphere which your child will experience in a year to come.

Our Beginning of the Year School Liturgy is on Friday 14th February, at St Patrick's Church, 11.30am. All families are invited to join together in celebrating our beautiful school and the new year. At this Mass we will honour our new Gr 6 student leaders. Hopefully we can see you there.

Mr Lloyd.

Week 3 Prayer

School Closure Day tomorrow

Tomorrow Tuesday the 11th of February is a school closure day for all students. 

Staff will be involved in a Professional Development Day focused on Structured Literacy. Our school will be hosting the day with school from across the Ballarat Diocese coming to attend the day. 

Bunnings BBQ Fundraiser

The P&F have locked in a date to host a BBQ fundraiser at Bunnings in Warrnambool. It is this Saturday, 15th of February 2025.  

The sausage sizzle will run from 9am - 4pm.

We still need more volunteers for this Saturday. If you could spare an hour or two to volunteer some time, please contact the office.

CATHOLIC SCHOOL CULTURE

Parish Bulletin

LEARNING AND TEACHING

Foundation Rest Days

Our foundation students will come to school this Wednesday (as tomorrow is a school closure day) We encourage families to take the opportunity to ensure this is a restful day for their children to avoid the physical demands of beginning school life. 

The foundation students have the remaining days off in term 1 as part of their transition to school:

Week 3 - Tuesday, 11th February 2025 (This is a whole school closure day and TheirCare will be available to be booked.)

Week 4 - Wednesday, 19th February 2025.

Week 5 - Wednesday, 26th February 2025

Week 6 - Wednesday, 5th March 2025

From Week 7 onwards foundation students will attend the whole week. 

Foundation Information Session

An information session for Foundation parents will be held next Tuesday the 18th February at 2.30pm.

Why do we have Parent Teacher Chats so early?

Parent Teacher Interviews in February are incredibly valuable for teachers and families for so many reasons. 

1. Better Understanding of the Child's Background: Parents, you have deep insights into your child’s personality, interests, strengths, and challenges. You can provide context that helps teachers understand how a child learns best, what motivates them, or what may be impacting their behavior or academic performance.
2. Building a Collaborative Relationship: We invite you to share your knowledge, because we value parent input and see parents as partners in the child’s education. This can lead to stronger, more positive relationships between the home and the school, benefiting the child.
3. Greater Support: Parents might be aware of challenges or concerns that the teacher hasn't noticed yet, like learning difficulties, social challenges, or family circumstances that could affect a child’s performance or emotional state. Early awareness can lead to timely support for all members of the family.
4. Creating a Personalised Learning Plan: Understanding your child’s likes, dislikes, hobbies, or struggles allows teachers to tailor lessons or strategies to better engage with your student. For example, if a child loves a particular subject or activity, incorporating that into lessons can foster greater enthusiasm and help your child to engage in learning.
5. Promoting Emotional Well-being: Children might act differently at school compared to at home. Parents, you can help teachers understand the emotional state or social dynamics your child might be navigating, which can help the teacher offer more emotional support or create a more welcoming classroom environment.
6. Strengthening Communication: Knowing that your child’s teacher is genuinely interested in understanding your child, it is important to keep communication open, whether it’s about successes or challenges. This ongoing dialogue can help create a support system that benefits your child.

Parents, we want you and your family to feel heard and understood. We invite you to engage in your child’s learning and education, fostering a positive and supportive learning environment for all.

Mr Lloyd.

PAM Accounts

Can all parents/guardians please log onto PAM and complete all the connect fields required for 2025 for your child/ren.

Grade 3-6 Swimming

This week (Week 3) swimming will be on Monday, Wednesday & Thursday.

Week 4 swimming will be on Monday & Tuesday with the Swimming Carnival to be held on Wednesday the 19th of February.

Please find the timetables below.

WELLBEING

LEADERSHIP AND STEWARDSHIP

Family Assistance Scheme

Family Assistance Scheme ~ are you eligible?

The Family Assistance Scheme introduced by the Catholic Diocese which reduces your Tuition fee to $520 will continue this year. To be eligible you must produce a Commonwealth Health Care Card to the office (which we are required to photocopy) and complete an application form. This needs to be done by Friday 28th of February at the latest as no late applications are accepted.

If you received this last year, we do not require to see your HCC again, your details will roll over.

Conveyance Allowance

There is funding available for families if you have to travel more than 4.8km to pick-up or drop off students at Contract or College Bus pick-up points. Parents should apply for the reimbursement applicable through the Private Car Conveyance Allowance Application.

Please contact the office if you think you may be eligible.

School Fees

Our preferred options for payment of school fees are an upfront payment or for families to set up a direct debit through the school.  Direct debits can be done weekly, fortnightly or monthly.  Please contact the office to arrange this.

School fees are payable by the end of October each year.

School Hat Reminder

This is a friendly reminder to send your child with their named school hat to school during Term 1 as the weather is warm and the children are not allowed outside without one.

Zooper Dooper Sales

Throughout Term 1 the Student Representative Council will be selling Zooper Doopers to raise money for the school.

These will only be sold at second lunch.

The cost will be 50 cents each.

Known Dates

Noone's Uniform

Noone's have stock of our new uniform available for purchase.

The shop is located in the Mercy Regional College building.

In Term 1 the uniform shop is open on the following days -

Monday 12.00pm - 4.00pm, Tuesday 8.00am - 12.00pm & Thursday 8.00am - 12.00pm

Canteen

The canteen will continue to be closed on a Monday this year.

The canteen will be open to students every Friday at first lunch.

We still strongly encourage parents & students to order lunch through the Spriggy app, however students will also be permitted to purchase extra snacks using cash each Friday during their break.

Please download the Spriggy App and make your orders through there. Please make sure that you choose the right classroom for your child/ren.

The menu for 2025 is below.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to the following students who will celebrate their birthday this week.

Coda A, Thomas G, Lewie W, Evelyn G & Damian M-M

TheirCare

Theircare has now commenced at St Patrick's School and it's not too late to enrol.

We are excited to announce that we have now partnered with an independent Outside of School Hours Care (OSHC) provider called TheirCare.

TheirCare provides a stimulating and safe environment for all children. During sessions, children develop life-skills, friendships, confidence, and creativity through play-based programs.

For further information, visit www.theircare.com.au or call our support office on 1300 072 410

Community Events

Thank you to the sponsors of our raffle!

Simpson Netball

NAB Bank