Newsletter 2025/12 ~ 16 May 2025

As partners in Catholic Education and open to God’s presence, we pursue the fullness of life for all.

St. Patrick’s School is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all students.

St. Patrick's School is a child safe school.

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Victoria and pay respect to the ongoing living cultures of First Peoples. 

This newsletter comes to you from the lands of the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagalk Nations.

From the Principal

Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours.

Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassionately on this world.

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands.

Yours are the feet.

Yours are the eyes.

You are his body.

Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours.

Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassionately on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Amen.

St Teresa of Avila

RECENT & CURRENT EVENTS

Little Desert / West Wimmera Cross Country

Congratulations to our students who competed in the Cross Country in Kaniva on Monday.  Their results are shown in the table below.  The conditions were quite warm on Monday and the students certainly felt the heat! The first six finishers for Little Desert qualify for the next level.

Thank you to Mrs Bell for transporting the students to and from the event and for supporting them.

World Education Support Staff Day

Celebrating all Education Support Staff today - we value and depend upon their work and respect and appreciate them as colleagues. Education Support Staff perform critical roles in schools supporting teachers, assisting students and families.

Walk Safely to School Day - and every day

Now in its 26th year, National Walk Safely to School Day (WSTSD) is an annual campaign and event which encourages all primary school children, their parents and carers, to walk safely and regularly to school. 

It is important for children and young people to be active every day. Physical activity has many social, emotional, physical and mental health benefits. Walking to school is a great way to incorporate physical activity into a daily routine to support healthy development. Regular physical activity, especially walking, can improve self-esteem and confidence, help concentration and improve overall fitness. 

Encouraging kids to be active each day establishes good habits that can stay with them throughout their lives.

We strongly encourage families to talk to their children about road safety and model safe practices, including the use of pedestrian crossings and wearing helmets when riding bikes and scooters.

OBJECTIVES:  BETTER HEALTH  •  CLEANER AIR  •  REDUCED CAR-DEPENDENCY •  IMPROVED ROAD SAFETY  •  INCREASED USE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Until they're 10, children must always hold an adult's hand when crossing the road.

Project Compassion

Thank you to everyone who contributed to Project Compassion this year.  As a school community, we collected $432.55 which has been donated to Caritas Australia.

DOBCEL Strategy 2035

Staff attended a very informative and interactive day in Horsham on Wednesday.  DOBCEL Leadership, together with facilitators Pasi Sahlburg and David Runge, led us through the Executive Summary document DOBCEL Strategy 2035.

“We are blessed to have a good system of Catholic schools across the Diocese of Ballarat, led by skilled and committed Principals, teachers and staff, working in partnership with families, parishes and communities.

Building on these strong foundations, and a rich heritage, we must aspire to courageously imagine a new tomorrow for our system - to move from good to great.  As such, this strategy represents a pivotal moment for the DOBCEL community and marks an important phase in our ongoing development.

To realise our aspiration, it is imperative that the greatness existing in every person aligned with DOBCEL is unleashed.  It is by investing spiritually, emotionally, personally and financially in the social and human capital across our system that greatness will be enabled.”

Tom Sexton

Executive Director

As a school and as a Diocesesan system of Catholic schools, we will continue to unpack and further develop the strategy.  Through continued dialogue and reflection, we will continue to help shape a culture of collaboration that supports growth, innovation and shared purpose across our Diocese.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Catholic Education Week

Catholic Education Week 2025 will be celebrated from 26 – 30 May.  The theme for 2025 is: 'May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace.' (Romans 15:13)

Catholic Education Week is an annual opportunity for Catholic schools in the Diocese of Ballarat to celebrate our distinctive ethos and mission.  This year we will be joining with two other schools from within our Parish as we combine with St Mary’s, Warracknabeal, and Our Lady Help of Christians, Murtoa.  This will take place in Murtoa on Tuesday 27 May.  Students will celebrate Mass with Mons Glynn and then engage in activities with the students from the other two schools.  A BBQ lunch will be provided for the students before returning to school.  More information will be provided to families next week.

No Smoking / Vaping

Parents, carers, schools, and communities all play an important role in protecting children and young people from, and educating them about, the harmful effects of smoking and vaping.

Research from the Royal Children’s Hospital shows many parents and carers are not aware of the harmful effects or how their views about smoking and vaping can impact the likelihood of a young person taking up smoking or vaping.

The Department of Education has developed resources to help you learn more about the health risks of smoking and vaping. The resources include advice about how to talk to children and young people about vaping, and where to get support. To access the resources, go to the link below. 

You can also view this video (link below) on smoking and vaping from experts at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne for health advice and tips for starting a conversation with young people.

Our Josephite Heritage

The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, often called the "Josephites" or "Brown Joeys", were founded in Penola, South Australia, in 1866 by Mary MacKillop and the Rev. Julian Tenison Woods. In 1949, three Josephite sisters arrived in Nhill to open St Patrick’s School. In 1978, the Sisters of St Joseph informed the Nhill Parish that they would no longer be able to maintain their role within the school.

We endeavour to honour our Josephite heritage through the regular presentation of the Little Joey awards at our assemblies. In support of this we also include a reflection from Mary MacKillop on our newsletter each week.

By the Numbers

131 - The Bulldogs score against Port at Mars Stadium two weeks ago.

Classroom and Student News

Junior Class News

Dear Families,

We've had an exciting and productive week of learning in Foundation and Year 1! Here's a look at what your children have been working on in class:

Literacy – InitiaLit Program

Our Foundation students have been hard at work developing their early reading and writing skills. This week, they focused on reading and spelling the letters ‘h’ and ‘e’, working with CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, and continuing their practice with tricky words. The words we’re learning to read and recognise include: I, the, my, a, is, was, you, and to. These words help build confidence and fluency in both reading and writing.

Meanwhile, our Year 1 students have been building on their knowledge of adjectives, practising sentence writing, and exploring new spelling patterns, including the long ‘i’ sound (as in light and cry) and the ‘oo’ sound (as in blue and flew). They've also started learning about the suffix ‘s’ to make plurals – an important building block for grammar and writing!

Maths – Number Bonds and Partitioning

In numeracy, students have been developing a deep understanding of number bonds. Using colourful kinder circles and blocks, they explored all the different ways to make the number 5, placing blocks on their fingers in combinations such as 3 blue + 1 yellow + 1 red, or 2 yellow + 1 red + 1 blue + 1 green. Once they mastered number bonds for 5, they extended their thinking to numbers 6, 7, and 8—partitioning them into 2, 3, or even 4 parts.

Students recorded their combinations in their maths books using ‘+’ to represent ‘and’, laying a strong foundation for addition concepts and mathematical reasoning.

Science – Exploring How Colours Are Made

Our science focus this week was “How Colours Are Made”. Students investigated how primary colours mix to form secondary colours using food dye and water. They made predictions, observed closely, and recorded their findings with excitement as red and blue made purple, yellow and red made orange, and blue and yellow made green!

The children recorded their results on the “Colour My World” worksheet and thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with colour combinations. This lesson beautifully reinforced our previous learning about the properties of materials and sparked lots of curiosity and wonder.

Auslan – Expressing Emotions with Reasons

In Auslan this week, we have been focusing on – "and then I felt…"  Students are learning how to give reasons for emotions using Auslan sentence structure. Our learning intention is to be able to ask ‘why’ and give an answer. The success criteria: I can show a reason for how I am feeling. Through mirroring, storytelling, and role-play, students have been developing their ability to express emotions with context – an important skill for communication and empathy in both spoken and signed languages.

Thank you for supporting your child’s learning journey at home. Have a great weekend with your loved ones!

Warm regards,

Mrs. Kupper

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support SWPBS

Throughout the day, staff monitor for students demonstrating aspects of Respect, Responsibility
and Safety within our school. Students are issued a ticket to place in their classroom container. During assemblies, a draw takes place and those who have their ticket drawn out are invited to place a marble in their House container. The House with the most marbles at the end of each term will be rewarded.

Congratulations to all children who were recognised for their positive actions around the school. Students who were randomly drawn from the nominations for Respect, Responsibility and Safety, and have added tokens to their respective Houses' tallies, were Moe, Gu Thay Paw and Samual.

Little Joey Awards

We continue to acknowledge the significant role of the "Brown Joeys" in the establishment of St Patrick's School, and recognised Amity with a Little Joey award.

Our Little Joeys receive a certificate, sticker and a voucher/goods donated by a local business.  We are very grateful for the contributions from our local businesses. 

Reading Achievements

The following students were recognised for their reading achievements:

25 nights - Freddie

50 nights - Hannah E, Charlotte M, Stella, Meena, Rahitya, Sophia, George

100 nights - Tegan

School Advisory Council

Parent Representatives

• Clint Beattie
• Rebecca Curtis 
• Emily Gladdis
• Bonnie McEldrew
• Zanther McEldrew
• Ashleigh Meyer
  
• Courtney Taylor

Ex Officio

• Mons. Glynn Murphy - Parish Priest
• Kingsley Dalgleish - Principal

Dates

• Meeting - Tuesday 5 August 2025 5:30pm

Dates and Reminders

School Calendar

May

Wed 21 - National Simultaneous Storytime

M-F 26-30 - Catholic Education Week

Tue 27 - Excursion: Catholic Education Week Mass in Murtoa

June

Mon 9 - King's Birthday Public Holiday

July

Fri 4 - Last day Term 2 - dismissal time 2:15pm

Mon 21 - First day Term 3

St Patrick's Nhill

Church Times

11:00am Mass each Sunday

Our Mission

Child Safe Standards

School TV

Gender Diversity

Gender diversity recognises identities and expressions that exist beyond the traditional binary of male and female.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in these editions of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact your child's teacher or the principal for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Reminders

School Office Hours

• M 8:45am - 4:15pm
• T 8:45am - 4:30pm
• W 8:45am - 4:30pm
• T 8:45am - 4:30pm
• F 8:45am - 1:00pm

Parent Access Module PAM / SIMON Everywhere app

The Parent Access Module PAM (SIMON Everywhere app) is our "go-to" for all parent information. Download the SIMON Everywhere app from the app store on your mobile phone and login using your PAM credentials.

Simon Everywhere delivers instant notifications to parents' mobile phones, delivering the functionality of PAM in an easy to navigate app. We will use Simon Everywhere for all important notifications.  

You will be able to manage all your day-to-day school needs from Simon Everywhere, including:

• notify us of absences;
• view the school calendar;
• provide permission for student activities;
• update medical/contact information;
• view the lunch orders menu; 
• read the newsletter.

Please contact the office with any questions.

Student late arrival, early departure, temporary absence procedures

All student late arrivals, early departures or temporary absences must be recorded in the Passtab iPad located in the foyer.  Please ask office staff for assistance.

Lunch Orders

Lunch orders should be written onto an envelope with correct money sealed inside.  Please don’t use plastic bags or waxed bags.  The writing wipes off these and the staff at the bakery find it hard to read.

You can find the lunch orders menu in SIMON Everywhere  >Home, scroll down to >School Links

Bus notes

Parents of bus travelling students please note that Nhill College has requested that any changes to travel arrangements (e.g. if you are picking up your child after school) be notified before 3.00pm on that day.  

You can do this by -

• use the Bus Change Notification Form on their website (link below) - this is a quick and easy process on your mobile phone (hint: add this as a quick link on your phone's home screen)
  • we have put this link onto PAM (Simon Everywhere) >Home, scroll down to >Parent Links
• calling our school office 53911575
• sending an email to principal@spnhill.catholic.edu.au or krintoule@spnhill.catholic.edu.au

Remember to follow us on Facebook

Those who are on Facebook are encouraged to follow our page at St Patrick's School, Nhill.  'Like' our page, enjoy our posts, and share them with your friends.  Stay connected through our Social Media page.

What you need to know about COVID-19 in Victoria

Please visit the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Victoria website (link below) for all up-to-date information about the response to COVID-19.

• All staff, students and visitors to schools should undertake regular hand hygiene, particularly on arrival to school, before and after eating, after blowing their nose, coughing, sneezing or using the toilet.
• Hand sanitiser will continue to be available for staff, students and visitors.
• The most important action school communities can take to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 is to ensure that any unwell staff, parents/carers and students do not attend school sites, even with the mildest of symptoms, and get tested.

*Six simple steps to protect yourself and those most at risk

1. Wear a face mask
2. Take a test
3. Stay at home
4. Meet outdoors
5. Talk to your GP about COVID medications
6. Get vaccinated

*coronavirus.vic.gov.au

Concussion Protocol

Concussion is a serious situation and children, like adults, need time to rest and recover after receiving a concussion. Schools have obligations for understanding if activities need to be adapted for students recovering from concussion sustained outside of school.

Given the requirement to rest, recover and adapt activities it is important schools are made aware when a student receives a concussion outside of the school setting.

Concussion – Important information to be aware of

If your child has experienced concussion outside of the school setting it is important that they rest for a period of 24 to 48 hours and then gradually return to activities after this time. Returning to school can be a graduated approach with the aim of increasing tolerance to a full day, the same situation could occur with sporting activities. It is always important to check with your doctor and seek medical treatment after a child sustains a concussion.

It is important to inform the school if your child has sustained a concussion outside of school; this is to ensure the school can monitor your child’s wellbeing and adapt activities as required.

Links:

• Factsheet from the Royal Children’s Hospital is valuable to read and understand.
• There is also a great evidence-based app from the Murdoch children’s research institute that walks you through what to do in the result of a concussion.

Community News

Horsham Youth