Newsletter 2022/12 ~ 6 May 2022

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.

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

A Mother's Love

A Mother's Love is something that no one can explain.

It is made of deep devotion and of sacrifice and pain.

It is endless and unselfish

and enduring come what may,

for nothing can destroy it or take that love away.

It is patient and forgiving

when all others are forsaking,

and it never fails or falters

even though the heart is breaking.

It believes beyond beliving

when the world around condemns,

and it glows with all the beauty

of the rarest, brightest gems.

It is far beyond defining, it defies all explanation,

and it still remains a secret like the mysteries of creation.

A many spendour miracle man cannot understand

and another wondrous evidence of God's tender guiding hand.

Happy Mother's Day!!

On behalf of the staff of St Patrick’s School, I take this opportunity to wish all mothers a very happy ‘Mother’s Day’ for this Sunday.

It was pleasing to see a great number of our mums, grandmas, aunts, and other special ‘mother-like’ friends be able to join us yesterday for our Mother’s Day activities and afternoon tea.

Despite the cool weather, everyone appeared to have fun with their children as they joined in the various activities and games, looked over what was happening in the classrooms, and then enjoyed the assembly with their afternoon tea.

All of our guests received a free raffle ticket for the opportunity to take home one of our many donated prizes which included a sewing table, coffee pot and personal care products.

We thank you all for joining us and trust that you had as much fun and enjoyment as we did hosting you.

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RECENT EVENTS

Athletics

Our Years 3-6 students competed at the Nhill College Athletics Sports Carnival on Monday and returned with some very good results. Our group of 19 students managed to collect 14 First placings, 8 Second placings and 8 Third placings - an outstanding achievement.  Competing as a ‘House’ against the College’s three Houses, St Patrick’s finished third overall and only three points off second.

Congratulations to the following students who achieved ribbons in individual events:

• Marnie - 4 Firsts, 1 Second
• Daniel - 3 Firsts, 1 Second, 1 Third
• Sophie - 2 Firsts, 2 Thirds
• Ben - 1 First, 2 Seconds, 3 Thirds
• Sienna - 2 Firsts
• Jack C - 1 First
• Kelsey - 1 Second
• Stella - 1 Second
• Kaw Mu - 1 Second
• AJ - 1 Second
• Georgia - 1 Third
  

The 10 Yr Relay team came First and our Under 13 team came Third.

Congratulations also to Marnie and Daniel who were both named 9 Years Age Champions and to Sienna who set a new record in the Discus.

School Advisory Council Meeting

At our School Advisory Council meeting we discussed the possibility of having some cubby houses around the school yard for the children to play in or to use as shops or whatever else their imaginations may come up with.  We would love to hear from any families who have outgrown their cubby houses and may be willing to donate them to our school.  If you feel that you may be able to assist with this project, please feel free to contact me at school to discuss further.

Kit Andrews visit

This week our senior class had a visit from Melbourne-based, self-taught artist, Kit Andrews.

ln 2018, Kit completed his PhD with the School of Education at RMIT University on the subject of education in Myanmar.  As part of his research Kit visited Myanmar several times during the period between 2012 and 2018.

Kit's pastels and paintings, drawn largely from photographs and quick sketches done in the early mornings during walks around the streets of Yangon, reflect some of the bustling activity and openness that was symptomatic of those years.

Many of Kit's illustrations adopt a perspective from behind the subject, thereby seeing what they see, and going on a journey with them, rather than perpetuating a sense of confrontation. This is a way of seeking understanding of others.

Aware of the story of the Karen and their journey to Nhill, Kit is displaying his collection of Yangon sketches and paintings at Gallery Central, and is offering the net proceeds from any sales in support of the local Karen community and their families and networks struggling for peace, a voice and prosperity in their homelands of Myanmar.

UPCOMING EVENTS

NAPLAN

Students in Years 3 and 5 will participate in National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing next Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and the following Tuesday.  NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills across four tests - Language Conventions, Writing, Reading, and Numeracy.  The NAPLAN results will be sent to the school and parents later in the year. 

I recently read a letter sent by a school principal to all the students in his school, as they received their state standardised testing scores, and I want to share it with you. It reminds us that our children are much more than their NAPLAN scores and that one test does not tell us everything about them as individuals or, indeed, as learners.

"We are concerned that these tests do not always assess all of what it is that makes each of you special and unique. The people who create these tests and score them do not know each of you - the way your teachers do, the way I do, and certainly not the way your families do. They do not know that many of you speak two languages. They do not know that you can play a musical instrument or that you can dance or paint a picture. They do not know that your friends count on you to be there for them or that your laughter can brighten the dreariest day. They do not know that you write poetry or songs, play or participate in sports, wonder about the future, or that sometimes you take care of your little brother or sister after school. They do not know that you have travelled to a really neat place or that you know how to tell a great story or that you really love spending time with special family members and friends. They do not know that you can be trustworthy, kind or thoughtful, and that you try, every day, to be your very best ... the scores you get will tell you something, but they will not tell you everything. There are many ways of being smart." 

It is with these thoughts that I wish our students the very best in their assessment and remind them that we are very proud of them.

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea

St Patrick’s School is once again supporting Cancer Council’s Biggest Morning Tea.  Details will follow in the near future of what is being planned for the day which, for us, will coincide with the National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday 25 May.

If people would like to donate to Cancer Council’s fundraising efforts, you may do so via this link.

Cross Country

Following their achievements at the Nhill Cross Country late last term, four students will represent our school at the Little Desert Cross Country Championships in Kaniva on Monday.  We wish Stella, Sophie, Lexi and Riley well for this next stage of competition.

CDF Online Banking Platform Upgrades Coming Soon

Our school uses the Catholic Development Fund (CDF) for all banking requirements. CDF will soon be making some important changes to the CDF Online platform.  This may affect families in the following circumstance -

• Currently if a Direct Debit falls on a weekend or public holiday, the transaction is held over to the following business day. From Monday 16 May, this will be changing - the transaction will be processed on the prior business day.  For example, if school fees are due on the 15th and this is a Sunday, the fees will be debited on the previous Friday (instead of the following Monday).  Families who pay fees by direct debit will need to ensure that sufficient funds are held in their accounts for these minor variations in transaction dates.

Sunday's Gospel Reflection 

John 21:1-14

Last Sunday’s Gospel provides another account of the appearance of the resurrected Jesus to his disciples.  The Gospel tells of the disciples being out in their boats, fishing all night without any success.  As they approach the shore Jesus calls and tells them to drop the net to the other side of the boat.  At this stage none of the disciples realise that it is Jesus who has spoken.  When they put their nets back in the water, the disciples suddenly have so many fish they cannot haul their net in!  It is at this stage that the beloved disciples declare ‘It is the Lord’.  When the disciples come ashore they notice that Jesus has bread with him and he cooks some of the fish and shares the bread and fish with them for breakfast.  He blesses the simple food in much the same way as he did the bread and wine at their last supper.  After the meal, Jesus asks Simon Peter three times ‘Do you love me?’  This repetition echoes the three denials of Jesus by Peter on the morning of his crucifixion.  The large haul of fish symbolises the success which the disciples will have in becoming ‘fishers of men’.  This scene connected the post-resurrected Jesus with the one they associated with for the last three years. He ate fish. He knew them in and out. Jesus not only arose but was meeting with them as before. But more than proof of a physical resurrection, we see Jesus’ commitment to fellowship with this group of faithless disciples and His desire to continue to work with them.

In our call to follow Jesus, we too are called to cast our nets back into the sea even though we may be tired and have not yet enjoyed the success of our labours.

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.

Classroom and Student News

Junior Class

Mrs Creek

Our shared story for this week was titled Bella Lost Her Moo by Judith Zorfass. If anyone already has enjoyed the story Wombat Stew this story has a similar tone. Bella the cow loves greeting her barnyard friends. However, as she goes to say hello to the cat, no sound comes out. On the suggestion of a wise old owl at the end of the story, ALL the animals mix their sounds into a pot for Bella to drink. Yay! Bella finds her MOO. We continue to enjoy learning our sound combinations for spelling. Some mathematical word problems have needed to be solved this week and attention to ‘counting on’ to find the TOTAL. AND of course, our Mother’s Day afternoon tea celebrations. Such excitement.

Middle Class

Miss Williams

This week our Year 3’s got to go to the Aths on Monday instead of last Friday!

On Monday with just five Year 2 students, we spent the day writing, reading, completing some maths, looking at pictures of love for our Religion unit and finally creating some amazing artworks by using Lego to stamp and create patterns in pictures.

This week in Reading we have been again looking at persuasive texts and we also have been reading another book from Andy Lee called Definitely Do Not Open This Book Again. We have loved reading these books and using the style of writing to gain some influence for our writing.

In Writing we have continued with our persuasive texts and have had a go at choosing our own topics. We should have a school pet, dinosaurs should still be alive and everyone should be able to go to the beach are some examples of what we have been writing about.

In Maths we are also continuing to look at addition and have had some wonderful mathematicians learning how to be able to add all on their own now through learning new strategies.

Little Joey Awards

This week we continue to acknowledge the significant role of the "Brown Joeys" in the establishment of St Patrick's School, and recognised Sophie and Jack with Little Joey awards.

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 this week for their reading achievements:

25 nights - Elvi, Jonas.

50 nights - Daniel, Gu Thay Paw, AJ.

Important Dates and Reminders

Term Dates

Term 2

26 April to 24 June

Term 3

11 July to 16 September

Term 4

3 October to 20 December

School Calendar

Reminders

Parent Access Module (PAM)

We strongly encourage parents to use the Parent Access Module PAM (SIMON Everywhere) to inform us of student absences. These notes can be set in advance (if, for example, you know that your child will be absent a week in the future). Notes written in the diary are for communicating with teachers. Absent notes need to be directed to the office.

Please speak with office staff if you have any questions about PAM.

Simon Everywhere

The Simon Everywhere app delivers instant notifications to parents' mobile phones, delivering the functionality of PAM (SIMON Parent Access Module) in an easy to navigate app.  

We request that all parents please download the Simon Everywhere app, add St Patrick's School, Nhill and login using your existing PAM credentials.  

We will use Simon Everywhere for all important notifications.  

You will be able to manage all your day-to-day school needs from the Simon Everywhere app - notify us of absences, view the lunch orders menu, read the newsletter ...

Please contact the office with any questions.

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 -

• calling our school office 53911575
• sending an email to principal@spnhill.catholic.edu.au or krintoule@spnhill.catholic.edu.au
• use the Bus Change Notification Form on their website - this is a quick and easy process on your mobile phone (hint: add this as a quick link on your phone's home screen)

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.

Coronavirus information

Face masks

• Face masks, while recommended, are not required in any school setting. This means students in Years 3 to 6, staff and visitors in primary schools are no longer required to wear face masks. 
• Any student or staff member who wishes to wear a mask may, however, do so.
• Everyone over 8-years-old must wear a face mask when travelling to and from school on school bus services,  public transport, taxis or rideshare vehicles.

Screening requirements

• Students and staff who have tested positive for COVID-19, and have completed their 7-day isolation period, now do not need to undertake rapid antigen test (RAT) screening for 12 weeks after their release from isolation. This was previously 8 weeks.

Household contacts

• Students and staff who are household contacts of a COVID-19 case are no longer required to quarantine. They can return to school as long as they undertake rapid antigen tests (RAT) 5 times within their 7-day period and wear face masks indoors if they are aged 8 and above unless they have a valid exemption.
• Household contacts are required to inform the school that they are attending during the 7 day period.   
• If any household contact returns a positive RAT result during this period, they must isolate for 7 days and not attend school.
• Students who report a positive result must isolate for seven days and not attend school during that period. 
• If a student tests positive or is a household contact of someone who tests positive, the school must be notified as soon as possible. They must also  follow the Checklist for COVID cases.

Vaccination requirements for visitors to schools

• Parents, carers and other adult visitors (not performing work) are no longer required to show evidence of two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.  

RAT screening program extension

• Students and staff are to continue with Rapid Antigen Testing twice weekly (recommended to be the first school day of the week and Thursday mornings). 
• The supply of RATs will continue for the first 4 weeks of this term.

Practise good hygiene

• 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 is available at entry points to classrooms.
• Sharing of food is not permitted.

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.

School Advisory Council

Parent Representatives

Helen Cannell

Moo Khu James

Zanther McEldrew

Emily Gladdis

Nathan Wheeler

Appointed Representatives

Ann Munro - Parish

Ex Officio

Mons. Glynn Murphy - Parish Priest

Kingsley Dalgleish - Principal

Next Meeting

Tuesday, 19 July 2022, 7.30pm

Our Mission

Community News

Term 2- Family and Children's Programs at Horsham Regional Art Gallery

• Mini Makers Storytime for 0-5 year olds - Tuesdays, fortnightly, 10.00-10.45am
  
• Kids Art Club for 7-12 year olds - 6 Tuesdays, 10 May to 14 June, 4.00-5.30pm
  

Contact: Cindy Francis, Art Gallery Education Officer, 80 Wilson Street, Horsham  53829578

Come & Try Squash

Get fit, meet new people and have fun

Looking for something to do on Wednesday evenings?  

Free!!  Come and try squash.  Learn how to play squash, in a fun active environment.

If you are looking for a great way to get fit, meet new people, and have fun, squash or racquetball could be the sport for you. To get started all you need to do is turn up. We provide the racquets and ball free of charge.

Squash provides an intense cardiovascular and muscular workout – perfect for burning calories. Players can burn around 1000 calories per hour.

Come join us on Wednesday evenings 7.00pm.  We welcome players of all shapes and sizes, ages and abilities.  No prior experience required.  Generally we are finished before 8.30-9 o'clock, so it's not a late night.

Who: Lowan Squash & Racquetball Club

Where: Lowan Sports Centre, Whitehead Avenue, Nhill

When: Wednesdays 7.00pm

Contact: Karen Rintoule 0427523721 lowansquashclub@gmail.com