Newsletter 2022/13 ~ 13 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

Creator Lord,

Nurture, bless and protect our children. 

They are our gift from you:

our future

our joy

our wonder

our challenge

our longing for a brighter tomorrow.

Endow us with

the love

patience

vision

acceptance

to offer our children the brightest future.

May they come to love and know you through the example of our lives.

AMEN.

Dr Carmel Turner

Lecturer, Brisbane Campus ACU

We have certainly felt a change in the weather in the past couple of weeks.  The mornings are a lot chillier than they had been, I have started driving to work through the fog again, and we have enjoyed a few drops of rain as well.  It surprises me, therefore, to see a number of our children arriving at school each day without a jumper on, and sometimes not even having one in their school bag.  The weather has shown us how it can change from morning time to afternoon and even on pleasant days some of the afternoons have become quite cool.  I encourage all children to bring a jumper with them, particularly as we move further towards winter.

With the approaching winter season comes the inevitable coughs and colds.  I wish to remind families that if a child is feeling unwell, or shows any symptoms of a cold, they are to stay home and should also complete a rapid antigen test.  Even if the test is negative for COVID, children are to stay home when unwell.

Sadly, we are all very aware of the recent increase in COVID cases within Nhill and surrounding districts.  I encourage everyone to remain vigilant with regards to the coronavirus.  Unfortunately, many people are of the belief that if they are vaccinated they no longer need to take precautions against the coronavirus.  Whilst we no longer have our 10am daily updates on the TV, the daily numbers across the region, our state and Australia in general are still on the increase. Whilst there is a general attitude of “well we are all going to get it anyway,” I encourage you to do what you can to protect yourself, your family and our community.

RECENT EVENTS

Cross Country

The Little Desert and West Wimmera Cross Country Championships were held in Kaniva on Monday.  Thank you to Mrs Dickinson for taking our four students, Sophie, Riley, Stella and Lexi across to the event.  

Results:

• Sophie 9/10 Year Girls:   14th Little Desert; 4th West Wimmera
• Riley  9/10 Year Boys:     34th Little Desert; 16th West Wimmera
• Stella 12/13 Year Girls:   19th Little Desert; 7th West Wimmera
• Lexi was unable to finish due to illness.

NAPLAN

Students in Years 3 and 5 have undertaken national NAPLAN testing in Literacy this week. Students have completed three of their four tests over the past three days, with the last one, Numeracy, being held next Tuesday. These tests are just one form of assessment that students undertake throughout the year.  As with any other assessment, we will be using your child’s data to inform future teaching.

UPCOMING EVENTS

School Promotional Package

Kevin Cummins from Catholic Education Ballarat will be in attendance at St Patrick’s School next week and will be taking photos and video clips to use as part of a promotional package for our school.  Kevin will produce a marketing video that can be shared on social media sites and will also be developing an updated website for us.

Catholic Education Week

Catholic Education Week commences next Sunday 22 May and encompasses the following school week.  As part of our celebrations, St Patrick’s School will be combining with St Mary’s (Warracknabeal), Our Lady Help of Christians (Murtoa) and St Joseph’s (Hopetoun) for a Mass in Warracknabeal on Friday 27 May.

Following the Mass, students from each of the schools will have lunch supplied by St Mary’s Primary School Parents & Friends committee.  They will then participate in activities related to this year’s Catholic Education Week theme “Share the Good News”.

National Simultaneous Storytime and Biggest Morning Tea

National Simultaneous Storytime will occur on Wednesday 25 May.  This year’s book is Family Tree, a heartfelt celebration of family, community and the seasons of life.

Students are encouraged to dress up for the day, based on the story and its theme.  The story line is about a tree and a family who play with it, climb on it and grow with it.  And just like a family, the tree's seeds leave the tree and spread to various locations to grow.  Children may wish to dress in traditional dress of their families’ culture or in some other manner that represents family.

Parents are invited to join us for the reading of ‘Family Tree’ and at the same time share a cup of tea or coffee as we participate in Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea.

We hope you can join us.  More information will be on next week’s newsletter.

Walk Safely to School Day

National Walk Safely to School Day will be held on Friday 20 May as part of National Road Safety Week taking place between 15 – 22 May 2022.

Now in its 23rd year, National Walk Safely to School Day (WSTSD) is an annual event when all Primary School children will be encouraged to walk and commute safely to school. It is a community event seeking to promote road safety, health, public transport and the environment.

This national initiative aims to encourage children to lead a healthier, more active lifestyle by simply including a walk at the beginning, at lunchtime and at the end of each day. The event also promotes reduced car dependency, greater use of public transport, cleaner air, improved diets and road safety to primary school children throughout Australia.

The objectives of WSTSD are:

• To encourage parents and carers to walk to school with primary school age children and reinforce safe pedestrian behaviour.
• To promote the health benefits of walking and help create regular walking habits at an early age.
• To ensure that children up to 10 years old hold an adult’s hand when crossing the road.
• To help children develop the vital road-crossing skills they will need as they become mature pedestrians.
• To reduce the car dependency habits that are being created at an early age and which will be difficult to change as children become adults.
• To promote the use of Public Transport.
• To reduce the level of air pollution created by motor vehicles.
• To reduce the level of traffic congestion.

For more information visit  https://www.walk.com.au

Project Compassion

Thank you to everyone who returned Project Compassion boxes.  Collectively we raised $571.25 for the work of Caritas Australia.  This figure does not include any online contributions made by families.

Sunday's Gospel Reflection 

John: 10:27-30

Last Sunday was the 4th Sunday of the Easter season. The Gospel from John is a very short one. It reads: 

Jesus said: 

‘The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; 

I know them and they follow me. 

I give them eternal life; 

they will never be lost 

and no one will ever steal them from me. 

The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone, 

and no one can steal from the Father. 

The Father and I are one.’ 

The emphasis in the Scripture images is on the shepherd. Jesus speaks of himself as the shepherd of God’s people.  A good shepherd stays close to the sheep and keeps them safe.  This is a time to rejoice that God our Father has given us Jesus as our saviour and shepherd.  There is mutual recognition between shepherd and sheep, where there is voluntary following and total trust.  The voice of Christ can take many forms. Most of the time, it is in the voices of those people who come into our daily lives.  If we do not recognise Christ in the voices we hear, we are likely to get lost and lose our way.

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

The students have contributed such a variety of ideas throughout all subjects this week. Our Big Book story is titled The ABC book of SEASONS. The pictures are expressing the four seasons, especially the activities that take place during Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. Each of the classes have experienced patterned writing and our choice of book is titled Under the Southern Cross. We will showcase these in our Assembly item this week. Addition on the number line and 100 chart for Year 1s and the Foundation students have demonstrated their additional concepts through the use of colours, ten frames and blocks. Religion encompasses our understanding of the world around us and how we can show love.

Middle Class

Miss Williams

This week we have had a focus on the book Koala by Claire Saxby. We have been looking at the information text aspect of this book as well as the narrative aspect. In class we have been using a sentence from the book ‘In a high tree fork, a grey ball unfurls.’ We are using this to help with our writing and have been looking at the different types of language to use as inspiration for our own writing.

In Maths we have been continuing to work on addition. We have been learning different strategies to use to help us solve our addition problems. We are now figuring out which strategy works best for each of us.

In Religion we are continuing to focus on our unit of love and have been reflecting critically in recalling times we have felt love, shown love and felt unloved. We have also imagined what the world would look, sound and feel like if everyone felt loved, showed love to each other and the natural world as well as felt unloved and didn’t show love to each other and the natural world.

Well done to all our Year 3 students who have worked extra hard this week in sitting the NAPLAN tests!

Senior Class

Ms Murphy

With the end of the third week of term rolling to an end we have packed in a lot of learning and new experiences so far. Some students were occupied with NAPLAN and demonstrated a smooth transition back into class, well done to you and thank you to Mr D for your supervision here. Meanwhile, others were busily preloading their brains with information about Kakadu NP and our focus text, Dry to Dry written by Pamela Freeman and illustrated by Liz Anneli.

When we preload our brains with information about a subject it helps us to make deeper connections when we speak, read and write. It helps us to make meaning and gives context to what we are learning.

A lot of us had much knowledge to offer around the types of plants and animals existing within Kakadu. In addition, we were able to complement and extend some of the learning done in Science with Mrs Bell. All of us learned so much more and have learned how to connect our learning. Brilliant effort Senior students. We look forward to sharing our writing with you in the future at our next Senior assembly. 

Maths has seen us considalete our learning around multiplication and division, with many students easily recalling the multiplication facts they have dedicated so much time to, well done here! Please keep your practice up now you know it helps you to be a better mathematician. Now we have a good grasp on our operations, it is time to revisit fractions and decimals next.

Next week, we look forward to visiting WestPrint Maps and the local Gallery, where we will view some of our recent visitor Kit Andrews' artworks. We look forward to, and invite you to pray for a rain free day, as we navigate our way around the streets of Nhill. If you have a compass at home or access to a device with a compass please give it a try - preload your brains! You might be able to help Mrs Dickinson and myself out! 😉 We welcome parent/carer volunteers to join us, please contact the office if you are interested and available next Thursday 19th May from 9-12.

Stay tuned via PAM for upcoming permission slips and specific details, thank you.

Our Senior classroom, ‘Homework Programme’ will be up and running next week, students will have different homework depending on their needs. Further information will be supplied in the ‘Homework Folder’ they bring home. Some parents have asked for specific learning for their child/ren that they are willing and able to support. Please reach out if you haven’t already to discuss the possible options to optimise your child’s learning. 

With the weather cooling there are a number of students wearing beanies to school. Please remove them prior to entering the classroom. Thank you.

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 Freddie and Maddison 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 - Link, Jet.

50 nights - Claire, Moe Tha Zin, Caleb, Max, Doh Wah, Nelson, Hannah G, David, Kaw Mu.

75 nights - Lexi, Stella, Kelsey, Tyler, Olive, Sophie, Claire.

100 nights - Tyler, Lexi.

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

Winter School Holiday Sports Camps

School Holiday Sports Camps in Melbourne - 35% DISCOUNT OFFER

• sports coaching camps in AFL Football, Basketball, Netball, Hockey and Soccer in Melbourne in the winter school holidays.
• for children of all standards aged 5 to 15 and provide coaching from an experienced panel joined by leading players from each sport.

More information: Visit iscamps.com.au and enter coupon code ISCWIN35 during checkout.