Newsletter 2022/18 ~ 17 June 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

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Breathe in me O Holy Spirit

Breathe in me O Holy Spirit

that my thoughts may all be holy.

Act in me O Holy Spirit

that my works, too, may be holy.

Draw my heart O Holy Spirit

that I love but what is holy.

Strengthen me O Holy Spirit

to defend what is holy.

Guard me then O Holy Spirit

that I always may be holy.

St Augustine of Hippo (CE 354-430)

Next Friday sees the conclusion of Term 2 and Semester 1 for 2022.  In many ways, the semester has passed quickly whilst in many other ways it has been a long semester.  Many of our community have struggled recently with coughs and colds and the ever present threat of COVID.  And so, after 19 weeks, we find ourselves dragging each other towards the finish line for the semester!  We’re almost there!

With the end of the semester comes student reports.  These will be distributed to every child next Friday afternoon, so please keep your eyes open for these in your child’s schoolbag next week.

Please note that children will be dismissed at 2.15pm on Friday afternoon.

RECENT EVENTS

Kinder Visit

Today we welcomed children from the Kinder and their parents as they completed the program of visits to the three primary schools within Nhill.

It was good to see the engagement that the children showed within the classroom and I thank Mrs Creek, Miss Williams and Mrs Pilgrim for their involvement in this morning’s session.

I look forward to welcoming these children again as students of St Patrick's School in 2023.

We look forward to nurturing your child’s future.

Enrolments for 2023 are now being accepted.  Please contact the front office for an enrolment package.

Farm Visit

Our Senior class visited the Wheeler family’s farm today as part of their class discussions around farm safety and agricultural procedures.  Thank you to Mr Keller for arranging the excursion and to the Wheeler family for allowing our students to visit today.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Brigidine Centenary Celebrations

The first group of Brigidine Sisters arrived to teach in Horsham in 1920.

In 2020, it was planned to commemorate the Centenary of the Brigidine Sisters and of Brigidine Education in Horsham, however plans were shelved as the global pandemic closed down any hope of holding celebrations at that time.

Two years on, we are now planning to proceed with a weekend of celebrations to mark the milestone.

On the weekend of 16 and 17 July, you are invited to participant in tours of the three schools - SsMichael & John's Primary School, Horsham,  Our Lady Help of Christians, Murtoa, and St Brigid's College, Horsham; celebratory Masses at Murtoa and Horsham; and social gatherings in Horsham’s Catholic Parish Centre.  There will also be a presentation of a commemorative quilt which will hang in the Parish Office, and the launch of a book recognising the 100 years of Brigidine Sisters in Horsham.

Flyer for further information and how to pre-order a copy of the book The Spirit of Brigid Alive in Horsham - 100 years of Brigidine Education was attached to last week's nesletter.  To assist with planning, please indicate your intentions to attend by emailing brigidine100@gmail.com by 8 July 2022.

Parish Social Justice Contact Person

The Ballarat Diocesan Social Justice Commission (BDSJC) is seeking support in establishing a Parish contact in the area of Social Justice.

The role of the BDSJC is to advise Bishop Paul regarding social justice issues and spread the Gospel message to the local Church and wider community.  For the commission to achieve its aims, they need to disseminate information to parishes. To ensure this happens, they are seeking to establish a list of contact people from each of the Parishes. The contact person would be responsible for receiving information from the BDSJC and then ensuring that this information is passed on.

If you are interested in this volunteer position, please advise our St Paul VI Parish Office in Horsham by Mon 13th June 2022.  They can be contacted on 53821155.

Condolences

We extend our prayerful condolences and deepest sympathies to the Cannell family on the recent passing of their brother, brother-in-law, and uncle Mick Cannell.  

At such a difficult time of grief and sadness, as a Catholic school community, we turn to our faith for solace and strength. Our prayers continue to be with Mick’s family and friends, and we ask that the community keeps them in their thoughts and prayers.

Welcome

Congratulations to the Nyo family on the arrival of their baby boy this week.  Another brother for Kaw Mu (Year 5) and Gu Thay Paw (Year 3).

Day 1 Term 3

Term three will commence for students on Tuesday 12 July as staff members will be participating in a Professional Learning day on Monday 11 July

Push Up Challenge

Five staff members have signed up as part of The Push Up Challenge.  The challenge is for each member to complete 3139 push-ups over 24 days in June. This is to raise awareness about mental health and the impact of suicide on our communities.  The number of push-ups, 3139, tragically represents the number of lives lost to suicide in Australia in 2020.  

Two weeks into the challenge we have collectively completed 7455 push-ups.  If you would like to support our efforts and provide financial support to Lifeline and their mental health and crisis support services, please do so here.

Sunday's Reading          John 16:12-15.

FEAST OF THE HOLY TRINITY

Saint Patrick is famous for using the three leaves of the shamrock to explain the Blessed Trinity: one plant, three leaves that are all connected and united – symbolising the one God, three persons that are all connected and united - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

The symbol for the Trinity is actually three interlocking circles.  The circles remind us that God has no beginning and no end, while the interlocking reminds us that God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit live in a unity of love.  Every time we make the sign of the cross we reaffirm our belief in a God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  All Christian people profess a belief in the one God who is experienced in three distinct ways. 

Sunday’s Gospel speaks of the relationship between the Father, Jesus and the Spirit by relating all three to the teaching of Jesus.  In this scripture, Jesus says to the disciples that there is still so much that he has to say to them, to teach them.  But the disciples are not ready to receive everything in the time that Jesus has remaining.  So to continue the teaching of Jesus and to continue the expression of Love, the Father and the Son will send the Spirit.  It was this sending of the Spirit that was celebrated recently in the Feast of Pentecost and it is the unity of the Father, Son and the Spirit that was celebrated last Sunday in Trinity Sunday.  The ‘truth’ which the Spirit communicates is ultimately the revelation that ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:7, 16).

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

My students came back from the Queen’s birthday long weekend holiday with stories to tell. I have kept emphasising that every name whether a person, or a town or a special place, has to have a capital letter. So hopefully we will see that happening in their writing. We continued our shared story from last week titled, ‘Sharing a Shell’ by Julia Donaldson. This delightful story is all about sharing. A crab is looking for a shell. No-one wants to share their shell. Crab finds a shell in the rock pool and escapes the gull. He ends up sharing his shell with an anemone and a bristleworm. Suddenly it gets too crowded for all three. They have decisions to make! For one of our writing sessions this week, the foundation students are sequencing story pictures from this text and year one students are writing about a story scene. This is our last week with subtraction as a focus in mathematics. Hearing a word problem and deciding on whether it is stating addition or subtraction has been a focus. The F-1’s partnered again with the 2-3’s to finalise their poster presentations for Religion. We look forward to the Kinder kids and parents having their transition day on Friday morning with us.

Little Joey

This week we continue to acknowledge the significant role of the "Brown Joeys" in the establishment of St Patrick's School, and recognised Arville II Dela Cruz and Kelsey Schnaars 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:

 75 nights -  Moe

 75 nights -  Arville II

125 nights -  Kelsey  and Lexie

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

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.

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

• RATS are required by students who are household contacts to attend school (5 negative tests over a 7-day period), or who have symptoms.
• Please contact the school office if you require another RAT kit.
  

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