Newsletter 2023/01 ~ 3 February 2023
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
Welcome to the start of the new school year. It has been wonderful to see all the smiling faces arriving each morning and the sounds of laughter in the school yard. It was also great to see so many parents at our Monday assembly on the first day of the school year.
The staff and I welcome all returning students and families and extend warm welcomes to all who are new to our school community. I especially wish to acknowledge our 13 new students: Avery, Stella, Agnes, Harlow, Eliza, Bethany, Charlotte K, Charlotte M, Meena, Samual, Destiny, Steev and Treesa.
We look forward to working in partnership with all families as we nurture your child’s future.
The start of any school year sees a number of changes - children have progressed to the next year level, our Year 6 students from last year are no longer with us, we have new students and families, and we also welcome new staff.
I am very pleased to be able to welcome Miss Margaret Attard and Miss Jessica Squires to our staff. Miss Attard has joined us from Melbourne and will teach the Year 5-6 class and Miss Squires has come from Warrnambool and is teaching the Year 2-3-4 class. We trust that you will find great enjoyment teaching at St Patrick’s School and that you will develop strong, professional relationships with your students.
Almighty God,
We give you our school.
We give you all the teachers and staff who work here,
We give you all the children who study here.
We pray our school will continue to be a place of great discovery, adventure and creativity.
May it continue to be a place where we love to learn and where we learn to love,
A place where everyone is respected and all are deeply valued.
We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
CURRENT & RECENT EVENTS
Parent Access Module (PAM) Update
Notes were sent home earlier this week with full details to setup your PAM access. It would assist our staff greatly if this could be attended to as soon as possible.
It appears there may be some issues with the SIMON Everywhere app - please bear with us while we work on a resolution.
We will be commencing our swimming program in the coming weeks (see below for the information about this activity). Before being able to participate in any school activity, permission forms need to be completed for each child. All activity permission notes will be delivered via PAM, and so it is imperative that parents set up their PAM access as soon as possible in order to be able to access these notifications (and future notices) and to respond accordingly.
Please direct any questions/issues about PAM to Karen in the office - 53911575 or admin@spnhill.catholic.edu.au
UPCOMING EVENTS
Stop Dance
Stomp Dance will be joining us each afternoon next week. After lunch the students will participate in 40 minutes of hip-hop dance sessions with a new routine introduced each day.
The F-2 students will participate from 1.45 - 2.25pm and the Year 3-6 students from 2.30 - 3.10pm.
Children may bring their runners to wear for the dance sessions.
Swimming
Years 3-6 - Nhill College Carnival
All Years 3-6 students have been invited to join with Nhill College for their swimming carnival on Tuesday 14 February. The College is conducting their House Swim Sports and we have been invited to participate as the ‘fourth House’. All of our 3-6 students will be entered into events for the day and parents are also welcome to attend. Please refer to the note that is being sent out via PAM.
Water Safety & Awareness Program
Our own Water Safety & Awareness Program will commence two days later and continue for each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 16 February until 9 March. Lunch will be taken early on those days and students will travel by bus at 1pm and return to school at 3pm in readiness for afternoon dismissal. Parents will be welcome to attend our own House carnival on Thursday 9 March. Once again, there will be details sent to parents via PAM.
Houses
Students who were enrolled at St Patrick’s in 2022 will continue in the same House as previously. New students have been allocated to Houses so that siblings are in the same House and, where possible, we have endeavoured to balance the remaining new students across each of the Houses.
House lists for 2023 are as follows:
PAT Testing
All students will be undertaking PAT assessments for Reading and Maths on Monday and Tuesday next week. These Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) are conducted online during class time and will allow teachers to gauge where each student is at as we start the school year. These ‘adaptive’ tests are slightly different to the PAT ‘linear’ assessments conducted in October/November each year. Their sole purpose is for allowing staff to develop learning plans that are relevant for each child.
No Assembly
Due to the Stomp Dance program there will be no assembly next Thursday.
Opening Mass
Fr Matt Restall will be visiting our Religious Education classes on a regular basis throughout the year. These visits will take place on Fridays.
Fr Matt’s first visit this year will coincide with our Opening Mass next Friday 10 February at 10am.
All parents and friends are invited to join us for Mass next Friday. You are then welcome to join staff for a cuppa in the school hall afterwards.
Key Dates
Please make a note of the following dates:
Fri 10 Feb - Opening School Mass 10am
Wed 22 Feb - Ash Wednesday Mass 2pm
Mon 27 Feb - Get to Know You Meetings - Parents & Teachers 3.30 - 6pm
Mon 6 March - Student Free Day - Staff Professional Learning Day
Mon 13 March - Labour Day Public Holiday
Wed 15 March - School Photos
Fri 17 March - St Patrick’s Day Mass 12pm
Thurs 6 April - Last day of Term I
Book Club
Scholastic Book Club continues to evolve and move with the times with a new Bigger and Better Book Club in a more sustainable format so we can keep giving back to schools. We continue to offer families regular access to quality, affordable books while partnering with schools and giving back through the Scholastic Rewards program where every order gives 15% back to your school.
The first issue of Book Club for 2023 was sent home this week. Orders are due by Wednesday, 15 February.
Sunday’s Gospel
Matthew 5:1-12
Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:
'How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Happy the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage.
Happy those who mourn: they shall be comforted.
Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall be satisfied.
Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them.
Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God.
Happy the peacemakers: they shall be called sons of God.
Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
'Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.'
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.
“With fondest love I pray God to bless you all and grant you a truly happy New Year.”
Mary MacKillop, 1882
By the Numbers
44
The number of students enrolled at St Pat’s in Term 4 last year (current enrolment is 50)
Thanks to those who have offered their support for my involvement in the Starlight Foundation Super Swim which is taking place during the month of February. Despite the cold and rain last night, I ventured down to Nhill Pool to get some laps in but the gates were locked at 5pm. Hopefully I’ll get some laps in over the weekend.
As for cricket, my Horsham Saints team has won our past three matches but take on the second placed team tomorrow. Looking forward to our match up with west Wimmera in a fortnight’s time.
God Bless you all.
Kingsley Dalgleish
Principal
Classroom and Student News
Junior Class
Miss Williams
What a wonderful start to the year we have had. Our Foundation students have slotted right in and are learning the routines of our day and school. The Year 1s have been busy showing our new class members how it all works and are being amazing leaders in the classroom.
This week we have focussed on getting to know each other and the school. We have read many books about starting school and learning this week and have completed lots of activities to get to know each other.
We have also been working on our counting skills. Counting from 0-20 so far and practising some number recognition.
We have loved our fine motor activities this week to help us with writing skills, threading beads and moving pom poms with pinchers.
I look forward to getting to know everyone more over the year and seeing how much they grow, learn and develop.
Middle Class
Miss Squires
Welcome Years 2, 3 and 4 to 2023! We have had an exciting and busy start to the school year. The students met their new teacher as well as meeting Year 3 student, Steev.
This week we have spent time getting to know one another and getting back into the school routine. We have been reading the text The Hoppers Start School, and comparing the book to our own school experiences.
In Writing, our focus was remembering all the amazing things we did over the school holidays. The students were introduced to the word ‘recount’ and from there wrote about what they did over the holidays.
Our focus in Maths is place value. This week we have been identifying the value of ones, tens, hundreds, thousands and even tens of thousands. We look forward to continuing with this focus next week!
Thank you Years 2, 3, 4 (better known as 'The Middles') for an excellent first week of school!
Senior Class
Miss Attard
What a busy start to the year we’ve had. The seniors have welcomed a new student, Treesa. We have been busy setting up our classroom, labelling tubs, books and learning all about our Senior jobs.
We’ve been putting our numeracy and literacy skills to the test with a Maths escape room and a Spelling scavenger hunt.
In Writing we’ve been focusing on sharing experiences through our writing. We’ve been writing about our favourite places and sharing what we did over the holidays by writing recounts.
We also have Science and Integrated Studies with Mrs Bell, where we’ve started to explore our focuses for the term, Space in Science and Ethics in Integrated Studies.
Thanks to the Seniors for a great start to the year, I’m looking forward to the year ahead with you all.
Important Dates and Reminders
All calendar dates are available on PAM (SIMON Everywhere)
Term Dates
2023
Term 1 27 Jan (Staff), 30 Jan (Students) to 6 Apr
Term 2 24 Apr to 23 Jun
Term 3 10 Jul to 15 Sep
Term 4 2 Oct to 20 Dec
School Calendar
February
Mon-Fri 6-10
Stomp Dance (after lunch)
Wednesday 8
Foundation students rest day
Friday 10
Opening Mass 10am
Tuesday 14
Nhill College Swimming Carnival (Years 3-6 students)
Wednesday 15
Foundation students rest day
Thursday 16
Water Safety/Awareness Program (after lunch)
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.
You can find the lunch orders menu in PAM (SIMON Everywhere): - >Home, scroll down to >Knowledge Bank, >Parent Documents, >Action, >Preview
Parent Access Module PAM / SIMON Everywhere
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.
The Simon Everywhere app 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 PAM (Simon Everywhere) - notify us of absences, provide permission for student activities, update medical/contact information, 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.
School Advisory Council
Parent Representatives
- Rebecca Curtis
- Emily Gladdis
- Moo Khu James
- Michaela Koop
- Zanther McEldrew
- Nathan Wheeler
Ex Officio
- Mons. Glynn Murphy - Parish Priest
- Kingsley Dalgleish - Principal
Next Meeting
- Tuesday 21 February 2023, 7.30pm