Newsletter 2023/03 ~ 17 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
This week I have spent two days attending a Diocesan Leadership gathering with other Principals from around our diocese. The Principals of the 64 Catholic schools in the Ballarat diocese have a two-day gathering each term to discuss a variety of issues related to development and review of policies and procedures, teaching initiatives, formation in Catholic identity and mission, and much more.
Whilst these past two days have been engaging, informative and beneficial, they certainly can’t compare with the excitement of the swimming sports at Nhill Pool on Tuesday. It was great to see our Years 3-6 students joining in the fun of the day and collecting their share of ribbons as well. More info can be found below.
In this coming week we will enter the season of Lent, a season in which we prepare for the mystery of Easter. This is a special time in which we joyfully embrace a conversion of heart. A new heart and a new spirit, these are God’s gifts during Lent. Our Lenten call is ‘Repent and believe the Good News!’
Lent is a time of self-discipline, generous concern for those in need, and prayerful reflection.
The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. More will be shared about Project Compassion next week.
We were saddened to hear on Monday morning of a motor vehicle accident on the weekend which resulted in David (Year 2) being admitted to Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital. David’s father and uncle were also taken to hospital. I was pleased to hear yesterday that David has now been discharged from hospital. We continue to keep David and his family, including Hser Wah and Doh Wah, in our thoughts and prayers.
CURRENT & RECENT EVENTS
Swimming Sports & Swimming Program
Our Year 3-6 children had a wonderful day at Nhill Pool on Tuesday as they participated in the Nhill College swimming carnival.
Many ribbons were won by our students and a number of them were also named as Age Champions. Some also set new records. We are awaiting official results before announcing these as I do not want to miss anyone.
Thank you to Nhill College for the invitation to participate as the ‘4th House’ at their carnival.
Meanwhile, our own Swimming Awareness program commenced yesterday and will continue each Tuesday and Thursday for the next few weeks. The program will culminate with our own swimming carnival, for all students, on Thursday 9 March.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Child Safe Standards Workshop
On Monday, four Year 5-6 students will travel with me to the Catholic Education Office in Horsham to meet with other students from within our Parish to discuss the Child Safe Standards and develop a child language version for St Patrick’s School and the other four primary schools of the Parish.
Hockey Clinics
Hockey clinics will take place at school next Monday morning. We again welcome members of Hockey Victoria who will guide the children through drills and skills. Students are welcome to wear their runners on Monday for the clinics.
School Advisory Council SAC
The School Advisory Council will conduct their first meeting of the school year next Tuesday evening. I wish to thank all parents who have accepted the responsibility of being members of the SAC and I look forward to working with you for our school.
A list of SAC members can be found further on in this newsletter.
Ash Wednesday Mass
Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, which is the start of Lent. Mass will be celebrated in our church with Fr Matt at 2.00pm. All Years 1-6 students will be attending. All family members and parishioners are warmly invited to join us for Ash Wednesday Mass.
Get To Know You meetings
Parents have the opportunity to meet with your child's teacher for a brief chat about the start of the school year and your child's progress on the evening of Monday 27 February from 3.30 - 6.30pm.
Parents may book an interview time via the Parent Access Module (PAM). A link to Parent-Teacher Interviews appears on the homepage and you will be able to select the teacher you wish to meet with and the preferred time.
If you experience difficulties logging on via PAM, please feel free to contact the school to arrange a meeting time.
Back to School, but with less stress - Saver Plus program
The Brotherhood of St. Laurence are running their ‘Back To School’ campaign for schools, kindergartens and early learning centres.
Saver Plus is a free financial education program where participants can plan ahead for study costs and get up to $500 for education expenses after 10 months.
If you have a Health Care Card and are studying yourself or have a child studying you may be eligible to join the program.
Register using the link below to attend one of their February Information Sessions, or email them directly at EnquiriesSP@bsl.org.au.
Information Session Schedule:
- Thurs February 16th 2023, 10 - 11am (Community)
- Wed February 22nd 2023, 10 - 11am (Community)
Sunday’s Gospel
Matthew 5:17-37
In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus instructs His disciples what not to do. He begins by saying: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets, I have come, not to abolish them, but to fulfil them.” Anyone who fulfils the law is the least in the kingdom.” Then He adds: Whoever fulfils and teaches these commandments shall be great in the kingdom of God. And unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of God.”
Jesus also speaks about judging others. If we judge a sister or brother, we are the ones who will be liable for judgement, not them. He also talks about anger. He tells his disciples that if they get angry or use abusive language they will be held in contempt. Jesus warns his disciples about the danger of thoughts of impurity, adultery, divorce or making false oaths or pledges. He ends with these words: “”Say ‘Yes’ when you mean “yes” and ‘no’ when you mean “no.” Anything else is from the evil one.”
Ask yourself: how often do I speak words that are neither just nor appropriate? Why do we do this? Most of us know what is appropriate and inappropriate yet we continue to berate, judge, or demean others. In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus is very clear about what we are not to do! This week, take the time to pause a moment and ask yourself: Do I take Jesus’ words seriously? Do I strive to live as He calls us to live? Or will I continue to act in a manner I know is not healthy for me or for the people in my life? Every day, every moment, we have a choice! What will we choose today?
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
46
This is the 46th year of St Patrick’s School without the Josephite Sisters being on staff
How wonderful was the cricket last weekend as we enjoyed an exciting away win after a week full of talk about what the condition of the ground would be like. In the end though, the game was moved from Lubeck to Murtoa and my boys won on the second last ball of the match. As for the Aussie team, hopefully they can turn things around over the next few days!!
God Bless you all.
Kingsley Dalgleish
Principal
Classroom and Student News
Junior Class
Miss Williams
This week the Junior Class have had a wonderful week of fun and different activities. On Tuesday we had the Year 2’s in class with us all day as the 3-6’s went swimming. We even got Miss Squires and Miss Attard to teach us for an hour each during the day. On Thursday we went swimming and on Friday we had Buffy visit us to work on our Auslan.
In Reading this week we have been reading the book How to Catch a Star. Miss Williams still hasn’t got the hang of how to read a book and we have had to tell her each day which way she needs to hold the book and where to start! We have also introduced our reading groups into the reading hour. We are learning how to find words and letters in our books and find objects that start with the same sound.
In Writing, the Foundation students have had a focus on the letters p, i and n. We have made some craft around each letter, learnt a song about each one and have been writing each letter. The Year 1’s have also been working on how to write these letters as well and identifying high frequency words that start with those letters. The Year 1’s have also been working on finishing off sentence starters to practise our writing and coming up with ideas to write down.
In Maths this week we have been practising our counting. The Year 1’s have been working on counting forwards and backwards from 0-100, filling in number charts, finishing off counting patterns for forward and backwards and finding one more and one less. The Foundation students have been working on numbers 0-10. We have looked at each number individually to practise writing it and representing it in many different ways. The Foundation students have also been looking at different ways we can show a number, using dice, counters, fingers and cards.
Middle Class
Miss Squires
What a great week to commence school swimming. On Tuesday, Years 3 & 4 students participated in the swimming carnival alongside Nhill College students. I would like to congratulate all students for their participation and excellent behaviour on the day!
We also started our own swimming program yesterday, a perfectly-timed day to cool down from the hot weather. From next week school swimming will run each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for the next three weeks.
In Reading and Writing we have been analysing the book How to Catch a Star. The students have been pulling apart the text by finding the nouns, verbs and adjectives as well as transforming sentences from the book to make their own unique sentences. Next week we will further our exploration of the book by beginning to write our own version of the story.
In Maths the students learnt a new warm up game called ‘Place Value Pyramid’ and continued to work on ordering and recognising counting patterns. To show off their learning for the week the Middles chose a number to represent as a digit, a model and in word form on our ‘Place Value Turkey Posters’ (see photos).
Senior Class
Miss Attard
It was another busy week in the Senior room. In Maths we have been continuing work on place value and learning how to round. In Literacy we have continued building our vocabulary with our word bank and we’ve started our spelling this week. We won’t have a spelling test until next week but it was wonderful to see so many students complete their spelling homework.
We’ve continued learning all about Nhill this week which included a walk to Jaypex Park on Thursday morning. Everyone was excited to explore the playground, skatepark and boardwalk. We learnt some local history exploring John Shaw Neilson Cottage and the Aboriginal scar tree. We saw some local wildlife - students were fascinated to find birds and frogs, however we were a little less thrilled to find bull ants and cockroaches as well.
The highlight of everyone’s week was swimming. We joined Nhill College on Tuesday for the 3-6 carnival. It was wonderful to see everyone having a go by participating in at least one event. Thursday afternoon saw us back at the pool to start our school swimming lessons. This was the perfect cool down on such a hot day, and again it was great to see students trying their best both during their mini lessons and free water play.
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
Monday 20
Hockey clinics
Child Safety Standards Forum in Horsham
Tuesday 21
Water Safety/Awareness Program (after lunch)
School Advisory Council Meeting 7.30pm
Wednesday 22
Foundation students rest day
Ash Wednesday Mass 2pm
Thursday 23
Water Safety/Awareness Program (after lunch)
Monday 27
Get To Know You Meetings 3.30-6.00pm
Tuesday 28
Water Safety/Awareness Program (after lunch)
March
Wednesday 1
Foundation students rest day
Thursday 2
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.
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.
- It is recommended that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are used by students and staff if they:
- have symptoms of COVID-19 infection, no matter how mild
- are a household or close contact of someone who has COVID-19
- are a social contact of someone who has COVID-19.
- The Department of Health recommends that all Victorians report their positive RAT result via the online form or by calling 1800 675 398 and inform those with whom they have recently been in contact, including their workplace, school and household.
- Principals are no longer required to inform their school community of a positive case associated with the school.
RATs are available for all Victorians from council sites. Individuals can obtain two free packs (10 tests) for themselves and two free packs (10 tests) for each household member. People with disability and their carers can get up to four free packs (20 tests) in line with existing RAT distribution for people with disability.
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
Our Mission
Community News
