Newsletter 2023/04 ~ 24 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 we entered the season of Lent, a time when the Church prepares for the celebration of Easter.

The following reflection comes from Michael McGirr’s book 'This Cup We Bless - A tea or coffee break for every day during Lent'. 

Lent starts small. Over four days it will grow into a movement to change the world and us with it. But at the outset it asks us to remember that we are “dust”. To wear ashes on our foreheads as a reminder to keep what goes on behind our foreheads in perspective.

To use the colour purple in our worship, the colour of a bruise, a reminder that we are all hurt and need healing. To take a moment of honesty. To go into our private places and shut the door and to discover the God who finds us in our secret places and brings us into the light. To think about how we spend our time and energy and what really matters.

At our Ash Wednesday Mass, we were reminded that Lent is not a time for doing special things and saying prayers simply for the sake of it.  Our Lenten practices need to help us understand God’s word more clearly and to live according to that word more generously.  May we use this time to think about how much the Gospel means to us and how well we are living up to God’s law of love and the promises of our baptism.

CURRENT & RECENT EVENTS

Shrove Tuesday

As we prepared for the start of Lent, the students had a lot of fun making and devouring pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.  Below are some photos from the day.

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Child Safe Standards Workshop

On Monday I took four Senior students - Sienna, AJ, Jonas and Olive - to Horsham for a Child Safe Standards Workshop.  These four students joined representatives of the other four primary schools of our Parish, namely St Mary’s (Warracknabeal), St Joseph’s (Hopetoun), Our Lady Help of Christians (Murtoa) and Ss Michael & John’s (Horsham).  Together they looked at the eleven Child Safe Standards and reworded these into child-friendly language.  Our students have shared this with their class and today shared it with the school assembly. 

The Standards, together with the children’s reworded versions in red, can be seen here:

Hockey Clinics

A number of promising young hockey players emerged from the clinics on Monday.  Thank you to Hockey Victoria and our local Association for coming along and providing the opportunity for students to have a go at hockey or to show their current skill levels.

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Catholic School Parents Victoria Newsletter

The February 2023 edition of the Catholic School Parents Victoria newsletter, CSPV Connect is now available.  Click to download the email update.  In this issue you will find two important surveys for parents to provide their voice and perspective for key issues in education.

SAC Meeting

The first School Advisory Council meeting of 2023 was held on Tuesday evening.  Janet Claassen, Educational Consultant from Catholic Education Ballarat, guided the SAC through an induction process.  Janet outlined the roles and responsibilities of the SAC as they support myself in the future directions of the school.

Thank you to Emily Gladdis who has again been appointed SAC Chair, and to all of our SAC members for their involvement.  Please see a list of SAC members further on in the newsletter.

Swimming Program

Our swimming and water awareness program has continued this week and haven’t we been blessed with some beautiful weather for being in the pool.  Remember we have our Swimming Carnival coming up on Thursday 9 March - all  parents are welcome to attend on that afternoon.

Project Compassion

This week marks the launch of Project Compassion, Caritas Australia’s annual fundraising campaign that spans across the six weeks of Lent every year. Project Compassion brings together thousands of Australian schools, parishes and supporters to raise funds for people living in some of the most vulnerable communities across the world.

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.

The theme of Project Compassion 2023 is ‘For All Future Generations’ and reminds us that the good that we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come. It invites us to make the world a better place by working together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues.  We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent through your prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion. Each family will receive a Project Compassion box for their donations or you can donate online via the Caritas Australia website.

Fire Danger Ratings / Schools on the BARR

Fire danger ratings (FDR) describe the potential level of danger should a bushfire start. They are important because they provide people with information so that they can take action to protect themselves and others from the potentially dangerous impacts of bushfires. They do not indicate the chance of a fire occurring, although this is a common misconception.

From 1 September 2022, all jurisdictions across Australia implemented the new Australian Fire Danger Rating System, delivering a nationally consistent system for fire danger ratings which is based on the latest scientific research resulting in more accurate predictions for fire danger as well as clearer, simplified messaging for communities.

All Nhill schools and the Early Learning Centre are listed on the Bushfire (Grassfire) At Risk Register.  As such, the school will  be closed on any determined Catastrophic FDR day and nobody is to be on site that day.  No school bus services will operate to or from a school closed on a determined Catastrophic FDR day. Before every Catastrophic FDR day the school will notify staff, parents/carers and all other site users that the school will close and nobody is to be on-site that day, and notify bus travellers/parents of potential and confirmed cancellation of buses.

Assembly

It was great to see our F-1 class leading today’s assembly.  The students led the singing of our opening song, “These Hands” and knew all the actions.  They also showed us a sample of what they have been learning in Auslan as they signed and sang a counting song for the numbers 1-20.  Well done to everyone in Miss Williams’ F-1 class - it was an enjoyable first class-led assembly for 2023.

Next Friday, Miss Squires’ Year 2-4 class will lead our assembly.

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support

Last year we formed a matrix around positive behaviours at St Patrick’s School. This matrix is on display in each of the classrooms and in various points around the school.  It is shared here as well.

The matrix highlights expected behaviours of all students across all areas of the school and also when representing the school off-site.  Our three key foci are Respect, Responsibility, Safety.

These three foci and the associated behaviours are discussed explicitly during class time and in assemblies.

Staff continually develop frameworks around monitoring and the reinforcement of these expectations.

Throughout the day, staff monitor for students demonstrating aspects of Respect, Responsibility and Safety within our school.  Students are issued a ticket to place in their classroom container.  During assemblies, a draw takes place and those who have their ticket drawn out are invited to place a marble in their House container.  The House with the most marbles at the end of each term will be rewarded.

Congratulations to all children who were recognised for their positive actions around the school.  Eliza, Freddie, Max, Sophie, Ben and Sophie were randomly drawn from the nominations for Respect, Responsibility and Safety, and have added tokens to their respective Houses' tallies.

Swimming Results

Results of last week’s Nhill Year 3-6 Swimming Carnival have now been received and we congratulate the following students who received placings in their events:

Sophie 

• 1st 13 Yr 50m F/S
• 1st 13 Yr 25m F/S
• 1st 13 Yr 25m Brst
• 1st 13 Yr 25m Fly

Claire 

• 1st 10 Yr 25m F/S 
• 1st 10 Yr 25m Brst
• 1st 10 Yr 25m Back
• 3rd 13 Yr 50m F/S

Ben 

• 1st 10 Yr 25m F/S 
• 3rd 10 Yr 25m Brst

Sienna 

• 1st 13 Yr 25m Back
• 3rd 13 Yr 25m F/S
• 1st 13 Yr 25m Brst B 

Jonas 

• 1st 13 Yr 25m Brst B
• 1st 13 Yr 25m Back B

AJ 

• 1st 13 Yr 25m F/s B 
• 3rd 13 Yr 25m Back B

Jody 

• 1st 13 Yr 25m Floatation Back B

Marnie 

• 2nd 10 Yr 25m F/S

Olive 

• 2nd 13 Yr 25m Brst B 
• 3rd 13 Yr 25m Back B

Nile 

• 2nd 10 Yr 25m F/S B

Elvi 

• 2nd 13 Yr 25m Floatation Back B

Georgia 

• 3rd 25m Floatation B 
• 3rd 13 Yr 25m Brst B

Declan 

• 3rd 13 Yr 25m Floatation Back B

Kaw Mu

• 3rd 13 Yr Floatation B

Under 13 Relay

• 3rd 13 Yr 4x25m F/S Relay

Overall - 14 Firsts, 4 Seconds, 10 Thirds.   

Well Done Everyone.

Alumni News

Congratulations to our former student Hanna Cannell on joining the Hindmarsh Shire Youth Council.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Get to Know You Meetings

Teaching staff are looking forward to meeting with parents next Monday afternoon for our Get to Know You meetings.  If you are wishing to meet with your child’s teacher and haven’t yet booked a time, please do so by logging on through the Parent Access Module (PAM) on the SIMON Everywhere app.

If you are unable to attend on Monday and would like to arrange an alternate time, please contact your child’s teacher to arrange a mutually convenient time.

Student Free Day

A reminder that there is no school for students on Monday 6 March as staff members will be undertaking Professional Learning on that day.

Sunday’s Gospel

Matthew 5:38-48

In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples about responding to personal offences and enemies. The message in this passage is clear: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Jesus calls his followers to a higher standard of behaviour than the world around them, one in which they respond to violence with nonviolence and hatred with love.

At the beginning of the passage, Jesus quotes the ancient law of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," but then he offers a new way of responding to violence and injustice. He says, "If anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well." This teaching is not about being passive or weak in the face of evil; rather, it is a call to actively resist evil with nonviolent means.

Jesus goes on to say that his followers should love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. This is a radical idea, as it challenges the common human response of seeking revenge or avoiding those who have wronged us. Jesus tells his disciples that they should not only love those who love them but also love their enemies, even those who wish to harm them.

This passage is challenging for us as it requires us to confront our own prejudices and biases, to recognise our own inclination towards violence and retribution, and to strive to follow the example of Christ in responding to hatred with love. The message of this passage is as relevant today as it was in Jesus' time, and it offers a powerful call to all of us to respond to hatred and violence with love and compassion.

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.

As we enter Lent and Project Compassion, we can reflect on Mary MacKillop’s words from 1873.

“I hope that you have more charity and that you do not judge by appearances”

Classroom and Student News

Junior Class

Miss Williams

This week the Foundation and Year 1 students have continued to have a fun-filled week. We have had swimming on Tuesday and Thursday, pancakes for Shrove Tuesday, Mass for Ash Wednesday, our online session of Auslan with Buffy and we have even hosted our first assembly this morning.

In Reading this week, we have been learning about Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and reading a book called A Tiny Light about stars and fireflies. Our Foundation students have been looking at recognising words in books and identifying the sounds they already know. Year 1s have focussed on what, where, and who in sentences.

In Writing, the Year 1s have had a focus on including capital letters and full stops in their sentences, using capital letters for names, and spelling high frequency words. The Foundation students have been writing the letters Cc, Kk, Ee and Hh and have created some wonderful craft for each letter. 

In Maths we have continued our focus on counting from 0-30 for Foundation and 0-100 for Year 1. We have had lots of practice counting and representing numbers in different ways. The Year 1s have also focussed on identifying numbers before and after.

Middle Class

Miss Squires

Another busy week in the Middles room. In Reading we have settled into reading rotations, focusing on grammar, reading fluency and comprehension. Our big book Percy Faces His Fears is about a penguin who is nervous about swimming - a great discussion amongst the class as we continue with our swimming lessons this week. The students spoke about how their nerves about swimming have now transformed to excitement about swimming! In Writing we have continued analysing the book How to Catch a Star. The students literally cut up a sentence from the book and rearranged the words to create a new sentence. They were amazed they could make multiple sentences with the same words! They then created their own sentences based on the book and are now writing their own narratives. Place value is still a major focus in Maths as we look at number patterns, number models and numbers within and above the thousands. The students have particularly enjoyed playing the maths game called Beat the Teacher, and I am sure they would happily challenge any takers at home! Next week in Maths we will move into rounding numbers and in Reading and Writing our focus will be persuasive writing.

Senior Class

Miss Attard

This week has been another busy one for the Senior Room. In Reading we have continued our shared text ‘Matilda’ and to build our vocabulary with our word bank. We’ve also settled into our reading rotations and we had our first spelling test of the year on Friday morning. In Writing we have been using our note-taking skills to begin researching some of the things we found during our trip to Jaypex Park last week. We then turned this research into information reports.

With Lent beginning this week we made pancakes on Tuesday for Shrove Tuesday and attended Mass on Wednesday for Ash Wednesday. We have also been learning all about Ash Wednesday and Lent in Religion and the reasons why we might choose to make a Lenten promise.  

We have continued to focus on Place Value in Maths, practising our rounding skills and reading and writing numbers. We learnt a new maths game - Pyramid - to help us with these skills 

Our focus in Art this term is the Elements of Art. The Element we have been learning about for the last two weeks is Colour. We have been using it to create different settings and emotions in our artworks. Working creatively in Art on a Friday afternoon has proven to be an enjoyable wind down for the class at the end of a busy week.

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 Claire, Hannah G and Samual 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. 

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 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)

Monday 6

Student Free Day - Staff Professional Development SWPBS

Tuesday 7

Water Safety/Awareness Program (after lunch)

Wednesday 8

Foundation students rest day

Thursday 9

Water Safety/Awareness Program (after lunch) - Carnival

Monday 13

Labour Day Public Holiday

Wednsday 15

School Photos Day

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 4 April 2023, 7.30pm

Our Mission

Community News