Newsletter 2023/10 ~ 6 April 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

The season of Lent concludes today and the church begins three days of special celebrations.  Tonight we remember the Last Supper, on Good Friday, Jesus’ suffering and death, and on Saturday night and Sunday, his resurrection.  At his last meal with the disciples, Jesus gave them his whole self - his body and blood - as bread and wine.  He still does that today at every Mass.

As always, Term 1 has been a very busy term.  We have welcomed new students and families to our school across each of the classes; we welcomed new staff members; we welcomed our Foundation students to their first year of school; we’ve participated in swimming programs and carnivals, a cross country carnival, hockey clinics, Stomp Dance sessions; we’ve had a senior camp to Melbourne and walking tours of Nhill; we’ve had Masses and Assemblies; and we had a great St Patrick’s Day gathering for families.  And we’ve done a lot of learning in the classrooms as well.  I think everyone has deserved the upcoming school holidays.  I trust that it will be relaxing and enjoyable for all.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and that you take the time to reflect on the true meaning of Easter.  

Lord God, 

You loved this world so much that you gave your one and only Son, that we might be called your children too. Lord, help us to live in the gladness and grace of Easter Sunday, every day. Let us have hearts of thankfulness for your sacrifice.

Amen.

Easter Message from Bishop Paul Bird

CURRENT & RECENT EVENTS

Cross Country

Well done to all students who competed at the Cross Country on Monday morning.  Special congratulations to Sophie who finished second in the Under 11 Girls event, and to Claire and Nile who finished third in the Under 10 Girls and Boys events respectively.

Competing against the three houses of Nhill College and the Nhill Lutheran School we placed third overall.

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Project Compassion

Thank you to everyone who has supported Caritas Australia through Project Compassion.  If anyone still has donation boxes to return, these can be returned at the start of Term 2.

Holy Thursday

Thank you to Miss Squires and the Middles Class for leading us in today’s Liturgy and Assembly.  All of our students guided us beautifully through the Stations of the Cross as we reflected on Jesus’ final hours and crucifixion.  During the assembly, the Middles presented a video clip that they had made related to The Last Supper.

SWPBS

Congratulations to the students of MacKillop House who won this term’s marble count for their positive behaviours.  The students were rewarded with being able to select a theme/activity for today.  The students decided to have a Pyjama Day for our last day of the term, together with a movie session.  Well done MacKillop and we look forward to seeing what Patrick House decides as the reward after their win next term!!

Swimming Sports

Congratulations to Sophie and Claire McEldrew who received their medals from the Nhill College Swimming Carnival at today’s assembly.

Sophie set a new record in the 13 Year Girls Butterfly and Claire set a new record in the 10 Year Girls Backstroke.  Claire was also named 10 Year Girls Age Champion.

UPCOMING EVENTS

ANZAC Day

Nhill RSL group have invited us to participate in the ANZAC Day march on Tuesday 25 April.  Students are encouraged to participate in the march and to stay for the commemorative service.  The march will convene near the Information Centre in Goldsworthy Park at 10am.  Students are asked to wear their school uniform for the march and service.

Term 2

A reminder that students return to school for Term 2 on Wednesday 26 April.

Athletics Sports

Nhill College has invited our Years 3-6 students to participate in the Athletics carnival being held on their school grounds on Friday 28 April (first week of Term 2). Parents are welcome to attend.

Church Trivia Night

A Trivia Night is being held to help raise funds for the installation of split-system air-conditioning in St Patrick’s Church.  As many of us are very aware, the church can be quite warm during summer and very cool in the winter months. 

We would love to see many of our school community supporting this fundraiser in a night of fun and fellowship on the evening of Friday 5 May in the school hall.

Organise your friends and book a table by emailing me (principal@spnhill.catholic.edu.au) or by phone 0419 929 271.

Tables of 10 can be pre-booked or you can register your interest and join a table on the night.

Child Safe Standards

All students enrolled at St Patrick’s School have the right to feel safe and be safe. The safety and wellbeing of children in the school’s care will always be our first priority and the school will not tolerate child abuse. The school will create a child-safe and child-friendly environment where children are free to enjoy life to the full without any concern for their safety. Particular attention is paid to the most vulnerable children and young people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, those from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, children with a disability, children who are unable to live at home, international students, and LGBTQIA+ students. The full policy can be accessed via our school’s website: https://spnhill.catholic.edu.au/policies-procedures

The school’s Child Safety Officer is the Principal, Mr Kingsley Dalgleish.

All parents and volunteers that are onsite when students are onsite, or attend school events, are required to hold a Working with Children Check (WWCC) and sign the school’s Child Safety Code of Conduct. If we do not have a current copy of your WWCC, please present your card to the office for photocopying. We will endeavour to get all families to sign the code of conduct in the very near future.

We are committed to continuous improvement in our approach to child safety and well-being and welcome feedback from families and members of our school community on ways we can further strengthen our child safety policies, procedures, and practices. If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions, please contact the Principal either by phone or email principal@spnhill.catholic.edu.au

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

The number of Showdowns played between Port Adelaide and the crows (and despite last weekend’s result, Port still lead with 27 wins!)

Classroom and Student News

Junior Class

What a term of learning and growing we have had in the Junior Room. It is amazing to see how confident and settled the children have become with either being at school or having a different teacher.

This week we have been doing lots of Easter activities. We have been colouring in Easter pictures in Maths, using our knowledge of numbers to help us colour different parts different colours. 

In Religion we talked about the Stations of the Cross and coloured in corresponding images to use in our Holy Thursday Liturgy.

In Reading we have been reading ‘There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed an Egg.’ We have found lots of rhyming words in this book and even looked at other books this one is based on. 

In Writing we have been working on spelling and writing sentences, and doing an amazing job at it.

You will have noticed your child brought home a homework book this week. Each week we will update the homework book with spelling words, a little bit of maths to keep practising our skills and for some children some high frequency words to practise as well. This homework book can stay at home during the holidays to keep practising and helping our memory for when we come back to school next term.

What a wonderful term we have had and enjoy the holidays. Hopefully the Easter Bunny pays you all a visit!

Middle Class

We made it! What a great term we have all had.

Over the week there were lots of Easter activities including creating Easter Bunny art with chalk pastels, putting together Easter baskets and learning all about Holy Week. It was great to see the whole school come together and reflect on the Stations of the Cross.

During this week in Writing students wrote stories about the Easter Bunny.

In Maths we learnt about graphs as well as how to gather data and interpret different graph types.

A big congratulations to the Middles for finishing off the week by hosting the school assembly. 

Well done on a successful term everyone and enjoy the holidays!

Senior Class

The Senior class have had a great last week of term. We worked hard to finish off our writing and art projects, learnt about Holy Week and squeezed in some Easter craft as well. 

Well done on a great term everyone and enjoy the holidays! 

Now over to the seniors to share their highlights of the term ...

Georgia: Making our line Art

Olive: Persuasive Writing - It was hard but fun.

Ma Thay Thay: Art - making the Easter baskets

Riley: Camp - Exploring Melbpourne

Declan: Swimming Sports

Jonas: Cross Country - I liked running in the sun

Jody: Camp - going to Scienceworks

K’lu Doh Soe: Camp – going to the zoo

AJ: Camp - MSAC and Eureka tower

Sophie: Swimming Carnival

Kaw Mu: Camp - The food was the best

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support SWPBS

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. This week Elvi, Gu Thay Paw and Tessa were randomly drawn from the nominations for Respect, Responsibility and Safety, and have added tokens to their respective Houses' tallies. 

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 Harlow and David 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 - Moe Tha Zin, Tessa, Max, Meena, Jack, Destiny, Caleb, Daniel, Charlotte M, Harlow, Oscar, Ben.

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

April

Mon 24 - Student free day for Staff Professional Development

Tue 25 - ANZAC Day Public Holiday - join the march 10am at the Information Centre in Goldsworthy Park

Wed 26 - First day Term 2 for students

Fri 28 - Athletics Yrs 3-6 at Nhill College

May

Fri 5 - Church Trivia Night 6.30pm

Fri 12 - Student free day for Staff Professional Development

Tue 16 - SAC Meeting 7.30pm

Church Times

Reminders

Student late arrival, early departure, temporary absence procedures

A reminder to parents that any student late arrival, early departure or temporary absence must be recorded in the SIMON KIOSK located in the foyer.  If you have any difficulty following the instructions at the kiosk, please ask office staff.

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 -

• use the Bus Change Notification Form on their website (link below) - this is a quick and easy process on your mobile phone (hint: add this as a quick link on your phone's home screen)
• calling our school office 53911575
• sending an email to principal@spnhill.catholic.edu.au or krintoule@spnhill.catholic.edu.au
  

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 16 May 2023, 7.30pm

Our Mission

Community News

Play Netball - starting soon

School Holiday Program (Hindmarsh Shire Council)

Seussical The Musical - Horsham Arts Council

Homework Club - Nhill Learning Centre

Karen families are welcome to enrol their children in the Homework Club.

When: Tuesdays during school terms

Time: 3.30 - 5.00 pm

Where: The Patch, Clarence Street, Nhill

Contact for more information:

Nan Da San Bleh Dah (Coordinator) 0469064696

Auskick

Nhill & District Sporting Club

Registrations are now open!

Join in the fun at Nhill: Davis Park, 4:30 Thursday afternoons.

Come Try Free Session: 27th April 2023. Week 1 starts 4th May.

Boys and girls (best suited to ages 5-12). All skill levels welcome.

For more information contact Zanny 0410 292 094

To register:

Get Active Kids Voucher Program

Are you or your family eligible for the Get Active Kids Voucher Program?

If you or your child has a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, you may be eligible for up to $200 to put towards the cost of each child's Auskick registration (Nhill & District Sporting Club provider number 2942452).

Visit the link below to arrange for your reimbursement.