Newsletter 2023/18 ~ 23 June 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

Today marks the end of Term 2. 

Despite it being a shorter term, there has been a lot packed into it.  There has been a great deal of learning across all three classes as well as a variety of extra-curricular activities.  Since commencing the term with ANZAC Day commemorative services, we have participated in athletics carnivals, cross-country running, golf clinics and tournaments, tee-ball competitions, a Mother’s Day luncheon, a Middles’ class lunch, dress-up days, a pizza day, excursions to Horsham to see Seussical the Musical, to Hopetoun for Catholic Education Week, an Integrated Studies exhibition by the Seniors’ class, some wonderful assemblies and presentations, incursions including Sussing Out Our Solar System and Freestyle Dance Ministry, a visit to Nhill College by the Seniors, visits from Fr Matt, the Sacramental program, and so much more!!

It is unsurprising that we are all looking forward to the next couple of weeks to recharge before embarking on the longest term of the school year.

Thank you everyone for your ongoing support of our school.

Enjoy the break.

God Bless you all.

CURRENT & RECENT EVENTS

Years 5 & 6 students visit Nhill College

Last Friday our senior students attended Nhill College to experience a little of secondary schooling.  The students participated in a music lesson where they learnt about the importance of rhythm and played some percussion on makeshift drums. 

The students then enjoyed a scavenger hunt around the school.

After lunch they had science with Miss King, the Year 7 Coordinator, and looked at a range of chemical reactions.

We are hoping that we can have more such visits to the College over the next couple of terms as well.

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 16

Next

Golf

On Tuesday, Jonas, Ben, AJ and Daniel represented the school in the Nhill Primary Schools’ Golf Tournament at Nhill Golf Course. Schools from Nhill and Dimboola competed on the day.  The boys had a lot of fun and played some excellent tee shots and drives from the fairway, however their putting cost them several strokes overall.

At the end of the tournament, Jonas finished in third place, just one shot off second and one shot ahead of Ben who finished fourth.  Both boys have qualified to progress to the regional tournament in Horsham in November.

Footy Colours & Pizza

With the Port Adelaide flag flying proudly over the school on Wednesday, we enjoyed a Footy Colours and Pizza day.  There were a multitude of guernseys, jerseys, hockey shirts and more on display.  

Thank you to Wimmera Bakery for supplying the yummy pizzas!!

School Reports

End of Semester Reports will be distributed with students today. 

Parent-Teacher interviews will be held early in Term 3.  The date for these will be advised next term.

Farewell to Miss Squires

Today we farewell Miss Squires as she prepares to travel both within Australia and abroad.  Miss Squires arrived at the start of the year when we were in desperate need of a teacher - as were most schools at that time.  And what a godsend she has been for our school and our students.  We have truly been blessed to have her as part of our school community for the past six months and I am sure that we will all miss her presence.  We do, however, wish her safe travels and we look forward to hearing of her adventures.

Mrs Helen Wills will be teaching the Years 2-4 class in Semester Two and we welcome her to St Patrick’s School.

SAC Survey

Parents will receive a Survey Request in PAM today. We request that you spend 5 minutes of your time over the school holidays completing the survey. The results will assist our School Advisory Council members with projects planning for the second half of the year. Survey closes on 16 July.

Push-Up Challenge

Mrs Rintoule and myself have each completed the challenge of doing 3144 push-ups between 1-23 June.  Today’s number was 170 push-ups to reach the 3144 total. Sadly, this total represents the number of Australians who took their own lives during 2021.  By completing the push-ups and fundraising efforts we are helping to promote awareness of Mental Health issues as well as supporting organisations such as Headspace and Lifeline.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us with positive comments and/or given donations online to help with providing mental health support and services.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Start of Term 3

Despite my email to parents yesterday, Term 3 will commence for all students on Monday 10 July.

Kinder Visits

Current 4 year old Kinder students and their families are invited to visit our school on Friday 14 July from 9.15am until 11am.

Children and their parents will be able to join our Foundation-Year 1 class during the morning session.  There will be an opportunity for a short walk-through of our school to see our classes in action.  Parents will then be invited to an information session in the hall whilst the children continue with the classroom activity.

Children are to bring a drink bottle with water, and a piece of fresh fruit to eat during our Fruit Break time at 10am.

I invite all families who are considering their Primary School options for 2024, to come and take a look at what we have to offer at St Patrick’s School. 

If you are unable to attend on 14 July and would like to arrange an alternate time, please contact me on 0419929271 or principal@spnhill.catholic.edu.au

We look forward to nurturing your child’s future.

Enrolments for 2024 are now being accepted.  Please contact the front office for an enrolment package.

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child (Gifts in a Shoebox) is happening again this year.  You are invited to participate in giving gifts to children living in poverty, this being even more important now with the devastating COVID pandemic. Most of these children have never received a gift before so for them it really is a Gift of ‘Love in a Shoebox’.

Through the Shoe Box Gifts, Operation Christmas Child, (OCC) being a project of Samaritan’s Purse, connects with needy communities and meets other vital needs including safe water, (putting filters in homes, schools and communities), sanitation (building toilets and teaching hygiene), education (building and fully equipping schools and training teachers) and health (building fully equipped medical centres and training for professional care).

Samaritan’s Purse is a non-profit, non-denominational Christian, world-wide organisation. It also provides emergency relief and development assistance to families and children affected by war, poverty, natural disasters, famine, and disease, including floods and fire in Australia.

They also share the Gospel message when and where we are invited and are welcomed.For more information and resources, videos, and stories visit the Operation Christmas Child website at www.operationchristmaschild.org.au or see the flyer below.

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

61 is the country code for international calls to Australia.

Classroom and Student News

Junior Class

This week the Foundation and Year 1 students have been getting used to our new classroom. Last Thursday we switched rooms with the Middles as they now have more students than us and needed more space. Our new classroom is now the end room closest to the oval.

We have also had a bit of fun this week with our footy colours day. We dressed up in the colours of our favourite teams and also got some pizza for lunch.

This week in Reading and Writing we have been working on persuasive genres. We have read the book ‘Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.’ We have discussed that in the book the author is telling the story as the pigeon who is giving us all the reasons as to why he should be able to drive the bus. We have used the book to help us write persuasive texts to try and convince others of something. We have written persuasive texts about the best type of animal, the best footy team and about what we should be able to do on the holidays. The Foundations students have been writing using their opinions and writing sentences about what they like.

In Maths we have been working on time. We have been learning about the days of the week and months of the year. We discovered that they go around in a circle that is continuous. We have also been learning to use language such as before and after to answer and ask questions about days and months. Some of our Year 1 and Foundation students have also been learning how to tell o’clock and half-past times on an analogue clock.

In Religion we have been finishing off our unit with creating postcard sized dioramas on how we can care for God’s creation. We made a list of 21 different things that you can do to care for God’s creation and each student has created a postcard that represents and shows that action. 

In Integrated Studies we have been learning about how things can change and have been learning about how chameleons change colour to be able to camouflage. We have created our own little chameleons that camouflage into something in our classroom.

We have also used camouflage in our Art classes. Students used 3 colours on the colour wheel that were close to each other to create a little crab that can camouflage on something. The crabs have some wonderful claws and interesting features about them as well.

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 10

Next

Little Joey Awards

We continue to acknowledge the significant role of the "Brown Joeys" in the establishment of St Patrick's School, and recognised Nile and Jonas 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 - Avery

50 nights - Avery

75 nights - Liberty, Destiny, Nile, Claire, Gu Thay Paw, Freddie, Hannah E

100 nights - Tyler

Important Dates and Reminders

All calendar dates are available on PAM (SIMON Everywhere)

School Calendar

July

Mon 10 - First Day Term 3

Fri 14 - Kinder Visit 9.15-11.00am

Tue 18 - SAC Meeting 7.30pm

St Patrick's Nhill Church Times

Mass is held every Sunday at 11.00am

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 >School Links

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 18 July 2023, 7.30pm

Our Mission

Community News

School Holiday Programs

Hindmarsh Shire

Horsham Regional Art Gallery

Kindergarten & Long Day Care 2024 - Open Day in Nhill

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