Newsletter 2023/19 ~ 14 July 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 Term 3 and the start of Semester 2.  I hope that everyone had a wonderful break over the school holidays and I’m confident that all staff and students have returned ready for a big second half of the year.

Welcome to the start of Term 3 and the start of Semester 2.  I hope that everyone had a wonderful break over the school holidays and I’m confident that all staff and students have returned ready for a big second half of the year.

Today we welcomed visitors from 4-year-old Kinder and their families as they start thinking of where they will enrol for school in 2024. It was wonderful to meet many new families as well as also seeing quite a few familiar faces.

Kinder visits will continue over the next two Fridays at the other local primary schools and I wish these families well with their decision making in determining which school will best meet the needs of their own childrens’ ongoing education.

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CURRENT & RECENT EVENTS

Senior Integrated Studies

At our last assembly of Term 2, our senior students shared their dioramas and presentations depicting events that shaped Australia’s history.  It was great to hear their presentations about the dioramas to the other students and parents as they wandered around the displays.  The students then gave short presentations on stage as they acted out their specific historic moments. 

Well done to everyone involved.

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Welcome Mrs Wills

This week we officially welcomed Mrs Helen Wills as a member of our teaching staff.  Mrs Wills has taken on the role of classroom teacher for our Years 2,3,4 class.  I invite parents to take the time to introduce yourselves to Mrs Wills, particularly those parents who have children in her class.

Building Project Update

On Wednesday I had a visit from representatives of Catholic Education Ballarat and the Capital Grants Allocation committee to further discuss our submission for Federal Government funding towards our proposed building project.  Discussions progressed well and they could certainly see the need for us to expand, particularly with our increased number of students (a 100% increase since the start of 2020) and the sizes of our classrooms.

We are hopeful of hearing whether we have progressed to the next stage of the application process later this month or in early August.

SunSmart

We are proud of our 27 years of membership as a SunSmart School. We recently updated our Sun Protection Policy, and as noted in a previous newsletter, this means that the local daily sun protection times will be monitored year round and children may need to wear sun protection (hats and sunscreen) at school at any time of year if UV levels reach or exceed 3. Parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to use the SunSmart widget (available on the Parent Access Module/SIMON Everywhere app, and our website). You can also download the widget to your mobile phone (search SunSmart in the Play Store/App Store) and check it regularly yourself.

Book Club

Book Club Issue 5/2023 out now!

Lost property

Our lost property bin is full to overflowing with many unnamed, unclaimed items. If your child is missing uniform, please call into the office and sort through our bin. To avoid the additional cost (and hassle) of replacing missing uniform, we strongly urge parents to name all belongings, including uniform, drink bottles, and lunch boxes. The school takes no responsibility for lost or damaged property, especially if it is unnamed. All items in this box at the end of the term will be added to our second-hand supply.

Welcome

This week we welcomed the Merrett family to our school.  We wish Michael and Hunter and their parents well as they join our St Patrick’s School community.

Their enrolment now brings our student numbers to 60.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Dental Health Forms

Dental Health forms were sent home this week and need to be returned to school by next Friday, 24 July. 

The Dental Health Australia van will be visiting the school in week one of Term 4.

ADHD & Demand Avoidance Seminar

The Strengthening Parent Support Program at Uniting Wimmera is excited to be hosting  Rebecca Challoner and Christine Keeble for a seminar educating us around ADHD and Demand Avoidance. 

The seminar will be held on Sunday 23 July in Horsham and run from 10am - 3pm (Venue to be confirmed based on numbers).

This is a free event, however registration is required to attend.  Registering ASAP would be appreciated if you plan to attend, please follow the link below (if you have already previously RSVP can you still please complete this link):

Grandparents & Elderly People’s Day

To coincide with Grandparents and Elderly People's Day on 23 July, we will be sending invitations to Grandparents and Elderly Friends to join us on the morning of Tuesday 25 July for our visit from Meerkat Productions.  They will then be able to join in with some activities in the classrooms.  Invitations will be sent out next week.

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

62 miles per hour is equivalent to 100 kilometres per hour

Classroom and Student News

Middle Class

It has been an exciting week this week for the Middles.  The students have welcomed Mrs Wills and Mrs Pilgrim into class.  Students have settled back into school  nicely with good manners and a willingness to learn.  

We are reading Mr Stink, by David Walliams, during our  morning fruit snack.  Mr Stink is very stinky. 

In Science this week we followed a procedure to set up our bean seeds to grow.  We are going to make careful observations over the next few weeks  to record how the seeds change as they grow. 

In Integrated Studies we began our topic of Light and Sound.  This week we had to label some mystery sounds which Mrs Wills played for us.  Some sounds were easy to identify, however it was very difficult to work out what made other sounds.

This week in Reading and Writing we have been working on narrative genres.  We have read the book Jayden’s Impossible Garden and also watched an animation called Watermelon Boy - a cautionary tale.  We are using these texts to prepare us for writing our own narrative story.

In Maths we have begun to work on multiplication using repeated addition to show us how the multiplication answer is found. 

In Auslan we worked with Buffy on different hand shape signs and classroom instructions - refreshing and extending our understanding. 

We have also enjoyed an excursion to the Nhill Art Gallery.  We walked to the Gallery and looked at all the artwork on display.

Our Art topic this term is Performing Arts.  This week we began to learn a dance called the Nutbush and we worked on learning and practising acting skills by playing charades.

We hope that everyone has enjoyed  the first week of Term 3.

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 Kaw Mu, Olive and Moe Tha Zin were randomly drawn from the nominations for Respect, Responsibility and Safety, and have added tokens to their respective Houses' tallies. 

Little Joey Awards

We continue to acknowledge the significant role of the "Brown Joeys" in the establishment of St Patrick's School, and recognised Avery with a Little Joey award.

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:

50 nights - Tessa, Max, Oscar

75 nights - Charlotte M

100 nights - Tyler, Claire

125 nights - Tyler

Important Dates and Reminders

All calendar dates are available on PAM (SIMON Everywhere)

School Calendar

July

Tue 18 - SAC Meeting 7.30pm

Tue 25 - Incursion: Meerkat Performance

August

Fri 11 - Student free day for staff professional development

Thu 17 - WWSSA Athletics

September

Fri 15 - Eye Health Screening

Fri 15 - Last Day Term 3

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