Newsletter 2023/24 ~ 18 August 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

On Tuesday, the Catholic Church celebrated the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  On this Feast, Catholics traditionally celebrate Mary going to heaven. The tradition is that 'God took Mary, body and soul, to heaven after her life on earth had come to an end'.

Father in heaven, all creation rightly gives you praise,

for all life and all holiness come from you.

In the plan of your wisdom she who bore the Christ in her womb

was raised body and soul in glory to be with him in heaven.

May we follow her example in reflecting your holiness

and join in her hymn of endless love and praise.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. 

Amen

CURRENT & RECENT EVENTS

Positive Partnerships

Miss Attard and Mrs Wills attended a two-day Positive Partnerships workshop in Horsham this week.  Both staff members found the workshop, which is focused on children with autism, to be very rewarding and worthwhile.  Mrs Dickinson, Miss Williams and myself participated in the workshop last year.  The workshops are very engaging and staff come away with an increased understanding and awareness of how we can strengthen positive outcomes for our students who are on the autism spectrum.  

We are hoping that there may be opportunities for parents to attend similar sessions in the near future within our region.  Initial discussions with the facilitators suggest that there is a strong possibility that we may be able to have a one-day workshop for interested parents.  We will keep you informed as details become available.

Years 5-6 Excursion to Nhill College

Our Years 5 and 6 students had a second visit to Nhill College on Wednesday.  The students participated in a class on Robotics (STEM), a cooking session and PE.

During the Robotics class, students were able to use and direct robots, create their own robotic vehicles, and use virtual reality goggles.

Students cooked their own lunch as they made pizzas and fruit salad and washed these down with an ice cream soda.

After lunch they joined with a Grade 6 class from the College for some soccer skills and games (in readiness for the Matildas clash later that evening).

Thank you to Mr Zimmermann and his staff for their hospitality and to the students of Nhill College who assisted with the Robotics and PE classes.

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WWSSA Athletics

Several of our students travelled across to Warracknabeal today for the West Wimmera Athletics carnival.  Despite it being a cold and wet day, they had a lot of fun.

I think the athletics carnival may have gone close to turning into a swimming carnival given today’s conditions!

We will include results in next week’s newsletter.

Bullying. No Way!

Tomorrow we are participating in the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA).

The NDA is Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative for schools and provides an opportunity to connect with students, staff and our school community to implement workable solutions to prevent bullying.

The 2023 NDA theme, Growing connections, promotes the importance of school, family and community connections in building safe and supportive learning environments where all students can belong, feel accepted and respected.

Research has shown that strong school connections and positive relationships can help to prevent bullying. When students feel a sense of belonging and connectedness at school, they are more likely to enjoy school, to trust and respect their teachers, and be concerned about and help others (Australian Education Research Organisation 2023 - see link below).

While the following behaviours are not bullying, they may still be serious and require intervention at home and at school:

• arguments and disagreements (where there is no power imbalance);
• single acts of social rejection or unkind behaviour; or
• isolated incidents of aggression, intimidation or violence.

It is important for our whole-school community, including our staff, parents, carers and students to have a clear understanding of the definition of bullying to be able to correctly identify and respond to incidents of bullying. The full national definition can be found on the Bullying. No Way! website (see link below).

Emergency Drill

Today, our students and staff participated in an emergency management drill at school.  Today’s scenario was a response to the possibility of an unknown intruder on-site.

Whilst we hope that we will never be in a real-life situation where we need to implement our emergency management procedures, we regularly practice for varying scenarios so that staff and students know what to do if such a situation did eventuate.

We are pleased to report that today’s incident was well controlled and acted upon.

Another Hats Reminder

We are now in the “No Hats, No Play” part of the year (UV levels are 3 or higher). Children are being reminded regularly to bring their sun hats to school.

• Any child without a suitable sun hat will sit in the shaded area during recess and lunch times.
• The school does not supply spare hats, unless required for class activities.
• Peak caps and visors are not suitable hats as they do not provide adequate protection from UV to the face, ears and neck.
• School sun hats can be purchased from Cambrelle’s.

Think UV, not heat.

• Temperature does not affect UV radiation levels.
• UV radiation can be high even on cool, windy and overcast days.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Book Week

Book Week will be celebrated next week.  This year’s theme is READ, GROW, INSPIRE.  Our annual Book Week Dress Up Day will be held on Thursday 24 August. On this day all children are encouraged to dress up taking inspiration from this year’s theme, or as their favourite book character, to share in the joy of our Book Week festivities.

Student Free Day

Staff will be updating their First Aid Training on Tuesday, 29 August.  This is a whole day training and update course for staff members and will cover First Aid, Anaphylaxis, Asthma and CPR updates. Consequently this will be a student free day.

Sacramental Program

We wish God’s blessings upon Sophie and AJ who will receive the Sacrament of First Holy Communion at Mass in Nhill on Sunday.

Mons Glynn Murphy

The community of St Patrick’s School congratulates Monsignor Glynn Murphy on 40 years of Priesthood.  Mons was on leave last weekend on the actual anniversary however his achievement will be celebrated after Mass in Horsham on Sunday. 

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

Sunday’s Gospel

Matthew 14:22-33

In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus sends his disciples off in a boat to cross the lake.  Jesus disperses the crowd who had gathered (the feeding of the 5000) and goes up the mountain to pray alone.  During the night a storm has picked up and the small boat is being tossed around on the waves.  The disciples notice Jesus walking on the water towards them and they immediately think it is a ghost and become frightened. Jesus, however, calls out and says it is he and Peter replies, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” When Jesus does, Peter steps from the boat and begins walking towards Jesus.  Peter soon is distracted by the waves around him and becomes frightened and begins to sink.  He calls out for Jesus to save him and Jesus reaches out his hand and saves Peter.

When Peter first steps out of the boat, his focus is entirely on Jesus.  He is not distracted by the chaos around him.  It is only when Peter loses his focus on Jesus and becomes more aware of the wind and storm around him that he begins to sink. He had courage when his eyes were on Jesus, but foundered when he focused on himself and his situation.

Just as Jesus reached out to Peter, he reaches out to us - to guide us, to steady us, to support us - all the things a touch of the hand can do. 

The Gospel recognises that there will be times of stress and danger when our faith will be tested.  And we are reminded that even though we can find Jesus in the safety of our boat, he is also there for us when we are ready to leave the shelter of the boat to find him in the “world.”

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

67 - The number of years to which the pension age was increased on 1 July 2023.  (Looks like I have to keep working a bit longer!)  

Classroom and Student News

Senior Class

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 Fabian, Jewel and Amity 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 Amity, Hannah E and Daniel B 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:

50 nights - Jody

75 nights - Harlow, Bethany, Jody, Samual

100 nights - Jody, Hannah E, Freddie

150 nights - Tyler

Important Dates and Reminders

All calendar dates are available on PAM (SIMON Everywhere)

School Calendar

August

Mo 21 - Fr 25 - BOOK WEEK

Thu 24 - Book Week Dress Up Day

Tue 29 - Student Free Day - Staff PD (First Aid training)

September

Fri 15 - Eye Health Screening

Fri 15 - Last Day Term 3

October

Mon 2 - First Day Term 4

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.

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.

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

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 10 October 2023, 7.30pm

Our Mission

What's on at Horsham Regional Art Gallery ...