Newsletter 2023/29 ~ 6 October 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 4.
I hope that everyone had an enjoyable break during the holidays and managed to find some time for relaxing and recharging.
It has been great to hear the excitement in the children’s voices as they have recounted their various stories from the school holidays. It sounds like they had lots of fun.
And so now we head into the final term of the school year and again it will be a busy one. As well as the learning that will continue to occur, we have excursions, a camp, Nhill Show, F-2 Athletics carnival, various assessments, graduation and more. It is also the last term of primary school for our Year 6 students and so we hope they have another wonderful term before they leave us. We will also be welcoming our 2024 Foundation students for their orientation visits later in the term.
Keep informed of all upcoming events by reading the newsletter each week.
Back to School Prayer
Loving God,
At the beginning of this new school term,
we ask you to bless us,
the students, families, friends, teachers and staff
of St Patrick’s School,
that we may continue to grow in faith, hope and love
as we learn from you
and each other
how to follow your Son, Jesus.
Amen.
CURRENT & RECENT EVENTS
Holiday Happenings
Several tasks were completed at school during the recent break. We have had new outdoor furniture assembled, shade sails placed over the playground (including a new sail over the sandpit), the hardcourt cleaned, the school sprayed for mosquitoes, and an audit of the playground completed.
Thank you to the Curtis, Beattie and Carew families who assembled our new outdoor furniture during the holidays. The students now have a few more tables to sit at during play time and at which to eat their lunch. These tables will also allow for more outdoor classroom learning to occur when the weather is more suitable. The families also raked the softfall in the playground area to ensure it is evenly distributed throughout.
Athletics
We wish AJ well today as he competes in the Greater Western Region Track & Field Championships in Ballarat. AJ qualified for the 100m after winning his event at the Little Desert Championships in Stawell last term.
Dental Health Van
Earlier this week we had our annual visit from the Australian Dental Health van. Thank you to everyone who returned their forms for their children to visit the van. A reminder for all children to ensure they brush their teeth morning and night.
Healthy Eating
And closely related to dental health, we remind parents to provide healthy snack and lunch choices for your children each day. Healthy lunches and snacks help children concentrate and play throughout the day. Fruit break at 10am each morning is fresh fruit/vegetable only - no pre-packaged fruit or fruit/jelly please. Water only at school, no cordial, soft drink, sports/energy drinks, or juice please.
What to put in healthy school lunches - fruit, vegetables, milk, yoghurt, cheese, meat or meat alternative foods (chicken strips, hard-boiled egg), sandwich/roll, fruit bread, crackers.
Each day your child needs:
- Water
- Fruit
- Snack for morning recess
- Lunch.
Visit this website for more information.
Some housekeeping reminders
PAM/SIMON Everywhere continues to be the school’s primary communication tool with parents/guardians. Please regularly check PAM/SIMON Everywhere for notifications and to update your details (change of contact details: phone number, address, etc.) and inform us of absences.
If you haven't already done so, download the SIMON Everywhere app to your mobile phone.
Please contact the office if you have any issues with your PAM account or SIMON Everywhere.
Book Club Issue 7 Out Now!
Book Club supports our school by giving families access to great books they can read and enjoy for leisure at affordable prices.
This issue, families can get even more savings with 50 EXTRA BOOKS only available online and are all reduced by 60-80%! More details on the back page of Book Club.
If you are a fan of The Hunger Games, check out the books on sale this issue! Read them before you watch the movie The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Only in cinemas from November 16!
Orders are due by Wednesday, 18 October.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Excursions to Horsham
Next Tuesday our Junior and Middle classes will be going on an excursion to the Horsham Art Gallery for workshops in Cartooning. Students in Foundation to Year 4 will depart school at 9.15am on Tuesday and return at approximately 3.00pm.
On Friday 20 October, all students will travel to Horsham for a performance by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO). Notes will be sent to parents next week.
We thank Horsham Regional Art Gallery for making these events available to us and for their support of regional schools.
Nhill Show
Students are busily preparing items for the Nhill Show which will take place on Thursday 19 October (which will be a school closure day). There is still a need for some recyclable items to assist with various projects.
If you are able to send any of the following clean items to school early next week, they would be appreciated:
- Ice cream container lids
- Plastic bottles
- Small cardboard boxes (<10cm)
- Cardboard rolls (eg cling wrap, hand towel)
- Egg cartons.
Nhill Show Committee have also asked for students to participate in the Grand Parade on the day (please see the letter below). Please note that school staff will not be accompanying the students and so parents will need to be present if your child is participating.
Senior RE Visits
This term our Years 4,5,6 students will be visiting Iona Digby Harris Nursing Home. This will involve 6 fortnightly visits to Iona for intergenerational activities with the residents. Students will talk with them, play games, and various other activities. This ties in well with their Religious Education unit on Action.
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 21:28-32
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, 'What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He went and said to the first, "My boy, you go and work in the vineyard today." He answered, "I will not go", but afterwards thought better of it and went. The man then went and said the same thing to the second who answered, "Certainly, sir", but did not go. Which of the two did the father's will?' 'The first' they said. Jesus said to them, 'I tell you solemnly, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you, a pattern of true righteousness, but you did not believe him, and yet the tax collectors and prostitutes did. Even after seeing that, you refused to think better of it and believe in him.'
Jesus could ask us the same question. Do our words indicate our obedience to God? If not our words, do our actions? God desires a full conversion of heart, that our actions (and our words as well) will give evidence of our love for God.
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
72 - The number of months in six years.
Vaccinated against influenza ✓; vaccinated against COVID ✓; vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis ✓; anyone know where I can get a vaccination against all these pesky magpies supporters? Thank goodness it’s cricket season!
God Bless you all.
Kingsley Dalgleish
Principal
Classroom and Student News
Junior Class Report
Welcome back to school! How quickly have the first three terms of this year gone? The Foundation and Year 1 students have been very excited this week to be back at school and share what they have been up to over the break.
This week we have been reading a book called Gwendolyn. It is about a penguin who lives in the jungle. We have learnt lots of facts about penguins this week through our narrative story which tells all about what penguins do and have, ‘except for Gwendolyn’ as she is in the jungle and can’t be a regular penguin in the snow.
We have been working on making amazing recounts in Writing, showing each other what we got up to on the holidays through our writing pieces. The F/1 students have been writing some wonderful sentences, and they have even been having a go at adding more detail into their recounts to make them better.
In Religion we have had a bit of fun this week getting into our new unit called Joy. We have spent this week looking at how each of us experience joy in different ways and that we can all enjoy or not enjoy different things.
We have had some fun this week in Maths with our topic, fractions. With lots of hands-on experiences of looking at what a fraction is and what halves and quarters are. We have been folding and comparing paper and even making our own pizza. Unfortunately the pizza we made to share this week was only made of playdough, but we had a lot of fun imagining making our pizza, choosing our toppings and adding the toppings to half or quarters of our pizza. We also had experiences in sharing our playdough pizzas and comparing our two halves to see if they were equal or the same size.
We can’t wait to see what else this term brings and what we get up to in the Foundation and Year 1 classroom.
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 Tyler, Michael and Daniel B 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 Bethany and Hunter 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 - Daniel B
75 nights - Jack, Daniel B
100 nights - Harlow, Caleb
125 nights - Stella, Charlotte K, Hannah E, Nile
150 nights - Destiny, Liberty
200 nights - Tegan
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
Dates and Reminders
Term Dates 2023
Term 4 2 Oct to 20 Dec
All calendar dates are available on PAM (SIMON Everywhere)
School Calendar
October
Tue 10 - Junior & Middle Classes Excursion to Horsham
Tue 10 - School Advisory Council Meeting 7.30pm
Wed 11 - Senior RE Class Iona Visit 10-11am
Thu 19 - Local Public Holiday - Nhill Show
Wed 25 - Senior RE Class Iona Visit 10-11am
November
Mon 6 - Student Free Day for Staff Professional Development
St Patrick's Nhill
Church Times
Mass is held every Sunday at 11.00am
Community News
Our Mission
Reminders
Parent Access Module PAM / SIMON Everywhere
The Parent Access Module PAM (SIMON Everywhere) is our "go-to" for all parent information. Download the SIMON Everywhere app from the app store on your mobile phone and login using your PAM credentials.
Simon Everywhere 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 Simon Everywhere, including:
- notify us of absences;
- view the school calendar;
- provide permission for student activities;
- update medical/contact information;
- view the lunch orders menu;
- read the newsletter.
Please contact the office with any questions.
Student late arrival, early departure, temporary absence procedures
All student late arrivals, early departures or temporary absences must be recorded in the Passtab iPad located in the foyer. Please ask office staff for assistance.
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 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)
- we have put this link onto PAM (Simon Everywhere) >Home, scroll down to >Parent Links
- 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.
*Six simple steps to protect yourself and those most at risk
- Wear a face mask
- Take a test
- Stay at home
- Meet outdoors
- Talk to your GP about COVID medications
- Get vaccinated
*coronavirus.vic.gov.au