"That they may all be one, as you Father, are in me and I am in you"
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- Principal's Newsletter
- Birthdays
- DATES TO REMEMBER
- Year 2 Swimming
- Thank you for joining our Community Meeting
- School Fees and Concessions
- Program Support Group (PSG) Meetings
- Scholastic Dates - ORDERS CLOSING TODAY
- SiMON Everywhere
- PAM
- Contact, Media Consent and Medical Details
- Camp Australia Weekly Newsletter
- Baptism for School Aged Children
- D'Vine Kids
- Reignite "Pilgrims of Hope"
- Semper Dental
- School TV
- St Francis Xavier College - Open Day
- St Pauls Anglican Grammar School 2026 & 2027 Year 7 Information Evening
Thursday 20th February 2025
Gospel of the Week
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Be merciful as your Father is merciful.
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’
Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,
In this gospel, Jesus is inviting us to respond to challenges as he did – by loving, doing good, blessing, praying and giving. This we must do in season and out of season. Though we don't feel, and we don't see that it is logical to love and pray for our enemies, still, this divine call must be observed at all times. This program, this way of treating enemies reminds me a lot of Jesus. Let us listen to our Lord's words from Luke 6, again. “27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
God specifically promises to take care of generous givers. And he promises to give back to you in accordance with the measure of generosity you use in your giving in the first place. In essence, God says, “You go first.” We don't like that. We want God to go first. It teaches us that God is going to hold us responsible for the way that we treat others. If we show compassion and mercy to others, we will be shown compassion and mercy. If, however, we are judgmental and critical of others, we should expect to be treated the same way by God.
This week, our Year 2 students have begun their 10-day intense swimming program. We have been lucky with the weather and from all accounts they have been having a fantastic time. They have another week to go.
I ask all parents to once again, PLEASE observe the NO RIGHT TURN SIGN that is located at the entrance and exit on The Avenue car park. You MUST turn LEFT and you can simply go up to the roundabout and come back again. For the sake of a few minutes, you will spare the frustration of other parents trying to do the right thing. As the principal of this community, I absolutely do not condone the abuse of other families. This is completely unacceptable behaviour, particularly in front of your own children.
In the next few months, there will be some considerable changes to the way The Avenue car park operates, and I will keep the community updated. Thank you for your understanding.
God Bless
Meg
NAPLAN
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake. As students’ progress through their school years, it is important to check how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and numeracy. NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national proficiency standards. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with more information about students’ educational progress. NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working, and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.
Wed 12th Mar ~ 9:00am-10:00am (Writing)
Thurs 13th Mar ~ 10:00am-11:00am (Reading)
Friday 14th Mar ~ 9:00-10:00am (Conventions of Language) AND 11:30am-12:30am (Numeracy)
SEMPER DENTAL VISITS
We are pleased to advise you that our school has engaged Semper Dental to provide your children with the opportunity of visiting the Semper Dental treatment team at school commencing on Wednesday 19th March. Semper Dental is a well-respected catholic family business and is a significant provider of oral hygiene education and dental treatment services with programs running in more than 80 schools in greater Melbourne.
The program is available to participating students from all year levels at the school. The basis of this offer will be fully explained in the Semper Dental parent consent forms and in the Semper Dental information flyer.
Semper Dental provides a preventative treatment program involving an oral examination and treatments such as scale, cleaning, fluoride application and fissure seals where necessary. Semper Dental will then provide you with a treatment plan for your child following the visit and will inform you if your child requires additional dental care. Forms will need to be returned to the school by Thursday March 14th.
St Francis Xavier College school tours
If you are looking to enrol your child at St Francis Xavier, please note these important dates in your calendar.
SFX College Open Day – Saturday 22 March 10.00am – 2.00pm
Officer Campus Talk & Tour – 09.30am – 10.45am
Tuesday 11 February
Tuesday 13 May
Tuesday 24 June
Tuesday 12 August
Tuesday 09 September
Tuesday 14 October
Wednesday 12 November
Year 7 2026 Enrolment Interviews
Wednesday 5 March
Wednesday 4 June
Wednesday 29 October
Year 7 2027 Enrolment Interviews
Wednesday 2 July
Year 7 2027 Parent Information Evening
Wednesday 7 May 7.00pm
Year 7 2026 Transition Day – Monday
8 December all day
Parent Helpers-Term 2
We will be running an induction for any parents who wish to help in the classroom early in Term 2. Please note, any parents wishing to assist in the classroom must have a Working with Children Check. It only needs to be a Volunteer one to assist in the classroom. The school will require a copy of this to keep in our files. We will notify parents of the date once we have finalised it.
ATTENTION PARENTS: School Uniform
I am asking for all students to be wearing our full school uniform. It is important that we maintain a high standard of uniform throughout the school year and to wear it with pride.
I will continue to ask all students to be wearing proper school shoes and uniform right up until the end of the year. Runners are NOT school shoes. Please see pictures below. I understand that students are growing constantly, however they will continue to grow for many more years and so I cannot always accept this as an excuse. We must remember that many students are adhering to the correct standards of school uniform and therefore, it is important that the students and their families please respect this. Secondary schools do not accept poor unform standards.
If finance is a concern when it comes to uniform, please speak to your classroom teacher. St Patrick’s has a very good second-hand uniform shop where you can purchase school uniform items. It is a third of the price you would pay at the normal uniform shop, and the money goes straight back to the school.
This is an example of a school shoe to be worn every day, except on sport days/events:
This is a runner and NOT a school shoe
HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!
Ariya 5SA, Bawitha 5SA, James 1AF
DATE | ACTIVITY |
21/02/2025 | Whole School Mass 9.30am |
26/02/2025 | Prep Rest Day |
5/03/2025 | Ash Wednesday |
7/03/2025 | Pupil Free Day |
10/03/2025 | Labour Day - Public Holiday |
4/4/2025 | Last day of term - 2.30pm finish |
Year Level Camp/ Fun Day Dates:
DATE | YEAR LEVEL | ACTIVITY & LOCATION |
TBC | 3 | Fun Day - St Patrick's Primary |
11/06/2025 - 13/06/2025 | 4 | Camp - Phillip Island |
16/06/2025 - 18/06/2025 | 5 | Camp - City |
25/11/2025 - 28/11/2025 | 6 | Camp - Coonawarra Farm Resort |
TERM DATES 2025
First Day | Last Day | |
Term 1 | 30st January | 4th April |
Term 2 | 22nd April | 4th July |
Term 3 | 21st July | 19th September |
Term 4 | 6th October | 16th December |
2025 PUPIL FREE AND TIME IN LIEU DAYS:
The 3 Time in Lieu days ensure that we can manage our commitment for all staff to continue to provide activities such as school camps for our students.
Please note, these dates are separate from our 8 Staff Professional Development days. Those 8 days are for our staff professional learning which will focus on Religious Education, Learning and Teaching and Student Wellbeing.
07/03/2025 | Pupil Free Day |
06/06/2025 | Pupil Free Day |
21/08/2025 | Pupil Free Day |
22/08/2025 | TIL |
31/10/2025 | Pupil Free Day |
03/11/2025 | TIL |
17/12/2025 | Pupil Free Day |
18/12/2025 | Pupil Free Day |
19/12/2025 | TIL |
This week our Year 2's started swimming lessons. Here are some photos of the kids having fun in the water.
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Families were invited to attend our Term 1 community meeting in the staffroom, where we came together to share valuable information and resources. The meeting was thoughtfully led by our EAL Teacher, Yoke Yee, alongside our dedicated ESOs/Community Workers, Nadine and Tha (Hakha Chin translator). Their collaboration helped ensure clear communication and provided much-needed support to all attendees. One of the key highlights of the meeting was assisting families in accessing important permission and consent forms, which will help them stay engaged with upcoming school activities and initiatives. We are grateful for the positive turnout and the opportunity to connect with families. Stay tuned for our next community meeting in Term 2!
School Fee Statements have been emailed out to most families. Please check your junk/spam folder if you haven't received it. As in previous years, all Fees are charged at the start of the year with the expectation that they will be paid by the end of the school year. This can be done as one payment or instalments, via Direct Debit, Bpay, EFTPOS or cash. You can find Direct Debit forms in the Knowledge bank section of PAM, or ask at the school office. If paying by BPay please use the code on your statement to ensure the payment comes off your fees.
2025 SCHOOL SAVINGS BONUS (SSB)
The School Savings Bonus is a State Government initiative designed to assist
families with cost-of-living pressures. Under this funding, each eligible student is
entitled to a $400 bonus for application towards activity levies and uniform purchases
from approved supplier. Within our school, all CSEF applicants are eligible to receive
this funding. All families who have a Centrelink Health Care Card and have not
applied for CSEF in the past are encouraged to contact the school office and initiate
an application this year. Please refer to the below link for more information:
https://www.vic.gov.au/
information
Health Care Card and School Savings Bonus
For those families who have an eligible Health Care Card your fees are still being processed with the concession rate to be applied. If you haven't filled in a CSEF (Camps, Sports, Excursion Funding) form please download the attached form or pick one up from the school office. This needs to be done as soon as possible so we can receive the funding and apply your concession. This year it will also affect the allocation of the School Saving Bonus ($400) that the government announced last year. So the sooner these forms are in the better.
We have also received more information in regards to the School Saving Bonus which will be sent out soon.
Bus Travel and Conveyance allowance
Bus travel may be available to some families if they live more than 5klms distance from the school. Please see the information on the link below.
The Conveyance allowance is also a government initiative to help support parents with the cost transporting student to school. To be eligible you must live more than 4.8klms from school and St Patrick's must been your closest Catholic school. Please fill in the application form below if you think you may be eligible. These applications have a cut off date of 13th March, so please fill them in as soon as possible.
Program Support Group (PSG) Meetings will be held during week 5 for students who are provided with supports and adjustments to their classroom programs. These meetings will provide families with an opportunity to meet with the classroom teacher and the Learning Adjustment Team. During PSGs, we will set goals and discuss current and future adjustments required to support your child’s learning. Some parents may like to bring others to support them during the meeting. Please advise the Learning Adjustment Leader of any additional people attending prior to the meeting to allow for adequate planning.
PSGs can be booked through PAM for families invited to attend.
This past week the Scholastic brochures were handed out in class. All orders are made online via Book Club LOOP. Please follow the link below to make your purchase.
All purchases must be made before Thursday 20th of February.
SiMON Everywhere is an app our school uses to acces PAM and CDF Pay. We will be sending reminders through this app, as such please download and sign in. There is a guide below for your reference. If you are having any issues please contact Megan McMenamin in the school office mmcmenamin@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au
Have you logged into your PAM account yet!
We use PAM as our main form of communication. All emails, Student Attendance, Sick Bay notes, School Reports, commonly used forms, excursion/camp permission notes and Family Learning conversations, will all be communicated via PAM.
Access PAM via this link Link to PAM
PAM - Parent Access Module
PAM (Parent Access Module) is our Parent to School communication platform. PAM will provide real time access to keep parents updated with their children’s progress, important dates and messages. Relevant resources – calendar events, student reports, parent notified absences, absence data and sick bay notes will all be accessed via PAM.
Parents will be able to easily book Parent Teacher interviews through PAM, and access teacher email addresses.
PAM accounts are linked via your email address that we have in our systems.
If you have recently changed your email, please call or email us on office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au
Click on the 'forget password' link to set your password and then verify your email address. (Email addresses must be verified for PAM to work properly). Once your email is verified, your email can be used as the username for your account.
Once you have successfully logged in, you can save PAM to your homescreen on your device.
If you have any issues or need help with PAM please contact the school via email, office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au
PAM Instructions
Parent Notified Absences via PAM
Once you have PAM set up and saved to your home screen you can easily send in Parent Notified absences. Please use this platform going forward as this automatically syncs with the class roll. This will fix the issues of receiving SMS notifications even though you had already notified the school.
Please remember to update your Contact Details, Media Consent Details and any relevant Medical Details for your child if they change.
Most medical profiles have now been updated. Please remember to keep them up to date and upload any asthma/allergy plans that may be relevant.
To update any contact details please contact the school office.
Parents who would like to have their children baptised are required to attend baptism preparation. Please enroll through the parish website https://stpatrickspakenham.com.au/
For further details and assistance please contact
Mary Tresa Andrews
Religious Education Coordinator
We are pleased to advise you that our school has engaged Semper Dental to provide your
children with the opportunity of visiting the Semper Dental treatment team at school
commencing on Wednesday March 19 th.
Semper Dental is a well-respected catholic family business and is a significant provider of
oral hygiene education and dental treatment services with programs running in more than
80 schools in greater Melbourne.The program is available to participating students from all year levels at the school. The
basis of this offer will be fully explained in the Semper Dental parent consent forms and in
the Semper Dental information flyer.
Semper Dental provides a preventative treatment program involving an oral examination
and treatments such as scale, cleaning, fluoride application and fissure seals where
necessary. Semper Dental will then provide you with a treatment plan for your child following the visit
and will inform you if your child requires additional dental care.
Forms need to be returned to the school by Thursday March 14 th .
SPECIAL REPORT: The Wellbeing Barometer - 2025
The Wellbeing Barometer survey is an invaluable tool for schools, providing critical insights into the mental health and wellbeing of young people. This annual survey identifies areas of concern, highlights resilience and adaptability in students, and emphasises the importance of preventative strategies to promote positive outcomes.
Participation in this survey is strongly encouraged, as it offers a comprehensive view of students' experiences, challenges, and achievements. By capturing a detailed understanding of young people's experiences, the survey supports a tailored approach to enhancing their mental, emotional, and social wellbeing. It helps to identify strengths and areas for improvement, as well as pinpoint opportunities for early intervention.
The survey is part of an ongoing longitudinal study, and we encourage you to take a few moments to complete the survey for each of your children. Responses remain anonymous and should be based on your observations over the last 12 months. By working together, we can reduce the long-term impact of mental illness and make a meaningful difference to the lives of our young people for a brighter future.
Here is the link to your Special Report https://stppakenham.