Newsletter Thursday 11th May, 2023

We the staff of St Patrick’s acknowledge the traditional owners, the Kulin nations, of the land on which we learn and play.

We pay respects to the Aboriginal Elders, past and present, who are our teachers.

We thank them for taking care of children and country for countless generations.

Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,

The Gospel today is so beautifully linked to a very special day on Sunday; Mother’s Day. Just as we know that Jesus holds us in his love every day, this can also be said of our mums. Whether our mums, grandmothers, aunties and other carers have passed on or are still with us, it is our mothers who have and will always be there for us. Despite their own fears, sadness, illness and worries, they will reach out to those closest to them and hold them tight and put them first. Please take the time to wish your mum a happy and blessed day and to say thank you for all the things she does.

We look forward to celebrating with our mums on Monday mornings from 8:30am. We have a coffee van coming in and your coffee is on the school! We will also be taking advantage of the beautiful weather on Monday morning and getting out some sports equipment to get active!

Yesterday our P and F held the Mother’s Day stall and thankfully this was able to go ahead as we had two parent helpers to assist the committee. This year we introduced a new system of tokens as we are trying to eliminate the use of cash/coins as there have been so many issues in the past with lost money etc.. I know there were some teething problems which as a school and P and F, we will work through. Thank you to parents who continue to support the school and P and F as we work our way through looking at new processes such as this.

Tomorrow, our students across Foundation to year 6, will be having an incursion from the STOMP dance team! We look forward to their dynamic work and to see how students have some fun!

Take care and God Bless

Meg

School Sickness

Earlier this week, we sent information home around the cooler months and the increase we are seeing in illness amongst the students. Covid has once again risen its ugly head in the school and we are continuing to put in place safety measurefor everyone. As families you can support this by not sending children to school who have a temperature, coughing, sneezing, sore throat etc. If your child has any of these symptoms, please consider doing a RAT test. We have free RAT testing kits here in the school office.

Understanding Victoria’s Child Safe Standards

The Child Safe Standards (the Standards) commenced in Victoria in January 2016. Since then, we have seen how the Standards have improved safety for children and young people.

Changes in 2022 and 2023 have made our Standards even stronger.

Since 1 July 2022, organisations^[1] covered by the Standards have to comply with 11 new Standards.

The 11 Standards set out minimum requirements and outline the actions organisations must take to keep children and young people safe.

Each week, there will be a new standard for you to read about.

The Standards provide more clarity for organisations and are more consistent with Standards in the rest of Australia.

The 11 Standards include specific requirements:

• to involve families and communities in organisations’ efforts to keep children and young people safe
• for a greater focus on safety for Aboriginal children and young people
• to manage the risk of child abuse in online environments
• in relation to governance, systems and processes to keep children and young people safe.

In complying with Child Safe Standard 7 an organisation must, at a minimum, ensure:

8.1    Staff and volunteers are trained and supported to effectively implement the organisation’s Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy.

8.2    Staff and volunteers receive training and information to recognise indicators of child harm including harm caused by other children and young people.

8.3    Staff and volunteers receive training and information to respond effectively to issues of child safety and wellbeing and support colleagues who disclose harm.

8.4       Staff and volunteers receive training and information on how to build culturally safe environments for children and young people.

School Uniforms

At St Patrick’s, it is important to highlight to students the message around respecting our school uniform. The uniform represents our school and is expected to be worn with pride. Please be aware that I will approach and ask students about their uniform and will follow up with parents if necessary.

Please write a note to your child/ren’s classroom teacher if there is an issue with the inform for a particular period of time.

Some reminders:

• Socks- are to be ankle socks; white for girls and grey for boys
• Students are to wear black shoes and NOT (black) runners. Runners may be brought to school for your child/ren to change into for the playtimes;
• Girls are permitted to wear the school (Summer) dress or the school shirt and grey shorts
• Boys wear the grey shorts in Summer and the long grey pants in Winter (they may choose to continue wearing the shorts.)
• Sports uniform consists of the polo shirt with the school logo and the green track pants or green unisex shorts.
• School sports jacket is optional in the cooler months.

TERM DATES

PUPIL FREE DAYS:

These 3 Pupil Free 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.

This week we held our Mother's Day stall. A big thank you to our P&F for their hard work in organising this for our students.

If your child had purchased a token and was absent on this day, they can come by the office and choose a gift as we have a few presents left over.

We had our Mother's Day Raffle drawn as well. Congragulations to our winners:

Mikayla 6DD, Savannah 1AF and Georgia 5SA !

WE’RE TAKING IT IN OUR STRIDE ON FRIDAY 19 MAY 2023

You and your family are invited to meet us at the David Bull Funeral Directors carpark at 8:20am.

From there we will walk along the footpath parallel with the service road to our school.

We look forward to seeing you and your family there !

First Holy Communion

Confirmation

Reconciliation

PSG invitations have been sent out to families for metings being held next week. The meetings are on Monday the 15th and Tuesday the 16th of May.

Please contact Angharad Doran if you have any further question.

Pakenham District Cross Country 2023

Such a magnificent day for the Pakenham District Cross Country Event on May 5th at Toomuc Reserve. Students displayed wonderful “Team Spirit”, encouraging all competitors, and ran to the best of their ability. 

Well done to all students who demonstrated commitment and persistence leading up to and on the day of the event, even with lazy wind impeding running on the day. All students should be proud of their achievements to meet or beat set goals. 

Congratulations to Lewis (6BC), Owen (5SA) and Alek (5SA)

These students will now have the opportunity to represent St Pat’s at the Cardinia Division Event which will occur on Wednesday May 31st at the same venue. Permission for this event will be available via PAM. We wish these students well as they stride into the next level of competition. 

Students were supported by several staff members on the day. Thank you to Belinda Couch, Shiny Antony, Janelle Van der Veer, Cathy Edwards and Paul Beswick for supporting the students on the day, and to family and friends who attended to cheer and support the whole team. 

Stay Active!

Louise Breeden

AFL Positive Start Clinics - Week 2

Students in all year levels continued to take part in AFL clinics during PE lessons this week. Unfortunately, many had to be transferred indoors due to the weather. This did not hinder anyone’s enthusiasm with students engaging enthusiastically with each other and the coaches.

AFL Positive Start introduces and develops AFL skills in a safe and inclusive environment. It focuses on teamwork and showing positive team spirit. Our St Patrick’s students demonstrated this well throughout the session.   

Students again worked on handballing, marking and kicking in small and large groups activities, further developing their skills.

AFL Victoria offered these sessions free of charge to St Patrick’s and we are thankful to Gabby, Mietta and Nicky from AFL Victoria for their coaching over the past 2 weeks.

Here are some photos of our year 5 students !

This month on SchoolTV - The State of Youth Mental Health

Parents and carers can play a crucial role in their children's mental health. As a result, staying informed on the current state of youth mental health is vital, as it not only affects individuals, but also families and communities. According to recent research, the frequency of mental health disorders among young people is increasing, with anxiety, depression, and self-harm being among the most common challenges.

One of the reasons being attributed to this rise is the heightened stress and anxiety that many young people face in today's society. Academic success, social media, and family issues are all influencing factors. Many young people are still suffering the long-term consequences of the pandemic, such as social isolation, uncertainty, and loss.

Parents can play an important role in their children's mental health. Creating a safe and open environment for your children to talk about their emotions, thoughts, and feelings is vital. Encouraging healthy habits like regular exercise, a balanced diet, and proper sleep can help reduce their stress levels and boost your child's overall mental health. There are also many resources and services available to children, adolescents, and their families, such as school counsellors, various mental health organisations, support lines, and of course, mental health professionals. It is important to remember that seeking help is a show of strength, not weakness, and that early intervention is critical in addressing young people's mental health difficulties.

This edition of SchoolTV, discusses some of the major mental health issues affecting young people and how to support a child experiencing them. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this month’s edition, and we always welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to this month's edition https://stppakenham.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/state-youth-mental-health

Have you re-set up your PAM account yet! 

We have been using 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 and any relevant medical details for your child.  

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. 

School Fees – Government Assistance Programs

The School Fee statements for Term 2 will be sent out in the next couple of weeks and an updated Fee Schedule can be found in the knowledge bank section of PAM under commonly used forms.     

However, there are some Government assistance programs for families who may be in need of this. 

CSEF

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments for eligible students to attend activities like:

• school camps or trips
• swimming and school-organised sports programs
• outdoor education programs
• excursions and incursions.

Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. A Special Consideration category also exists. Schools can receive applications from families over terms one and two.

Families can list more than one student in the one application form if they are attending the same school.

Eligible means-tested cards

Means-tested concession cards must now be valid on either:

• the first day of Term 1 (Monday 30 January 2023)
• the first day of Term 2 (Tuesday 24 April 2023)

CSEF application form   (also available in the knowledge bank section in PAM)

Conveyance allowance

The conveyance allowance is a State Government allowance that may be available to students attending government or non-government schools.

If you live more than 4.8km from your closest school you can apply for the conveyance allowance and:

• travelling by public transport or by private car, motorbike, bicycle or bus, and
• whose nearest school is not serviced by a free school bus provided under the School Bus Program

The conveyance allowance is a State Government contribution towards transport costs and is not intended to cover the full cost of transporting children to and from school.

 Application for private car travel  (also available in the knowledge bank section in PAM)

 Application for public transport travel    (also available in the knowledge bank section in PAM)

School Bus Program

The School Bus Program is an extensive school bus network that provides free travel to eligible students. Students must be attending government and non-government schools and living in rural and regional Victoria. 

* Students are expected to use public transport where a service is available within 1.6 km (measured by shortest practicable route) of their home or closer to their home than the nearest school bus service. This applies to both students applying to access the SBP at no cost and to fare paying passengers. * * 

If your child is eligible, they can travel for free.

There are different categories that decide if your child is eligible for free travel. For more information read the eligibility guide below.

School bus program eligibility guide

Click on the link below to check if a school bus is available in your area.

School Bus Management System

St Francis Xavier had their upcoming production of 'The Wizard of Oz' at the Beaconsfield campus. Tickets are $15.00 for a child and $17.00 for an adult.

Access tickets using this link: https://www.trybooking.com/CGBHK

The dates are as follows:

Thursday 25^th May 7pm

Friday 26^th May 7pm

Saturday 27^th May 1pm and 7pm