Newsletter Thursday 22nd June, 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.

REMINDER

Term 2 finishes tomorrow Friday the 23^rd June at 2.10pm. Please make a note of the time change.

Term 3 begins on Monday the 10^th July.

Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,

As we approach the much-anticipated winter holidays, we would like to take a moment to reflect on the amazing accomplishments and events that have taken place during this term at St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School. It has been a period filled with growth, learning and celebration, and we are immensely proud of our school community.

Our term has been enriched by several exciting events and activities that have brought joy and togetherness to our school community.

These activities included Mother’s day celebrations, excursions to Myuna Farm and the Melbourne Wetlands as well as many incursions from Adam Wallace to STOMP and the AFL Positive Start Program.

As we head into the winter holidays, we encourage you to make the most of this well-deserved break. It is a time to recharge, spend quality moments with loved ones, and engage in activities that bring you joy.

In closing, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated staff, supportive parents, and exceptional students for making this term a memorable one. We wish you all a blessed and joyous winter holiday filled with love, laughter, and rejuvenation.

I will be away for the first 3 weeks of Term 3 and in my absence, Lisa McDonald will be the Acting Principal and Donna Ward will be the Acting Deputy. I have no doubt that St Patrick’s will be in very competent hands. I look forward to seeing you all upon my return.

Take care and God Bless

Meg

Portfolios

Over this last semester, our teachers have been working very hard to upload student work onto their portfolios. We began this process last year as part of our ongoing assessment of student work. The pieces have been looked over by the teachers and have anecdotal notes to go with them. Just as we send a report home at the end of each semester, the portfolios are an important and key piece in your child/ren’s progress in school. I ask all parents, carers and guardians to please ensure you make time to look over the work that has been uploaded and discuss these pieces with your children.

If you are unsure of how to access the work, please see below for instructions on how to do so:

Accessing Portfolios

-  Sign into PAM

- Select the student profile by clicking on their school photo

- Select 'Learning Tasks'

- You will see the following image, click on the drop down arrow

- Here you will find the portfolios

Building Project

You may have noticed that our B Block is coming along, however it will not be completed by the end of this term as originally thought. The building will be completed over the school holidays and the students will move in the first few weeks of term 3. We look forward to seeing our new building and being able to access the new facilities.

Donations

In order to support our P and F committee, I am asking if there are families and businesses out there who are able to donate items that can be used for future raffles and in particular for our fete that is being held later this year. Not only is this a sign of goodwill and enhance a sense of community, but it will also create great opportunities for your own business to be highlighted at St Patrick’s. If you would like to donate items, please contact the office on 5943 9000 or email office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au

As always, we appreciate any help that is given to our beautiful school.

Social Media

Our school has started its own Facebook page where we highlight the amazing things out students do everyday at school. You can follow our page with the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087005542953

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.

We have been having so much fun reading and writing about narratives this term, specifically fairy tales. We explored the problem, solution and resolution for fairy tales like The Gingerbread Man, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk and The Three Little Pigs to name a few!

Today we participated in Fairy Tale rotations where we could act out the stories, write a different ending to the stories and complete a fairy tale lego challenge. In the afternoon we invited leaders of the school along with the preps, ones and 5RS to join us in a fairy tale dance party. It was such a great day and so much fun!!

Confirmation

Reconciliation

Thursday 19th October	7:00pm	Parent Workshop
Saturday 22nd October	6.00pm	Commitment Mass
Wednesday 25th October	7:00pm	Reconciliation
Thursday 26th October 2023	7:00pm	Reconciliation

Year 4 Communion

Across the past two weekends our year 4 students completed their First Holy Communion, here are a few pictures to commemorate the occasion.

  

SPECIAL REPORT: Celebrating NAIDOC Week

NAIDOC week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is celebrated by all Australians and is a great opportunity to recognise and learn more about the history and culture of indigenous communities.

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced back to the Aboriginal rights movement, when on Australia Day 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney to highlight the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Today, it is a week-long celebration held in July that consists of range of traditional and contemporary activities.

NAIDOC Week is an important event that helps build positive relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. It enables a deeper understanding of our differences and similarities. NAIDOC week is an opportunity for all Australians to eliminate bias and discrimination by reflecting and reconciling the wrongs of the past to facilitate hope and build a fairer future. Families are encouraged to join in and support young people in learning the significance of NAIDOC Week.

This Special Report offers suggestions on how families can celebrate NAIDOC Week together. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report https://stppakenham.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-celebrating-naidoc-week

Have you logged into 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

The School Fee statements for Term 2 have been sent out via email.   If you require another copy please contact the school office.  Our preferred method of payment is via Direct Debit, please download the attached form and return to the school office.  Alternatively a hard copy can be picked up from the office.

CSEF 

CSEF forms are still being accepted, however there is a deadline of 30th June! 

To be eligible for the CSEF all you need is a valid Health Care Card.  Contact the school office for more information. 

Holders of a valid Health Care Card are also eligible for a reduction in the school fees. Please contact the school office.  

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)