Newsletter Thursday 16th November, 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,

This week our students in Foundation, grades 1 and 2 have begun their swimming lessons at Splashes. I have enjoyed seeing them walking past my office each day on their way over and on their way back to school. How wonderful it is to see their beautiful faces and smiles as they continue to take advantage of all the wonderful opportunities that St Patrick’s offers to them.

We continue to hear about the devastation that is occurring in the Middle East. It is hard to fathom how humanity can continue to take the news of war and unrest. The Gospel talks about the Kingdom of God is among us. It is important for us to believe that our faith in God remains strong and that he will guide our way to peace. If we look at a verse 1 Peter 3:11: 

They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Let us continue to pray for all people caught up in conflict across the world. Pray for peace and understanding. Remember that life is precious and we need to look after one another.

God Bless,

Meg

BLUE TONGUED LIZARDS

We have 2 blue tongued lizards that we would like to see go to a family who would look after these amazing reptiles. They come with a special tank to house them. If you are interested please contact the school office on office@stppakenham.cahtolic.edu.au or call 5943 9000

Paddy’s Kitchen-Food Drive

Paddy’s Kitchen is an outreach program initiated by the parishioners of St. Patrick’s Church, Pakenham, to serve our community.

Students, staff and parents of St Patrick’s school have been playing an important role to reach out to the community by volunteering to help with cooking, serving and cleaning.  This year our school as a part of the Advent giving program, will be doing a Paddy’s Food Drive to reach out to our beautiful Pakenham community.

Through this program, our school community makes it evident that, ‘The person is not only sacred but also social. Moreover, we believe we have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable people.’

One family - one item and we together can make a difference. Thank you.

List of items

• Cereal, oats, muesli bars
• Chocolates
• Biscuits
• 1 kg Rice bags
• Pasta
• sugar
• Pasta sauces.
• Canned tomatoes, fruits and soups
• Canned lentils, veggies, corn, chick peas
• Oil
• Vegemite
• Honey
• Pancake shakes.
• Gift cards for groceries also welcome.

Church Building Project/Church car park pick up

Thanks so much to all of the parents for your cooperation of the new arrangements in the Church car Park. It is wonderful to have the support of our parents as we endeavour to set in place new routines for getting the students safely in their cars.

The main focus will always be the safety of our students and irresponsible behaviour and dangerous driving will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. Please continue to check updates on PAM and the newsletter.

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.

Tomorrow at assembly our School Choir will be performing. All families are invited to come along and watch !

House Aths 2023

On a very warm Wednesday, students in Years 3-6 walked to the Athletics Track at Toomuc Reserve in Pakenham to participate in some athletics events, showcasing skills they have been learning during PE lessons. 

Students wore their House colours with pride, participating to receive House Points for completing events, with bonus points awarded for Top 3 placement, including ribbons. The focus was on using correct technique, being safe and demonstrating Team Spirit. 

It was fantastic to have many of our St Patrick’s community at the track to support and cheer on students throughout the day. 

This year, some Year 6 students nominated to participate as an official and applied skills learnt during PE to help staff measure, time and record results throughout the day. Students who took on this role showed tremendous cooperation and resilience, remaining all day and supporting each other to get the job done effectively.

Students had a fun-filled day! Thanks to all staff and students for taking part. 

Stay active!

Louise Breeden

Junior Mini Aths 2023

Although not the same weather as Wednesday, students in Year F-2 participated enthusiastically in some athletics and active events last Thursday, displaying their locomotor, manipulative and teamwork skills learnt in PE throughout the year. The focus was on using correct technique, being safe and demonstrating Team Spirit.

It was exciting to see students wearing their House colours with pride and cheering each other on. It was also lovely to have members of the St Patrick’s community onsite to watch students display our school values in a positive and active manner. 

Thank you to the Year 6 students who helped to run the events applying organisational skills learnt during their PE lessons, helping staff and supporting students throughout the day.

Stay active!

Louise Breeden

Our school Colour Run is on Friday 8th December. Families are invited down to watch in the afternoon. 

We are asking for any parent volunteers to assist us on the day from 2:00pm - 3:00pm. If you are willing to help out and have a current WWCC please contact the school office ASAP.

Next Monday you will be able to order your prizes online through the online profile you have created. If you have any questions please reach out to Alex Taylor in the school office !

Icy Pole Wednesday is BACK! Get on CDF Pay to order an icypole for $2 !!

https://stppakenham.cdfpay.org.au

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.