Newsletter Thursday 29th February, 2024

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,

Another productive week at St Patrick’s. This week our year 4's experienced football from the NRL world conducted by Melbourne Storm. From all reports, they had a wonderful time!

This week, we have experienced quite the heatwave. We are lucky that we have air conditioning in every classroom in the school. Currently I am investigating installation of 5 refrigerated units in the stadium which is well and truly overdue and will indeed be welcomed.

I would like to remind parents of the importance of safe driving skills when dropping off and collecting children each day. I understand that we all have some very trying traffic conditions around Pakenham and Officer at the moment, but abuse of my staff or other parents WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. If you are running late, please call the office. Your child/ren, will NEVER be left on their own at the end of the day. They are brought up to the office and supervised until collected. 

Parents who are waiting in the collection zone are to wait in their cars at all times. If you wish to chat, please park your car to do so.

It also important to be mindful that parking in the teacher’s carpark is not allowed under any circumstances. Your patience is required at all times. We allow for 20 minutes for the collection of students in the afternoon. If you arrive at 3.20pm, most of the crowd has gone and you will not have to endure too much of a wait.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Take care and God Bless,

Meg

Year Level Camp/ Fun Day Dates:

TERM DATES 2024

2024 PUPIL FREE DAYS AND SCHOOL CLOSURE DAYS:

The 4 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.

Important Reminders

It has been wonderful to see students arriving at 8:30am and taking part in Active Club again. Active Club takes place on the big oval each day. Active Club gives students the opportunity to get their bodies moving before learning each day. Being active every day has a range of positive effects for all. Some things to remember so that everyone can enjoy Active Club: 

• Leave your bag outside your classroom before heading over to the oval or basketball courts
• Walk or jog slowly and carefully and watch out for the younger and smaller students in the school

Below is a link for all parents to seek further information on the benefits of morning exercise.

Just a reminder that parents are only to be waiting outside the classrooms please and not to be on the oval or basketball courts as this is the time the students begin their morning exercise and have the opportunity to be socialising with their peers.

For children and young people (5 to 17 years) | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care 

Tomorrow Friday the 1^st March is a SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY. The students will NOT be attending school. The staff will be participating in Professional Development on the topic of De-Escalation.

We look forward to welcoming back the students on Monday the 4^th March.

Will be held on Friday 15^th March. Permission notes have gone out to our year 3 - 6 students as their course takes them out of the school grounds. Our junior students will be participating on a course that is solely on our schoold grounds.

We are looking for helpers from our parent community, this is required in order for the event to go ahead. Please contact Louise Breeden, Physical Education teacher at lbreeden@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au or office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au if you are able to help out on this day.

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

It is a nationwide measure through which parents/carers, teachers, schools, education authorities, governments and the broader community can determine whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community.

NAPLAN results allow parents/carers and educators to see how students are progressing in literacy and numeracy over time – individually, as part of their school community, and against national standards.  

The tests support monitoring and evaluating of the performance of schools and school systems in these fundamental capabilities. They also provide schools, states and territories with information about how education approaches are working, areas to be prioritised for improvement, and those schools requiring support in the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy.

The results can assist teachers by providing additional information to support their professional judgement about students’ levels of literacy and numeracy attainment and progress.

NAPLAN tests are one aspect of each school’s assessment and reporting process and do not replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by teachers about each student’s performance. Each teacher will have the best insight into their students’ educational progress. Parents/carers can use NAPLAN reports, along with other school assessment reports, to discuss their child’s strengths and areas for improvement with their teacher. 

NAPLAN results do not measure overall school quality.

The assessments are undertaken nationwide, every year. From 2008 to 2022, NAPLAN tests were held in May. From 2023, education ministers agreed NAPLAN tests will be held in March. 

NAPLAN is made up of tests in the 4 areas (or ‘domains’) of:

• reading
• writing
• conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation)
• maths

If you have any concerns or questions regarding NAPLAN, please contact your child/ren’s classroom teacher/s.

Our Icy Poles Wednesdays are back !!

Please log onto CDF Pay with the link below to order one for your child. Each icy pole is $1.50.

https://stppakenham.cdfpay.org.au

CSEF Applications are now due! 

If you have a current Health Care Card you may be eligable for the school fees concession program. 

The applicant must be one of the following:

1. a parent/carer (of a student attending a registered Government or non-government Victorian primary or secondary school) who is:
   • on the first day of Term 1 (29 January 2024), or the first day of Term 2 (15 April 2024)  a holder of one or more of the eligible financially-means tested cards (Centrelink Health Care Card or a Pensioner Concession Card), or
   • a temporary foster parent

The parent/carer must submit an application to the school by 23 June 2024.

If anyone has any questions or would like to discuss their school fee account, please contact the school office. 

Please download and fill in both forms below if you qualify.

If there are any changes from last year, this includes a new child starting at the school or any child who has now left the school, there is an additional form that needs to be filled out. Please come by the school office to collect it.

Please find the school fee schedule attached. Some school fees have gone out, the rest are following shortly. If you have any questions plese contact Cindy in the school office.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Sacrament of Reconciliation

The Sacrament of Reconciliation, also known as the Sacrament of Penance and Confession, is an important element of Christian life where we encounter God's presence and unconditional love.

The Year 3 students are preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation at school. You can help your child prepare in many ways such as family prayer and attending Mass regularly.

PARENT WORKSHOP (ONLY PARENTS)

IT IS AN EXPECTATION THAT ALL PARENTS OF CHILDREN RECEIVING THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION WILL ATTEND ON THIS NIGHT.

When: Thursday 29th February 

Time: 7:00 pm

Where: St Patrick’s Parish Hall

Speaker: Fr Elio Capra SDB

Students receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation and parents are to attend the Commitment Mass on Saturday 2nd March at St Patrick’s Church, Pakenham.

Any student attending St Patrick’s school who is baptised in the Catholic Church, attending Year 3 onwards can register to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Bookings are open now!

The link for registration is below:

https://stpatrickspakenham.com.au/reconciliation/

Please feel free to contact Mary Tresa Andrews, Religious Education Leader, via email at mandrews@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au 

KEY DATES

Regards,

Mary Tresa Andrews

Religious Education Leader

St Patrick’s Primary School

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 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.