Newsletter Thursday 7th March, 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.

Newsletter 1AF

We would like to present to you some amazing work we did throughout the term. The students have settled in well to their new class and made many new friends.

Religion- Responding to God’s love

Students listened to the bible story, The Parable of the Sower. Following this they ‘planted’ some green beans in cotton wool and placed it inside a zip lock attached to a sprout house. The plants had to have sunlight and water the same way we need God’s love and care.

Literacy- Rhyming

Students made dust bunny puppets and as a whole class they explored rhyming words and created meaningful sentences.

Maths- Measuring length 

For Maths we learnt about measuring length. The students used informal units such as unifix cubes, ribbons, and dinosaur footprints to measure the length of items and recognise and order the shortest, short, long and longest items.

Measuring length using dinosaur footprints. We had so much fun!!

Measuring our friends' body parts with a ribbon.

Using unifix cubes to measure the length of our work books, table, tissue box and shoe size.

Learning to Learn Unit- Cooperation

The students learnt many ways to show cooperation at school. They completed a group task where they had to create a chain using one piece of A4 paper. Students learnt how to work in a team, listen to others, follow directions and make decisions. They showed fantastic cooperative skills and worked really well together.

Learning to Learn- Being a cooperative team member

Students built a bridge between two tables within 5 minutes using unifix cubes. They worked in small groups/teams. Once they built the bridge, one member of the team will drive a toy car across the bridge to check the strength of their bridge.

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.

Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,

I would like to invite all families to come and celebrate our feast day that is St Patrick's on Sunday 17th March. There will be a mass at 10.30am on that Sunday and afterwards we will have a sausage sizzle to continue the celebrations. There will be no money required on the day as the sausages etc will be supplied by the school.

If you are intending to come to the mass and stay for the sausage sizzle, please see further in the newsletter for instructions on ordering. We ask all families to do this so we are not caught short on the day and can cater for all.

Take care and God Bless,

Meg

Monday 11th March is a public holiday and therefore is no school on this day.

Enjoy the long weekend and we look forward to seeing everyone back on Tuesday 12th March.

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.

Congratulations to Mason, Chloe, Dylan and Amity who represented St Pat’s at the Pakenham District Swimming Carnival on Wednesday 6th March. Declan also qualified but was unable to swim on the day. The weather was picture perfect - sunshine and very little breeze - for all to put in their best effort in the pool! All students wore their uniform with pride, cheering and encouraging all competitors.

Whilst the team did not walk away with any blue ribbons on the day, all of the students were a wonderful asset to our school, swimming well in some tight races. 

Special mention to Dylan who placed 3rd in the 12/13yo Boys Breaststroke (A) and Amity who placed 3rd in the 9/10yo Girls Freestyle (A). Well done to both Dylan and Amity for their achievements! 

Thank you to Mr Beswick who accompanied the students at the pool and to Mrs Bateson who helped out last year during the trials in preparation for this year’s District event.

Stay active!

Louise Breeden

Our House Cross Country 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. These permission slips need to be submitted before Wednesday 13th March. Any students without permission will still be participating but will do the course within the school grounds.

Our junior students will be participating on a course that is solely on our school grounds.

Families are invited to watch the event. Please note there will be a spectator section that families must stay in to ensure student saftey.

We have some very excited Year 6 stduetns as they received their Year 6 jumpers this week!

Saint Patrick was a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary and Bishop in Ireland. Much of what is known about Saint Patrick comes from the Declaration, which was allegedly written by Patrick himself. It is believed that he was born in Roman Britain in the fourth century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. His father was a deacon and his grandfather was a priest in the Christian church. According to the Declaration, at the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Gaelic Ireland.[19] It says that he spent six years there working as a shepherd and that during this time he found God. The Declaration says that God told Patrick to flee to the coast, where a ship would be waiting to take him home. After making his way home, Patrick went on to become a priest.[20]

According to tradition, Patrick returned to Ireland to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity. The Declaration says that he spent many years evangelising in the northern half of Ireland and converted thousands.

On Sunday 17th March we will be celebrating St. Patrick's feast day at our church. We invite all of our families to attend this celebration starting with Mass at 10:30am, followed by a sausage sizzle afterwards. If you and you family are planning to attend please email the office staff before Wednesday 13th March so that we can order accordingly.

office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au

Hello everyone,

My name is Kelly Wilson and I am very excited to be a part of the wonderful team and community at St Patrick’s P.S. 

I have been a teacher for 24 years and have come to St Patrick’s to work with you all in the areas of Wellbeing & Mental Health. 

Together with the wonderful Wellbeing Team already in place at St Patrick’s, I will be implementing many new programs, setting up wellbeing learning spaces, and providing opportunities for everyone to learn about being the very best version of themselves. 

I am here to support teachers, students and families, so please pop in and say hello. I’m very grateful to be part of the wonderful family at St Patrick’s and look forward to meeting you all.

Take care,

Kel.

What is Wellbeing?

The World Health Organisation defines wellbeing as:

"... a positive state experienced by individuals and societies. Similar to health, it is a resource for daily life and is determined by social, economic and environmental conditions. Well-being encompasses quality of life and the ability of people and societies to contribute to the world with a sense of meaning and purpose."

The MHiPS (Mental Health in Primarsy Schools) Role

The role of the MHiPS is to build the capability of the whole school with regard to mental health and wellbeing (identification, promotion and prevention), provide support to staff to better identify and support students with mental health needs, establish clear pathways for referral for students requiring assessment and intervention, and monitor and evaluate student progress. The role was specifically established as a coordination function to support educators in the classroom and to provide a crucial link to resources external to the school.

The MHiPS role is quite different to a Student Support Services officer or psychologist – it is not a clinical role and is not designed for direct intervention. The role is seen as a key conduit in ‘getting a child to care’ once a teacher or other staff member identifies a concern in the classroom.

The role is designed to provide a proactive focus for the promotion and prevention of mental health and wellbeing through assessment and implementation of context-relevant programs, approaches and initiatives based on a broad and extensive knowledge of the needs of the school.

Operating in collaboration with the Department of Education and Training's area-based multi-disciplinary teams, the MHiPS :

• Embeds evidence-based training and resources across the school to build the capability of staff to better identify and support students
• Provides support to individual teachers in the classroom with students who have been identified as in need
• Creates clear pathways for students who may need further assessment and intervention within the school and to external community-based services
• Uses informed referral pathways to strengthen linkages between schools and community services
• Works proactively with regional staff, school wellbeing teams and other health professionals to engage appropriate mental health support
• Is responsible for implementing whole-school approaches to mental health and wellbeing
• Contributes to the development of larger-scale reform, promoting what works to support students’ mental health and wellbeing.

Icy Pole Wednesday

Next week is the last week for an icypole this term !

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

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. 

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.

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

School Fees

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.

The parish is looking for families who would like to be a part of Holy Week prayer on Sunday 24th March. This is between the times of 7-8am. You do not need to do anything, just come to the St Patrick’s church, and be fulfilled with prayers form this most Holy season.