Newsletter Thursday 13th June

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.

5SA's Class Newsletter

One of the highlights of this semester had been the visit by an Australian Author Adam Wallace. Here is a reflection by Maeva

On the 7th of May, An Australian author named Adam Wallace visited the Year 5 classes. He did some drawing challenges with us and told us how he got his ideas for his characters/books.

He also showed us his new book: Numbskull and Nincompoop. We did 3 challenges and for each one, we had to change how we drew and had to draw random stuff. In the end, he showed us steps on how to draw a Brontosaurus with details, backgrounds, and facial expressions. At the very end, we asked him some questions about writing books and then he left.

Maeva 5SA

Buddy Program

We are buddies to FKG. Monday of alternate weeks we meet with our buddies and do some interesting activities with them. One of the activities was creating a friendly monster and telling a story about it. Here are some monsters we created.

We visited SFX to get a taste of high school Life. We were greeted by a few teachers and student leaders who are ex-students of St. Patrick’s. Decorating a cookie, making slime in the laboratory and playing in the Gymnasium were the activities we participated. It was awesome!

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,

This week our Year 3s began their swimming. Unfortunately, they were not able to attend on Tuesday due to the bad weather but yesterday and today has worked out okay. They have been having a wonderful time at the pool and both grades are to be congratulated for their manners and being safe as they walk to and from the pool. There are some photos below.

Please make sure to book your appointment for the Family Learning Conversations which are now being held in the last week term. This is an important opportunity to discuss with your child/ren’s classroom teacher about their Semester One report. Please see below for instructions on how to do so. Please do not hesitate to contact the office on 5943 9000 or office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au for assistance.

As you may or may not be aware, we are experiencing a teacher shortage at the moment. This is mainly due to teacher illness here at St Patrick’s. Please know that we are doing everything we can to ensure we have covered the classes but there may be days when your child/ren’s class is split and/or they miss out on a specialist. Your child continues to be completing work that has been prepared for them by their teachers and being supported by the remaining staff. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Take care and God Bless,

Meg

You can now book in on PAM for an FLC with your child's classroom teacher. These sessions are 15 minutes long with a bell signalling the end of each session. If you require more time you can arrange another meeting time with the teacher.

When: 

Tuesday 25th June

Wednesday 26th June

Where:

Your child's classroom

Our year 3 stduents had their first swimming lessosn yesterday and had a blast! Here are a few pictures, with many more to show next week !

Our book fair is back this year and is running in the last week of this term

Where: St Patrick's School Library

When: Monday 24th June - 8:30am - 9:00am and 3:00pm - 4:15pm

           Tuesday 25th June - 8:30am - 9:00am and 3:00pm - 6:00pm

           Wednesday 26th June - 8:30am - 9:00am and 3:00pm - 6:00pm

Cash and EFTPOS is available

All students must be accompnaied by an adult

If you have any questions please stop by the library to see Nadine King or Sharon Blackwood

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 eligible 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.

SiMON Everywhere is the new app our school uses to acces PAM and CDF Pay. We will be sending reminders through this app, as such please download and sign in. There is a guide below for your reference. If you are having any issues please contact Alex Taylor in the school office ataylor@stppakenham.catholic.edu.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 note there have been a number of complaints about parents parking across our school driveways at the end of the school day.

Not only is this an illegal activity, but it is also making it very difficult for any pedestrians and particularly those in wheelchairs to access the footpath and move safely across to the other side.

If you are found to be blocking a driveway, you may be approached by a member of staff and asked to move your car. I have also informed the local council of what's happening and they will be conducting roving patrols and handing out fines.