"That they may all be one, as you Father, are in me and I am in you"
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- Principal's Newsletter
- Birthdays !
- DATES TO REMEMBER!
- 2025 Foundation Enrolments
- NAIDOC Performance Reflection - 6JP & 2NB
- NEW - School Beanies
- Scholastic Book Club
- First Holy Communion
- Reconciliation Night
- New Line Marking in the Avenue Car Park
- Illegal Parking
- Noone School Uniform Shop
- Camp Australia
- Contact and Medical Details
- SiMON Everywhere
- PAM
- Paddy's Kitchen
- The Ranges Learning Centre
Newsletter Thursday 18th July
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.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark
They were as sheep without a shepherd.
The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. So they went off in a boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But people saw them going, and many could guess where; and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length.
Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,
This week the Gospel tells us that people will often be looking for someone to lead them, someone to show the way, someone to say, ‘it will be okay.’ Jesus tells the apostles to rest as they appeared to be struggling to manage with the demands of preaching to the people. People who are left in charge with big responsibilities carry a heavy load, which can be both physical and mental. It is good to be relied upon, but we must make sure that when we look after others, we must be mindful of also looking out for ourselves. This gospel reading also highlights to us that no matter what came Jesus’s way; he was always there to look after his sheep (people).
Welcome back to the school year and to Term 3. A very wet start to the term with rain impacting some of our playtimes, however the students have been very good considering they have been unable to get outside for some of the recess and lunch breaks.
There is no doubt you will have noticed the many changes around the Pakenham area with all the street closures. This is impacting the arrival time of many students to school in the mornings. I ask parents to keep in mind that they will need to be leaving earlier to tackle the traffic, weather conditions and multiple detours that are happening in Pakenham. Whilst we understand that families will run late from time to time, the children need a good start to the day and arriving late to school on a regular basis can have a negative impact on them.
Today I can announce that there will be two teachers taking over the classroom teaching role in Year 4AT. Mrs Annette Tanner remains on sick leave for the rest of the year. St Patrick’s welcomes Jayme-Lea Jamieson, who will work on Thursdays and Fridays, and we congratulate Jennifer White, who will be teaching Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Jennifer is an existing member of staff who has been employed at St Patrick’s since 2017, working as an Education Support Officer and a Tutor Teacher since 2021 in both the Junior and Senior school.
Jennifer has been employed as a Permission to Teach (PTT) teacher and she is currently in her final year of Bachelor of Education (Primary).
A Permission to Teach (PTT) is an alternative authorisation to teach that exists primarily to address the workforce shortage within Victorian schools.
Take care and God Bless,
Meg
HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!
Malika 4JD, Lily 6BC, Klara 4JD, Marley 2SM, Henry 5RM, Luala 4JD and Dalitso FGW !
| DATE | ACTIVITY |
| 19/07/2024 | Whole School Dance Workshop |
| 26/07/2024 | Year 6 Inter School Sports - AWAY |
| 29/07/2024 - 31/07/2024 | Year 5 Camp - Kryal Castle |
| 02/08/2024 | Year 6 Inter School Sports - HOME |
| 09/08/2024 | Year 6 Inter School Sports - HOME |
| 16/08/2024 | Year 6 Inter School Sports - AWAY |
| 19/08/2024 | Pupil Free Day |
| 20/08/2024 | Student Free Day |
| 23/08/2024 | Book Week Parade |
| 23/08/2024 | Whole School Incursion: Make a Book |
| 23/08/2024 | Year 6 Inter School Sports - HOME |
| 29/08/2024 | Father's Day Stall |
| 02/09/2024 | Father's Day Morning Celebration |
| 11/09/2024 | Foundation Excursion: Healesville Sanctuary |
| 13/09/2024 - 17/09/2024 | Semper Dental Van |
Year Level Camp/ Fun Day Dates:
| DATE | YEAR LEVEL | ACTIVITY & LOCATION |
| 31/10/2024 | 3 | Fun Day - St Patrick's Primary |
| 29/04/2024 - 01/05/2024 | 4 | Camp - Phillip Island |
| 29/07/2024 - 31/07/2024 | 5 | Camp - Kryal Castle |
| 26/11/2024 - 29/11/2024 | 6 | Camp - Coonawarra Farm Resort |
TERM DATES 2024
| First Day | Last Day | |
| Term 1 | 31st January | 28th March |
| Term 2 | 16th April | 28th June |
| Term 3 | 15th July | 20th September |
| Term 4 | 7th October | 18th December |
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.
| 29/01/2024 | School Closure Day |
| 30/01/2024 | School Closure Day |
| 01/03/2024 | School Closure Day |
| 15/04/2024 | School Closure Day |
| 26/04/2024 | Pupil Free Day |
| 19/08/2024 | Pupil Free Day |
| 20/08/2024 | School Closure Day |
| 01/11/2023 | School Closure Day |
| 04/11/2024 | Pupil Free Day |
| 18/12/2024 | School Closure Day |
| 19/12/2024 | School Closure Day |
| 20/12/2024 | Pupil Free Day |
If you have a younger sibling ready to begin school 2025, please come and collect an enrolment form from the office. All new children to the school, need their own separate enrolment form. You do not need to take a formal school tour. Please come in or contact the office on 5943 9000 or office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au
We are now selling school beanies for $12 from the school office! Come by anytime the office is open if you would like to purchase one for your child/ren!
You may have noticed that The Avenue has had all new line marking done over the holidays. The disabled parking bays and all other parking bays are now clearly marked, as are the NO PARKING bays. Over the next two weeks, a proper crossing will be outlined in the car park where any families needing to walk across, are only permitted to use this crossing. Staff will be out on patrol ensuring that parents and students are doing the right thing and keeping everyone safe.
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.
Please find attached the updated 2024 / 2025 St Patrick’s Primary School uniform pricelist. To assist parents during these challenging economic times, we have retained the majority of our current pricing for the coming year, with just a small increase in some our generic or externally sourced products.
We look forward to meeting and assisting the new students and parents with their uniform purchases for the 2025 school year.
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.
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.
