Newsletter 12th December

Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,

This week the Gospel introduces John as the messenger of the Lord and his work and interaction with people and Jesus. The chapter also presents the lineage of Joseph, the earthly caretaker of the beloved Son of God.

Luke 3:17 is a sobering verse. It's John the Baptist answering questions about whether or not he is the Christ. And he's saying, “No, I'm not. I'm pointing you to the Christ, to the one who will baptize you, not just with water but with the Holy Spirit and fire.

We learn that it is not enough to say that we need to make changes or to say that we love God. Our lives must reflect that decision. Our lives must show the change of mind that has turned toward God. This is what John is doing by proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Last week, we held our final Foundation transition which concludes the 5-visit process. We had some very excited students and nervous parents. Thanks to Geraldine Wilmann and Katherine Gronek for the work they have put in to make this a very special moment for the newest members of our community!

This afternoon we will be having our annual Christmas concert. Once again, we have been blessed with good weather as we have had in the past 2 years and the function can go ahead outside on the basketball courts. The concert will begin at 5pm, however we do encourage our parents to come as early as possible as it gets busy very quickly. This year we have a special guest who will be performing live from 4pm onwards, and this will be your opportunity to relax and enjoy some great music. Conor Bermingham is his name, and he can be found on Instagram. I look forward to a wonderful evening with you all. You are welcome to bring along a picnic dinner, snacks and/or drinks.

This is an ALCOHOL FREE EVENT.

It is important to keep an open discussion with your child/ren around their expected behaviour and work ethic as we enter the last few days of Term 4. Even though the year is winding down, the staff of St Patrick’s will continue to insist that all 5 values of RESPECT, SAFETY, CO-OPERATION, COURAGE AND RESILIENCE will be adhered to both inside and outside the classroom.

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.

This week, our new arrival students had a fun and creative time building a Gingerbread House with Ms. T. They worked together as a team, supporting each other throughout the activity. We also explored the colours and flavours of the gingerbread, and they really enjoyed the hands-on experience!

Term 1: 30/01 - 04/04

Term 2: 22/04 - 04/07

Term 3: 21/07 - 19/09

Term 4: 6/10 - 16/12

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 an 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. 

Parents who would like to have their children baptised are required to attend baptism preparation. Please enroll through the parish website https://stpatrickspakenham.com.au/

For further details and assistance please contact

Mary Tresa Andrews

Religious Education Coordinator

mandrews@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au