"That they may all be one, as you Father, are in me and I am in you"
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- Class Newsletter - 1AF
- Principal's Newsletter
- Birthdays
- DATES TO REMEMBER
- Icy Pole Thursday's
- SchoolTV
- Station of the Cross
- JUMP ROPE NINJA CHALLENGE 2025
- Sacrament Dates
- School Fees and Concessions
- PAM
- SiMON Everywhere
- Contact, Media Consent and Medical Details
- Baptism for School Aged Children
- St Francis Xavier College
- Pakenham Secondary College - Open night
Welcome to the 1AF Newsletter. We would like to present to you some of our amazing work from this term. The students have settled in well to their class and made many new friends.
Religion- Love Creates Peace
In Term 1, we are learning about how love creates peace through the Bible Story David, Nabal and Abigail. Students coloured and created puppets to retell the story of how Abigail helped David and Nabal to make peace.
During Lent, we are learning to have a change of heart. The students came up with some great ways to have a change of heart.
Literacy Groups
Students enjoy engaging in reading tasks during Literacy Groups. Each group will complete a 15 minute task daily where they will be reading with their class teacher and completing activities on SoundWaves, Decodable readers on iPads or handwriting.
Maths- Number and Place Value- Partitioning
For Maths, Number and Place Value, we are learning about partitioning using handfuls (counters) and applying it to the models part-part-whole and part-part-part-whole to show the relationship between a whole number and its parts.
Maths- Subitising
Students enjoyed playing the Subitising game, ‘Subitising Connect Four’ with their partners. They presented St Patricks school values of Safety, Respect, Cooperation, Resilience and Courage during the task.
Learning to Learn Unit- Respect
Austin’s Butterfly- being respectful in how we interact with each other.
Students were given a drawing of a butterfly to copy. First they will attempted to draw the butterfly and then students gave each other positive feedback and areas they needed to work on for the next drawing. After taking student feedback on board, they will attempted to draw the butterfly.
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 have built the bridge, one member of the team will drive a toy car across the bridge to check the strength of their bridge.
Thursday 13th March 2025
Gospel of the Week
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
As Jesus prayed, the aspect of his face was changed, and his clothing became brilliant as lightning.
Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up the mountain to pray. As he prayed, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became brilliant as lightning. Suddenly there were two men there talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they kept awake and saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ – He did not know what he was saying. As he spoke, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they went into the cloud the disciples were afraid. And a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.’ And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The disciples kept silence and, at that time, told no one what they had seen.
Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,
The Gospel this week tells us that on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus showed His closest disciples a sight they would never forget: the unveiled glory of the Son of God. As simple as it may sound, what we can learn from the Transfiguration is this: Christian community that pleases the Father and honours His Word is all about Jesus–who He is, what He has done, and what matters.
This reveals why He is worthy of allegiance; it also resolves Herod's question and Peter's answer about Jesus' identity. Peter, James, and John follow Jesus up a mountain. Jesus' clothes become bright white, and Moses and Elijah arrive to speak with Him.
The Transfiguration event was probably the most definitive revelation of Jesus as divine next to the resurrection itself. Here Jesus is shown to be greater than the Law and the Prophets and that he was the beginning of the new covenant of grace that brings humanity to salvation and glory to God.
A HUGE thanks to our Year 3 and Year 5 staff and to Donna Ward our Learning and Teaching Leader, for the support being given to our students during this week with the NAPLAN testing. The testing has been a seamless process with the students and teachers being well prepared. Once again, I ask all parents to remember that this is a form of standardised testing where students’ results are compared to the whole state. This is a snapshot of the students’ knowledge now and many other things need to be considered when we look at these results. This includes all the other learning that occurs each and every day within our classrooms.
On Wednesday March 26th, we will be holding our Maths Open Night. The Open Night will begin at 3.30pm and go through till 6pm. During this time, parents and their children are invited to come in and for the students to showcase the work they have been doing in their Maths classes. We look forward to welcoming you to our school!
God Bless
Meg
NAPLAN-this week
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake. As students’ progress through their school years, it is important to check how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and numeracy. NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national proficiency standards. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with more information about students’ educational progress. NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working, and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.
Friday 14th Mar ~ 9:00-10:00am (Conventions of Language) AND 11:30am-12:30am (Numeracy)
SEMPER DENTAL VISITS
We are pleased to advise you that our school has engaged Semper Dental to provide your children with the opportunity of visiting the Semper Dental treatment team at school commencing on Wednesday March 19th. Semper Dental is a well-respected catholic family business and is a significant provider of oral hygiene education and dental treatment services with programs running in more than 80 schools in greater Melbourne.
The program is available to participating students from all year levels at the school. The basis of this offer will be fully explained in the Semper Dental parent consent forms and in the Semper Dental information flyer.
Semper Dental provides a preventative treatment program involving an oral examination and treatments such as scale, cleaning, fluoride application and fissure seals where necessary. Semper Dental will then provide you with a treatment plan for your child following the visit and will inform you if your child requires additional dental care. Forms need to be returned to the school by Thursday March 14th.
St Francis Xavier College school tours
If you are looking to enrol your child into St Francis Xavier, please note these important dates in your calendar.
SFX College Open Day – Saturday 22 March 10.00am – 2.00pm
Officer Campus Talk & Tour – 09.30am – 10.45am
Tuesday 13 May
Tuesday 24 June
Tuesday 12 August
Tuesday 09 September
Tuesday 14 October
Wednesday 12 November
Year 7 2026 Enrolment Interviews
Wednesday 4 June
Wednesday 29 October
Year 7 2027 Enrolment Interviews
Wednesday 2 July
Year 7 2027 Parent Information Evening
Wednesday 7 May 7.00pm
Year 7 2026 Transition Day – Monday 8 December all day
Parent Helpers-Term 2
We will be running an induction for any parents who wish to help in the classroom early in Term 2. Please note, any parents wishing to assist in the classroom must have a Working with Children Check. It only needs to be a Volunteer one to assist in the classroom. The school will require a copy of this to keep in our files. We will notify parents of the date once we have finalised it.
ATTENTION PARENTS: School Uniform
I am asking please that all students, to be wearing our proper school uniform. It is important that we maintain a high standard of uniform throughout the school year and to wear it with pride.
I will continue to ask all students to be wearing proper school shoes and uniform right up until the end of the year. Runners are NOT school shoes. Please see pictures below. I understand that students are growing constantly, however they will continue to grow for many more years and so I cannot always accept this as an excuse. We must remember that many students are adhering to the correct standards of school uniform and therefore, it is important that the students and their families please respect this. Secondary schools do not accept poor unform standards.
If finance is a concern when it comes to uniform, please speak to your classroom teacher. St Patrick’s has a very good second-hand uniform shop that you can top up your child’s uniform with. It is a third of the price you would pay at the normal uniform shop, and the money goes straight back to the school.
This is an example of a school shoe to be worn every day, except on sport days/events:
This is a runner and NOT a school shoe
PE Uniform and illness/injury
It is important that students wear the correct uniform and footwear on the day that they have PE. The school polo shirt and sports shorts are the expected clothing along with sneakers with either laces or velcro straps. NO SLIP ON SHOES are permitted due to safety reasons.
If your child is recovering from illness or is suffering from an injury, please advise me as early as possible prior to your child’s lesson day so that the activities can be modified or an alternative learning option can be arranged.
If your child is suffering from a serious injury or recovering from such (eg: broken bone) please send a doctor’s certificate with a date confirming return to normal activity. This assists with maintaining the safety of students which is a priority at St Patrick’s.
Contact can be made by sending along an old-fashioned, handwritten note with your child to give to me during lesson time, through the PAM app or by emailing me directly lbreeden@stppakenham.catholic.edu.auHAPPY BIRTHDAY !!
Malsawm 6NB, Leila 2WJ, Alvaro 1NC, Obsee 2JM, Paul 6TA, Emily 6TA, Zach 2WJ, Lucas 5SA
| DATE | ACTIVITY |
| 13/3/2025 | Naplan Year 3 & Year 5 - Reading |
| 13/3/2025 | Responsible Pet Ownership Incursion Year 3 & 4 |
| 14/3/2025 |
Naplan Year 3 & Year 5 - Conventions of Language Naplan Year 3 & Year 5 - Numeracy |
| 14/3/2025 | Responsible Pet Ownership Incursion Year 2 |
| 17/3/2025 | St Patrick's Feast Day - Mass |
| 21/3/2025 | Year 6 Lifesaving Excursion Cowes |
| 21/3/2025 | Year 4 Democracy and Me Incursion |
| 27/3/2025 | House Cross Country |
| 28/3/2025 | Year 5 Lifesaving Incursion |
| 4/4/2025 | Last day of term - 2.30pm finish |
Year Level Camp/ Fun Day Dates:
| DATE | YEAR LEVEL | ACTIVITY & LOCATION |
| TBC | 3 | Fun Day - St Patrick's Primary |
| 11/06/2025 - 13/06/2025 | 4 | Camp - Phillip Island |
| 04/06/2025 | 5 | Camp Information Night - 5.30pm Start |
| 16/06/2025 - 18/06/2025 | 5 | Camp - City |
| 25/11/2025 - 28/11/2025 | 6 | Camp - Coonawarra Farm Resort |
TERM DATES 2025
| First Day | Last Day | |
| Term 1 | 30st January | 4th April |
| Term 2 | 22nd April | 4th July |
| Term 3 | 21st July | 19th September |
| Term 4 | 6th October | 16th December |
2025 PUPIL FREE AND TIME IN LIEU DAYS:
The 3 Time in Lieu 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.
| 07/03/2025 | Pupil Free Day |
| 06/06/2025 | Pupil Free Day |
| 21/08/2025 | Pupil Free Day |
| 22/08/2025 | TIL |
| 31/10/2025 | Pupil Free Day |
| 03/11/2025 | TIL |
| 17/12/2025 | Pupil Free Day |
| 18/12/2025 | Pupil Free Day |
| 19/12/2025 | TIL |
The P&F committee are looking to have icy poles available to the students on a Thursday to purchase. These will need to be pre ordered and paid for through the new CDF Pay system. More details will be available in the coming days. Please keep an eye out on PAM and your emails for how to set up your new CDF pay account.
In the meantime you can access this link to begin opening your new account.
SPECIAL REPORT: Social Media & Comparison Culture
Young people today are growing up in a world where exposure to other people's lives is constant. Through social media and other platforms, they are regularly presented with curated highlights - from flawless holiday photos and academic milestones to the latest fashion trends and fitness achievements. This continuous stream of idealised content fuels what is known as comparison culture, where self-worth is often measured by how someone stacks up against others.
For children and adolescents, who are still figuring out who they are, this culture can be particularly damaging. Constantly comparing their appearance, achievements, or social standing to friends, influencers, and even strangers can lead to unrealistic expectations and a skewed sense of self-worth. This relentless need to measure up can contribute to feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt, and anxiety - undermining both confidence and emotional wellbeing.
It's vital that parents and caregivers understand how deeply comparison culture can influence a child's self-perception and sense of value. Left unchecked, it can foster perfectionism and a dependence on external validation, where a 'like' or comment becomes the measure of their worth.
The good news is, families have a powerful role to play in helping young people navigate these challenges. This Special Report will help you empower your child to build the resilience and confidence needed to navigate today's comparison-driven world and embrace their own unique path.
Here is the link to your Special Report https://stppakenham.
You may have noticed that there is an increased interest in jump rope skipping this term. Students in Years 1-6 have launched into the JUMP ROPE NINJA Challenge. As part of our warm up and linking to our units based on locomotor skills and fitness, students jump rope to achieve coloured belts. They skip for friends who count their jumps for each Grade within a belt and then present their Ninja Passport to staff in PE lessons to count their jumps at the Grade 5 level. If successful, their passport is stamped and they can sign their name on the Ninja Masters sheet displayed in the stadium. Due to the time it takes to check grades, students can only attempt one belt per lesson. It has been encouraging to see and hear students working together on technique to help each other succeed. Shining through over the past few weeks have been our school values of RESILIENCE and COURAGE as students take on something new and persist when they are unsuccessful, finding new ways to attempt the challenge. Foundation students will begin the challenge later in the year.
First Holy Communion
“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Lk. 22:19
"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,”
Mark 14:22-25
Key Dates
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Enrolment |
Tuesday 24th June 2025 – 1.00 pm – 2.00 pm Friday 27th June 2025 – 1.00 pm – 2.00 pm Tuesday 1st July 2025 – 6.30 pm – 7.30 pm Choice of enrolment dates and times: A fee of $20 will be paid on the day. |
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Commitment mass |
2nd and 3rd August all weekend Masses Saturday- 6pm, Sunday -9:00,10:30 and 5pm |
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All students receiving the Sacrament of First Holy Communion will receive reconciliation at 11.45 am on 10th September 2025.This will happen during school time.
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Blessing mass |
September 13th and 14th all weekend Masses Saturday- 6pm, Sunday -9:00 and10:30 |
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Parent Workshop- Fr Elio Capra |
Thursday 4th September 2025 at 7.00pm
PARENT WORKSHOP (ONLY PARENTS) IT IS AN EXPECTATION THAT ALL PARENTS OF CHILDREN RECEIVING THE SACRAMENT OF COMMUNION WILL ATTEND ON THIS NIGHT. |
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Reflection Day |
Friday 10th October at school. (time TBC) |
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Celebration of the Sacrament |
October, Saturday 11th at 6 pm and Sunday 12th at 10:30am October, Saturday 18th at 6pm and Sunday 19th at 10:30am
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Bookings for your preferred time and link will be shared in the coming weeks.
BE SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. (Act 2:1-5)
For students in Grade 6 and have received the sacrament of First holy communion
Key Dates
|
14th & 15th June all weekend Masses |
Saturday 6pm Sunday 9:00am and 10:30am
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Commitment mass |
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Thursday 21st August 2025 at 7.00pm |
7:00pm
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Parent workshop with Fr Elio Capra |
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PARENT WORKSHOP (ONLY PARENTS) IT IS AN EXPECTATION THAT ALL PARENTS OF CHILDREN RECEIVING THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATIOM WILL ATTEND ON THIS NIGHT.
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23rd and 24th August all weekend Masses
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Saturday 6pm Sunday 9:00am and 10:30am only |
Blessing mass |
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Tuesday 26th August |
Time TBC |
Reflection Day at school |
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Saturday 30th August |
3 pm and 6 pm |
Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation |
Bookings for your preferred time and link will be shared in the coming weeks.
For more information please contact:
Mary Tresa Andrews
mandrews@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au
Religious Education Leader, St Patrick’s Primary School.
School Fee Statements have been emailed out to most families. Please check your junk/spam folder if you haven't received it. As in previous years, all Fees are charged at the start of the year with the expectation that they will be paid by the end of the school year. This can be done as one payment or instalments, via Direct Debit, Bpay, EFTPOS or cash. You can find Direct Debit forms in the Knowledge bank section of PAM, or ask at the school office. If paying by BPay please use the code on your statement to ensure the payment comes off your fees.
2025 SCHOOL SAVINGS BONUS (SSB)
The School Savings Bonus is a State Government initiative designed to assist
families with cost-of-living pressures. Under this funding, each eligible student is
entitled to a $400 bonus for application towards activity levies and uniform purchases
from approved supplier. Within our school, all CSEF applicants are eligible to receive
this funding. All families who have a Centrelink Health Care Card and have not
applied for CSEF in the past are encouraged to contact the school office and initiate
an application this year. Please refer to the below link for more information:
https://www.vic.gov.au/
information
Health Care Card and School Savings Bonus
For those families who have an eligible Health Care Card your fees are still being processed with the concession rate to be applied. If you haven't filled in a CSEF (Camps, Sports, Excursion Funding) form please download the attached form or pick one up from the school office. This needs to be done as soon as possible so we can receive the funding and apply your concession. This year it will also affect the allocation of the School Saving Bonus ($400) that the government announced last year. So the sooner these forms are in the better.
We have also received more information in regards to the School Saving Bonus which will be sent out soon.
Bus Travel and Conveyance allowance
Bus travel may be available to some families if they live more than 5klms distance from the school. Please see the information on the link below.
The Conveyance allowance is also a government initiative to help support parents with the cost transporting student to school. To be eligible you must live more than 4.8klms from school and St Patrick's must been your closest Catholic school. Please fill in the application form below if you think you may be eligible. These applications have a cut off date of 13th March, so please fill them in as soon as possible.
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.
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 Megan McMenamin in the school office mmcmenamin@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au
Please remember to update your Contact Details, Media Consent Details and any relevant Medical Details for your child if they change.
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.
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
