Year Level Camp/ Fun Day Dates:

TERM DATES 2025

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.

On Thursday 18th September we will be having our annual St Patrick's Football Day.

Students are invited to dress up in their favorite football colours and we will be having a football parade after lunch. 

On August 30th, some of our Year 6 students received the Sacrament of Confirmation. We congratulate them on this special milestone in their faith journey and thank their families, teachers, and parish community for their support and guidance. May the Holy Spirit continue to inspire and guide them always.

Our Year 6 students have been learning about poetry and angles. 6NB students created the following poem about Angles. 

We hope you enjoy reading this piece written by Henry, Rabbirraa, Gurtaj, Harshaan and Lawrence.

Ode to Angles

In corners sharp and curves so wide,

The angles form, they do not hide.

From narrow tips to open grace,

They measure space in every place.

The acute, so shy, so small and sweet,

Less than ninety - swift and fleet.

Like sunlight slanting through the dawn,

It flickers, then it is gone.

The right angle stands firm and true,

A perfect L in all it do.

Builders love it’s solid might,

A beacon bold of balanced right.

Obtuse comes next, with arms stretched far,

A lazy hug beneath a star.

It yawns past ninety, wide and slow,

A sleeping moon with gentle glow.

The straight angle, a rebel line,

One - eighty degrees of bold design.

No curve, no bend, just open flight,

A path that splits both day and night.

Reflex angles curl around,

Their sweeping arcs profound, unbound.

More than half a circles run,

They chase like shadows chasing the sun.

In every shape, in art, in time,

Angles dance in silent rhyme.

From triangles sharp to circles round,

Their secret truths in lines are found.

So raise your protractors, draw with pride,

Let geometry be your guide.

For in each angle, small or grand,

Lies order, thought - precision planned.

Please enjoy some more photos from our Book Week celebrations....

School Uniform

Just a reminder about our school uniform and the expectations that all students will adhere to this. Please note that grey tracksuit pants are not an acceptable solution for our grey pants. This is certainly not accepted in Secondary Schools.

Future Enrolments

This term, once again, we have had multiple inquiries for school tours, in particular for 2026.

With this in mind, can I please ask for any existing families who have younger siblings coming to St Patrick’s in the next few years, to please make sure they fill in their enrolment forms early as possible. St Patrick’s is looking to manage a high demand of places within the school community and places may become limited.

If your child will NOT be returning to St Patrick’s next year, you must also let the office know.

St Francis Xavier College, Officer school tours

If you are looking to enrol your child into St Francis Xavier, Officer, please note these important dates in your calendar.

Officer Campus Talk & Tour – 09.30am – 10.45am 

Tuesday 09 September

Tuesday 14 October

Wednesday 12 November

Year 7 2026 Enrolment Interviews

Wednesday 29 October

Year 7 2026 Transition Day – Monday

8 December all day

SPECIAL REPORT: Celebrating Father's Day

For many years now, the role of fathers has changed and evolved. During the industrial revolution, fathers were often considered detached and distant due to working long hours in factories. However, today things have changed dramatically with many dads being celebrated for being sensitive, caring and more hands-on.

Recent studies have shown that children benefit greatly from having fathers who are present and interacting in everyday activities. This has transformed the understanding of how fathers shape children’s lives from the start, challenging conventional ideas of parenthood and gender.

Research also suggests that fathers influence their sons and daughters in different ways, which is especially true during their transition to adolescence. Engaging in regular physical activities can play a key role in influencing children to learn self-control, face challenges, regulate emotions and take manageable risks.

In this Special Report, fathers will learn about the positive impact they can have on their child’s mental health and wellbeing, whilst also ensuring they indulge in a little self-care.

Here is the link to your Special Report https://stppakenham.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/celebrating-fathers-day

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, 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. 

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

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/receiving-school-saving-bonus#non-government-school-
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. 

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

Bookings for your preferred time and link will be shared in the coming weeks.

St Patrick’s Primary School will now use a NEW form of CDFpay that is different to the one that we have used in the past. The NEW CDFpay is powered by Flexischools and is an App based system. This is a way of collecting money for any Fundraising, Events and paying for school lunchtime treats like Popcorn for your students. 

Parents and Guardians will need to download the App and register. Instructions on how to register are as follows:

How to register for a CDFpay account

1.    Search ‘CDFpay’ on the App Store (Apple) or Google Play store, download the app, then click ‘Sign up now’ or enter the following link in your web browser:

Look for this App Logo and Download

2.    Enter and confirm your email address, then click ‘Sign up’.

3.    Check your email inbox and follow the prompts to complete your account registration (check junk/spam if lost).

Have questions? Visit https://flexischools.zendesk.com/hc/en-au/ for detailed FAQs or chat to the Flexischools Digital Assistant. If you cannot find what you are looking for, please complete the online Contact Form and Flexischools will get back to you directly. 

When you are set up on the App. you will be able to select the Event, Fundraiser or item to purchase for your student. The school will be notified when the payment is made. 

School Fees will continued to be paid via the Direct Debit arrangement, BPay or via Card in the school office.