What’s Happening in 3 OM!

The students in 3 OM having been working on an Author study about Roald Dahl and created a book box as an introduction to the book. The class has started reading the BFG as their Shared Reading Book by Roald Dahl and through their research has got to know more about the author.

In writing the students have been introduced to Figurative Writing and worked on Alliterations.

Here are some Alliterations that the students have created using their name.            

Silly Sonia Silly Sonia slipped on slime,          and squashed a sick spider. Then stepped on a slimey Slippery snail.

Adorable Arianna Adorable Arianna ate an apple, then arched her arm around the area

The students also welcomed Luce into our classroom. They enjoyed including her during their classwork, reading, taking her to the specialist classes and praying with her. During prayer, we always mention that they are the light of the world. May the students in 3 OM continue to be that light during this year of Hope.

   

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.

This week, our Foundation students celebrated their very first Mass together as a grade. It was a joyful and faith-filled beginning to their journey, marked by prayer, song, and community. As Pilgrims of Hope in this special year, we pray that their faith continues to grow and shine brightly. A special joy was having Luce join them on this momentous occasion.

Gentle Reminder
Parents who wish to have their children baptised are warmly encouraged to contact Mary Tresa Andrews, Religious Education Leader.

Congratulations to all the competitors at the Pakenham District Athletics Carnival held last Friday alongside two other Districts (Officer and Toomuc Valley) which made for a very hectic, competitive and fun day.

The sky was blue, the sun was out and the wind picked up late in the day - not uncommon at Casey Fields which is notorious for its high winds.

All St Pat’s students participated well and represented our school with pride demonstrating our school values as they competed in both track and field events. St Pat’s finished 3rd (out of 7 schools) in the Pakenham District which is an amazing achievement.

Students attended training sessions at school when time allowed and they put in a positive effort each time, with some completing their own training outside school hours. This showed a great level of commitment to their selection.

Thank you to parents, guardians and family members who came along on the day to support students and to the staff who travelled with and helped organise students on the day - Belinda Couch, Jake Richardson, Lisa McDonald, Cathy Edwards, Karina Kloessmann and Sharon Blackwood. Without the team work of dedicated staff, these days cannot run successfully.

We wish the following students who qualified for the Cardinia Division Athletics Carnival on Wednesday September 17th (also held at Casey Fields Regional Athletics Centre) all the best. Permission notes and transport arrangements for this event have been sent out via PAM.

1500m - Charlie M 6TA

Long Jump - James M 6TA, Maluil A 4MR, Hannah H 4MR

Shot Put - Srina S 5SM

High Jump - Aluk D 4MR

Discus - Gabby B 5SM, Faith K 5SA, Gurtaj R 6NB

800m - Amity H 6NB

Our students have been reflecting on the saints who inspire them as models in their own lives. They have created posters of their chosen saints, highlighting the values and virtues they hope to follow. Alongside this, the students have also written heartfelt poems about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, expressing how these gifts guide and strengthen them in their everyday choices.

This beautiful display of faith, creativity, and inspiration is a testament to the deep commitment of our young people as they continue their journey of growing closer to God.

A very big thank you to everyone who contributed prizes to the Fathers Day Raffle. The P&F did an amazing job in organising the Fathers Day stall and raffle.

Congratulations to our prize winners 

1st Prize - Lachlan Blackburn 4VR

2nd Prize Winner - Scott O'Meara 6TA

3rd Prize Winner - Daniel Dane Sebastian 4MR

4th Prize Winner - Nick Zhang 2JM

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.

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 14 October

Wednesday 12 November

Year 7 2026 Enrolment Interviews

Wednesday 29 October

Year 7 2026 Transition Day – Monday

8 December all day

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. 

SPECIAL REPORT: Parenting Styles

There's no such thing as perfect parenting. But by understanding different parenting styles, we can better support our children in healthier and more effective ways.

Most of us parent as a blend of our own upbringing, lived experiences and external influences such as books, podcasts or parenting websites. And while parenting is always a challenge, it can become even more complex through divorce, separation, blended families, trauma or bereavement. Not to mention life's many other hurdles.

The concept of "parenting styles" was first introduced in the 1960s by Diana Baumrind, a clinical and developmental psychologist. She identified four main categories of parenting. Each style shapes a child's development in different ways and comes with both strengths and challenges.

Although well-intentioned, each parenting approach can have drawbacks in a child's development. Every child is unique, and their needs change as they grow. An authoritative style may suit younger children, but teenagers often require a greater balance of guidance and independence. The goal is to create a secure environment where children feel respected, heard, and supported.

By learning more about the different styles and how they influence children, you can make informed choices about the approach that best suits your family. And remember, styles are not fixed. They can evolve over time as your child grows and their needs change.

We invite you to watch this Special Report and complete the quiz to discover your own parenting style. You might also like to compare your results with your partner's and reflect together on the different approaches you each bring to parenting.

Here is the link to your Special Report https://stppakenham.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-parenting-styles

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. 

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.