Dear Parents

It was wonderful to hear yesterday’s announcement by the Victorian Government that school will return to onsite learning tomorrow (Friday).  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all families for your cooperation with the Remote Learning program.  As a parent of three school aged children myself I know that it is not easy.

I want take this opportunity to again congratulate and sincerely thank all of the staff for the effort they put into Remote Learning.  Parents would appreciate that it is a difficult task to completely adjust the way that they deliver the curriculum.  They also have the added complexity of delivering the curriculum from home when they have families themselves.  We are very blessed to have the dedicated and professional staff we have here at St Pat’s who regularly go over and above to provide the best learning opportunities they can for the students in our care.

We ask that parents please adhere to the following procedures in place to ensure the safety of all;

• Masks are required to be worn by parents at all times when in the school.
• Parents wishing to come into the grounds to drop off or collect their children must scan the QR code on the way in and wait out the front of the classroom. Please do not enter the rooms and social distance whilst waiting.  You must limit your visit to less than 15 minutes, gates open at 3pm at the end of the day.
• Parents waiting for children in the pick-up lines need to ensure that their children know which carpark to go to.
• If you do park your car you must walk over and collect your child. Please do not call for your children to walk across to your car unaccompanied. 
• Meetings with staff are by appointment only. Any parent that is going to be in the school for more than 15 minutes needs to sign on and complete the COVID form at the Office.
• Please communicate with staff via phone or email.
• The Office is open if required, however, please observe the density limits (maximum of 6 people). It is preferable to phone or email if possible rather than come to the Office.
• All extra cleaning and hand hygiene that was in place is still being adhered to.
• Please do not send food items to share with others when it is your child’s birthday as they cannot be handed out.
• If your child is sick, or displaying symptoms, please keep them at home. Children that present as sick or displaying symptoms at school will be sent home and ask to gain a medical clearance or negative COVID test before they return to school.
• Bubble taps are operational at school.
• An ample amount of sports equipment will be provided at school so we ask that students do not bring equipment from home.
• Camps and Excursions are still to be confirmed.  

Sacraments

The Parish are waiting on restrictions to further ease before they plan the new Eucharist dates.  Parents will be informed as soon as possible.

Term Three School Closure Day

Please note that the Term Three School Closure Day is Monday the 12^th of July which is the first day of Term Three.  Staff will be participating in a Learning Adjustment Day with Trinity and Don Bosco Primary Schools.

Important Dates for Your Diary

• Friday 28^th May – Grade 4 Excursion POSTPONED (new date Wednesday 23^rd of June).
• Monday 31^st May – Grade 2 Swimming Commences POSTPONED (new dates to be confirmed).
• Thursday 10^th / Friday 11^th June – Grade 3 Camp POSTPONED (new dates to be confirmed).
• Monday 14^th June – Queens Birthday. No school.
• Friday 25^th June – Term Two concludes / Reports distributed. Early dismissal – 2.10pm
• Monday 12^th July – School Closure Day (staff attending Learning Adjustment PD at Trinity PS).

Regards,

Simon

Are You Accessing the Parent Access Module (PAM)?

Over the last six months as a staff we have completed the background work to move onto the SIMON Management System for St Pat’s.  The benefit of this system is eventually we will be able to house all of our student information, assessment data, reporting data and staff information all within the one system. 

A major component in deciding to move to SIMON was also our intent to be able to streamline our mode of communication to parents.  Eventually all communication will come to families through an app called ‘SIMON Everywhere’ which will be a parent one stop shop for all school communication.  However, to get to this point we first need all families to be on PAM.  If you are not yet on PAM you need to search for an email from noreply@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au (please check your junk and spam folders), which contains a link to set up a password, or contact the School Office for assistance or click on the following link to access PAM.  Use your email as the user name and choose 'forget password' to recieve a link to create a password.  

Link to PAM 

Please make the effort to join PAM so we can get to our goal of using the efficient SIMON Everywhere App for communication.  I thank you for your cooperation here.  Please call the Office if you have any further questions.

SIMON -  a Learning Management Software solution for schools.

St Patrick’s Primary school is now using SIMON in the classroom to keep track of your child’s progress and learning as well as attendance.  SIMON will also be used for School Reports and Student Wellbeing.

Access PAM via this link   Link to PAM 

PAM, SIMON’s Parent Access Module

PAM (Parent Access Module) is our new 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. 

Parents would have received an email from noreply@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au on Friday 5th March that contains instructions and a link for them to click on.  Please check your JUNK or SPAM mailbox if you do not receive this email.  PAM accounts are linked via your email address that we have in our systems.  If you have recently changed your email or you can not find the email sent on Friday please call or email us on office@stppakenham.cathlic.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

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. 

Sophie McCasker 6C:

My experience in remote learning 

Life has flipped upside down . I couldn’t see my friends, family or teacher. It was hard because my mum is a teacher so that meant she was always doing a live class. We also couldn’t go on our holiday to NSW that had been postponed due to COVID last year, so that was very disappointing. 

Captain article 

Hi everyone, I hope you're  all doing just fine in remote learning. I know some people had different opinions on how they felt. We are all in this together. I can’t wait to see all your smiling faces tomorrow. Remember COVID isn’t stopping house points so keep it up guys it’s almost over last day ! Keep smiling and stay active.

Go Red house ! 

Francis Farrell 6C

Hello St Pats hope you are all doing well. After this circuit breaker I am sure we are all looking forward to coming back to school. I and the captains are very much looking forward to seeing everyone out on the yard co-operating and respecting each other and being safe.

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM 2021

Sacrament Dates for 2021

First Holy Communion - Grade 4 and Grade 5 Students

Communion Masses - Every Saturday and Sunday in May - Booking details have been sent out via Operoo. 

Confirmation - Grade 6 Students

22nd July - Parent Workshop

31st July - 1st August - Enrolment Masses

7th and 8th August - Formation Masses

14th and 15th August - Formation Masses

20th and 21st August - Confirmation Masses

Reconciliation - Grade 3 Students

14th October - Parent Workshop

20th and 21st October - Reconciliation 

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. 

Click on the link below to access PAM.

 Link to PAM 

Have you installed the new SZapp?   

Skoolbag is no longer being used, install SZapp now! 

 Follow the installation guide below to install the new app on your smart devices.  

Operoo is still our main platform for communication!  All correspondence will continue to go via the Operoo email platform.  In most cases it will be in Operoo that you will first be notified of any upcoming excursions or events.  Most of these events must first be approved before they appear on any calendar.  

Please remember to update any details in Operoo, for example change of address or phone number,  this will send us a message that your details have changed and we are then able to update our database.

Don't forget to upload your child's hayfever letters including symptoms specific to your child!

If you have any problems using Operoo, please call into the school office preferably on a Monday, Thursday or Friday and we will be able to help you.  

Cancelled for this week!

Paddy's Kitchen's purpose is to make a difference in people's lives, by providing a fresh, nutritious meal in a friendly environment.  Paddy's Kitchen serves every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month from St Patrick's Pakenham, Parish hall.  Dinner at 6pm 

www.stpatrickspakenham.com.au/paddys-kitchen

Fete Postponed 2022!