Dear Parents,

Once again COVID encroached on the school last week impacting the Grade 5 and Grade 6 areas.  Please note that if you have not been directly contacted by the school your child is not a close contact.  It is only grades 5TA and 6L that are learning remotely at the moment.

An unfortunate impact of this latest outbreak was that we were advised to cancel the Grade 6 camp.  We appreciate that this was awfully disappointing for the children and it was not a decision that we wanted to have to make.  

As a staff we have worked hard to try and offer as many opportunities as we can to the students during this COVID period.  Unfortunately, this year the Grade 3 and Grade 6 students missed out on their camp.  We have been able to re-organise the Grade 6 camp for Tuesday the 7^th and Wednesday the 8^th of December at CYC Adanac.  This is an overnight camp and a wonderful opportunity for the students to get away as a group in their Grade 6 year.  The teachers will also be organising other activities to help alleviate the disappointment of missing a week-long camp.  These children also missed the opportunity to attend camp in Grade 5 as well.

Our Grade 3 teachers are currently planning events and activities for the students to enjoy between now and the end of the year in place of a camp.  Luckily for these children they will get to enjoy camp experiences in Grades 4,5 & 6.

Please remain cognisant of the fact that we are doing all that we can to give the children different experiences, however, we are still in a pandemic and at any time COVID can impact.  There are many rules and guidelines that we have to follow.  As a staff we appreciate your understanding and flexibility.

Please continue to watch for symptoms with your children and get them tested if necessary.  If your child does return a positive result we ask that you contact the school asap.

2022 Enrolments

If you know of anyone looking to enrol their child at St Pat’s for 2022 please encourage them to contact the school Office on 5943-9000 or email office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au

Bunnings BBQ

Thank you to the Parents and Friends Committee and all others that assisted at the Bunnings BBQ last Saturday.  It was a great success and your efforts are very much appreciated.

Parent Access

Parents are now welcome to enter the school grounds without the need to QR on your way in.  Please remain outside the classrooms and do not enter the buildings.  If you are coming for a pre-arranged appointment please sign in and QR code at the Office.  Masks are required to be worn by parents at all times when indoors at school.

Uniforms

We understand that as students return for the last few weeks of the school uniforms may not fit as well as hoped and it is difficult to purchase uniforms at the moment.  We ask that parents are very respectful of our uniform policy and that students wear the uniform with pride, however, we understand that there may be some items that cannot be purchased.

Hats

Please remember that as we enter Term 4 it is compulsory for the students to be wearing hats when outside.

The following COVID Restrictions remain in place when all children return onsite next week;

• Parents are now welcome to enter the school grounds without the need to QR on your way in. Please remain outside the classrooms and do not enter the buildings.  If you are coming for a pre-arranged appointment please sign in and QR code at the Office.
• Student Masks – As per Government regulations all students in Grades 3-6 are required to wear a mask whilst indoors (unless you have an exemption). Masks are encouraged for students in Grades P-2.
• Adult Masks – Masks are required to be worn by parents at all times when indoors at school.
• Please communicate with staff via phone or email.
• The Office is open, however, if it is not essential please contact via phone 5943-9000 or email office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au  
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.  It is our preference that they gain a medical clearance or negative COVID test before they return to school.

Reimbursement for Activities Not Undertaken / Fee Assistance

As we work our way through the remainder of the activities between now and the endo of the year the school will calculate any differences in the costing and reimburse parents where appropriate.  If you are experiencing difficulties due to the pandemic please contact Fil at the Office for a confidential discussion regarding fees.

Regards,

Simon

Please read the article below in regards to helping children to cope with uncertainty during  COVID.

Using Play to support Children during COVID

Things are hard right now and if you need to talk about it or would just like to read some information on how to look after ourselves and our children, the following services will help you and articles will help you. 

If any families are struggling at this time and would like to reach out for a chat or support please contact Meg Escalante, our Wellbeing officer, via email on mescalante@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au. 

You can also visit the Be You website which has contact numbers for you to call. 

Kryal Castle  By Apiel    

On Wednesday the 10th November all the year 5’s went to Kryal Castle for camp. We were on the Bus for 3 hours. My favourite part of being at Kryal Castle was when we did Archery,sword fighting,Learning about Armour,when we watched a couple of plays, and the food there was very good. So far Kryal Castle is the best Camp I have ever been to.

By Apiel                                                                       _____________________________

Kryal Castle. By: Jordan

On the 10th of November I went to Kryal Castle in ballarat with the rest of the grade 5s for school camp.

On day 1 we travelled to Ballarat on 2 buses and when we got there we had lunch and got our room keys.

Then we had free time.

On day 2 we did lots of physical stuff like sword fighting and siege.

We also did archery and I think I was the only one in our class who didn’t hit the hay at all!

On day 3 we did indoor activities like calligraphy, medieval games and leather work!

I especially loved the medieval game fox and geese!

Then we came home!

At Kryal Castle I had lots of fun and even got to sleep in a suite with Rosaline!

My favourite part was when I saw a smiling goat named Robin Hood!???

Kryal Castle by: Emma A

I loved camp because I was allowed to learn new stuff that I didn’t know. The Actors at the theatre were so funny.

The plays we performed were amazing. I was scared at the start but when i tried i really enjoyed it a lot.

I especially enjoyed the maze because I loved playing with my friends in it.

A lot of teachers got stuck in it and our shoes got soaked as did our socks and it did not feel nice.

The rooms were amazing. I got to share a room with two of the closest people I know. 

We spent time doing stuff I have never done before. It was the best experience ever.

Grade 5 Camp by Amelia

All of the grade 5s classes went to Kryal Castle for grade 5 camp.

The first thing we did when we got to Kryal Castle was three different activities but I can't quite remember everything we did.Then we had free time to explore the castle and a lot of us went into the maze. We also watch three medieval plays by Kryal Castle's own actors.

The next day  we did 9 different activities separated into three. Then we had free time to explore again, have showers and pack our bags for tomorrow.

Friday was our last day at Kryal Castle, we did three activities. Then we were going to see The Battle Of The Hastings but we had to go home early and weren't able to see it.

All of the grade 5s that went to camp had a great time and enjoyed our trip.

KRYAL CASTLES  BY SOPHIA

KRYAL CASTLES HISTORY

Kryal Castle was built in 1972, it was opened in 1974 and it's older than most of you, well it’s older than me. Kryal Castle is about 47 years old .

The name Kryal Castle comes from the first initial and surname of its builder, Keith Ryall.

MY FIRST DAY

When I arrived at Kryal Castle my eyes were STUNNED cause it looked AMAZING. When we got to the front there was an actual working DRAWBRIDGE.  We went to a place called THE ABBEY, we put all of our luggage there and ate. We were also excited because we got to know who was in our rooms. After that we did activities. We did Medieval dance, Shield making and History of Kings, Queens and Royalty back in those days. At around 6:30pm or 7:00pm we went to the Jesters Theatre and got to watch three plays.  They were all equally funny.

THE ROOMS

There is not much to say about the rooms because all I can describe them as is STYLISH, MODERN, COMFY and AMAZING.

THE NEXT DAY

In the morning of the second day, we got to play around the castle. At the castle we ate breakfast at around 8:30am. Then we went back to the rooms and got our teeth brushed and then went back to do fun activities. The activities were Apothecary, Leather working and Medieval Court. After that we had lunch and then we went to our rooms again. Then after like 30 minutes we got to have free time. We went into the maze again and did very fun things around the castle, and ate dinner.

HOW Was KRYAL CASTLE?

Kryal Castle was amazing and fun. There were so many things to do and I never got bored . My favorite part was when I did an activity called SIEGE. We got to break a wall with a BATTERING RAM . There were other activities like SWORD FIGHTING, ARCHERY, LEATHER WORKING and more fun activities.

I can't wait to get back to KRYAL CASTLE again.

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.  

Have you set up your PAM account yet!

From the start of 2022 PAM will be 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.  

A new app (SimonEverywhere) will soon be available to download to allow easy access to PAM but for now please save the PAM log on screen to the home page of your device or bookmark it in your browser.  

Access PAM via this link   Link to PAM 

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.

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. 

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.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

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 and any relevant medical details for your child.  

This can be either done via Operoo or contacting the school office.

The medical profile section of PAM has also now been turned on.   Please update this at your convenience.  We will still be using Operoo for any medical issues until the end of this year but as of the start of next year we will be moving to PAM for all communication and medical needs. 

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.  

Australian Girls Choir Open Day

Look no further than the Australian Girls Choir (AGC) because we encourage, challenge and inspire girls as they learn to sing, dance and perform. School aged girls are invited to come along to our Open Days on Saturday December 4 and Sunday December 5 to try our fun and inclusive classes and learn more about being part of the AGC! Please visit our website to register to attend our free Open Day: https://ausgirlschoir.com.au/joinagc