Principal's message - 13th October
Newsletter Thursday 13th October 2022
We the staff of St Patrick’s acknowledge the traditional owners, the Kulin nations, of the land on which we learn and play.
We pay respects to the Aboriginal Elders, past and present, who are our teachers.
We thank them for taking care of children and country for countless generations.
Luke 11:47-54
You have not gone in yourselves and have prevented others who wanted to
Jesus said: ‘Alas for you who build the tombs of the prophets, the men your ancestors killed! In this way you both witness what your ancestors did and approve it; they did the killing, you do the building.
‘And that is why the Wisdom of God said, “I will send them prophets and apostles; some they will slaughter and persecute, so that this generation will have to answer for every prophet’s blood that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the altar and the sanctuary.” Yes, I tell you, this generation will have to answer for it all.
‘Alas for you lawyers who have taken away the key of knowledge! You have not gone in yourselves, and have prevented others going in who wanted to.’
When he left the house, the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him and tried to force answers from him on innumerable questions, setting traps to catch him out in something he might say.
Good afternoon Parents/carers and guardians,
Another packed week has gone by. This week we have experienced a weather event not seen in many years that is likely to see dams burst and overflow. Please keep the many residents of these communities in your prayers to ensure they are kept safe and their homes and other precious items are not lost to the floods.
I have been continuing to meet with the builders on a regular basis and the E Block is due to be finished and ready to be moved back in by the week beginning Monday the 14th November. I have attached some photos below.
This week our students will be heading back to attend the 9.30am mass with our parishioners and I look forward to once again having the students and staff fully participating in Parish life. I will be attending these masses where I can.
Stay warm and stay safe!
Take care and God Bless
Meg
Religious Education:
Key Dates for the parents of Grade 3 students entering into the Sacrament of Reconciliation
Dear parents,
PARENT WORKSHOP (ONLY PARENTS) IT IS AN EXPECTATION THAT ALL PARENTS OF CHILDREN RECEIVING THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION, WILL ATTEND ON THIS NIGHT.
When: 19th October 2022
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: St Patrick’s Parish Hall
Speaker: Fr Elio Capra SDB
(Fr Elio is always an entertaining presenter at these evenings)
THE SACRAMENT OF FIRST RECONCILIATION
- Wednesday 26th October at 7:00 pm
or
- Thursday 27th October at 5:00 pm
Please make your booking for the Sacrament of Reconciliation through the parish website at https://stpatrickspakenham.com.au/reconciliation/ by Thursday the 20th October 2022. Further information will be provided at the Parent Workshop. Any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me at school.
Thank you,
Mrs Noleen Chalmers
Religious Education Leader
Parish Renewal Program
Please take the time to read the promotional flyer plus the Program brochure below
School Closure Day
As a result of the implementation of the new teacher agreement, the union, along with the Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Limited (DOSCEL), has determined that each year, the Monday before Melbourne Cup, all Primary and Secondary schools in the SALE Diocese will close. This means that teachers are not required to attend for duty and learning programs will not be offered to students.
Due to this announcement, it is necessary that we need to arrange a SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY on Friday 28th of October that will enable the teachers to complete the writing of school reports and preparing student portfolios. Students do not attend school on this day. I will be in touch with Camp Australia to discuss their arrangements for this day.
Families leaving St Patrick’s at the end of the year
As we continue to plan for 2023, any families who will NOT be returning to St Patrick’s next year are to notify the school in writing via email office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au
SAVE THE DATE
Grade 6 graduation and time Thursday the 15th December 5-7pm. More details to follow.
Foundation Transitions
This week we held our Foundation Information Night which was an enormous success. We welcomed new families as well as existing and discussed the ins and out of children starting school for the first time. The first of 4 transitions begins on Monday the 24th October.
Book Fair
Book Fair is back !
The book fair will be in the Library again this year. Parents, carers, grandparents are welcome to come in with your child/ren to purchase any book/s.
Children will be sent home with a wish list soon. Once book week begins you can send cash with your child or go to the Lamont website www.lamontbooks.com.au and pay by credit card. This is optional if you can’t come to visit the book fair in person. The online payment portal will be opened on Monday the 25th of October.
If you have any questions please contact the office.
Below are the dates and time that the Library is open for the book fair:
Monday 24th October: From 8:30 – 9:15am and 3:00 – 4:30pm
Tuesday 25th October: From 8:30 – 9:15am and 3:00 – 4:30pm
Wednesday 26th October: From 8:30 – 9:15am and 3:00 – 4:00pm
Thank you again for your support
Bunnings BBQ
The Parents and Friends will be hosting a Bunnings BBQ on Saturday the 19th November from 9-4 pm. They will be looking for parents to help man the stand for a 2-hour block at a time. Please think about supporting this wonderful initiative and help to bring more recognition to our wonderful school.
Christmas Concert
I am pleased to announce that St Patrick’s will be bringing the Christmas Concert back. This will be held on Thursday the 1st December and each grade will be performing. There will be more information to come so please keep the date free.
School Uniform Reminders
I would like to remind families please about the importance of wearing our school uniform with pride. I have noticed in the last few weeks that some students are not wearing the correct items and therefore this brings down the presentation of how we present as a school. If your child/ren does not have the correct uniform to wear for a particular day, they must have a note to explain this and this note is to be handed to the teacher. I will be asking staff to follow up if there are still issues.
Thank you for your understanding in this matter.
Notifying the School of an Absence - IMPORTANT
Due to the increase in students not being at school, the office is taking several hours each day to chase up each absent student. I ask all parents to either use PAM or to contact the office directly to let them know that your child/ren will not be at school that day. We have a legal responsibility to know where the students are every day.
Parents please also note, that you are not able to talk to the teacher’s directly when ringing through to the school office. The teachers are in with the students and therefore staff cannot attend to phone calls to parents. If you wish to pass on a message to a teacher, please email them or ring the school office and ask the office staff to pass on the message to the teacher. Thank you.
Preteens Youth Group Grades 4, 5 and 6 students - DIVINE FAITH FORMATION PROGRAMME FOR CHILDREN
St Patrick’s and St Clare’s along with the Parish is setting up the Pre-teens youth group. See the flyer below for the dates and contact numbers if you are interested. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know new people and to have time to discuss your faith whilst having fun and sharing some food and soft drinks.
Please note that is is happening tomorrow.
COVID Update
With the new requirements coming through from the State Government, if your child/ren has COVID, they need to remain at home for a period of at least 5 days. it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that they remain at home after 5 days, if symptoms persist in order to minimise the spread of the infection amongst the other students and staff. I ask all parents to please be considerate of all families in our community and not willingly send an infected child to school. Please note that I will have no hesitation in sending a child home that is showing symptoms of any kind.
It is strongly recommended that students:
- Who test positive to COVID-19 should stay home and isolate for five (5) days;
- Should not attend school after (five) 5 days if still symptomatic;
- Who are symptomatic but have not tested positive should not attend school until their
symptoms resolve;
- Parents, guardians or carers advise the school of the COVID-19 positive test result.
To assist with limiting the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses, parents, guardians and carers
should be strongly encouraged to ensure that their child(ren) remain at home if they are unwell,
including if they have tested positive to COVID-19.