Newsletter Thursday 2nd March, 2023

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.

Good afternoon everyone,

Welcome to week 6. In today’s Gospel, Matthew uses the phrase, ‘..treat others as you would like them to treat you.’ This phrase is one we use at St Patrick’s whenever we discuss how we operate as a Catholic school. This is the key to respect and should be something that we always have in our minds when we interact with people every day. It is important that we continue to open doors and welcome all into our community. We are so lucky to have an incredible multicultural community that offers so many unique experiences. Let’s continue to celebrate all that we have.

Our year 2's will complete their swimming program tomorrow and next week our year 3's will begin their 2-week swimming program at Splash's.

Next week we will also begin our Program Support Meetings (PSGs) and the appointments are set up and ready to go for parents on PAM. These PSGs are absolutely vital in ensuring that both school and family are working together to support the students in their learning.

Our Family Learning Conversations (FLC) will be held in Week 8 (after the long weekend.) on Tuesday 14^th and Wednesday the 15^th March. During these 15-minute conversations, teachers will discuss with parents, carers and guardians, the results from assessments completed and talk about the goals that students will focus on. Please ensure you go onto PAM to book your conversation time.

As I am sure many of you will have noticed, our building works in the B Block are well and truly underway. The new roof has been removed and the new one is going on as we speak. Once this is done, all the other trades such as electricians etc. will be able to commence the inside of the building.

Over the next few weeks, I will be putting in information on the new Child Safe Standards that were released in July of 2022. These were in our newsletter last year; however, I am going to continue to highlight these. Each week, a new standard will go in. It is important for all of us have an understanding of these standards as well as the polices associated with them. All of these polices around Child Safety can be found on our website.

Take care and God Bless

Meg

PE uniform and illness/injury

It is important that students wear the correct uniform and footwear on the day that they have PE. The school polo shirt and sports shorts are the expected clothing along with sneakers with either laces or velcro straps. NO SLIP ON SHOES are permitted due to safety reasons. 

If your child is recovering from illness or is suffering from an injury, please advise me as early as possible prior to your child’s lesson day so that the activities can be modified or an alternative learning option can be arranged. 

If your child is suffering from a serious injury or recovering from such (eg: broken bone) please send a doctor’s certificate with a date confirming return to normal activity. This assists with maintaining the safety of students which is a priority at St Pat’s. 

Contact can be made via PAM or directly emailing me lbreeden@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au 

Active Club

It has been wonderful to see students arriving at 8:30am and taking part in Active Club again.

Active Club gives students the opportunity to get their bodies moving before learning each day. Active Club takes place on the big oval each day EXCEPT Tuesdays when students will be walking on the basketball courts. 

Some things to remember so that everyone can enjoy Active Club:

• Leave your bag outside your classroom before heading over to the oval
• Walk or run counter clockwise around the outside area of the big oval only (not through the middle)
• You can stay for the whole time or just a few laps
• Encourage each other to be active - let’s get everyone out there!
• If it is raining, it will be cancelled
• If the oval is too wet, it will be moved to the basketball courts and will be WALKING ONLY
• You must move quickly back to learning spaces when Mrs Breeden is wrapping up

Understanding Victoria’s Child Safe Standards

The Child Safe Standards (the Standards) commenced in Victoria in January 2016. Since then, we have seen how the Standards have improved safety for children and young people.

Changes in 2022 and 2023 have made our Standards even stronger.

Since 1 July 2022, organisations^[1] covered by the Standards have to comply with 11 new Standards.

The 11 Standards set out minimum requirements and outline the actions organisations must take to keep children and young people safe.

Each week, there will be a new standard for you to read about.

The Standards provide more clarity for organisations and are more consistent with Standards in the rest of Australia.

The 11 Standards include specific requirements:

• to involve families and communities in organisations’ efforts to keep children and young people safe
• for a greater focus on safety for Aboriginal children and young people
• to manage the risk of child abuse in online environments
• in relation to governance, systems and processes to keep children and young people safe.

Child Safe Standard 1 – Organisations establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued

• In complying with Child Safe Standard 1, an organisation must, at a minimum, ensure:
• 1 A child’s ability to express their culture and enjoy their cultural rights is encouraged and actively supported.
• 2 Strategies are embedded within the organisation which equip all members to acknowledge and appreciate the strengths of Aboriginal culture and understand its importance to the wellbeing and safety of Aboriginal children and young people.
• 3 Measures are adopted by the organisation to ensure racism within the organisation is identified, confronted and not tolerated. Any instances of racism are addressed with appropriate consequences. 
• 4 The organisation actively supports and facilitates participation and inclusion within it by Aboriginal children, young people and their families.
• 5 All of the organisation’s policies, procedures, systems and processes together create a culturally safe and inclusive environment and meet the needs of Aboriginal children, young people and their families.

School Uniforms

At St Patrick’s, it is important to highlight to students the message around respecting our school uniform. The uniform represents our school and is expected to be worn with pride. Please be aware that I will approach and ask students about their uniform and will follow up with parents if necessary.

Please write a note to your child/ren’s classroom teacher if there is an issue with the inform for a particular period of time.

Some reminders:

• Socks- are to be ankle socks; white for girls and grey for boys
• Students are to wear black shoes and NOT (black) runners. Runners may be brought to school for your child/ren to change into for the playtimes;
• Girls are permitted to wear the school (Summer) dress or the school shirt and grey shorts
• Boys wear the grey shorts in Summer and the long grey pants in Winter (they may choose to continue wearing the shorts.)
• Sports uniform consists of the polo shirt with the school logo and the green track pants or green unisex shorts.
• School sports jacket is optional in the cooler months.