School Newsletter

Newsletter Thursday 27th April, 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.

Mark 16:15-20

Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News

Jesus showed himself to the Eleven and said to them:
‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’
And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.

Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,

Welcome to Term 2 2023.

I hope all families enjoyed a happy and Holy Easter and managed some time away as a family. As a school, we will be continuing with our Easter assemblies over the next few days as we celebrate Jesus’s resurrection.

On Tuesday 25^th April, the nation comes together to remember the fallen soldiers and the many others who fought so bravely in wars gone by. The teachers will be discussing with students and sharing stories around the significance of ANZAC day and all it represents. Mrs Belinda Couch and some of our school leaders attended an ANZAC Day ceremony on Tuesday morning and laid a wreath in honour of the fallen. I am so grateful for teachers and students who are able to represent the school for such an important celebration. See photos and recounts in a section below.

Take care and God Bless

Meg

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.

In complying with Child Safe Standard 3 an organisation must, at a minimum, ensure:

6.1 Recruitment, including advertising, referee checks and staff and volunteer pre-employment screening, emphasise child safety and wellbeing.

6.2 Relevant staff and volunteers have current working with children checks or equivalent background checks.

6.3 All staff and volunteers receive an appropriate induction and are aware of their responsibilities to children and young people, including record keeping, information sharing and reporting obligations.

6.4 Ongoing supervision and people management is focused on child safety and wellbeing.

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.