Newsletter Thursday 11th May, 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.

Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,

The Gospel today is so beautifully linked to a very special day on Sunday; Mother’s Day. Just as we know that Jesus holds us in his love every day, this can also be said of our mums. Whether our mums, grandmothers, aunties and other carers have passed on or are still with us, it is our mothers who have and will always be there for us. Despite their own fears, sadness, illness and worries, they will reach out to those closest to them and hold them tight and put them first. Please take the time to wish your mum a happy and blessed day and to say thank you for all the things she does.

We look forward to celebrating with our mums on Monday mornings from 8:30am. We have a coffee van coming in and your coffee is on the school! We will also be taking advantage of the beautiful weather on Monday morning and getting out some sports equipment to get active!

Yesterday our P and F held the Mother’s Day stall and thankfully this was able to go ahead as we had two parent helpers to assist the committee. This year we introduced a new system of tokens as we are trying to eliminate the use of cash/coins as there have been so many issues in the past with lost money etc.. I know there were some teething problems which as a school and P and F, we will work through. Thank you to parents who continue to support the school and P and F as we work our way through looking at new processes such as this.

Tomorrow, our students across Foundation to year 6, will be having an incursion from the STOMP dance team! We look forward to their dynamic work and to see how students have some fun!

Take care and God Bless

Meg

School Sickness

Earlier this week, we sent information home around the cooler months and the increase we are seeing in illness amongst the students. Covid has once again risen its ugly head in the school and we are continuing to put in place safety measurefor everyone. As families you can support this by not sending children to school who have a temperature, coughing, sneezing, sore throat etc. If your child has any of these symptoms, please consider doing a RAT test. We have free RAT testing kits here in the school office.

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 7 an organisation must, at a minimum, ensure:

8.1    Staff and volunteers are trained and supported to effectively implement the organisation’s Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy.

8.2    Staff and volunteers receive training and information to recognise indicators of child harm including harm caused by other children and young people.

8.3    Staff and volunteers receive training and information to respond effectively to issues of child safety and wellbeing and support colleagues who disclose harm.

8.4       Staff and volunteers receive training and information on how to build culturally safe environments for children and young people.

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.