Principal's Newsletter
Newsletter Thursday 8th June, 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 12:28-34
'You are not far from the kingdom of God'
One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to question him any more.
Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,
Last weekend was incredible to celebrate the First Holy Communion with students from both St Clare’s and St Patrick’s. What a delight it was to se the students dressed up in their finest outfits and accept the Body of Christ in the form of the blessed host for the first time. The next celebrations are the weekend after the long weekend.
As Winter takes its toll on both students and staff health, I am asking parents to be mindful of how you communicate with your child/ren if or when their teacher is going to be absent. Whilst never an ideal situation, teachers will be absent from time to time due to illness, work meetings or personal matters to attend to. We have recently added Resilience to our set of values here at St Patrick’s and the students are able to speak about it readily; what is also vital is their ability to recognise when resilience is needed.
Resilience refers to the ability to manage everyday stressors and challenges.
Resilience enables people to shift back along the mental health continuum towards good mental health. A child or young person’s ability to be resilient can depend upon many things and can change depending upon their situation. Importantly, specific situations or events that one child or young person may find challenging, another may not.
Both parents and students need to understand that during their time at school, they will have many different teachers. Speaking with your children about how they deal with this is paramount to their mental wellbeing. Change will always be a big part of any organisation. No matter what teacher is in the classroom, they will ensure that structure and routine is still in place. The curriculum will still be delivered and their physical, social and emotional wellbeing will be monitored. The teachers have many things in place such as visual timetables that assist the students in knowing how the day will play out.
I ask all parents to talk positively with your children around teacher absence and help them see this as an opportunity to get to know and interact with new people. I have attached a link to Be You website and included an article and further information below. These are excellent resources to help build and maintain resilience in your children. Please take the time to read and develop a greater understanding around Resilience.
https://beyou.edu.au/fact-sheets/social-and-emotional-learning/resilience-and-mental-health
This has been a big week at our school with multiple excursion. On Tuesday our Year 5 students headed off to St Francis to see what highschool life is all about. Our Foundation students had their very first excursion on Wednesday at Myuna Farm and had a blast. We also saw our year 2 students head off this morning to theEdithvale-Seaford Wetlands.
Next week is a short week for us with Monday being a student free day, we also have our last Open Day of this term on Tuesday.
Take care and God Bless
Meg
PRIME drinks
These drinks are NOT to be brought to school under any circumstances. They will be confiscated and returned at the end of the day. Water is the only drink we would like to se be at school please. No Primas or fruit juice. Please help us to promote healthy drinking habits. Thank you for your co-operation in this matter.
Building Project
You may have noticed that our B Block is coming along, however it will not be completed by the end of this term as originally thought. The building will be completed over the school holidays and the students will move in the first few weeks of term 3. We look forward to seeing our new building and being able to access the new facilities.
Donations
In order to support our P and F committee, I am asking if there are families and businesses out there who are able to donate items that can be used for future raffles and in particular for our fete that is being held later this year. Not only is this a sign of goodwill and enhance a sense of community, but it will also create great opportunities for your own business to be highlighted at St Patrick’s. If you would like to donate items, please contact the office on 5943 9000 or email office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au
As always, we appreciate any help that is given to our beautiful school.
Social Media
Our school has started its own Facebook page where we highlight the amazing things out students do everyday at school. You can follow our page with the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087005542953
OPEN DAYS
We have our last Open Day for this term coming up. If you know any families looking at enrolling please invite them to come by our school between 9:30am - 2:00pm on the following day for a guided tour.
Tuesday 13th June
2024 Enrolments
If you have a child beginning at St Patrick’s next year, please come to the office and collect an enrolment form. If you know of any families living in our area and looking for a school, please tell them about us. If they wish to make an appointment to have a tour, they can contact the office on 5943 9000 or email us at office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au