Principal's Newsletter
Newsletter Thursday 18th July
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.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark
They were as sheep without a shepherd.
The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. So they went off in a boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But people saw them going, and many could guess where; and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length.
Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,
This week the Gospel tells us that people will often be looking for someone to lead them, someone to show the way, someone to say, ‘it will be okay.’ Jesus tells the apostles to rest as they appeared to be struggling to manage with the demands of preaching to the people. People who are left in charge with big responsibilities carry a heavy load, which can be both physical and mental. It is good to be relied upon, but we must make sure that when we look after others, we must be mindful of also looking out for ourselves. This gospel reading also highlights to us that no matter what came Jesus’s way; he was always there to look after his sheep (people).
Welcome back to the school year and to Term 3. A very wet start to the term with rain impacting some of our playtimes, however the students have been very good considering they have been unable to get outside for some of the recess and lunch breaks.
There is no doubt you will have noticed the many changes around the Pakenham area with all the street closures. This is impacting the arrival time of many students to school in the mornings. I ask parents to keep in mind that they will need to be leaving earlier to tackle the traffic, weather conditions and multiple detours that are happening in Pakenham. Whilst we understand that families will run late from time to time, the children need a good start to the day and arriving late to school on a regular basis can have a negative impact on them.
Today I can announce that there will be two teachers taking over the classroom teaching role in Year 4AT. Mrs Annette Tanner remains on sick leave for the rest of the year. St Patrick’s welcomes Jayme-Lea Jamieson, who will work on Thursdays and Fridays, and we congratulate Jennifer White, who will be teaching Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Jennifer is an existing member of staff who has been employed at St Patrick’s since 2017, working as an Education Support Officer and a Tutor Teacher since 2021 in both the Junior and Senior school.
Jennifer has been employed as a Permission to Teach (PTT) teacher and she is currently in her final year of Bachelor of Education (Primary).
A Permission to Teach (PTT) is an alternative authorisation to teach that exists primarily to address the workforce shortage within Victorian schools.
Take care and God Bless,
Meg