Principal's Newsletter
Thursday 13th February 2025
Gospel of the Week
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Happy are the poor. Woe to the rich!
Jesus came down with the Twelve and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases.
Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said:
‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God.
Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.
‘Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.
‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.
‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’
Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,
The Gospel shows how Jesus Christ emphasizes the view of many regarding the state of living of everyone nowadays wherein we see those who are poor to be totally poor but behind that scarcity is their strong spirituality and faithfulness to God.
Luke 6:20–23 is best taken as a whole: those who are persecuted because they follow Jesus may weep and suffer hunger and poverty, but they will receive direct recompense because they follow Jesus, not because they suffer.
Luke 17 lists several responsibilities expected of those who live in God's kingdom: proper understanding of sin, faith, humble service, thanks, and watchfulness. If we all took those responsibilities and understood what God’s Kingdom had in store for us; would it make us be more understanding towards others and not resort to anger and resentment so quickly?
Last week, the teachers had the wonderful opportunity to work with Sr Rose Duffy, a Brigidine nun who recently celebrated her diamond Jubilee of 60 years. Of those 60 years, 39 have been spent in education and 35 of those 39 years has been in Catholic Education in the Diocese of Sale! Sr Rose spoke with us about our wonderful patron saint, St Patrick. It was so interesting for us to hear some new information about St Patrick. I encourage our families to learn more about our wonderful patron saint.
This week, we held our Parent Teacher Meetings. This was an excellent opportunity to meet with your child/ren’s teacher/s and to have a discussion around how the year has begun. These conversations are vital to the success of your child’s time at school. Thank you to the parents who were able to ensure they made the effort to meet with their child’s teacher. This is the school and home working together.
This morning, we held another community meeting which was well attended, in particular by our Myanmar families. All are welcome at these meetings. They are an excellent opportunity to get to know other parents and to ask any questions you have about the school uniform, booking appointments, how to use the SiMON and PAM app, find out about camps and any other activities going on in the school. A big THANK YOU to Yoke Teow, Nadine King and Tha Ciokip for their work with these families. Such an amazing blessing to have things like this happening at St Patrick’s.
God Bless
Meg
NAPLAN
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake.
As students progress through their school years, it is important to check how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and numeracy. NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national proficiency standards. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with more information about students’ educational progress. NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working, and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy
Wed 12th Mar ~ 9:00am-10:00am (Writing)
Thurs 13th Mar ~ 10:00am-11:00am (Reading)
Friday 14th Mar ~ 9:00-10:00am (Conventions of Language) AND 11:30am-12:30am (Numeracy)
Parent Helpers-Term 2
We will be running an induction for any parents who wish to help in the classroom early in Term 2. Please note, any parents wishing to assist in the classroom must have a Working with Children Check. It only needs to be a Volunteer one to assist in the classroom. The school will require a copy of this to keep in our files.
ATTENTION PARENTS: School Uniform
I am asking please that all students, to be wearing our proper school uniform. It is important that we maintain a high standard of uniform throughout the school year and to wear it with pride.
I will continue to ask all students to be wearing proper school shoes and uniform right up until the end of the year. Runners are NOT school shoes. Please see pictures below. I understand that students are growing constantly, however they will continue to grow for many more years and so I cannot always accept this as an excuse. We must remember that many students are adhering to the correct standards of school uniform and therefore, it is important that the students and their families please respect this. Secondary schools do not accept poor unform standards.
If finance is a concern when it comes to uniform, please speak to your classroom teacher. St Patrick’s has a very good second-hand uniform shop that you can top up your child’s uniform with. It is a third of the price you would pay at the normal uniform shop, and the money goes straight back to the school.
This is an example of a school shoe to be worn every day, except on sport days/events:
This is a runner and NOT a school shoe
