Principal's Newsletter
Thursday 20th March 2025
Gospel of the Week
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Unless you repent you will all perish as they did.
Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’
He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’
Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,
This week, the Gospel tells us Jesus points out that it is important to repent now since tragedy and violence may come upon anyone at any time. In either case, the parable reflects Jesus offering a chance for repentance and forgiveness of sin, showing his grace toward his believers. "These three years" logically refers to the period of Jesus' ministry, or simply that is the period it took for a fig tree to bear fruit. God has appointed the day of judgement. All sinners face the same fate before God. Everyone must stand before him in judgement and will be called into account the things we have done while we lived. A truly repentant person will realize they need God to sanctify their heart. They'll proactively work to change their behaviour and take steps to avoid sin and temptation.
On Monday we celebrated our Feast Day that is St Patrick’s. We began the day with mass celebrated by Fr Jeff and our parishioners, and it was a wonderful occasion. Our students were so well behaved, reverent and respectful during mass. And their singing is to be congratulated!
The students broke off into their 4 Houses of Ahern (Yellow), Hunt (Red), Bourke (Green) and Flynn (Blue) and completed 4 different activities. These included learning more about the wonderful St
Patrick’s statues located around the school, in Digitech, they watched a clip about St Patrick and learnt more about this wonderful man; in Visual Arts, they made a 3D shamrock, and they also participated in an escape room. We all enjoyed a sausage for lunch afterwards. Thanks to Tresa Andrews, Sarah McGill, Louise Breeden and Lauren Gow for their work in getting this day organised.
Thanks to Eric Langen, Damien O’Leary and Elena Krivickas, our parents who came and cooked the sausages. Thank you also to my wonderful staff for the effort that goes into the smooth running of the day. Please see photos below.
For those of you who may not be aware, we have a staff member, Mrs Annette Tanner, who is unwell at the moment and if I could ask you, please to keep Annette and her family in your prayers as she battles an ongoing illness. Annette has been a teacher here at St Patrick’s for 15 years.
| On Wednesday 26th March we will be holding our Maths Open Night. The classrooms will be open from 3:30pm to 6:00pm. It is open to all students and their parents and carers. This exciting event features game-based activities designed to make maths fun and engaging for all year levels. Families will discover creative learning ideas for at-home practice and will have the opportunity strengthen maths skills and enjoy a night of laughter and learning. Don’t miss out—come and be part of the math magic! This is a free event for our community to come together and celebrate the learning of Maths. |
God Bless
Meg
Future Enrolments
This term, we have had an incredible beginning to the year with 31 school tours being held. Out of these 31, we have had 7 new enrolments this year, inquiries for next year, 2027, 2028 and 2030!
With this in mind, can I please ask for any existing families who have younger siblings coming to St Patrick’s in the next few years, to please make sure they fill in their enrolment forms as early as possible. St Patrick’s is looking to manage a high demand of places within the school community and places may become limited.
Thank you.
St Francis Xavier College school tours
If you are looking to enrol your child into St Francis Xavier, please note these important dates in your calendar.
SFX College Open Day – Saturday 22 March 10.00am – 2.00pm
Officer Campus Talk & Tour – 09.30am – 10.45am
Tuesday 13 May
Tuesday 24 June
Tuesday 12 August
Tuesday 09 September
Tuesday 14 October
Wednesday 12 November
Year 7 2026 Enrolment Interviews
Wednesday 4 June
Wednesday 29 October
Year 7 2027 Enrolment Interviews
Wednesday 2 July
Year 7 2027 Parent Information Evening
Wednesday 7 May 7.00pm
Year 7 2026 Transition Day – Monday 8 December all day
Parent Helpers-Term 2
We will be running our first induction for any parents who wish to help in the classroom on Wednesday 26th March at 4:00pm during our Maths Open Night. We will be holding another induction meeting on Tuesday 1st April at 9am. 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. We will notify parents of the date once we have finalised it.
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
PE Uniform and illness/injury
It is important that students wear the correct uniform and footwear on the day that they have PE. The school polo shirt and sports shorts are the expected clothing along with sneakers with either laces or velcro straps. NO SLIP ON SHOES are permitted due to safety reasons.
If your child is recovering from illness or is suffering from an injury, please advise me as early as possible prior to your child’s lesson day so that the activities can be modified or an alternative learning option can be arranged.
If your child is suffering from a serious injury or recovering from such (eg: broken bone) please send a doctor’s certificate with a date confirming return to normal activity. This assists with maintaining the safety of students which is a priority at St Patrick’s.
Contact can be made by sending along an old-fashioned, handwritten note with your child to give to me during lesson time, through the PAM app or by emailing me directly lbreeden@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au