Newsletter Thursday 16th March, 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.

Take care and God Bless

Meg

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.

Standard 2

Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.

In complying with Child Safe Standard 2 an organisation must, at a minimum, ensure:

2.1    The organisation makes a public commitment to child safety.

2.2    A child safe culture is championed and modelled at all levels of the organisation from the top down and bottom up.

2.3    Governance arrangements facilitate implementation of the Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy at all levels.

2.4    A Code of Conduct provides guidelines for staff and volunteers on expected behavioural standards and responsibilities.

2.5    Risk management strategies focus on preventing, identifying and mitigating risks to children and young people.

2.6    Staff and volunteers understand their obligations on information sharing and record keeping.

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.

TERM DATES

PUPIL FREE DAYS:

These 3 Pupil Free days ensure that we can manage our commitment for all staff to continue to provide activities such as school camps for our students.

Please note, these dates are separate from our 8 Staff Professional Development days. Those 8 days are for our staff professional learning which will focus on Religious Education, Learning and Teaching and Student Wellbeing.

This week our Year 4 students had their first incursion of the year. The students had first hand experience of the preferential voting system and enacted a mock council meeting. Aaron was elected to be the mayor!

The students (counsellors) discussed and voted on the issue of dogs being off leash at parks, with input from the rest of the students (community at a council meeting)

 

 

 

Last week a school photo order flyer was sent home, it has instructions on how to order your photos. Please check the flyer as it should have your child's name on it, if you have the wrong flyer please return it to the classroom.

Have you re-set up your PAM account yet! 

We have been using PAM as our main form of communication.  All emails, Student Attendance, Sick Bay notes, School Reports, commonly used forms, excursion/camp permission notes and Family Learning conversations, will all be communicated via PAM.  

Access PAM via this link   Link to PAM 

PAM - Parent Access Module

PAM (Parent Access Module) is our Parent to School communication platform.   PAM will provide real time access to keep parents updated with their children’s progress, important dates and messages. Relevant resources – calendar events, student reports, parent notified absences, absence data and sick bay notes will all be accessed via PAM.

Parents will be able to easily book Parent Teacher interviews through PAM, and access teacher email addresses. 

PAM accounts are linked via your email address that we have in our systems. 

If you have recently changed your email,  please call or email us on office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au

Click on the 'forget password' link to set your password and then verify your email address.  (Email addresses must be verified for PAM to work properly).  Once your email is verified, your email can be used as the username for your account.

Once you have successfully logged in, you can save PAM to your homescreen on your device.

If you have any issues or need help with PAM please contact the school via email, office@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au

PAM Instructions

Parent Notified Absences via PAM

Once you have PAM set up and saved to your home screen you can easily send in Parent Notified absences.   Please use this platform going forward as this automatically syncs with the class roll.   This will fix the issues of receiving SMS notifications even though you had already notified the school. 

Please remember to update your contact details and any relevant medical details for your child.  

Most medical profiles have now been updated. Please remember to keep them up to date and upload any asthma/allergy plans that may be relevant 

To update any contact details please contact the school office. 

Covid Update

 It is strongly recommended that students:

• Who test positive to COVID-19 should stay home and isolate for five (5) days;
• Should not attend school after five (5) days if still symptomatic;
• Who are symptomatic but have not tested positive should not attend school until their symptoms resolve;
• Parents, guardians or carers advise the school of the COVID-19 positive test result.

Student who are close contacts or social contacts are permitted to attend school but are strongly recommended to:

• if a close contact – regularly test for at least seven (7) days following their last contact with the person who has COVID-19
• if a social contact - test if they have symptoms of COVID-19
• wear a face mask when leaving the house, including on public transport, at work, school, and other indoor spaces
• let fresh air into their home or other indoor spaces by opening windows, where possible
• monitor for symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat, cough, or fever/chills, and stay home and test if they present with symptoms
• Parents, guardians and carers should continue to notify the school if their child(ren) is a close contact.

Rapid Antigen Tests

It is recommended that Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) are used by students:

• If they have symptoms of COVID-19 infection, no matter how mild, or
• If they are a contact of someone who has COVID-19.

The Department of Health recommends that all Victorians report their positive RAT
result to the Department of Health online, or by calling 1800 675 398.
Students (or their parents, guardians or carers) should also report a positive result to their school.

RAT kits can be collected from our school office. They are also available for all Victorians from most local councils. People can get two (2) free packs (10 tests) for themselves and two (2) free packs (10 tests) for each member of their household.

School Fees – Government Assistance Programs

The School Fee statements for 2023 will be sent out in the next couple of weeks and an updated Fee Schedule can be found in the knowledge bank section of PAM under commonly used forms.     

However, there are some Government assistance programs for families who may be in need of this. 

CSEF

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments for eligible students to attend activities like:

• school camps or trips
• swimming and school-organised sports programs
• outdoor education programs
• excursions and incursions.

Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. A Special Consideration category also exists. Schools can receive applications from families over terms one and two.

Families can list more than one student in the one application form if they are attending the same school.

Eligible means-tested cards

Means-tested concession cards must now be valid on either:

• the first day of Term 1 (Monday 30 January 2023)
• the first day of Term 2 (Tuesday 24 April 2023)

CSEF application form   (also available in the knowledge bank section in PAM)

Conveyance allowance

The conveyance allowance is a State Government allowance that may be available to students attending government or non-government schools.

If you live more than 4.8km from your closest school you can apply for the conveyance allowance and:

• travelling by public transport or by private car, motorbike, bicycle or bus, and
• whose nearest school is not serviced by a free school bus provided under the School Bus Program

The conveyance allowance is a State Government contribution towards transport costs and is not intended to cover the full cost of transporting children to and from school.

 Application for private car travel  (also available in the knowledge bank section in PAM)

 Application for public transport travel    (also available in the knowledge bank section in PAM)

School Bus Program

The School Bus Program is an extensive school bus network that provides free travel to eligible students. Students must be attending government and non-government schools and living in rural and regional Victoria. 

* Students are expected to use public transport where a service is available within 1.6 km (measured by shortest practicable route) of their home or closer to their home than the nearest school bus service. This applies to both students applying to access the SBP at no cost and to fare paying passengers. * * 

If your child is eligible, they can travel for free.

There are different categories that decide if your child is eligible for free travel. For more information read the eligibility guide below.

School bus program eligibility guide

Click on the link below to check if a school bus is available in your area.

School Bus Management System

JOB VACANCY: PASTORAL WORKER / SACRAMENT CO-ORDINATOR:  The position of Sacrament Coordinator and Pastoral worker has become available based at St Patrick’s Parish Office, Pakenham. We are looking to employ a person for three days a week (20 hours - which will include some evening and weekend work). The successful applicant will be responsible for the preparation and management of the parish sacrament programs including Baptisms, First Reconciliation, First Eucharist, and Confirmation. This position forms part of the parish pastoral team and will be a support role to the other pastoral works in the parish. General hours of work: 20 hours per week, 9.00 am to 3.00 pm Wednesday to Friday. Applications are to be addressed to the Parish Priest and emailed to parishoffice@stpatrickspakenham.com.au by Friday 3^rd March 2023. For a copy of the job description, please contact the parish office via email or directly at 03 5941 7315.

John Mc Foundation's next charity event will be held on Saturday 6th May.  It is the Australian Fleetwood Mac Show and consists of dinner and a show at Montuna Golf Club.  It would be great to support John Mac who is a long-time supporter of Paddy's kitchen. Please see the attached link for further details on the show and Try Booking link to buy tickets.  All proceeds from the event go to supporting local soup kitchens.

For more details please follow the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/events/s/the-australian-fleetwood-mac-s/5541342939310932/

You can book in now via the following link:

http://www.trybooking.com/CFVYA 

SPECIAL REPORT: Celebrating Harmony Week

Harmony Week is celebration held annually in March across Australia. It’s aimed at promoting diversity, respect and inclusiveness. This event is an excellent opportunity for parents to teach their children about different cultures, traditions and customs. The goal is to encourage everyone to appreciate and celebrate differences and promote a sense of community and belonging for everyone.

During Harmony Week, there are a number of events and activities held to bring people from different cultures together. These activities include multicultural food festivals, cultural performances, art exhibitions and workshops. Participating in these events helps children to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the diverse communities that make up Australia.

As a parent, you can engage your children in discussions about multiculturalism and encouraging them to ask questions. Promoting a more harmonious and inclusive society, can help children grow up with a greater appreciation for the richness and diversity of Australia's cultural landscape.

This Special Report hopes to instil positive values and create an opportunity to start a conversation with your child about understanding diversity and multiculturalism. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please consider seeking medical or professional help.

Click on this link to view the Special Report https://stppakenham.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-celebrating-harmony-week-au