Hello everyone, this newsletter is about 5BC and we will be showing what we have done in the last couple of weeks!

We are super excited to be the first class to write the newsletter this year and hope you all enjoy reading our articles and seeing our photos to share what we have been up to so far this year!

Selina 5BC

It has been wonderful getting to know everyone in our class and meeting families at our Parent Teacher Meetings this week. In 5BC we are excited about our learning and will be showing off much more when we host assembly on Friday 28^th February!!

Have a lovely rest of the week,

Mrs Couch

Friday SEL and math groups

 On Friday all the year 5s gathered together to do maths and SEL as a whole level.

 Firstly, everybody gathered into Mrs McGill’s classroom, we explained some rules because it was our first time. The teachers split us into three groups, one group for each classroom.

 Then, we headed over to our class and began, we started with something easy to get a better understanding of how it would look like. We stayed in the groups for about half an hour. After half an hour we started to head back to Mrs McGill’s classroom for SEL.

 After, they explained what SEL meant (social, emotional, learning) they played a video on the TV about how our brain has neurons which grow when we learn new things and challenge ourselves. We talked about the video as a whole level and then we finished a task in our own rooms.

 We enjoyed learning math and SEL as a whole level and are excited to continue doing it every Friday this year!

Written By Charlotte and David.

Classroom jobs and routines

In the morning when we greet our teacher we put our bags away and grab our drink bottles and our pencil case.

 After that we unstack our chairs then we do prayer, we have a chart that tells us when we do the prayer in our groups. When it's near the end of the day or we have to pack up early, we all start doing our very own jobs like Visual timetable :they change what we are doing tomorrow.

Also we have alot of jobs for the class like  bookshelf/library monitor, Subject book boxes, messengers and so many more for our whole class! Every 2 weeks we change jobs, like a student is a Technician then after 2 weeks they change their jobs to a Whiteboard Checker. We all have our own jobs and routines to keep our class clean.

We feel like having a jobs list makes us independent and makes us more responsible for our own classroom.

Written By Mpho, Arveer and Harrison

Podcast (Newsletter)

In our classroom we have been listening to a podcast called Six minutes. In episode 1 a family went on a trip and when they got there they started whale watching. A girl named Birdie fell in the water! She saw another girl in the water. They took her to the hospital and then they found a strange mark on her arm and covered it up. Later she woke up and they told her they were her parents even though they weren’t and she believed them. After listening we have to answer questions on our chromebooks. We are excited about listening to another episode each week.

Written By Evie and Achien

Art we’ve done!

 On the first couple of days of term 1 of 2025 we did some art:

The art had some horizontal lines and vertical lines.

Mrs. Couch drew in the middle, the shapes of our heads.

After we did the lines we got to do patterns in the head shape. After we finished, we got to pick a big coloured piece of paper and we stuck on the art we had done and wrote our names on the bottom of the coloured paper.

In the end we hung up the finished ones and it looked…..AMAZING! It was very fun and easy! Some people even added an eye and a mouth to their masterpiece!

Written by Isabel & phillip!

MATH TOOL TIME

In math we have been playing a variety of math games to warm up our brains before tests and worksheets. We have been playing games like salute, pick it and place it, odd one out and roll and add/multiply/subtract.

Roll and add is where you have a partner and you have to get two dice and roll them to see what the numbers are on the dice, then you either multiply, add or subtract the numbers in your head and the first person to say the answer gets a point. You can go up to as many points as you like but it’s usually up to 10.

Written By Mitch and Shawn

Learning to learn

Learning to learn is to learn new things. In 5BC we did an
activity we wrote on little notes and we put it on a poster.

Learning to learn sounds like people listening when others
are speaking.
Learning to learn looks like cooperating and quietly
discussing the task either with a group or with a partner.
Learning to learn feels like you want to encourage yourself
to make improvements.

Written By Scarlett and Naim.

Meeting our buddies

On Friday the 7th of February, we got to meet our buddies. They were in Miss Gronek’s class and we got to know about them and do some art. We helped our buddies write and we got to learn what they like and dislike and about their families.It felt a bit awkward at first but then we were really excited. We enjoyed our time in FKG.

Written By Nyankoor and Sierra

Thursday 13th February 2025

Gospel of the Week

Luke 6:17. 20-26

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

   

Year Level Camp/ Fun Day Dates:

TERM DATES 2025

2025 PUPIL FREE AND TIME IN LIEU DAYS:

The 3 Time in Lieu 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.

School Fee Statements have been emailed out to most families.   Please check your junk/spam folder if you haven't received it.   As in previous years, all Fees are charged at the start of the year with the expectation that they will be paid by the end of the school year.   This can be done as one payment or instalments, via Direct Debit, Bpay, EFTPOS or cash.   You can find Direct Debit forms in the Knowledge bank section of PAM, or ask at the school office.   If paying by BPay please use the code on your statement to ensure the payment comes off your fees.   

Health Care Card and School Savings Bonus

For those families who have an eligible Health Care Card your fees are still being processed with the concession rate to be applied.   If you haven't filled in a CSEF (Camps, Sports, Excursion Funding) form please download the attached form or pick one up from the school office.   This needs to be done as soon as possible so we can receive the funding and apply your concession.   This year it will also affect the allocation of the School Saving Bonus ($400) that the government announced last year.   So the sooner these forms are in the better. 

Program Support Group (PSG) Meetings will be held during week 5 for students who are provided with supports and adjustments to their classroom programs.  These meetings will provide families with an opportunity to meet with the classroom teacher and the Learning Adjustment Team.  During PSGs, we will set goals and discuss current and future adjustments required to support your child’s learning.  Some parents may like to bring others to support them during the meeting.  Please advise the Learning Adjustment Leader of any additional people attending prior to the meeting to allow for adequate planning.

PSGs can be booked through PAM for families invited to attend.

We are pleased to advise you that our school has engaged Semper Dental to provide your
children with the opportunity of visiting the Semper Dental treatment team at school
commencing on Wednesday March 19 th.

Semper Dental is a well-respected catholic family business and is a significant provider of
oral hygiene education and dental treatment services with programs running in more than
80 schools in greater Melbourne.The program is available to participating students from all year levels at the school. The
basis of this offer will be fully explained in the Semper Dental parent consent forms and in
the Semper Dental information flyer.

Semper Dental provides a preventative treatment program involving an oral examination
and treatments such as scale, cleaning, fluoride application and fissure seals where
necessary. Semper Dental will then provide you with a treatment plan for your child following the visit
and will inform you if your child requires additional dental care.
Forms need to be returned to the school by Thursday March 14 th .

This past week the Scholastic brochures were handed out in class. All orders are made online via Book Club LOOP. Please follow the link below to make your purchase.

All purchases must be made before Thursday 20th  of February. 

https://www.scholastic.com.au/book-club/book-club-parents/

Have you logged into your PAM account yet! 

We use 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, Media Consent Details and any relevant Medical Details for your child if they change.  

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. 

SiMON Everywhere is an app our school uses to acces PAM and CDF Pay. We will be sending reminders through this app, as such please download and sign in. There is a guide below for your reference. If you are having any issues please contact Megan McMenamin in the school office mmcmenamin@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au

Parents who would like to have their children baptised are required to attend baptism preparation. Please enroll through the parish website https://stpatrickspakenham.com.au/

For further details and assistance please contact

Mary Tresa Andrews

Religious Education Coordinator

mandrews@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au