St Patrick's Primary School Pakenham
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136 Princes Highway
Pakenham VIC 3810
Subscribe: https://stppakenham.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Email: principal@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au
Phone: 03 5943 9000

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"That they may all be one, as you Father, are in me and I am in you"

Newsletter for the 22nd May 2025

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Newsletter for the 22nd May 2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!

Lewis 4MR, Chase FGW, Ahok 3RS, Ziva-Mills 6TA, Harvey 1NC, Rebecca 3OM, Dal 5SA, Cung Lian Sang 2JM, Ruth 4VR

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Thursday 22nd May 2025
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Gospel of the Week

 

John 14:23-29

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

The Holy Spirit will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,

and my Father will love him,

and we shall come to him

and make our home with him.

Those who do not love me do not keep my words.

And my word is not my own:

it is the word of the one who sent me.

I have said these things to you

while still with you;

but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in my name,

will teach you everything

and remind you of all I have said to you.

Peace I bequeath to you,

my own peace I give you,

a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.

Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.

You heard me say:

I am going away, and shall return.

If you loved me you would have been glad to know that I am going to the Father,

for the Father is greater than I.

I have told you this now before it happens,

so that when it does happen you may believe.’

Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,

This week, the Gospel tells us Jesus has been talking about the coming Holy Spirit and how he will reveal himself to his disciples even though he is no longer with them. And one of them basically asks him, why us rather than everyone else?

He cautions us against letting our hearts be troubled, lest we and others lose sight of where God is to be found. Jesus responds to the anxiety of his disciples by saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me” (14:1). Jesus calls them back to this fundamental relationship of trust and assures them that he is not abandoning them. Rather, he is returning to his Father, which is good news for them.

Love is costly. Here we see the disciples saddened over Jesus' words - muddled in their lack of complete understanding. They certainly got the part about Jesus leaving and they simply could not get past that dismay to achieve clarity.

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the Catholic Education Week mass, which was celebrated at St Francis Xavier, Beaconsfield Campus. I took with me 2 School captains and 3 House Captains and we were treated to an incredible celebration of Catholic Education. The choir made up of 4 schools, primary and secondary, was very moving and fair to say left the audience with some tears in their eyes with their singing. Bishop Greg officiated over the mass with along with 4 other priests from the Sale Diocese including our parish priest Fr Jeff.

Last week at our Catholic Education Week Assembly, we presented some flowers and a speech for one of our most iconic teachers, Mrs Noleen Chalmers. Noleen has been in Catholic education for 45 years, 25 of those spent here at St Patrick’s. Year 6TA, prepared and presented the assembly and they are to be congratulated on their efforts. I would like to take the time to thank Noleen for all of her incredible work with our students and families over the past 25 years. How blessed we are to have such a dedicated teacher. 

Thank you and God Bless,

Meg

RESCHEDULED SCHOOL PHOTO DAY

Our new school Photo Day will be on Thursday 29th May. Please place this on your calendars. Forms have been sent home already. 

School Uniform

All students should be wearing their WINTER school uniform please from next week, Monday the 12th May. Hats are no longer required to be worn. Please remember to wear the proper school shoes and NOT runners. The second-hand uniform shop is open on Thursday afternoons by appointment so please contact the office you need to top up your supplies. Cash and card accepted.

PLEASE NOTE: ALL STUDENTS WILL NEED TO BE IN THEIR WINTER SCHOOL UNIFORM FOR THE SCHOOL PHOTOS.

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On Mon and Tues the year 4 & 3’s went on an excursion to Beaconsfield SFX. We traveled by bus.  Our experience at SFX with the year 12s was amazing and fun. We did so many activities that involved sport. The year 12s were so nice,helpful,considerate and very understanding. Some of our favourite activities were fruit salad,octopus and egg on a spoon.

And if we fell they helped and took really good care of us. SFX really understood all of our questions.
We guarantee that you will enjoy and have a great experience at SFX.
 
By Lydia and Angeth - 4VR 

Please enjoy some artwork from our talented St Patricks Artists!

Linda 2JM
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Mary 2JM

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Chingath 2JM
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Foundation made Bees for World Bee Day on Tuesday! 
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We are selling St Patrick's Primary School branded beanies. These can be purchased for $12.00 from the office.

Perfect for the chilly mornings!

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We have family who lives in the Cardinia Lakes estate needing some help getting their son to school each morning every second week. 

If you are able to help, please contact the office and we will pass on your details.

Thank you.

Health Issues

Once again, we are hitting the Winter season and along with that comes cold and flu. We have also seen an outbreak of Gastro going throughout the school. I ask all parents to PLEASE be very vigilant when it comes to deciding if your child is well enough to come to school. Children with nasty coughs, runny noses, fevers, sore throats and upset tummies need to be kept home and monitored. Sending your children to school will not do them any good, nor will it be wise for the rest of the community. If your child/ren are showing these symptoms, we will be ringing you and asking you to collect them please.

Head Lice has also begun to make its way back into the classrooms. Please be extremely vigilant when it comes to any of these health concerns. Thank you.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE-CHANGES TO THE AVENUE CAR PARK

There will be major changes to the carpark in the coming weeks. I ask all parents to please be patient as we change the operation of this carpark to make it a safer place for all. I will be asking all parents to please be familiar with the new format and to follow the rules.

The main changes taking place are as follows:

  • All car parks will be angle parking. NO reverse parking is allowed.
  • The car park will be a ONE WAY only now.
  • There will be a Safety Crossing for anyone who has parked and are walking their children into school. This crossing MUST be observed. Please do not cross anywhere else or be prepared to be spoken to by staff.

Year 4 and 5 Camp Information Nights

Year 4 camp information will be held on Wednesday 28th May at 6pm in the Welcome Room which is located in the B Block.

Year 5 camp information will be held on Wednesday 4th June at 5.30pm in the Year 5 classrooms which are located in the B Block.

 

Future Enrolments

This term, once again, we have had multiple inquiries for school tours, in particular for 2026.

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 early as possible. St Patrick’s is looking to manage a high demand of places within the school community and places may become limited.

St Francis Xavier College, Officer school tours

If you are looking to enrol your child into St Francis Xavier, Officer, please note these important dates in your calendar.

Officer Campus Talk & Tour – 09.30am – 10.45am 

 

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 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. We will notify parents of the date once we have finalised it.

DATE ACTIVITY
26/05/2025 Year 5 SFX Taster Excursion
28/05/2025 Year 4 Camp Information night 6pm to be held in the Welcome Room which is located in the B Block
29/05/2025 School Photos
3/06/2025 Year 6 Robin in the Hood Production
4/06/2025 Foundation Excursion to Healesville Sanctuary
4/06/2025 Year 5 Camp Information night 5.30pm to be held in the Year 5 Classrooms which is located in the B Block
6/06/2026 Pupil Free Day
09/06/2025 King's Birthday Public Holiday - No School
11/06 to 13/06 Year 4 Phillip Island Camp
16/06 to 18/06 Year 5 City Camp
01/07/2025 Parent Teacher Meetings
02/07/2025 Parent Teacher Meetings
04/07/2025 Last Day of Term 2

 

Year Level Camp/ Fun Day Dates:

DATE YEAR LEVEL ACTIVITY & LOCATION
TBC 3 Fun Day - St Patrick's Primary
28/05/2025 4 Camp Information Night - 6pm Start
11/06/2025 - 13/06/2025 4 Camp - Phillip Island
04/06/2025 5 Camp Information Night - 5.30pm Start
16/06/2025 - 18/06/2025 5 Camp - City
25/11/2025 - 28/11/2025 6 Camp - Coonawarra Farm Resort

 

TERM DATES 2025

  First Day Last Day
Term 1 30st January  4th April
Term 2 22nd April 4th July
Term 3 21st July 19th September
Term 4 6th October 16th December

  

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.

07/03/2025 Pupil Free Day
06/06/2025 Pupil Free Day
21/08/2025 Pupil Free Day
22/08/2025 TIL
31/10/2025 Pupil Free Day
03/11/2025 TIL
17/12/2025 Pupil Free Day
18/12/2025 Pupil Free Day
19/12/2025 TIL

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

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.   

2025 SCHOOL SAVINGS BONUS (SSB)

The School Savings Bonus is a State Government initiative designed to assist
families with cost-of-living pressures. Under this funding, each eligible student is
entitled to a $400 bonus for application towards activity levies and uniform purchases
from approved supplier. Within our school, all CSEF applicants are eligible to receive
this funding. All families who have a Centrelink Health Care Card and have not
applied for CSEF in the past are encouraged to contact the school office and initiate
an application this year. Please refer to the below link for more information:

https://www.vic.gov.au/receiving-school-saving-bonus#non-government-school-
information

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. 

We have also received more information in regards to the School Saving Bonus which will be sent out soon.  

Bus Travel and Conveyance allowance

Bus travel may be available to some families if they live more than 5klms distance from the school.   Please see the information on the link below. 

The Conveyance allowance is also a government initiative to help support parents with the cost transporting student to school.  To be eligible you must live more than 4.8klms from school and St Patrick's must been your closest Catholic school.   Please fill in the application form below if you think you may be eligible.  These applications have a cut off date of 13th March, so please fill them in as soon as possible. 

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First Holy Communion

“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Lk. 22:19

 "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,”

Mark 14:22-25

Key Dates

Enrolment packs to be collected from the Parish

Tuesday 24th June 2025 – 1.00 pm – 2.00 pm 

Friday 27th June 2025 – 1.00 pm – 2.00 pm

Tuesday 1st July 2025 – 6.30 pm – 7.30 pm

Choice of enrolment dates and times: A fee of $20 will be paid on the day.

Commitment Mass

2nd and 3rd August all weekend Masses

Saturday- 6pm, Sunday -9:00,10:30 and 5pm

All students receiving the Sacrament of First Holy Communion will receive Reconciliation at 11.45 am on 10th September 2025.This will happen during school time.

 

Blessing mass

September 13th and 14th all weekend Masses

Saturday- 6pm, Sunday -9:00 and10:30

Parent Workshop- Fr Elio Capra

Thursday 28th August 2025 at 7.00pm

 

PARENT WORKSHOP (ONLY PARENTS)

IT IS AN EXPECTATION THAT ALL PARENTS OF CHILDREN RECEIVING THE SACRAMENT OF COMMUNION WILL ATTEND ON THIS NIGHT.

Reflection Day

Friday 10th October at school. (time TBC)

Celebration of the Sacrament

October, Saturday 11th at 6 pm and Sunday 12th at 10:30am

October, Saturday 18th at 6pm and Sunday 19th at 10:30am

 

Bookings for your preferred time and link will be shared in the coming weeks.

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BE SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. (Act 2:1-5)

 

For students in Grade 6 and have received the sacrament of First holy communion

Key Dates

Enrolment packs to be collected from the Parish

Tuesday 13th May 2025 – 1.00pm – 2.00 pm

Friday, 16th May 2025, 1.00 pm – 2.00 pm

Tuesday 20th May 2025 – 6.30 pm – 7.30pm

Choice of enrolment dates and times: A fee of $20 will be paid on the day.

Commitment mass

14th & 15th June all weekend Masses

Saturday- 6 pm, Sunday -9:00 and 10:30  

Parent Workshop

Thursday 21st August 2025, at 7.00 pm

PARENT WORKSHOP (ONLY PARENTS)

IT IS AN EXPECTATION THAT ALL PARENTS OF CHILDREN RECEIVING THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION WILL ATTEND ON THIS NIGHT

Blessing mass

23rd and 24th of August, all weekend Masses

Saturday at 6 pm and Sunday at 9:00 am and 10:30 am.

Reflection Day at school

Tuesday 26th August. Time TBC

Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation

Saturday 30th August,3 pm and 6 pm

 

Bookings for your preferred time and link will be shared in the coming weeks.

 

For more information please contact:

Mary Tresa Andrews

mandrews@stppakenham.catholic.edu.au

Religious Education Leader, St Patrick’s Primary School.

St Patrick’s Primary School will now use a NEW form of CDFpay that is different to the one that we have used in the past. The NEW CDFpay is powered by Flexischools and is an App based system. This is a way of collecting money for any Fundraising, Events and paying for school lunchtime treats like Popcorn for your students. 

Parents and Guardians will need to download the App and register. Instructions on how to register are as follows:

How to register for a CDFpay account

1.    Search ‘CDFpay’ on the App Store (Apple) or Google Play store, download the app, then click ‘Sign up now’ or enter the following link in your web browser:

Look for this App Logo and Download

2.    Enter and confirm your email address, then click ‘Sign up’.

3.    Check your email inbox and follow the prompts to complete your account registration (check junk/spam if lost).

Have questions? Visit https://flexischools.zendesk.com/hc/en-au/ for detailed FAQs or chat to the Flexischools Digital Assistant. If you cannot find what you are looking for, please complete the online Contact Form and Flexischools will get back to you directly. 

When you are set up on the App. you will be able to select the Event, Fundraiser or item to purchase for your student. The school will be notified when the payment is made. 

School Fees will continued to be paid via the Direct Debit arrangement, BPay or via Card in the school office.