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Dear Parents and Carers
Thank you for your attendance at the Parent Information Night. It was great to see those parents who were able to attend. Our staff enjoyed the opportunity to build connections with you as they shared information about the year ahead.
As I shared on the evening, our school has three Improvement Goals for 2023, to enliven and bring to fruition the Catholic Education system goals.
Uniform Full black shoes are part of our day uniform. Please do not buy black/white, black/red, black/blue shoes.
Jewellery Please ensure your child leaves their special occasion jewellery at home.
At St Pat's students may wear
* a plain necklace/chain with a cross or holy medal
* plain studs or sleeper earrings
* a plain signet ring
* a watch
NO bangles, anklets, other chains / necklaces are part of our jewellery.
Thank you for helping your child to wear their full uniform with pride.
Next week is our Swimming Carnival, we will be looking forward to a lovely day at the pool and our children being successful swimmers! Thank you to the parents who are able to be of assistance on the day.
Today at play
Blessings
Jo
Catalyst at St. Pat’s
With the goal of transforming lives through learning, in 2020 Catholic Education (CECG), embarked on a journey to implement and embed high impact teaching practice in every classroom. To achieve these goals, CECG determined teacher professional learning in three key areas – curriculum (what we teach), pedagogy (how we teach), and assessment. By implementing high impact teaching practice with a focus on direct teaching methods we are assured all students have access to explicit and sequential learning and show progress.
Photos below show our teachers implementing direct teaching
in both English and Mathematics.
Parent Engagement
As part of continuing to grow our vibrant St. Pat's
community we are pleased to invite our families to
volunteer in our school in a variety of ways.
Do you have a special skill or interest you would like to share with
the St. Pat’s community? Teachers are keen to have volunteers assist
with listening to reading, helping with art activities, support
classes on excursions and generally assist in the classroom.
You may like to help in the canteen which operates every
Wednesday or assist with our school garden. You will need to have a
current Working With Children Permit and then ring the Front Office to
organise a Volunteer Induction Interview with myself.
St. Pat's Volunteer Bob Weston listens to our
students read every Wednesday.
Religious Education
Upcoming Dates
Wednesday 22nd Feb 2:15pm - Ash Wednesday Mass
Sunday 26th Feb 9:30am - Family Mass
Friday 17th March 12:35pm- St Patrick’s Day Mass
Thursday 6th April 2:20pm- Easter Liturgy
Chapel Mass
Every Friday a class participates in Chapel Mass in the Church at 9:15am. Parents are welcome to join. Here is this Term's roster:
Week 3- 3/4R
Week 4- 3/4G
Week 5- 5/6Y
Week 6- 5/6R
Week 8- 5/6G
Week 9- 1/2G
Toast Club
We are so thankful for Bega Woolworth's support for our Toast Club. All students are able to access toast each morning when they may have missed breakfast or need a top up after a long journey to school.
My Body, My Life Puberty and Personal Development Program Year 5 and 6
The Archdiocesan Relationship Education Team are very excited to be visiting
St Patrick’s Primary School to run the My Body, My Life puberty and personal development program with Grade 5 and 6 on Tuesday, 7th March 2023.
Our team of relationship educators and trained youth ministers will be working in small groups with the year 5 and 6 students for 2 hours, to give them the best opportunity to be involved in discussion and learning.
St Patrick’s requested early access to the online units for all parents of last year’s grade 3, 4, 5 & 6 students. Parents can access the content, at their discretion, with or without your child. The videos are still available here at his link: https://cgcatholic.org.au/my-body-my-life/st-patricks-bega/.
For more information please see the parent information letter on Compass.
Support & NAPLAN 2023
Students in Years 3 and 5 are expected to sit the NAPLAN tests this Term.
There are some instances where students may be exempted from one or more of the NAPLAN tests or marked absent (for the purpose of the tests) or withdrawn from the tests. The NAPLAN national protocols for test administration provide the framework for understanding student participation.
Exemptions
While a range of adjustments are available for students with disability, exemption may be suitable for some students with disability and for some students with a language background other than English. In both cases, schools need to discuss the proposed exemption with the student’s parent/carer and gain their permission prior to testing.
English language proficiency: Students with a language background other than English who arrived from overseas and have been attending school for less than a year before the test may be exempted. However, these students are not automatically exempt and should be given the opportunity to participate in testing. Principals can expect information from test administration authorities on the preferred method for collecting and recording this information. Students may be exempt from one test (e.g. reading) but still be able to participate in another test (e.g. numeracy).
Students with disability: Adjustments are provided to students with disability to support access to the tests and encourage maximum participation. Students with significant intellectual disability and/or those with significant co-existing conditions which severely limit their capacity to participate in the tests may be exempted from sitting the national tests. This is determined after consultation has occurred between the principal and the relevant parent/carer, and if it is decided the student is not able to access the tests with adjustments. For more information on the types of adjustments available, see Adjustments for students with disability.
Withdrawals
NAPLAN tests are a routine part of the school calendar. However, students may be withdrawn from the testing program by their parent/carer for reasons such as religious beliefs or philosophical objections to testing. This is a matter for consideration by individual parents/carers in consultation with their child’s school. A formal application in the manner specified by the relevant test administration authority must be received by the principal prior to testing.
For more information about adjustments, you can follow this link: https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/accessibility/adjustments-for-students-with-disability
If you are yet to discuss exemption or withdrawal and would like to please email Mrs Grant @ emma.grant@cg.catholic.edu.au
The National Apology to the Stolen Generations
Monday 13 February 2023 marks the 15th anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations, who suffered as a result of past government policies of forced child removal and assimilation. It is important, that as a nation, we commemorate this significant milestone, acknowledging the wrongs of the past, while reflecting on the work that still needs to be done to address the impacts of unresolved trauma.
Below is a link for a beautiful story to share with your children and start a conversation about the Apology and Reconciliation.
https://storyboxlibrary.com.au/stories/sorry-day
There will be a letter sent home to our Koori families today introducing Chantelle and myself sharing a little about our role at school. Please check your child's school bag.
Paula Franco-Mathewson
BEGINNER YOGA COURSE
Beginner Yoga Course: Tuesdays for 4 weeks from 14th February. 7:15-8:30pm, Mumbulla School Hall. With certified Iyengar Yoga teacher Paula Casciola. Bookings required. Please contact 0458 271 168.