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Dear Parents and Carers,
This week I have been in Bowral with the principals from our archdiocese for Catholic Leaders’ Day and for the Principal retreat. There are 56 schools in the archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn and it is always beneficial to meet with one another and to share about our schools and communities.
Out and about playing
What do St Pat’s kids do at playtime? Sometimes a formal game: cricket, soccer, league tag. Sometimes a student passion club or a visit to the library. On PE days they may be involved in the hall competition of the day – at the moment handball. And then there is the playground, the Beyblade arenas, the creative play, the chasing games, and all manner of fun!
Writing was featured in these recent celebrations of learning from the classroom. The kinder students were creating montages about themselves, Braxton was sharing part of a narrative that he is writing.
Catalyst: High Impact Teaching Practice
Principle 5 - Practise using the new material.
Practice makes perfect right? Rosenshine states that this is true of physical, vocal and mental practice. He suggests that successful teachers allow more time for guidance, questioning and repetition of processes. The phrase “Practice makes Progress” is a supportive way to speak to students on the journey to automation of new learning.
Principle 6 - Check for understanding frequently and correct errors.
Regular asking of direct questions (rather than “does anyone have any questions?”) allows teachers to check a classes/student’s understanding and catching misconceptions, therefore informing the teacher whether any parts of the topic need reteaching.
Blessings for your weekend, see you in Week 7!
Jo
BehaveAbility
Ian Luscombe’s next visit is in May, the parent session is Wednesday 5th May from 5-6pm. PUT THE DATE IN YOUR DIARY!
St Pat’s is so excited to be inviting our volunteers back in 2021. We are so blessed to have parents, grandparents, carers and friends supporting our students with learning through reading, storytelling, recounting history. They also assist in the canteen and with uniform.
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF VOLUNTEERING AT ST PAT’S - DEANNA DORRIS.
Deanna has been working alongside students for 20 years at St Pat’s.
Thankyou Deanna for your wonderful generosity.
A ST PAT’S PARISHIONER, BOB WESTON, READS REGULARLY WITH OUR STUDENTS.
PEER MATHS
Every week our Kinder students spend time with their buddies in Year 5/6. This week the students participated in many activities that were focussed on recognising and counting numbers.
AT ST PAT’S
St Pat's students in Years 3-6 have been learning about coding in their weekly STEM classes.
Students have been coding Sphero’s and building robots. Here are some of their thoughts about STEM.
Thomas Garner said “It’s really fun because it's hands on and you have to make sure the coding is correct”
Ethan Shepherd said “STEM is fun because you learn about robotics and how to use them”
Colin Dowd said; “It’s all about trial and error”.
Upcoming events & dates
Friday 12th March - 3/4M Chapel Mass 9:15am
Wednesday 17th March - St Patrick’s Day Mass 12pm
Wednesday 17th March - St Patrick's Day familiy BBQ 3:30-5:30pm
LAUDATO SI’
On Tuesday St Pat’s staff participated in professional learning with Professor Peta Goldburg to deepen their knowledge about Laudato Si’ and the links to the Religious Education Curriculum. Discussion revolved around ten takeaways from Laudato Si’ including how ecology is grounded in Bible and Church Tradition.
Pope Francis traces the theme of love for creation through both the Old and New Testaments. He reminds us, for example, that God, in Jesus Christ, became not only human, but part of the natural world. Moreover, Jesus himself appreciated the natural world, as is evident in the Gospel passages in which he praises creation.
World Day of Prayer
On Thursday 4th March a group of Mini Vinnies members participated in the World Day of Pray service in the St Pat’s hall. The students shared the school prayer to begin the service.
My Body My Life
The school has paid for access to the online Archdiocesan My Body My Life puberty and personal development program until Sunday 14th March.
Parents & Carers of Year 5 & 6 students (who haven’t already) are asked to make time to view these short units (60 minutes in total) with your child before the link expires on Sunday 14th March, at this link: https://cgcatholic.org.au/my-body-my-life/st-patricks-primary-school-bega/. The team visited the school on Tuesday 2nd March, and your child will benefit most from that visit if they watch the online videos and have discussions about the content with their parent or carers.
ALL primary school Parents & Carers are welcome to view the materials in preparation for the program your children will undertake in grades 5 & 6.
NCCD
Cameron Hill, our NCCD Liaison Officer, will be visiting next week to support staff with personalised plans, student goals, adjustments and inclusive practices.
Empowered Program
This weeks focus in Empowered was on the character strengths of Creativity, Leadership, Emotional Intelligence and Honesty. All students were asked which one of these four character strengths they more strongly identified with and to give a reason. Here are some of their answers;
Which character strength above do you as an adult relate to best?
This activity is a simple one to accentuate the positive strengths in your child. Honouring your child’s strengths is one way to build their personal character. A St Pat's Kid knows their strengths and is not afraid to let them SHINE.
Passion Clubs
It changes over time and this week some of the Passion Clubs have disappeared only to make way for new clubs. This week has been an opportunity for students to come forward to present their ideas with meetings held on both Monday and Friday lunch time. The junior Passion Clubs will be held in the Cola on Monday lunchtimes and the Senior Passion Clubs will run on Friday lunchtime. If your child has an idea for a club please get them to see me on Monday morning.
Enjoy,
Alicia Spicer
Alicia.spicer@cg.catholic.edu.au
On Monday 1st March twelve St Patrick’s students travelled to Narooma to be part of the Southern Region swimming team. The carnival includes all Catholic Schools in our Archdiocese. Competition was very strong, and the St Patrick’s students all performed admirably.
Lincoln – “It was exciting to go with my mates and participate in the relay”
Ivy – “Mum always told me to give it 110%”
School Fees
Thank you to the families who have paid their Term 1 School Fees, a reminder Term 1 School Fees are due 18th March 2021, except those with direct debit arrangements.
If you would like to set up weekly or fortnightly direct debit payments, please contact the office via email on bega.office@cg.catholic.edu.au
