Dear Parents/Caregivers,
Our busy term is coming to an end. Some of our celebrations have included:
Swimming
Catholic Education Week
Mother’s Day Stall
Classroom Pulse Check-in
Review Meetings for students with a disability
Levelling of writing samples and oral language
Reconciliation Day
Report Writing
Excursions
NAIDOC Week
Soccer Carnival
School Disco
Last Friday, Ms Johnson and Mr Bucco took 10 students to compete in a Soccer Carnival against other schools at Aberfoyle Park. Our students who play for many different clubs outside of school, came together for several practices on Mondays after school to hone their skills and play as a newly formed team. These talented students won both their games and are now in the semi finals which will be played next term. Congratulations to our team and a very big thank you to our coaches Nicole and Maurice who made this possible.
Our annual School Disco is always a big hit with the students. This year the theme was to come dressed in Neon- bright and bold colourful, clothes. It was wonderful to see so many students attend. In order for this to happen, there is much preparation leading up to the evening and I would like to take the opportunity to thank Anne Marie Platten who worked with Huyen Le and Katherine Zamora, our P&F leaders for their time, dedication and commitment to making this evening such a success. A very big thank you to all the parents who spent the day getting the hall ready for the evening and the parents who supervised on the night. I also thank the teachers who attended on the evening to help with supervision and support the students. Camp Australia once again provided coffee, tea and snacks for parents who preferred to remain on the school site whilst the disco was in progress and we are very appreciative of their continued support of our community.
Next Term, we welcome the new midyear Reception Class. Our new class will have 6 students. Ms Christine Charman and Ms Natalie Taylor will be their teachers. Today, these children visited St Patrick’s School to support them in their transition to a new community and to meet their teachers.
Today, your child has come home with their Semester 1 School Report. The report format will look different as we are now required to use SEQTA as our reporting platform. Some students will have AAS next to a curriculum area. This indicates that the child is being assessed against a different year level and this would have been discussed with you and noted in your child’s PPL. As parents, please spend time with your child to discuss their learning. The reports have two grades – one for achievement and the other for effort. Whilst both grades are important, the effort grade is an indication of the commitment and dedication each child gives to their learning. We encourage you to inform your child how proud you are of them if they have put effort into their learning and set goals with them if they need to improve their effort. Students need to learn that learning can be challenging and that with teacher support and student persistence and effort, they will learn and thrive.
They are several staff members we farewell this week. We thank them for their dedication and service to St Patrick’s School and wish them the very best in their new pathways:
Ms Mary Hemmings (School Chaplain) is retiring.
Ms Sarah Ryan (WHS Officer) is moving to St Francis at Lockleys with increased hours.
Ms Mandy Faulks (Front Office Receptionist) is moving to St Francis Lockleys as a Personal Assistant to the Principal.
Please note that school finishes Friday 7th July at 12:30pm. Camp Australia will be providing OSHC for all working parents so please book your child in if you need this service. School resumes Monday 24th July.
The Canteen will be closed this Friday 7th July.
We wish each family a safe and restful holiday. We hope you find time to spend quality time relaxing, visiting friends or family or just enjoying each other’s company.
In all things love,
Barbara Ahern & Anne Marie Platten
St Patrick’s School Leadership team.
