Welcome back to all students and parents to Term 2. I hope everyone’s holidays was a chance to spend quality with family time and re charge for the coming term.

We are especially thinking of Mrs Baron as she wraps up her Holy Land Pilgrimage and now moves on to the UK to visit her son Jack. We wish her safe travels and look forward to her sharing her adventures when she arrives back at the beginning of week 5.

We also extend a warm welcome to the Zhu Family. We have two new students Noah (Kindergarten) and Max (Year 2).

All classes have settled back into their class routines and are enjoying being back with their classmates.

Anzac Day March 

Our school was proudly represented again by a large number of students at the annual Anzac Day March and our School Captains at the Dawn service. We thank parents for supporting their children in honouring this special day of Remembrance. 

Compass Reminders and Important Dates Coming Up 

With Compass being our main communication platform for school events and parent permissions it is essential for parents to please keep checking email notifications.  If notifications go unanswered,  organising teachers are required to send out reminders for parents to action permissions to attend excursions. To ensure events are pre organised and transport arrangements go out in a timely manner parent consent needs to be also completed in a timely manner.  

Upcoming events requiring parental consent are:

Year 6 Leadership Retreat -Tumut

Athletics Carnival 

Mortimer Shield Legends Gala Day -Gundagai 

We thank parents in advance for their assistance and understanding of this process.

School Uniform 

With the cooler weather all students are required to move to full winter uniform by the beginning of next week. Please ensure ties, woollen jumpers and long sleeve lemon shirts are worn.  Are new shipment of ties have arrived for any students requiring a new one or a spare. At last week’s assembly we asked students to share where they hang their ties at home so they can easily find them to wear each day. It is very common response by students who are missing their ties that they can’t find it. There were some interesting spots shared where they are kept for safe keeping. We appreciate your efforts to ensure our school uniform is valued and worn with pride.

Harmony Day Celebrations

We look forward to enjoying a cultural day this coming Friday with a very special lunch event of cultural dishes. We thank all families who have offered to assist with cooking and serving.  Students can come out of uniform wearing orange or bright colours. At St Patrick’s we are so fortunate to have numerous cultures represented which deeply enriches our learning and school community. 

Enjoy the weeks ahead and we look forward to another exciting term.

Lisa Wilson

Acting Principal 

Harmony Week at St Patrick’s

This week we will celebrate Harmony Week in our School.      

Harmony Week is a celebration of our cultural diversity – a week of cultural respect for everyone who calls Australia home. Our diversity makes Australia a great place to live.

The message for Harmony Week is everyone belongs; the week aims to engage people to participate in the community, respect cultural and religious diversity and foster a sense of belonging for everyone.

‘We are all made in the image of God.’

**A special Mass will be held at 12 noon on Friday 5^th May followed by a delicious tuckshop lunch provided by our fabulous cooks from around the world.

  Family Mass

On Saturday 27^th May at 5pm we will hold a Family Mass in St Patrick’s Church.

This is a wonderful opportunity for our School and Parish to celebrate Mass together.

The children/families will take lead roles to do the Readings, Offertory, sing in the choir, greet parishioners etc. A note will be sent home asking for volunteers closer to the date.

Please mark this on your calendars. We would love to have lots of our school families involved in this Mass.

Easter Altar Serving

A huge thank you to Taite Johnson, Harry Peterson, Riley Smith, Lachlan Hargreaves, Christyne Calub and Nate Tozer who served on the Altar over the Easter celebrations. Some of these children volunteered at multiple services. Our visiting priest, Fr Eden instructed the children on many new rituals that were involved in the ceremonies. The children carried out their duties with great prowess and reverence. Thank you from everyone in the Parish for your commitment.

Project Compassion Boxes

Thank you to those families who have returned their Project Compassion Boxes. If you still have yours at home, please return it to school as soon as possible. Every contribution regardless of its size makes a difference.

I hope to forward the collections to Caritas Australia at the end of this week.

Staff Spirituality Day

St Patrick’s staff joined with their colleagues from Tumut, Adelong and Batlow to participate in an enlightening day titled – ‘Walking together as people of hope and action. The day was led by a team from Catholic Education in Canberra.

The purpose of the day was to develop knowledge and understanding of synodality (deep listening) and the importance of walking together in the evangelising mission of the school as an ecclesial body of the Church.

Activities included breaking open the Scriptures to gain a deeper understanding and meaning of the text, as well as having time for personal reflection.

A question to ponder – ‘How am I walking together with others through hope and action?

Reconciliation Preparation

We will begin our preparation on Tuesday 9^th May for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This Sacrament is for Catholic children in Year 3 or others who may have not yet received this Sacrament. If you know of any children from the other schools who are ready for this Sacrament could you, please pass on this information.

The preparation consists of lessons on Tuesdays with children only and Saturdays with parent/parents. The lessons will be held in the Year Two classroom each week.

*** Please put these dates in your diary to avoid clashes with other events.

Week 3

Lesson 1 - Tuesday 9^th May 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Lesson 2 - Saturday 13^th May and Commitment Mass 3:45 pm 4:50 pm

                  NB Mass at 5pm.

Week 4

Lesson 3 -Tuesday 16^th May 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Lesson 4 - Saturday 20^th May 3:45 pm 4:50 pm ** NB Mass at 5pm.         

Week 5

Lesson 5 -Tuesday 23^rd May 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

• Sacrament of Reconciliation – Friday 26^th May 9:30 am (Week 5)

Change of Mass time

Please note as of Saturday 6^th May Mass at St Patrick’s will be celebrated at 5pm. This change is for the cooler months.

Kate Howe

REC

Congratulations to all of our WR Cross Country team runners who participated at Grenfell last Friday 28th of April.   Congratulations to Taite Johnson who will now head off to Canberra on 19th of May to compete with the Canberra Goulburn Cross Country team after placing 2nd.  Good Luck Taite.  

Mother's Day Fundraiser

The Fundraising Committee is selling beautiful handmade earrings from Lacey Lou for Mother's Day for $20.00 a pair.  There are many designs and colours to choose from and are on display in the front office. 

Students are welcome to bring in money to purchase a pair with the assistance of Mrs Fairall during week 2 and week 3.  Earrings will also be available for purchase at our Mother's Day Morning Tea next Friday 12th of May. 

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) on school students with disabililty? Australian students with disability must be able to access and participate in education on the same basis as their peers. To ensure this, students with disability may receive adjustments to access education, based on the professional judgement of teachers, in consultation with the student and/or their parents, guardians or carers.  The NCCD gives Australian schools, parents, guardians and carers, education authorities and the community information about the number of students with disability in schools and the adjustments they receive.

The NCCD collects data about school students with disability who are receiving adjustments across Australia in a consistent, reliable and systematic way.  It enables schools, education authorities and governments to better understand the needs of students with disability and how they can be best supported at school.  

How is the data used? 

• as an evidence base, to give teachers, schools and sectors information about students with disability and the level of educational adjustment being provided
• to inform policy development and future planning to better equip schools and education authorities to support students with disability
• to improve understanding of the requirements and responsibilities of school teams and the broader community under the DDA and the Standards
• to capture the work of schools under the obligations of the DDA and the Standards, allowing students with disability to access and participate in education on the same basis as other students
• to highlight the individual needs of each student with disability by focusing on the level of educational support provided to them at school.

We would like to send our best wishes and good luck vibes to Chase Robinson and Taite Johnson as they head to Canberra on Friday to the MacKillop Rugby League Trials.  Good Luck boys - play safe and have fun

FINAL CALL OUT FOR WINTER JACKET ORDERS

As previously advised in our last newsletter (Week 10 - Term 1) We will be placing a special order for Winter Jackets.  This is not compulsory to purchase its just giving parents an easy option to order.  Black or Navy coats are preferred during winter.   

The jackets are $35.00

* Navy in Colour 
* Waterproof
* Polar Fleece Lining with concealed zip
* Hood with draw cord 
* Velco flap for pockets 
* Hand warmer pocket
* Dry & Cosy 

If you are interested in purchasing a jacket please contact the office with your size and details by this Friday 6th of May.  Bec Gaskin will be placing this special order early next week and we will contact the families who have ordered one to drop in their cash or pay via EFTPOS at the front office. 

 

You may or may not have noticed our new front garden that was completed over the Easter Holiday period by Andrew Ward from Murrumbidgee Landscaping & Irrigation Serivces. We can't wait for the plants to establish and grow.  There will be lots of height and colour come Spring time to look forward to.  Plants planted are Red and Pink Grevilleas, Tea Trees with a pink and white flower and some lovely Ornamental Pears. 

We plan on replanting the Agapanthus that were in the front garden down the side of the fence in front of the Learning Hub and also along First Avenue.  If anyone would like to give us a hand to dig the holes and plant please contact the front office. 

Last week we were fortunate enough to have Healthy Harold visit our school for two days to showcase their educational programs about physical health, social and emotional wellbeing and safety.  We are very grateful for the Community Council who assisted in funding this program and allowing it to be more affordable per child. "Thank You" to our Community Council Members for your donation. 

Today we published via Compass the details of our annual Athletics Carnival which will be held at Owen Vincent Oval on Thursday 11th of May.   We ask parents to please answer the questions accordingly on the Compass App if you are able to volunteer your time to help timekeep or assist with field events like shotput, discus or long jump.   Parents will need to give consent via Compass for their child/children to attend the Athletics Carnival.   Primary students (ages 8-12) will walk down to the carnival at 9.10am to compete in the track and field events.  The infant classes (ages 5-7) will wak down for their modified carnival at 11.30am.   Parents will be able to take their children home early should the carnival finish early but MUST mark their "leave early" note via Compass at the time they leave and notify a teacher. 

After marking consent on Compass and ticking the relevant boxes if you are able to assist we would ask that you please do so by no later than Friday 5th May so we can delegate jobs. 

We advise that the WR Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 16th of June at Tumut.

Next Friday the 12th of May at 10.45am we will be hosting a special morning tea for our mothers, grandmothers and special ladies in our children's lives.  An invitiation will be sent home today asking for RSVP's to be returned to the front office on Monday 8th of May for catering purposes.  We will also be holding a special Mother's Day Mass at 12pm

We have had a reported case of Head Lice at the school.  We would ask that you please check your child's hair and treat with appropriate Head Lice Treatment as soon as possible.  Please report all cases.  If we all work together we can eliminate the problem quickly. 

Congratulations to our Week 1 class awards. Keep up the great work 

Kindergarten -  Juno Bock 

Year 1 - Lucy Nicholls for her consistant application to her learning 

Year 2 - Fletcher Smith for a focused start to Term 2 and consistent efforts towards his learning 

Year 3 - Ethan Wu for reverently participating in class prayers

Year 4 - Lachlan Hargreaves for engagement in his learning and settinga good example 

Year 5 - Chase Robinson for accepting and applying feedback and always looking to improve

Year 6 - Amy Cotterill for increased sharing of insightful ideas in group discussions

Thank you to our wonderful parents for volunteering to cook cupcakes, cookies and to volunteer your time on a Friday to work in the canteen during Term 2.  We are extremely grateful for your time. 

Friday 30th June: 

Cookies: Lindsey Rose & Simone Jones 

Canteen Volunteers: Kate Graham & El Williams