Dear Parents, Children and Friends,  

It’s week 4 already and the school has been a hive of activity over the past weeks.  The children are well and truly settled into class routines and set themselves learning goals for the term.

Catholic Schools Week

This week was an exciting opportunity for our school community to celebrate and showcase the innovative learning and faith development that occurs at St Patrick’s every day.  Parents, family and friends loved the opportunity to visit classrooms to view the children’s learning in action.  Many students loved sharing their work within their Google Classroom, read their writing publications and novels/picture books to loved ones.  The day was enjoyed by all!

We welcomed all mothers and grandmothers to a special morning tea.  The school was abuzz with much laughter and chatter and a lovely morning was had by all.  The children loved spending time with their special loved one pampering them with back and hand massages and nail painting as well.  Year 5/6 beautifully led the school mass at midday which was enjoyed by students and parish members.

Teacher Professional Development

The teachers have continued to attend professional development over the last few weeks. 

• Mrs Carberry and Mrs Eccleston observed Literacy and Numeracy learning in action at Trinity Harden Murrumburrah.
• All teachers have undergone training with Lyn Smith from Catholic Education on the Teaching Professional Standard Requirements and professional goal setting .
• Mrs Wilson attended a Numeracy cluster day for Middle Years 5-8 led by Maths consultant Leonie Anstey.

Naplan

The Year’s Three and Five students have sat two Naplan tests last week and will again sit two more online tests this coming Wednesday (Language Conventions and Numeracy).  The children responded positively to the new online format and enjoyed the challenge of completing these tests on their Chromebooks. 

Peer Support

Every week the Year 5/6 leaders will lead the students through the unit focusing on Resilience.  Please take the opportunity to chat with your child Thursday evening to discuss and share their insights from the session.  The students eagerly look forward to this special group time and really enjoy the company of a wide range of age groups within their peer support group.

Parental Support – Thank you!

I would like to thank all the parents who continue to support their children everyday in many ways. From assisting with homework, attending community council meetings and mass celebrations, providing transport to sporting events, working on tuckshop and helping with reading programs within classes.  The staff and children really appreciate everything you do.  Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment.

Have a lovely week,

Lisa Wilson

Assistant Principal

REC News

Catholic Schools Week

What a fantastic week was had by all students, parents, family and friends during our week of celebrations for Catholic School’s Week.  From open classrooms to morning tea and then celebrating a school mass together with Father George and the Parish, the week was a huge success.  Thank you for choosing our wonderful school where we strive to engage in our faith and inspire minds.

Mass and Liturgy Times:

This term, Mass will be on Fridays at 12pm every 2nd week at the Church.

Dates to mark on your calendar:

24/05- Mass led by Years 3 and 4 (12pm)
07/06- Mass led by Years 1 and 2 (12pm)

21/06- Mass led by Kinder and Year 1 (12pm).
05/07- Mass led by SRC(12pm)

40 Days 40 Items

Thank you for taking up the challenge and helping others in need. Wesley Raymond from St Vincent de Paul Society - Canberra/Goulburn, picked up a trailer load of donated bags of clothing for this most worthwhile cause.  Many thanks to all our families for their generosity. 

Social Justice Day

Last Wednesday Year’s Three to Six were fortunate to be involved in an inspiring and reflective Social Justice Day led by Wez Raymond Youth Liason Officer for Vinnies.  The children participated in fun games and workshops focusing on informing our students about the social justice issues and statistics in our society and what they can do at a school and local level.  They finished the day with Action Statements outlining their commitment to supporting school and community initiatives.  The children gained much from the day and were complimented by Wez on their enthusiasm and behaviour.

Project Compassion

Thank you for supporting this year “Give Lent 100 %”. Please return all boxes this coming Friday so we can finalise the donations.

Reflection for the week:

“If we are really called to carry the love of God far

and wide, if we are to inflame the nations with this

fire, if we have the vocation of setting the whole

world on fire, if it is so, then how much I must

myself burn with this fire”

St Vincent de Paul

Reflection QUESTIONS

• What makes you want to set the whole world on fire?
• What issues are you really passionate about?
• Where do you get your energy to try and change the world?

Walking with you in Faith and Knowledge,

Mrs Wilson

Relieving REC

A reminder that the Confirmation Classes will commence this Saturday at 4.30pm in the meeting room of the St Patrick's Hall. For more details please see the Parish Website.

On Wednesday last week Year 3\4 and 5\6 participated in a  Social Justice Day, with Wez a youth development officer from the St Vincent De Paul Society.

Wez (from Vinnies) taught us about homelessness, refugees, migrants, asylum seekers and the ways Vinnes helps these groups of people and other people all over Australia and the world. We learnt about the different types of homelessness. We learnt about the shops that Vinnies have, and all the amazing things they do and how big the society has gotten. And the ways that we can help out homeless and disadvantaged people.

Everybody had a great day and enjoyed the activities Wez planned for us. Both classes hope to organise some fundraising activities to help ”Vinnies” throughout the coming year.

By Lily McDonnell and Alixandria Kerin.

Just to let you know there is a St Patrick’s Church Street Stall this weekend Thursday 23, Friday 24 & Saturday 25 May, please. Any cooking would be welcome & appreciated.  

If anyone is able to sit for an hour or two, please contact Mary Anne Barton on 0408 998471. Our parish ladies & men are getting older and any help would be welcome.

Mortimer Shield training will be held tomorrow at 12pm for both the boys and the girls.

The boys will be having tackling skills with an NRL development officer along with the boys from St Joseph's in Adelong. Boys will need to bring their headgear and mouthguard along with their footy clothes.

Girls will need to bring clothes to train in.

Street Stall

Our next fundraiser is the annual Street Stall on Thursday 6, Friday 7 and Saturday 8 of June. We are hoping that this will be a great event for us as this is the long weekend with no sport and many travellers on the road. Simone Jones and Kate Graham are coordinating the event this year and are looking forward to many donations of cooking and your time sitting on the stall to lighten the load for everyone. Keep an eye out for further correspondence from them.

Transportation for Representative Sporting Events

Community Council received a query regarding the viability of providing a bus for the transportation of students to Representative Sporting events. 

The school has previously provided a bus for this purpose and found it not be financially beneficial to either the school or to travelling families for the following reasons: 

• Not all representatives and their families utilize the service thereby increasing the cost.
• It does not suit many families to be tied to the timeframes of bus travel if their child is only in one event.
• For most events, local buses are unavailable due to normal school runs and we need to hire from a bus company in Wagga which increases the costs.

Sacramental Program

There have been a few questions raised in relation to the changes to this year's sacramental program, and why the St Patrick's Parish is now undertaking the preparation of the sacraments, rather than the School. Following discussions with Mrs Baron and the Parish Council, following is some further information about the changes.

• Most Parishes in the Archdiocese now undertake the sacramental program, which was a directive from Archbishop Prowse.
• It is believed that as the parents are the first educators of their children, and more specifically in their faith, then the program should be designed so that parents can actively participate, with the support of the Parish.
• To assist with streamlining the program, staff from St Pat's, including Chris Baron, Lisa Wilson and Natasha Flanagan, will be involved in the preparation program.
• The Parish believes that it is very important that as part of the preparation for the sacraments, participating children and their parents/carers attend Mass to gain a greater understanding of the meaning and value of each sacrament. This is why Saturday afternoons were chosen for the preparation classes, as these lead directly into the Mass at 6pm.
• Our School does already include the sacraments as part of our religious education program, but not in the same detail as is provided in these sessions.
• The Parish believes that overall, the new process will achieve the best outcome for parents and their children, with regards to their religious education and faith development.

Should you have any questions or concerns, which are not covered here, please contact Mrs Christine Baron.

Peer Support Week 2 Focus

This week in Peer Support children will have an opportunity to discuss their personal qualities and strengths. The children will identify their qualities and acknowledge how they contribute to their achievements. Through activities, children recognise they used their strengths to achieve success and can be encouraged to approach future activities optimistically.

Ask your child to describe their own qualities and strengths so you can recognise and acknowledge these.

Week 2 - Term 2 

Kindergarten/Year 1: Isabella Boswell - using effective spelling strategies

Year 1/2: Flynn Leane - putting in a huge effort with his writing.

Year 3/4: Charlie Hindmarsh - beginning to consistently complete quality homework.

Year 5/6: Alix Kerin - mature reading choices and successfully creating tension in her writing.

Week 3 - Term 2 

Kindergarten/Year 1: Conor Cotterill - wonderful class participation.

Year 1/2: Tessa Crowe - enthusiastically involving herself in all class activities.

Year 3/4: Harry Crowe - starting to ask and answer questions in class.

Year 5/6: Ella Nugent - eagerly embracing her leadership duties in and out of the classroom.

Week 2 - Term 2

RESPONSIBLE: 

RESPECTFUL:

SAFE: 

Week 3 - Term 2 

RESPONSIBLE: Lachlan Hargreaves, Emily Ryan & Eliza Graham

RESPECTFUL: Molly Lott, Jayden Crossley, Isabella Boswell, Conor Cotterill & Eliza Graham

SAFE: Eliza Graham & Molly Lott

Thank you for everyone who came along to our open classrooms in celebration of Catholic School's week.

Special thank you to our mothers, grandmothers, aunts & special friends who joined us to have a pampering session, morning tea and celebrate with us a Year 5/6 led Mass.

We hope that you enjoyed your morning.

Western Region Cross Country - Harden

Last Friday we had over 30 of our children represent St Pat's at the WR Cross Country Carnival. Thank you to our parents who assisted with transport and for the children for participating to the best of their ability. Charlie Hindmarsh came 5th in his age group qualifying him to race at Mt Stromlo in Canberra on June 4. Well done to you all. Justine Hughes and Craig Ferguson complimented the children on their excellent behaviour and enthusiastic participation.

Our very best birthday wishes to the following people who celebrate their birthdays this week and next.

Mrs Wilson celebrated on May 20

Abby McDonnell celebrates on May 21

Harry Peterson celebrates on May 24

Jayden Crossley celebrates on May 25

Tessa Crowe & Jack Paton both celebrate on May 27.

Music Concert for budding musicians

Does your child learn a musical instrument?

Would they like an opportunity to perform in a small concert in Gundagai?

Please contact Melissa Merrin if your child is interested in performing a piece of music in a small concert at the Residential Aged Care Facility later in the term. The concert will be held late one Sunday morning.

Piano available. All instruments welcome.

0408 079 403  / Melissa@physiofamily.net.au