Term 3 - Week 10

Message from the Principal

Welcome to the last newsletter for Term 3.

If anyone asked what makes St Pat’s so special, then you only needed to be at our Spring Fair on Saturday to know the answer. What an incredible, amazing day! A perfect example of community and school spirit. A great deal of time and effort went into the planning and organising of our fair and everyone came together to lend a hand and share the fun. A MASSIVE THANK YOU to our P&F Executive, Elise Moncrieff, Jenna Maddox and Natalie Le Marchant for months of hard work and for their passion for St Patrick’s. The day brought together current families, past families, future families and many, many members of our local community. We had lots of positive comments from our visitors, and it would be fair to say that our day was a huge success in showcasing St Pat’s, the school by the sea!

Thank you to the parents who worked tirelessly manning all our stalls, cooking the BBQ, setting up, packing up, serving in the canteen and selling raffle tickets.  A special thanks to our Grounds Assistant, Melissa, for all the preparation during the week leading up to the fair, for ensuring the grounds looked amazing and for all the running around doing anything that was needed! Thank you also to the amazing staff who happily gave up their Saturday to help out and who willingly did more overtime supervising our school disco on Tuesday night. Thank you doesn’t seem enough for the amount of extra the staff does. To the staff, students and parents, thank you for your continued support of St Patrick’s and for helping to make our school so special.

By the time you read this, I would have landed in Tel Aviv. Along with about 40 other people from the Diocese, I am undertaking a 16-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land. During this once in a lifetime experience, I will be visiting Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Masada, Jericho, the Sea of Galilee, Mt Tabor, Nazareth, the Dead Sea and Petra. I am very excited and look forward to sharing the experience with you on my return.

I wish our entire school community a wonderful holiday and a much-deserved rest. Term 4 is always a busy term so make the most of this two-week break.

Stay safe and enjoy quality family time.

Lucy Harvey
Principal

Pacer Rebate

Stage 3 students from our school have recently undertaken an education tour of the national capital. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage, and democracy. 

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding of $30 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER) program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion. The rebate was factored into the cost of the camp paid by parents. We thank the Australian Government for the support they have given to the families of St Patrick’s through the PACER rebate.

Parent Engagement Opportunities

The staff are committed to working in partnership with parents to support the learning and wellbeing of our students. Part of our commitment has been to provide families with the opportunity to engage with their child’s learning and wellbeing through parent engagement nights. To make this easier for families, the staff have been prepared to supervise school discos, so parents were free to attend targeted information evenings relating to a key focus area. I am sure the parents who attended Tuesday’s "Think U Know" night would all agree what a beneficial opportunity it was. The presenter shared valuable information relevant to all families. The organisation and actual supervision of a disco is a huge undertaking for a staff who so generously already give so much of their own time to our school. I sincerely thank the staff for their commitment and am grateful to those families who took the opportunity to attend the information session. We look forward to more parents joining us for the next information session.

Kinder 2024

Next term we begin our Kinder 2024 transition program. We currently have 23 students enrolled to join the St Pat’s community next year. On Thursday 12^th October, Mrs Browne will present a session for parents on Kinder and the importance of play-based learning. In Week 2, our current Kinder students will welcome our 2024 cohort with a mini assembly as part of their Kinder Orientation Day. Our transition program will continue over Weeks 4 and 6 and conclude with a Buddy Picnic in Week 8.

The Year 4 students have begun their Buddy training and are extremely excited to meet their new little buddy next term!

Holiday work

During the school holidays our Outdoor Learning Deck will commence. The deck is being funded by the $25 000 Schools Upgrade Fund by the Australian Government. The shade cloth will be installed early next term.

During the holidays we will also be receiving an LED lighting upgrade throughout the school. The Diocese is funding this upgrade across all schools. We look forward to lighter and brighter facilities.

Term 4 Planner

Attached is a Term 4 planner of known dates. 

Term 4 Week 1

Term 4 Week 2

Message from RE Coordinator

Catholic Mission Socktober

In the Catholic Church, October has long been associated with mission. The month starts with the feast of St Thérèse of Lisieux and draws to a close with World Mission Sunday – a special day of prayer and global solidarity celebrated in all Catholic parishes around the world.

In our schools we work closely with Catholic Mission and they organise an awareness campaign called Socktober.   Socktober encourages us to engage with mission for children by using our heads to enquire about the reality of the world around us, using our hearts to feel empathy for those in situations of great need, and using our hands to take action for them in whatever way we are able.

As part of a diocesan initiative, this year Catholic Mission is holding a special event at MacDonald Jones Stadium to launch its Socktober campaign.  Four of our students will be representing St Patrick’s at this event early next term.  At the launch, students will be engaged in a liturgy and participate in several games and challenges on the field. To prepare for this event, these students will be selling raffle tickets on the first day back at school to support Catholic Mission.  Tickets will be 50c each or 3 for $1.  There is a major raffle also being drawn at the launch.  If you are interested in purchasing a ticket, please see the flyer below. 

To acknowledge and support the work of Catholic Mission we will be having a crazy hair and sock day on Friday 27^th October.  On this day, we are encouraging the students to wear bright and colourful socks for a small donation, which will go towards helping the people of Timor-Leste.  On this day the students will also be participating in a formation experience in their classroom and then having a goal kick shoot-out with the soccer balls that they make from repurposed materials.

If you would like to learn more about Socktober 2023 watch the link Socktober 2023: Kick goals for good! - YouTube

Sacramental Program

The students participating in the Sacrament of Confirmation and First Holy Communion will receive this sacrament at Saint Francis Xavier's Church, Belmont on Tuesday 17th October at 6pm.  We wish all the students involved the blessings of the Holy Spirit in the preparation for this sacrament over the coming weeks.

Mr Daniel Lockwood
RE Coordinator

Save the Date

From the Diverse Learners Team

Gifted Education – Virtual Academy update

A couple of weeks ago, Sienna took part in the Digital Tools Online Workshop run by the DIAL team for the Virtual Academy students. Here is her report…

For my workshop, I chose to do video editing and make a video about pollution.  This is the issue I am focusing on this semester in the VA. I want to show the world that pollution needs to end now!  I have learnt a lot from my workshop, including new digital tools and different skills.  I had to finish the day with a presentation, which included a video and photographs about a girl like me, Molly Steer from Cairns, who is trying to stop pollution with a campaign called ‘Straw No More’!

Learning Support – Developing Number Fluency

Developing fluency in number means having the ability to recall number facts automatically, i.e., with very little thinking time.  This is something that children can build on, from simple number recognition (one digit, two digits or more – into the millions or using decimal numbers) to addition/ subtraction and multiplication/ division facts.  There are plenty of online programs that will help students to practice these facts to automaticity, such as Studyladder, but you can also practice using the card and dice games we use at school.  I'm sure your kids would be happy to teach you! 

Another idea for those travelling by car this holiday is to invent 'numberplate games'.  For example, younger students might try and spot a car with a number 5 on its plate or see who can find the biggest number.  Older students might find the smallest digit total (e.g., 5+9=14), or write down the numbers from 5 different plates and add them to see who has the biggest score. 

 Road signs provide another real-world example of using numbers.  Ask children how far it is to... or which is further away... or …

The main thing is to try and have fun using numbers while building essential skills for learning. 

And to have a great holiday, of course!

Mrs Simes
Learning Support Teacher

Wellbeing News

eSafety

Thank you to the parents who attended the ThinkUKnow presentation on Tuesday night. It was a very informative evening that reiterated the importance of empowering our children to be safe and responsible users of technology. The session presented practical ways parents can protect and support children to develop safe online habits. One such way is to create a Family Online Safety Contract using the attached document as a guide. Also attached are some useful resources for further information regarding online safety.

Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher or myself if you have any further questions or concerns.

Mrs Fiona Walker
Wellbeing Support Teacher

Year 6 News

Year 6 have been developing their entrepreneurial knowledge and skills this year by engaging in Passion Projects. Building on the work during our KidBizIncursion, students created their own business for the Spring Fair. This community event provided us with a wonderful opportunity to share students’ ideas and products, whilst gaining some market research experience. Here are some of the student’s reflections about their Passion Projects:

Reflections from Shyanna:

Describe your Passion Project. What was your inspiration for choosing this? 

I wanted to do something that represents and shows our respect to Aboriginal culture. 

What did you like about completing the Passion Project? 

How we got to learn to make Aboriginal food and how we got to cook with food that have been with us for hundreds of years. 

What did you learn from the experience? What skills/character strengths did you build? 

I learnt how to be independent in making a business and how to interact with people properly. 

 What successes did you achieve? Was your business idea successful? How do you know? How could you build on your success? 

We made $60 on selling food. Our business had some up and downs but overall successful ….we should of made some more food 

What would you do differently next time? 

 I would put more effort into making posters and making more food as well as decorating the stall and more advertising. 

What did you learn from the KidBiz Incursion? 

I learnt how to start a business, how to price appropriately and how to set up the stall/business. 

What advice would you give someone who is starting a Passion Project? 

Don't just go with one idea brainstorm a lot of ideas just in case one of your ideas don't work. 

Describe your Passion Project? What was your inspiration for choosing this? 

 We are “Rock on” and we love painting rocks.

What did you like about completing the Passion Project? 

 The fun environment along with team work really made it such a fun-filled experience.

What did you learn from the experience? What skills/character strengths did you build? 

 How to be a businessman and attract customers. 

What successes did you achieve? Was your business idea successful? How do you know? How could you build on your success? 

We made a total of $126 and we felt we were very successful. We had lots of fun people to talk with along the way, every time a rock had been purchased, they would walk away with a smile on their face. 

 What would you do differently next time? 

I reckon we should combine rocks with something else just to raise our profit What did you learn from the KidBiz Incursion? 

A good marketing pitch will start of your business with a bang, I learnt that being inspired to be a little entrepreneur like Elon Musk can give you confidence and a passion to work hard and make good money. 

What advice would you give someone who is starting a Passion Project? 

More products = more money. Start off your business with a “bang” and try to choose something that not only you love but what everyone else enjoys as well -  but make sure to have fun with it. 

Mrs Fiona Walker & Mrs Emma Tanchesvski
Year 6 Teachers

Sport News

Pathways Sport

We wish the best of luck to Mia Porter, Skye Porter, Jaymie Tisdell, Evie Buchanan and Sienna Reddie who will be competing at the Polding Athletics Championship in week 1 next term. We are all very proud of your achievements and will be cheering you on from Swansea.

Catholic Schools NSW offers many sporting pathway opportunities for talented athletes. If your child is an aspiring athlete, you might like to familiarise yourself with the CSNSW Sport web page here: https://csnsw.sport/ 

Sport information specific to our Diocese can be found on the Maitland Newcastle Diocese tile on the CSNSW Sport page https://csnsw.sport/maitland-newcastle/primary/home 

Any registrations on these pages must first be approved. 

Primary Schools Challenge

Aiden Bowmaker will be competing for St Patrick’s in the 800m run at this weekend’s Primary School’s Challenge at Sydney Olympic Park. Good luck Aiden, we look forward to hearing about this exciting event!

Weekend Sports Star

If your child is a Weekend Sports Star or extra curricular activity, please email details and a photo to claire.browne@mn.catholic.edu.au so we can celebrate their success in our next newsletter.

Mrs Claire Browne
Sports Coordinator

Canteen

Uniforms

The uniform shop is open on each Monday during the school term from 2.00pm - 3.00pm.

Orders can be placed on the QKR app. The cut-off for orders is 12pm on Monday.

Leisha and Natalie can be contacted via email at stpatricksuniformshop1@gmail.com to answer any questions or to make alternate fitting arrangements.

Thank you 
Leisha & Natalie

Office News

For those that have settled their fees in full we thank you for your ongoing support. For families whose fees are in arrears, we request prompt payment. Please continue to make your nominated payments to be fully finalised by the 30th November 2023.

Our preferred method of payment is either BPay or direct debit. For Fee Payers wishing to establish a new Direct Debit, or adjust their existing direct debit, please complete the form on the Catholic Development Fund website www.CDFmn.com.au.

For those families experiencing financial hardship, or wishing to discuss other payment arrangements, please contact the school office to arrange an appointment with the Principal.

Schools will now commence the school fee management process if there has been no contact with school office or no initial payment received.

An event for the Diocesan Pastoral Contribution has been created, this is a voluntary fee that assists the Diocesan Pastoral Support Programs, you can elect to pay or decline via the Compass Parent Portal.

Rachelle McKenzie
Senior School Officer

Volunteering at St Patrick's

We have many events still planned for the remainder of the year.  Please get in early and register so you won't be dissappointed in missing out.

If you would like to register to volunteer at St Patrick's, can you please complete the "Volunteer Registration Form" by clicking on the link here. 

St Patrick's will be notified by the Catholic Schools Office once you are cleared to volunteer.

If you are unsure if you have clearance, please email the office at admin@swansea.catholic.edu.au to enquire.

Community Notices