Term 1 - Week 2
Message from the Principal
Dear Parents and Carers
Prayer to St Patrick
God our Father, bless this community of St Patrick's to grow
in strength as Christians and encircle us in your loving care.
Through the intercession of St Patrick, our patron,
we pray for the strength of God to pilot us;
for the wisdom of God to instruct us,
for the hand of God to protect us,
for the word of God to direct us and
for the salvation of God to be always ours.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me.
Amen
Welcome staff, students and parents to the 2025 school year! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and school holiday. I certainly felt very relaxed and managed to read a few books, not to mention some Netflix binging!
On Tuesday, we warmly welcomed to the St Pat’s community 7 new families in Years 1- 6: The Power family – Amy, Shane, Felix (Year 1) and Archie (Year 5), the Bass family – Sunny, Craig, Cooper (Year 1) and Oscar (Year 3), the White family – Annah, Brock, Leo (Kinder) and Lucy (Year 1), the Pena Family - Hannah and Imogen (Year 1), Hartman family – Rhiannon, Troy and Ivy (Year 2), the Elias family - Amy, Louie, Lailah (Year 2), Jonah (Year 4) and Xavier (Year 5) and the Johnson family – Jodie, Bryce and Keely (Year 4).
Yesterday was a big day for our 27 Kindergarten students and their parents, with 16 new families beginning their association with St Pat’s. Our excited Kinder students joined us for their first full day of big school, marking a milestone in their educational journey. They coped marvelously well in two very hot days. Thank you to our Year 5 students for carrying out their Big Buddy role with kindness, enthusiasm and a great sense of pride. The Kindies are in great hands!
Welcome to all our new Kinder students and their families: Pixie Barringer (Ali & Zack), Dominic Bayley (Jessica & Jacob), Miller Birleson (Jasmyn & Tony), Orlando Bowman (Isabel & Harley), Mia Campbell (Sarah & Daniel), Taylor Collins (Sonya & Peter), Conall Cootes (Sharon & Simon), Jack Haeusler (Katrina & Jesse), Jasper Hall (Ashley & Brian), Emily Hill (Elizabeth & Matthew), Dylan Hozack (Sophie & William), Harrison James (Taneel & Phillip), Lillian Johns (Taryn & Cameron), Jade Macpherson (Aleace & Archie), Louee Marshall (Hallie), Nash McDonell (Kim & Shaun), Theodore Melia (Holly), Wolfgang Pritchard (Claudia & David), Elvis Renfrey (Belynda & Andrew), Grace Rysko (Elissa & Alan), Louis Small (Miranda & Aaron), Jasper Smith (Heidi & Matthew), Trilby Stretton (Marli & Dane), Bon Sweetman (Amelia & Troy), Faye Thornton (Rebecca & Dennis), Frank Tommerup (Kellie & Ryan), and Leo White (Annah & Brock).
Thank you for choosing St Patrick’s!
The first two weeks of the term have been set up to allow the students and the teachers to build a foundation of positive relationships as a class. This is an opportunity for getting to know each other, establishing expectations for the year, setting personal and class goals as well as establishing ways to support and care for one another. It’s a great time to get excited about the year ahead.
This year we also welcomed two staff members to the St Pat’s teaching team. Mrs Mary Grace Tisdell has joined Mr Lockwood on Year 3 and Miss Jasmine Hewitt has joined Ms Wakely on Year 4.
My aspiration for 2025 is to continue to work closely with our families to support the students in our care to provide a safe and supportive environment for learning and wellbeing.
I look forward to working in partnership with you throughout 2025!
Have a wonderful week everyone!
Lucy Harvey
Principal
2025 Staffing
Parent Information Night 13th February
Part of our commitment to our families is to provide opportunities for our parents to be engaged in their child’s learning. Next Thursday 13th February, we are offering an information evening for parents to meet with your child’s class teacher to learn more about the 2025 school year, our expectations, routines and procedures. This year each teacher will run 2 sessions – one at 6:00pm with a repeat session at 6:30pm. Parents may choose which class to attend and at which time.
Student Information Questionnaire & Parent / Teacher Interviews Term 1
A questionnaire was sent home Monday for you to share relevant information about your child with their class teacher. This questionnaire will assist the teaching staff, in collaboration with you, to best support your child this year. The questionnaire will also help form part of the Parent / Teacher interviews to be held in next week for Years 1-6 (Kinder to be held later in the term). By inviting you to attend interviews early in the year, we are hoping to set specific goals to support each child socially, emotionally and academically. Interviews are available to book via Compass. Please bring the student questionnaire with you if you haven’t returned it to school already.
Opening School Liturgy
We look forward to investing our Year 6 students into their Leadership roles next Friday 14th February at 9:30am in the Church. All are most welcome to attend.
Parent Handbook
The handbook is available through the school website. Lots of helpful information!
Watches and Phones
It is extremely important that both parents and students are aware that mobile phones and watches that allow messaging are not permitted at school. If a student requires a phone to communicate with parents during travel to and from school, it must be handed in each morning to the front office. Any watch that has the ability to phone / message must be set to school mode and cannot be used to contact parents. If you need to relay a message to your child, please call or email Admin. Contact through mobile phones or watches is not permitted.
Asthma, Anaphylaxis & Allergy Plans
It is a requirement that all students marked as having asthma and/or anaphylaxis have their plans updated each calendar year. The Asthma and/or Allergy plan needs to be signed by a GP/Specialist.
If your child has Asthma or an Allergy requiring an Anaphylaxis plan; please send in the updated signed ASCIA plan into the school office along with your child’s medication.
An individual plan needs to be on file and labelled medication given to St Pat’s for each individual student requiring medication.
Bus Passes
If you require an Opal card for school bus travel visit transportnsw.info/school-students and then Mrs McKenzie can approve the pass.
Assemblies – ODD WEEKS
Assemblies occur Fridays of odd weeks during the school term in the hall starting at 2:20pm. Last week was Week 1(odd week) as the staff returned to work, therefore this week is Week 2 (even week). Our first assembly will be Friday 14th February, all are welcome to attend. In this assembly we will present the 2025 swimming certificates and championship medals.
Advance Notice – Inservice Days
A pupil free day is planned for FRIDAY 11TH APRIL (last day of Term 1) and MONDAY 28TH APRIL (first day of Term 2). The focus of these two days for staff will be on quality assessment practices to inform instruction, incorporating data analysis and embedding differentiation.
Upcoming Dates
Week 3
Week 4
The Term planners for the year are attached for your reference. Please print these and add dates as they are communicated to you. Please note that we try our best not to change dates once we have notified you, but unforeseen circumstances can occur.
Term 1 Planner
Term 2 Planner
Term 3 Planner
Term 4 Planner
Message from RE Coordinator
Welcome to the 2025 school year. In 2025, Pope Francis has proclaimed a Year of Jubilee, generating significant anticipation among the faithful worldwide. This event’s importance is also acknowledged and respected by various other faith traditions globally. A Jubilee is a special year of grace, typically lasting approximately one year. The theme for this Jubilee is “Pilgrims of Hope,” as the Pope urges all Catholics to renew their hope in Christ. We are called to respond to the call - to understand, discern, and engage in the evangelising mission of the Church. This is a fitting theme for our school as it aligns with our motto “Grow in Hope”. The motto that Sr Ellen Shanahan gave the school encompasses the hope that we as a Catholic community have to grow our faith, hoping to live out the expectations of Jesus and living in hope for Jesus’ return among us.
This year sees the roll out of the new curriculum to Year 4. As a staff, we look forward to exploring and teaching this new curriculum and the students being able to share their learning in Religious Education with you at home.
This year, as a staff and school, we will be focusing on the Catholic identity and charisms of our school. Over these first 2 weeks, the teachers and students are exploring what it means to be a member of St Patrick’s, its history, who are the significant Catholic role models that have shaped the culture of our school and what values of their lives can we apply the charism of our school.
Next Friday, 14th February, we will hold our Opening School Year Liturgy and Investiture of our Year 6 Leaders. This is an exciting time for our newly appointed leaders and a wonderful acknowledgement of the commitment that we all have as a Catholic community. We warmly invite our whole school and parish community the join us for this celebration.
Our Term 1 liturgical celebrations for the diary:
Friday 14th February – Opening School Year Liturgy
Wednesday 5th March – Ash Wednesday
Monday 17th March – St Patrick’s Day Celebrations
Monday 24th March – Harmony Day
Wednesday 9th April – Holy Week Liturgy
Mr Daniel Lockwood
RE Coordinator
Message from Assistant Principal
Annual Governance Reminders
It is that time of the year when we remind families of our governance requirements. Please see our Parent Handbook where you will find information on the following:
- The Office of Safeguarding
- The Diocesan Safeguarding Policy
- The Code of Conduct
- The Standard Collection Notice
- Administration of Medicine and First aid
- Attendance Procedures
- Complaints and Grievances Resolutions
- Volunteers and Working With Children Check (WWCC)
- Hours of School and Supervision
Online Safety
Keeping our students safe when online needs to be a priority for all. The following are links for parents (https://padlet.com/childprotection/resources-for-parents-carers-teacher-jqddlxahc0zswvk4) and students (https://padlet.com/childprotection/resources-for-primary-school-students-ta8uzzgbz8vlvku0) that may be useful to keep all our children safe. A few tips to keep your children safe when they are online:
- Ensure your child(ren) are in a public area of your home when online e.g., the lounge room, kitchen etc. Do not allow your child to use devices alone in their bedrooms.
- Ensure your child is using age-appropriate sites
- Ensure your child has access to social media that is age appropriate. For a list of age-appropriate online behaviours please refer to the safety commission at the following link: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/are-they-old-enough
Devices are an invaluable tool to keep us connected to others and access current information. Together, we will help all children to be safe and effective users of technology.
NAPLAN
All students in Years 3 and 5 will sit NAPLAN (National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy) tests during Weeks 7 and 8 of this term. The test window is open from Wednesday 12th March to Friday 21st March to allow students who may be absent on a test day to catch-up when they return to school. There are 4 tests – Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language, and Numeracy. Students will complete all tests online except for the Year 3 Writing test which will be completed on paper. Please see test timetable below.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Parent Teacher interviews for students in Years 1-6 will be held in Week 4, Monday 17th Feb – Friday 21st Feb. Parent Teacher interviews for Kindergarten will be offered later in the term. If you would like an interview with your child’s teacher to discuss how they have settled into the new school year and to set some learning and wellbeing goals, please make an online booking via Compass. Bookings will open on Monday 10th Feb and will remain open until Friday 14th Feb, 5pm. A Compass alert will be sent to let you know when bookings have been opened. A Student Information Parent Questionnaire form has been sent home with all students. Please complete this and return it to your child’s teacher prior to the parent teacher interviews.
Mrs Janine Schneider
Assistant Principal
Message from Diverse Learners Team
Learning Support
Many students access learning support at some stage in their school life. This might be to target a particular skill that requires consolidation, to 'plug gaps' in learning, to provide training in building social skills and self-regulation, to develop gross or fine motor skills, to address language difficulties, or to help students overcome other barriers to learning. Supports can be as simple as using a seating plan or visuals to promote student engagement, or may be more involved such as a targeted intervention program in a withdrawal situation. In class supports are implemented by the class teacher, occasionally with additional support from a Learning Support Assistant (LSA). Other interventions might be delivered outside the classroom, in the Learning Centre with the Learning Support Teacher (LST) or the MacKillop Room with the Pastoral Care Worker.
At St Patrick's, our Diverse Learners Team meet every week to discuss the most appropriate strategies to support any students of concern. This might include collecting further information about your child through additional assessments and observations, making a referral to the School Psychologist, or seeking guidance from our Pastoral Care Worker. If you have concerns about your child's learning or social/emotional development, just contact the class teacher. They can then make a referral to the Learning Support Team to advise on the best course of action. Similarly, if the class teacher has noticed that your child is experiencing difficulty, they will contact you to discuss their concerns and keep you informed of any interventions or adjustments that might be put in place.
High Potential & Gifted Education
'The Diocese remains steadfast in its commitment to enriching the educational journey of High Potential and Gifted students.'
At St Patrick's, we identify these students using multiple criteria. This includes standardised test scores such as NAPLAN, Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) in Reading and Maths, and CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test). It also includes classroom assessments, teacher checklists, samples of work and observations.
Students are provided with differentiated classroom activities. This means that teachers design or adjust tasks to the students' ability level, providing more complexity or challenge for high potential and gifted learners. A variety of extension options are provided by the Gifted Education Mentor (GEM), which often involves longer term projects that can be presented to a wider audience. Students also have the opportunity to participate in a number of competitions that reach an external audience beyond our St Pat's community: Spelling and Maths Bees, writing competitions, public speaking, debating in stage 3, and Tournament of Minds. There is also the Aspire program for Arts students and the various Regional and State level sporting pathways on offer.
Student motivation is a key factor and we aim to develop every student's ability to be a self-directed learner. We encourage students to set goals, apply learning strategies, seek feedback and respond positively.
Mrs Jo Simes & Mrs Liz Walker
Learning Support Teacher and Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island Teacher
Library News
Welcome back to the library!
New books are ready for borrowing with some more on the way. Library lessons take place on Wednesdays and Thursday with Mrs Devlin where students learn using a variety of printed and online media and tools.
Borrowing
All students must have a bag when they borrow from the library. This is to protect the books and to make it easier for students when returning books. Borrowing with Mrs Hale is weekly. Year 1-6 borrow on Tuesday and Kindergarten borrow on Wednesdays.
Book Club Issue 1
The first issue for 2025 is a BUMPER catalogue with many books under $5. Books purchased through Book Club earn credits for the school which we use to purchase new books for the library so we really appreciate your support.
Purchase online through LOOP.
In case the paper catalogue doesn’t make it home, here is a digital version.
Year 6 News
This week Year 6 began their final ‘first week’ of Primary School. They have embraced their additional responsibilities as School Leaders with gusto and have done a brilliant job! Not only have they been busy learning, but also running morning assemblies, ensuring icepacks and sports equipment are supplied for break times, hoisting and folding the Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags and helping in the canteen. Year 6 also have many exciting ideas and initiatives to enhance the St Patrick’s School experience throughout the year. We can’t wait to see wait they have planned!
Mrs Claire Browne
Year 6 Teacher
Sport News
Term 1 Sport
Sport will be on a Tuesday during Term 1. St Patricks will be participating in a Gymnastics Program delivered by Primarily Active.
Regional Swimming Carnival
The awards from our School Swimming Carnival will be handed out at Next Friday’s afternoon assembly. This will include or School Swimming Champions.
We congratulate the following students, who have been selected to represent St Patrick’s at the Lakes Region Swimming Carnival on Monday 17th of February.
Bonnie Anderson, Eloise Ayshford, Daisy Barringer, Zantar Beisler, William Bevan, Neve Bowmaker, Sara Corbett, Sawyer Davidson, Matteo Dawson Angeli, Sophie Dunn, Khloe Hansen, Charlie Hill, Emily Hill, Archer Hoogwerf, Billie Joyce, Giselle Maddox, Mylah McDonell, Evelyn Moldrich, Jude Mulder, Toby Thornton, Imogen Walker, Vincent Walker and Lilah Ward.
We wish them the very best of luck!
Pathways Sport
Expressions of interest are open for AFL Diocesan Trials (27/3), Diocesan Rugby League (25/3), Regional Netball, Soccer and Hockey (27/2) and Regional Touch Football (2/4) Trials. These trials are strictly for elite athletes in Years 5 and 6 who are currently registered in their chosen sport. If your child fulfills these criteria and would like to trial, please email me with the following details:
- Name
- Current Club
- Playing experience
- Representative experience
- Preferred positions
Please note school trials may be run if necessary.
Weekend Sports Star
If your child is a Weekend Sports Star, please email details and a photo to so we can celebrate their success in our next newsletter.
Mrs Claire Browne
Sport Coordinator
Aspire
Office News
2025 Fee Information
All families will be notified once school fees have been processed for the year.
Statements will be emailed to the email address nominated by you for all correspondence. Fee statements are issued the first week of each month. If you do not to receive an email, please contact the office.
Up to date fee account information is available on Compass.
Health Care Card or Pensioner Card
This provides a rebate of 50% off your tuition fees, less any family discount applied. Please complete the HCC/Pension Concession Application and CCes Customer Consent Forms below and return to the office along with a copy of your card.
Fee Assistance
The school will assist families experiencing financial difficulties. We encourage you to contact the office as soon as possible to discuss.
Payment Options
School Fees are billed annually in Term 1, regular payments are expected and should commence from 1 March or earlier to ensure fees are finalised in full by 30 November. Non-payment of school fees after 1 April, will be considered in arrears, unless a current payment arrangement has been agreed with the school.
If you nominate to pay your account annually (as a lump sum amount), please ensure payment is received prior to 30 June, non-payment after the 30 June will be considered in arrears.
Payment method can be via direct debit with the Catholic Community Fund; BPay using the fee statement reference number; or credit card over the counter or cash.
- Each fee payer can tailor frequency of payments to suit individual circumstances
- Direct debit payment frequency options can be established as weekly, fortnightly or monthly
- BPay can be at your discretion and can be set up as an automated payment
Some fees such as excursions, incursions and sport may continue to be charged separately during the course of the year prior to the event being held.
Please contact your school to discuss an alternative payment arrangement if you are unable to finalise your account by 30 November.
Compass
If you have recently relocated or changed your mobile phone number please update in Compass or by emailing information to the office.
QKR
The QKR app is used for canteen ordering and P&F school events.
Download the QKR app onto your android phone or iPhone. iPad users can download the iPhone app. Follow the steps to register, and either find our school or search for it by name. (Typing in ‘Swansea’ secures the fastest result). Register your children and then you are ready to go!
Please update your child’s homegroup in the profiles tab so that their correct class is on any order you place for them.
Applications for school travel passes through Transport NSW
The School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) gives eligible school students free or subsidised travel between home and school on NSW public transport, including trains, buses, ferries and light rail.
Depending on where students are travelling, they may receive a free school travel pass, a School Opal card, or both.
Please visit Transport NSW in the link below, to learn about eligibility criteria and apply for a travel pass which will help support transport options for our school community.
https://transportnsw.info/school-travel-apply
Other useful links and resources can be found here.
Volunteering at St Patrick's
We have many events planned for the year. Please get in early and register so you won't be disappointed 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.
Rachelle McKenzie
Senior School Officer
P&F update
Welcome back to 2025 and our last official year in our current P&F structure. We hope our P&F can help make 2025 our best year yet for our school & students!!
At the end of 2024 we set some big goals and have some really exciting things in store for 2025 for our students & the school.
For anyone who wants to join us, this year we will be holding our P&F meetings from 6pm on a Wednesday nights throughout the term. Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday March 12th. No RSVP necessary.
We welcome all family & friends within our school community to come along to the meetings or join us via zoom to plan & coordinate events & fundraisers for our school. It is also a great opportunity to ask questions directly to the school executive about things happening in & around our school.
Parent Facebook Page
If you haven't done so already, please head over and join our parent Facebook group 'St Pats Swansea Parent Group' where we post reminders & information regarding our events, but also please use it as a central location where you can share questions about school or seek uniforms to buy/swap/sell. We want to bring together & grow our school community as we're all spread across the 2281 & 2280 (and possibly further!) areas.
Canteen News
Our first canteen service will commence from next Friday February 14th. Our Coordinators Elizabeth & Nat are busily confirming the menu for term 1 and will advertise it in coming days.
Lunch orders must be placed on the Qkr! app by midday each Thursday to allow our coordinators & volunteers plenty of time to arrange supplies & print labels & reports.
Following lunch, we are excited to have year 6 students join us each week to help serve ice blocks & snacks. We know they'll do an excellent job!
A reminder that ice blocks & snacks can only be purchased on the day using cash, so please send small notes or coins with your kids so they can buy treats if they feel like them.
If you have a couple of hours spare one Friday, please contact Elizabeth to pencil your name in to the roster. You can email Stpatscanteen1@gmail.com to find out more info.
Upcoming Events:
Coming up for the remainder of term 1, our P&F are busily planning:
- A Family Bingo night (Date TBC, will be in March)
- St Patricks Day Picnic (17th of March)
- Easter Egg Raffles (10th of April)
- Hot Cross Bun Fundraiser (Delivery on the last day of school)
- Canteen training morning tea (March)
- Mothers Day morning tea & Mothers Day Stall (Early in term 2)
If you are able to donate your time to help coordinate or volunteer for any of these events, please reach out to either the school or our P&F committee via email - stpatrickspf1@gmail.com. We welcome not just parents but grandparents, carers, aunts & uncles to come along! Without the time of volunteers, none of these events are possible! Please contact Rachelle to get more info on how to volunteer.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions.
Looking forward to another exciting & successful year at St Pat's.
Elise Moncrieff
P&F President
February Meeting Minutes
Community Notices
