PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
“Habemus papam!” (“we have a pope”) - Cardinal Robert Prevost, a US-born missionary and senior Vatican official, was elected pope on Thursday evening, becoming the first American to lead the Roman Catholic Church in its 2000-year history. He will be known as Pope Leo XIV. We pray for Pope Leo as he begins his position as leader of the Catholic Church. May the Holy Spirit guide him and strengthen him in his ministry.
I would like to wish all Mothers, Grandmothers and Mother figures in our lives the very happiest of Mother’s Days on Sunday. I hope that your families spoil you and give you a much deserved break. A sleep in and the chores being done will be very much appreciated I’m sure.
The boys and girls were able to purchase a gift for their mother’s or significant person in their lives today and are very excited to share these gifts with you. A huge thank you to the P&F who once again worked diligently behind the scenes to organise and prepare the mother’s day stall today as well as running the stall this morning, allowing all the children to purchase a special gift.
Thanks also goes to Mrs Kapsimallis who donated many beautiful plants for the stall. Mrs Kapsimallis has been slowly transporting and storing pot plants over many weeks now in our garden. Thanks Mrs Kapsimallis!
It is my pleasure to welcome new families and existing families to our beautiful school through the enrollment process currently underway. Last term, we offered an ‘Open Morning’ for families to visit our school prior to the more formal interview process. Mr Hoctor and myself will continue interviewing families across the next few weeks. I look forward to being able to offer places for Kindergarten 2026 by the end of this term.
Our staff professional learning day that occurred on the first day of the school term feels like a long time ago now, however I wanted to share with you some of the work teachers engaged in on the day. The focus of the day was in the area of assessment and differentiating tasks. We explored using AI as a means of differentiating tasks and how this then impacts teaching and learning sequences. There was a great energy on the day and teachers were thoroughly engaged in working to improve the student learning outcomes for all St Patrick’s students.
I will be offsite for a few days in Week 4 to attend the Association of Catholic School Principals NSW. The theme of our conference is Living Waters: Leading with Hope, Inspiring Faith Communities. The conference will consist of a mixture of lecture style presentations as well as smaller group workshops. I look forward to furthering my own learning and bringing back to St Patrick’s ideas to enhance our wonderful school community. During my absence, Mr Hoctor will act in the role of principal.
We are so pleased to be able to showcase the learning occurring in classrooms each and everyday through a grade assembly. These assemblies will begin at 2pm in the parish hall. Parents of the specified grade are particularly welcome to attend.
Kind Regards
Mr Mitchell Elks
Principal
