Dear Parents 

Pope Francis designated 1 September as the annual World Day of the Prayer for the Care of Creation. This is a day we reaffirm our vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful gift that he has entrusted to our care. On Tuesday, 2 September 2019 staff and students participated in a tree planting ceremony in front of the Parish Office on O'Donnell Street. A whole school liturgy was celebrated begining under the COLA followed by tree planting by children in each class.

Once every year, on 1 September, Pope Francis invites us as members of the Christian family to set aside some quality time to deepen our relationship with the Creator, each other, and all of creation. The day is inspired by Pope Francis' landmark encyclical Laudato Si’, which calls on "every person living on this planet" to care for our shared Earth. He calls us all to celebrate this opportune moment to “reaffirm [our] personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of creation, as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live.”

As the environmental crisis deepens, we Christians are urgently called to witness to our faith by taking bold action to preserve the gift we share.

God of all Creation
Show us our place in this world as channels of your love
for all the creatures of this earth, for not one of them is forgotten in your sight.
Enlighten those who make decisions on our behalf, that they may love the common good, 
and care for this world in which we live.
The poor and the earth are crying out.
O Lord, open our eyes and ears to their needs.
Help us to protect all life, to prepare for a better future,
for the coming of your Kingdom of justice, peace, love and beauty.
Praise be to you!
Amen.

Father’s Day

Thank you to all our parents who supported the Father’s Day breakfast and stall. Special thanks to the following :

Sam and Victoria Harb
Kevin Calleja
Fleur Sharpe
Alisa Stojanovski
Emma Nagy
Vesna Jovanovski
Vesna Pohahau
Marian Spinelli
Diana Capocchiano
Danielle Lukarovksi (Behind the scenes)

Thank you also to Mr Hoctor, Mrs Platiniotis and Mrs Kapsimallis who arrived early to set up tables, chairs and drinks and helped in the canteen.

Public Speaking - Years 5 and 6 Only

Public speaking preparation will be take place in classrooms over the next few weeks. The children will work on their speeches in class as part of the English Speaking and Listening syllabus. Speeches will be presented in class and then to the wider audience.  Each class will then select three students to present their speech in the finals for Stage 3.

Year 5 students are required to speak for 3 to 4 minutes and Year 6 students for 4 to 5 minutes. 

One student from each grade will be chosen to represent St Patricks at the South East Primary Cluster held at St Joseph’s Primary School, Bulli on Wednesday 23 October (Week 2  - Term 4).

PE Change this week

Due to family commitments Mrs Pullbrook will be having PE this Thursday instead of Friday. All children need to wear their sports uniform on Thursday, 12 September.

After School Care

I have had confirmation that after school care will be starting next Year at St Patricks.  More details about this in further newsletters.

Lost Property

Please clearly label all items. 

Please see the lost property area and remind your child/ren to collect any missing property here (near the children’s entrance to the office). There are a number of items here and many have no labels.  Thank you.

COMPASS Parent Portal - IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Our Student Information System is called Compass.  It is used to record a daily roll attendance, student participation in activities, student reports and student fee billing.  All parents require login access to Compass.  If you are experiencing difficulty logging into your Compass Parent Portal please contact the school office. 

We have found that when undertaking some tasks such as making payments or booking a parent teacher interview or downloading reports it is best to do this via a Browser not the App.  The App on your phone does not have enough screen size to complete these tasks sucessfully.

Compass Newsfeeds:

Newsfeeds will soon be sent out quite regularly via our Compass Parent Portal to inform / remind parents of upcoming events or changes to details of upcoming events. This will replace Skoolbag.

Please read these emails when they are sent.  You don't need to have access to your Compass App to view these emails.  If you click on the link in your email it will open up the Newsfeed for you to read.

Payments for Excursions / Events:

Details for all excursions / events will now be on the Compass Parent Portal.  We will not be sending home hard copy permission notes for excursions / events that require payment.  Consent for your child to attend and payment for the event can be made online via the Compass Parent Portal (the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong's and the school's preferred method of payment).  

If you do not wish to pay online you can download the permission note from the Compass Parent Portal and complete this and return it to the school office with the correct cash (the school office is unable to give any change) or alternatively you can pay via EFTPOS at the school office. 

Student Billing / School Fees

The processing of payments for student billing of school fees is now the responsiblity of the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong Finance Team.  We have been advised that at this stage they are unable to provide a statement via the Compass Parent Portal.  However if you look at your payments tab there is a history of all financial transactions.  

At this stage if you are making payments via BPay please do not change the BPay Biller Code or the Customer Reference Number until otherwise advised.  The Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong Finance Team are still working on this component of the Compass Parent Portal. The usual payments are being directed using the old number.  A new BPay number will not be issued until the Catholic Education Office in Wollongong are able to transmit a statement.

Should you be experiencing difficulty in paying your school fees, please contact the school office to arrange an appointment with Mrs Duggan to discuss this matter.

Please do not hesitate to contact the school office to discuss any concerns or queries you may have about the Compass Parent Portal.

Peace and blessings for a great fortnight ahead.

Mrs Anne Duggan
Principal