Dear Parents

This Saturday (August 15^th ) is the feast of the Assumption- a day when we honour Mary being taken to heaven

The Christians of the early Church would have been well aware of the role Mary fulfilled as a

constant connection with Christ. It was she who had nurtured Him during the years leading up to His public life. She had a leading role at the marriage celebration in Cana, when Jesus began His public life. At the end of His life, Mary witnessed the sorrowful events of the Passion, Crucifixion and Death of her Son. Mary was with the Apostles when they gave witness to the facts of the Resurrection and Ascension. It was Mary, the constant Mother, who prayed with the Apostles and sustained them in their belief until the First Pentecost.

There is little written about Mary, especially what happened after Pentecost, but there is strong evidence, through tradition, that at the end of her life she was united with her Son in a manner similar to how her Son was united with His Father.

Mary had been so closely associated with all the mysteries of Jesus’ life, so it is not surprising that the Holy Spirit has led the Church to believe and declare, that she must be with Him body and soul in heaven. Mary is now in a position to be mother to all people for all time.

“Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us, your people,

now, and at the hour of our death.

Amen.”

Uniform

Reminder that girls need to tie their hair back and if using a ribbon it must be green. I have in the lost property the following items of clothing with no names

If your child has lost one of these items can you please let me know and I can leave it in the office for collection or give it to your child.

Size 8 winter jacket x2

Size 14 winter jacket

Jumper size 12

Cardigan size 6

Cardigan no size - medium

School hat   59cm

Please remember to label all your child's belongings. Also check that names haven't faded in the wash. 

Social Media Use 

It has come to our attention that the use of social media by some students at St Patrick’s has been done so not in accord with the school and Diocesan Social Media Policy. In light of this, we wish to remind you of some of the key elements in the Social Media Policy and hope that parents/guardians will spend some time discussing these with their children.

Students must:

• only post material that respects the privacy of students, staff and the wider community including not taking or sharing photos without permission
• only post material that uses appropriate language that is not hurtful, abusive or offensive
• not create, access, store or share offensive images, video or audio files

While we strongly encourage you to not allow your children to use social media apps such as Tik Tok, Facebook, Instagram etc considering their age, can we please ask that if you do allow your children to use such apps, that they don't post images anytime with the children wearing their school uniform.

Tik Tok

Furthermore, from what we have learnt in recent weeks is that Tik Tok appears to be popular with a small number of students at St Patrick’s. We have also learnt that some students have hundreds, and in some cases in excess of a thousand ‘followers’. We have also been made aware that some students have posted content on this platform while wearing their school uniform. Again, we wish to reiterate our school’s stance on the use of this app and share with you our belief that this is inappropriate use and should be considered unsafe, as it ultimately may put your child at risk.

If you would like to discuss this in further detail please contact Mrs Duggan or Mr Hoctor.

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Parent/Teacher interviews continue this week. I am so appreciative of the way the teachers and parents have adapted to having these interviews a phone call due to the COVID-19 restrictions. I hope you were able to celebrate some of the great work your children are doing at St Patrick’s.

Best wishes

Mrs Anne Duggan - Principal