Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been wonderful to see all the smiling faces of the boys and girls as they have returned to school this year. There is a wonderful sense of calm in the classrooms and on the playground as students begin their formal learning once again and catch up with friends after a long holiday break.

Thank you parents for ensuring that your children come to school wearing their school uniform with pride. It creates a wondeful sense of school community when students wear the correct school uniform each day.

I'd like to thank the community of St Patrick's for their very warm welcome as I finish my second week at the school. It has been a lovely experience beginning to get to know all the students of the school. It gives me great joy on the playground when some smiling students come up and say hi.

A special mention goes to the Kindergarten students who have started their schooling journey here at St Patrick's. We pray that their years here at school be filled up learning, laughter and friendship. It has been a pleasure to see the caring nature of the rest of the school in welcoming our Kinder students and in particular their Year 5 buddies.

Coming up next week, Leena and Joey represent the school and will accompany Mr Mattis and I for the Caritas Project Compassion launch held next Tuesday at Our Lady Help of Christians Church Rosemedow. The students will share their experience with the school community in the coming weeks are we prepare for Lent.

Next Tuesday night we will hold our annual parent information night at the school, Kinder, Year 1 & 2 will begin at 5:30pm and Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 will being at 6:15pm. We look forward to seeing you there. Finally the P & F AGM will be held next Tuesday night starting at 7pm, a light supper will be served. All are welcome.

I look forward to working with all of you this year to ensure that your children are deeply cared for and that every student has the opportunity to grown in their faith, learning and wellbeing.

Mr Mitchell Elks

Principal

Ash Wednesday Mass
Ash Wednesday is next week, February 14, and is of course a very important event in our liturgical calendar as it signifies the beginning of the season of Lent. We will be attending mass as a whole school on this day, and as such all family and community members are welcome and encouraged to attend. Mass begins at 9am.
A friendly reminder that Catholics are required to fast and abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, an additionally, they must abstain from meat on all Fridays during Lent. While children are not required to abstain from eating meat on these days, you might like to include them in the fasting and discuss with your child the reasons for doing so. Parents are the first and most important teachers of the children, and teaching by example is a great way to build understanding with them.

Leadership Induction Liturgy - 2024
On Thursday February 15 beginning at 9am we will be holding a Leadership Induction Liturgy, where the Year 6 leaders and class prefects for Term 1 will receive their badges and be inducted into their respective roles. The ceremony will take place in the Parish Church. All family and community members are welcome and encouraged to attend. Congratulations to the Term 1 class prefects for 2024:
 
Year 1: Archie C and Aria P
Year 2: Rocco and Maddison 
Year 3: Nicholas M and Lucy
Year 4: Ashton K and Ebony 
Year 5: Jake and Cleo 

We look forward to seeing you there!

Sacramental Programs 2024
Please see below information regarding the Sacramental Program schedule for 2024. Please note these dates are subject to change. Should you have any enquiries about the Sacramental Program please contact the Parish Office by phone on 42 741 192, or via email at:

National Apology to Australia's Stolen Generations

Please read below a spiritual reflection shared with all staff in the Diocese of Wollongong.

On 13 February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offered a formal apology to Australia’s Stolen Generations, those Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who had been removed as children from their families and their culture. On this date each year we remember the apology that was made to all those whose lives who continue to be impacted and deeply traumatised by past government policies of forced child removal and assimilation. Although the apology could not take away the pain of the past, many felt that it was a necessary first step in the healing process.

Many Elders did not believe this apology would ever happen in their life time and so for those who witness this historical event it was an acknowledgement of truth telling. That finally people would believe them and their stories of pain and suffering that have continued to be passed down from generation to generation. That it really did happen to them and their families.

‘We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians. We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.’

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, 13 February 2008

“Bringing Them Home”

The journey to a national apology to the Stolen Generations began in 1995, with an inquiry into the forced separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families by past governments. The inquiry’s final report was released in 1997, it was called Bringing Them Home. It included 54 recommendations. Two of the recommendations called on all Australian governments, police forces, churches and non-government agencies to make an apology to members of the Stolen Generations.

Dr Tom Calma, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner at the time, spoke for many when he said:

‘Through one direct act, the parliament has acknowledged the existence and the impacts of past policies and practices of forcibly removing Indigenous children from their families, and by doing so has paid respect to the Stolen Generations for their suffering and their loss, and for their resilience, and ultimately, for their dignity ‘.

In the 2023-2024 Social Justice Statement, Listen, Learn, Love: A New Engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) spoke directly about the history of injustice faced by the First Peoples of this country and what needs to be done to right those wrongs. This included the impact of loss of land and culture, the experience of racism, the forcible removal of children, high incarceration and suicide rates, alcohol abuse and domestic violence, and poor outcomes in health, employment, housing and education is very painful.

The heart of the Social Justice Statement calls for all the People of God to embrace a new engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, an engagement which involves a commitment to listen to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sisters and brothers and to learn from them. This listening and learning and the actions which flow from them must be grounded in a spirit of love if there is to be a change for the better.

The way we in the Church and in society address these painful matters must change if there is to be an end to centuries of injustice. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples need to be welcomed from the margins into the centre so that they can lead the discussions about change and implementation of actions to bring about healing and justice.

We are all invited to join in walking with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on this journey of healing. Let us as the people of God, Bishops and people together, listen with humility and love to what they have to say to us.

In "Fratelli Tutti", Pope Francis reflects on the parable of the Good Samaritan and urges us “to be Good Samaritans who bear the pain of other people’s troubles rather than fomenting greater hatred and resentment."

This is our calling in Australia today.

Sam Mattas 

Religious Education Co Ordinator

2024 SCHOOL FEE INFORMATION
School fees for 2024 have now been invoiced and statements will be issued by the end of Week One with annual or first instalment payment due on 28 February 2024. You may also view your school fee account in the Compass Parent Portal. Please note that if you have instalments, they will only be visible on your school fee statement and not in the Parent Portal.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
▪ The invoicing of school fees and the distribution of school fee statements each month, is now a function carried out by the Catholic Education Office.
▪ Payment of fees, whether as an annual payment or payment by instalments is due on the date/s provided on your school fee statement.
▪ If an amendment is made to your school fee account eg your child changes subjects in a secondary school, etc. you will be emailed a statement which will provide a new schedule of payments and due dates. Please review this schedule to make any changes to your payments that are necessary.

EVET COURSES – SECONDARY SCHOOLS ONLY

If your child is studying an EVET Course (External VET Course), the costs will not be known until mid- February. At that time an EVENT will be published via email which will advise the amount required and a due date. These payments are made via the Parent Portal as a separate amount to your school fees.

REMINDERS FOR LATE PAYMENTS
SMS and email reminders are automatically generated by our accounting software based on the number of days a payment is overdue and are distributed by the Catholic Education Office. For those families that may have difficulty in paying their school fees, these reminders may cause some distress. This is not our intention.   Our intention is to support the collection of school fee accounts central and in so doing, alleviate some of the administrative work of our schools.

SCHOOL FEE ACCOUNT ENQUIRIES
Please note, despite the centralisation of various functions, your school/s will always be your point of contact for matters pertaining to fees. If you wish to discuss your school fee account, please contact your school office. The role of the Catholic Education Office is to action centralised tasks on behalf of schools.

IF YOU WISH TO PAY BY INSTALMENTS
Many families have already elected to pay their school fees by instalments. If you wish to avail yourself of this option please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on your school’s website or at your school’s office. On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at your school’s office. Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your account and a schedule of payments and due dates will be provided on your next school fee statement. Please note it is only necessary to complete this form once during the period of child/children’s enrolment unless you wish to amend your payment frequency.

DIFFICULTY WITH PAYMENT
If you are experiencing financial difficulty, we encourage you to contact the school in which your child/children are enrolled to discuss an arrangement that will assist you meet your commitments. This may include the completion of a Diocesan Application for Fee Concession which is available from the administration office of each school. Be reassured that your situation will be treated with strict confidentiality and respect for your circumstances. If you wish to submit an application, please do so at your child’s school. Please note, if you have children in more than one school, it will only be necessary to submit one application.
For those families that received a Fee Concession in 2023, you will receive an email prior to your annual review date attaching a further Application for Fee Concession. You may also initiate an earlier review if you wish to do so by contacting your school office.
For further information regarding school fees, please access the Diocesan School Fee Management Policy and Frequently Asked Questions which is available on your school’s website.

Kind regards

Catholic Education Office Finance Department