Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The term certainly is flying. We have settled into our school routine and have much to look forward to for the term ahead.

Lent & Project Compassion Launch

Ash Wednesday was a beautiful way to start our Lenten journey. This week two of our school leaders Veronika and George accompanied me to the diocesan launch of project compassion. Bishop Brian led the liturgy and spoke about the three things we are called to do during Lent, give alms, fast and pray. Bishop Brian challenged us all, as to the so what of these three practices. He spoke about that through these works we aim to be more like Christ and in all of our interaction with those we meet. Emma, a representative from Caritas shared stories of those who are most disadvantaged and the ways project compassion helps them and their families. We were reminded how truly blessed we are and that there are many around the world in deep pain and poverty. The good news was that our donations make a significant difference to many, many lives. We look forward to supporting project compassion this Lenten season as we aim to be Christ like in our generosity and spirit of charity.

NAPLAN

We wish our Year 3 and 5 students the best of luck as they prepare to undertake the NAPLAN assessments from Wednesday next week. In last fortnight’s newsletter I wrote about NAPLAN dates and included an information flyer for parents which included some excellent resources.

BEING SAFE AT CAR PICK UP 

A reminder to please be especially careful in the car pickup line of an afternoon. Afternoon dismissal is the busiest period with foot traffic and car traffic all trying to leave the school site safely. We all want to keep our students and community as safe as possible by following road rules, being patient and being aware of our surroundings. Thank you for your continued cooperation.

CONTACTING TEACHERS AND RESPONSE TIME

As was discussed at parent information evenings, if you need to contact your child’s teacher, please email or call the office and the message or email will be passed on. We aim to respond in up to two working days. Please keep in mind that the majority of each day teachers are in the classroom teaching or on playground duty.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY

A reminder that the last day of the school term, Friday 11 April is a staff development day. Our St Patrick’s staff will collaborate with the staff of three other Catholic schools regarding assessment practices and moderation in writing.

Kind regards
Mr Mitchell Elks
Principal

Our PB4L/SEL focus for Week 7 will be: Calling Out and Calling In Disrespect                              
In the explicit teaching lessons, the expected behaviours taught will be:

You are being disrespectful with the words you are using.
That’s not the way we talk here at our school.
You are being disrespectful in what you are doing.
That’s not the way we behave here at our school.
You are excluding him/her from your game.
That’s not the way we treat people here at our school.
You are being unsafe in the way you’re playing.
We keep our hands, feet, and objects to ourselves here at our school.
You are not respecting other people’s property/boundaries.
We ask for permission here at our school.
You are treating him/her differently.
We treat each other equally here at our school.

Our PB4L focus for Week 8 will be Respecting Play Equipment 

In the explicit teaching lessons, the expected behaviours taught will be:

i. use equipment for its right purpose
ii. return all equipment to the correct place
iii. tie skipping ropes when returning them
iv. report unsafe use of equipment to the teacher on duty
Examples of behaviours that negatively impact on Respectful, Responsible and Safe
behaviour when Respecting Play Equipment to be taught include:

i. throwing/kicking balls at people
ii. hitting people with equipment
iii. hiding equipment
iv. leaving equipment out on the playground
v. not tying skipping ropes
vi. not speaking up when equipment is being misused

We would very much appreciate you discussing this weekly focus with your children and reviewing the expected and non-acceptable behaviours in our endeavour to see that St Patrick’s is a more respectful, responsible, and safe learning community for all.

PB4L Data

It is with pride that I inform you that since school has begun 65 students were given Citizenship, Merit or Library Awards whilst there were 14 incidents of Inappropriate behaviour recorded.
Thank you for acting respectfully, responsibly, and safely girls and boys.

Kind regards
Mr Gavan Hoctor
Assistant Principal

This year Ash Wednesday occured on Wednesday 5 March 

Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, the church season for fasting and prayer. It lasts for 40 days. It prepares us for Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday. We wear ashes on our forehead to remind us that God made us from dust, and to dust we will return.

Lent is symbolised by the colour purple. Purple represents a time of waiting. We are waiting for Jesus’ death on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter Sunday. 

Lent is a time of repentance. Before Easter, we must prepare our hearts for Jesus’ Resurrection. We make sacrifices and try to improve our lives to become more like Jesus. We can prepare for this by:

• Prayer
• Fasting (giving up something)
• Almsgiving (donating, helping others in need)

On Ash Wednesday we receive ashes on our foreheads in the Sign of the Cross. These ashes come from the leftover blessed palms from last years Palm Sunday that have been burned.

Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 observed Fr Mark and Sr Miriam prepare the ashes for Ash Wednesday mass. 

First Fr Mark and Sr Miriam burned the palm leaves and olive branches. The children were surprised with how much smoke it created.

The next day, once the ashes had cooled. The children helped to sift the ashes.

ASH WEDNESDAY

Mission Star

In Week 5, Miss Dowsett was the recipient of the first Mission Star Award for the year.

As a disciple of Christ, Miss Dowsett is a living example of our school’s mission. To live by following the examples and teachings of Jesus and to love as Christ taught us. By loving God, our neighbours, ourselves and all of Creation.

Miss Dowsett demonstrates our school values of Compassion, Hope and Inclusivity.

Miss Dowsett is described as someone who:

• Shows our school value of compassion through her kindness and helping students in her class
• Inspires hope and brings joy with her positivity and enthusiasm
• Shows our school value of inclusivity by fostering a learning environment where all students feel valued, respected, and supported

We congratulate Miss Dowsett on this special achievement. Her compassion shown to the children is appreciated and recognised.

Spiritual Reflection - Love One Another

“Love one another as I have loved you.” John 13:34

This week we hear about the importance of showing compassion, forgiveness and love to others in our everyday lives, so that we are living like Jesus. We are reminded in Luke’s Gospel to love others (even those who hurt us) like Jesus loved which is often hard for us to comprehend. This is an opportunity and an invitation to grow as we need to continually extend ourselves to love like Jesus.

By actively choosing to show mercy to others, our hearts become open and are changed so that we can feel and make known to others God's unconditional love for us.

Forgiving those who hurt us is not always easy and can take time. We need to remember that God knows us and loves each of us unconditionally, even when our words and actions may cause us to stray. God will always forgive us and invite us back. We need to draw on God’s unconditional love to help us forgive others unconditionally.

Not only do we need to forgive others but we also need to forgive ourselves. Holding onto negativity can cause us to judge others and make incorrect assumptions about them. In the words of Ted Lasso, we need to ‘be curious, not judgemental.’ We need to show compassion to others and ourselves so that we can become a light to others by reflecting the goodness of God in the world around us.

Reflection Questions:

How do I show compassion to others and myself?

What assumptions do I make about others?

Why is forgiveness important for my own peace and wellbeing?

Kind regards

Miss Casey Figueira and Mrs Olivia Cudina
Acting Religious Coordinators

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