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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
Our PB4L/SEL focus for Week 6 will be: Having a Conversation
In the explicit teaching lessons, the expected behaviours taught will be:
* Look at the person.
* Use a pleasant voice.
* Listen to what the other person says.
* When there is a break in the conversation, ask a question or share your
thoughts.
Examples of behaviours that negatively impact on Respectful, Responsible and Safe
behaviour when Having a Conversation to be taught include:
* Looking away from the person speaking.
* Shouting
* Ignoring what the other person is saying.
* Interrupting
Our PB4L focus for Week 1 will be Good Manners
In the explicit teaching lessons, the expected behaviours taught will be:
* Saying ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’
* Saying ‘Excuse me’
* Saying ‘Good Morning”
* Asking ‘May I’
* Waiting my turn to talk
* Looking at the person speaking
* Using the other person’s name
Examples of behaviours that negatively impact on Respectful, Responsible and Safe
behaviour when using Good Manners to be taught include:
* Not saying please, thank you, excuse me or may I
* Interrupting
* Walking away when someone is talking to you
* Ignoring others
* Not using the other person’s name
We would very much appreciate you discussing these weekly focuses 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.
Kind regards
Mr Gavan Hoctor
Assistant Principal
Mission Star
In Week 11, Cleo Cappochiano was the second recipient of the Mission Star Award for Term 1.
As a disciple of Christ, Cleo 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.
Cleo demonstrates our school values of Inclusivity and Compassion.
Cleo is described as someone who:
- Shows our school value of compassion through her kindness in helping others, no matter their age or class. When Cleo sees a problem, she always makes time to offer her assistance.
- Shows our school value of inclusivity by making all students feel valued, respected, and supported. She is kind, inclusive and a fair team player. Making sure no one feels left out on the playground.
We congratulate Cleo on this special achievement. Her inclusivity and compassion shown to others is appreciated and recognised.
ANZAC Day Liturgy
Each year on April 25th we remember those people who died or suffered because of war so that we may live in freedom and peace. This year marks 109 years since the Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed on the shores of Gallipoli to fight in a war to protect the freedom of the people in Australia and New Zealand.
A prayer for the newly elected Pope Leo XIV
Lord, source of eternal life and truth,
give to your shepherd Pope Leo XIV a spirit
of courage and right judgment, a spirit
of knowledge and love. By governing
with fidelity those entrusted to his care,
may he, as successor to the Apostle
Peter and vicar of Christ, build your Church
into a sacrament of unity, love, and peace for all the world
Amen
Diocesan Jubilee Pilgrim Passports
Pope Francis has proclaimed that 2025 will be a Holy Year of Jubilee, a special year of graceand conversion, involving prayer, pilgrimage and sacramentalrepentance, ordinarily held every 25 years. The goal of a Jubilee year is to inspire and encourage holiness of life among the faithful and therefore, to strengthen the Church’s witness to God’s loving mercy in and for the world. The spiritual theme for the 2025 Holy Year of Jubilee is ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.
After the Easter celebratory mass last week, each family in our school received a Pilgrim Passport.
What's inside the Passport?
- Pilgrimage prayers and reflections to deepen your spiritual journey.
- Scripture and spiritual insights related to the Jubilee theme.
- Space to collect stamps from each of the six designated pilgrimage sites.
- A guide to understanding the Jubilee plenary indulgence and how to receive it.
Official Pilgrimage Sites:
- St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Wollongong.
- Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Unanderra.
- Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church, Rosemeadow.
- St Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church, Milton.
- St Joseph's Catholic Church, Kangaroo Valley.
- Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy, Penrose Park.
Each special celebration will feature prayers, a pilgrimage walk led by Bishop Brian Mascord, and the celebration of the Eucharist. Bishop Brian Mascord will personally visit each pilgrimage site during the Holy Year to impart the papal blessing. This blessing, accompanied by the usual conditions, offers another opportunity to gain a plenary indulgence.
Kind regards
Mrs Olivia Cudina and Miss Casey Figueira
Acting Religious Education Coordinators
As previously communicated, as of the beginning of Week 3 (Monday 12 May) it is an expectation that all students wear full winter school uniform. Please see flyer below for options of our winter uniform.
A reminder that all school uniform items are available from Poppets at Fairy Meadow. Purchases can be made online via the Poppets website or visiting the store. School deliveries are currently carried out weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays or delivery directly to your home address. Delivery is Free!
You can collect from: POPPETS-DIRECT 31 Montague St, Fairy Meadow.
Please find the Poppets website link below.
A reminder that all uniform items should be clearly labelled. Please check old labels as they do fade over time. It is very difficult to return unlabelled items and the lost property basket ends up quite full. If purchasing from the Pre Loved Uniform Pool please remove any old labels and replace them with your child's name.
We are so blessed at St Patrick's to have a wonderful P&F and a beautiful band of volunteers. Thank you to you all of you for providing an opportunity for the children to purchase some amazing gifts for thier mothers, grandmothers and all the special mother figures in their lives. This all would not be possible without all the work of the P&F and their helpers.
A special mention of thanks goes to Mrs Kapsimallis who always supplies our Mother's Day stall with an array of plants for the children to buy.
have finished the challenge, certificates to arrive in Term 4.
Library
