Dear Parents

Welcome back to Term 3. I hope everyone was able to enjoy some time away from the usual school routine. We will be continuing with the COVID plans that were in place last term.

• Adults are not permitted on the playground and in the school building.
• Please send your child/ren to school with their own equipment – especially drink bottles.
• Students will be escorted and supervised to the pick up areas on O’Donnell St and Kembla St by staff.

Please exercise social distancing during this time and move away from the school quickly.

Because I miss having you onsite I will endeavour to capture as many moments of any celebrations and learning and post them on our school Facebook page.

On Friday our canteen opened for the first time. It was an overwhelming success with nearly half the school ordering their sausage sandwiches. Thankyou to Ella Murzevski’s mum and Leyly and Leonardo Medina's mum for feeding the unexpected numbers of children. Thank you also to Mr Hoctor, Mrs Kapsimallis and Mrs Kodaxis for their assistance.

There will be no canteen this Friday

P&F Meeting Week 3 Wednesday –Zoom – 6.30pm

Principals Appraisal

On Wednesday 16^th September I will be having a Principal’s Appraisal. Every 4 years Principals undergo an appraisal. The fundamental purpose is to identify leadership skills as well as areas for future development and growth which will in turn enhance the provision of high quality Catholic Education in the systemic schools in the Diocese of Wollongong. The panel is comprised of an external Educational Consultant, a peer Principal and a CEDoW Leadership member.

On the day of the appraisal the Parish Priest, members of Staff, Students and a Parent Representative Group will meet with the panel.

It is important that I hear from you as to how you feel about my leadership and future directions you may have for our school. In order for this to happen a survey will be sent to you in the next couple of weeks.

Council Trees

You may have noticed that the Council have planted some trees on the Kembla and O’Donnell Streets’ nature strips.

Yesterday was OOSH Educators Day.

A special thank you to Rhiannon and Jenny our OOSH educators who run the After School Care at St Patrick’s each afternoon from 3pm – 6pm. Anyone interested in enrolling their child/ren please contact CatholicCare on 42 271122.

Kindergarten 2021

Offers for Kindergarten 2021 have been sent out with 11 new families coming to St Patrick’s at this stage. We are still taking enrolments.

A special welcome to all new and existing families and I look forward to seeing you all at the Transition to School Playgroup sessions at the beginning of Term 4.

Blessings and good health to you all.

Mrs Anne Duggan - Principal

REC UPDATE TERM 3 - WEEK 2

Term 3 Prefects

These boys and girls have been carefully chosen by their teachers as leaders and role models for their class in their role as class prefects for Term 3. They realise the importance of committing themselves to being a safe, respectful and responsible member of our school.

Congratulations to the following students:

Kinder: Edwin Palma and Ashton Kotevski

Year 1: Zoe Naumovski and George Michaloudakis

Year 2: Leyly Medina and Alicia Morgan

Year 3: Vivianne Theodosiadis and Nikhil Carolan

Year 4: Kaitlyn Mitrovska and Ashton Batur

Year 5: Bowen Sharrock and Felicia Di Ciaccio

Mission Star - July

Kind Regards,

Mr Sam Mattas

Religious Education Coordinator

Mini Vinnies President - Vinnies Winter Appeal

On behalf of everyone in Mini Vinnies, I would like to say thank you for all of your generous donations to the Vinnies Winter Appeal. The donations are going to people who might be struggling to put food on the table this winter. I’m sure they’ll be very grateful for all of the food you bought for them. A little goes a long way.

Thanks again,

Madi Grainger

Mini Vinnies President

St Patrick’s Athletics Carnival 2020

Term 3 Week 2 

Our school Athletics Carnival continued on in Week 1 of Term 3.

It was a glorious day for our school high jump. The points for the High Jump were: Mother Margaret 168, St Joseph 150, St Patrick’s 130, St Francis 109.

The continuing house point score is:

St Patrick’s 834

Mother Margaret 784

St Joseph 760

St Francis 756

PREMIER'S READING CHALLENGE

Thank you to all the students that took up the challenge this year. Please make sure you have logged all the books on the Premier's Reading Challenge Website. If you have any trouble with this process please contact  Mrs Carey in the library. 

There is still some time to read more books but the challege comes to an end on   Friday 28 August.

Well done again to all the Super Readers of St Patrick's.

Our School Garden Produce

Sleep Tip for Kids                     

Regularity and routine are the agents of sleep. It takes discipline to adhere to and commitment to making sleep a high priority. Helping kids understand how their body clock works, assisting them to work out their optimal bedtime and putting lifestyle habits in place can help them get the sleep they need to maximise their learning, wellbeing, development and overall performance. Here are some tips to help:

Understand the body clock

Sleep is regulated by a 24-hour body clock that manages the secretion of melatonin to send us to sleep and cortisol to wake us up. This amazing body clock is reset every day when light first hits our retinas. Sleep in late and the clock goes out of synch. When your child works with the rhythms of their body’s 24-hour clock they will give themselves the optimal chance for sleep success.

The sleep-wake cycle for teenagers is delayed by up to two hours. That is, they are sleepy later and awake later than when they were children. Melatonin, which makes them sleepy, is secreted as late as 11.00pm for some young people, which makes the time before bed-time a sleepless zone. Cortisol, the chemical that wakes them up is released at close to 8.00am for many teens. If this is the case, your young person’s brain wants to be asleep when they need to be awake for school.

Stick to sleep recommendations

The Raising Children’s Network recommends between 11-13 hours sleep per night for young children, 10-11 hours for primary school children and 8-10 hours for secondary school-aged kids. As every child is different, you may notice that your child needs more or less sleep than is recommended.

Develop good sleep hygiene habits

• Start a regular bedtime routine at least 45 minutes out from bedtime to help kids get ready for sleep.
• Eat and exercise at the right time. Sleep likes a relaxed body and a calm nervous system, so schedule exercise and active movement before mealtimes.
• Create a sleep sanctuary. Restrict bedrooms to sleep and relaxation quarters and find other places in the house for time out and reflection, school work and active play.
• Keep bedrooms cave-like. A child’s bedroom should be cave-like – that is, dark, cool and free from electronic devices. Darkness encourages melatonin, which regulates sleep-wake patterns.
• Get up at a regular time. For optimal sleep, bed and wake up times need to be as regular as possible.

Lifestyle habits that promote sleep

• Teach your child or young person to put away digital devices at least ninety minutes before bed-time
• Minimise weekend sleep-ins and limit them to an hour more than usual, to keep the sleep clock operating on a regular basis
• Encourage your child to go outside every day – take a walk, meet a mate (subject to COVID restrictions) or do an errand
• Keep homework out of bedrooms, or at least out of beds. The brain associates activity with location, so if kids work while on their beds, it will be hard for them to mentally switch off from their schoolwork when the light finally goes out.
• Confine caffeine to mornings. Consuming caffeine in any form close to bedtime is like throwing a wrecking ball through regular sleep patterns. The brain needs to calm down rather than be artificially stimulated if sleep is to occur.

Sleep is a critical component of enhancing a child’s wellbeing, learning, development and overall performance. Helping your child to get enough quality sleep will ensure that their brain and body are being used at full capacity.

Article from Parenting Ideas ( Michael Grose)