Dear Parents

It was lovely to see some of our families at our welcome BBQ last Sunday.  I was overwhelmed by the number of staff who also gave some of their time on the day to come along and join in the gathering.  I am very blessed to work with such a dedicated and passionate group of people.

Student Leaders 2023

During the week we held our Captain’s Speeches for our Year 5 students aspiring to be School Captains.  We were so proud and pleased by the standard of the speeches from the 16 students who bravely stepped forward for the role.  Any one of these students would make a wonderful School Captain and this was reflected in the exceptionally close votes.  

Teachers and students from Years 3-6 voted on the student leader positions.  I am pleased to announce the following student leadership positions for 2023:

School Captains: Nikhil Carolan & Sofia Mineeff

Vice Captains: Mila Manevski & Jack Agius 

Faith Leaders: Simona Stojcevski & Kora Gebauer

Community Leaders: Sienna Fargnoli & Maya Dimitrovski

Environmental Leaders: Ari Austin & Delilah Calleja

House Captains: Imogen Aquilina, Jake Stojanovski, Marco Alves & Lucas Peoples

I know these children will do a wonderful job.

COVID Cases

Over the past couple of weeks we have seen a rise in COVID cases among our staff and students.  Please continue to monitor for symptoms, keep your child home when sick and test using RATs when needed.  If you need more RAT kits please contact the office.

Annual School Report

In order to assist with the writing of our Annual School Report, we would greatly appreciate you taking 2 mins to please complete the short parent survey.

Wednesday 30 November - Friday 2 December 

• Years 5 & 6 camp

Wednesday 7 December

• Handover of Student Leadership Ceremony

Friday 9 December

• Swimming Carnival
• Reports go home
• 5pm Carols on the Green

Monday 12 December

• 2pm Thank you afternoon tea for all volunteers

Wednesday 14 December

• Meet & Greet 2023 Class Teachers

Thursday 15 December 

• 6pm Year 6 Farewell Mass (families welcome)
• 7.15pm Year 6 Farewell Dinner (student and parents)

Friday 16 December:

•  Last day for students
•  9am End of Year Mass
•  End of Term Assembly (Approx 11am) followed by Year 6 Guard of Honour

Ms Gabi Tobin - Principal

In the explicit teaching lessons, the expected behaviours taught will be:
1. Walk to the toilet
2. Flush the toilet after use
3. Wash hands using one pump of soap
4. Dry hands with one sheet of paper towel
5. Place the paper towel in the green bin outside the toilet
6. Be quiet during toilet visits
7. Walk quickly and quietly back to class

Examples of behaviours that negatively impact on Respectful, Responsible and Safe
behaviour using the toilet include:
1. Shouting
2. Running and/or playing near the toilet or in the toilet
3. Putting soap on the toilet floor
4. Leaving paper towel on the floor
5. Putting paper towel into the toilet
6. Putting toilet rolls into the toile

Our PB4L Focus for the Week 8 of Term 4 will be Respecting Play Equipment  
In the explicit teaching lessons, the expected behaviours taught will be:
Use equipment for its right purpose
1. Return all equipment to the correct place
2. Tie skipping ropes when returning them
3. Report unsafe use of equipment to the teacher on duty

Examples of behaviours that negatively impact on Respectful, Responsible and Safe
behaviour when Respectng Play Equipment to be taught include:
1.  Throwing/kicking balls at people
2.  Hitting people with equipment
3.  Hiding Equipment
4.  Leaving equipment out on the playground
5.  Not tying skipping rope
6.  Not speaking up when equipment is being misused
 

We would very much appreciate your discussing these weekly PB4L 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.

PB4L Data
It is with pride that I inform you that over the last two weeks 48 students were given
Citizenship, Merit, Library or Uniform Awards or Playground Affirmation Awards whilst there were but 8 Incidents of inappropriate behavior recorded. Thank your girls and boys. Please continue to act respectfully, responsibly, and safely.

Mr Gavan Hoctor - Assistant Principal

First Holy Communion – This Sunday and Monday
Please continue to keep these children from Years 3 & 4 in your prayers as they will receive the sacrament of First Holy Communion on either Sunday in the St Patrick’s Church at 11am, or on Monday evening at 6pm at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Unanderra. The children have completed a special preparation program over the last month at both parishes, and with the support of the parish representatives, their families, school staff and community, they are ready for this most special sacrament, which is one of the three sacraments of initiation.

Spring Mission Star!
A huge congratulations to our Spring Mission Star Award recipient, Mrs Plataniotis! Please see her nomination profile below for our most deserving of recipients:
Mrs Plataniotis is the Spring Mission star because she received 7 nominations from the St Patrick’s community for the following reasons:

- “for being an amazing colleague who is always supportive and compassionate”
- “for helping students during class time”
- “for being a knowledgeable other and taking on jobs gratefully without fuss”
- “she is kind, supportive and helpful”

Mrs Plataniotis is an example of someone who lives and acts like Jesus. Just like St Therese of Lisieux, Mrs Plataniotis is a faith-filled, compassionate person whose mission it is to support and care for those around her.

Thanks for being a Mission Star everyday Mrs Plataniotis!

Living Classroom Report – MULCH MADNESS!

Another amazing day was had by the students in Year 4, who were joined by Aaron and Mr Mattas in the Living Classroom on Tuesday of Week 5. We had about 8 cubic metres of mulch delivered recently, and the children worked tirelessly shifting the mulch around the garden, introducing fungi and a plethora of microorganisms into our system in the process (let alone smothering those nasty weeds!).
We are very grateful to Rebecca from Treecycling, who delivered the mulch to us at no cost. You can contact Rebecca on 0402 834 617 if you are in need of an arborist (just ensure they send any more mulch our way!). Thanks heaps Rebecca!
The children also planted seedlings, painted fruit trees with a biodynamic tree paste and chopped and dropped banna grass. It was a brilliant day!

All the best,
Mr Sam Mattas
Religious Education Coordinator

PAYMENT OF SCHOOL FEES BY INSTALMENT – NEW FAMILIES TO OUR SCHOOL
School Fees are invoiced as an annual account, due for payment in full 30 days after invoicing. However, many families elect to pay their school fees by regular instalments and as a new family to our school, we would like to offer you this option. If wish to take up this offer, please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on the school’s website or from the school’s administration office. On completion of the request, either email it to
instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at the school office. Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your school fee account during the process of invoicing 2023 school fees. Your school fee statements are emailed to you and they will provide a list of scheduled payments and their due date.
IMPORTANT: Please note that if you currently have a child or children at another school in the Diocese and you are paying by instalments at this location, you will not need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment. The instalment request carries over from school to school with the same frequency of payment eg Weekly, fortnightly, etc.

EXISTING FAMILIES WITH OR WITHOUT INSTALMENTS
PAYMENT OF SCHOOL FEES BY INSTALMENT
EXISTING FAMILIES IN OUR SCHOOL WITH INSTALMENTS
If you are currently paying by instalments there is no need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment as your request carries over from year to year unless you wish to amend the frequency of your payments eg Weekly to Fortnightly
EXISTING FAMILIES IN OUR SCHOOL WITHOUT INSTALMENTS
If you would like to pay school fees by instalments in 2023 and have previously not taken up this option for payment, please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on the school’s website or from the school’s administration office. On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at the school office. Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your school fee account during the process of invoicing 2023 school fees. Your school fee statement will provide a list of scheduled payments and their due date depending on the frequency you have chosen eg Fortnightly, Monthly, etc.
IMPORTANT: Please note that if you currently have a child or children at another school in the Diocese and you are paying by instalments at this location, you will not need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment. The instalment request carries over from school to school with the same frequency of payment eg Weekly, fortnightly, etc.

The children are loving the Christmas books that are being read to them when they come to the library. Some lucky children have been chosen by their teacher for having a great day in class, and they get to sit with Christmas Ted while they enjoy the story.

Judging by the smiles, Christmas Ted is a very popular member of our Library family.