7 November 2024

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Hello St Patrick’s families, I hope you are all well! 

Student Behaviour as we Finish the Term 

As we move to the end of the term, things start to get exciting with events like swimming block, the swimming carnival, end of year awards, graduation and, of course, Christmas, all around the corner. But with all this excitement, it is easy for some students to forget the expectations we have of the way our students speak and act towards each other and towards staff. Some messages I recently shared with our senior students regarding the way we speak and act towards each other were: 

• Could these words or actions be interpreted in a negative way? If so, they don’t need to be used. 
• Will these words or actions help this situation, or make it worse? If they don’t help, they don’t need to be used. 
• Would it be appropriate displaying these actions or using these words in front of a parent or teacher? If not, they are not appropriate. 

Our children are great, but they are still children. No matter how responsible or mature we may feel they are, they still require our guidance and supervision to ensure they are living the values we hold as a school and as families. Please support the school and your teacher by reinforcing these messages at home. 

‘The Art’s at Dusk’ – A Celebration of our Students Artistic Achievements – Tuesday 19^th November 

This year, the school will be hosting ‘The Art’s at Dusk’, a celebration of all the artistic achievements and endeavours of our St Patrick’s students in 2024. The brainchild of Miss. Daly, Miss. Rathie and Mrs. McDonnell, they have already put in a tremendous amount of time and effort to bring together students who have performed at the Goondiwindi Eisteddfod and the Public Speaking competition, students who train with Miss Nia, and works of art the students have produced in class, into what will be a spectacular night of celebration. Invites with information will be coming out to all families soon so keep your eye open for them, it’s going to be great! 

Keep your Attendance Up - Every Day Counts! 

Learning is a lot more like a marathon than a sprint. It takes guidance, modelling, trial & error, reflection, repetition, and transference to take knowledge and skills and embed them in our brains to the point where we can say, “I’ve learned that!” And knowing that learning is a journey that takes time, it is so important that our learners are at school every day possible, so that they have the time to learn to the best of their ability. Research has shown us that absenteeism is one of the leading factors in declining student outcomes, with a consistent attendance record of less than 90% being the tipping point for students to start having difficulties at school. 90 % is only one day a fortnight! But when you start to add it all up, one day a fortnight totals to one week a term, which totals to four weeks a year. And when you look at it in that light, it’s easy to see how missing four weeks of school could impact your child’s learning. A lot happens in a classroom in four weeks! 

And yes, there will always be times when it is appropriate for children to stay at home – sickness, family events, appointments, etc. – but at all other times it is important to remember that every day at school counts! And that applies for late arrivals and early finishers as well. Once again, there will be times when these are unavoidable but, every minute of the day counts too! The morning is a great time to learn as the children are generally fresh and switched on so being in class and ready to go at 8.30am is paramount – it’s the best start to a great day! 

If your child is going to be away or late, please ensure that you have contacted either the office or the classroom teacher to let them know. And if you are having trouble getting your child to school, also touch base with your teacher to make them aware; they may be able to give some insight or ideas on ways you can work together to support your child. 

Everyday counts! 

Loving Our Community – Mr. Wren’s Office Trucker Hat Collection 

My collection of St Pat’s community trucker caps is slowly continuing to grow. If you or an organisation you’re involved with have a unique cap of your own that you would be happy to share with me, please drop it in to the office and I’ll pop it on my office wall! 

Looking Ahead 

Have a great weekend, 

Jim Wren
Principal

NEWS FLASH!

Click on the link provided https://www.stgeorge.catholic.edu.au/

THE ARTS AT DUSK

A celebration of ‘The Arts’ at St Patrick’s.

Pre-order food via the link below.

PARENT PORTAL

Download & Use the App Now!

St Patrick’s Parent Portal is now up and running for more streamlined communication with parents. The transition took place on Monday 5^th February, so if you haven’t already, make sure you follow the instructions below on how to register. If you are having issues registering, please contact the school office so we can help with the process.

Warm Regards,
Jim Wren

APRE News

Dear Families,

On Monday, we remember our military community.

At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, World War I ended, with the Armistice (or ceasefire) signed amongst the combative nations; on that day, the French General Ferdinand Foch co-signed the ceasefire with three representatives of the German army. The extensive loss of soldiers, nurses and civilians across the battlefields of Europe was so shocking, the people of the time believed such an atrocity could never happen again! So, they optimistically referred to this war as “the war to end all wars”. Little did they know that only 21 years later, a second international conflict was to emerge, one that would last longer and see the deaths of far more people than the first.

Each year on that day, nations throughout the world focus on remembering the sacrifices made by their country folk who fought in this First World War, but also in the many conflicts that have ensued since. In 1997, the name of the day was changed to Remembrance Day. Whatever the motivations for that change of name, the newer title is a far more inclusive one that recognizes that in many ways, no one really wins a war. The Armistice did not “cease” war, but perhaps by remembrance of the sadness of conflict, hopefully the world may have a better chance of avoiding future disasters.

The red poppy stands as a valuable symbol of “remembrance”. Throughout the battlefields of Western Europe and at Gallipoli, this delicate little flower represented some vestige of hope, hope of a more peaceful world to come. One source commented that, “The Flanders poppy was immortalized by Lieutenant-Colonel John McRae's poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ (1915) and became the enduring symbol of the war for veterans and remembered as the only flower to bloom in the shattered landscape of no man's land. The artillery shells and shrapnel stirred up the earth in France and Belgium and exposed the seeds to the light they needed to germinate.”

On each Remembrance Day, let us always remember those who have been afflicted by the pain and suffering that war brings. But as we focus on the symbol of the poppies, let us also see this as a time to regenerate the Spirit of hope. Let us pray with St Paul, that “may the Lord of peace always give [us] peace and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

Please join us on Monday at 10am in St Patrick’s Church.

Wishing you a blessed week.

Mrs Anna Chandler
(Assistant Principal Religious Education & Learning Support)

OUR PRAYERS…

Let us support each other in Prayer, especially for the Sick and the Deceased and those who are suffering Hardships, in our Parish and School.

MASS TIMES

St George-Dirranbandi Parish

Priest Administrator: Fr Anthony Samy 0409 278 968 Email: balonneparish@bigpond.com

MLCC News

Helping your child to build knowledge. 

Children naturally have limited knowledge about the world because they have fewer experiences to draw on and make connections to, as they learn. Background knowledge refers to the information one already knows about topics. 

Building background knowledge can be thought of as a web of knowledge that children continue to expand as they learn. This helps them as readers to make sense of words that have multiple meanings and to make inferences about their reading. This web allows them to add new knowledge by “sticking” it to something they already know. 

When we don’t have prior knowledge about a subject, we must start that web from scratch. This takes up a lot of space in our working knowledge and, in turn, makes it hard to send knowledge to our long-term memory. 

What can parents do to help build background knowledge? 

The more opportunities where children engage in conversations and experiences with others, the more background knowledge they will have to connect with at school. 

Examples: 

• Show children how to be curious (“a crab has an exoskeleton – I wonder what that means – let’s see if we can find out)
• Use specific words when talking rather than everyday words (“A bat is nocturnal – that means they are active at night”)
• Engage children in hands-on, meaningful activities like making a garden and use topic specific words like “seeds, seedlings, cuttings, bulbs”)
• Connect knowledge to what children already know. (Remember when we saw chickens hatching – frogs are different because they lay eggs in water)
• Ask questions that encourage thinking and reasoning. (Why do you think a fire siren makes a loud noise?)
• Explore sights, sounds and smells when you are out and about and encourage children to paint, draw or “write” to show what they are interested in and what they know.

These simple things will help children to build their background knowledge and experiences which will help them become better readers. 

Annette Colley 
Middle Leader/Curriculum Coordinator 

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Students of the Week

CLASS News

Health & Music

Welcome to Week 6,

I hope you all had a fantastic time at the Fete with your family and friends.  Congratulations to the students for their outstanding dance performances and all the volunteers who worked tirelessly to assist with the Parish Fete. 

Music 

For the remainder of the Term, we will be continuing with Music using ‘The Fun Music Company’. Congratulations to the students for their outstanding work learning new songs while playing tuned and untuned percussion instruments and assessment performances. They were assessed on components of Aural, Sing & Play untuned and tuned percussion instruments with their song. These songs were selected from around the world to meet the needs of the curriculum. 

 The students will be learning the following songs for the last 5 weeks of the Term. 

Prep - Grandfather Clock 
Year 1 - Kokoleoko 
Year 2 - Peg Leg Pirate 
Year 3 - Cheese Pizza 
Year 4 - Whacka-Boom 
Year 5 - Marimba Bands – Beat Machine & Xylophone Crome- Music Lab composing 

Term 3 Health 

In Health across the school, we have been learning more about Making Safe Choices - online, offline at school and in the community.  We viewed resources from Daniel Morecombe – Day for Daniel. We discussed ways we may REACT if we feel unsafe and what we can do to keep ourselves safe. We explored how we can RECOGNISE our body clues when we feel unsafe or uncomfortable. Lastly, we looked at ways we can REPORT by completing our Safety Network Hand in the event we feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

All Students have commenced their assessment on the following content from their Junction:

Lower Prep 

Students explored health-related topics related to the Australian Curriculum descriptors. Students participated in discussions and learned to: 

• Demonstrate protective behaviours and develop help-seeking strategies to keep themselves safe in conjunction with Day for Daniel. 
• Demonstrate protective behaviours and strategies that help keep them safe.  
• Identify safety people (Police, Ambulance and Fire) in the community that protect and support their safety. 
• They identify how health information can be used to make educated choices to keep them safe. 

Lower Years 1-2  

Students explored health-related topics related to the Australian Curriculum descriptors. Students participated in discussions and learned to: 

• Identify and demonstrate protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies they can use to help them, and others stay safe at school and in the community, in conjunction with Day for Daniel resources. 
• The students identified protective behaviours they might feel during unsafe situations.  
•  Through discussion, students explored digital safety, including how to act and be safe in a digital environment utilising Esafety resources from the Government website.  

Middle Years 3-4  

Students explored health-related topics related to the Australian Curriculum descriptors. Students participated in discussions and learned to: 

• Describe and apply protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies in a range of online and offline situations using Esafety Government resources from the website. 
• Investigated and applied behaviours that contribute to their own and others’ health and safety. 
• Students focused on protective behaviours on online and offline interactions.  
•  Students looked at the how we can protect ourselves and help-seeking strategies that they can utilise for themselves both online and offline and when helping others. 

Upper Years 5-6  

Students explored health-related topics related to the Australian Curriculum descriptors. Students participated in discussions and learned to: 

• Analyse protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies that can be used in a range of online and offline situations utilising Daniel Morecombe and the Esafety resources. 
• Analyse how behaviours influence their safety and well-being of individuals and communities.  
• Students focused on protective behaviours focusing on online interactions.  
• Students looked at the privacy and protecting their identity, the impact of online culture and help-seeking strategies that they can utilise for themselves and when helping others. 

Enjoy your day! Keep Smiling! 
Mrs Jane Webster

Community News

St Patrick’s School, Mitchell Centenary

2^nd – 4^th May 2025