Friday 29 January 2021

Community Update # 1.2

Our school year has got off to a great start. In particular we warmly welcome our new prep children and other new families to St Pat's. Thanks to all parents and carers for preparing the children so well for the new school year and to our wonderful staff too.


We welcome all new staff to our school, especially our teachers Mr Tim Moran (4M) and Mrs Kristina Krikas (2VK). We would also like to introduce you to Laurence Guerra who has taken up the part time role as school caretaker / groundsmen. Laurence is the grandfather of Thomas in Year 1.


Covid Safe Update

We ask that any parents entering the school building to please wear a face mask. We appreciate your support with this regulation.

Chromebook Licenses

Thanks to those families who have informed me about the purchase of licenses and handed the devices into the office. Russell our IT technician will set up the devices accordingly in the coming week. Again, please email Jenny directly with any further queries. The school user agreement will be sent home for families to sign.

Birthdays and Casual Dress

The children can wear casual clothes with runners on their birthday. It is a special treat.  Here are the guidelines:
1. This is optional. Your child can still choose to wear their school uniform.
2. Birthdays that fall in the weekend (celebrate it on the first day of the school week) or the holidays (birthdays in January and early February choose a day during Week 3 or Week 4, term holidays choose a day in Week 1 or 2 of the following term).
3. If the birthday falls on an excursion day, for safety reasons, they must wear their uniform and choose a different day during the week of their birthday to wear casual clothes.
4. If the birthday falls on a PE Day then they must wear suitable casual clothes for PE.

Music Melodies

Music Melodies will be resuming keyboard and guitar lessons starting next Friday.

We welcome new to keyboard, Naomi Woods and also welcome back Tim Chilman who will be taking guitar lessons on Fridays.

Music Melodies enrolment forms are available from the office for any student in years 2-6.

St Patrick's Parents & Friends News

The Parents & Friends (P&F) Association is a group which exists to support the school, through creating opportunities to strengthen friendships within the school community, fundraising and enhancing the school experience for the children and their families. Anyone in the school community is welcome to join the committee or come to our meetings.

P&F Class / Year Level Representatives needed
The Parents & Friends Committee are looking for volunteers to be their representatives in each class or year level for 2021. The main role of the Class Reps is to foster a sense of community within the year level by:
- Welcoming new families who may joining mid year.
- Being a conduit from the P&F to the families in your class/year in relation to P&F social events or fundraising efforts
- Organising social events for your year level in conjunction with your other year level reps.
Thank you to those parents who have put their names forward already.
If you would like to volunteer, or would like more information – please email pandf@spmurrumbeena.catholic.edu.au or contact Jenny Jones (0410 470 647).

The 2021 Pink List is coming!
All families will soon receive an email from Christie Alexander, our Pink List coordinator requesting that they check and update their contact information for inclusion in a school-wide directory of students and parents. The sooner these responses are returned, the sooner we can get the Pink List to you.

2021 Pink List: St Patrick's Community Pages
The P&F would like to support and promote our school families' businesses in the 2021 Pink List by publishing details under a banner of  'St Patrick's Community Pages'.
If you would like to have your business appear in the 2021 Pink List, please send a quick email to us at: pandf@spmurrumbeena.catholic.edu.au so we can start arranging our layout.
We hope that many in our school community will choose to support other families where they can.

Icypoles
The P&F arrange for icypoles to be supplied to the children at lunchtime on Thursdays in Term 1 and Term 4 at a cost of 0.50c each. The school will arrange for a free icypole for every student on Thursday 4th Feb. Icypoles will officially be available for purchase from Thursday 11th Feb. If you would like your child to purchase an icypole, details around the payment method will be shared next week.

2021 Term Dates

Please note the changes to the end of term dates for Term 1 and Term 2 since last year. This is due to the necessary postponement of the Staff PL days with travel restrictions in place for the facilitators.

Sacrament Dates are published below for your reference. We are still awaiting the Confirmation date from the Archbishop and will publish that once it is announced.


Term 1
Staff only return Closure Day                      Jan 27
All children commence                                Jan 28
End Term 1                                                    March 30 at 1pm
Closure Day Staff PL  Day                           March 31 (postponed to end Term 2)
End Term 1                                                    March 31 at 1pm

Closure Day Staff PL Day                             April 1

Term 2 
Beginning Term 2                                          April 19
Year 5/6 Camp ADANAC                               April 19-21
Year 5 Reconciliation                                    May 5 10:30am
Year 5 First Communion                               May 9 9am & 5pm
Year 4 Reconciliation                                    June 16 10:30am
End Term 2                                                     June 25 at 1pm
End Term 2                                                     June 23 at 1pm
Closure Day Staff PL Day 1                          June 24
Closure Day Staff PL Day 2                          June 25

Term 3
Beginning Term 3                                          July 12
Closure Day  Staff PL Day 4                         Aug 20
Year 3 Reconciliation                                    Sep 8 10:30am                                 
End Term 3                                                     Sep 17

Term 4
Beginning Term 4                                          Oct 4
Year 4 Reconciliation                                    Oct 20 10:30am
Year 4 First Communion                               Oct 24 9am & 5pm
Closure Day Assessment                                Nov 1
Closure Day Planning 2022                          Nov 19
School Swimming                                        Nov 29 - Dec 10
End of term                                                   Dec 15 at 1pm

Wednesday 27 January 2021

Community Update #1.1 Welcome Back

Welcome to the 2021 school year. We hope that you are all well.  We look forward to welcoming all children from Foundation to Year 6 to school tomorrow Thursday 28 January 2021.

Here are a few 5 key tips for the beginning of Term 1.

1. Drop off and pick up arrangements 

Drop Off

We will continue the arrangements that were in place during 2020 to enable all children to remain safe. 

Prep, 1 and 2 children will enter the school through the front yard and Years 3-6 through the back yard.

ONLY PARENTS of the the 2021 preps and any other new families may bring their children into the classrooms to drop them off during this first week.

All other parents and carers must remain outside the school grounds unless they need to come to the front office.

Pick Up

During Week 1 PREP children will be collected from their classrooms from 3:15pm. In Week 2, the Prep children will be brought out to the front yard at 3:15pm to be collected. Parents must wait outside the school grounds until they see their child. Prep parents will also need to wait for siblings outside the school grounds.

Year 1-6 parents must wait outside the school grounds as per the table below.


2. Chromebooks Year 1-6

The Chromebooks have been delivered to school. As the children have diverse orders, level tables will be set up in the front and back yard for you to collect your child's boxed chromebook package to open at home with you. We ask you to label your child's device and any other belongings and return to their classroom.

Packages will be available for collection from Thursday afternoon.

No students will be accessing Chromebooks until the safe user agreements have been signed and returned schools. Further details to follow.

Any other queries please email Jenny: jhawkins@spmurrumbeena.catholic.edu.au

3. Stay Sunsafe

We are a Sunsmart school, please ensure your children bring their sunhat to school.

4. Lunch orders

Lunch orders will commence on Monday 1st February. Icy poles will commence next week.

5. 2021 dates and further notices.

The Shamrock weekly newsletter is published every Friday.  This is our main form of communication and will contain further details and notices.