Community Update # 3.3 Local Heroes

Thanks again for the numerous uplifting messages of support we continue to receive from our school and wider community. These are the messages that spur all of us on. I am proud to be part of a caring and supportive community at St Pat's.

I would just like to share a few community messages and many of the emails that I received from our parents during the quarantine period and since we returned to school.

Going from 14 days of quarantine back to school and then into a last minute lockdown isn't easy for any of us.

However, staying positive and supporting each other, helps to hold us in good stead as we, parents and teachers, model resilience for our children.

The first community message is from Steve Dimopoulos and the second from a local resident, Jo McLean.

Steve Dimopoulos MP - Thanks St Pats Community

Today, one of our parents drew my attention to this statement that Steve Dimopolous recently made to parliament. 

Our parent proudly emailed me and said, "It’s nice to see this acknowledgement of our community’s efforts for the public good".

..........Over the last few months we’ve been hit with more covid outbreaks. Today, we've been challenged again. As always, our community has stepped up. Thank you.

Yesterday I made a statement to the Parliament:

I would like to offer my sincere thanks to everyone in my community for their efforts over the last few months in defeating the latest COVID outbreak from Sydney.

I would especially like to recognise students, staff, parents, family members and friends of St Patrick’s Primary School in Murrumbeena; staff, friends, patrons and the owners of Vanilla Lounge in Oakleigh; and residents of an apartment building in Oakleigh. These are people who have really done it hard in the last couple of months.

 
As we have seen through the latest outbreaks, tens of thousands of people have been required to isolate and, sadly, some people in my community have contracted the virus. We know this is incredibly contagious, but I think what is lost sometimes in the messaging about this and the coverage of this is that, like any other virus, you can get it while still doing the right thing.

 
Anyone can catch it, whether you are observant or not in terms of the COVID rules. We need to remember that these are people. They are not just a random statistic, not just a number on a spreadsheet, not just part of a cluster—they are people.

When one person catches the virus in the community we need to recognise the efforts of those who are close contacts and need to isolate, and there are often many thousands of them. The community, my community, understands this and has displayed such loyalty and such support in the most recent outbreak—friends, neighbours, strangers, Facebook pages, local businesses going out of their way to make sure that support was offered to those in isolation.

Again, thank you to my community. You have gone above and beyond again, and we see low case numbers every day because of you.

Local Heroes

As a local resident I just wish to thank the school community, staff, parents and children of St Patricks.

Thanks to you all for the sacrifices made to keep everyone safe. I am sure it was not easy. Your efforts are appreciated. And we are happy to hear so many have emerged from isolation and are now back at school and work, and children are once again out and about in our neighbourhood.

I heard high praise from parents for the support offered by the school (“They were wonderful”).

I also heard IGA provided free deliveries to families and friends of St Patrick’s did coffee runs. What a terrific community!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery for those who are still ill and again, gratitude for and thanks to our local heroes!

Regards,

Jo McLean

Here are a few wonderful messages of support from our St Pat's parent community:

Well done! 

I just wanted to drop you a quick note to stay thank you for all your recent efforts and well done on providing fantastic leadership to the school community during this period.

It’s great to see clear communications, and I’m continually impressed by how you and the team are managing to keep students and families calm, committed and connected given everything going on.

Keep up the great work, and please pass my thanks on to the wider team at St Pats!

Thank you very much!

A quick email to thank you and the teaching team at St Patrick’s for everyone’s efforts during these very trying times. We thought the speed of the response in closing the school down on Thursday 15 July and the subsequent lines of communication was a credit to you and your team at St Patrick’s.

While the circumstances were far from ideal, the teachers.... switched to online learning seamlessly in spite of challenges I am sure they would have endured in their personal lives.

Once again Jenny thank you for the leadership and please pass on our gratitude to the teachers.

 

Thank you

We wanted to pass on our thanks to you and the staff at St Patrick’s for your handling of the quarantine period and remote learning during this time. We know it was a difficult time for staff and St Patrick’s families and appreciate the caring, supportive manner in which the staff provided learning opportunities and a sense of connection for the children.

We also appreciate the care, concern and support all the staff provided... We were so grateful for the phone calls, messages, cards, well wishes, food and gifts from the St Patrick’s community. 

We are blessed to belong to such an amazing community and so grateful to all.

 

Checking in

Just checking in to see how you are doing? You are doing such a wonderful job managing all of this and we are so grateful. Your communication and care has been awesome. You've made it so much easier for us...

The way you have guided the school community through the last few weeks has been admirable.
We really appreciate all you do.

Thinking of St Patrick's Community

I just wanted to reach out to you to acknowledge what a wonderful job you are doing under very complex circumstances. Your calm oversight of this in your school community will be doing much to settle anxiety and instil confidence in your families. 

I hope you are also taking care of yourself during these days and know that you are and your school community are in my thoughts and prayers.

 

Dr Mary Oski

Director Learning & Regional Services

Thank You

...It’s such a difficult time for many including yourself and we appreciate the constant communication, support and updates.

It was so wonderful to see the teachers ready to do remote learning today with their students with a smile and ready to take on the next couple of weeks with enthusiasm.

The out pouring of support from the local community has been heart warming also. What a great community to be part of.

Take care and if there is anything we can do to help under these circumstances don’t hesitate to ask.

Thank you and take care.

Thank You

Just wanted to say I’m so grateful you are leading our beautiful school .
The community spirit at St Pats has brought tears to my eyes .

Beautiful families that are no longer at St Pats have teams of people helping all of us in
14 day isolation .

Parcels of food, care packs, calls, coffee delivery from Citizen and text messages to check in .

We will get through this and be even more united...

We will eat healthy by boosting our immune systems and we will come back even stronger.

God bless you  

The Learning Community Site is up and running. 

For those of us who are in lockdown and not in quarantine, let's appreciate the opportunity to exercise outdoors in a local park.

Please continue to keep all of those unwell and affected by coronavirus in your thoughts and prayers.

Stay safe and well everyone,

Jenny Hawkins

Principal

Community Notice

Child Safety

Taking a look at TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube - eSafety update.

Join the eSafety Commissioner’s expert education and training team for a FREE live webinar. It is designed for parents and carers of young people aged 8 - 13.

This webinar focuses on popular apps used by young people. It will include case studies, research, and targeted advice so you can support the young people in your life to have safe, enjoyable online experiences.

Go to the flyer for further details. Here is the link.