Friday 25 February 2022

Community Update #1.5

 

The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday March 2. The 40-day period is called Lent after an old English word meaning 'lengthen'. It is a time of reflection and of asking for forgiveness, and when Christians prepare to celebrate Jesus's resurrection at the feast of Easter, which comes at the very end of Lent. Our children will go to church and be blessed with the holy ashes.

Alpha is coming to St. Pat’s School & Parish!
Commencing online on Thursday, 10 March at 7.30pm

We invite our parents and staff to the inaugural Alpha program that is commencing online via Zoom on Thursday, 10 March with a “Come and See” session. 
What is Alpha? It’s an opportunity to take some time out from the fever of modern life and explore more about life, faith and meaning. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to connect with new people.
Here is a link to a short video  #TryAlpha short from Alpha Australia on Vimeo
Even if you have never considered something like this before, we encourage you to give it a try. 
Thanks to those of you keen to participate. To register email principal@spmurrumbeena.catholic.edu.au or for more information text/call Maria on 0438 088 681.

Covid Update
Thank you to all of our staff and families for using the RA Test kits to regularly test and keep our community safe. We are still averaging only 3 cases per week at St Pat's. The test kits will be supplied until the end of Term 1. 
All children from Year 3 upwards are expected to wear a mask at school.
Any parents coming into the office or school buildings at any time must also wear a mask.

PSG's
Please look out for the email with times for PSG meetings. Parents and carers who have children with specific support programmes will receive a message about the meetigns. The meetings will be held via Zoom this term.

Overview of Connection Event Monday 28 February 7- 8pm

(this event will be held online if the weather is unsuitable)


We will gather on the green turf area in the backyard  - our 2022 wellbeing gathering space. We are looking forward to meeting you in person !!


7pm Welcome  Acknowledgement to Country & Prayer 


7:05  Latest exciting developments for this year

Capital Works Projects 2022

1 Kindergarten

2 Master Plan ground floor refurbishment 

3 Michelle Barclay Running Track 


7:15 Staff & Parent Introductions


Leadership Team & Faith Teams for 2022.Levels, Specialists  & LSO’s


School Advisory Council & Parents & Friends & class reps  


7:30 Opportunity to visit year level tables (staff will have information flyers ) and meet staff in the playground


Refreshments available while you meet and mingle with other parents & staff


Please note: 

This is an informal opportunity to gather and come together and not a parent/teacher interview for individual children. 

Any parents who have requested to meet with teachers on the parent feedback forms will be invited to a Zoom or telephone meeting in the coming weeks.

Children don’t normally attend this event.

We will provide details around what we share and put the details in the newsletter for anyone unable to attend.


RSVP: by Monday 12pm only if you can attend

Please RSVP to office@spmurrumbeena.catholic.edu.au in the subject line to help us set up chairs and for catering purposes (include the number coming too) eg YES 2 


Kay Boan Speech Language Pathologist at St Pat's

We are fortunate to have Kay working at our school.
Kay worked for many years as a Paediatric Speech Pathologist. She was the Chief Speech
Pathologist at a city hospital working on a daily basis with the Senior Paediatrician. She established the first clinic in the state to work with schools, teachers, students and their families.

Since having her 4 children she worked at the Royal Children’s Hospital and in her own Private Practice.
Currently she works in her Private Practice at Primary and Secondary Schools to assess and develop children’s speech and language. This involves meeting and planning with teachers and parents to ensure the best outcome for our students . Some students have regular speech therapy at school. This may be weekly or fortnightly in consultation with parents and teachers depending on the student’s individual needs. Some children may only have an assessment.

Language and speech development forms the basis of all aspects of school work . This includes the ability to understand, remember and act upon instructions in and out of the classroom . It involves the ability to understand and use age appropriate vocabulary and grammar in spoken and written expression . The need to be easily understood when talking is also important as children become frustrated when others can’t understand them .

If you wish to access support for your child at school through Kay, please contact Kerryn Oliver our Learning Diversity Leader koliver@spmurrumbeena.catholic.edu.au

Dendy Swimming Carnival

On Monday 21st Feb, we selected 34 students from Years 3-6, to represent St Pats at the Dendy District Swimming Carnival at Oakleigh pool. These students were:

Eliza J, Charlotte C, Heidi M, Tessa P, Ellie W, Barney F, Harry S, Lachlan H, Sean L, Lara G, Maeve E, 
Eliza P, Audrey O, Emily E, Isabella L, Darby K, Eli W, Dylan F, Jude O, Ewan BS, Noah G, Cooper S, 
Jack S, Jonathan C, Max S, Joe W, Noah B, Jake W, Kathryn A, Rose F, Rhiannon P, Ivy O, Abi C

With the wonderful assistance of Miss La Fontaine, Tia and our wonderful parent helpers, our children swam like fish and competed against some extremely tough competition. Our swimmers ended up finishing in 6th overall out of 9 schools. They were not only outstanding in the pool, but were extremely encouraging, supportive and enthusiastic throughout the day. A huge congratulations to all students who attended and thank you to the teachers, parents and supporters.

An extra big congratulations to the following students who finished either 1st or 2nd in their stroke, resulting in them progressing through to Beachside. This will be held at Oakleigh Rec on the 11th March.

- Boys Open Medley Relay (Joe, Max, Eli & Jonathan) - finished 2nd

- Girls 11 yr Freestyle - (Eliza P) - finished 1st

- Boys 12-13 yr Freestyle - (Jonathan C) - finished 2nd

- Girls 11 yr Backstroke - (Eliza P) - finished 2nd

- Boys 12-13 yr Backstroke - (Max. S) - finished 1st

- Girls 9-10 yr Breaststroke - (Eliza. J) - finished 2nd

- Boys 11 yr Breaststroke - (Eli. W) - finished 1st

- Boys 12-13 yr Breaststroke - (Noah. B) - finished 2nd

- Boys 11 yr Butterfly - (Dylan. F) - finished 2nd

- Boys 12-13 Butterfly - (Noah. B) - finished 1st

- Boys 12-13 Freestyle Relay (Joe, Max, Jonathan, Noah) - finished 2nd

Well done!!!
Dani Trott 
Physical Education Teacher, Sports Coordinator and Year 1 Classroom Teacher 
ST. PATRICKS CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL


Parents & Friends (P&F) News

Thanks to everyone who attended the first P&F meeting of the year. Here is a link to the minutes from the meeting. You can also access the minutes and past meeting minutes on the Learning Community Site at this link.

Parents & Friends Meeting - Tuesday  8 March at 7.30pm - all welcome

The Parents & Friends committee will be having our next meeting on Tuesday 8 March at 7:30pm. All members of the school community are welcome to attend any meeting without needing to be a member of the committee, although new committee members are welcome.

Join Zoom Meeting at this link

Meeting ID: 881 5160 2572
Passcode: 751603

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to one of the P&F Committee members. 

  • Co-Presidents: Razia Mohamed (Prep), Jenny Jones (Gr 5&6)
  • Treasurer: Vanessa Jirjees (Gr 1)
  • Secretary: Cathy Byrne (Gr 3)
  • PatCare Coordinator: Melinda Vella (Gr 1)
  • Pre-Loved Uniform Coordinator: Sandra Iorlano (Gr 1)
  • Pink List Coordinator: Christie Alexander (Prep & Gr 6)
  • General Committee Members: Kellie Heathcote (Gr 4&6), Caterina Slade (Gr 4), Kirsten Tranter (Gr 4), Anita Galovec (Gr 2), Anna Martin (Prep, Gr 2), Tiffany Smith (Prep & Gr 3), Brandon Dodds (Gr 1&3), Kathryn Manning-Clark (Gr 2), Jo da Costa (Gr 5), Jodie D'Cunha (Prep, Natalie Cromer (Prep), Stephanie Cameron (Gr 4),  Caterina Slade (Gr 4)

2022 St Patrick’s Pink List – please check your emails

It has been a long tradition that every family in the school receives a full family list, referred to as the ‘Pink List’ that contains every child’s name, class and, with your permission, your contact details. You would have received an email last week, from our Pink List coordinator, Christie Alexander, asking you to confirm your details. Please take the 2 minutes to review your current listed details and give your permission, or otherwise, to be included in this highly useful P&F publication. We aim to have the Pink List finalised and released as soon as possible. A hard copy letter will be sent home with your children. Any questions, please contact christiemalexander@gmail.com

Pink List Community Pages

In 2022, the Pink List will again include details of businesses associated with our school community, as we know many of us are keen to shop local and support other families where we can. If you have a business big or small to promote - we'd love to include the details. Please email the P&F: pandf@spmurrumbeena.catholic.edu.au with details of your business if you would like to be included.  Thank you to the families that have sent their details through already.

Pre-Owned Uniforms - Can you help?

The Pre-Owned uniform shop has been overwhelmed with generous donations. Thank you to all the families who have contributed, we are currently sorting through these items. Families wishing to purchase uniform items can email enquiries to the coordinators: stpatssecondhanduniforms@gmail.com. Items can be collected from the school office by parents or your children once advised it is ready.

Our Pre-Owned uniform coordinator would love some help to sort donated items by size and type and record them in an inventory spreadsheet. If you can spare a little bit of time each week to help, please email stpatssecondhanduniforms@gmail.com

PatCare

The St Patrick’s community support program (PatCare) is a long-standing group that supports members of our local community during times of need. Its volunteer base is coordinated through the St Patrick’s Parents & Friends, but the support is administered confidentially by the school. We are always looking to grow the list of volunteers available to assist.

Liz Hills will engage with families or individuals experiencing serious illness, grief or other hardship to identify what support PatCare would be appreciated, for example with a meal or two. We also support families with new babies to help in that initial busy period. Liz will then liaise with our PatCare coordinator, who then contacts the list of volunteers to see who is available to assist. The meal is dropped to the school by the volunteers, and Liz will arrange delivery to the recipient. If you would like to be a P&F Class Rep but you have not reached out, please email the P&F team: pandf@spmurrumbeena.catholic.edu.au

P&F Class Reps for 2022 

The P&F would like to thank the  below parents who have volunteered as P&F Class Reps for 2022: 

  • Prep: Christie Alexander, Razia Mohamed, Jodie D'Cunha, Natalie Cromer
  • Yr 1: Kirsty Gemetzis, Kylie Thompson, Jane Naughtin & Anna McKenzie
  • Yr 2: Kathryn Manning-Clark   Alanna Bailey
  • Yr 3: Tiffany Smith, Maru Herde
  • Yr 4: Stephanie Cameron,  Caterina Slade 
  • Yr 5:   Liz Ward, Gabby Parr, Jo Da Costa, Jenny Jones
  • Yr 6L: Sue Williams, Jenny Jones

If you would like to be a P&F Class Rep but you have not reached out, please email the P&F team: pandf@spmurrumbeena.catholic.edu.au

Seeking a P&F Dad Coordinator - Can you help?

The P&F is seeking a dad who would be willing to organise casual events for dads within the school community. In the last 2 years we have seen an increase in the number of dads at the school gate, and we'd like to build a social network for the dads. If you can help, please contact us via email pandf@spmurrumbeena.catholic.edu.au

Pizza Nights

Traditionally the younger year levels hold a casual pizza night in a local park on a Friday night within term 1. These are organised by P&F class reps or parent volunteers and are a lovely way to welcome new parents or catch up with other parents in the year level. Further communications will be coming out shortly, but the following dates have been booked in so far:

  • Prep - Friday 4th March at Packer Park
  • Year 1 - Friday 18th March at Parker Park
  • Year 2 - Friday 25 March at Murrumbeena Park, Kangaroo Road
  • Year 3 - Friday 1st April - Packer Park
  • Year 4 - TBA

Term 1 2022

February 

Monday 28                   Connection Event - Meet the Teachers 7pm - 8pm

March

Wed 2                          Ash Wednesday

Tues 8, Thurs 10         PSG meetings

Thurs 10                      Alpha online 7:30pm

Friday 11                     Beachside Division Swimming

Monday 14                  Labour Day Public Holiday

Wed 16                       PSG meetings

Thursday 17               St Patrick's Day

Friday 18                    Lawn bowls Beachside

April 

Friday 8                     End Term 1

Tuesday 26               Beginning Term 2






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