Community Update #1.7

 Condolences Fr Siby

Dear Parishioner,

I am writing to give you the very sad news that Fr Siby’s dad, Thomas, passed away, so Fr Siby has had to return to India immediately.

We pray for the soul of Thomas: “Eternal rest grant unto Thomas, O Lord, and let your
perpetual light shine upon him, may his soul rest in peace, Amen”.

Please also pray for Fr Siby, his mother, his brother and all their family that God will give them

the strength to cope with their loss during this very sad and difficult time.

Fr Barry Tobin will be back to celebrate the 9.15 am weekday Mass at St Patrick’s on Tuesdays,

Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (confessions after the Saturday Mass only), as well as

the Sunday 9am and 5pm Mass each weekend. Fr Barry will also celebrate the 6pm Mass at

St Kevin’s on Saturday, 12th March. There will be NO Stations of the Cross at St Patrick’s on

Fridays. Stations of the Cross will be held at St Kevin’s on Fridays after the 9.15 am Mass.

Kind Regards,

Combined Parishes of St Patrick’s Murrumbeena and St Kevin’s Ormond Parish Office

National Ride 2School Day

St Patrick's Day

The children will attend mass for St Patrick's Day on Thursday March 17. On Friday March 18 the children can wear green casual clothes to school. The Year 6 leaders will run activities with all of the  children across the school to celebrate St Patrick's Day.

Enhancing Catholic School Identity Surveys (ECSI)

Catholic schools across Victoria were created through the vision, dedication, hard work and commitment of the whole Catholic community.

Today, schools are challenged to: articulate their identity and vision; express their distinctiveness as Catholic schools in a society where the Christian faith is increasingly marginalised.

To assist schools in facing these present realities the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd (CECV) and the Catholic Education Offices of Melbourne, Ballarat, Sandhurst and Sale have entered into a research partnership with the Catholic university in Leuven, Belgium (KULeuven) to profile and develop the Catholic identity of Catholic schools.

The Enhancing Catholic School Identity Project will assist schools to understand better how their Catholic Identity is expressed in work and practice and support them in their future development.

Every 4 years, each school invites their community to complete the ECSI surveys. A large sample of parents with children in Year 4-6 will have received information about the survey. Please check your child's bag or contact principal@spmurrumbeena.catholic.edu.au of you wish to receive the survey paperwork. We encourage as many parents as possible to complete the survey online.

Year 5 & 6 children and our staff will also complete the surveys too. The alignment of ECSI with the School Improvement Framework cycle provides the opportunity for schools to deliberately engage in a common search for a renewed Catholic profile for the school and to reflect on the type of Catholic school that they wish to be, in and through a dialogue with plurality in a secularising context.

The Enhancing Catholic School Identity (ECSI) Survey is a purpose-built, self-reporting tool for driving school improvement.

The survey, analysis of the data and planning for action is framed within a contemporary Catholic context. It is in this context that recontextualising strategies of evangelisation are implemented. These strategies offer schools faith experiences that are experienced by them as being authentic, meaningful and explicitly grounded in the context of their lives, culture and the Catholic faith tradition. It is in this way that the identities of our Catholic schools will be enhanced.

To find out more about the ECSI Survey and the theology that underpins it, visit the Enhancing Catholic School Identity (ECSI) – An introduction to ECSI website.

Every child contributed their "action hands" to this beautiful whole school display outside the hall. Thanks to the Faith & Community team for putting the display together.

P and F

The  2022 Easter Raffle is coming!

The famous St Patricks Easter Raffle will be held again in 2022. Tickets are $1 each and can be purchased from Friday 11th March via CDFPay via the link:  https://spmurrumbeena.cdfpay.org.au/  A flyer with the details of the Easter Raffle will be sent home with your children in Friday 11th March. . Donations will be collected and the many prize hampers assembled. For families who are able to support this marvellous fundraiser, we ask that you purchase  Easter eggs or Easter themed stationery,  or soft toys. Donations will be sought from Tuesday 15 th March and we request that these are dropped off at the school office. The last date to drop off donations will be Friday 1st of April.  The raffle will be drawn on the last day of Term 1 on Friday 8^th April . 

2022 St Patrick’s Pink List 

The pink list is coming, keep an eye out for it in the school bags! It has all the school contacts, the QR code for CDF Pay and local family businesses all at your fingertips. Each family will receive one copy, unless there are special circumstances.

Year Level WhatsApp Chat Groups

Now that the Pink List has been finalised, you may be invited to join a WhatsApp group for your child’s year level if you’re not already a member. These groups are a way for parents to informally communicate with each other and are not one of the formal school communication platforms. Participation in the groups is voluntary and parents may choose to leave at any time. Most information needed by parents can be found in the official school communications.

Below are a few guidelines to consider when using the WhatsApp groups:

o   The purpose of the groups is for parents to assist other parents with day-to-day enquiries and serve as a forum for reminders on upcoming activities & events within a year level.

o   Communication should always be respectful – these groups are not wholly private and could be shared beyond their initial audience.

o   Discussing the medical status of persons or families (other than your own) could be considered a breach of their privacy.

o   Any concerns relating to the school should be directed via email or phone to the appropriate class teacher or Jenny Hawkins.

o   It is generally accepted that not every person in a group needs to express their gratitude for a piece of information. For ease of finding information and to reduce the number of notifications, consider the necessity of making duplicate responses.

Parents & Friends (P&F) News

Thanks to everyone who attended the P&F meeting on Tuesday evening.

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  5 April at 7.30pm - all welcome

The Parents & Friends committee will be having our next meeting on Tuesday 5 April 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

Pizza Nights

The Prep Pizza Night was a huge success and a fun-filled event. Pizza Nights for the  following grades have been arranged as below: 

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

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

Pre-Owned Uniforms

Thank you to all the volunteers who have assisted with the sorting and registering of the donations received by the PreLoved Uniform shop. Families wishing to donate or 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.

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

The Music Bus is back at our school!
The Music Bus is back at our school in term 1 offering tuition in keyboard, drums, guitar, ukulele and singing. There are still places to commence term 1 and term 2,
To register your interest, go to: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/ee4627a5204c46158e1ab17e7c8069c6
For more information see the attached info sheet or go to www.themusicbus.com.au

Term 1 2022

March

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

May

Tuesday 10             Year 5 mass & Reconciliation 9:15am

Monday 16              Closure Day Staff PL

Saturday 28            Year 5 Mass & Eucharist 9:15am

June

Monday 13          Queen's Birthday

Thursday 16        Parent Teacher Meetings

Friday 24             End Term 2

July 11                Beginning Term 3

Wednesday 20    Confirmation Year 6 5:30pm

September

Friday 16             End Term 3

October 

Monday 3            Beginning of Term 4

Monday 10-12      Canberra Camp Year 6

Tuesday 18           Mass & Reconciliation Year 4

Monday 24 -26      Year 5 Camp

Monday 31            Closure Day Assessment

November

Thursday 3             Sports day

Friday 25                Closure Day Staff PL

December

Tuesday 13            Graduation Year 6

Friday 16                Last day of school year