Term 2, Week 6 2025

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

Dear Families,

With our newsletters now being distributed 3 times per term, this edition contains much information. I hope the term has been smooth thus far and you have enjoyed the activities and events on offer. Since our last newsletter we have had a wonderful Mother’s day celebration, and I thank Kindergarten for leading the liturgy. We also have had Year 4 visit Botany Bay and Bare Island and Year one unfortunately had their Oakvale Farm excursion postponed to next week due to the flooding event. Thankfully we are having some drier weather, and the children are able to once again play at lunch time.

Congratulations to all of the candidates who received Confirmation on Tuesday night. It was a lovely service, and we thank all involved in preparing the students and assisting on the night. It was a special privilege to have Bishop Michael Kennedy confirm the children.

The past six weeks have flown by – especially as we say goodbye to Mrs Janelle Dixon. We have thoroughly enjoyed having Janelle at our school and her work with staff and students has been commendable and enriched us all. We wish her well going back to Branxton and hope to keep up correspondence and sharing ideas into the future. Mr Nolan will return from Stockton next week and is looking forward to sharing his experience with us also.

Thank you for your support of PJ Day yesterday and giving so generously to the St Vincent de Paul Sleepout /Winter appeal. With so many needy people in our communities sleeping rough, especially in Winter, this is the most important social justice event on the calendar. Thank you to all classes and teachers involved in today’s Catholic Schools Week liturgy and open classroom opportunity. It is great to be able to showcase what we do and proudly display our best work and share that with the ones we love. Thank you for your support. A special thanks to the parents and student leaders who were able to represent the school at the Diocesan Liturgy launch of CSW last Friday.   

Next week we have a short week with the King’s birthday long weekend and our pupil free day on Tuesday. I am confident that our staff will glean much from working with Craig Moore on Tuesday and have a better understanding of PB4L so that we can roll out the teachings and structure to enhance our behaviour management and awards structure.

Photo Day is fast approaching, and I would like to remind you that full Winter Uniform is to be worn so that the photos have uniformity. I look forward to the playoffs of the Spelling and Math's Bees and the subsequent Lower Hunter finals and Diocesan finals. We have some terrific spellers in our school and keen mathematicians so it should be a challenging event. Thank you to all staff who have supported this event.

Staff are currently working on school reports, ready for gong live in COMPASS at the beginning of week 10. Students who started at St Patrick’s this term will receive an alternate report at this time. Should you wish to speak to your child’s teacher, please make an appointment with them through the office email.  

Have a great long, long weekend

Niamh

CALENDAR EVENTS 

IMPORTANT DATES FOR 2025

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS MESSAGE

TRAFFIC REMINDERS

Just a reminder to parents to be mindful of the traffic and parking signage around our school. The safety of all our children is paramount and these zones have been placed to ensure the safest conditions for our children to travel to and from school each day.

The systems we have in place for drop off and pick up arrangements ensure we meet the goal of all families, which is safe and efficient processes for all children whether they are walking, riding, catching a bus or travelling by car to and from school.

Please see the following documentation from Maitland Council and Transport for NSW outlining the regulations for zones within the community. We thank you for your understanding in meeting these requirements. If you have any questions regarding our school parking zones, please feel free to contact us at school.

For more information please see this website - https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/roads-safety-and-rules/parking/parking-rules

WARM THANKS

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the St Patrick’s community for welcoming me into the Assistant Principal role over the past 6 weeks. It has been a wonderful opportunity for me to learn new processes and build my experiences as a leader.

The time has gone so quickly, and I am grateful to Niamh and the staff for embracing my ideas and supporting me during my time. St Patrick’s is a lovely school with beautiful children. I am sure Dennis has missed the community and is looking forward to returning next week. I know we both have many ideas to take back to our respective schools due to this amazing experience.

Warm Regards,
Janelle Dixon
Acting Assistant Principal

CURRICULIUM NEWS

YEAR 4 EXCURSION

Bound for Botany Bay!

Last Thursday, Year 4 travelled to Botany Bay to visit Bare Island. We learnt about early explorers, the life of a convict, looked at some Aboriginal artefacts and completed a tour of the small island. Bare Island was once a fort and we explored how canons were used, how gunpowder was kept safe and what tools they used to communicate orders. During our early explorers lesson we learnt about why ships were sent out to explore the world, and then crafted our own ship made out of sticks. The life of a convict in Australia was very difficult and some people were dressed up in the types of clothing that was worn, we guessed who they were and we felt the heaviness of the leg irons worn by convicts. When we visited the Aboriginal artefacts lesson, we felt possum fur and attempted to rub two sticks together to make a fire. “People dressing up and others had to guess who they were, was probably my favourite part of the day.” (Eve, 4 Yellow)

ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT

PUPIL FREE DAY

The next pupil free day is:

Pupil Free Day – Tuesday 10^th June 2025 following the June Long Weekend.

COMPASS EVENT FOR ATHLETICS CARNIVAL YEARS 2 - 6

Children from Years 2 - 6 have been added to a Compass event for the Athletics Carnival on Friday 13th June at Maitland Athletics Centre Please ensure that you answer the questions for this event and provide permission for each of your children by Monday 9th June. All information for the day is outlined on the Compass event. Students who are in Year 2 and born in 2018 are ineligible to progress to the Regional Athletics Carnival. However, they are encouraged to participate at our School Athletics Carnival.

Please ensure that you have completed this event in your child’s Compass profile as soon as possible to allow the school to prepare event resources.

SHAMROCK UPDATE

Congratulations to Tenison for having the most positive moments captured in week 5 and Congratulations for week 6 to Mackillop for all of your efforts.

Thank you to everyone for all their extra efforts, and still finding moments of positivity in such a busy time for all.

SCHOOL DISCOS ARE BACK AGAIN THIS YEAR 

After the successful return in 2024 of the school disco the P & F will be running the school discos again in 2025

We are going to have 2 discos- one on Friday 20^st June for Years 3-6 and the next one on Friday 1^st August for K-2. The space we will be using is the school hall as well as the COLA. This space will be marked off so children are contained in this area and are nowhere else within the school grounds. Thank you to our wonderful P&F group of parents for the organisation around the discos.

INFANTS ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Kindergarten and Year 1 students will be participating in the Infants Athletics Carnival on Thursday 19th June 2025.

On this day students are invited to dress in their house school sports hour colour. No coloured hair spray is to be worn.

Dirkin – Red
Mackillop – Yellow
Tenison – Blue
Murray - Green

Throughout the carnival students will be participating in a number of tabloid activities that require running, jumping and other physical activities. As such, students are required to wear sneakers and clothing appropriate for such activities. You may wish to send you child in a coloured shirt or with a coloured accessory and their regular sports shorts/skort/trackpants.

Gates on Gregory Road will open at 11.30am. Please bring a chair or picnic blanket to sit on.

The carnival will begin with a March Past, which students have been practising for in the lead up to the carnival. All students will then participate in a running event before we move off into Kindergarten and Year 1 groups for tabloid activities, where parents are invited to join their children.

We look forward to sharing this special celebration with you.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s classroom teacher.

UNIFORM EXPECTATIONS 

All students should now be in FULL WINTER UNIFORM. 

The school uniform is a distinguishing symbol of belonging to St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School and it is expected that students wear it with pride at all times. The assistance of parents and staff is sought in maintaining a high standard of dress and presentation by all students. Students not wearing the correct or incomplete uniform are required to provide a note from a parent or carer giving reasons why and letting us know when the uniform will be corrected. If students continually choose to wear the incorrect uniform or ignore our dress code. A letter will be issued. 

Please ensure your child is wearing the correct uniform to school each day. In particular, pay attention to the following: 

• ensure that uniforms are always neat, clean and tidy
• no nail varnish is to be worn at school
• no ankle socks. Socks should be visible and not hidden inside the shoe
• hairstyles to be generally tidy, with hair accessories matched to the uniform 
• sleepers or studs ONLY to be worn in pierced ears
• Joggers / Sneakers are NOT part of our everyday uniform and should be worn on sports days only.  Please ensure these are predominantly white OR predominantly black joggers and not skate shoes. Fluorescent coloured laces are not permitted. Thank you for your support in keeping our high uniform standards.

RE NEWS

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

From 2 to 6 June, we celebrate Catholic Schools Week—a time to honour the vibrant communities within our Catholic schools in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. This week highlights the dedication of staff, the growth of students, and the shared mission to nurture each child spiritually, intellectually, socially, and physically. Catholic education is about helping every student flourish and become the person God calls them to be, through learning that inspires both the heart and mind.

We have much to be proud of in our endeavours to provide our young people with a well-rounded education that meets their needs today and for their future. We are deeply grateful for our thriving community, where teachers, parents and parish come together in unparalleled levels of care providing safe, supportive and inclusive surroundings which nurture students’ wellbeing, confidence and hope for themselves.

In this Jubilee Year, we are blessed with opportunities to share the love of Jesus Christ and remind ourselves that growing in faith builds firm trust in God’s promises. It is our trust in God’s promises that fills us with hope—even in our darkest moments, God's faithfulness never fades. May this week inspire us to live each day with joyful hearts and steadfast hope in the Lord.

Last week a number of our Student Leaders attended the Diocesan Catholic Schools Week Liturgy with Mrs Marzol and Miss Dennis. Ellen, Amelia, Eloise, Addyson, Lilly, Kiarna, Divya and Mia represented St Patrick’s beautifully, and we were so grateful to the students and their parents for making the time to attend this event.

This Friday 6^th June, we celebrate Catholic Schools Week within our school with a liturgy beginning at 9:00am at our school hall. This liturgy will then be followed by open classrooms. All are welcome.

CONFIRMATION

Over the coming weeks, a number of students within our school community will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation, a significant step as they affirm their faith and receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is a moment of joy and pride for our entire school community, reflecting our shared values and dedication to nurturing a strong, faith-filled environment. 

Please keep these students in your thoughts and prayers as they embark on this sacred journey. 

WELLBEING WEEK

Each term we allocate Week 5 as Wellbeing Week throughout the school. This term our students had the opportunity to participate in Mindfulness Club and Minecraft Club in the hall at break times as well as Staff vs Student Handball games!

The handball games were an absolute hit both with our students and our teachers! We used the entire COLA and basketball court spaces to form smaller, stage-based games so students could verse teachers along with similar aged peers. Our students definitely brought their best selves to these matches knocking out some of our teachers. The games ran smoothly and without argument so well-done St Pat’s for your sportsmanship and participation!

HANDBALL

PEER SUPPORT

This week saw the beginning of our Peer Support sessions for the year. Our first session was a positive experience for all involved. Our Year 5 and Year 6 students have been preparing to lead their groups through the MJR focus for each fortnight and did a fabulous job during their first session.

We are looking forward to seeing our Year 5 and 6 students grow in their confidence to lead these groups through the activities.

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER NEWS

SPORT NEWS

POLDING NETBALL

Congratulations to Scarlett Crouch who has made the 2025 Polding Netball Team. Scarlett will now compete against students from all schools in our state at the NSWPSSA Netball Trials at Coffs Harbour in August. Good luck Scarlett and well done!

CANTEEN NEWS

PARENTING PAGE

Please note that the P & F Meeting has now been rescheduled to Wednesday 18^th June at 6pm. We look forward to seeing parents at the meeting.

Unless otherwise stated, the advertisements placed in this newsletter are placed by independent third parties who have no legal relationship with the Diocese. The activities or services of the advertisers are not supervised or controlled in any way by the Diocese. The Diocese is not in a position to endorse the advertisers or the services provided and makes no representation about those matters. Accordingly, the Diocese cannot accept any responsibility for the advertisers or the activities or services that are the subject of these advertisements.