Dear Parents and Carers

Only one week to go to the fabulous St Patrick's Community Christmas Festival and we are getting very excited. Please look out for the communications to put your name down as a volunteer for part of the day. At a meeting this week the organising committee looked like gliding swans but I am sure they are paddling furiously under the water to get all the last minute details organised. Our continued gratitude to Tam Prime and the festival committee for their great work, and the general work of the Community Councillors in our school. The Year 4/5 and 5/6 students and teachers are also working hard to ensure the many school stalls will be lots of fun for all.

Swimming It has been a week of mixed weather for the start to our 2 week intensive swimming program, but the smiles on the faces have remained the same all week. Well done Kinder, Year 1 and Year 2 for being ready to learn and practice your swimming skills each day. We look forward to the second week at the pool.

Gardening & Chipmulch When you are next on the playground flats you may see some very tidy gardens with loads of chipmulch keeping the soil moist and the weeds at bay. When we had to remove 2 large trees from the flats we had the gift of a giant pile of mulch. A steady and varying group of bucket and wheelbarrowers led by the amazing Thomas in Year 5 have worked tirelessly through recess and lunch breaks these past few weeks to move the mulch. A big job that has been done VERY WELL! Thank you Thomas and the team of super helpers!

 

Blessings

Jo

Learning at St Pat's

It was a joy to visit classes this week to see some fabulous learning happening. STEM lessons were a hive of activity, with students integrating a variety of technology and creative skills to create space themed projects. 

Reading with Mr Weston
At St Pat's, we LOVE reading and we especially love sharing our reading with others. Thankyou Mr Weston for coming in and listening to some of our wonderful readers. 

Remember, we become better readers by READING every day and challenging ourselves with a variety of different books. Homework at St Pat's is 20 minutes reading a night, which could be independent reading or shared reading. 

High Impact Teaching Practices (HITP)

At St Pat's, we believe in making every minute count. We use high impact teaching strategies across the school to ensure that every student is being challenged to do their best in each area of learning. 

Recently, I was fortunate to be able to attend an immersion program that involved visiting several high performing schools that all use Hight Impact Teaching Strategies, such as explicit and direct instruction models. It was a fantastic experience and enabled me to share and compare some of the fantastic programs that are currently being used at St Pat's that focus on a similar model of explicit instruction. We are very excited about the high-quality teaching, learning and student engagement happening across St Pat's, with the use of the explicit teaching programs 'Connecting Maths Concepts' , 'Soundwaves' and 'Initialit'.

Religious Education - Forward Planning 

Parents are invited to attend our upcoming Masses:

9th December 9:15am - Chapel Mass 5/6R & 5/6G

12th December 12:15pm - Thanksgiving Mass

14th December 6:00pm - Year 6 Graduation Mass

We are still looking for more students to help at the Christmas Mass on 24th December at 5:30pm! Please email Mrs Grant emma.grant@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Class Retreats

This week 1/2G, 1/2R, 2/3Y & 3/4G participated in a faith formation session. Each session started with walking mediation and then visio divina focusing on this scripture and artwork.

Some student reflections:

1/2G - It was nice to have time out of the classroom to empty our minds and be with God.

3/4G - We enjoyed being able to express ourselves in our own art.

Vinnies Christmas Appeal - Christmas Hampers

Thank you to the families who have already donated to our Christmas Hampers! We only have one more week for donations.

Donations can include:

Toothpaste and toothbrushes 

Shampoo and conditioner

Chips

Popcorn

Pasta

Rice

Cake mix

Tinned fruit or vegetables

Tinned soup

Biscuits 

Lollies 

Christmas cake/pudding 

Please do not include items such as chocolate that could spoil in warm weather.  

Contacting Teachers on Compass

Compass has a wonderful function which allows you to email your child's teacher.

You can do this by clicking on the hyperlink next to the yellow envelope as pictured.

in 2023 St Pat's will be using Compass for all communications.