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Dear Parents and Carers,
Let me start with the story of The Butterfly:A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole, until it suddenly stopped making any progress and looked like it was stuck. The man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, although it had a swollen body and small, shrivelled wings. The man didn’t think anything of it and sat there waiting for the wings to enlarge to support the butterfly. But that didn’t happen. The butterfly spent the rest of its life unable to fly, crawling around with tiny wings and a swollen body. Despite the kind heart of the man, he didn’t understand that the restricting cocoon and the struggle needed by the butterfly to get itself through the small opening were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings. To prepare itself for flying once it was out of the cocoon.
The moral of the story: Our struggles in life develop our strengths. Without struggles, we never grow and never get stronger, so it’s important for us to tackle challenges on our own, and not be relying on help from others. (This version of the story is from https://wealthygorilla.com/10-most-inspirational-short-stories/)  To achieve this target we use strategies and pedagogy to support the growth of each learner. These include: Weekly coaching in class for each student in Reading and Writing – this helps each child’s progress through the naming of the specific next steps in their learning. No Hands Up (except to ask a question) is a ‘minds on’ strategy that tells all learners we expect them to think. The ‘Learning Pit,’ is an approach that encourages cognitive wobble in the process of acquiring knowledge and understanding. We avoid ‘rescuing’ and instead throw out supportive lifelines to help the children to process their thinking. At St Patrick’s we challenge learners to face the struggles and challenges in their learning so that like the butterfly, strength is developed.
Kindergarten Enrolments 2020 We are now accepting enrolments for 2020. Enrolments have moved to an online process. You can find the link to the form under the ‘for parents’ tab on our website.
Blessings for a restful weekend. Jo
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There have been discussions in the media this week regarding NAPLAN. Connectivity issues have interrupted tests at varying degrees. Our NAPLAN testing started on Tuesday with Year 3 completing their writing test on paper, whilst the Year 5 students completed their Writing test online. After our first break the two grades joined together and completed their Reading tests. Day one was completed and successful. Day two did not run as smoothly. The session began smoothly with all students feeling calm and ready to do their best. Unfortunately, connectivity issues began to arise, and many students were experiencing interrupted testing. The decision was made to postpone all students because the issues were across our Archdiocese and out of our control. Leaving the test until Wednesday proved to be a good decision as connectivity issues were not resolved until later in the afternoon. Day three of the testing was then, reopening the tests, adding time that had been lost and allowing students to do their best. Finally, day four, today is our last day of testing. We will complete the Numeracy test this morning and congratulate the students on their patience, effort and willingness to give “it their best shot.” This morning I spoke to one of my colleagues who made the important statement that, at the heart of NAPLAN is the student’s learning, it is one set of data to help us see the next steps in a student’s learning. So very true. Caz Perryman Spirited learner |
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On behalf of the fundraising team, I would like to thank all of the great parents and carers that helped on Friday with the Mother’s Day Stall. A special thank you to Katrina, Roz, Holly, Harmony, Maddy and John. These events cannot happen without the support of our parents and carers.
It was great to see the kids excited to buy something for their mothers, grandmothers or mother figures in their lives. We hope all those people had a wonderful day last Sunday. Regards |
School fees were emailed out last week. Please contact the school if you have not received a copy of your fee statement. School fees are due no later than 6th June.
As of 30th June 2019 the uniform shop will no longer be accepting cash payments. All orders will need to be completed through QKR.
As of 30th June all lunch and recess orders will need to be completed through QKR. Students are not required to supply a bag for recess treats.
We still require volunteers urgently, could you please contact the office if you are able to help.