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Dear Fmilies,
This week we begin the season of Advent which is a time of waiting and preparation as excitement builds for Jesus’ birth at Christmas. As a school we will be celebrating this important liturgical season in a range of ways. The weekly Gospel session will focus on the weeks of Advent, while students will open doors on a whole school Advent calendar that is on display in the courtyard. The tradition of sharing Advent boxes with families will be adjusted this year and each family can expect to receive an Advent bag and invitation to pray at some point over the next few weeks.
This week we were thrilled to welcome some of next year’s Foundation (prep) students for their first transition visit. Our current prep students were excited to welcome a new 'preps' to St. Patrick's. It’s amazing to think it has been twelve months since our current prep students were beginning school transition! We are incredibly grateful to the families of the students completing transition visits for their flexibility with the COVID protocols that are in place.
In 2021 our class structures will remain the same. At present staff are working through the important task of class allocation for students in Year 1-6. I can assure all families that the teachers will be utilising their expertise and collective wisdom throughout this process. Our time line for this work is to have class lists finalised for our step up morning on 15th December.
Next year we are making some adjustments to a couple of extra curricular programs at St. Patrick’s. The year 3 students will no longer attend a sleepover at school, but rather attend the overnight camp to Coonawarra with Year 4’s. We believe this is a better opportunity for the students as part of our camps and excursions program. The swimming program will be moved to the end of the year in 2021. This change is being made to allow students and staff to settle into learning routines at the start of the year. It will also allow us to focus on water safety with students at the start of the summer. The program will continue at Stratford Pool with trained swim teachers and be for all grades. In Term 1 next year we will hold our swimming trials and carnival as with previous years.
Classroom teachers are currently completing student written reports. The capacity of teachers to provide detailed reports has been severely impacted this year however families can expect detailed information to be provided in the core areas of Religious Education, English and Mathematics. Reports will be sent home towards the end of the year.
In the last edition of the newsletter I informed families that we will no longer be using Caremonkey (Operoo). Schoolzine, which hosts our website, and SiMON, a new management platform we will be introducing next year, both allow electronic permission to be sought from families. Families will be informed at the start of next year about how this looks, however in the meantime if you have received messages from Caremonkey (Operoo) to update profiles, please ignore.
Regional Rail Victoria staff reconnected with students and staff during the week to run a safety briefing for students and staff. This topic is of serious importance for the children as the new train bridge means faster trains. The first train to use the new bridge is due through town on Monday 7th December. Please check the key messages contained in the newsletter.
Yesterday we received further updates about the lifting of COVID restrictions for schools. This morning we were able to have a brief assembly as a whole school for the first time in months. This meant the whole school was able to witness the opening of the Advent calendar which certainly added to the excitement.
Have a great weekend,
Nick
Congratulations to Sammie Straw for winning this year's Kids News writing competition in the Year 5-6 category for her gripping story about an earthquake. The competition received a record 2409 entries Australia wide. The judges described it as “a vivid believable story, with excellent tension”. We are fortunate enough to have 10 published copies of her book in our library. A wonderful achievement, well done Sammie!
Key Messages from Rick (State Safety Advisor for Regional Rail)
1. The train will be travelling FASTER
2. ALWAYS use the crossings to cross the train lines
3. WAIT for the bells to stop before crossing
4. Train bridges are ONLY for trains
As the end of the year is approaching, the library needs all books returned for stocktake. We will be sending home overdue notices but not until after our stocktake has been done as many books may be here in classrooms. To our new parents, we do not charge anything for lost books. Due to our disrupted year, some books have been outstanding since term 1 so your child may need some help locating these books. Our books are identifiable by the St Patrick's barcode on the back of books.
Sharon Carroll