St. Patrick's School Prayer

Heavenly Father,  I offer you this day.

All I think and do and say.  Help me to be more like Jesus your son, 

Loving and kind to everyone.    To use the gifts you have given to me,

In services of others happily.

Amen

Dear Parent, Guardians and Carers,

Welcome to the start of the 2022 school year. It was great to see the children’s smiling faces return on Monday, refreshed and excited for a new year of learning. This year we have welcomed 29 new Foundation students and 4 students in other grades to St Patrick’s. They have all settled in beautifully already and I know that they will thoroughly enjoy their schooling journey with us. I have visited each of the classrooms on numerous occasions throughout the week and have seen many amazing things happening.

St Patrick’s School Wide Expectations

St Patrick’s values and promotes the following school wide expectations:

• Safe
• Respectful
• Responsible

The students, staff and families of St Patrick’s are expected to live out these expectations in all aspects of school life.

COVID Safety

I would like to thank you all for your acceptance and support of the COVID Safety measures that are currently in place. I understand that this continues to be a challenging time for families, however if we all continue to work together to ensure the safety of all those in our school community, our school can remain a safe and happy learning environment for all.

Rapid Antigen Tests were sent home this week. It is a Government recommendation that students and staff take a test twice a week. If your child tests positive or you have a positive COVID case in your house, please isolate and contact the school immediately.

Student Assessment

Over the next few weeks, students in all grades will complete some formal assessments. These assessments allow the teachers to get a good understanding of where each child is at and help them to effectively plan and teach them at their point of need.

Those families that have a child in Foundation should have received an email that will prompt you to make a booking through the Parent Access Module in the SIMON platform. Forty minutes will be allocated to complete the assessment. The Foundation testing days will be on Wednesday, 9^th, 16^th and 23^rd February. For those in the Foundation/Grade 1 classroom, only the Wednesday 16^th February will be available to book in your assessment time.

Students in all other grades will not need to make an assessment booking. These assessments will be conducted throughout the normal school day.

Kind regards,

Joel Brayshaw

St. Patrick's Primary School is part of the St. Mary's Cathedral Parish which encompasses Sale and the surrounding areas, including Stratford.  Dean Peter Bickley is our Parish Piest, and we are grateful for his ongoing prayers, involvment and support of the students, families and staff of the school. 

For more information, including mass times and locations, please go to the below website link.

The 2021 Sacramental Program starts with an information evening for interested families next Tuesday 2nd February at 4 and 6pm.  Please see the attached letter with all relevant details.  If you are unable to make the meeting and/or want to know more,  please don't hesitate to contact Jenny Fitzgerald (Sacramental Coordinator) or Carmel Kuizenga (Religious Education Leader).  Carmel's email is ckuizenga@stpstratford.catholic.edu.au

Invoices for school fees will be emailed in the coming weeks.

Please ensure we have your correct email address.

If you are paying by termly instalment please see due dates for payment below:

1st Instalment due by Friday 22rd April 2022.

2nd Instalment due by Friday 22nd July 2022.

3rd Instalment due by Friday 21st October 2022.

Our preferred method of payment is by Direct Debit.

If you have any concerns regarding school fees, please contact the office.

CAMPS SPORTS EXCURSION FUNDING (CSEF)

Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund (CSEF) will be provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the cost of camps and sporting activities.  If you hold a valid means-tested concession card, you may be eligible for CSEF.

Please pick up an application from the school office if you believe you are eligible.

No need to complete a new application if you previosuly held an eligible concession card.

St. Patrick's is commited to providing a healthy and safe environment for everyone.  Below is a summary of the protocols/actions in place in response to COVID-19 that were communicated to families at the start of this week.

• Enhanced school cleaning.
• Practical measures to assist physical distancing.
• Hand hygiene practices.
• Victorian Government guidelines will be followed.
• Limiting the number of visitors onsite.

Parents/Carers Access (Drop off and Pick Up)

Families are welcome to enter the school grounds at pick up and drop off times should the need arise.  If you do so, all adults are required to maintain physical distance, practice hand hygiene and follow sign in requirements.

Due to density limits, we ask parents/carers not to enter classrooms, bag lockers and hallways.   

Pick Up and Drop Off Zones

Merrick Street entrance (front of school):  Foundation students and siblings

Dixon Street entrance (off the basketball court):  All other students

Blackburn Street entrance (behind the church):  Bus travellers

Unwell students

Students who are unwell must not attend school. Students who have any of the symptoms of COVID-19, however mild, are encouraged to seek medical advice and get tested.

 The symptoms to watch out for are:

• fever
• chills or sweats
• cough
• sore throat
• shortness of breath
• runny nose
• loss of sense of smell 

In certain circumstances headache, muscle soreness, stuffy nose, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea may also be considered.

Please also note that if you or your child is being tested for COVID-19 and you have other children attending a school managed and operated by Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Limited (DOSCEL), including St. Patrick’s, then all your children in your household should remain away from school until a negative test result is provided.  We do require medical confirmation of your child’s test results when returning to school.

Face Masks

These are no longer mandatory, however families/visitors entering the school, and unable to physically distance, will be required to wear a mask.

Children can be vulnerable road users and all adults are reminded to observe all road rules and take care around the school.

At St Patrick’s we have a standard of uniform of which the members of our school community can be justifiably proud.  It is an expectation of parents and students that the correct uniform is worn.

Jewellery is not permitted except for small sleepers and studs.  Extreme hair styles and hair colouring is not permitted. Long hair must be tied back off the face in school band colours.

BOYS’ SUMMER:  

                                             School jumper (bottle green with white logo)

                                             Black leather school shoes or boots

                                             Grey socks- above ankle

                                             Grey shorts

                                             White shirt - short sleeved

                                             School hat – bottle green with logo

GIRLS’ SUMMER:                 

                                             Green check summer school dress.

                                             School jumper (bottle green with white logo)

                                             Black leather school shoes / T-bar school shoes or                                                    leather lace up shoes

                                             White socks- above ankle

                                             School hat.

                                             Hair ties – school colours only

SPORTS:                               

                                             Bottle green shorts

                                             School sport shirt

                                             St Patrick’s sport jacket

                                             Sneakers – no skate or fashion shoes

                                             White socks- above ankle

                                             Hair ties – school colours only

Our school uniform is avaliable from JSM Embroidery, Workwear and Safety in MacArthur Street Sale.

A reminder to ensure that jumpers, hats and jackets have children's names clearly marked on them.

Summer Uniform days:  Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday

Sports Uniform days:  Monday and Thursday

Happy Birthday to the following students who celebrate

their birthday in the coming weeks: