Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,

Tomorrow, Friday 17^th March, is the feast day of St Patrick. St Patrick is one of the most well known and popular Saints throughout the world. Patrick was born in Britain in 387, however at about the age of fourteen he was captured by Irish pirates during a raid and taken back to Ireland as a slave, where he was made to herd and tend to sheep. During his captivity, Patrick turned to God.

Patrick was held captive until he was twenty, when he escaped after having a dream from God. In his dream, God told him to leave Ireland by going to the coast. Patrick followed God’s message and went to the coast where he found some sailors who took him back to Britain, where he was reunited with his family.

A few years after returning home, Patrick had a vision of the Irish people appealing to him to come and walk among them as a holy servant. The vision prompted Patrick to join the priesthood. Patrick studied for four years before being ordained a priest. He was later ordained a bishop and sent to take the Gospel to Ireland.

Patrick arrived in Ireland in 433, where legend has it, that the chieftain of one of the druid tribes, tried to kill him. After an intervention from God, Patrick was able to convert the chieftain and preach the Gospel throughout Ireland. Throughout Ireland he converted many people and began building churches.

Patrick often used shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and entire kingdoms were eventually converted to Christianity after hearing Patrick’s message. He preached and converted all of Ireland for 40 years. He worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God.

Patrick died on 17^th March 461 in Saul where he had built the first Irish church.

St Patrick’s Day is an important event in our school’s calendar. Tomorrow we will celebrate St Patrick’s Day with a whole school mass in the church at 9:15am. Parents and family members are most welcome to attend. Following mass, all of the students will travel by bus to Sale where will go to the cinema and the Fauna Park. This will be a great fun day for the students and signify the importance of St Patrick’s feast day to our school.

First Communion

Two students from St Patrick’s are currently preparing for the Sacrament of First Communion. First Communion is when a person receives the body and blood of Jesus for the very first time. This is considered a very holy and significant event in their lives and their faith journey.

Paige Fischer and Chase Shaw will celebrate their First Communion on Saturday, 25^th March at 5:30pm in the Cathedral in Sale. We wish them all the best with this special Sacrament and invite all families to the mass to support these children.

If there are any families interested in their child/ren participating in the Sacramental program or being baptised in the Catholic church, please come and see me and I can provide you with the details of the Parish Office in Sale.

NAPLAN

This week and next, our Grade 3 and Grade 5 students will be completing a series of assessment as a part of NAPLAN. Students will be tested in the areas of Writing, Reading, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy. This can be a challenging time for some children, so please reach out to myself or your child’s teacher if needed.

All children are encouraged to do their best, however there isn’t an expectation or pressure put on them to know everything. As parents, it is also important that you support your child by communicating this same message.

I hope that you are all enjoying this beautiful weather that we are having.

Kind regards,

Joel