Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,

At St. Patrick’s we are committed to creating a positive school community environment for students, staff and families, underpinned by respect of students, staff and families.  We value parents/guardians input and involvement so that we can achieve the best outcomes for all students. 

We understand that families often have questions to ask or that there may be a concern to raise.  As a school staff, we ask that these questions and/or concerns are raised in the appropriate way so that we able to respond accordingly.  Outlined below are some of the key points for families to follow when a question or issues arises. 

• The first ‘port of call’ for parents is always the classroom teacher. For simple questions, class Dojo, in person, email and phone are ways to seek clarification from your child’s teacher. 
• For more serious matters, we encourage parents to use the above methods to schedule a time with the teacher to discuss the issue.
• Before school, teachers are focussed on greeting families and students, while preparing for the day ahead. There are also other families and students present.  This is not an appropriate time for discussing concerns or important matters, so please make an appointment with the teacher to do so.
• For more serious matters, or if families feel any concerns raised have not been adequately addressed, the principal is the next ‘port of call’. To make an appointment with me, please contact me directly or speak to Sharon in the front office to make a time. 
• Families can expect that if school staff have a question or an issue to raise with families, we will use a similar approach to the above.

Attached to today’s newsletter is a copy of the St Patrick’s Stratford Complaint Handling Procedure, in line with the DOSCEL Complaints and Grievances Management Policy.  Both documents are available for families on the school website.

St Patrick's Complaint Handling Procedure

DOSCEL Complaints and Grievances Management Policy

Mother’s Day

As I’m sure you are all aware, Mother’s Day is this Sunday, 14^th May. Mother’s Day is a great day to celebrate the important role that our mother’s or mother figures play in our lives. I wish all the Mother’s involved in the St Patrick’s school community a very happy Mother’s Day. I hope that you are all spoilt by your child/ren and loved ones and spend quality time together as a family.

Mother’s Day Stall

Thank you to those families that supported the Mother’s Day stall. I’m sure that the mums will be very excited to open up their presents. Your support is greatly appreciated. I would also like to acknowledge Kayla Fischer for all her time and effort in coordinating the stall.

With the Mother’s Day Stall moving online via CDF Pay, I understand that there were some families who decided not purchase gifts. A couple of reasons why this went online is to limit the money handling onsite and it is a real challenge to coordinate parent helpers to volunteer their time. We will review how we approach this in the future.

Shakespeare Festival Faire Lucky Jars Stall

Despite the wintery weather on the weekend, St Patrick’s had a very successful Lucky Jar stall at the Shakespeare Festival Faire Day. Almost all of the jars were won/sold with the school making $491.00 on the day. Thank you to everyone that donated a jar or two, your kind donations led to this being so successful. I would also like to thank the members of the P & F for preparing for the day and for those parents and students that volunteer their time to work on the stall. 

Leadership Day

Next Tuesday, we have two of our Grade 6 leaders attending the Wellington Student Leadership Program. On this day, they will come together with Grade 6 students from all the other primary schools in the Wellington area to learn about Leadership. We know that they will learn a lot of new skills that they will be able to bring back and share with their teachers and peers.

Dress Like A Pirate Day

Next Friday, 19^th May is Dress Like a Pirate Day. All students are encouraged to dress in pirate clothes for a gold coin donation. The money raised will go towards brain cancer research.

Insight SRC Survey

Some families will have received an invitation to complete the Insight SRC Survey. This survey is completed by all staff, Grade 3-6 students and some parents. The information the school gains through the completion of the survey provides valuable data on what we do well as a school and what we can improve on. It would be greatly appreciated if those families that have received a survey invitation could complete it. Please complete the survey by Friday, 19^th May. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact the office.