From the Principal

As we continue our Lenten journey we offer the following prayer:

Illuminating God

in your face we see the shine of pure love.

May we recognise that same divine light 

in the faces of our fellow travellers  

on the journey of our Lenten pilgrimage.

May we recognise the voice of your Beloved Son

in ways and places that often surprise us.

Transform, change and enlarge us 

as we move from the mountain to the pathways of our lives.

Swimming 

Our Swimming Program continued on Monday afternoon and culminated with our Swimming Carnival on Tuesday afternoon.  It was wonderful to see so many families present on the day.  I counted in excess of 20 parents present on the day.  Having their parents present to watch and cheer was certainly appreciated by the children and added to the atmosphere of the day.

The children certainly got into the spirit of cheering for their particular team, although it was also pleasing to see them supporting each other regardless of which team they were in.  On the day it was the Black team who finished in front, however there were lots of winners in many different areas throughout the afternoon.

Hockey Clinics

On Wednesday our students participated in Hockey clinics at school.  Hockey Victoria's representative joined our own Helen Cannell in taking students through the basics of hockey as well as a few drills and mini games.  Once again, a lot of fun was had and I think the hockey club might see a couple of new recruits this year!

Get Active Victoria

The Get Active Kids Voucher Program helps eligible families get their kids involved in organised sport and recreation activities by reimbursing the cost of membership and registration fees, uniforms and equipment.  Eligible children may be able to receive up to $200 each.

Children must be aged 4 to 18 and named on a valid Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card and Medicare card to be eligible. Find out if you can apply, what costs are covered, and how much can be reimbursed, please click on the following link.

Project Compassion

We are now in the third week of Lent with the Project Compassion story of Oliva, a 22-year-old woman from Tanzania. She did not have the opportunity to go to school and was embarrassed that she was unable to read, write or count. As an adult, her business was losing money because she couldn’t add up her money and give the right change to customers. 

Then Oliva enrolled in Caritas Australia’s literacy and numeracy classes. She also set up a home classroom to teach her neighbours, for free, because they were too shy to attend larger classes. 

Oliva has now graduated, attendance at her classes are growing, her kiosk is thriving and she is helping her children with their homework. She aims to become a pastor and run for leadership in the next local election - to help her community to ‘Be More.’ 

Sadly, approximately 260 million children around the world do not have the chance to go to school.

Reminders - on-site learning

The following coronavirus restrictions remain in place:

• All unwell students must stay home.  Parents will be called to collect any students who experience symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat.
• Students must bring their own water bottles to school for use (and refilling).
• We will continue to provide routine environmental cleaning as well as easy access for hand hygiene (hand washing and sanitiser).
• Parents/carers are asked to observe physical distancing measures before and after school by not congregating in areas inside or around the school, including at the main entrance.
• Parents/carers can attend the school office if necessary.
• Face masks do not need to be worn at school by primary school children, but children over the age of 12 must wear masks when not at school.

Remember to follow us on Facebook

Those who are on Facebook are encouraged to follow our page at St Patrick's School, Nhill.  'Like' our page, enjoy our posts, and share them with your friends.  Stay connected through our Social Media page.

Our Josephite Heritage

The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, often called the "Josephites" or "Brown Joeys", were founded in Penola, South Australia, in 1866 by Mary MacKillop and the Rev. Julian Tenison Woods. In 1949, three Josephite sisters arrived in Nhill to open St Patrick’s School. In 1978, the Sisters of St Joseph informed the Nhill Parish that they would no longer be able to maintain their role within the school.

We endeavour to honour our Josephite heritage through the regular presentation of the Little Joey awards at our assemblies. In support of this we also include a reflection from Mary MacKillop on our newsletter each week.

"Try at least to excuse what you cannot understand and bear in mind that you have only to answer for your own faults."  Mary MacKillop, 1877

God Bless you all.

Kingsley Dalgleish

Principal