Message From Our Principal 

As we begin a new school year, I warmly welcome all our students, families, and staff back to our school community. A new year brings fresh opportunities for learning, growth, and connection, and we look forward to working together to support every child to reach their full potential. We are excited about the year ahead and grateful for the strong partnership we share with families as we continue to nurture a positive, inclusive, and engaging learning environment for all.

At St Patrick’s, we are committed to fostering a nurturing and dynamic learning environment where every child feels valued and supported. This year, we look forward to building strong partnerships between home and school, ensuring the best outcomes for all our students.

Throughout the year, we will keep you informed about upcoming events, achievements, and important updates through our newsletter. We encourage everyone to get involved, whether it’s in the classroom, at school events, or supporting from home.

Let’s make 2026 a fantastic year filled with learning, friendships, and success!

Our Beginning of Year Mass and Welcome BBQ were both wonderful occasions, setting a warm and positive tone for the year ahead. It was lovely to see so many families come together and to enjoy the opportunity to connect, share conversations, and strengthen our sense of community. A sincere thank you to the staff who worked behind the scenes to organise these special events: your time, effort, and dedication are greatly appreciated.

To ensure the safety, wellbeing, and comfort of all members of our school community, we are no longer able to have family pets visit the school grounds. While we understand that pets are an important part of many families, schools must manage a range of health and safety considerations, including allergies, phobias, and supervision requirements. This decision helps us maintain a safe, predictable, and inclusive environment for all students and staff, and we appreciate your understanding and support.

We are pleased to let you know that students are welcome to wear casual clothes to school on their birthday as a special way to celebrate. If a student’s birthday falls on a weekend, they will need to negotiate with their classroom teacher about whether they will wear casual clothes on the Friday before or the Monday after. If a student’s birthday has already occurred earlier this year, or falls during school holidays, they will also need to negotiate with their classroom teacher to choose an appropriate day to wear casual clothes. We look forward to helping celebrate each child’s special day.

Congratulations Miss Erin Emmett!

We are excited to let you all know that Miss Emmett had her beautiful baby boy on the 17th of December. We welcome Cooper Tom to the St Patrick’s family and we cant wait to see him when he visits.Congratulations Erin and Glen!

We are so excited to officially welcome three wonderful new staff members to our school community- and even better, everyone will get to meet them tomorrow! 

From left to right:

Lara joins us as a trainee, working as a Learning Support Officer in the Grade 5–6 classroom. Lara has just completed Year 12 at St Augustine’s College Kyabram, and we’re thrilled to support her as she begins this next chapter.

Mrs Amie Fleming is joining our leadership team as our new Learning & Teaching Leader, while also teaching in Foundation. Amie comes to us with a wealth of experience, having taught at Shepparton East Primary School and spending the past 7 years at St Augustine’s Kyabram.

Miss Caitlyn Taylor joins our team as our new Grade 3 teacher. Caitlyn is in her second year of teaching and comes to us after relocating from Western Australia- we’re so glad she’s made the move!

Please join us in giving Lara, Amie and Caitlyn a very warm welcome to our school community.

The Grade 6 students at St Patrick’s Primary School are celebrating an exciting year ahead! With one more year of primary school to go, these Grade 6 students are showing great leadership skills for the younger students of the school and a determination to continue to learn in preparation for Year 7. To celebrate the Grade 6 leaders, they received their specialised Grade 6 t-shirts.

Learning Conversations commenced this week, providing a valuable opportunity for families and teachers to connect and discuss each child’s learning, progress, and goals for the year ahead. If you have not yet booked your appointment, please log in to PAM as soon as possible to secure a suitable time. We look forward to partnering with you through these important conversations to support the best outcomes for our students.

Thanks to those families who ave alreday booked and attended their learning Conversations.

Our Grade 3–4 Camp was an amazing experience for our students and a fantastic way to begin the year. Attending camp so early provided students with valuable opportunities to build friendships, develop independence, and strengthen teamwork skills while creating lasting memories together. The enthusiasm, resilience, and positive behaviour shown by students throughout the camp was wonderful to see.

You can see all of the photos from camp on our Facebook page.

A big thank you to Mrs Stock, Mrs Taylor, Abby, Rach, and Lara for attending and supporting our students during the camp. Your care, energy, and dedication ensured the experience was safe, enjoyable, and highly rewarding for everyone involved.

Our Grade 6 Buddy Program is off to a wonderful start, with our senior students warmly welcoming our new Foundation students into the school community. The buddies have already spent quality time together getting to know one another, building connections, and helping our youngest learners feel safe, supported, and settled. It has been lovely to see the care, responsibility, and leadership shown by our Grade 6 students as they take on this important role.

CSEF (Camp, Sports, Excursion Fund)

Please find attached the information sheet and application form to apply for CSEF (Camp, Sports & Excursion Fund).

If you applied for CSEF last year, you do not need to complete an application form this year unless there has been a change in your family circumstances, eg. if you are a new family, your circumstances have changed, or new siblings have commenced this year, please complete the attached form with a copy of your Health Care Card.

You can also get a hard copy of the form from the office.

If you have any questions regarding this form please contact Andy in the office.

UPCOMING EVENT:

In 2026, we will continue to place a strong focus on student attendance, as regular and punctual school attendance is vital for learning, wellbeing, and long-term success. Being at school every day helps students build strong routines, maintain friendships, and fully engage with their learning. We appreciate the ongoing support of families in prioritising attendance and working in partnership with the school to ensure every child has the best possible opportunity to thrive.