From the Principal

Dear families,

We are thrilled to share an exciting update on the progress of the building works at St Patrick's. Over the past two years, our school has undergone a remarkable transformation, thanks to the dedicated efforts of our partners and the unwavering commitment of DOBCEL to our collective vision.

On this momentous occasion, we extend our gratitude to our partners, Plan Group and Y2 Architecture, whose expertise and support have been invaluable throughout the duration of this project. Their collaborative approach and dedication to excellence have ensured that our vision for learning environments at St Patrick's Primary has been realised to its fullest potential. 

Today marks the final day of all works on this project, a milestone that we celebrate with immense pride and gratitude. As we bid farewell to this phase of our journey, we would be remiss not to express our heartfelt appreciation to Julian Casey from Plan Group. Julian's exceptional support and dedication to our school have made him feel like part of our staff team. We wish him well on his long-awaited holiday.

As we look to the future with renewed enthusiasm and optimism, we do so knowing that the completion of this project represents not just the end of one chapter, but the beginning of an exciting new era for St Patrick's Primary School.

Over the past month, we have been inundated with future enrolment enquiries with daily tours for prospective families. Needless to say, there has been an overwhelming sense of positivity from the families regarding the refurbishment and facilities. The new shiny things aren’t the most important part of our school though – what continues to be noticed is our welcoming positive school culture which transcends any building project. The part we’re proudest of!

NAPLAN

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program- Literacy & Numeracy) is taking place for Years 3 & 5 students this week and next. NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment, that allows parents and schools to see how students are progressing in literacy and numeracy, against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia. The data from NAPLAN is one of the tools that teachers use to understand your child’s progress and plan for their learning and teaching.  For students that are absent in this period, there are catch-up sessions following the main testing schedule.

2025 Foundation Enrolments: Now Open

Current St Patrick's Families: We ask our St Patrick's families who have children in Kindergarten this year who wish to enrol their child in Foundation 2025 at St Patrick's to please complete their application for Expression of Interest by 11th March (if you missed this date please contact our office). You will find the steps to enrol readily available on our website - if you have any questions please don't hesitate to call.

2025 Foundation Enrolments are now open. If you have a child in kindergarten and you would like to secure a place for them in Foundation at St Patrick's in 2025, you need to follow the enrolment application process outlined on our website: www.spballarat.catholic.edu.au

Please note - this is for all enrolments including our current St Patrick's families. Applications close on 23rd May.

St Patrick's Day 

Tomorrow we will be celebrating the Feast Day of St Patrick (actual day is Sunday). As part of the celebration we will be attending Mass at 10am (all welcome!) which will include the presentation of the Clare Madden Award for School Spirit. The excerpt below outlines the selection criteria for the award. 

Clare Madden Award for School Spirit

The Clare Madden Award for School Spirit recognises Senior students at Saint Patrick’s Primary School who uphold important values in our school, apparent in their interactions with others.

The qualities of care, love, acceptance, respect and empathy are evident in the behaviours and actions of these students. All students from year 5 & 6 are eligible to receive the award (including any students who may already hold other positions of leadership in our school). Students who have demonstrated these qualities in our school, on regular basis, have been nominated by our staff.

Mrs Clare Madden, a former staff member of Saint Patrick’s who has maintained a long association with our school for many years, wished to acknowledge outstanding students, who actively and consistently display these qualities, and are positive role models for other students. These students reflect the Spirit of our school.

Following Mass and morning tea, students will travel to Kirks Reservoir and participate in games/activities organised by our SRC. You're most welcome to join us at Kirks with further details on PAM from Kerin Johnson available. 

Open Morning

SchoolTV 

A reminder that SchoolTV has launched at St Patrick's. There are a number of pertinent articles and videos available. This week we've released further two further topics: Bullying and Neurodiversity. There are a couple of new special reports available as well, including articles by Dr Michael Carr-Gregg about Toxic Achievement Culture and a 2024 Wellbeing Barometer. 

Click on the link below to access a wealth of videos, articles, and resources on these three topics.

All Editions | St Patrick's School - Ballarat (schooltv.me) 

Keep this link handy, SchoolTV is a phenomenal resource to support our students. There will continue to be many useful articles shared frequently.

Story Time

Last week was our first Story Time session for 2024. We are so very appreciative of all that Kim puts in to make the sessions such a success. It was great to see some of our prospective families for 2025 joining in too!

Class Helper information sessions

Parents, Grandparents and 'significant others' are invaluable helpers in classrooms, outdoor activities and excursions. If you would like the opportunity to help out this year,  join us at one of the following parent helper sessions, that Thea is running next week.

Monday 18th March - 5:00 - 5:30 pm

Wednesday 20th March - 2:35 - 3:05 or 3:30 - 4:00 pm

Friday 22nd March - 9:00 - 9:30 am

Each session will begin in the library and then move to other areas of our school.

Have a happy and safe week ahead.

Kind regards,

Ben Shields