From the Principal

Infinite power and love

Lord God, we entrust to you the families and communities 

affected by Coronavirus, wherever they may be.

We pray especially for health care workers, 

that you may guide and protect them.

We pray that your Spirit might inspire 

those researching new medicines and treatments.

And in the midst of this, keep us strong in faith, hope and love. 

Grant us the courage and perseverance to be good neighbours.

May the words of your Son Jesus Christ in the Our Father,

be our prayer as we entrust ourselves and all of us who are affected

to your infinite power and love. 

Amen.

Adapted from an Ebola prayer by Caritas Guinea

Catholic Education Week

If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the church. I will let everyone who wins the victory eat from the life-giving tree in God’s wonderful garden.

Revelation 2:7 (CEV)

Catholic Education Week will be celebrated on 6-12 September.

The theme for Catholic Education Week 2020 is Listen to what the Spirit is saying. This theme focuses on listening and discernment which is borne from rich dialogue. Pope Francis defines discernment as more than intelligence or common sense: ‘It is a gift which we must implore. If we ask with confidence that the Holy Spirit grant us this gift, and then seek to develop it through prayer, reflection, reading and good counsel, then surely we will grow in this spiritual endowment.’

Catholic Education Week Prayer

Gracious God, nurture in us a discerning heart, 

to hear the Holy Spirit in the voices of others, 

to challenge our own will, 

desires, fears and prejudices 

and to be open to your will.     

Amen

InsightSRC Surveys

Every two years we are required to participate in Insight SRC surveys of students, parents, and staff.  These School Improvement Surveys are key tools that provide our school with data to assist in understanding how well our school is operating. The information provided will help us improve the people management and work practices that drive (i.e. cause) staff wellbeing, motivation and performance. The report that is created from the survey results will belong to our school.  The results help us form the basis of our ongoing School Improvement Framework.  

All staff will complete the survey.  All families will be invited to complete the survey and I encourage you to please do so.  All students in Years 3 - 6 will also be asked to complete the survey.

Emails will be sent out to all families inviting you to complete the online survey.  It is important that everyone takes the opportunity to participate in the survey and contribute to the future direction that we take as a school.

At this stage there is a possibility that the surveys may not arrive until late this term or at the start of next term.  I will provide an update on when they will be available next week.

Season of Creation

Season of Creation runs from 1st September to 4th October which is the Feast of St Francis of Assisi.  The theme for Season of Creation 2020 is "Jubilee for the Earth."

This year, amid crises that have shaken our world, we’re awakened to the urgent need to heal our relationships with creation and each other.

Christians around the world will use this period to renew their relationship with our Creator and all creation through celebration, conversion, and commitment.

This year’s Season of Creation is a time to consider the integral relationship between rest for the Earth and ecological, economic, social, and political ways of living.

We are asked to reflect on the need for just and sustainable systems, revealed this year by the global pandemic, and to further act on the urgency of the situation of our world today and act for future generations with local to national responses.

As followers of Christ from around the globe, we share a common role as caretakers of God’s creation. We rejoice in this opportunity to care for our common home and the sisters and brothers who share it.

Enrolments

Parents of Early Childhood (Kinder) children are currently making decisions about the educational options available for their child for 2021.  Unlike previous years, none of our Nhill schools have been able to conduct school tours or on-site information evenings for prospective students and their families.

Each of the local schools have tried to share information with families via letters, information packs, and by social media.

The best way for families to find out more about a particular school is to speak with parents and students of the school.  I ask you to take the opportunity to discuss the merits of children attending St Patrick's School with those families who are currently trying to decide the best option for their child.

For enrolment information, please contact the front office on 53911575 or email me via principal@spnhill.catholic.edu.au.

Teacher Aide Week

This week, as part of  Australian Teacher Aide Appreciation Week, we recognised the wonderful contributions that our Educational Support Team make to our school community.

Whilst we value them throughout the whole year, this week we take the opportunity to publicly acknowledge our Learning Support Officers Caroline Pilgrim and Annette Hamilton, and our Librarian Emma Dickinson.

The efforts of these ladies within our classrooms, and the school generally, is greatly appreciated by the teaching staff as well as by the children and the parents of our school.

Around the school this week

As part of their Writing tasks this week the Seniors have been writing poems for the elderly residents at Avonlea.  Some examples of their work are shared below.

Dear Elderly, 

Elderly make us smile 

Some people missed them for a while 

Every day and every night 

We wonder if people are alright 

As the elderly stray away 

People like us make their day 

So c’mon let's soldier on 

As long as needed until Covid 19 is gone

by Thar Shue

The elderly are sweet.

Without their sweetness, the world would be incomplete.

Seeing their smile on a gloomy day

Makes the sadness fade away.

Elderly people are wise,

So whenever you’re in trouble, just ask them for advice!

Due to Covid-19, they’re all stuck inside.

So let’s try to cheer them up and put all the negativity aside.

by Shai

Entertaining

Loving

Doing nice things

Exciting

Respecting everyone

Love helping

Young at heart

By Jet

On Monday the Seniors explored some aspects of First Aid in an online lesson with St John. The students learnt to follow the acronym DRSABCD, which provides clear step by step instructions to follow if they ever come across someone who is injured or hurt. They also learnt about putting an unconscious person into the recovery position to ensure they are safe and secure while an ambulance is coming.  Two lovely St John Ambulance volunteers took the students through their first aid lesson on Monday.  The Seniors will be doing more hands on first aid next term. 

The Junior class has also been busy learning all about nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.  They have also been continuing their reading tasks, making cards for their Dads for Sunday, and doing some cooking as well.  Students also finished off their dioramas. The Junior class has certainly been busy as they passed the '1000 pieces of work submitted' mark for this period of online learning.

The new downball courts look fantastic and those children who have been at school are certainly enjoying the fresh look.  Thank you to Mrs Pilgrim and Mrs Dickinson for coordinating this project.

Fathers' Day

We wish all fathers a very happy Fathers' Day this Sunday.  Fathers' Day is a day for us to show our appreciation for all fathers and father figures.  Father figures may include stepfathers, fathers-in-law, guardians (e.g. foster parents), family friends and even mothers.  Whichever category you fall into, enjoy your day on Sunday and hopefully you get to spend some quality time together as a family.

Online Learning

Please note the following information regarding students' online contact times.

Senior Class

• The Senior Students have a roll call at 9am every morning, if they are unable to make it please email Miss Webb.
• On Mondays the students meet in their year levels to discuss and engage in some group learning.
• Years 3 and 4 students have a Google Meet catch up with their peers at 9:30am on Mondays.
• Year 5 students have their Google Meet at 10:30am on Mondays.
• Year 6 students meet at 11:30am on Mondays.
• On Wednesdays, Miss Webb is catching up with each senior student individually to check in and support their learning. The time for these individual catch ups has been emailed to each student. If your child hasn’t received an email with a time, this is because Miss Webb will be catching up with them at school.
• On Friday afternoons the Seniors also have a whole class Google Meet at 2:00pm until 2:30pm.  This provides an opportunity for students to catch up and have a bit of fun to finish off the week.

Junior Class

• All Junior students receive their notifications via SeeSaw.
• Junior students have a group roll call each morning at 9.15am via Google Meet.
• Miss Williams has advised families of arrangements for individual check in times.

A reminder that students are asked to be in school uniform when they are online in the group sessions and roll calls please.

At 9:05 on Wednesday mornings, there is an attendance and Google Meet fitness session for the whole school.  Each Wednesday will also have a distinct theme as part of our Wellbeing Wednesdays.

COVID-19 Declaration & On-site Attendance Form

A reminder that if you require your child to be at school over the next few weeks, a COVID-19 Declaration & On-site Attendance Form is required to be completed and submitted prior to the day.  Unless prior arrangements have been made with myself, children are only to be at school if parents are required to work and there is no alternative child care available.

The form can be completing from the Simon Everywhere app (scroll down to Parent Links).  Instructions for Simon Everywhere are detailed later in this newsletter - we strongly encourage all parents to download this app.

OR by clicking either of these buttons:

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.

Simon Everywhere is now live

The Simon Everywhere app delivers instant notifications to parents' mobile phones, delivering the functionality of PAM (Simon Parent Access Module) in an app.  

We request that all parents please download the Simon Everywhere app, add St Patrick's School, Nhill and login using your existing PAM credentials.  We will be discontinuing use of the Flexischools app sometime this year, and will use Simon Everywhere for all important notifications.  

You will be able to manage all your day-to-day school needs from the Simon Everywhere app - notify us of absences, view the lunch orders menu, read the newsletter.

Please contact the office with any questions.

School photos date postponed

You may have been wondering about whether our school photos day will go ahead on the re-scheduled date of Wednesday 16 September.  We have been able to confirm with our photographer that, due to the current coronavirus restrictions, this date will have to be postponed to a date in Term 4.  We will let you know as soon as possible when we have more information.

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.

"Be not hasty in judging one another" Mary MacKillop, 1878

Happy Birthday ... Tia

2020 Term Dates

Term 3 13 July to 18 September

Term 4 5 October to 18 December

School Calendar

**to be confirmed due to coronavirus restrictions

St Patrick's Church Services

Cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions until further notice

School Advisory Council

Parent representatives

Helen Cannell (Chair)

Zanther McEldrew

Melissa Polkinghorne

Nathan Ruge

Antoinette Toet

Ex officio

Fr. Peter Hudson

Kingsley Dalgleish

Ann Munro

Karen Rintoule

Next Meeting

Wednesday 14 October 2020 at 7.00pm

Notices

God Bless you all,

Kingsley Dalgleish

Principal