Dear Families,

I hope you’ve had a fantastic Week 9 of the term and are enjoying the sunshine as we transition into brighter days. This week has been an exciting milestone for our Year 6 students, particularly those heading to Mentone Grammar and St Bede's, who participated in their orientation days.

We are so proud of these students as they take their first steps toward this next chapter of their educational journey. I’m confident they represented themselves and our school community with pride, enthusiasm, and the values we hold dear.

As we move closer to the end of the term, there’s a lot to celebrate and look forward to. Let’s continue to support one another and finish the term on a positive note.

Year 5 Public Speaking Morning

The Year Five students have continued their Public Speaking sessions with amazing confidence. This program is a key milestone in their learning journey, as it builds essential communication and presentation skills and an opportunity to showcase their future leadership style and prefences.

2025 Stationery Order Update

We are making some changes to our stationery ordering process for 2025 to streamline the system and help reduce costs for families. This year, we have partnered with Maxim for our stationery needs. Families will need to order exercise books and a few larger stationery items exclusively through the Maxim Parent Portal. These items will be specified, and it is essential to purchase them through this company to ensure all students have the same required materials.

Please ensure all orders are placed by Sunday the 15th December to receive free shipping, orders placed after this date will incur a $15 fee as the packs will be delivered directly to the school during the holidays and labelled by staff.

How to online order with Maxim Office Group Pty Ltd

Dear Parents,

Many thanks for supporting St Patrick’s Catholic PS with the online portal for Bookpack purchasing. We have partnered with Maxim Office Group Pty Ltd to ensure a seamless school start for 2024. Packs will be delivered to the school for collection.

Please note:

Orders must be placed by Sunday 15th of December to ensure delivery is on time.

Any orders after this date will incur a late order processing fee of $15 and will be delivered within the 1st two weeks of February.

To order your Bookpack:

Please follow this link: http://www.maxim.booklists.com.au or go to our main website and click the link ‘BOOKLIST’ as indicated below
Your access code is: STPATMENTO

*Please note this is capital sensitive. Please enter code as displayed in screen.

Select the year level required for order This is the year your child is going into for 2025.
Please ensure that the students’ name, your name and contact details are given and correct
Select ‘Place order’
If purchasing more than one booklist, please select ‘Add another booklist’ and follow the same procedure from step 3
Select ‘Proceed to payment options’
Your total payment amount required will display on screen
Select ‘Pay Now’
Please choose your check-out option – Credit/ Direct Debit available. Ensure payment details are correctly entered
You will receive a payment receipt and an order confirmation to the email address you provided
Your child’s pack/s will be delivered to the school for collection

In addition to the Maxim order, I am also providing a supplementary stationery list- St Patrick’s Student Stationery Requirement List. This list will include items such as pencil case essentials—colouring pencils, erasers, rulers, etc.—which you can either purchase from a retailer of your choice (e.g., Woolworths, Big W, Officeworks) or reuse from this year if they are still in good condition and are expected to last the entire year. This approach aims to reduce costs for families while supporting sustainability through the reuse of suitable items.

Please remember to label all these items at home before sending them to school. Thank you for your cooperation in making this new system as smooth and efficient as possible for everyone!

Please Click HERE for St Patrick’s Student Stationery Requirement List and select the correct Year Level Tab

SLIP, SLOP, SLAP, SEEK, SLIDE

With summer and the warmer weather quickly approaching, I’d like to remind all students to come prepared with their hats and sunscreen each day at school. As we spend more time outdoors, it’s essential that everyone stays protected from the sun’s UV rays.

Parents, it would be greatly appreciated if you could teach your children to apply sunscreen at home before they come to school in the morning. This not only helps start their day off with good coverage but also ensures they’re familiar with the routine, as students will need to reapply during the day. By building this habit at home, we can work together to keep everyone sun safe.

A helpful reminder for all of us is the Cancer Council’s “Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, and Slide” slogan. This easy-to-remember message encourages children to Slip on a shirt, Slop on sunscreen, Slap on a hat, Seek shade, and Slide on sunglasses whenever they’re outside. Practicing these sun safety steps helps build lifelong habits that protect skin health.

Thank you for your support in encouraging sun-smart habits! Let’s work together to ensure a safe, enjoyable, and healthy summer season for everyone.

Random Acts of Kindness

I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the following students for their outstanding display of kindness and compassion towards others. Your willingness to support, encourage, and uplift those around you has set a wonderful example for our entire school community. It’s incredibly inspiring to see students across different year levels go out of their way to make others feel valued, included, and respected.

Your acts of kindness—whether through small gestures or significant efforts—are powerful reminders of the positive impact we can all have. Thank you for embodying the values that make our school a welcoming and caring place for everyone. Keep up the amazing work!

Week 9

Zac C. (5ID) For helping out young boy who had lost his mum on the basketball court before school

Poppy H. (2BL) and Charlotte C. (2IL) For helping Mrs Diakrousis with a special task before school this week

Iris N. (PET) For helping a friend open their lunchbox when they couldn’t

Myla W. (3FH) For looking after a friend on crutches

Mateo V. (3FH) For helping clean the classroom floor at the end of every day this term

Zoe E. (3FH) For helping her teacher all year with chores galore

Sienna H. (3FH) For making sure a classmate had someone to play with when her friends were away

St Patrick's Prayer

For those parents who attend our school assemblies or school mass, I am including a copy of the St Patrick's School Prayer.

Dear God,

We at St Patrick’s Primary in Mentone believe that Christ is in the heart of all.

As with our role model, St Patrick, we pray that Christ will be with us, within us, behind us, beside us and before us.

Through our actions of love and kindness may everyone in our community come to know that Christ is the heartbeat of our school.

May everyone in our school feel welcomed, loved, accepted, safe and inspired to learn for the greater good of our world.

St Patrick, pray for us

St Mary MacKillop, pray for us

Wishing you all a relaxing weekend ahead—enjoy the sunshine and warmer weather!

Kindest regards,

Joelle Diakrousis

Deputy Principal

Learning Diversity Leader

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