Principal's Report
Dear Parents and Carers,
Congratulations to our Year 6 Students and Teachers on the successful preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation which was conferred last Friday evening. Thanks to Mrs Lamb, Mr Ross, Mrs Corp and Miss Mitchell-Fletcher for preparing the students so well for this third, and final, Sacrament of Initiation. Special thanks also to Bishop Tony Ireland and Fr Justin Ford for their support of our candidates.
MACSSIS Community Surveys 2024
Dear students, families and staff,
Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS): Monday 2 September – Friday 20 September 2024
Throughout each year, we pause to listen to our students, families and staff to gauge how our learning community is travelling. This feedback is invaluable to our progress as effective school communities and is backed by evidence-based research and best practices.
A significant and formal way in which we engage and gather data is through MACSSIS, the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys.
MACSSIS is a set of surveys that have been built specifically for Catholic schools in Melbourne by the Learning Services team at MACS, in partnership with researchers at Learning First and in wide consultation with principals in our schools.
In 2024, students, families and staff are invited to participate in MACSSIS via our secure and purpose-built online platform. The online platform is where our school leaders will access the summary reports that visualise the results of the student, family and staff surveys.
The MACSSIS survey platform is operated by an independent supplier, ORIMA Research Pty Ltd. The platform meets with the high security and privacy standards for handling student and school data. Participating schools are in the process of updating their privacy policy to ensure school communities are fully informed and protected.
Students at our school will be provided with supervised sessions, where teachers are on hand to help and answer any questions. Families and staff can complete the survey anytime over the three-week window via an emailed link and password. Feedback has indicated that previous surveys were completed across a range of mobile devices and different web browsers.
Our community’s opinions are critical to understanding how our school is performing – MACSSIS is a key data source for guiding the ongoing work to improve our school.
All participation is invited, welcomed and 100 per cent voluntary. The surveys are not a test; they are an inclusive way to support the work we are already doing to improve our school. Everyone has the right to refuse to participate, or withdraw from the survey at any point before, during or after completion of the survey. Please notify the school if your child does not wish to participate.
Sporting News
Congratulations to our School Athletics team who participated in the District Aths Carnival at Dolomore Reserve on Tuesday this week. Our team was very competitive and finished in 2nd place over all which is an outstanding result. Special thanks to Mr Edwards for all of his hard work in preparing our team for this competiton, and thanks to the many staff who supported the students not only on the day, but with early morning training sessions as well. Please see further in this newsletter for specific sporting results.
Maths Days @ Mentone Grammar
Well done to our Year 4, 5 & 6 mathematicians who participated in the annual maths days on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at Mentone Grammar this week. Special thanks to Mr Hale, our Maths Leader, for coordinating this activity for our students.
Book Week
Next week St. Patrick's School will be celebrating book week. We will have our annual Book Week Parade on Monday morning on the playground, followed by activites during the week. The Library will be open before and after school on Monday - Wednesday for the book fair where families can purchase books. Proceeds from the book fair will go back to replenishing our school library. Thanks to Mrs Latto, our Literacy Leader, for coordianting these events, and to Miss Sarah our SchoLibrarian.
School Calendar
Please use the following Google link to add the school calendar to your own calendar for ease of information exchange. School Google Calendar HERE.
God Bless,
Pat Berlingeri
Principal