Dear families,

I sincerely apologise for the delay in sending out this week's newsletter. It has been a whirlwind of activity at St Pats this week, and we're excited to share the highlights with you.

We have finally gained occupancy to the next stage of the building project after a couple of false starts. The 3/4s as well as 5/6W are settled into their new spaces with great excitement. The area is looking fantastic and we'd love to share it with you - please come and check it out, you are always most welcome in our school. We have worked hard over the last couple of days in the library as well, being quite ruthless in the clean up. In the near future, we are looking forward to this being a functional space again.

It's been great to see the students out and about in the community. The Gr 3's had a fantastic time on their Outdoor Ed excursion and Mrs Delaney has been taking all the Healthy Living classes to the lake and botanical gardens. Please check out the Around the School page to find out more.

Drummo Community Conversation

Your passion and commitment to making our community even better are truly inspiring. Let's turn these ideas into actions and continue to build a stronger, more vibrant community together.

I'm thrilled to share the exciting outcomes of our recent community conversation, which showcased the incredible passion and commitment within our community towards shaping the future of education for our children.

Here are some ideas that emerged from the conversations:

Synthetic Phonics Approach: A strong consensus emerged in favour of adopting a synthetic phonics approach in our school's curriculum. This collective commitment reflects our shared dedication to providing the best possible foundation for our students in the realm of literacy.

Parent Engagement Opportunities: The desire for increased parent involvement in their child's learning journey resonated strongly. We're actively exploring diverse opportunities for parents to engage within the school environment, ranging from interactive workshops to collaborative learning experiences.

Contemporary Learning Experiences: There is a collective eagerness to continue exploring and introducing contemporary learning experiences for our students. This commitment to innovation will ensure that our educational practices remain dynamic and relevant in today's ever-evolving world.

Your input has been instrumental in shaping these initiatives, and I am inspired by the unity and forward-thinking spirit of our community. Let's carry this momentum forward as we work collaboratively to implement these exciting ideas and provide an enriching educational experience for our students.

Thank your input and openness to engage in the community conversations. As I mentioned in the sessions, the intent is to continue to offer opportunities to engage in conversations around learning at St Patrick's.

Classes for 2024

We are pleased to be able to confirm that the following classes and classroom teachers for the 2024 school year are as follows:

Junior School

Foundation/Grade 1: Kaitlyn Arnold (Mon-Wed), Kate Mahon (Thurs-Fri)

Foundation/Grade 1: Paige Irvin (Mon-Thurs), Nicole Reynolds (Fri)

Grade 1/2: Cecily Frost

Grade 1/2: Chelsea Greenbank

Middle School

Grade 3/4: Narelle Lamb

Grade 3/4: Kathy Finn

Grade 3/4: Matthew Wakely

Senior School

Grade 5/6: Kai Barclay

Grade 5/6: Ben Stott

Grade 5/6: Marney O'Brien

Specialist Program

The programmed time for specialist classes will change for 2024. All specialist classes* will run on Tuesday for Junior classes, Wednesday for Middle classes and Thursday for Senior classes.

Music - Kerin Johnson

Indonesian - Emma Ferguson

Physical Education - Kim Whittle

Social Emotional Learning (F-2) TBC - Thea Hubble

Healthy Living - *Healthy Living will continue to run to a different schedule to other specialist classes with Julie Delaney

Before and After School Care

As promised, there is now further information available for our onsite before and after school care at St Patrick's. This will be available from the beginning of the 2024 school year. The service is available to all families - either pre-booked at a discounted rate or on a casual basis. The Extend service will be available to St Patrick's students only. If there is interest, we will likely be able to operate a service for school closure days 8:00am-6:00pm.

School Fee Statements

School Fee Statements will be emailed home over the following week, all direct debit and credit card payments have now been finalised, if you have an amount outstanding on your statement this will need to be paid separately. The school’s bank account details are listed on your statement or please be in contact with the office if you would like to pay via another method.

We would appreciate payment in full for any outstanding school fees by the end of November. If you are experiencing financial difficulty and believe this year’s fees will not be settled by the end of November please be in contact with Ben or Michelle ASAP to discuss your situation and come to an arrangement to suit both the school and your family.

2024 School Fee Increases & Outline of School Fees

In line with advice from Catholic Education Ballarat we will be increasing the Tuition Fee for 2024 by 3% which is a total of $55 per family and the capital fee by $65 per family. Due to increases in stationery and materials costs, excursions and the swimming program we have increased the student fee by $40 per student.

Outline of School Fees

Tuition Fee – is charged per family, for 2024 this is $1,600. This fee is levied to assist with the running costs of the school.

Capital Fee – is charged per family, for 2024 this is $400. This fee is levied for the ongoing capital upgrade of school facilities, as well as specific purchasing priorities such as computers, playground equipment and library resources.

Fundraising Levy – is charged per family, for 2024 this is $150. The fundraising levy assists with the local contribution required to supplement the state and federal funding to run the school. This fee also enables the ‘Drummo Social Circle’ to focus on community rather than fundraising.

Chromebook & iPad Fee – to ensure the school is able to provide high quality1:1 devices to improve learning opportunities students in foundation and year1 a $150 annual fee for iPads and years 3 to 6 are charged a $100 annual fee for Chromebooks. The family will retain ownership of the device at the end of year 2 for iPads and year 6 for Chromebooks.

Student Fee - is charged per student, for 2024 this is $360. This fee is used to meet the costs of running classrooms for the year purchasing items such as books and stationery, art & craft materials, costs of the swimming program and excursions.

Camp Fee – camp fees are charged to assist with covering costs of camps.

2024 Fee Payment Agreements

Each family will receive a hardcopy 2024 Fee Payment Agreement form. This document will also be an attachment with the newsletter. Please return this completed form to the office by the 1st of December. We recommend that families take advantage of setting up regular direct debit or credit card payments. Also keep in mind if you would prefer more regular payments to be deducted such as weekly or outside the nominated dates this can also be possible. Please detail on your form if an arrangement outside of the usual payment methods might be more suitable. If you have any questions or queries please contact Michelle by phone on 5332 7680 or email accounts@spballarat.catholic.edu.au.

Next Friday 1st December is our Advent Liturgy on the turf. If you can make it, we'd love to see you there!

Wishing you all the best for a great week ahead!

Kind regards,

Ben Shields

School Calendar 2023