Mr Hyatt

Busy Time Ahead At St Patrick's

I hope this message finds you well and ready for the exciting weeks ahead! As we begin to head deeper into the term, I wanted to take a moment to update you on the many wonderful activities and events that will be taking place at St. Patrick’s in the coming weeks.

The next few weeks are going to be busy for all of us, with a number of important events, including First Reconciliation, various class excursions, sporting activities, musical performances, P and F Meetings, teachers gathering data in assisting them to compile student reports for this semester as well as beginning to prepare for our end of year celebrations. A number of these items are included further in my section below.

With so much happening, it’s natural to feel like things are moving fast! To help everyone stay on top of these events, we will be sending regular reminders and updates through our school newsletter and also via Compass. I encourage everyone to take note of key dates and plan ahead to make sure students can fully participate and enjoy these special moments.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all the parents, staff, and volunteers who are working tirelessly to make these upcoming events a success. St. Patrick’s is a community that thrives on collaboration and mutual support, and it’s thanks to your commitment that we are able to provide such enriching experiences for our students.

We’re in for a vibrant and exciting few weeks, and I look forward to seeing you all at our upcoming events. Let’s embrace this busy time with enthusiasm and make the most of the wonderful opportunities it brings for our students and school community

New Enrolment

I would formally like to welcome Hudson Cross (Year 3)  who joined the St Patrick's Learning Community earlier this week. Hudson have made a great start and I know that he will enjoy his time here at St Patrick's.

School Satisfaction Surveys

Last week, I received the results of the St Patrick's school satisfaction surveys.  This survey, conducted by an outside provider, surveys parents, staff and students across the schools in the Armidale diocese.  The results were strongly positive and affirming of our school from our parents as the highest score for each category stated below is out of four.

Parents responded very positively with the educational opportunities provided for their children and commented on the safe and happy school environment.  There were numerous positive comments, including: 

That my child is so happy at school. Caring environment that pushes children to be their best, amazing teachers and community. The lovely relationships between all the children from all year groups. The comradery. The fantastic principal and teachers. My children are happy learners. I’m always welcome and kids are well mannered. Warm, caring environment. The teachers are all so wonderful! It’s such a nice, happy environment, my child loves going to school. Parent teacher interaction The different opportunities and excursions offered. The beautiful teachers, their passion for helping our kids reach their potential and their sense of fun while doing so. The strong care, support and interest shown to my child. Their focus on the child’s well-being as well as their education. The school is so good at building children up. My children have become so confident since starting at St Patrick’s last year. With that confidence I have seen their academic competence flourish. Their communication and strong sense of belonging and inclusion. How approachable everyone is. Everyone is so polite and kind. There is a very strong communication between the school and families. The staff know my children as individuals, and treat them accordingly in terms of their learning needs. The children being able to attend extra events sporting and academic.

Along with the positive feedback came some constructive suggestions on how to further improve our school which will be useful moving forward into 2025.  I would like to thank the parents, staff and students for their feedback, providing us with data on which to reflect and plan for the future.

Walcha Flippers St Patrick's Scholarship

The Walcha Flippers are kindly offering a student enrolled at St Patrick's Primary a scholarship that entitles them to have a free membership for the upcoming swimming season. If your child is interested in obtaining this grant, they need to write an application/ letter to myself on why they should get free membership to Flippers. The application needs to be submitted by Friday 1st November.

Real Talk Workshop for Years 4 and 6 students on Tuesday

This upcoming Tuesday, St Patrick's will be hosting the Real Talk Workshop. Our Years 4 and 6 students will be working with the students of  St Joseph's Primary, Uralla on this day. Real Talk is all about getting realon the topics of relationships and personal identity. Based on Christian values and using personal sharing from a team of dynamic presenters, 

Real Talk provides presentations, programs, and up-to-date resources and wants all young people to know their true value, worth, and dignity and to experience love for all it was created to be.

Well Done Jessica and Josie!

The first day of the NSWPSSA Athletics Carnival took place yesterday. Representing Polding, Jessica was competing against the best athletes from across the state in attempting to gain selection in the New South Wales team that will compete at the National All Schools Athletics Carnival. Yesterday Jessica competed in the timed final for the 11yr Girl 1500m where she placed 20th out of 38 girls with a time of 5:22:78  In the 800m, Jessica didn't qualify to compete in the final but came 18th overall. Earlier today, competing in the Junior Girls Discus, Josie came 10th overall with a distance of 26.95m.  

Congratulations Jessica and Josie, we are very proud of  your achievements.

Year 5-6 Excursion to Canberra

It is only a bit over a week before the students in Year 5-6, Mrs Davey and myself will be heading off to Canberra. Looking at the itinerary, it is definitely going to be an action-packed week. Some of the activities that we will be taking part in include: visiting Parliament House, the Royal Australian Mint, the War Memorial, the High Court, Questacon, the Australian Institute of Sport and that is only just the tip of the iceberg.

Parents and students are reminded that they need to be at St Patrick's at 6.00 am at the latest on the morning of the 4th of November (Monday week). 

All information, (itineraries, what to pack, etc) are included in the link below.

Look out Canberra, here we come!

Year 5-6 CANBERRA EXCURSION 2024 GENERAL INFORMATION  NOTE

Year 5-6 LINK TO ACCESS PHOTOS TAKEN DURING THE CANBERRA EXCURSION

Year 3-4 Excursion to Lake Keepit

The Year 3-4 students will be participating in an overnight excursion to the Lake Keepit Sport and Recreational Centre on the 21st and 22nd of November. Miss Cattelini and myself will be supervising the students on this excursion. More Information will be sent home to our Year 3-4 families soon via Compass. 

End of Year Presentation Night - Wednesday 11th December @ WCS 6pm

This year we will be having our Presentation Night at the Walcha Multipurpose Centre on the 11th December commencing at 5.30pm. The first part of the night will take approximately an hour, where recognition will be given broadcasting the large number of highlights that we have had over this academic year as well as a number of performances. The second part of the night will be a barbecue, where all members of our school community are invited to join us. More information concerning this event will be released soon.

Next P and F Meeting this upcoming Tuesday 29th October at 5.45pm

The first P and F Meeting for Term 4 is scheduled to take place this upcoming Tuesday, 29th of October starting at 5.45pm in the library as well as via Zoom. We hope you are able to join us.

The Winner of 'Wearing Uniform With Pride' Award Is.......

Congratulations go to Harriet who has won our first 'Wearing Uniform With Pride' award for this term.  Well done Harriet, as you always wear both your school and sports uniform with pride.

New England Sings 2024 Rehearsals and Performance this weekend

We wish our seven students all of the best as they will be undertaking their final rehearsal this upcoming Saturday morning at Lazenby Hall commencing at 9.00am. Seating will be commence at 8.30am. The rehearsal will conclude at 10.45amm.

On Sunday our seven students will be required to be at Lazenby Hall at 9.30am. After this they will be having a full dress rehearsal, followed by the concert commencing at 11.00am.

CRAZY SOCK AND HAIR DAY - Thursday 31st Oct for Catholic Missions Fund Raising.

October is Catholic Mission Month and this year the theme is 'Go and Invite Everyone to the Banquet' with a focus on the mission of building a stronger economy and society in Mongolia, where it is hoped that the vulnerable will be able to access social services.

Our Mini Vinnies team are in the process of organising and coordinating several fundraisers for this project and they have decided to have our annual CRAZY Sock and Hair Day on Thursday 31st October. Everyone is encouraged to wear something crazy in their hair, wear some crazy socks and bring a GOLD coin for the Mission appeal.

During the week spanning from October 28th to November 1st, the team will be also organising a book sale, with each book priced at $1. More information will be released in the next newsletter.

I am still traumatised from being taped to the wall last year. This year there is going to be a change, where the students are going to vote for a staff member (who have already agreed to be placed in this situation) to be kidnapped and taped to the wall by the students and fellow staff members on Thursday 31st October. I have a funny feeling that it is going to be me again as I have been informed that I am on most of the staff and student's hit list! Students are reminded that if they would like to take part in this and make the staff member's life uncomfortable, they are encouraged to bring in another dollar to pay for a strip of masking tape. Hopefully, I will be able to duct tape one of our staff members to the wall. We'll just have to wait and see! 

2024 Remaining Staff Development Days (PD Days)

Friday 20th December (Last day of Term 4)

Contacting Your Child's Teacher

Teachers welcome contact from parents, if you need to talk with staff please either contact the class teacher by phoning the school – 67772328 or email the school at spwadmin@arm.catholic.edu.au.