Dear families,

Earlier this week I had a lovely conversation with a group of parents in the school yard before the bell. We were chatting about the familiar challenge many families face each afternoon - trying to find out what actually happened during the school day.

It reminded me of my poor mum when I was a kid.

Like many parents, she genuinely wanted to know about my day at school. Her questions were thoughtful and consistent.

“How was your day?”

“Good.” or "Boring."

“What did you do?”

“Nothing.”

“Who did you play with?”

“Friends.”

Conversation over.

Looking back, I suspect she knew full well that a full school day couldn’t possibly be summed up with the word “nothing.” Somewhere between reading, writing, playing footy, learning new ideas, friendships and perhaps getting into a little mischief (not me), quite a lot must have happened.

The truth is, children often find it difficult to recall or articulate the details of their day on the spot. Sometimes they are tired. Sometimes they’ve already mentally moved on. Sometimes the question is simply too big.

“What did you do today?” requires a child to search through six hours of experiences and choose where to start. For many children, that’s a surprisingly hard task.

Often, more specific or creative questions can open the door to richer conversations. A few that parents have shared - and that research also supports - include:

What made you smile today?
What was something new you learned?
Who did you help today, or who helped you?
What was the most interesting thing that happened in class?
What made you think really hard today?
What was the best part of recess or lunch?
Did anything surprise you today?
If you could do one part of the day again, what would it be?

Questions like these help children focus in on particular moments rather than trying to summarise the entire day.

Sometimes the most interesting conversations also happen later - in the car, at the dinner table, or even just before bed - when children have had time to decompress and process their day....or they're avoiding going to sleep!

School is full of small but significant moments of learning, friendship, challenge and growth. With the right question at the right time, you might be able to uncover a few more of those stories than my mum ever managed to get out of me! Good luck!

And if the answer is still “nothing”… there’s always tomorrow to try again.

St Patrick’s Day Celebrations

Next week we look forward to celebrating St Patrick’s Day, a special occasion for our school community and an opportunity to honour the heritage and spirit of our patron, Saint Patrick.

Our celebrations will begin with Mass at 10:00am at St Patrick's Cathedral. All families are warmly invited to join us for this celebration.

At the conclusion of the Mass, we will present the Clare Madden Award for School Spirit to the 2026 recipients. This award recognises students who demonstrate outstanding commitment to the values and spirit of our school community.

Following Mass, students will travel by bus to The Gong (please note the change of location) where they will take part in a range of fun games and activities together. Students will return to school at approximately 1:40pm.

We look forward to sharing this special day with our students and welcome families who are able to join us at Mass.

Clare Madden Award for School Spirit

The Clare Madden Award for School Spirit recognises Senior students at Saint Patrick’s Primary School who uphold important values in our school, apparent in their interactions with others.

The qualities of care, love, acceptance, respect and empathy are evident in the behaviours and actions of these students. All students from year 5 & 6 are eligible to receive the award (including any students who may already hold other positions of leadership in our school). Students who have demonstrated these qualities in our school, on regular basis, have been nominated by our staff.

Mrs Clare Madden, a former staff member of Saint Patrick’s who has maintained a long association with our school for many years, wished to acknowledge outstanding students, who actively and consistently display these qualities, and are positive role models for other students. These students reflect the Spirit of our school.

Project Compassion Fundraiser at St Patrick’s

During the season of Lent, our school community will once again support Caritas Australia through the annual Project Compassion initiative. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to put their faith into action by showing care and generosity towards others in need around the world.

On Wednesday 1st April, we will be holding a fun fundraising day at St Patrick’s and we invite all students to come to school wearing their craziest socks. Students are asked to bring a gold coin donation, with all proceeds going towards Project Compassion.

On the same day, we will also be holding some friendly classroom competitions. Each class will work together to create:

the longest coin line, and
the most valuable coin line.

Students are encouraged to bring along any spare coins they may have at home to help their class with the challenge. It promises to be a fun and engaging way for students to contribute while also learning about the importance of supporting others.

All money raised will be donated to Project Compassion, helping support communities around the world through the work of Caritas Australia.

Before School Arrangements (repeated)

A reminder to families that supervision in the school yard commences at 8:30am each morning. Students should not be in the yard prior to this time, as staff are not on duty. The safety and wellbeing of students in a supervised environment is part of our commitment and duty of care during school hours.

The Errard Street gate will remain locked until 8:30am.

The Eyre Street gate will be opened at 8:20am, where students may wait on the deck in a designated safe area until supervision begins. This arrangement is in place for exceptional circumstances only and must be clearly communicated to, and approved by, the Principal.

We ask for your support in ensuring students arrive no earlier than 8:30am unless prior arrangements have been made. If your family has extenuating circumstances from time to time please make contact with the Principal for further discussion.

2027 Foundation Enrolments

2027 Foundation Enrolments are now open. If you have a child in kindergarten and you would like to secure a place for them in Foundation at St Patrick's in 2027, you need to follow the enrolment application process outlined on our website: www.spballarat.catholic.edu.au

Please note - this is for all enrolments including our current St Patrick's families. Applications close on 14th May.

NAPLAN 2026

Yesterday marked the beginning of NAPLAN for our Year 3 and Year 5 students at St Patrick’s. Due to some technical difficulties experienced across the system, we made the decision to postpone the first Year 5 assessment (Writing). This has been rescheduled within the testing window. Our Year 3 students were able to commence their assessments as planned.

Our focus remains on supporting each child to approach the assessments with confidence, do their best and maintain a balanced and supportive learning environment.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support of our school community.

Personal Electronic Devices at School

A fortnight on from reinforcing these expectations, we have seen a very positive response from students, staff and families. There has been a noticeable reduction in personal electronic devices being brought to school and, when devices are required, students have been consistently handing them in at the office as expected.

Staff have commented on the calmness this has brought to classrooms and playgrounds, and many students have spoken positively about the clearer boundaries around devices during the school day. We have also appreciated the strong support shown by parents in helping reinforce these expectations at home.

This represents an important shift for our school community. By limiting the presence of personal devices, we are further strengthening a learning environment where students can focus, interact with one another more freely, and feel confident that their privacy and wellbeing are protected.

Thank you for continuing to support this approach and for working with us to ensure St Patrick’s remains a safe and positive place for every child.

Toilet Refurbishment

Further to our recent communication regarding the refurbishment of the senior-end toilets, we would like to provide an update on the timeline for these works.

Following further inspection, the plumbers and builders have identified some issues with the existing flooring and subfloor area, including embedded odours that require treatment. To ensure this is addressed properly, the works have now been brought forward and demolition will commence tomorrow. Beginning earlier will allow contractors to fully investigate the area and ensure the flooring is thoroughly treated and dried before the refurbishment proceeds.

During this time, temporary toilet arrangements will be in place for students. Junior students will continue to use the Junior toilets. Middle students (including the 2/3 class) will use the Madden Hall toilets, while senior students will use the Healthy Living toilets. Staff will support students in becoming familiar with these arrangements and encourage them to use the facilities during break times to minimise interruptions to learning time.

There will also be a small builder’s site set-up established near the work area. The intention is to minimise any impact on student play spaces, and the work zone will be clearly managed to ensure student safety at all times.

At this stage, the intended completion for the refurbishment remains early next term, though timelines can sometimes shift slightly depending on what is uncovered once demolition begins.

We appreciate your understanding as we move quickly to address these underlying issues and ensure the refurbishment is completed to a high standard. The work will ultimately provide refreshed, modern facilities for our students and resolve the long-standing issues in this area.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Our Sacrament of Reconciliation preparation sessions are currently taking place at school for our Grade 4 students who are enrolled.

As part of the preparation process, families are asked to attend one weekend Mass during the remaining Presentation of Candidates weekends at St Patrick’s Cathedral Ballarat on 14th or 15th March or 21st or 22nd March. Families may attend either the Saturday 5:30pm Mass or one of the Sunday Masses (10:30am or 5:00pm).

Please note that an incorrect date was previously published in the school calendar for the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We apologise for any confusion this may have caused.

The correct date for the celebration is Tuesday 24 March at 5:30pm at St Patrick’s Cathedral Ballarat as indicated at the info session and on the form.

We look forward to sharing this special moment with our students and their families as they take this important step in their faith journey.

End of Term Finish Time

Please note that Term 1 concludes on Thursday 2nd April at 2:30pm.

SchoolTV

This week on SchoolTV you will find a focus topic on Celebrating Harmony Week.

Harmony Week is celebrated annually during March to highlight our diverse cultures and help us better understand each other’s experiences and backgrounds. During this week, the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is also acknowledged on the 21 March. Harmony Week is an opportunity to recognise Australia's multiculturalism, which embraces people from all over the world, especially indigenous Australians. As a nation, we are encouraged to promote respect, understanding and appreciation for all cultures.

Australia's multicultural background has been shaped by migration since 1945, which at times has culminated into situations that have been challenging and sometimes leading to conflict due to a lack of understanding. Harmony Week reminds us to appreciate everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances.

All Editions | St Patrick's School - Ballarat (schooltv.me)

Kind regards,

Ben Shields

School Calendar Term 1-2026 UPDATED 12/3/26