Greetings From Thalgarrah!

Hi everyone. It has been an interesting time composing the last section of my column this week as I am currently accompanying our Year 3-4 students on their excursion at Thalgarrah Environmental Education Centre. Everyone is having a great time at the moment, even though the weather gods are trying to spoil the party. However, it has been a challenge when adding the final touches to this newsletter as I didn't realise that there isn't any mobile coverage at Thalgarrah and the last few moments have been spent trying to find a signal in the hope that I can hotspot my phone to get some wifi.

Besides this small technicality, it has been an action-packed day so far as the students have participated in a range of activities, including bushwalks, animal tracking, and plant identification. They also had the opportunity to learn about the importance of reducing waste and conserving resources through hands-on activities such as composting and recycling workshops. One of the highlights of the excursion so far has been the opportunity for the students to participate in a range of team-building activities. These activities helped to build their communication and problem-solving skills while also fostering a sense of camaraderie and teamwork among the students.

I know it is going to be a busy night ahead as there are several activities that the students will be taking part in after dinner. Speaking of that, I better get the sausages ready as I am cooking. I better get going as I don't want to be late feeding a hungry crowd, and I have a funny feeling I am not going to get a lot of sleep tonight!

*Photos to follow in next week's edition.

2024 School Leadership Speeches and Election Day

Congratulations go out to Henry, Bentley, Grace, Angus, Albert, Lilah, and Emily who overcame their nerves and presented some outstanding speeches on why they should be either a school captain, sports captain, or an official school leader for next year. All of the votes have been tallied and I will be announcing our 2024 school leaders at our Presentation Night on Thursday 7th December. Thank you to all of the parents grandparents and other supporters who attended and joined us for all of the speeches as well for the large amount of support you have given to your child over the last few weeks in assisting them to prepare and present their speeches. Good luck to all of our Year 5 students as I know all of you will be great leaders for our school next year.

Staffing for 2024

Recently an announcement was made to our transition families that Ms Wilson (4 days) and Mrs Hoy (1 day) will be teaching Kindergarten next year. I have also been recently contacted by several families regarding what will be the classroom arrangements for the next school year. I have nearly finalised everything and I do hope I can officially announce all classroom arrangements this time next week. I can announce now that we will be keeping to the same class format with four operating classes (Kindergarten, Years 1-2, Years 3-4, and Years 5-6), and at the moment these classes will be in the same classrooms as this year.

2024 School Fees

Recently the Catholic Schools Office sent out a letter to all schools in the office stating that all schools will need to increase their school fees by at least 4%. I know a lot of members in our local community are struggling financially due to the continued rise of interest rates as well as essentials like electricity, fuel, food, and other necessities. I am still juggling various factors for the school budget for next year, therefore school fees will be increasing by 4% in 2024. This equates to around $1.40 per week.

THE LAST DAY FOR RETURNING LIBRARY BOOKS IS FRIDAY 1ST DECEMBER!

It is getting to that time of year when very soon we will need to start stocktaking all of the books that are in the library. This is going to be a huge job and to ensure that this task is completed before the end of the school year, the last day that all books will need to be returned to school by Friday 1st December. Thanks again to all students and their parents who have already returned their library books. It will make our stocktaking job that will be commencing very soon.

End of Year Presentations

It is not long before we will be formally acknowledging the student's achievements for this academic year. Although our End of Year Presentation Night was a great event last year, it simply took too long!

This year is also our allocated year where all classes are involved with a whole school performance. The play has been selected, roles have been allocated and all of our students have begun practising their acting and dancing moves for our performance of 'The Dragon Returns' which will be this upcoming Wednesday 29th November, commencing at 6.00 pm at the Walcha Multipurpose Centre.

It has been decided we will not have our Year 6 Graduation Ceremony, classroom and perpetual awards on the same night. So Thursday 7th December, we will be having our annual Schools Presentation Night under the school COLA, followed by a barbecue, where all members of our school community are invited to join us.

Term 4 - End of Year Date

The last day for students this academic year is Thursday 14th December.

Semester 2 Reporting

Currently, the teachers are working on Semester Two student reports. Parents will be able to view the reports via the parent portal in Week 9. If you would prefer a paper report please advise school.

How to access the Semester Two reports on Compass in Week 9:

Log into Compass

To view the Semester 2 report either click on your child's profile and select report.

The Winner of 'Wearing Uniform With Pride' Award For This Week Is.......

Congratulations to Lucy who was the worthy recipient of this week's 'Wearing Uniform With Pride' award. You should be proud of yourself Lucy, as everyone at St Patrick's always notices how you always wear your school and sports uniform with pride.

Dates for Term 1, 2024

The official start date for the 2024 school year will be Thursday 1st February 2024 for all students in Years 1 - 6. Kindergarten will commence Tuesday 6th February 2024 following Best Start Assessments.

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.

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