It has been a while!

It is with a mixture of excitement and, admittedly, a bit of strangeness that I welcome you all back to Term 4! After spending time acting as Principal at St Mary's Primary School, stepping back into the rhythm of St Patrick's feels good. I’ve truly missed our wonderful students, our dedicated staff, and our supportive parents, and I can't wait to fully reacquaint myself with life at St Patrick's Primary once again.

I had the opportunity to be a quiet observer behind the scenes, and I must say how incredibly proud I am of everything St Patrick's has achieved during my time away.

While I was on secondment, I was keeping Mrs Burton in my thoughts and wish her all the very best with her recovery.

Speaking of my time away, I want to offer my profound, albeit belated, congratulations to our entire school community for winning the prestigious "Best School in the New England Region" award! Of course, it had to happen while I was at St Mary's Primary, but it is a phenomenal achievement that reflects the quality of our community.

A special and enormous thank you must go to Mrs Makeham for the fantastic job she did acting in my position. There were stages where I was genuinely concerned I'd be made redundant—Libby, you did a truly stellar job! I would also like to thank all staff members for covering various positions and managing a number of challenging times during my absence. Your flexibility and teamwork are a testament to the St Patrick's spirit.

Looking at the calendar, it’s clear this is going to be a very busy term indeed! Term 4 promises to be filled with a range of exciting activities and important events:

Excursions
The NSWPSSA Athletics Carnival
The Real Talk workshops
The rescheduling of First Reconciliation
Year 5-6 preparations for our anticipated end-of-year performance

While the calendar fills up, our core focus remains unchanged: fostering a love of learning in an environment where every child feels valued, supported, and encouraged to achieve their best.

That's enough from me for now. I look forward to catching up with all of you—students, staff, and parents—very soon!

Adventures on the Coast: Year 5-6 Excursion a Huge Success

I've heard nothing but fantastic reports about the recent Year 5 and 6 excursion to the Coffs Coast Adventure Park! It sounds like all of the students had an absolutely brilliant time, tackling a wide range of thrilling activities and making memories they won't soon forget.

The stories coming back paint a picture of great fun and boundless energy, and we certainly wish we could have been there to see our students conquering the park's challenges!

A huge and heartfelt thank you goes out to the incredible staff who made this adventure possible and kept the students safe and well-supervised throughout the trip:

Mrs Davey deserves special recognition for her exceptional effort in organizing and coordinating the entire excursion.
We also extend our sincere gratitude to Sam Lisle and Elyce Laurie for their valuable time and assistance in supervising the students, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable experience for everyone.

It is this dedication from our staff and parents that allows these essential and enriching trips to take place.

Good Luck to Kindergarten's Teddy Bear's Picnic!

Looking ahead, I extend our best wishes to all of our Kindergarten students and Ms Wilson as they head out on their excursion tomorrow.

I hope you have a wonderfully fun-filled day at the Teddy Bear's Picnic Excursion to Thalgarrah! May your bears be well-behaved and your picnic be packed with sunny skies and great treats.

I look forward to hearing all about the adventures of our youngest students upon their return.

Real Talk Workshop for Years 4 and 6 students

On Tuesday, October 28th, the Real Talk Workshop will be hosted by St Joseph's Primary, Uralla. Our Years 4 and 6 students will join the St Joseph's students for this session. Real Talk is an engaging program centered on Christian values and dynamic personal sharing, focusing on the essential topics of relationships and personal identity.

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.

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

October is Catholic Mission Month and this year the theme is 'Missionaries of Hope for All People' with a focus on the mission of building a stronger economy and society in Zambia, 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 Friday 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.

Still recovering from last year's taping trauma, I'm thrilled to announce a new twist for this year's fundraiser! On Friday, October 31st, students will vote to select a brave staff member (who has already agreed!) to be "kidnapped" and taped to the wall. I have a funny feeling I might be the target again—I'm hearing I'm on everyone's hit list! Students, bring in an extra dollar if you'd like to purchase a strip of tape and make the lucky staff member truly uncomfortable. I'm hoping to get a strip myself to secure one of my colleagues! Stay tuned to see who goes up!

Updates to Our End-of-Year Events

This year, we've made some significant changes to our end-of-year Presentation, Performance, and Mass, based on valuable feedback from our families and the availability of priests.

Here are the details for your calendars:

"Ali Baba and the Forty Bikies" Performance: Our annual school performance will be held at the Walcha Multi-Purpose Centre on the evening of Wednesday, December 10, 2025.
Annual Presentations : On the morning of Friday, December 12, 2025, the Annual Presentations will take place at 9:30 a.m. in the school COLA. Immediately following, the school community is invited to a morning tea picnic in the school playground.
Graduation Mass & Whole School Barbecue: The celebrations on Friday will conclude with the Graduation Mass at 12:00 p.m., followed by a whole-school barbecue lunch.

Term 4 - Summer Uniform

The children look great in their Summer Uniforms. Please support the staff in ensuring your child/children are fully dressed in their correct uniform each day. This includes the correct hat, shorts, socks and black shoes, blue/red hair ribbons.

St Patrick's has always had high expectations around the school uniform and it is an expectation that everyone wears the correct uniform with pride everyday.

Parents please make sure your child has the correct uniform on each day.

Please send a note to school if your child has a reason for being out of uniform.

SUMMER

GIRLS

Black shoes with navy socks with fold over top

Blue check dress – with navy gym pants

Navy jumper/cardigan with red & blue stripes

BOYS

Black shoes with knee high socks with red & blue stripes

Grey shorts - Rugger’s/Stubbies Design

Mid blue shirt (short sleeves)

Navy jumper with red & blue stripes

SPORT

GIRLS

Navy shorts

Red polo shirt with blue stripe on collar, sleeve and placket – with school logo

White sports socks

White sports shoes

Navy sports tracksuit – with crest

BOYS

Navy shorts (not football shorts)

Red polo shirt with blue stripe on collar, sleeve and placket – with school logo

White sports socks

White sports shoes

Navy sports tracksuit – with crest

2025 School Fees - Due end of November

This is a friendly reminder that all outstanding school fees are due by the end of November. If you have any questions regarding your account balance or wish to discuss a payment plan, please contact the school.

2025 Remaining Staff Development Days (PD Days)

Thursday 18th 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.

SCHOOL HOURS

Supervision of students commences at 8:30am. Students should not be on-site until after 8:30 AM.

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