Time Just Seems To Fly By

I always seem to be asking this question recently, where has the year gone? We are nearly in the final stages of Week 5 and that means we are nearly at the halfway point of Term 3. Sometimes you do wonder why each year seems to be going faster and faster. It won't be long before I make that mad dash organising Christmas presents on Christmas Eve again.

As I mentioned briefly before, I am definitely glad to be back at school but now I am wishing for some consistency where I am actually at school for the whole week! Last week I was away for three days at the Principal's Conference and now I will be away tomorrow as I will be supervising our squad at the Diocesan Athletics Carnival in Tamworth. Go team! Anyway, I shouldn't complain as I know that it is going to be a great day tomorrow.

Speaking of the Principal's Conference, in one of the sessions, we had the chance to analyse this year's NAPLAN results. Overall again the diocese as a whole went very well with our averages across each of the key learning areas being above state and national averages and if you compare our diocese across other dioceses across the nation, we were ranked second overall! Not a bad effort, considering we are one of the smallest dioceses across Australia.

Again St Patrick's performed well, as we averaged above the national average in both Years 3 and 5 in the large majority of the subjects that the assessments were based on. Overall, our results have continually been on the rise for the last three years and this is something that all of us should be proud as it has been a team effort from all parties involved.

Anyway, that's enough for me. Take care and I hope to catch up with you all in the very near future.

John Coutis Visit this Tuesday

We are very lucky to have John Coutis visiting the school on Tuesday morning to speak to our Years 3-6 students. John ‘JC’ Coutis is a remarkable Australian who was born with a severe physical disability in which doctors gave him little chance of survival. John has not only defied medical opinion, he has thrived and is acknowledged as one of the world’s most inspirational speakers.

Without the lower part of his body, John embraces a full and positive life. He rolls around on his custom skateboard and uses humour to communicate some of life’s most important lessons. John has delivered his inspirational message to over 6 million people around the world, speaking at events to complement former US President Bill Clinton, global entrepreneur Richard Branson, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the late Steven Covey and former South African President Nelson Mandela.

All of the students and staff are looking forward to John's visit.

Good Luck Tomorrow!

I have just packed the school marquee and all of the other equipment that is required for tomorrow at the Diocesan Athletics Carnival in Tamworth. It looks like it is going to be quite an interesting day with wind and rain forecasted. Good luck to all of our 26 students who will be representing St Patrick's. I know you are going to be great ambassadors for our school. It would be fantastic if all of our students could be at the venue by 8.30am as the first event will be commencing at 8.45am.

Official House Groups Name Survey

As mentioned in the last edition of the newsletter, a survey was sent out to all of our families in regard to the selection of the official names for our Blue and Red House Groups Should it be something like Apsley or Tia or another local landmark or do we go with St Patrick, Catherine McAuley or St Sebastian (patron saint of sport)? It would be greatly appreciated if you could complete this survey by Friday 1st September as hopefully at our first sporting carnival in 2024, the students will be able to represent and acknowledge their sporting house name and colour.

Friday 1st September is going to be huge!!!

Like last year, Friday 1st September is definitely going to be an action-packed day with a number of activities happening. We will be beginning the day with our annual Father's Day Breakfast. Also, we are inviting all of our grandparents to join us for Grandparents Day, where there will be a number of activities coinciding with this special occasion. Some of the activities include our annual Book Week celebrations with the fair operating as well as our Book Week fashion parade. The theme for this year is Hats Off To Reading: and for the fashion parade, we are encouraging our students (including transition) to dress up as: 'A Hero' or 'Villian'. I better start digging deeper into my costume box to see what I can come up with. More information will be provided in future editions of the newsletter.

2023 School Improvement Survey

In 2023, the Catholic Schools Office has once again engaged the services of Survey My School to provide a platform for parents to supply St Patrick's School with feedback on our current practices and procedures. These surveys will be emailed to parents this upcoming Monday.

P and F Meeting this upcoming Tuesday 22nd August

Just a reminder that the next P and F Meeting will be held this upcoming Tuesday 22nd August commencing at 6.00pm via Zoom only. It would be great if all of our families could log on and join us during this time.

Kindergarten Transition Program Starting Soon!

It is just over a week before our Kindergarten Transition program commences! We are looking forward to having our 2024 Kindergarten children come to big school on Friday 25th August for their first day of transition. This program will be on every Friday for the rest of Term 3 as well as the first five Fridays in Term 4. Mrs Hoy will be leading transition and she has organised a lot of fun activities that will be conducted throughout the program.

Transition Days for children are significant in helping children familiarise themselves with the school environment and helping to make the transition to ‘big school’ so much easier.

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

Congratulations go to Evie who was the worthy recipient of this week's 'Wearing Uniform With Pride' award. Well done Evie as everyone at St Patrick's always notices that you always wear your school and sports uniform with pride.

Bushfest

Our Year 3-6 students have been learning two songs in their fortnightly Mini Minstrels lesson that they will be singing in BushFest. This is a FREE choral festival for schools in the NECOM classroom/choral program on Wednesday 6th September at the New England Conservatorium of Music. It is a wonderful opportunity for our students to come together with other regional schools and work with one of Australia’s leading music educators, Paul Jarman.

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.

Mini Vinnies

Mini Vinnies Committee