St Patrick's Primary School Newsletter

From the Assistant Principal

Dear Families, 

 

Welcome to 2025. I hope you had an enjoyable break and are looking forward to a wonderful year at St Patrick's. I would especially like to welcome Mrs Steve Darcy to our school as our new principal. Mr Darcy has spent a considerable amount of time with the leadership team in preparation for the year so that we could let him know about all of the great things that happen at our school.

 

 

AFTERNOON DISMISSAL REMINDERS

 

As we welcome new families to our school it is timely to review our afternoon dismissal procedures. 

 

 

Parent Pick Up: 

All students who are on parent pick up will assemble on the quad. At 3:10 a teacher from each grade will walk classes up the ramp to the asphalt area. We kindly ask parents to stand back on the grass area so that teachers and students can easily look for their parent. We ask parents using parent pick up to enter and exit through the bottom gate (Flora Street) to assist in leaving the top gate (Belmont Street) free for turning circle. If you have a child in Kindergarten who is on parent pick up please write a ‘P’ on their hand.

 

STUDENT FROM ST PATRICK'S COLLEGE WHO COLLECT YOUNGER SIBLINGS SHOULD WAIT ON THE GRASS AREA WITH PARENT PICK UP PARENTS UNTIL STUDENTS ARE DISMISSED. They are not permitted to approach siblings on turning circle or the Quad prior to 3.10pm.  

 

Turning Circle: 

If your child will be using  turning circle then he/she needs to be able to independently enter the vehicle and place their seatbelt on without assistance as cars cannot stop on the turning circle and all persons must remain in the car, with the engine always running. If your child is attending turning circle, please have a A4 sign with your child’s first name and last name or class to hold up as you enter the cul-de-sac so the teacher on the microphone can call for your child. Children will be seated under the COLA and are asked to listen for their name to be called. Students should not open car boots or enter or exit the car from the driver's side door.  If you have a child in Kindergarten who will be using turning circle please write a 'T' on their hand. 

 

Afterschool Care: 

Students attending After School Care (OOSH) are to sit with their grade on the quad until a staff member of OOSH collects them. If you have a child in Kindergarten who is attending after school care please write an ‘A’ on their hand. 

 

Bus: 

Students catching the bus will line up outside the office and walk down to the high school to access the bus stop. If you have a child in Kindergarten who is catching the bus please write an ‘B’ on their hand. 

 

Walkers: 

Students who have permission from their parents to walk from the school grounds sit with their grade on the quad. Students will walk with their teacher with the parent pick up lines and exit via the bottom gate at 3:10 pm.  

 

Thank you for your support in ensuring that our students remain safe during our afternoon dismissal.  If you could kindly pass this message on to grandparents, older siblings, including students from the college and other adults who collect your children in the afternoons so that dismissal runs smoothly, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

IMPORTANT SCHOOL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Please ensure you are aware of the following linked policies and procedures which have been recently updated. Each policy is also briefly outlined below.

 

EMAIL POLICY

  • All emails to the school, including those for teachers, MUST be sent to the school’s admin email address, info@stpsutherland.catholic.edu.au. These emails will be read by members of the leadership team prior to being answered or forwarded to relevant staff members and responded to when required. All emails will be kept on file.
  • Emails are responded to within a timely manner, as indicated on Sydney Catholic Schools - Communication between school and home document. This states that - “For non urgent matters, staff including teachers, will return your email within three working days during the school term. School staff are not required to return emails at nights or on weekends, and generally will not be checking emails during these times.”
  • Emails should be brief and informative. Emails work best when they are positive. Avoid sending negative or confrontational emails. 
  • Email should not be used to discuss a sensitive issue. Issues that require immediate action or relate to a concern or problem, should be dealt with in person (preferred) or over the phone.  Please contact the office to arrange an appointment with your class teacher.

 

MOBILE DEVICE POLICY AND PROCEDURES

 

School Procedures for Stage 3 students:

At the commencement of the school day:

  1. Students will surrender their mobile device to the class teacher
  2. The device will be placed in a secure container with other student devices within the classroom
  3. At the end of the day, students will collect their device from the class teacher prior to dismissal.

School Procedures for Kindergarten - Year 4 students: 

Upon arrival at the school:

  1. Students will surrender their mobile device to the class teacher or take to the office (teacher discretion)
  2. The phone will be placed in a secure container with other student devices for the day.
  3. At the end of the day, students will collect their device before going home.

For watches and other transmitting devices:

  1. Apple watches and other smart transmitting watch devices MUST be switched to Airplane mode before a student enters the school grounds.
  2. If a student uses their device during the school day for purposes other than telling the time (e.g. sending a message, playing a game, taking photos etc), the device will be taken from the student and stored in the office. A note saying that the student has breached our school Mobile Device Policy will be sent home and the student will not be allowed to bring their device for a week.

 

Don't forget - students are not allowed to use mobile devices on site. If you need to make changes to afternoon pick up arrangements, please contact the office, rather than directly through your child.

 

 

WHOLE SCHOOL REWARD SYSTEM

Our whole school reward system are as follows:

·    10 tokens or rewards = One Bronze Award

·    10 Bronze awards = One Silver Award

·    3 Silver awards = One Gold Award (Students will ONLY receive a GOLD award and not the 3rd silver)

·    3 Gold awards = One Diamond Award and morning tea with the Principal.

 

You will receive a Compass Notification when your child receives a Silver or Gold award. You will be contacted via the phone if your child is receiving a Diamond award. Silver, Gold and Diamond Awards are handed out at assemblies which will take place on Friday afternoons from 2:30 pm. 

 

 

AMADEUS

Amadeus begins tomorrow, Friday 14 February, for students in Year 4-6. Year 3 students will receive their instrument allocations over the coming weeks. 

 

 

Have a great week,

 

Jim Heelis

Assistant Principal