Dear families,

Welcome to the 2025 school year!

Thank you for ensuring your children were so well-prepared for the start of the year. As I’ve visited classrooms and shared in the first few days of learning, I’ve been incredibly impressed by how ready and eager the students are. While the lead-up to the start of a new school year can bring a mix of emotions, I’m delighted to share that the students have settled in beautifully, and we couldn’t have hoped for a better beginning. A special thank you to our dedicated staff for their thoughtful preparation and planning to set the tone for a wonderful year ahead.

We also extend the warmest of welcomes to all the new students and their families joining the St Patrick’s community in 2025. Your presence enriches our school, and we are excited to get to know you. To our returning students and families, welcome back! We’ve missed the joy, energy, and spirit you bring to our school and look forward to continuing this exciting educational journey together.

Let’s make this year one of growth, connection, and success for all!

Important: Updating Information for 2025

We ask all families to please review and update student medical profiles via PAM. There are also annual consent (codes of conduct, photographic permission etc.) that need to be acknowledged. Thank you!

Medications at School- Policy update:

Due to policy updates we will no longer be able to store or administer medications such as Panadol, Nurofen, pharmacy only medications (including zyrtec & claratyne) or other non-prescribed medications at school. The First Aid and Infection Control Policy states:

Non-Prescribed: School staff are not permitted to store or administer any non-prescribed medications including analgesics (paracetamol and aspirin). This is because analgesics and other non-prescribed medications can mask signs and symptoms of a serious illness or injury.

As a result of this policy; medications will only be allowed on school property with a document signed by your doctor. This could include an action plan, letter or treatment plan. This means that we can no longer accept medications for your child without doctor's instructions. We thank you in advance for your support keeping all of our children safe.

Upcoming Events

Please check in with our school calendar for upcoming events such as scheduled Healthy Living Days for your child's class/es.

If you can make it, we'd love to see you at the Welcome Picnic at Vic Park on Thursday 13th Feb.

Family Connections interviews

We are thrilled to invite you to a Family Connection Session to build a learning partnership between school and home. This session acts on feedback received from our Community Conversation to reimagine 3-way chats and provide an opportunity to engage with classroom teachers earlier in the year. The Family Connections last year provided valuable insights to really promote and support the learning partnerships.

Date: Mon 10th and Tues 11th Feb

Time: 3:30 - 6:00 pm at 10 minute intervals.

This unique session aims to foster a strong partnership between parents and teachers (children are welcome to attend but not required) by providing a dedicated 10-minute opportunity for you to connect with your child's teacher and share valuable information to build a collaborative and supportive environment for your child’s learning journey.

These 10 minutes will provide you with the opportunity to -

Share insights about your child – their interests, strengths, and any special considerations.
Share family traditions and rituals that are important to your child.
Meet your child’s teacher and learn about the classroom environment and what to expect throughout the year.

From tomorrow, you may login to your PAM account to book a time to ensure your family has the opportunity for a meaningful discussion.

Meet our 2025 staff team

Please see the below email addresses for our staff. Feel free to reach out to us and you will hear from us within regular business hours.

Administration Team
Administration Officer	Julia Geue	jgeue@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Administration Officer (Feb)	Nicole Gunn	ngunn@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Business Manager	Michelle Cushing	mcushing@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
General enquiries	(03) 53 32 7680	info@spballarat.catholic.edu.au

Leadership Structure
Principal	Ben Shields	principal@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Deputy Principal (Learning & Teaching)	Thea Hubble	thubble@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Religious Education Leader	Kathy Finn	kfinn@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Learning Diversity Leader & MHiPS Leader	Nicole Reynolds	nreynolds@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Learning Design Leader	Melissa Cornell	mcornell@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Leader of Innovation	Chelsea Greenbank	cgreenbank@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Cultural Awareness Leader	Emma Ferguson	eferguson@spballarat.catholic.edu.au

Junior Team
Cecily Frost (Foundation)	cfrost@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Paige Irvin (F/1 - Mon-Th)	pirvin@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Alannah Fry-Smith (F/1 - Fri)	afrysmith@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Chelsea Greenbank (1/2)	cgreenbank@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Stephanie Valentine (1/2 - Mon-Wed)	svalentine@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Jenny Harbour (1/2 - Thurs-Fri)	jharbour@spballarat.catholic.edu.au

Middle Team - Gr 3/4
Narelle Lamb	nlamb@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Ben Stott	bstott@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Matthew Wakely	mwakely@spballarat.catholic.edu.au

Senior Team - Gr 5/6
Melissa Cornell	mcornell@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Kathy Finn	kfinn@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Marney O'Brien	mobrien@spballarat.catholic.edu.au

Specialist Teachers
Julie Delaney - Healthy Living	jdelaney@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Emma Ferguson - Indonesian	eferguson@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Kerin Johnson - Music	kjohnson@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Thea Hubble - Media Arts (F-2)	thubble@spballarat.catholic.edu.au
Aaron Valentine - Physical Education	avalentine@spballarat.catholic.edu.au

Support Staff
Daniela Attard	Wilma Massar
Kat Bartone	Kaye Rix
Claire Gillett	Sue Squire
Jane Grant	Kylie Weyers
Jo Halsall	Cathy Whelan

Maintenance
Peter Anderson

School Counsellor
Sharalle Raven	sraven@spballarat.catholic.edu.au

Before and After School Care

There has been a strong uptake with the Before and After School Care program since the onsite introduction in 2024. Extend will continue to offer Before and After School from 7am-8:30am and 3:30-6:00pm Monday-Friday. We have been notified that Kelly, a new program facilitator, will join our school this year. To ensure long-term viability for the program, we also continue a valued partnership with Dana Street Primary School.

2026 Foundation Enrolments

Our 2026 Foundation enrolment process is commencing from February 10th. Please visit our school website to book a personalised tour.

Important Dates for 2025

7th March – School Closure Day (Staff Professional Development - Maths)

22nd-24th April – School Closure (Launch of new DOBCEL Strategic Plan with Central Ballarat Schools, further collaboration day with partner schools and planning for our school context)

28th April - School resumes for Term 2

6th June – School Closure Day (Curriculum/Assessment PD)

3rd November – School Closure Day (Religious Formation)

19th December – Last day of Term 4

Thank you, everyone, for such a great start to 2025. Have a fantastic week ahead!

Kind regards,

Ben Shields

The Drum

To Love is to Serve

Term 1 Week 1 2025 · 30 Jan 2025

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