From the Principal

The Premier has offered some hope that regional areas may have some easing of restrictions next week and we are still hopeful that these may include some good news for schools in rural areas such as ourselves.  There have been conflicting reports in the media in the past couple of days since Mr Andrews' announcement that students will not return to face-to-face teaching in Term 3.  We are planning for a continuation of the current arrangements, but will happily welcome all students back if there is a change to this ruling.  We pray that this may be the case.

Thank you all those who were able to take my call last Friday.  It was nice to be able to touch base with families and find out how you and your child(ren) are coping at this time, particularly in relation to the remote learning.  Your feedback was very well received and has been shared with staff.

Please remember to reach out to us at any time if you have any concerns with your child's progress or application to their studies.

The Child

I dreamed I stood in a studio

And watched two sculptors there.

The clay they used was a young child's mind

And they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher, the tools she used

Were books and music and art;

One was a parent with a guiding hand

And a gentle loving heart.

Day after day the teacher toiled

With touch that was deft and sure

While the parent laboured side by side

And polished and smoothed it o'er.

And when at last their task was done

They were proud of what they had wrought

For the things they had moulded into the child

Could neither be sold nor bought.

And each agreed they would have failed

If they had worked alone

For behind the parent stood the school

And behind the teacher, the home.

NAPLAN Results

Our Year 3 and 5 students sat their National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests back in May and the results were released this week.  Letters containing your child's results are being sent to parents of the children who undertook the NAPLAN this year.  Despite the repeated Remote/online learning phases that the students have endured over the past 18 months, the results are generally positive.

The NAPLAN assessment should be seen as a guide to a child’s performance as results may be affected by factors such as health, personal or family issues, or other extenuating factors prevalent at that time.

Whilst the NAPLAN results provide an indication of your child’s progress, please remember that school-based assessments provide a more balanced overview of your child’s learning. 

If you have any questions regarding aspects of your child’s progress, please feel free to contact the class teacher to discuss this with them.

A NAPLAN summary response from the National Catholic Education Commission is shown below.

School Review

On Monday and Tuesday we will be having our external School Review.  You mat recall late last year I asked parents to complete the InSightSRC Survey as part of our School Improvement Plan.  The data collected from that survey, together with the Enhancing Catholic School Identity (ECSI) survey from the year before, and a significant amount of other data, has been used to form a reflection on our school's journey over the past five years as well as providing direction for the next five.

A panel made up of an external facilitator from Melbourne, Mr Chris Robarts from Catholic Education Ballarat, and another school Principal, have reviewed all of our documentation that has been compiled over the past 12 months in readiness for this review.   The panel will now conduct interviews with parents, students, and staff members before providing us with feedback and a final report and guidelines for our future direction and key improvement priorities.

Thank you in advance to all who will be part of this review.

Sunday's Gospel Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus challenged the accepted understanding of what can make a person unclean.  In this passage he reminds us that a person is not made unclean by the food that enters his or her body, instead Jesus wanted people to think about the lives they led and how they treated others.   It is by sin that emerges from a person by their words and actions that makes one unclean.  The real issue is holiness, which is not found in external acts alone.  Holiness comes from within and is evidenced in the actions and attitudes that emerge from a person’s life.

Vision & Mission

Our Vision and Mission underpins all that we do at St Patrick's School and is shared in documents such as the Parent Handbook, our Weekly Newsletter (further down this page), and in our school foyer.

The following document has been produced to breathe life into our Mission statement.  It takes each of the statements from our Vision and Mission statement and adds depth to them.  This representation of our Vision and Mission statement will be displayed more prominently around the school.

Father's Day

Wishing all the Dads, Pops, Grandpas, Grandads and father figures a happy Father's Day for Sunday.  We wish we could have had you in for a Father's Day breakfast today, but we trust that you will get to enjoy a wonderful day with your children on Sunday regardless.

Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor

The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Social Justice Statement 2021-22: Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor, affirms that “we human beings need a change of heart, mind, and behaviour”. It draws from Scripture, from the theological tradition, from Catholic Social Teaching, and from the wisdom of the world, including the insights of the First Nations.

The Social Justice Statement 2021-22 provides theological foundations to ground and inspire efforts to care for creation while responding to the needs of the disadvantaged and excluded. The Statement reflects on creation in and through the Trinity; the sacramentality of all created things; the wonder and beauty available to the contemplative eye; and the need for conversion and change of life.

In the Statement, the Bishops invite the whole Catholic community to join them in taking up Pope Francis’ invitation to a seven-year journey towards total ecological sustainability, guided by seven Laudato Si’ Goals. These Goals are: response to the cry of the earth; response to the cry of the poor; ecological economics; sustainable lifestyles; ecological spirituality; ecological education; and community engagement and participatory action.

The Statement especially encourages Catholic families, communities and organisations to: listen to the First Nations; reflect on the theological foundations offered in Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor; and plan their next steps towards the Laudato Si’ Goals.

Please watch the video below to hear from representatives of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

Operation Christmas Child

Families are encouraged to join in supporting children in vulnerable situations through Operation Christmas Child.  

What is Operation Christmas Child?

Operation Christmas Child is a hands-on way for you to bless children in need across the world by filling shoeboxes with toys, hygiene items, school supplies, and fun gifts.  Boxes are collected and distributed in the name of Jesus Christ to children living in vulnerable situations.  See the video below.

Please check the website for further information and for details on how to pack a shoebox. There is also an option to make a $30 donation and have a box packed and sent on your behalf.

Boxes delivered to school will be collected in early Term 4.

Book Club Issue 6 is Online

Book Club is open and home delivery is available!

In response to the current lockdowns, Scholastic have added the temporary option for all parents to have their orders sent directly to their homes. This option will enable them to place and receive orders while their children are undertaking schooling at home. 

• When parents place their Issue 6 Book Club orders, they'll have the option to select home delivery or school delivery if you have Book Club opened–if not, the default will be home delivery.
• The home delivery option will automatically be added to schools in the lockdown area.
• The home delivery option can be selected by parents at the time of ordering for $7.50
• Your school will still earn 10% in Scholastic Rewards on home delivery orders.
• Any school deliveries will still be sent to the school once you submit your school order.

Hats

A reminder that students and staff are required to wear hats when outside during school time.  All students must have their school hats with them when at school between now and the end of April.  Parents are asked to check that your child's name is clearly labelled on their hat. 

No longer collecting plastic lids

Please do not send any more plastic lids to school.  We have collected enough to finalise our project.  Thank you for your support over the past few terms.

**We are still collecting breadtags.

SAC Reminders

Food Drive

Last Christmas, our school donated non-perishable food items, gift cards and monetary contributions to help families in need in the lead up to Christmas. WWHS and local services were astounded by our generosity and again welcome our assistance in this area. We are asking St Patrick’s families, if they are able to do so, to contribute items to make up hampers for local families. Non-perishable food items, IGA gift cards or monetary contributions can be sent to school and/or monetary or gift cards contributions made at the office. 

Winter Jacket for the Homeless

Also as a part of our 2021 Community Engagement projects, SAC are looking to collect warm winter jackets as part of the ‘Heat the Homeless’ campaign, which has donated over 20,000 jackets to Melbourne’s homeless over the last five years. Our School Advisory Council will arrange for our school’s collection to then be sent to Melbourne which will then be distributed to the various charities who help those living on the streets. Jackets should be in a good, clean condition and ideally waterproof or thick/warm, however others may also be donated.  Should you like to know more about this initiative, please check out https://xtm.com.au/heat-the-homeless.

Enrolments

Catholic children living in the community of Nhill will ordinarily have a right to a place at our school providing there is one available.  We also welcome the enrolment of all students and families who share our vision and education philosophy. 

Applications are currently open for all year levels at our school.

The Enrolment Process

To ensure an equitable enrolment process of students at St. Patrick’s School, the following procedure will be followed for all new expression of interest and formal enrolments.

Prospective parents are encouraged to view our website content and check out our Facebook page St Patrick’s School, Nhill  facebook.com/stpatricksnhill

Kinder enrolments

Information packs, which includes enrolment forms, are available at the front office of school for any families considering enrolment at St Patrick's School in 2022.

Ideally, completed enrolment forms are required to be provided to the school by the end of Term 3 (Friday, 17 September). 

Parents and prospective students will be invited to return to the school for an interview, following which l will be in a position to confirm or deny the enrolment. 

Please note that a completed enrolment form is a prerequisite to admission, but not a guarantee of admission.

The planned Kinder visits to each of the three schools have been cancelled due to ongoing Government restrictions on visits to schools.  It is hoped that we will be able to conduct visits early in Term 4.

Other year level enrolments

We are happy to accept enrolment enquiries for all year levels at any time of the year.

Please contact the school by telephone, or call into the school office, to make arrangements.

Remember to follow us on Facebook

Those who are on Facebook are encouraged to follow our page at St Patrick's School, Nhill.  'Like' our page, enjoy our posts, and share them with your friends.  Stay connected through our Social Media page.

Our Josephite Heritage

The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, often called the "Josephites" or "Brown Joeys", were founded in Penola, South Australia, in 1866 by Mary MacKillop and the Rev. Julian Tenison Woods. In 1949, three Josephite sisters arrived in Nhill to open St Patrick’s School. In 1978, the Sisters of St Joseph informed the Nhill Parish that they would no longer be able to maintain their role within the school.

We endeavour to honour our Josephite heritage through the regular presentation of the Little Joey awards at our assemblies.  In support of this we also include a reflection from Mary MacKillop on our newsletter each week.

"With God on our side, what need we fear"  Mary MacKillop, 1890

Port Adelaide have Powered into next week's Preliminary Final after brushing aside the Cats (but with more respect than Toby Greene brushed aside Matt Stevic!).  The Power now have a weekend off as we await the winner of tomorrow night's clash between the Lions and the Doggies.   Let's hope it is an extremely hard fought battle at the Gabba tomorrow!

God Bless you all.

Kingsley Dalgleish

Principal

Our Vision

As partners in Catholic Education and open to God’s presence, we pursue the fullness of life for all.

St. Patrick’s School is a Child-Safe School.

Our Mission

Therefore, inspired by the Gospels, our community will:

• Build on the traditions of our Catholic faith.
• Offer engaging, contemporary education aligned with Catholic tradition.
• Provide a safe and inclusive environment to support and nurture the development of all.
• Provide and maintain a supportive environment that effectively utilises resources.
• Promote caring and responsible relationships between the school, family, and wider community to enhance student learning.