TERM 4

• SCHOOL PHOTOS - Week 2
  • Thursday 24th October - Main Photo Day 
  • Thursday 31st October - Week 3 - Catch Up Photo Day (ONLY) for children who are unwell on the main photo day

This term our class has ensued a dynamic blend of critical thinking and creativity. In Maths, students have delved into BODMAS, mastering the order of operations to solve complex problems accurately. Alongside this, they've engaged in practical applications of budgeting, learning how to manage finances and make informed decisions, skills essential for real-life scenarios.

In English, the focus has been on persuasive writing, where students have honed their ability to construct compelling arguments, supported by evidence. They’ve explored various techniques to sway an audience, which ties seamlessly into their podcast project. Working in groups of three to four, the students have planned, scripted, and recorded their own podcast episodes, showcasing their persuasive skills and creativity. These episodes are set to be published on Spotify, giving them a real-world platform to share their voices and stories with a broader audience.

ADMINISTRATIVE DIMENSION:

Enrolments for 2025:

If you have not yet done so, please confirm your child’s attendance at St Patrick’s for 2025 via the form that was sent home from the Office.

If you are leaving the school, I ask that you inform me via email the reasons for your move at  gmannella@stpatsmp.catholic.edu.au as this supports our strategic planning.

Building & grounds:

Thank you to one of our parents Cuong, for completing the repairs on the damaged fence at the front of the school.

Parking at Drop off and Pick Up:

We appreciate all those who are adhering to the requests for not parking near the crossing and in front of the fences. As the weather is improving, now is a good opportunity for you to park away from these areas and have your child/ren walk a little further if they are old enough to do so.

LEARNING DIMENSION:

Parent /Teacher Interviews:

Parent Interviews took place in Weeks 8 and 9 on request by your child’s teacher or parents.

If you did not make a time to meet with your child’s teacher, and still wish to do so, please make contact through the normal way you communicate with them for early next term.

For our Vietnamese parents who require translation, arrangements will be made for Huong and Chau to be available at the interview.

Enrichment Program:

At St Patrick’s School, we aim to give the identified Gifted students the opportunity to integrate with like-minded peers. Our enrichment program assists the academically talented to gain a sense of identity by providing them with the opportunities to work at a student led pace, in greater subject depth on a regular basis.

Our enrichment activities aim to support the student(s) identified gifted domain(s) and are intended to provide various extension experiences both in the classroom and as small group extra curricula activities. Students may also be assembled at different times of the year to participate in various learning experiences.

The students at St Patrick’s School are primarily identified through a variety of data sets that can include:

• AGAT score (ACER General Ability Test) assesses 5 areas of reasoning
• Teacher nomination and identification checklist
• Standardised diagnostics (for example NAPLAN, PAT M and PAT R data)
• Parental nomination

It has been said that ‘pursuing areas of interest and mentoring Gifted students are approaches which have been found to be the most supportive.’

(CESA Gifted Education Strategy and Reference Paper pg 25)

We thank Mrs Linda Bain for overseeing this program.

Volleyball:

Last Thursday around 68 students from Year 3 - 6 had a really successful day at the Inter-school volleyball carnival finals. Out of 17 teams, we had 10 winners. The students were extremely well behaved, and the staff supported the event well. Thanks to Mrs Johnson for organising our children to attend.

Mt Carmel Music Performance:

On the same day the remaining Year 3 - 6 students attended a music performance  at Mt Carmel College put on by the music department students. Lots of fun was had by all and were equally well behaved.

Catholic Schools Music Festival:

Each year our senior choir participates in the annual Catholic Schools Music Festival with a performance at the Festival Theatre. Our choir forms part of a 400-voice strong choir on stage. Along with a range of individual and group support acts, the evening is a wonderful example of the talent that exists in our Catholic primary and secondary schools across South Australia. Our children performed on Tuesday evening of this week with another stunning performance. Thank you to Mrs Janine Meyer for training and coordinating our students.

COMMUNITY DIMENSION:

School Disco:

This was another successful evening with children having lots of fun!

Thanks again to Huyen Le for coordinating the event along with our other members from our School Board/Parents and Friends group. Your support is always appreciated and valued.

60^th Birthday Celebration:

Please keep Sunday 27^th October free for this is our major 60^th Birthday celebration event starting at 10.00am - 1.30pm

Beginning with 10.00am Liturgy celebration, the day will include, the unveiling of the mural commissioned by South Australian Aboriginal artist David Booth, cultural dancing from across our diverse community, music, food and art exhibition of student’s amazing work.

There will be many invited guests including former Principals who led the school. It is an exciting time in the history of the school, and we encourage you to be a part of it and celebrate with us.

On this day we commemorate World Children’s Day which is celebrated earlier in that week. This day is in place of the full Moon Festival that we normally celebrate but due to circumstances it did not happen earlier this year. We are inviting you to attend with your children in national costume on this day.

We would love to see as many families as possible attend, as we celebrate ’60 Years of 60,000 - Celebrating our story of Diversity and Welcoming all’.

If your child is attending, please remember they must be accompanied by a parent or adult. We look forward to seeing you all there.

A separate note with this information went home on Monday afternoon with your child.

Gennaro Mannella

St Patrick's School Leadership Team

Greetings from the Acting APRIM

Jesus and his disciples left for the villages round Caesarea Philippi. On the way he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say I am?’ And they told him. ‘John the Baptist,’ they said, ‘others Elijah; others again, one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he asked, ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter spoke up and said to him, ‘You are the Christ.’  (Mark 8: 27-29) 

This Gospel was read at the 1/ 2CS & 5/6SH buddy Mass last week and it was a delight and  

inspirational to hear the responses of children to the question, ‘Who do you say Jesus?’ 

·         Teacher 

·         Saviour 

·         Friend 

·         Brother 

I am inspired by the love you have for your children and for supporting their faith and learning. They are both listening to you and also speak wisdom for your learning.

Community Event for Term 3.  

Dear Families,

On Tuesday, 24^th September our school choir performed at the Adelaide Festival Theatre as part of the Catholic Schools Music Festival.

This dedicated group of students has spent three terms preparing for their opportunity to shine on the big stage. They have worked tirelessly to learn the words and choreography to 9 songs. This included participating in sessions with Choir Director, Denise Rothall and attending excursions at Whitefriars Catholic School and Loreto College. To be successful, they have had to display dedication, resilience, organisation and persistence.

Tuesday evening's performance was outstanding and each student who sang, represented our school wonderfully. We are immensely proud of them and their wonderful achievement.

Congratulations to Akshath, Ava, Azaehel, Brodie, Ellie, Jessica, Kaylena, Kelly, Roxy, Tanaz and Thai Anh.

Janine Meyer

Music/Drama Teacher

Dear Families,

The Fair Work Act has recently introduced a new ‘right to disconnect’ that applies to school employees.

We understand that parent/ caregiver engagement goes hand in hand with student wellbeing and success and productive communication with parents/ caregivers is an essential feature of a positive school culture.

Digital technologies have greatly assisted in this regard and the use of parent/ caregiver information apps, social media (for general school information), school website, SEQTA and the use of email communication directly with staff is now routine.

 We appreciate that parent/ caregiver expectations as to staff accessibility have evolved in the context of enhanced digital communication practices. While representing efficient modes of communication, the breadth of digital communication options can create ‘availability creep’ where school employees become more accessible in locations and at times of the day, weekends and during periods of leave when they should be able to disconnect from work.

The recent laws have taken effect which provide school employees a right to disconnect.

In the interests of respecting the rights of our staff and recognising the importance of facilitating and promoting healthy communication, we are introducing the following as standard protocol during term time: -

 Noting our staff spend a significant amount of their workday focussing on teaching or other activities applicable to their roles, staff will endeavour to respond to parent/ caregiver communications requesting a response within 48 hours, noting staff will discern whether an urgent matter requires a shorter response timeframe; and - Parents/ caregivers are encouraged to contact the school front office in the first instance for general information.

We ask that parents and caregivers be mindful and supportive of the above.

Thank you for your understanding.

Dear Families,

I write to you to extend an invitation to our special celebration for the St Patrick’s School Community. On Sunday, 27^th October 2024, the St Patrick’s School community will celebrate the 60^th Anniversary of the establishment of our school.

St Patrick’s has a long and proud history in serving those in the community seeking a Catholic education in the area. Established by the Sisters of St Joseph, the school has welcomed each wave of refugee and migrating families that continues to this day. Among the many students who have passed through our doors, we are delighted to see where students have gone on to make significant contributions to the wider South Australian community. We would love for you to take the time and come celebrate with us.

The theme of the celebration is ’60 Years of 60,000 - Celebrating our story of Diversity and Welcoming all’.  where we acknowledge our history and that of Aboriginal Australians who inhabited what we would define as the greater Port Adelaide region. This history continues in our community today. Artist David Booth has been commissioned to create a mural of our story with the involvement of our senior students and will be unveiled at the celebration.

Beginning with 10.00am Liturgy celebration, the day will include, the unveiling of the mural commissioned by South Australian Aboriginal artist David Booth, cultural dancing, including Dragon Dance, Polish and Indian dances from across our diverse community, music, food and art exhibition of student’s amazing work. The day will conclude around 1.30pm.

There will be many invited guests including former Principals who led the school. It is an exciting time in the history of the school, and we encourage you to be a part of it and celebrate with us.

On this day we commemorate World Children’s Day which is celebrated earlier in that week. This day is in place of the full Moon Festival that we normally celebrate but due to circumstances beyond our control, it did not happen earlier this year. We are inviting you to attend with your children in national costume on this day. We would love to see as many families as possible attend.

If your child is attending, please remember they must be accompanied by a parent or adult. We look forward to seeing you all there. Please complete the return slip sent home with your child this week and return as soon as possible please.

Gennaro Mannella

Acting Principal

who have celebrated a birthday over the few weeks

• 31 August - Randeep
• 4 September - Phuong
• 5 September - Sophie
• 8 September - Mma
• 10 September - Richard, Toree, Ali & Stefan
• 14 September - Hayden
• 15 September - Athieng & Keinrick
• 17 September - Anna
• 26 September - Joanna, Justin & Minh

A friendly reminder to those families, who do not have a direct debit set up, that Term 2 fees were due the last day of Term 2 which was the 5th July 2024.      

We offer direct debit, BPay, EFTPOS and also direct deductions from Centrelink payments to cater to the changing financial needs of our families at St Patrick’s School. When the direct debit payment option is selected your school fee payment is calculated over the full school year right up until the 31^st of December 2023. This means smaller payments are required, making this method the most affordable way to budget for your commitment.

Please come into the office or ring me on 83034500 if one of these options would better suit your financial requirements.  

School Card 2024 is applied for online if you haven’t already applied for this year please arrange as soon as possible as the cut off date is early November. Instructions on how to do this are available at the front office. School Card must be applied for each year.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ALL FAMILIES:

Please be aware St Patrick’s School has changed their bank details. These new bank details do now appear on your school invoice.

If you pay a direct debit the bank details are automatically updated.  The new details are as follows:

CTB

BSB 066-782

Account number 100000262

If at any time you are having trouble meeting your school fee commitment, or have any queries, please contact me on 83034500 to discuss this matter.

Christine Lavender

Finance Officer

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the last newsletter of a busy Term 3.  If you require care over the school holidays please see below the school holiday St Margaret Rocketeers Program.  This is located at St Margaret Mary's School, 5 Eldon Street, Croydon Park.  There are some great, fun activities planned!  We operate from 7.00am - 6.15pm every weekday during the school holiday break.

Also, we are gathering interest from families if they would benefit from an earlier start time during term time for OSHC.  Please click the link and complete the very short survey showing your interest here, survey link.

Thank you

PLAYGROUP

St Patrick’s Playgroup 9.30am- 11.30 am (Wednesday and Friday)

Welcome all children 0-5 years and their parents-carers residing in City of Port Adelaide Enfield, City of Charles Sturt

Goals of Playgroup:

• To provide individual support, engage with families and raise awareness of other Community Resources
• To promote Children’s interactions with others and learn basic English
• To facilitate a smooth transition for both Child and Parent into a new schooling environment
• To promote, encourage the opportunity for parents and children to learn and play together
• To promote a friendly and safe environment for parents and children to form social networks and establish new friendships

All parents and carers are responsible for the children they bring to playgroup

Communities for Children is funded by the Australian Government  Department of Social Services

Please contact Chau Tran or Huong Nguyen on 8303 4500 if you would like further information.