Principal Report

Welcome back to the new school year and a special welcome to all new students and their families who have joined the St Patrick’s Catholic School Community. We welcome new staff, Mrs MaryAnn Munnings who is working alongside Mrs Megan Meech in year 1. We also welcome Mr Barry Jones who will be teaching in year 5. Mrs Allison Pegus will be returning to teach HPE on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The staff have been working hard in the lead up to the students' return. Thank you to all our Teachers and Teacher Aides who have been working hard to transform their classrooms into welcoming learning spaces. Thank you to David Broos who ensured our school was well presented for the students’ return.

Staffing for 2025

I think it is useful to publish staffing for 2025. This may be helpful when communicating with staff.

Communication

All Parent Newsletters, information and upcoming events are shared via a number of ways including:

• St Patrick’s Catholic School Website at https://stpatslatrobe.tas.edu.au/
• Newsletters Via COMPASS
• Parental notes and permission slip Via COMPASS
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057514267179
• Hard copies of the Newsletter are available from the school office upon request.
• Student Diaries
• To see upcoming events the school calendar is available to view through your COMPASS portal.

Professional Learning

On Monday 3rd February, we held a professional learning (PL) for all staff with Tom Bennett. The PL focused on setting up norms and routines in classrooms and across the whole school. This PL supports our School Wide Positive Behaviour Support.

On Tuesday 4th February, the statewide Catholic Education All System  Insight Day at the Paranaple Centre was attended by all teachers and teacher assistants. During the Insight Day, Megan Meech and I presented to all staff of North West Catholic Schools. Our presentation showcased St Patrick’s and our great work in building a culture of success through the Insight Project. We spoke about how we have managed the change in our school and our approaches to embedding the Science of Learning. We talked about how our practices will differ in 2025 from previous instruction. We recorded a video of a number of students explaining routines in our classrooms. This can be viewed below. 

Capital Building Works Project

The Capital Building Works has started with the hoarding of the kinder, prep and year 1 & 2 classrooms. This part of the building work will take approximately three months to complete. The demountable building, utility sheds and containers near the staff car park have been removed. A new utility shed will be built first and then the construction of three new classrooms will begin.

Staff and parents have been asked to park in the surrounding streets. Bradshaw Street has 5 minute parking for drop off and pick up. Please do not park for extended periods in this zone as parents are dropping children at school and childcare. Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Responsible Use of Digital Technologies - Acceptable Use Agreement

St. Patrick’s Catholic School is committed to ensuring child safety and compliance with State and Federal regulations. To this end, the school has implemented Acceptable Use Agreements (AUA) to outline the expected behavior of students when using digital technologies. The AUA is an opportunity to set out information to support safe, ethical, and responsible use of digital technologies. It seeks agreement from students and outlines the school’s roles and responsibilities in supporting safe digital learning for all students within its care.

The AUA is a formal process that is exercised at the beginning of each academic year in catholic schools across our system, and is aligned with Catholic Education Tasmania’s ICT Policy for students. It is designed to ensure that each and every student understands their obligations when using digital technologies. The AUA is an important tool in helping schools meet their obligations under both State and Federal legislation and regulations. It is an opportunity for schools to clearly set out their expectations regarding students' use of digital technologies in relation to child safety, privacy and duty of care associated with digital technologies. It is also an educational opportunity to provide information to students and their families to support the safe, ethical and responsible use of digital technologies.

The AUA is an essential tool in helping schools to create and foster a safe and supportive learning environment for all students. We have provided all families with an Acceptable Use Agreement (AUA) for the responsible use of digital technologies on COMPASS. Below are instructions to accept the agreement in the Compass App:

1. Open the Compass App and select the "More" button at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen (this has been tested on iPhone, but Android should be similar)

2. Select the "Insights" button

3. Choose the 2025 Digital Technology Agreement for one of your children

4. Read through the agreement and discuss it with your child. Be sure to select the radio buttons to acknowledge your understanding and agreement of each statement

5. Press the save button at the bottom

6. Repeat the process for any other children you have at the school.

Students and parents/carers are asked to acknowledge and declare their understanding of the AUA by Friday 21 February. We thank you for your cooperation in ensuring our students understand their obligations in the use of technology and helping to foster a safe and supportive learning environment.                                                                                          

Allergy Aware School

We are seeking your help to support the students in our school with severe allergies to certain foods in our school. These foods include peanuts, shellfish, berries, raw egg, dairy and wheat. Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that is potentially life-threatening. The most common causes of anaphylaxis in schools are allergies to food and insects (bees). To help manage allergies, our school is following the National Allergy Council’s Best Practice Guidelines for Anaphylaxis Prevention and Management in Schools.

Food allergies are common in school aged children and avoiding the food is the only way to prevent an allergic reaction. Therefore, we have put a range of different strategies in place to help keep these students safe. In younger primary classes, we may send letters home to suggest ways to support a child with food allergies that are additional to those listed above.

Parents and carers can support in the following ways:

• clearly label all student lunch boxes and water bottles with your child’s name.
• not sending ‘messy’ foods that contain the student’s food allergens where possible. For example, sliced cheese is less messy and therefore less risky than grated cheese.

For more information see the Allergy Aware Website

Allergy Aware

Strategies to reduce risk - Allergy Aware

SETUP - Inquiring Minds

Research shows that the first five years of a child’s life are critical for their development. The experiences they have can shape who they become as an adult. We realise the importance of these years, and ensure that our SETUP sessions are full of play-based activities that allow children to investigate and learn in their own way.

Lots of time spent playing, talking, listening and interacting with you helps your child learn the skills they need for life. These skills include communicating, thinking, solving problems, moving and being with other people and children. That’s why our SETUP sessions allow children time for provocative  play and exploring both on their own and with other children. We offer arts and crafts, storytime, interactive games and activities as well as outside play.

Our first session begins on Wednesday 26th February. The sessions will run on Wednesdays from 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. in the school hall. Please bring a piece of fruit to share, a hat and drink bottle. Tea and coffee is provided for parents/carers. We hope to see you there!

Have a great week!

Carmen Aylott

Principal