Newsletter 5 - 4th April 2024
- Principal Report
- Term Dates
- Calendar of Events
- Staff News
- Make Jesus Real (MJR) with Marty Ogle
- 2024 Digital Technology Agreement
- Prep News - Mrs Jak
- Year 1 News - Mrs Bruni & Mrs Meech
- Meet our Cadet
- 2024 Soccer Season - Website issues fixed
- Student of the Week & House Raffle Winners
- School Wide Positive Behaviour Award
- Latrobe Federal Band
- School Holiday Tennis Camp
- North West All Girls Clinic - NWFL
- Art Lessons
- St Patrick’s Catholic Church
- Allergy Aware School
Father Jaison and Father Steven Farewell
It is with great sadness that Father Jaison and Father Steven will both be leaving the parish this month. Father Jaison will leave Australia to join his family in the United States for one year to help take care of his mother who is recovering from a fall. Originally from Hobart, Father Steven will head back there to work with the Archbishop. We offer our gratitude and best wishes to both Father Jaison and Father Steven for their service in our parish. The St Patrick’s community will miss them both very much.
Catholic Schools?
Catholic Schools in Australia began when religious brothers and sisters, and priests came to Australia from Europe and together had the shared task of providing education to the poor, helping the sick and those living in poverty. In the decades after the 1900s, the Catholic school system expanded in an effort to make Catholic schooling available to all Catholic children in Australia.
Why do we have Catholic Schools?
Catholic schools contribute to the Church’s mission to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. They offer the Catholic community and the people of Australia an educational foundation for the full development of the person - intellectually, spiritually, physically, morally and emotionally. Parents have a right to choose schooling for their children in a free and democratic society which reflects their own values, beliefs and hopes. Australian Catholic schools have proven over successive generations that they contribute significantly to the development of the Australian community.
Who are Catholic Schools for?
- Catholic children who, through baptism, have a right to an education in the Catholic faith in a Catholic school.
- Parents and guardians who wish to entrust their children’s future to Catholic schools because of their explicit goals and acknowledged educational quality.
What is distinctive about Catholic Schools?
- Promoting a particular view of the person, the community, the nation and the world, centred on the person and teachings of Jesus Christ.
- Challenging students to find, through God, meaning and value in their lives.
- Forming an integral part of a church community in which all generations live, worship and grow together.
- Critiquing our culture, and challenging community values, as an integral part of their Gospel mission.
- Aiming to be welcoming and reflective communities whose most distinctive sign is the discernment of God’s presence and their spiritual life.
- Espousing values which unite Australia by promoting a citizenship infused by a commitment to social justice.
- Encouraging students to develop an international perspective on their own country and how their country can identify and respond justly to its international obligations.
- Giving priority to educating the spiritually and financially poor and being their advocates.
What do Catholic Schools do?
Catholic schools:
- challenge students to discover God and to make value of their lives;
- encourage students to appreciate the intrinsic worth of who they are now and where they are now;
- utilise students’ experience as the basis for developing a synthesis of faith and culture, and of faith and life;
- seek to provide a high-quality academic and vocational education for all their students, giving due emphasis to the fundamental literacy and numeracy skills required for both learning and life;
- actively and systematically promote the faith development of students in a conducive environment; provide religious education programs which make students knowledgeable about their faith; pray and celebrate the Eucharist in community;
- give priority to activities involving active community service and issues of social justice;
- strive to be a welcoming and effective community and provide a genuine experience of community for students, teachers, parents and priests; form part of an active ministry which reaches out to parents and responds to their expectations;
Information retrieved from:
Australian Catholic Schools And Why We Have Them? What Do They Aim To Achieve?
Have a great week
Carmen Aylott
Principal
2024
Term 1 - Wednesday 7th February - Thursday 11th April
Term 2 - Monday 29th April - Friday 5th July
Term 3 - Tuesday 23rd July - Friday 27th September
Term 4 - Tuesday 15th October - Wednesday 18th December
*Student Free Days Friday 12th April, Monday 22nd July, Monday 14th October.
(Easter Break - Good Friday 29th March, Easter Monday 1st April, Easter Tuesday 2nd April. Return to school Wednesday 3rd April.)
April
| Wednesday 10th | School Assembly - All Welcome 2.15pm |
| Thursday 11th | Last Day of Term - Students |
| Friday 12th | Student Free Day - Staff PD Day |
| Thursday 25th | ANZAC Day - Details TBC |
May
| Wednesday 1st | School Assembly - All Welcome 2.15pm |
| Friday 24th | Cross Country Carnival - Details TBA |
2024 Board Meetings
|
Term 1 |
Tuesday 27th February - Annual General Meeting 6.00pm Tuesday 9th April - 6.00pm |
| Term 2 |
Tuesday 21st May 6.00pm |
| Term 3 |
Tuesday 13th August - 6.00pm |
| Term 4 |
Tuesday 5th November - 6.00pm Tuesday 3rd December - 6.00pm |
Ms Zeleznik was out of class today, Mrs Lockyer taught Year 1. Mrs Kingshott will be away Monday 8th & Tuesday 9th, Mrs Lockyer will teach Year 6.
What a privilege it was to recently work with staff and students sharing ideas about ‘Making Someone’s Day’, striving to bring JOY to those around us by making good choices. Sadly, many of the students shared that they back chat or talk back at home. We discussed how this can become a habit that creates hardship for parents and carers – AND I reminded them that parenting is a hard job! A few teachers stated that this habit is one that they don’t want to see in the classroom. One teacher stated that it made her very sad when this occurred in the classroom.
Some of the children would have come home with ‘OK’ written on their hands – this is to remind them that when they are asked to help with a chore, stop gaming, going to bed etc that by getting into the habit of saying ‘Ok’ (with a smile), it can create a positive atmosphere at home. This is a much more desired response rather than answering back or saying ‘No!’ We also spoke about ‘Choices’ and that everyone has choices and we must get into the habit of making GOOD decisions based on the values Jesus constantly taught and spoke about. The students were forth-coming with great ideas on how to do this at home, school and in the communities they are involved in with sport, hobbies etc. Some students even said that they would ask people at home to help them to stop back chatting - I wondered if they did this?
We spoke about ‘Spirit of Jesus’ moments that occur all around us – there are so many, we just have to look for them and name them up. Please ask your children about ‘THE MAGIC’ they can create because we had many magic moments during the session with the Year 6’s.
Finally, as a visitor, I must say how impressed I was with the listening and interaction of the students and your school certainly has amazing staff that strive to bring out the best in your children.
God Bless
Marty Ogle
All families are asked to complete the 2024 Digital Technology Agreement for each child in Prep to Year 6. Please view the below PDF guide explaining how to access and complete the agreement.
Prep in action, Term 1, 2024
We have begun our year with wonderfully rich and varied learning experiences. We experienced listening to the Gospel Story about Mary and Martha through puppets with Mrs Dunn. Mr Atkins visited our class to read us a story. We are learning to tell time with hands-on clocks. We are learning to create addition and subtraction number facts and demonstrate these on our whiteboards. We were also very lucky to receive an easter egg from Liam who generously and compassionately thought of this idea himself and was so careful to include everyone. What a lucky class we are! Looking forward to next term.
Registrations can now be completed on the website.
Families who have registered their child/ren through the Google form should now be able to register and pay the registration fees through the Play Football website.
Please contact the office if you have a Ticket To Play Voucher for a separate registration link & code.
https://rego.prd.letsplayfootball.au/participant/product-details/1152
We have enough players for the following teams:
| Team | Registered Coach |
| Kinder - U5 | TBA |
| Prep - U6 Green | Greg Page |
| Prep - U6 Blue | TBA |
| Year 1 - U7 | TBA |
| Year 2 - U8 | TBA |
| Year 4 - U10 | Ben Dick |
| Year 5 - Open 5 | Jamie Fawkner |
| Year 6 - Open 6 | Kylie Ling |
We still require coaches for teams.
Please register via the link below.
https://rego.prd.letsplayfootball.au/participant/product-details/1150
All Coaches must register via this link – teams will not be able to take the field until we have a registered coach with a current WWVP, all coaches will need to complete the mandatory school safeguard briefing. Thank you to the parents who have already completed the required details.
Ticket to Play Vouchers
If you have a Ticket to Play Voucher this year you will need to contact Tameka Harris for a separate registration link and a copy of your TTP voucher. If you do not use this link to register your TTP – you will need to use your voucher for another sport, this cannot be added after you have registered and paid.
Please refer to the following website for rosters and to keep updated with the latest news and what's happening at the Devonport Junior Soccer Club throughout the season.
Congratulations to the following students who have received Student of the Week.
Prep
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Milla for her gentle and kind approach to assisting others in class when required.
Year 4
Violet for working cooperatively to research how whaling helped to develop the colonies after the 1800's.
Year 6
Harper for the consistently determined and positive attitude you put into your school work and leadership roles everyday.
Congratulations to our House Raffle winners this week:
Dooley - Porter
Martyn - Cam
Byrne - Eliza
Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
Mersey Leven Catholic Parish is a Catholic community made up of many people who seek together to live and share the joy of the Gospel.
Parish Office: 90 Stewart St Devonport
Wednesday - Friday 9am - 2pm
Phone: 036424 2783
Email: merseyleven@aohtas.org.au
See the Parish website for more information
https://www.merseylevencatholicparish.com/
A reminder to our school community that St Patrick's is an Allergy Aware School.