NEWSLETTER 12 - 3rd May 2022

The American Franciscan priest, Richard Rohr, stated, “In solitude, at last, we’re able to let God define us the way we are always supposed to be defined—by relationship: the ’I-thou’ relationship, in relation to a Presence that demands nothing of us but presence itself. Not performance but presence.” This week staff and students returned from the Easter break and appear to be enjoying each other’s ‘presence’ and there is great delight in being able to continue to nurture the special relationships that are subsumed in a ‘typical’ school day, just as there is the realisation that the educative relationship has a ‘performance’ aspect to it that can only be enhanced by the focus on nurturing a ‘presence’ in the rapport between parent-child-teacher.

It was wonderful to be ‘present’ and march with Harrison Fawkner, Jack and Lucy Chapman, Claire Simpson, Sophie and Matilda Franklin, Mrs Adams and Mr Atkins during the recent Latrobe ANZAC Day march. Thank you to the parents who ensured the children were assembled on time and dressed beautifully in full Winter uniform. The need and desire to change is a foundational aspect of Jesus’ teachings and remains as the keystone for any educator and parent. The experiences evoked during Lent, Easter and of involvements in commemorations such as ANZAC day, coupled with any reading of the Gospel, helps reinforce to us the need to change some aspects of our lives where we lack ‘presence’; whether it relates to our relationships with others or our attitude and application to duties. The important point to remember in our change process is the fact that any gain involved in change is often directly relational to our commitment to the process of change and how we feel a ‘presence’ or being valued in this cycle of change.

Last weekend’s Gospel readings centred on Jesus being present to his disciples after he had died – being part of supporting change in their lives without his being physically ‘ever-present’ is an important sub-text in the readings. In a recent conversation about education, I heard the comment that there always appears to be change and we are all aware of both the need for change – the richness of growth that comes from different insights and alignments – and the impediment to growth that can also be associated with change. I am encouraged by our school response when we have been challenged to change and this challenge to be continually assessing what we do, with the resources available, is equally applicable in every walk of life.

I pray that we are united in change that has positive benefits to our children and that we seek knowledge about change processes so that our involvement is informed and supportive of the change philosophy, that we have a ‘presence’ in any change process. I especially pray for the health and well-being of our staff as they enter arguably the busiest of terms of the school year, characterized by moderation, reporting and professional learning commitments whilst balancing the professional-personal responsibilities as they genuinely engage in being a positive ‘presence’ in the life of our wonderful school community.

 Regards,

 Rod Linhart

(Principal)

May

Term 1 - Thursday 3rd February - Thursday 14th April

Term 2 - Monday 2nd May - *Friday 8th July

Term 3 - Monday 25th July - Friday 30th September

Term 4 - Monday 17th October - Thursday 15th December

*Student Free Day Friday 8th July 2022

Thank you to our students who represented St Patrick's at this year's ANZAC Day Service. 

How does oral language contribute to reading success?

Oral language is the foundation for the development of literacy skills and it is considered to be a strong indicator of later reading, writing and overall academic achievement.

When young children experience rich oral language by talking with and listening to adults and other children, they will have a large ‘bank’ of spoken vocabulary, words they understand when used in spoken communication (vocabulary). Children who have heard and joined in word play, games, rhyming, eye spy and listening to reading will be aware of the sounds of English (phonological awareness). They will be familiar with many sentence types and understand how language can change in different situations (fluency). They will understand that words have meaning, and that we use language to communicate information, ideas, feelings and thoughts (comprehension).

Oral language at school

Oral language encompasses two components. These are expressive language (using words and non-verbal processes to share meaning with others) and receptive language (listening or the process of understanding what has been expressed). Throughout the school there are many instructional approaches for listening and speaking activities including read-aloud, audio texts, following instructions, What’s Missing games, Speech Programmes, retelling and summarising, Show and Tell, retells/recounts, Reader’s Theatre, speaking and listening about music, poerty and art, wordless picture books and debates. In Prep-Year 6 the Australian Curriculum outlines the components of these skills. Teachers assess and report on children’s achievement in the development of their speaking and listening skills.

What can parents and caregivers do at home to encourage oral language?

Until students learn to read they learn most of what they know from hearing other people talk.  Families can support children in their oral language development by providing a variety of opportunities for children to listen and talk for different purposes.

Here are some ways parents and caregivers can encourage oral language:

• Talk to your child and listen responsively. Ask and answer questions.
• Read aloud to your child regularly. Good books expose children to vocabulary and sentence structures that they won’t hear in everyday situations. Research has shown that reading aloud to children is a major factor in their success in learning to read at school.
• Talk with your child about the books you read aloud together. Ask your child about the characters, plot or setting; the themes and ideas raised by the book; topics they’d like to read or learn more about as a result of reading aloud.

Next week (Week 2 of Term 2) students in Years 3 and 5 will undertake NAPLAN Testing for 2022. The majority of these tests are conducted online, apart from the Year 3 Writing Test which is still completed on paper. Students have been provided opportunities to familiarise themselves with the testing format for NAPLAN. The testing schedule for both Year 3 and Year 5 students is below:

Writing - Tuesday 10 May

Reading - Wednesday 11 May

Conventions of Language - Thursday 12 May

Numeracy - Friday 13 May

Any student who misses a test due to being absent will be given the opportunity to do a catch-up test on the next available day if it is within the testing window which is Tuesday 10 May until Friday 20 May.

Mothers and/or female family members or significant female friends of students are warmly invited to attend a Mother’s Day breakfast that is proposed for Thursday 5th May from 8:00am to 8:50am, to be held in the area outside the school assembly hall (weather permitting.) Tea, Coffee, Egg & Bacon Rolls will be available. It is proposed that all the children will sing a welcome song and the student captains will welcome everyone at 8.00am sharp, so your support of this commencement time is greatly appreciated please.

This will be an outdoor event should we have to cancel due to inclement weather families will be advised by no later than 7.30am via SMS. 

Easter isn’t over…it has just begun! Easter continues and is celebrated for 50 days after Easter Sunday ending with Pentecost. 

During this time Jesus appeared to his friends and followers talking to them and preparing them to go out and spread the good news of Jesus. The Emmaus story tells us that the disciples did not recognise Jesus and could not understand what Jesus was telling them. Sometimes things in our lives don’t make sense to us. Even if we know God is at work, we have a difficult time understanding what He might be doing. It is important to find daily blessings in our lives and to open our hearts and minds and to recognise Jesus in the everyday.

Blessings are all around us if we expect them and look for them.

The Story of Jesus' appearance to his disciples is called ‘The Road To Emmaus’ which can be found in the Bible in the book of Luke chapter 24 verse 13-25.

Confirmation Candidates

This weekend is the Mersey Leven Catholic Parish presentation of the Creed for the children who are preparing for Confirmation. Families are invited to attend any Mass in the Parish. 

 

We look forward to seeing you this weekend!

 

Games for the Saturday morning Devonport Soccer Association school roster recommence this Saturday 7th May – a reminder for families involved to check the Devonport Junior Soccer Association website https://djsaschools2022.torneopal.com/ for game times and grounds and for any updates regards cancellations. Thank you to the following people who have volunteered to support the teams in the capacity of coach/sideline manager:

*Training is not compulsory and is only conducted if coaches choose to and have the time available. 

Many thanks for the wonderful response to our invitation to attend parent-student-teacher meetings last term. These 15-minute conversations helped parents, students and teachers to focus on term 1 achievements, identifying possible challenges to academic and/or personal growth and the opportunity to confirm at least one goal to work towards that involve parents, students and teachers collaborating on establishing reasonable strategies for the realisation of the goal/s. Hopefully, any  mutually agreed upon strategies and goals that result from these three-way conversations will have far more potency than if the student is not part of this goal-setting. From the school’s perspective, we are extremely appreciative of every parent who finds the time to talk with their child or children about his or her education, and those parents who involve themselves with their child’s reading, spelling, maths, faith education. A parent’s role in his or her child’s education is so very significant, and the school recognises the enormous work that many parents put into ensuring their child has a clean uniform, a healthy lunch and recess and their homework completed; staff appreciate your role by your attendance at such initiatives, however, your role as parent is complex and demanding, and we appreciate that any school involvement is very often determined by work and family commitments.

Information regarding our school uniform is in the student diary or available on our school website. Please contact the school office for any uniform needs. Full school winter uniform is expected for all students from the first day of term 2, Monday May 2^nd.

G I R L S - WINTER

• School skirt or pinafore of modest length.
• Green school shirt and school tie (or dark green skivy if cold).
• Navy blue school jumper or Navy soft-shell jacket.
• Navy blue tights or ankle-length navy blue socks.
• Low-heeled black school shoes (no other visible colours) with arch support.
• Green scarf – scarf to be worn outside and during sedentary activities only.

B O Y S     - WINTER 

• Green school shirt and school tie (or dark green skivvy if cold).
• Navy blue school jumper or Navy soft-shell jacket.
• Long grey trousers or grey shorts of modest length.
• Ankle-length navy blue socks.
• Black school shoes (no other visible colour) with arch support.
• Green scarf – to be worn outside and during sedentary activities only.

SPORTS UNIFORM (To be worn Mondays and Fridays)

        . Plain Navy blue track pants or Plain navy blue shorts of modest length or Navy skort

        . Green polo shirt with school logo

        . School rugby top or navy soft-shell jacket

        . Ankle-length navy blue socks and runners with arch support 

House names and colours are:   Martyn - Green   Byrne- Blue    Dooley - Red

Catholic Education Tasmania would like to thank all of our parents and carers for their patience and assistance regarding enabling our schools to comply with the government’s COVID-19 management requirements. Prior to the start of term 1 Public Health, in consultation with the education sector, put in place a range of outbreak management guidelines to assist in the management of COVID-19 cases and outbreaks in schools. Analysis by Public Health of school case data collected during term 1 has shown that the rates of severe disease for students was extremely low. For term 2 Public Health, again in consultation with the education sector, is proposing to move from an outbreak management model to a symptoms-based model. This will mean that the focus for term 2 will be on those persons who are symptomatic to stay away and get tested. Testing of students who are not symptomatic will not be required unless in certain circumstances such as a rapid spike in case numbers. Catholic Education Tasmania through our schools will also taking particular care of those members of our school communities who are deemed to be vulnerable to severe illness should they become infected with COVID-19.

Students/staff with symptoms will be required to stay home and test daily – Rapid Antigen Tests are available upon request from the school.

• If negative and no symptoms, individuals can return to school.
• If test positive, isolate for 7 days or 10 days if symptoms persist.
• Schools will not be required to notify families on a case-by-case basis; Public Health will work closely with the Catholic Education Tasmania on an individual school-by-school basis when there is concern about significant transmission e.g. 30% of a year level, within a school.
• Schools have been encouraged to focus on regular strong messaging; ‘if symptomatic stay away and get tested’.

Congratulations to the following students who have received Student of the Week.

Prep: Not awarded this week. 

Year 1: Not awarded this week. 

Year 2: Not awarded this week. 

Year 3: Not awarded this week. 

Year 4: Not awarded this week. 

Year 5: Not awarded this week. 

Year 6: Not awarded this week. 

Congratulations to our House Raffle winners this week: 

Dooley - Emilia Ling  Martyn - Caleb Banks Byrne - Thomas Marshall

BOOK CLUB Issue 3 is out now! Scholastic has put together a wonderful catalog full of new releases from some of our favorite series'. Make sure you have a look! Orders need to be in by no later than Friday 20th May 2022.

Whole school assemblies have commenced again each morning – parents are welcome; please follow the COVID Safety Plan protocols – sanitize and face masks indoors.

Karlie offers discrete counselling services to students upon both parent's signed request. Request forms are available from the school office or can be downloaded from the school website.

‘Inquiring Minds’ Birth to 5 program - a ‘Set-Up for Success’ Catholic Education Tasmania initiative.

our ‘Inquiring Minds’ birth to 5 program operates each Friday during school term time from 9.00am to 10.30am;This program involves a considerable focus on communicating to parents the learning intentions of important activities that are associated with early years learning. Mrs Klug will be working to engage parents in early years learning experiences that will ensure children who are enrolling in Kindergarten, will be informed in regards to developing key social, emotional, physical and cognitive skills and understandings.

A reminder to parents that St Patrick's is a Nut Allergy School and that we ask that parents not pack nuts or nut products in their children's lunchboxes.