Newsletter 16 - 26th September 2023

2023

Term 1 - Friday 3rd February - Thursday 6th April

Term 2 - Wednesday 26th April - Friday 7th July

Term 3 - *Tuesday 25th July - Friday 29th September

Term 4 - *Tuesday 17th October - Thursday 14th December

*Student Free Days Monday 25th April, Monday 24th July, Monday 16th October.

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.)

September

October

November

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

Prep

    Lincoln for your great positive attitude in the morning.

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Amir for his application towards completing tasks and for the manners he displays in his interactions with others.

Year 4

Kaylee for your outstanding attentiveness to lessons and engaged participation.

Year 5

Liam for your wonderful sentence work! Thank you for always being willing to share your ideas with the class.

Great job!

Year 6

Zarna for her fantastic attitude and consideration towards others.

Congratulations to our House Raffle winners this week:

Dooley - Charlie N, Lewis, Seth

Martyn - Mason, Liam, Ruby F

Byrne - C.J, Daphnee, Karson

Year 6 Camp Reflections:

My biggest challenge was crate climbing because it was so hard. - Jake.

My ultimate highlight from camp was when everyone was cheering me on at Hollybank because I was terrified to start with. - Oliver

Something I learned about myself at camp was that I can do anything as long as I have support from my friends. - Amaja

I liked Parliament House because I thought it was going to be boring and a waste of time but when we got there it was really interesting watching the speaker and everyone else. - Mushtaq

Something I would do to improve camp for next year would be to go to bed when we were supposed to. - Daniel

It was really fun and exciting racing my friends and Mr Atkins at HyperDrive. - Tanner

My ultimate highlight from camp was definitely HyperDrive. It was thrilling, exciting and fun! - Buckley 

My biggest challenge, and I think most people will tell you this, was facing my fears. We learnt about friendship, teamwork and how to have fun while being terrified. It was an amazing trip, everyone has made memories for life and had an amazing time. - Rose

My proudest moment would be doing most of the obstacles at Hollybank because some of the obstacles were really challenging both mentally and physically. - Zarna

The pasta bake was amazing! - Jason

My biggest challenge was completing the red course at Hollybank. - Frank

Hollybank was so fun and I loved doing the hardest course - the black course! - Egan

My highlight from camp was Go Karting because I nearly beat Mr Atkins! - Jovi

My ultimate highlight from camp was doing the ziplines on the red course at the treetops. At first the ziplines were scary because it was so high up but after the first one I wasn’t scared anymore. - Zara

Something I learnt about myself on camp was that I am braver and more courageous than I thought I was. - Hailey

My biggest challenge at camp was going to sleep without talking. - Lachlan

My proudest moment on camp would be going on the treetops courses at Hollybank. I was nervous to have a go but when I went out of my comfort zone it felt really good and it was incredibly fun. - Jimmy

My favourite activities were Hollybank and Go Karts. - Peyton

Something I learnt at camp was to respect others' limits. - Dempsey

I really enjoyed spending time with my friends at camp. - Melia

We also had the pleasure of Marty Ogle, better known as MJR Marty or Magic Marty, joining us for two evenings at the Blue Lagoon to lead us in sessions around being safe online. Below is the report from Marty that details what we looked at.

Social Media – How do I Cope?

Recently at the Blue Lagoon, I took a session with Year 6’s looking at all aspects of social media plus looking at leaving a positive legacy. We discussed the positives and the negatives involving the use of all devices including phones, computers, iPads, gaming devices and even smart TV’s. We looked at how it is possible to do history checks with these devices and how we need to

1.  Respect them by taking care of these devices because they are very expensive but, more importantly, respect others and ourselves when we use them
2.  Make good choices when using them. For example, when we are asked to stop using them by an adult at school or home, we should do so straight away rather than talk back or complain.
3. Be aware of the dangers and the good things that social media and these devices can bring into our lives.

We looked at various issues concerning social media including bullying, scams, fake news, laws, addiction and security. The students and staff were very forthcoming with ideas and suggestions and they even participated in a survey that found that 50% of them had received an upsetting email/post and around 80% of them have trouble sleeping – this is not surprising as many of them have TV’s in their rooms and are allowed to take devices into their room unsupervised. One final survey question revolved around how many of them were worried/sad/ tired of adults at home constantly being on devices – please note this figure was just over 90% but I fully understand that many adults need to do this due to work. The second night we looked at finding ways to leave a positive legacy when they leave at the end of the year. They are still exploring ideas in this area – look out! I will be back in term 4 to discuss with them their anxieties/concerns regarding entering high school. You should be very proud of this class as they were constantly receiving compliments about their manners during the camp. They found so many ‘Spirit of Jesus’ moments from their trip when we sat around the campfire.

Marty Ogle

Students from Kinder to Year 6 participated in the "Walking with Jesus Walkathon" on Thursday 14th & Friday 15th September.  It was great to see all students participating and coming together to raise funds for the Archbishop's Samaritan Projects. Students demonstrated enthusiasm and persistence around the course.

All donations need to be received by Wednesday, 27th September, via the QKR app.

Our school athletics carnival is being held on Thursday 26th October and will be run at  East Devonport Football Ground, Girdlestone Park. Students will be bussed from school to and from the carnival. The carnival will commence at 9.30 am and run through to approx 2.15 pm. A confirmed schedule of events will be advised to families at the beginning of next term. 

The North West Catholic Primary School Carnival will be held in Penguin on Wednesday 15th November. Students from Years 3 - 6 will be selected from the school carnival to attend this event. 

From Tuesday 17th October, students are required to be in their full summer uniform. Students have been able to transition from their Winter uniform to Summer uniform over the last 2 weeks of Term 3. Hats are compulsory in Term 4, No Hat = No Outside Play. 

In the near future, whilst at recess or lunch we will hold an unannounced emergency practice with staff & students, to test our response to a potential scenario in which staff identify a threat warranting the school go into lockdown (opposite to evacuation). As for fire evacuation drills, we recognise the worth of testing this process. We have plans in place to make this practice as least disruptive as possible.

If you have queries you are welcome to call our WHS Officer Katie Ryan on 0497 681 042

During the past few weeks, we have had quite a few students who have lost/misplaced uniform items (Softshell Jackets, Rugby Jumpers etc) The majority of these items are named, our lost property has been checked on numerous occasions by these families but have not yet been located. We ask that all parents please check their child/ren's bags to make sure that the wrong items have not been accidentally picked up and put into incorrect bags. 

Please ensure all items of uniform have been named our lost property is currently overflowing with unnamed items. If these items of clothing have not been claimed by the end of Term 3 they will be cleared out and put up for donations at the beginning of Term 4. 

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/

St Patrick’s Catholic Church

Mass Times

Wednesday Mass: 9:30am Latrobe

Sunday Mass: 5:00pm Latrobe

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 do offer arts and crafts, storytime, interactive games and activities as well as outside play.

Our sessions run every Friday from 9:00 - 10:30 a.m during school terms. Please bring a piece of fruit, a hat and drink bottle. Tea and coffee is provided for parents/carers. We hope to see you there!

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.