St Pat's News

Principal: Olga Lyons

Deputy Principal: Peter Sanderson

Parish Priest: Fr. John Corrigan

Phone: 55681371

We Acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are gathered today.

We respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders, past, present and future. We acknowledge their stories, traditions and living cultures on this land and commit to building a brighter future together.

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The mood here at school certainly lifted with the news that Regional Victorian schools were to return to face-to-face learning this Friday.  I'm sure there were many shouts of joy in your households too.  

Thank you to all of our parents who supported the children's learning at home.  We know it isn't easy juggling home learning, unfamiliar technologies and your own work.  

As yet, we have not received advice on whether parents can come into the school, but we will notify you of the directive once we do.  For now, we will limit parents to essential meetings or tasks.  Masks will need to be worn by adults while in the school building.  When gathering at pickup time, we will need parents to remain in their cars or wear masks when talking to other parents. 

Unfortunately the Moyne Winter Sports, scheduled for this Friday, have been postponed until either Thursday or Friday of next week (if the current 50 persons restriction on outdoor sports is lifted). 

Kind regards,

Olga Lyons, Principal

Last week was Food Allergy Week and as our school has students with anaphylaxis and food allergies, we feel it is important to inform our wider community about food allergies.

Australia has the highest incidence of food allergy in the world, and it’s growing at a rapid rate. We estimate that there are 800,000 Australians with a diagnosed food allergy, and many more undiagnosed. Food Allergy Week is an initiative of A&AA and is dedicated to promoting community understanding of food allergy to help protect those at risk. While people with food allergy need to take all reasonable steps to avoid their allergen/s, it is also important for the community to have a basic understanding of allergy to help keep those at risk safe. It’s up to us all to be allergy aware.

As COVID-19 restrictions ease, more Australians are dining out. Food service venues are employing staff again and it is likely they have never had training in food allergy. For this reason, throughout Food Allergy Week 2021, we call on food service venue owners to train all new and returning food service staff using the free online food allergen management training - All About Allergens – available at: https://foodallergytraining.org.au

Managing food allergies is everyone’s responsibility. During Food Allergy Week 2021 we will be highlighting and sharing our consumer resources to help people living with food allergy understand their responsibilities when dining out. We have a number of resources to help people communicate their food allergy to food service staff. Visit the eating out with food allergies section of our website to learn more about managing your food allergy.

How can you help?

We ask that members and friends share our Food Allergy Week resources through your social media networks, help to inform others, and raise awareness about everyday management of food allergy. You can also download our free resources to display and share in schools, workplaces and other community venues.

Finally, encourage your favourite food services venues to complete the free online food allergen management training: All About Allergens: Training for Food Service. 

This week the sustainability group set up a recycling station outside the ICT Room. The recycling station has:

• A soft plastic bin, for all your soft plastics. 
• A tub for used toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, floss containers and their packaging. 
• A tub for used makers, used pens, CD’s, old phones, batteries and light globes.
• A Wonder Bread Recycling Rewards campaign bin for recycling your bread bags and tags. Help us turn bread bags into school play equipment.

If you have any of these items for recycling, drop  them at the Recycle Station outside the ICT lab.

If you have any question you can ask the sustainability leaders, Jorja and Andrew or Mr Steere.

Jorja Lowe & Andrew Gapes

Teachers, parents and students will have an opportunity to talk about the learning that has taken place so far this semester on June 15 or 16.  Parents can log into PAM make a 15 minute appointment time. All Foundation to Year 6 students are expected to attend with their parents.

Winter Uniform Clarification:  Long pants are required to be worn with the winter uniform, not shorts.  Should a student have a genuine reason why they cannot wear long pants, parents are asked to inform the Principal.  

Just a reminder, that if your child is showing any signs of a cold or the flu, they are to stay at home. 

Visitors from metropolitan Melbourne are to contact the school prior to visiting the school.  

Bookclub orders for Issue 4 will close on June 10

Future orders can be made by sending the order form and cash to the school office or via the online LOOP. Directions on how to use the LOOP are on the order page.