St Pat's News

Term 3 - September 2, 2021

St Patrick's Parish Primary School

Principal: Olga Lyons

Deputy Principal: Peter Sanderson

Parish Priest: Fr. John Corrigan

Phone: 55681371

Acknowledgement of Country

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.

From The Principal - Olga Lyons

From the Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I know that the message from Daniel Andrews on Wednesday that Face-to-Face Learning would not return during Term 3 was disappointing to hear.  It's more important than ever that we focus on developing a positive mindset and practice positive thinking strategies outlined in the article in this newsletter.  

I hope your children are enjoying the variety of Wellbeing activities offered on Wednesdays.  It was great to see so many photos sent through of the crazy hair designs and having fun at the online disco.  As we are hearing concerns about our children's level of mental fatigue, we are offering opportunities to engage in activities that lift their mood and relieve their stress levels.  Families are welcome to plan their own fun activities on Wednesday's as well.

Next Thursday there will be year level google meets for Japanese, Physical Education and Art while the teachers plan their term 4 units of work, in anticipation for a return to learning at school.  Links for these lessons will be on the Learning Portal slides for each year level. 

Thank you for the positive feedback received about the staggered google meets this Remote Learning.  I know that having more than one google meet in a household at a time can be challenging due to device availability.  

A positive aspect of remote learning is the flexibility to go deep on topics kids really love. Build upon and extend what they're learning with a natural connection to their environment. 

Getting outside and physically engaging with their environment is good for the wellbeing of everyone.  Let's take advantage of the fine weather and use our daily allowance of 2 hours of physical activity well. 

Kind regards,

Olga Lyons, Principal

Return to On-Site Learning

In yesterday’s Victorian press conference, Premier Daniel Andrews stated that there would be no return to on-site learning in Term 3, and that a plan for Term 4 would be announced in the coming days. He also announced that lockdown may be lifted for regional Victoria next week (with some restrictions still in place).

Later in the conference during question time, he eluded that an easing of restrictions in regional Victoria may impact the timing of the return to on-site learning for regional schools.

We will continue to monitor government advice and communicate this to parents as it is forthcoming, as we navigate this complex and rapidly changing landscape.  

Our School Vision & Mission

The attached file contains our current School Vision & Mission document.  This year we are scheduled to review these documents with the Staff and School Advisory Council.
Download

From The RE Leader - Eliza Dwyer

Let Us Pray For Our Father's

Leadership & Stewardship

Positive Thinking

Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health. 

Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.

The health benefits of positive thinking

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

  • Increased life span
  • Lower rates of depression
  • Lower levels of distress
  • Greater resistance to the common cold
  • Better psychological and physical well-being
  • Better cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
  • Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body.

Focusing on positive thinking

You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it does take time and practice — you're creating a new habit, after all. Here are some ways to think and behave in a more positive and optimistic way:

  • Identify areas to change. If you want to become more optimistic and engage in more positive thinking, first identify areas of your life that you usually think negatively about, whether it's work, your daily commute or a relationship. You can start small by focusing on one area to approach in a more positive way.
  • Give positive feedback. Compliment others and pass on positive vibes to those around you.  Positivity breeds positivity and productivity.
  • Check yourself. Periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what you're thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly negative, try to find a way to put a positive spin on them.
  • Be open to humour. Give yourself permission to smile or laugh, especially during difficult times. Seek humour in everyday happenings. When you can laugh at life, you feel less stressed.
  • Follow a healthy lifestyle. Aim to exercise for about 30 minutes on most days of the week. You can also break it up into 10-minute chunks of time during the day. Exercise can positively affect mood and reduce stress. Follow a healthy diet to fuel your mind and body. And learn techniques to manage stress.
  • Surround yourself with positive people. Make sure those in your life are positive, supportive people you can depend on to give helpful advice and feedback. Negative people may increase your stress level and make you doubt your ability to manage stress in healthy ways.
  • Practice positive self-talk. Start by following one simple rule: Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone else. Be gentle and encouraging with yourself. If a negative thought enters your mind, evaluate it rationally and respond with affirmations of what is good about you. Think about things you're thankful for in your life.

Onsite Learning Requirements

Category A

An authorised worker permit is now required for parents in regional Victoria requesting onsite supervision for their child/ren under Category A as an authorised worker.

Permits are required for children where both parents and/or carers are considered authorised workers, who cannot work from home, work for an authorised provider and where no other supervision arrangements can be made.

Where there are two parents/carers, both must be authorised workers for their children to be eligible for onsite provision at school. 

In rare circumstances, a parent/carer does not need a worker permit. This includes people employed in law enforcement, emergency services or health care workers who carry employer-issued photographic identification. 

Category B

Children experiencing vulnerability, including:

● in out-of-home care

● deemed vulnerable by a government agency, funded family or family violence service, and assessed as requiring education and care outside the family home

● identified by a school or early childhood service as vulnerable (including via referral from a government agency, or funded family or family violence service, homeless or youth justice service or mental health or other health service)

● where a parent/carer indicates that a student with a disability is vulnerable because they cannot learn from home, and/or informs the school the student is vulnerable due to family stress, the school must provide onsite supervision for that student. This may apply to students enrolled in specialist schools and students with a disability enrolled in mainstream schools.

An authorised worker permit is not required for accessing onsite supervision under Category B.

Remote Learning Protocol

The primary schools of the Warrnambool & District Catholic Schools Network have co-created a coordinated protocol for any future periods of remote learning. This letter is attached for your information.  
Download

Wellbeing News - Antonia Balmer

Physical Activity & Mental Health

Regular physical activity is great for children and young people’s healthy development and helps prevent and relieve mental health issues.
Download

How can we parents best support our children during lockdown?

This time will influence the rest of their lives, and yet it is also a time that many parents feel quite lost. Discover how to really support the development of healthy emotional wellbeing in our children during lockdown.Join Dr Arne Rubinstein with special guest Maggie Dent to discover how you can support your children to be motivated, happy and communicative during lockdown compared with angry, shut down and depressed.Free Facebook Live Event Thursday 2 September 7 - 8PM EST. No need to register just follow our Facebook Page and be online for the 7pm start

What am I grateful for?

Learning and Teaching

Yr 5/6 Students Enjoyed Wellbeing Wednesday Crazy Hair Day!

National Child Protection Week

National Child Protection Week on 5 -11 September, raises awareness about protecting the rights of children and preventing child abuse. eSafety has activities for people of all ages to get involved. 



Our professional learning for educators 'Online harmful sexual behaviours and emerging technology' is running as scheduled and we have tips to support educators during remote learning

We also have lesson plans for primary and secondary students and webinars and advice pages for parents and carers.

Support your students and school community by helping them build valuable online safety skills this National Child Protection Week.

During Lockdown I urge parents to pay close attention to what your children are doing online.   With more time on devices, there has been an increase in online bullying and access to inappropriate materials. 

Book Week Dress Up Day

Children can dress up as their favourite Book Character at home or at school on September 14 to celebrate the end of our Book Week Fair.  

Sustainability News

Sustainable things to do and make!

This week we are still in lockdown but you can still be sustainable. Here are some things you can do at home:

Plant seeds as a fun activity, you can even make your own paper pots

You can make a recipe from scratch, try and make a recipe from homegrown food

Make paper out of old used paper using this Link or make a paper mache creation

School News

Student's Birthdays

St Patrick's inline with our Healthy Eating Policy & Oral Health Policy would like to make parents aware about food brought into the school for student birthdays.  There is to be no food, cakes or lollies, brought into the school to share with their classmates. We also need to consider the number of children with allergies and the school needs to ensure everyone's safety.

Birthdays will still be celebrated by their teacher and classmates with a birthday song and recognised at our assemblies.

Australian Dental Health Victoria

Our school is participating in the Australian Dental Health Victoria program. A dental van will visit the school on Monday November 22. The School Dental Initiative forms were sent home with your child, if this has been misplaced, you can collect one from the office.

This is a voluntary program and if you wish for your child to be part of the program please return your form to your child's teacher by Monday September 6.

Stay at Home if you are Unwell!

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

Upcoming Events

Tuesday September 7 - SAC Meeting @ 7.30pm

Wednesday September 8 to Friday September 10 - Yr 5/6 Camp to Cave Hill Creek

Friday September 17 - Term 3 ends at 2.20pm

Monday October 4 - Term 4 commences

Sunday November 7 - P & F Wellness Day

Friday November 12 - Mini Spring Fair

Friday November 19 - Pupil Free Day for Report Writing

School Rosters

Canteen

NO CANTEEN UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO COVID RESTRICTIONS.


Library Reshelving - Shelving can be done at anytime during the week of:

NO LIBRARY SHELVING AT THIS TIME DUE TO COVID RESTRICTIONS


Sickbay Linen - the linen will be sent home with your child the Friday you are rostered on.

Friday August 27 -  Marcelle Hennig

Sporting Schools

SPORTING SCHOOLS WILL BE ON WEDNESDAYS AND THURSDAYS FOR TERM 3. THE SPORTS FOR THIS TERM WILL BE BASKETBALL AND GYMNASTICS.


Attendance forms are located on the Skoolbag App. Attendance slips must be filled out by 10am for each day your child is attending Sporting Schools. Any child without an attendance form will not be permitted to attend. 

https://www.moqproducts.com.au/skoolbag/installation-instructions/

Father's Day Breakfast - POSTPONED

We are very disappointed that we need to postpone our annual Father's Day Breakfast. We are hoping to reschedule the breakfast once the lockdown is over and we can be confident of the event going ahead safely. 

For those who have already made an order, we are happy to reimburse you or we can keep the order in CDFpay until a decision has been made regarding rescheduling the event.

P & F Dates for your Diary

Friday October 26 - Kids Halloween Disco @ 6pm (time to be confirmed)

Sunday November 7 - Wellness Day

Friday November 12 - Mini Spring Fair

Visit this link to view the latest newsletter from Australian Parent's Council.
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Parish Masses

Port Fairy St Patrick's & Koroit Infant Jesus Mass Times

Saturday Vigil Mass - 6.30pm at Koroit

Sunday Mass - 9am @ Port Fairy

Community News