CALENDAR

Detailed calendar can be viewed at www.spnhill.catholic.edu.au or on the FlexiBuzz app

NOVEMBER Fr 2 F-2 Extended Day We 7 K-F Transition (full day) Su 18 Book Fair at Nhill Market Mo-Fr 19-30 Book Fair at school DECEMBER Mo-Th 3-13 Water Familiarisation Program We 5 SAC Annual General Meeting Mo 17 Fun Water Afternoon (Yrs F-2) We 19 Graduation Mass Th 20 Students’ Last Day—Dismissal

3:15pm

Dear Parents and Members of St. Patrick’s School Community,

30 SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME—MARK 10—46—52—Last Sunday’s Gospel from Mark asks whether we want to see? And if we are honest there are days when we just don’t want to see any more bad news on the TV or see people who are poor, or hungry or homeless. We don’t want to see the lonely person at our work or in our street who comes to us when we are already so busy and so tired. Sometimes we lose faith that we are doing any good when we try to help others. Some days we just want our own lives, our own needs, our own friends and our own happiness. I think we’ve all been in this situation before.

Last Sunday’s gospel described the story of Bartimaeus, a blind beggar who called out to Jesus to restore his sight. Jesus granted his request and when Bartimaeus could see he stood up and followed Jesus. Bartimaeus reminds us that we have a choice. We can blind. We can turn away from people and problems that call us to show compassion and sacrifice. Or we can ask Jesus to help us see.

However Christians sometimes focus their vision just on helping others. The good thing is that Jesus helps us see more than that – a lot more. He helps us see how valuable we are to God and how much God loves us regardless of our strengths or weaknesses. God helps us to see the good friends coming into our lives through our service and discipleship. He helps us see that we can’t help everyone – that it’s critical to say no at times in order to rest, relax, and avoid burning out from helping others. So don’t feel down when you want to just turn away. Ask Jesus to help you see why you should turn back to him and where you can find the support you need to keep going. He’ll show you.

WELCOME MRS HAMILTON— Interviews for the vacant Learning Support Officer position were conducted late last week and we are pleased to announce that Mrs Annette Hamilton was the successful applicant. Annette has only recently moved to Nhill from the Mornington Peninsula and with qualifications in Education Support we are very pleased to welcome her to our staff and we are certain that she will enjoy her time at St Patrick’s School. Please introduce yourself to Annette when you visit the school.

SAC REPORT—Tuesday 30 October—At Tuesday night’s SAC meeting a number of policies were discussed—Student Anti-Bullying and Anti-Harassment, Camps and Excursions, Homework, Purchasing, Social Media for Employees,- Anaphylaxis Management and Child Safety. All these policies were recommended to Father Peter for ratification. Reports were also received from the Fundraising, Social Justice, and Grounds and Maintenance Working Parties. The Fundraising Group raised

As partners in Catholic Education and open to God’s presence, we pursue the fullness of life for all. St. Patrick’s School is a Child-safe school.

Our Vision

SCHOOL

Advisory

Council

Members

Parent Representatives Lisa Braybrook Helen Cannell (Chairperson) Michelle Dickinson Jamie Donnell Kimberley Philip Melissa Polkinghorne Ex Officio Fr. Peter Hudson Kathryn Bendall Ann Munro Karen Rintoule

St. Patrick’s Church Times

Sundays at 10:00 am

Sunday 4 November—LLA

This week’s winner is Jessi who

was caught using our school rules by being responsible.

Nominated by Mrs Bendall

St Patrick’s School

is a child safe school St. Patrick’s School

29 Leahy Street, PO Box 113, Nhill 3418

Phone 03 5391 1575

Mobile 0419 929 271

Fax 03 5391 1506

Email principal@spnhill.catholic.edu.au

Web www.spnhill.catholic.edu.au

Term Dates Class Times Administration Office Hours

Term 1 29 Jan * to 29 Mar 8:55am Class time

Term 2 16 Apr to 29 Jun 11am Recess Monday 9am-3:30pm

Term 3 16 Jul to 21 Sep 11:30am Class time Tuesday 9am

3:50pm Term 4 8 Oct to 21 Dec 1:00pm Lunch Wednesday

1:45pm Class time Thursday

3:15pm Dismissal Friday 9am1pm

Newsletter No. 2018/32 Thursday, 1 November 2018

JUNIOR CLASS This week in the Junior Classroom we have been reading 'Possum Magic' as our shared reading book. Our vocab chart words are 'squashed', 'adventures', 'unexpectedly' and 'nibbled'. During Writing we have been making things such as pizza muffins and then writing the procedure for making them.

We made lots of things when the Kinder Kids visited yesterday including fairy bread, pirate hats and a pencil pet and we will write the procedure for making these in the next few days.

We played some new games in PE this week with 'Clap Catch' and 'Protect the Pin' helping the students develop their coordination and team work skills.

In Maths the students are recording their counting patterns by 2's, 5's and 10's. Number recognition games were a focus, along with fraction ideas using visual activities. The Kinder kids joined in Mathematics on Wednesday and we did a puzzle on Possum Magic, which linked with the class theme.

We are looking forward to our excursion to Halls Gap and Horsham tomorrow with lots of great things to learn about!

SENIOR CLASS During the reading block the Senior class has been reading a story called ‘Goosebumps: Horrorland’. The students have been focusing on looking beyond the text to discover new meaning from the story. In Writing the students have been developing recount texts. They are working in groups to create a News Report and they have been filming their stories using scripts they have developed themselves.

In Mathematics students have been exploring fractions. They have been learning how to add and subtract fractions with the same and different denominators, using a range of hands on activities.

In the Religious Education unit 'Calling', the class has been brainstorming and discussing how the concept of calling is important and relevant in today's society

In the Art and Technology block the students have been exploring a variety of algorithms within our everyday lives.

a considerable amount (final amount is yet to be determined) from the Luv-a-Duck 50th birthday celebration on Saturday and were very thankful to all those who baked muffins and completed their shift on the day.

The coffee that was used at this function is currently available as another fundraiser. These orders are due tomorrow and can be returned to school for collation. Any orders will help coffee farmers in Timor-Leste become more independent and help to provide opportunities for these subsistence farmers to improve their quality of life. Not only are we raising money but we are raising awareness of the plight of these people and we are helping to create a more sustainable future for these people.

Our grounds are looking resplendent due to the hard work of Stu Williams who has recently taken over this contract. Recent rains have caused the grass to grow rapidly and while this means more frequent mowing it is also alleviating the dry, dead patches that occurred earlier this year when the watering system failed. The students are enjoying the opportunity to find 4, 5 and 6 leaf clover on the oval at lunchtime.

Other items of business included suggested school fees for 2019, which will be ratified by Father Peter before being notified later in the year, and the latest update on the replacement of the shade sails.

SOCKTOBER SOCK PARADE—During Religious Education lessons all students have been looking at the concept of Mission and why we do things for others who are less fortunate than ourselves. One way to help others is to raise money to support those who face greater disadvantage than us. This year the money that we raise through our annual Socktober Sock Parade will go to support improved education systems in Myanmar. Given Nhill’s close ties with the Karen people we are encouraging all families to ‘dig a little deeper’ this year for this very worthwhile cause which is organised by Catholic Mission Australia. The Sock Parade is scheduled for 3.00pm next Friday (9th November) and will be held in the hall. Students are encourage to either make a sock (hand) puppet or decorate their socks using whatever they can find and then show off their creativity next Friday. We hope you can join us for this wonderful event.

GLENN MEEK—We were deeply saddened by the news of the sudden passing of Glenn earlier this week. Lilly is a past student of St Patrick’s School and we are praying for Bianca, Lachlan, Mitchell, Lilly and Glenn’s extended family and friends that they will be comforted during their sorrow and that they can feel the love and support of the people of Nhill and district. Rest in peace Glenn.

LUV-A-DUCK—As mentioned previously the Fundraising Working Group of the School Advisory Council are very grateful for the support they received from all families who contributed their time and/or cooking expertise for the Luv-a-Duck 50th birthday celebrations last weekend. This was a very successful fundraiser and it shows what great results can be achieved when everyone comes together to make something happen. Congratulations and a huge thank you to SAC members for coordinating this event.

KINDERGARTEN TRANSITION VISIT– The kindergarten children had a ‘thoroughly good time’ when they visited on Wednesday. They loved listening to ‘Possum Magic’ and then they had some fun ‘making things’ including fairy bread, a pencil pal and a pirate hat. Going outside to play at recess was a highlight for some and they followed this with a puzzle in Maths. They can’t wait for their final session which is a full day next Wednesday. We are certainly looking forward to having these enthusiastic children at St Pat’s next year.

Full colour version of newsletter is on our website spnhill.catholic.edu.au/newsletters-2018.html and FlexiBuzz

INTEGRATED STUDIES—SUSTAINABILITY—During Integrated Studies students are being asked to consider what they can do in the local community to reduce our waste and to care for our planet, God’s world. Jayda (Year 5 student) would like to ask our students and their families to consider our environment by introducing ‘Waste Free Wednesdays’ for the remainder of the year. Her idea of ‘Nude Food’ means no packaged food in lunch boxes in an attempt to reduce the waste that is thrown away each school day. Please help Jayda action this important strategy by not packing any pre-packed food on Wednesdays for the remainder of the year (and hopefully in 2019).

REMINDERS

Contact details—There are times when we will need to contact you, including on any day your child is absent and you haven’t informed the school as to the reason for the absence. Do we have your most up to date contact details? If not, please contact the school on 53911575 so we can update our records. Please include parent/carers’ name, address, phone numbers, email address and emergency contact details.

The Federal Government is also changing the way that it allocates funding to schools. In the future it will be based upon the address and income of parents rather than the assets that people, including farmers, have. For this reason, as well as the one above, it is vital that we have correct contact details for every child at our school.

Please remember to contact the school if any of these details or your circumstances change.

Notify the school of your child’s absence—Protecting the safety and well-being of children through the reporting and monitoring of absenteeism is the responsibility of both parents/carers and schools. Please remember to call the school on 53911575, SMS on 0419929271 or log your child’s absence using our school’s communication app FlexiBuzz early in the morning if your child is going to be away or late for school so your child’s absence can be recorded correctly.

For further information on the processes and procedures our school uses to record, monitor and follow-up student attendance and absence please read our Attendance Policy at http://www.spnhill.catholic.edu.au/policy.html.

Same-day notification of unexplained student absences—Our school will text you as soon as practicable after 10.00am on the day your child is not at school and you haven’t notified the school as to why. An example of the message is:

“St. Patrick’s School records show <student name> is absent <day date dd/mm/yy>. Please reply via SMS, phone 53911575 or use FlexiBuzz app: student name/reason/absence date.”

If you are notified by the school that your child is away without a reason, please contact us as soon as possible by texting 0419929271, calling 53911575 or use the FlexiBuzz app to let us know where your child is. If we cannot reach you because we don’t have your correct contact details (e.g. message notification fail, disconnected number), then we will make contact with any emergency contact nominated on your child’s file held by the school, where possible, on the same day of the unexplained absence.

Don't forget to check out our parent/ carer's section in our library. This book is just one example - 9 Ways to a Resilient Child - some of the interesting topics in this book are:

Building Resilience—Building resilience by being psychologically flexible; Self-control: the secret to success?; There’s no such thing as smart; It’s all about relationships; Strengths-based parenting; Screen time vs green time.

Pink & Purple

Please remember it is your responsibility to contact us to provide an explanation for your child's absence from school, and where possible, please inform us in advance of upcoming absences.

Save this number! - Our school uses SMS/text to contact parents/carers as soon as practical after 10.00 am on the day of an unexplained student absence. Save this number, 0419929271, into your phone so you know it is the school contacting you if you receive a text.

FlexiBuzz—We strongly encourage parents/carers, if you haven’t already done so, to download the school’s communication app, FlexiBuzz. Please contact office staff if you have any questions in relation to FlexiBuzz.

UPCOMING EVENTS—

Nhill College Closure Day—Friday 30 November—Due to a Nhill College Closure day on 30 November the Propodollah bus will not be operating. Affected travellers please make alternative arrangements for travel to and from school on that date.

As always, please contact the school if you have any questions about what is happening at St. Patrick’s School.

Kathryn Bendall, Principal.

Elsa

TV

Show

What can you

share about

yourself that no-

one or not many

people know?

A happy smile and sense of humour.

What do you want to

do when you grow up?

Playing on the trampoline. Chips

Go to the pool to have fun.

Frankie the cat and Bella the dog

Elsa

If you could go

anywhere / do anything

right now, what would

you do?

Who are they and what do

you enjoy doing with them?

Best thing about St.

Patrick’s School

Mum & Dad. Elise & Katie, Luke. We love playing games.

Playing four-square and games with Jody.

Bali where I went swimming with my family.

Best

ever A teacher, because

it’s my favourite thing.

Erin