FEBRAURY 20, 2025 NEWSLETTER
CHILD SAFETY STATEMENT
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear Parents and Carers,
It was great to see so many parents and grandparents attending the Opening School Mass last Friday.
Our Welcome Breakfast is next Monday, February 24 at 8.00am-8.40am. The classrooms are open for families to visit between 8.30am-9.00am. The cut off of orders has been extended to tomorrow, Friday at 12.00pm
I will be at a Diocesan Leadership Conference in Horsham this Thursday & Friday.
Our Term 1 School Advisory Council meeting will be next Tuesday at 7.00pm.
Olga Lyons
SCHOOL CLOSURE DAYS - 2025
Term 1 - Friday April 4 - RE PD (To be confirmed)
Term 2 - Tuesday April 22 - Collaboration
Wednesday April 23 - Maths Curriculum
Thursday April 24 - DOBCEL Strategic Plan
Tuesday June 10 - Wellbeing PD
Thursday 19 & Friday 20 September - RE PD
Term 3 - Monday July 21 - Structured Literacy PD
Final Day for Students in Term 4 - Thursday December 18
FROM THE REL - MICHELLE MALONE
WELCOME BREAKFAST
The St. Patrick's staff would like to invite parents to a WELCOME BREAKFAST on Monday February 24th. Breakfast will be served between 8.00am and 8.40am. Parents can visit the classrooms with their children between 8.30 and 9.00am. Parents who do not wish to attend the breakfast may visit classrooms from 8.30am.
Orders have been extended to tomorrow, Friday at 12pm. No later orders can be accepted but you are welcome to come and have a cuppa and visit the classrooms.
YEAR 2 & SCIENCE NEWS
Year 2 News
Year 2 has had a wonderful start to the school year, filled with exciting learning and fun experiences! This week, we were lucky enough to have a special science incursion with Questacon, where we loved taking part in all the hands-on experiments. Year 2 students have also started writing recounts, and Keely did an amazing job writing about our Questacon incursion! To make the week even more memorable, we were thrilled to have some very special guests join us—Judi, Julian's Nana, and Shaun Murrihy, who shared their stories about school, community and life in the past. What a fantastic start to the year!
Questacon Recount
Yesterday I went to the school hall to see Questacon and it was epic! First we watched the scientists tell us about lift and gravity. Alexia got told to go up and she blew up a bin bag and it went up to the roof. Next, everyone watched the lady make an enormous bubble. The bubbles were big enough to fit a little bubbles inside it and Lily got to actually stand inside a bubble! I loved our incursion. By Keely Parkinson
Science News
On Tuesday, we were lucky enough to have the Questacon Science Circus visit us from the National Science & Technology Centre in Canberra. The students enjoyed and were amazed by a range of fun scientific experiments and interactive activities. They learnt about scientific concepts of Forces.
The Questacon performers will be doing more exciting shows at the Warrnambool Showgrounds this Saturday 22nd. If you are interested in taking the family, book online using the code on the flyer sent home with the students. The shows are free and will appeal to children of all ages!
* The flyer is attached to this newsletter in the Community News section.
THIS WEEK'S AWARDS
GIVE YOURSELF TO GOODNESS: James Kirkpatrick
FOUDNATION: Tayla Kelly, Bobby Berg
YEAR 1: Juliet Hayes, Mia Coxall
YEAR 2: Tully Brittain-Watts, Lynden Knee, Keely Parkinson
YEAR 3A: Jai Coxall, Rosie Brian, Liam Jackson
YEAR 3B: Poppi Sproal
YEAR 4: Ayla Gramss, Max Simpson, Heidi Wagg
YEAR 5: Eli Shields, Nelly Parkinson
YEAR 6: Perry Brown, Lewis Mackenzie, Edmund Sheehan
CDFpay - THIS IS READY TO USE
St Patrick's uses CDFpay for online canteen ordering, uniform shop, events, fundraising, and over-the-counter purchases at our school.
How to register for a CDFpay account
- Search ‘CDFpay’ on the App Store (Apple) or Google Play store, download the app, then click ‘Sign up now’. Alternatively, scan the QR code or enter the following link in your web browser: https://user.cdfpay.flexischools.com.au/register
- Enter and confirm your email address, then click ‘Sign up’.
- Check your email inbox and follow the prompts to complete your account registration (check junk/spam if lost).
After you have registered and entered your child’s details, you can:
- Add your child’s student card number to enable over-the-counter purchases.
- Top up your parent wallet and set daily spend limits for your child.
- To avoid card surcharges, top up $50 or more using a debit card or bank transfer any value.
- Order and pay in seconds!
Have questions? Visit https://flexischools.zendesk.com/hc/en-au/ for detailed FAQs or chat to the Flexischools Digital Assistant. If you cannot find what you are looking for, please complete the online Contact Form and Flexischools will get back to you directly.
SCHOOL DATES - 2025
| Friday February 21 | Assembly at 2.40pm |
| Monday February 24 | Welcome Breakfast at 8.00am and Open Classrooms at 8.30am |
| Monday February 24 | Lions Club Eye Screening - Foundation, Yr 3 & Yr 6 |
| Tuesday February 25 | SAC Meeting at 7.00pm |
| Wednesday February 26 | St Pat's Athletics - Yrs 1 - 6 |
| Friday February 28 | Division Swimming |
| Wednesday March 5 | Reconciliation Canditate Mass at 7.00pm |
| Thursday March 6 | Foundation Athletics |
| Friday March 7 | NO CANTEEN |
| Assembly at 2.40pm | |
| Monday March 10 | Labour Day Public Holiday |
| Monday March 17 | Whole School Mass at 12.30pm |
| Friday March 21 | Assembly at 2.40pm |
| Friday March 28 | Moyne Athletics |
| Wednesday April 2 | Reconcilation at 5.30pm |
| Friday April 4 | SCHOOL CLOSURE - TO BE CONFIRMED |
THE WELLBEING BAROMETER - 2025
SCHOOLZINE
Schoolzine is the platform that St Patrick's uses for our Newsletter, Sporting Schools Form and lots more. There are links on the Home Page to PAM, Latest Newsletter, School Calendar, eForms, Call Us, Website, Policies and Procedures, CDfpay, Newsletter Archive, Facebook Link, Child Safety and Canteen Menu.
To download Schoolzine click on the link below. The passcode to get access to this App is 8137
SPORTING SCHOOLS
Sporting Schools will commence next week, Tuesday February 4th. The program will run for 7 weeks, with the final session being on Thursday March 20. The program days for Term 1 are Tuesday and Thursdays 3.20pm-4.30pm. You must register your child via the Schoolzine App. See details earlier in the newsletter regarding the App. Millie Kenna and Ben Kelly will be running the program.
Please only register your child/children the day of or the night before the session they will be attending. Cut off is 12pm. The form will not be live until Monday February 3.
Days are subject to change depending on the availability of Millie Kenna.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Live Your Best Life in Love...
A Marriage Encounter weekend is for you…
Every married couple deserves this very special weekend.
Time-out to nurture your most precious relationship away from daily distractions.
The two of you will come away from your weekend feeling more deeply connected
and with tools to help keep the passion alive.
No group sharing required.
The weekend is based around Catholic values. Couples of all faiths are welcome.
Please check our website for more details and to book your special weekend:
Our next weekend is: 25-27 April 2025 at St Paul's Retreat Centre, Wantirna South.
Starts Friday evening at 7pm and finishes Sunday afternoon around 4:30pm
Information/Bookings: Phone Mercy & James 0409 183 676 or
Email: vicbookings@wwme.org.au Website: wwme.org.au
