Principal’s Message
Dear Parents/Carers,
On Friday night the Year 6 students enjoyed a night of fun here at school- pizza, dancing and a movie. It was so lovely to see them enjoying themselves in a relaxed and social environment. The past two years have dealt out many disappointments and cancelled events, so to be able to have fun and celebrate was just wonderful. A big thank you to the Year 6 teachers for all their organisation and supervision of the evening.
Yesterday we celebrated Book Week which was postponed last term. This year’s theme was ‘Old Worlds, News Worlds, Other Worlds’. Many of the outfits were very creative, and it was so lovely to see the sense of fun and enjoyment among the students and teachers. It was a fun day to welcome back our Year 4 students!
Please keep our Year 2 students in your prayers. Over the past couple of months they have been preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This celebration will take place during school hours today. There are some photos on our galleries page. Thank you to Mrs. Fawcett and our Year 2 teachers for organising this Sacrament.
Year 6 children will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation next Tuesday 25th November. Parents are able to view this via a live stream link which will be made available via compass. Please keep these students in your prayers.
Presently we are finalising our student numbers and class structures for 2022. If you are planning to leave the area or change schools could you please let the front office know as soon as possible.
We are also in the process of finalising staff. 2022 will see several changes in our teaching staff. Mr Trent Perczyk has taken up a teacher exchange opportunity and will transfer to St Anne’s in North Albury for 2022 and possibly 2023. Whilst he will be greatly missed, this is a wonderful opportunity for Trent to explore another educational setting, sharing his expertise and gaining new knowledge. As part of the exchange, Mrs Rebecca Art from St Anne’s will join our St Patrick’s community. Many of you may remember Beck who was part of our community in 2018 and 2019 as our Targeting Maths Teacher. We wish Trent all the best and welcome Beck back into our community. A big congratulations to Miss House who has secured a full-time, permanent teaching position at Holy Spirit. Whilst Laura will be greatly missed, this is a wonderful opportunity. And finally, Mr Dempsey has taken up a teaching position at Trinity Thurgoona. Again this will be a loss to our community but an exciting opportunity for Rhys and we wish him all the best.
We also welcome three new staff members to our community. Mrs Michelle Tankard will join us as our Assistant Principal and Year 3 teacher, and Mrs Lilly Cant will join us in a part time role, releasing the RE coordinator. We have been allocated an extra day for an Inclusive and Diverse Learning Teacher so Mrs Nicole Hickey will join us each Wednesday.
Given the changes, exact class teachers and positions have not be finalised but when they are, these will be communicated to you.
On Monday 13th December the children will have a transition session with their 2022 teacher between 11.30am and 1.15pm. The last day of term 4 for children is Wednesday, 15th December.
2022 school start dates are as follows:
Friday 28th January: staff return for professional learning.
Monday 31st and Tuesday 1st February: Maths Assessment Interviews (booking times will become available via Compass after transition day).
Wednesday 2nd February: Year 1-6 students return
Monday 31st-Friday 4th Feb: Kinder Best Start interviews (booking times will become available via Compass by the 10th December)
Monday 7th Feb: Kindergarten students commence.
Our Year 5 students participated in a leadership workshop on Monday. From here, they nominated and voted for peers who they felt would be responsible representatives for our 2022 Student Council. All the Year 5 students are to be congratulated on their positive participation and thoughtful consideration. Our 2022 Student Council is:
Captains: Maya Edmunds and Raff Wiseman
Vice Captains: Celina Trieu and Oscar Cameron
Councillors: Austin Bowler, Ruby Hilton, Tyla Hilton, Jack Hogan, Ivy Karslake and Isabella Starkey.
Congratulations to these students and we look forward to working together next year.
Again I would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding as we dealt with the situation where a member of our school community tested positive to COVID-19. Particularly I would like to acknowledge the Year 4 families who have abided by the isolation rules which has included the children having to be tested on 3 different occasions. This has been very difficult for most families. It was wonderful to welcome these students back to school yesterday.
To date, no-one else has tested positive and the member has recovered well and is back to full health, no longer being infectious. As we navigate this challenging time, it will become more commonplace for us to know and interact with people who test positive to COVID-19. You may find the following fact sheet helpful in understanding what recovery involves, including the fact that an affected person may test positive for up to 6 months after, but not be infectious.
The COVID pandemic has certainly provided many challenges over the past two years with school life and extra curricular activities being significantly impacted. Many events here at school have been cancelled causing great disappointment to everyone, particularly the children. Density limits, visitors to our school site, vaccination status and the regular changing of guidelines, are just a few considerations when making decisions, and have meant that those events that can proceed, look very different to our normal practices. Whilst this too has caused distress and disappointment, please be assured that these decisions are not made lightly and a lot of time and thought go into these. First and foremost, the safety and wellbeing of everyone is considered, and then we consider what we believe is best for our students. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Regards Liz.