Term 2, Week 2 2025
FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK
Dear Families,
I extend a very warm welcome to our new families and to Mrs Danielle Mills who will be teaching Kindergarten for the rest of the year. We farewell Mrs Orrett and thank her for her time with us. We wish Sarah all the best in her future study. Term 2 has started off with a flurry of events and activities. Firstly, thank you to Year 5 for presenting a very fitting Anzac tribute on our first day back. The reverence shown by the students was commendable and I was very proud of the students for their ability to present with authenticity and respect.
Our annual P&F Mother’s Day stall was open for business earlier this week with a record number of gifts purchased for mums and grandmas. I was impressed with the efficiency with which the stall was run, and the variety of gifts gave the students so much choice. No doubt you will have some lovely surprises coming your way on Sunday. I wish all of our beloved Mums, Grandmas and Mother figures in our community a day of appreciation and spoiling on Sunday. I look forward to seeing you at our liturgy, open classrooms and picnic lunch on Monday.
A huge thank you to the Year 6 teachers and support personnel for generously taking the Year 6 cohort on the three-day excursion to Canberra. In a time when teachers and schools are rethinking this type of extra curricula event, St Patrick’s staff were very supportive of the event as it gives students an amazing experience of our Capital city beyond that which they could receive through textbooks and online material. I was fortunate to be able to join the group and enjoyed revisiting the many wonderful exhibits and spaces, especially Questacon for all of the fantastic science explanations and conundrums, Parliament House and Old Parliament House to give students the best possible understanding of the voting system and where our government work, Regatta Point which highlights the architecture of Canberra and The Foreign Embassies are always interesting for their culturally significant construction. I enjoyed the film and music archives as I’d not been there before as well as AIS, the Mint and of course a visit to Canberra would not be complete without visiting our National Capital’s War Memorial and spending a few quiet minutes remembering those who fell and especially the unnamed soldiers. Sidd Foggs co-organised our trip and they did a stellar job from start to finish.
Coming up in the next few weeks we are being treated to not one but two author visits. Brenda Matthews has been generously supported by the P&F and Deb Abela is also coming to share her insights with the students. We look forward to showcasing our beautiful newly refurbished library with everyone.
Please note that our scheduled Mass for the 16th May has been cancelled. Stage 2 will have a special Mass on 26th May for Our Patron, Our Lady Help of Christians, celebrated by Mrs O’ Neill’s brother. Years 2 & 4 will be going through the CogAT testing period and Year 4 will also have an excursion to Botany Bay which I am looking forward to. Tennison Week will be celebrated in Week 5 and Catholic School’s Week in Week 6 – details will follow in Compass.
I thank Mrs Janelle Dixon for holding the fort during my absences this term. I will be attending the ACSP conference in Week 4. Janelle comes to us from Branxton and is AP for the six week’s of Mr Nolan’s secondment to Stockton. Janelle has a depth and breadth of curriculum experience which we are taking advantage of in her time with us.
I trust your term has started well. I have been busily interviewing our new Kindergarten applicants in preparation for first round offers in June. Presently we have more applicants than we have positions, so this is not going to be an easy task, even with the priority steps. If there are any sibling families that have not already put their application in, May 23 is the last date you can do this.
Have a great Mother’s Day weekend,
God Bless,
Niamh
CALENDAR EVENTS
IMPORTANT DATES FOR 2025
Looking ahead- TERM 2 | |
Week 3 | Winter Uniform Discretionary Period Monday 12th May Wednesday 14th May Friday 16th May |
Week 4 | Winter Uniform Discretionary Period Wednesday 21st May Thursday 22nd May Friday 23rd May |
Week 5 | Official Start of Full Winter Uniform Monday 26th May Wednesday 28th May Thursday 29th May |
Week 6 | Catholic Schools Week Monday 2nd June Tuesday 3rd June Friday 6th June |
Week 7 | Monday 9th June Tuesday 10th June Wednesday 11th June Thursday 12th June
Friday 13th June |
Week 8 | Monday 16th June Tuesday 17th June
Thursday 19th June
Friday 20th June |
Week 9 | Friday 27th June |
Week 10 | Wednesday 2nd July Thursday 3rd July Friday 4th July |
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS MESSAGE
Just a reminder that our morning supervision of students does not start until 8:20am. For this reason, our front car park gate does not open until this time. Please ensure you drop off after 8:20am.
Also, please refrain from parking on the median strip on Gregory Road as this is a safety concern, limiting visibility to traffic and posing a risk to our students and teachers.
Introducing myself
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the school community. I am filling in for Dennis Nolan as Assistant Principal for 6 weeks.
It is exciting for me to be at St. Patrick’s as I began my teaching career here, teaching Yr 6 part time in 1997 and full time in 1998. From there I took a full-time permanent role at St Brigid’s Branxton in 1999 and have remained at Branxton (now called Rosary Park) ever since.
I am very happy to be back at St Patrick’s and am glad to say I have had a lovely first 2 weeks, being made to feel very welcome by both staff and students. I look forward to meeting more people from the community over the next few weeks.
Warm Regards,
Janelle Dixon
ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT
WINTER UNIFORM
Our school is in the change over period for uniforms at the moment as students are able to wear summer or winter uniforms depending on the weather. The official change over to winter uniform will be Week 5 Monday 26th May, all students are expected to be in winter uniform from this day.
KINDER 2026 ENROLMENTS
We are fast approaching the closing date for Kinder 2026 enrolments, enrolments will close on Friday 23rd May and with the large amount of enrolments that have been received by our school to be included in the first round of offers enrolment applications must be in by this time. This is also including all sibling applications, please ensure that if you have a child enrolling for 2026 you have completed the enrolment application online prior to Friday 23rd May 2025.
YEAR 7 ENROLMENTS
Year 7 Enrolments for St Joseph’s also close on Friday 23rd May 2025, we still have some families that have not completed their enrolment applications for Year 7 2026. To also be included in St Joseph’s first round of enrolment offers you must have the application lodged online with St Joseph’s. Please contact the school office if you are having trouble with this process.
PUPIL FREE DAY
Pupil Free Day – Tuesday 10th June 2025 following the June Long Weekend.
SHAMROCK UPDATE
How fitting that the RED house, Dirkin are the Week 1 Shamrock winners!
Excellent shamrock awarding from Years 6, 5, 4 & 3! Please share this result with your classes to help with positive motivation.
ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER NEWS
CURRICULIUM NEWS
Information about CogAT – Cognitive Abilities Test
In Term 2, students in Years 2, and 4 will participate in the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). This test evaluates students' reasoning abilities in three key areas essential for success in school:
1. Verbal Battery: Assesses students' ability to reason with words and concepts, crucial for reading comprehension, critical thinking, writing, and verbal learning tasks.
2. Quantitative Battery: Measures students' ability to reason with quantitative symbols and concepts, which are vital for problem-solving in Mathematics and other disciplines.
3. Nonverbal Battery: Evaluates students' ability to reason with geometric shapes and figures, requiring them to implement strategies for solving novel problems.
These batteries provide a comprehensive view of each student's learned reasoning abilities, identifying both strengths and areas for improvement. CogAT aims to support differentiated practice in education by helping teachers adapt instruction to meet the unique needs and abilities of each student.
It's important to note that CogAT scores are not integrated into report grades or other conventional measures of school achievement. The focus is on tailoring instruction and fostering a supportive, inclusive learning environment based on each child's ability.
Regards,
Mrs Tracee Cinello
Gifted Education Mentor
YEAR 6 CANBERRA EXCURSION
What a great experience our Year 6 students are having on the Canberra excursion. Plenty of fun and learning of course had by all!
SPELLING AND MATHS BEE 2025
Over the coming weeks, students in grades 1-6 will participate in a Grade Spelling and Maths Bee. The top five students from each grade will then progress to the Stage Spelling and Maths Bees which will be held in Week 7 (Stage Spelling Bee) and Week 8 (Stage Maths Bee). Parents of those students who successfully progress to the Stage Spelling and Maths Bees will be notified and invited to come and watch their child participate. The winner of the Stage Spelling Bee and the Stage Maths Bee from each stage, Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3 will progress to the Lower Hunter Spelling and Maths Bee to be held at Rosary Park, Branxton on Friday 20th June 2025.
CURRICULUM OVERVIEW TERM 2 2025
SPORT NEWS
Congratulations to Madden Mason who placed in the 11 Year's Butterfly at the Polding Swimming Carnival. Due to this result, Madden progressed to the NSWPSSA Swimming Championships where he competed against the best 11 year old boys in the state.
Congratulations Madden on an amazing achievement!
canteen NEWS
PARENTING PAGE
OUTSIDE SCHOOL ACTIVIES UPDATES
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