Farewell
We wish our Year 6 students all the best as they leave us to begin their secondary education and thank them for being excellent St Patrick’s students:
Sam Allen, Caitlin Barry, Maggie Carmichael, Eve Covey, Lachlan Covey, Charlotte Dumesny, Bailey Dwyer, Zara Fox, Caitlin Gapes, Sunny Hansen, Eliza Hocking, Poppi Hocking, Lauren Kelly, Lila Killen, Grace Lenehan, Matilda Lu, Lucy Lynam, Emma Macmillan, Joe McCall, Kate McNeil, Xavier Pevitt, Claudia Phillips, Grace Pollock, Tahlia Potter, Layla Royals, Maddison Royals, Humboldt Serong, Jett Sharp, William Sinnott, Liam Smith, Antoinette Tamer, Adam van de Camp, James Verhoef, Billy Whitfield, Seth Williams, Jackson Wright.
We also farewell the following students who are moving to new schools in Timboon and Ballarat:
Eli McLaren, Paddy Mulraney, Eden Mulraney
To the following families who are finishing their association with St Patrick’s, we thank you for your contribution to our school:
Fiona and Gerald Barry
Michelle and Tim Covey
Michelle and Craig Fox
Gemma and Geoff Hocking
Rachel Thomas and Jim Pevitt
Monica and Rod Royals
Bec and Andrew Sharp
Denise Maguire and Billy Sinnott
Paulette and Clint Whitfield
Carly Solomon and Simon McLaren
Ben and Katelyn Mulraney
We also farewell Clare Farley, Liam Murphy and Aylish Dix from our staff.
Clare has been teaching at St Patrick’s for 14 years and has taught throughout all levels of the school during her time here. Clare has been a classroom teacher and was also our Reading Recovery teacher for many years. She has also shown her versatility by taking PE and Visual Arts classes this year. Clare’s patience, kindness, flexibility and sense of humour will be greatly missed. Clare is leaving to allow herself more flexibility with her family and her farming interests but hopefully we’ll still see her around our school as a casual replacement teacher.
Liam has been with us for 7 years, both as a classroom teacher and specialist teacher. He has been able to establish excellent relationships with both students, staff and families. Liam has been part of our leadership team during some of his time here and has willingly shared his artistic skills and talents. Liam’s passion for teaching will be greatly missed but as a parent of St Patrick’s students, I’m sure we’ll still be able to make use of his many skills and talents. Liam leaves us to take up the opportunity to work full-time on his art and we wish him every success with this.
Aylish has been our gap year trainee this year and has worked across all classes. She has undertaken a variety of roles in our school, including assisting with our Sporting Schools program and in the office. Aylish’s positive attitude and willingness to undertake everything asked of her has been appreciated. Aylish is leaving to begin university in Geelong next year and we wish her all the best for a successful future.
We thank Clare, Liam and Aylish for their time at our school and wish them every blessing for their future.
Christmas Breakfast
It was great to see so many of our school families at our annual Christmas breakfast this morning. Thank you once again to our wonderful P&F group who make these important community gatherings possible.
Carols, Awards and Graduation Night
Our annual Carols, Awards and Graduation night will be held tomorrow, beginning at 7.00pm. We hope to see all school families there. Students are asked to wear their summer uniform but may wear a Christmas decoration in their hair.
Numeracy and Literacy Interviews
Thank you to all our families for their prompt response to the Numeracy Interview bookings. Literacy interview bookings for January 29th and 30th will be open soon.
Donation
We thank the Port Fairy cards group who used to meet in our hall every fortnight for their generous donation to our school for the purchase of library books. This year we received $825. We are very grateful that they have chosen our school as the recipient of their funds.
School fees
Thank you to all those families who have settled their school fee accounts for this year. It would be appreciated if all outstanding payments could be finalised by the end of this week. Please see me as soon as possible if you are having difficulty with payment.
Assembly
Our final assembly for the year will be held this Friday at 2.50pm.
Lost property
There is a large amount of lost property that has built up over this term. All items will be on display in the corridor so please come and check for anything your child is missing.
As this will be the last newsletter for the year, and my final newsletter, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our school families for the wonderful support you have provided me over the last 12 years. I feel very fortunate that I have enjoyed such enriching partnerships with families and it is through these positive partnerships that your children thrive and grow.
I would also like to pay tribute to the wonderful staff I have had the privilege of working alongside during my time at St Patrick’s. The dedication and passion our staff show towards ensuring your children have high quality and comprehensive educational experiences is to be admired.
Finally to our students- thank you for making me look forward to coming to work every day. Your eagerness to learn and your care for each other makes being your Principal an honour and a pleasure.
I wish everyone a very happy Christmas, a safe and relaxing holiday and all the best for the future.
Thank you for a wonderful 12 years - St Patrick’s will always hold a special place in my heart!
Kind regards,
Sue Paulka
Principal
