St Pat's News

Term 3 - July 14, 2022

Acknowledgement of Country

We Acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are gathered today.

We respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders, past, present and future. We acknowledge their stories, traditions and living cultures on this land and commit to building a brighter future together.

From The Principal - Olga Lyons

From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to term 3.  I hope our students, families and staff enjoyed the holiday break. 

Last week was NAIDOC week.  This year's theme is, Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!, celebrating the many past and present, who have driven and led change in our communities over generations. This is a time to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of First Nations peoples.  As a catholic school community we give thanks to God for these ancient peoples, who have enriched and sustained our continent over all that time, giving praise for the way they have nurtured the land here in Gunditjmara country.  We acknowledge that we have much to learn from their spiritual and ecological respect for the land. 

This term we welcome back Annie Templeton (Forrest) from maternity leave.  Annie will be teaching 3/4FR with Anne Robertson.   At the end of last term we said farewell to Nicole Forbes who had been teaching 3/4FR for terms 1 & 2.  

Kind regards,

Olga Lyons, Principal

This week's newsletter is the last one for this term.

2022 School Closure Dates

Term 3 - Friday August 5 (Cancelled)

Term 3 - Friday 12 & Monday 15 (New Diocesan Schools Closure dates)

Term 4 - Monday November 21 (Report Writing)

From The RE Leader - Eliza Dwyer

Retirement of Father Laurie O’Toole

On behalf of our school community we wish Fr Laurie O’Toole well for his retirement as Parish Priest of Our Lady Help of Christians, East Warrnambool, and thank him for his contribution to our local school communities over such a long career. 

With Fr Laurie’s retirement the OLHC community has joined the Star of the Sea, South West Coast Parish.  

Father George Hogarty joins Fr John Corrigan and Fr John Fitzgerald temporarily in leading our parish community. 

Star of the Sea Parish

The newly formed 'Star of the Sea' parish which includes St. Patrick's Port Fairy, Infant Jesus Koroit, St. Pius X and St. John's Warrnambool West, St. Joseph's Warrnambool and St. Anne's Purnim, has expanded to include Our Landy Help of Christians Warrnambool East. 

'Star of the Sea' is an ancient title for the Mother of Jesus Christ. Under this title, Mary intercedes as both guide and protector for all who travel or seek their livelihoods on or by the sea.  

Fr. George Hogarty SSC, a Columban Missionary, will be assisting the 'Star of the Sea' Parish during the month of July as we await one of the newly ordained priests in early August. 

School Chaplaincy:

Fr. John Corrigan - St. Patrick's Port Fairy & St. Patrick's Koroit

A newly ordained priest - St. John's Dennington & St. Pius X Warrnambool West

Fr. John Fitzgerald - OLHC Warrnambool East & St. Joseph's Warrnambool


Star of the Sea Weekend Mass Times

With Fr. Lawry O'Toole's recent retirement from Our Lady Help of Christians a review of the local mass times has resulted in some time changes.  

Saturday Vigil:

6.00pm OLHC Warrnambool East

Sunday Morning: 

8.30am St. Joseph's Warrnambool

9.00am OLHC Warrnambool East

9.00am Infant Jesus Koroit

10.00am St. Pius X Warrnambool West

10.30am St. Patrick's Port Fairy

Sunday Evening:

6.00pm St. Joseph's Warrnambool

Please use this link to read the July 2022 edition of “Our Diocesan Community.”

Retirement Announcement

Peter Sanderson, our Deputy Principal, has announced that he will be retiring at the end of this year.  He and his wealth of experience/knowledge will be sadly missed!  Peter has been a teacher here at St. Patrick's for 20  years from 2003 to 2022.  Prior to that he taught at Our Lady Help of Christians Warrnambool, St. Patrick's Koroit and St. John's Dennington.  

Peter generously held the position of Interim Principal in 2020, which of course was the year we had our first COVID-19 outbreak.  

We will be advertising for a replacement Deputy Principal in coming weeks for a 2023 start. 

Leadership and Stewardship

New Child Safe Standards

Child safety and wellbeing at St. Patrick’s: information for families and the school community.   

The Victorian Government has announced new Child Safe Standards to further strengthen child safety across organisations, including schools. The new standards recognise the critical importance of families and the broader school community in maintaining and promoting child safety and wellbeing.

St. Patrick’s has reviewed and updated our child safety policies and procedures to ensure they meet the requirements of the new standards. These are available to view on our school website and skoolbag app.

 We are committed to continuous improvement in our approach to child safety and wellbeing and welcome feedback from families and members of our school community on ways we can further strengthen our child safety policies, procedures and practices.

 If you have any suggestions, comments or questions, please contact principal@spportfairy.catholic.edu.au

Circuit Breaker Long Weekend

Please find correspondence titled 'Circuit Breaker Long Weekend' containing communication from the DOBCEL Chairperson, Tom Sexton, Executive Director of Catholic Education Ballarat, outlining the long weekend on Friday 12th and Monday 15th August. This letter was sent home as a hard copy at the end of term 2. 

Please note that the closure day previously advertised for August 5th has been cancelled. 

Download

Learning and Teaching

Social Media Concerns - Be Informed

Are you concerned about what your child is doing online? Are you aware of the dangers of using some social media apps? This document gives you a brief summary of the concerns publicised about children using some well known social media apps.  
Download

School Awards

School News

Working Bee - Saturday July 16

We will be holding our Term 3 Working Bee this Saturday, July 16, from 9am 12pm.

The following families have indicated that they are available to assist at the working bee:

Rob Winter, Kay Bant, Adam Fry, Greg Fitzsimmons, John van de Camp, Peita & Ash Cryer, Sarah White & Vin Parkinson, Mick Pickett, Tamara & Aaron Wright.

If you are available and would like to come along we would love to have you.

All volunteers are eligible for the fee rebate.

Items to bring:

Electric saws; Power drills; Wheelbarrows

Sporting Schools

Sporting Schools days for Term 3 will be Mondays and Wednesdays. The first sessions for Term 3 will be on Monday July 25 and Wednesday July 27.

Sporting Schools runs for 7 weeks each term. The final sessions for Sporting Schools for Term 3 will Monday September 5 and Wednesday September 7.

You must sign your child up for Sporting Schools using the Skoolbag App. Please only sign your child up the night before or the day of the session they will be attending. The cut off time is 11am on the day they are to attend.

Upcoming Events

Saturday July 16 - Working Bee @ 9am-12pm

Monday July 18 - Wednesday July 20 - 5/6 Camp

Tuesday July 19 - P & F Meeting in the Library @ 7pm

Friday July 22 - Assembly @ 2.40pm

Wednesday July 27 - Yr 1/2 Big Day Out

Friday July 29 - F-2 Lay Led Liturgy at the Church @ 12pm

Sunday July 31 - Winter Wellness morning 

Tuesday August 2 - Book Fair

Tuesday August 2 - 3/4 Hooptime

Tuesday August 2 - SAC Meeting @ 7.30pm

Wednesday August 3 - Dumplings Special Lunch

Friday August 5 - Assembly @ 2.40pm

Week of Monday August 8 - Dental Van (Date to be confirmed)

Friday August 12 & 15 - Diocesan School closure (New closure dates)

Tuesday August 16 - 5/6 Hooptime 

Friday August 19 - Assembly @ 2.40pm

Sunday August 21 - Eucharist Mass @ 9am

Friday August 26 - 5/6 Lay Led Liturgy at the Church @ 12pm

Friday September 2 - Father's Day Breakfast @ 8am

Friday September 2 - 3/4 Lay Led Liturgy at the Church @ 12pm

Friday September 2 - Assembly @ 2.40pm

Wednesday August 14 - Sushi Special Lunch

Friday August 16 - Last Day of Term @ 2.20pm

Monday October 2 - Term 4 Commences

Saturday October 7 - Working Bee @ 9am - 12pm

Tickets can also be purchased from the school office.

This button takes you directly to PAM for Absences, School Activities, Reports, Learning Conversations, Numeracy & Literacy Interviews

New Parish Masses

Port Fairy St Patrick's & Koroit Infant Jesus Mass Times

Sunday Mass - 9.00am at Koroit

Sunday Mass - 10.30am @ Port Fairy

Community News