Dear Parents,

Welcome back! It’s hard to believe that we are already into Term 3 of the 2025 school year. I hope that you all had a great break, although I have heard that many of you and your children were unwell, which isn’t ideal. Hopefully everyone is now over the illnesses and can have a productive and successful term ahead.

Staffing

As mentioned previously, we have had a number of staffing changes to start the term. Jack Rietschel has been appointed the new PE teacher at St Patrick's, with him commencing in the role this week. Jack attended St Patrick's as a child, and it is great to have him as a part of the staff. Jack will also be the classroom teacher in Year 5/6D each Friday. Due to Jack being in the classroom each Friday, we have had to make some changes to the Specialist Timetable. PE will now be on MONDAY and THURSDAY. Students are to wear their PE uniform on these days.

We also welcome Lucy Sanders to St Patrick's as the new Languages teacher. Lucy will teach Auslan on Tuesday and Wednesday. Lucy commenced at the start of Term 3 and is another welcome addition to the staff.

Liam Pashos, the Year 5/6 Education Support Officer (ESO) also informed me late last term that he had accepted a full-time position at Catholic College Sale. Liam’s last day at St Patrick’s was the first day of Term 3, where we were able to farewell him and wish him the best for the future. We are in the process of appointing Liam’s replacement.

Due to the changes in days of some specialist classes, Library will now be on Monday's. Please ensure that your child brings their Library bag on this day.

Uniform Changes

This term a Google Form Uniform Survey will be sent out to all families. We are looking to gain feedback on our current uniform and determine a plan for the future. As a school leadership team, we have discussed our uniform expectations and have made some trial changes that I want all families to be aware of. These changes are:

- Students ARE NOT required to wear ties with their winter uniform for Term 3. Tunics can also be worn as skirts only across all year levels if desired.

- The Soft Shell Jacket can be worn with both the school and PE uniform and a jumper DOES NOT need to be worn underneath.

- Claw clips are not permitted to hold back hair. Green, black or white hair ties should be used. Long hair should be tied back off the face.

- Jewellery is not permitted to be worn.

- Students are not permitted to have coloured nail polish. Only clear nail polish can be worn if desired. Gel, SnS and Acrylic nails are not permitted either.

- A maximum of two earrings can be worn, with gold/silver studs or sleepers to be worn.

Parent support in all aspects of our school uniform is greatly appreciated.

PSG Meetings

PSG Meetings are scheduled for Monday 4 th and Tuesday 5 th August. PSG Meetings are held for those students who require additional support with either their cognitive, physical, sensory or social/emotional needs. PSG Meetings allow teachers to discuss the goals that they have set and the ways that they are trying to achieve these goals.

Peace Mass

Next Wednesday 6 th August, all the staff and students from St Patrick’s will attend the Peace Mass. The Peace Mass is a shared celebration of all the Catholic Schools in the area, including Catholic College Sale; St Thomas’ Sale; St Mary’s Sale; St Mary’s Maffra; St Mary’s Yarram and St Michael’s Heyfield. Approximately 2000 staff, students and guests will be present at the mass. The Peace Mass was an initiative brought about as a response to the Bali bombings that occurred in 2002. It was the hope of our Catholic schools to come together annually to pray for peace and this has occurred every year since 2003 (except during the COVID pandemic). The Peace Mass is a powerful gathering of our Catholic community, and we again look forward to participating in this again this year.

St Patrick’s Athletics Carnival

Next Thursday 7 th August, is our annual St Patrick’s Athletics Carnival. The carnival, held at the Sale Little Athletics Club, provides students with the opportunity to participate in a range of athletic events, including, running, jumping and throwing events. For those students in Year 3-6, who successfully win an event, they could represent our school at the Heyfield and District Athletics Carnival and beyond.

I encourage parents to come along and support your child/ren on the day. Whilst I know that you all want to see your child/ren do well, the most important thing is that you are promoting fun and active participation for them. Not all students can or will win a ribbon – this is okay, and all our students will be celebrated for their efforts throughout the day, regardless of their placing in an event.

Class Dojo and the School Calendar

Please ensure that you keep up to date with all the upcoming events at St Patrick’s by regularly checking Class Dojo and the school calendar. This will avoid any surprises or confusion about things that are going on, in and around the school.

I look forward to a happy and successful Term 3!

Kind regards,
Joel