Dear Parents,

The school has certainly been busy and a hive of activity over the last couple of weeks. We have enjoyed hosting some wonderful community celebrations and gatherings like Harmony Day and Mother’s Day, and participating passionately in Mortimer Shield and our Athletics Carnival.    

Harmony Day

Harmony day was bright, colourful and a fantastic opportunity for the children to experience a variety of cultural dishes and celebrate cultural diversity within our school. Many thanks to Alicia Hargreaves for organising and making this day possible with the help of parent volunteers from many of our new and existing families. The meals served were delicious and unique.

Mother’s Day Morning Tea

Mother’s Day morning tea was attended well by all our Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunties and significant females in our lives. Sitting together on the school’s blacktop in the lovely sunshine and enjoying some beautiful food prepared by the teachers and staff was thoroughly enjoyed by all.  The Year 6 students are to be commended for setting up and serving our guests and Year 3/4 for a beautiful Mass.  We hope all Mothers enjoyed their Mother's Day events on Sunday.

Athletics Carnival

Our Athletics carnival was a huge success. Many thanks to our organisers, Mr Makeham Mrs Howe, Mrs Eccleston and Mrs Carberry for making sure the day ran smoothly. Thank you to all our parent volunteers who assisted on the day with timekeeping and field events. Your help is very much appreciated. The sunshine and warm weather topped off the day and congratulations to the children on their participation in all events. Donovan made it three in a row and was awarded champion house!  The next level Western Region will be held in Tumut on Friday 16 June.

CogLearn Staff  Professional Learning

Our staff professional development continued last week with a third visit from our CATALYST team mentor Alice Smith.  Alice continued to model and observe Daily Reviews in Literacy and Math lessons across all classes to provide critical feedback to teachers.  This ongoing staff learning is part of Catholic Education's Science of Learning and Evidence Based Instruction model being rolled out in all Canberra Goulburn diocese schools.

Tell them from Me Surveys

Tell them from Me surveys will go live soon with a link being emailed out to parents via Compass. This is an important opportunity for parents of St Patrick’s to provide feedback on key areas such as Faith, Wellbeing, Engagement and Effective Teaching. The survey takes around 15-20 minutes to complete and is valued feedback to inform our school improvements and priorities.  We look forward to the survey results.

Have a lovely week everyone and we look forward to welcoming Mrs Baron back and hearing all about her holiday news next week.

Lisa Wilson

Acting Principal

Sympathy to Fr Joe

We express our deepest sympathy to Father Joe and his family on the recent passing of Father’s brother. Father has flown home to Indonesia to be with his family. Father will be away for the next fortnight. Please keep Father in your thoughts and prayers over the coming weeks.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Last week we began our preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The children were very engaged in their learning about their forgiving God and His merciful love.

We ask that you pray for Rouge Calub, Leila Gaskin, Lane Johnson, Jack Fifield, Jimmy Robinson and Reuben Smart as they continue their faith journey.

Mother’s Day

What a great celebration we enjoyed last Friday! It was lovely to see so many mothers, grandmothers and special ladies enjoying a delicious morning tea and a chat with each other and their children. We have had so many positive comments about this event. We hope you were able to relax and enjoy the experience. Thank you to the Staff for their generous contributions towards morning tea.

Thank you to Year 3/4, Mrs Flanagan and Mr Ferguson for a lovely Mass to honour the special ladies in our lives.

Project Compassion

Thank you for your generosity to this year’s Project Compassion appeal. St Patrick’s are able to forward $140.85 to assist those in need. A heartfelt thank you too all.

Family Mass

On Saturday 3^rd June at 5pm we will be holding a Family Mass in St Patrick’s Church.

We would love to make this a special occasion and involve as many families as we can. All children and parents are welcome to come along and be part of this Mass with us.

A separate invitation will be sent home soon. Children/or families that are willing to assist in the Mass are asked to complete the tear off slip on the invitation and return it to Mrs. Howe by Thursday 25^th May.

*** PLEASE MARK THIS DATE ON YOUR CALENDAR.

WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO BE PART OF THIS MASS.

Just a reminder to our families to regularly check Compass for updates and reminders that have been set by staff for upcoming events and entering in their attendance notes.   

If you are able to log into your Compass App (if you are using your smart phone) click on the "More" option on the bottom right hand side and then click on events and then the "Action Required" arrow which will take you to the consent page.  Scroll to the bottom and type your name then click submit.    

Shortly for the children representing at WR Athletics you will have to give consent and pay for the nomination fee via the Compass App so please keep an eye on this. 

If you have any issues then please contact the office and I can talk you through it. 

The Waratah for Kids program is a pilot project, with a focus on children aged 0-7 years who have a developmental concern or delay.    The program involves coordination of a multidisciplinary clinic (MDT) with a Speech Pathologist and Occupational Therapist, linkage to relevant services and therapy as required.

In Gundagai, there is one participating GP clinic that can refer children to the program - Gundagai Medical Centre (Dr Maya).   If you would be interested in hearing about this program or you feel your child may meet the criteria please contact the Gundagai Medical Centre to book an appointment with Dr Maya who can screen your child and do the referrral if required. 

Kindergarten, Yr 1 and Yr 2 will be heading off on an excursion to Wagga on Wednesday 21st of June to watch a live show at the Wagga Civic Theatre "Are We There Yet?" and Botanical Gardens for morning tea prior to the show (weather permitting). This event will be created shortly on Compass for payment and consent.

"Are We There Yet ?"

Alison Lester’s much loved picture book Are We There Yet? comes to life on stage. Join 8-year old Grace and her family on an adventurous (and often funny) expedition across the country, visiting iconic Australian landmarks along the way including the Great Australian Bight, Uluru, Surfers Paradise, and the Sydney Opera House.  

The annual Biggest Morning Tea is on again this year and once again our Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 classes have been invited to perform songs to the crowd.  Parents, grandparents and any family members are invited to join this special morning tea on Thursday 25th of May from 10am.  There will be an entry fee of $8.00 per person for morning tea costs.  

As a parent, guardian or carer, what do I need to know?

Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, schools have an obligation to ensure that students with disability are able to access and participate in school on the same basis as their peers.

To ensure this, students with disability may receive adjustments or support, depending on their functional needs, to access and participate in education.

Parents, guardians and carers have an important role in their child’s education. They work collaboratively with the school to ensure that the school understands their child’s needs and that appropriate adjustments are made to enable access to education.

The NCCD is an annual count of students who are being provided with adjustments to address disability. All Australian schools and approved authorities for schools participate in the NCCD each year.

Parents, guardians and carers will be informed that the NCCD is taking place.

Representative Sport

Congratulations to the following students who have recently represented our school in the following Canberra Goulburn rep team.

Joey Gailey - Hockey

On Thursday the 4th May I travelled to Canberra to compete in the Mackillop Hockey trials in Lyneham to be held the next day. When we got to Lyneham it was freezing cold. At 8:00am on Friday morning we started to play, there was still fog on the pitch and the fog would not clear until 10:30 and our games were finished at 11:00am.

For warm ups we did a drill where the field players passed the ball to somebody in the corner of the field. The person in the corner then ran the ball along the baseline to the edge of the circle before they passed the ball to somebody at the top of the circle who then took a shot. The other goalies and I tried to save the ball. After this drill we swapped to a two on one drill with the goalkeeper, where two field players ran in and would pass it to each other and try to score.

Then we played the first game of hockey. For the first half I was on the sideline letting the other goalkeeper keep. For the second half I was keeping and one ball only just slipped through to the back of the net. At the trials after one person scores they get to do a run in. A run in is where the goalie and one attacker go one-on-one. The attacker starts on the quarter line with the ball. They have to try and score past the goalkeeper and they can try as many times as they like but they only get 8 seconds to score. I saved the run in because I listened to what my coach told me to do and run out past the dot and it worked. After I saved the run in my team got the ball and scored. Then we had a drinks break before the next game. The next game I played on field because they had already chosen the goalkeeper and I played as a back and I was marking a player that was two times my size in height and every time he got the ball I keep taking it off him, and I think I did all right but sadly I didn’t get chosen but some of my friends made it though and I am really happy for them.

Even though I did not make the team I am really proud of myself and grateful for the experience to try at a higher level.

Joseph Gailey

Chase Robinson - 11 years Rugby League

On May 5th Chase Robinson and Taite Johnson went to Canberra to trial for the MacKillop Rugby League team. At the trials the other teams that were there, were Parramatta,Sydney,Wollongong and Wagga Wagga. 

Each team did a warm up at 8.30 and then the first game was on at 9.00. Canberra Goulburn vs Sydney. Sydney beat us by three tries, but it was tough. When the game finished, our team (Canberra Goulburn) had a break. Then in the next game Parramatta vs Wollongong. Parramatta beat them by 2 tries. Then we played and we versed Wollongong. They beat us. After that, we went on to play. We won one game, but it didn't matter if we won or if we lost because they were looking for good players to represent McKillop and go on to play against the other diocese. They put us into lots of positions that we have not played, but they wanted to see where we could play.

After all of the games were finished and the judges had put in who they liked and thought was a great player.All of the teams started talking to their coaches. All teams met in the middle for the judges to then pick Possibles and Probables. Before they picked the teams, they told us that we had done really well  to make it to where we did and don't be disappointed if we didn't make it. After that everyone was quiet and they started to call Possibles first, then they called Probables. 

Taite Johnston and Chase Robinson didn't make the team, but for both of them, it was a great experience.

By Chase Robinson

Taite Johnson - 11 years Rugby League

On the 5th of May 2023 I went to the Mackillop Rugby League trials at Lyneham Canberra. Trialling with me was Chase Robinson, we both had made the Canberra Goulburn team. 

As we woke up on this day the weather was very dry. Let's say it was cold and yuk and the worst thing about it was that our first game was literally the first game of the day. In our team there were around 17 kids.

As Mum and I walked through the gates onto the oval there were kids yelling and footys flying through the air. We started to look around looking for my team. Slowly, my eyes fixed on a big NRL tent where I then saw my coach and my teammates, my team had been kicking the footy around. It was a bit harsh considering that our hands felt like icicles. As the time went on I heard a loud siren ringing in my ear, then out of nowhere the coach said game time boys. I started to take my jumper off. We were pumped. The ref walked out onto the field and blew his whistle it was time to face Sydney.

As I walked out onto the field everything became a blur for a tight second. I calmed myself down, it was just nerves, I then looked right at my opposition and just between you and me they were ginormous. We then went into kickoff. I took my last deep breath then set off, Sydney had to kick off to us first as they kicked, I saw Henry our fullback ready to catch, his eyes were fixed on the ball. With a blink of an eye he had caught it, he was already running, he gave us a lot of metres to get us to the 30. The forwards then got their chance, they ran it hard and then got tackled with a hard blow. Mathew was one of our forwards, our best in my opinion. He could run it hard and was pretty quick. 

On the day I was mostly playing centre. In the first half I was mostly tackling until my first run of the game. I had a good shot at it although I got a terrible pass. I still made a few metres. Minutes later the whistle blew it was halftime.Because it was so cold, I was gasping for breath, all of us were. 

Sydney were a hard side, they definitely gave it to us. Damien- Coach then was telling how we were going to play the second half, but I was totaled. I was so cold and I just could barely move. The siren blared out once again we were on, this time we were kicking off. They caught it and ended up scoring a magnificent try. The half was a long and tiring game. I didn't get to do much but we played awesome. After the game the coach then told us one thing, “It’s hard playing with people you don’t know.” We all nodded, then went off to our parents.

As I got back to Mum, she gave me a warm hug and said good game mate, but I was too cold to speak. We walked for a bit, until I had to go again. 

Now we had to play Wollongong. We started training a bit before the siren sounded. We walked onto the field, but I wasn’t on it, I was on the bench. We still played really well and our team was in top shape that game. We were defending and attacking well. In the second half I was on. I made a couple of amazing runs and my tackling was great. It was the best game I had played so far, one word to describe this game was magnificent. The best thing about this game was that we kept them niel and we were neil to win, win. Our coach was bursting with happiness, but he reckoned we could play better.

Our third game was against Parramatta. I didn't get to play much of this game, but it was definitely the best game of the day. The focus on my face said it all. I had adrenalin from the last game. I was ready. My running game was excellent. I even made a huge break but my tackling was even better. I might have stayed off for a half, but I felt like I had been in every tackle. Parramatta might have beaten us, but it was a lesson learned.

The last game of the day was against Wagga they were definitely the easiest team out of them all. We played so well that game and our forwards really rose up to the occasion. I was off again that game and when I got on, I really didn’t get to do anything but I did have a couple good tackles. This was a game to remember, one of the best games we played.

Now we had Possibles and Probables. Three people from our team made it. I didn't but I knew I played well and next year I will give it another crack. 

Taite Johnson    

On Thursday the 11th of May our school headed down the football ovals to participate in the 2023 Athletics Carnival. 

The Donovan and Finnegan tents were set up when the school got there, so all the students put their bags down in their tent and started to get ready for the first event which was the 100m sprint.

The 100 metre sprint was a very fast race but it was also a very competitive race. In the senior girls 100m sprint Tessa Crowe and Miya Zhang were head to head for a long time until Tessa took off and took the win for finnegan in the senior girls.

The next event of the day was the 200m sprint which was a very intense race, Corby Rose and Amy Wu were also head to head, it was very, very competitive. Eventually Corby sprinted off and won the 200m sprint for Intermediate Girls Finnegan.

When the Kindergarten and Year Ones arrived,  they put their bags down and started to play some fun games and did some races. Harley and Phoenix Rose were very competitive in their race and were head to head for the whole race and nobody could work out who won. All the Kindergartens and Year Ones did very well.

Then all of the classes split up and went to different events such as long jump, shotput and discus. We finished the day off with the 800m sprint and then the relay’s, Donovan won in the Junior Girls and Junior Boys Relay. Finnegan won in the Senior Girls Relay and Donovan won in the Senior Boys Relay. 

Overall the day was so much fun and exciting.  Also, one more thing,  ‘Go Finnegan’!  

By Corby Rose

Mortimer Shield

Our school entered two tackle teams and one mixed league tag team last week at the Mortimer Shield Legends Gala Day held in Gundagai at Stan Crowe Oval.

All students are to be commended for their enthusiasm, determined efforts and fair play. The NRL organisers made clear to all students that the aim of the day was to have fun, participate and learn new skills.  

Congratulations to all students and special thanks to Mr Makeham, Miss Bartlett and Mrs Wilson for managing the teams.

Players of the Day announced by the NRL organisers at the conclusion of the day were:

On Tuesday the 9th of May students from Year  5 /6 participated in Mortimer Shield. It was a fun day, where boys and girls participated in either tackle or league tag. The tackle teams had 2 fields at Stan Crowe as well as a field at Owen Vincent. The League Tag had 3 fields all on Owen Vincent.

It wasn’t a competitive day, but at the end of the day each team's coach chose a player from their team to be awarded player for their team. In our League Tag Team, Ryan Huang won the award, in St Patricks Tackle Team 1, Chase Robinson won the award and in St Patricks Tackle Team 2, Tessa Crowe won the award. 

St Patrick's League Tag Team played McAuley, Gundagai Public School, Small Schools and Franklin. St Patricks Tackle Team 1 played Tumut Public School 2, Franklin 1 and 2 and St Marys. St Patricks Tackle Team 2 played Tumut Public School 1 and 2, Franklin 2 and McAuley. The Coach for our league tag team was Kristen Bartlett. Our tackle Team 1’s coach was Mrs Wilson and our Tackle Team 2’s coach was Mr Makeham. 

It was a fun day. Everyone had a great time and was happy.

By Riley Smith

Congratulations to all of our participants who participated in the Athletics Carnival last Thursday.  We were very lucky and blessed with the beautiful weather and grateful for the parent volunteers who helped out on the day THANK YOU

Our Age Champions were: 

Junior Boys Champion: Jimmy Robinson and runner up Lane Johnson 

Junior Girls Champion: Eliza Graham and runner up Molly Lott 

Intermediate Boys Champion: Taite Johnson and runner up Chase Robinson 

Intermediate Girls Champion: Corby Rose and runner up Ammy Wu 

Senior Boys Champion: Nick Quine and runner up Ryan Huang 

Senior Girls Champion: Tessa Crowe and runner up Miya Zhang 

The Western Regions Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 16th of June at Tumut and more information will be sent out shortly via Compass so please keep watch for notifications. 

Congratulations to our weekly class awards for Week 2 and Week 3 

Week 2 - Friday 5th May 

Kindergarten: Noah Zhu for great class participation and recognising numbers 

Yr 1 : Clancy Smart for focused approach to all her learning 

Yr 2 : Max Zhu for working well with numbers and settling in well 

Yr 3/4 : RV Calub for an impressive reading journal for the week

Yr 5 : Emily Ryan for showing initiative, helpfulness & manners in the classroom 

Yr 6 : Nate Tozer for an original piece of writing about "The Anzacs" 

Week 3 - Friday 12th May

Kindergarten: Olivia Smart for reading and writing words 

Yr 1 : Lance Crowe for neat presentation of work and for showing kindness to others 

Yr 2 : Lachlan Barton for showing a responsible attitude towards his class work 

Yr 3/4 : Charlie Ryder for being more focused and on task during class 

Yr 3/4 : Winnie Huang for her participation and providing answers in Maths 

Yr 5 : Joey Gailey for making responsible learning choices and being a responsible and focused learner 

Yr 5 : Chase Robinson for accepting and applying feedback and always looking to improve 

Yr 6  : Miya Zhang for actively participating in class activities

Thank you to our wonderful parents for volunteering to cook cupcakes, cookies and to volunteer your time on a Friday to work in the canteen during Term 2.  We are extremely grateful for your time. 

Friday 30th June: 

Cookies: Lindsey Rose & Simone Jones 

Canteen Volunteers: Kate Graham & El Williams