Term 1 continues to fly by at a rapid pace! There have been so many wonderful activities taking place that are keeping our students engaged and active. The sporting scene is always busy during Term 1 with swimming events, soccer gala, rugby union and netball gala days adding additional excitement to the agenda. This week we also begin our Gecko Sport lessons with our wonderful coach Geoff who will be teaching baseball skills for all our students from Kindergarten through to Year 6.

LENTEN JOURNEY: Last Wednesday we celebrated Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of our 40-day Lenten journey as we prepare our hearts and minds for Easter. Lent is a time when we can focus on being more loving, kind and prayerful.

LIFE EDUCATION VISIT: Our students are eager to attend the Life Education Van for their annual PD/Health session this week and of course to catch up with the much loved, Harold the giraffe! We are very grateful to the School Community Council for providing financial assistance to make this program more affordable for families.

NAPLAN ASSESSMENTS: Best wishes to our Year 3 and 5 students who will begin their NAPLAN assessments tomorrow with the rest of their assessments to take place next week. The schedule for assessments is provided below.

ST PATRICK’S DAY: The excitement is building as we prepare to celebrate the feast of St Patrick our school’s patron saint this Friday! St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He used the shamrock to explain the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) to people. He travelled all over Ireland sharing kindness and faith. This is always a great day of celebration, and this Friday will be no different! We also look forward to continuing to celebrate on Saturday with our Parish and school community as we celebrate our first family Mass.

PRAYERS FOR POPE FRANCIS: We continue to pray for Pope Francis as he recuperates in Gemelli Hospital in Rome. We pray he receives the rest, healing and care he needs.

Best wishes for a great week.

Christine Baron

Principal

St Patrick, Pray for us

Last week we began our Lenten journey on Ash Wednesday. Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. By observing the 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate  Jesus’ sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. It is a special time for prayer, penance, sacrifice, and good works.

• Lent is a time when we try to be closer to Jesus.

Project Compassion Boxes

Project Compassion Boxes were sent home last week. For over half a century, Project Compassion, an initiative of Caritas Australia, has raised funds to support people living in poverty around the world.

Our generosity will empower the world's most vulnerable communities to grow stronger and lift themselves out of poverty. Together, we can help these vulnerable communities.

Every cent that we can give will make a difference to someone’s life.

PROJECT COMPASSION LENTEN PRAYER

God of our journey

we are all pilgrims of hope

brought together by your love

and your wish that we may all be one.

We pray that in this Year of Jubilee

when we are called to greater justice

and care for our common home

that we may Unite Against Poverty.

May we work in unity for the freedom

of the oppressed and the renewal of creation.

May our compassionate minds and generous hearts

help bring about a world where all can live in peace.

May our Lenten pilgrimage of fasting, almsgiving and prayer

bring us closer to your loving heart.

We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen

Dear Families,         

P L E A S E   J O I N   W I T H   U S  IN   A Family Mass

to celebrate St Patrick’s Day - SATURDAY 15^th March at 6 PM

S T.  P A T R I C K ' S   C H U R C H

*** Following Mass there will be a free sausage sizzle*****

RSVP – to Mrs Howe by Wednesday to ensure everyone is catered for.              Wear your green clothes.

Prayer for Pope Francis

We continue to prayer for Pope Francis in this time of ill health. Please keep him in your prayers.

Heavenly Father, we lift up Pope Francis to You in prayer. Grant him strength, healing, and peace during this time of illness. Guide the hands of the medical team caring for him and bless their efforts to restore his health. May he find comfort in Your presence and continue his mission to lead and serve the Church.

Through Christ our Lord, we pray. Amen.

Christian Meditation

The students of St Patrick’s take time throughout their week to engage in Christian Meditation. Christian Meditation is contemplative Prayer with the mantra of ‘Simply be with God’s Spirit in your heart. We practice

Kate Howe REC

You may or may not be aware that our Community Council members currently have a petition in the front office and are asking for parents, guardians and members of the St Patrick's School community to support this petition for the request of a covered outdoor learning area (COLA). This is a much needed weather resistant space which will accommodate all weather conditions and ensure our children have a place to play regardless of the weather. 

Thank you to the families who have already signed the petition.  We are asking for anyone who hasn't signed it to please fill in the form which is located in the foyer of the admin office. 

We can also send home blank forms for you to have other family members fill it out as well.  Just contact Jacki in the office and one can be sent home on request.

Swimming has now been completed for our swimming program for Term 1. This Thursday we have Geoff from Gecko Sports joining us for the next 4 Thursdays to teach our students Baseball and T-Ball.  

We also have a date for our Cross Country so please mark this date on your calendars - Wednesday 2nd of April at the Gundagai Racecourse. More information will be sent out at a later date but we thought we would notify our parents early about this event. 

Last week our Yrs 3 - 6 students travelled to Tumut to participate in the Mini Gala Soccer Day. Thank you to all the children, parents and staff for assisting on the day.  We had some pretty special moments that were recognised by parents, grandparents and families. Highlight was a young boy in a wheelchair being assisted to kick a goal and young Harry Barton allowing the goal to go in by diving past the ball. True sportsmanship shown, you definately made this young boys day and made his parents proud - "Top Job" Harry and Miss Bartlett. Well done to all our players for trying something different and having a fun day out. 

A very special welcome to Nova Nettey who has joined our Kindergarten class. Nova and his family have recently moved to Gundagai from Ghana. We also welcome Nicholas and Cindy Netty, Nova’s parents along with his younger sisters, Maxine and Natalia. We look forward to sharing in Nova’s educational journey at St Patrick’s.

Years 3 and 5 will be completing their NAPLAN assessment  Wednesday 12th March through to Friday 21 March (Week 7). It is important that all Year 3 and 5 students are here at school during that week.

The assessments will be completed on the following days: 

Wednesday 12 March - Writing

Tuesday 18 March - Reading

Wednesday 19 March - Language Conventions

Thursday 20 March - Numeracy

Friday 21 March - Catch Up Day

A D E L O N G   S H O W   2 0 2 5

We had some very special news and "Show n Tell" on Monday morning when Daphne and Dixie Simpson (two of our Kindergarten students) brought in their prize winning ribbons from the Adelong Show on Saturday. 

Its amazing to hear all of the stories from the children after their success at our local shows in Gundagai and Adelong.  Another success story comes from Clancy Smart who participated in both shows recently in the horse events and came away with several ribbons, confidence and the smile that warms your soul. Congratulations Clancy

I know you may all be reading this and thinking its too early to be thinking about winter uniforms but.....If parents could please start thinking about their winter uniform supplies and if anything needed please place your orders through the website https://www.spg.nsw.edu.au/ Tash Smith our Uniform Coordinator has a good supply of stock at present. If you would prefer to call into the office to try on items then Tash is available most days around 3pm. 

Orders for Winter Uniforms can be sent through during Week 10 of Term 1 if not before. 

We are excited to welcome back to the school Footsteps Dance Company. Its been a couple of years since we have had this fantastic program at our school. 

Footsteps specialises in curriculm, age-based movement programs. Students will experience various dance styles including hip hop, funk, modern pop and various other dance moves. This is a very popular program and our students love it. 

Footsteps Dance will also provide a disco for all students K-6. Students are welcome to come dressed in their best disco clothes and take part in the disco dance fun. Parents are asked to drop their child/ren back at school for the disco times below and pick them up at the conclusion of the disco. The disco will be supervised by teachers.

Disco Times - Thursday 27th March

K/1/2-4.00-5.00pm

Years 3/4/5/6-5.00-6.00pm

This is the "Have Your Say" OOSH Parent Demand Survey that has been sent out on Facebook and also Compass to our families.  The feedback that is received is important for our Gundagai community so please ensure you have had your say by clicking on the suvey link below. 

Please take a few minutes to complete the OOSH parent demand survey to help the Department of Education understand the need for OOSH services in Gundagai. It only takes about 5 minutes to complete.

To ensure accurate results, you’ll be asked to provide your name and email. Duplicate and false entries will not be counted.

Click here to complete the survey: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx...

Make sure to select Gundagai Public School for Question 3 (even if your child/children do not attend GPS).
Survey closes 21 March 2025.
Thank you for your time and support!
 
Please note: this is a survey and service for all families, it is NOT for Gundagai Public School families only. Question 3 just links to the geographical area.
 

Last Friday we held our very first Student of the Month Awards. Congratulations to our students for your great start to the year. 

Kindergarten - Hazel Miller (Absent from photo) 

Year 1 - Anna Nicholls

Year 2 - Alfie Eccleston 

Year 3 - Isabella Melksham

Year 4 -Remi Taylor 

Year 5 - Reuben Smart (Absent from photo) 

Year 6 - Dale Paton

Congratulations to our Week 4 and Week 5 Class Awards. Well done to each and everyone of our students

Week 4 - 28th February 

Kindergarten : Isabel Knight-Gregson enthusiastic towards her learning and always having a smile on her face

Year 1/2 : Sam Hufton for being focused and engaged in his learning (absent from photo)

Year 3 : Lance Crowe for excellent class participation and work ethic

Year 4 : Lilly Ferguson for positive and enthusiastic work ethic

Year 5 : Leila Gaskin for increased participation in class discussions with quality responses

Year 6: Indi Cole for quick and accurate problem solving of mixed operations

Week 5 - 7th March

Kindergarten : Bodhi Bulger for showing great listening skills and is a positive and enthusiastic class member

Year 1/2 : Gus Hufton for using descriptive, detailed language in his writing

Year 3 : Billy Eccleston for improved class participation and positive interactions 

Year 4 : Kaydee Smith for consistent efforts across all areas

Year 5 : Charlie Ryder for detailed written responses in science

Year 6 : Lachlan Hargreaves for contributing to discussions in science

We have had a lot of positive behaviour over the last few weeks which has earned alot of our students with a WildCat Award.   Well done to each and everyone of our students for continuing to shine. 

RESPONSIBLE : Dale Paton, Ollie Crowe, Mackenzie Little, Indi Cole, Reuben Smart, Emma Brown, Conor Cotterill, Lennox Smart, Ned Phelps, Isabel Knight-Gregson, Dixie Simpson, Harry Barton, Nova Nettey, Hallie Butt, Lane Johnson, Ollie Crowe, Eddy Smith, Daphne Simpson, Jaxon Wolley, Leila Gaskin, Zoe Morgan, Clancy Smart, Leo Lewis, Bodhi Bulger x 2, Anastasia Chittick x 2

RESPECT : Dale Paton, Eliza Graham, Conor Cotterill, Maeve Ryan, Zoe Paton, Molly Lott, Indi Cole, Sadie Nicholls, Eddy Smith, Lachlan Hargreaves, Emma Brown, Jasper Rui, Leila Gaskin, Zoe Morgan, Clancy Smart, Leo Lewis 

SAFE : Lottie Worldon, Clancy Smart

Welcome Back to another year of Radio News with our Yr 5/6 Students.

Tune into "Sounds of the Mountains" radio station (FM94.1) every Wednesday at 2.15pm to hear about what our classes and school have been up to over the week.

Week 8 - Wednesday 26th March : Zoe Paton and Leila Gaskin 

Week 9 - Wednesday 2nd April : Emma Brown and Mackenzie Little 

Week 10 - Wednesday 9th April : Reuben Smart and RV Calub

Sending out a "Happy Birthday" wish to the following students who recently celebrated a birthday

26th February - Billy Eccleston and Max Zhu

1st March - Parker Melksham 

2nd March - Lane Johnson 

3rd March - Sadie Nicholls 

Week 6:

• Tuesday 11 March-Life Education Van
• Wednesday 12 March-Life Education Van
• Wednesday 12 March-NAPLAN Writing Assessment-Years 3 and 5
• Friday 14 March-St Patrick’s Day celebrations-wear green!
• Saturday 15 March-6pm FAMILY MASS celebration at St Patrick’s Church

Week 7: (FAMILY WEEK)

• Tuesday 18 March-NAPLAN Reading Assessment-Years 3 and 5
• Wednesday 19 March-NAPLAN Language Conventions-Years 3 and 5
• Thursday 20 March-NAPLAN Numeracy Assessment-Years 3 and 5
• Friday 21 March-NAPLAN Catch up day

WEEK 8:

• Monday 24 to Friday 28 March-Footsteps Dance Lessons all week
• Tuesday 25 March-School Community Council Meeting 6.30pm
• Thursday 27 March-Footsteps Dance Disco

4.00-5.00pm-Year K/1/2 disco

5.00-6.00pm-Years 3-6 disco

• Friday 28 March-12pm Year 1/2 Class Mass

WEEK 9:

• Wednesday 2 April-SPG Cross Country-Gundagai Racecourse
• Friday 4 April-Rugby Union Gala Day

WEEK 10:

• Tuesday 8 April-Netball Cup Gala Day-Tumut
• Wednesday 9 April-David Enever Concert
• Thursday 10 April-Week 10 Awards Assembly 2.30pm
• Thursday 10 April-Last day of Term 1 for students 3.15pm
• Friday 11 April-Staff Professional Learning Day-no students