Dear Parents and Carers,

St Patrick’s School and Parish certainly know how to celebrate the feast day of their Patron Saint! The students had a fantastic ‘green’ day on Friday at school, combined with a School Mass and an afternoon of great activities.

Congratulations also to our wonderful Community Council and parent helpers for a fantastic weekend of celebration. The Irish Variety night was a huge success with delicious food and great entertainment all evening. We certainly have some very talented members in the school and Gundagai community.

The Colour Run was the perfect way to finish off a great weekend. Once again a huge thank you to all involved in organising this great activity. The students (and some adults) turned all shades of colours as they tackled the obstacle course on Sunday morning. We still have some very interesting hair shades coming through the school gate this morning!

Thank you to all involved in assisting with the organisation, set up and running of events. It was a great way to celebrate as a school, parish and Gundagai community.

We have several more exciting events coming up this week. Toni Falusi from CE will be working with staff tomorrow with new IT initiatives. Toni will lead a twilight session from 3.30-7.00pm. We are excited to be working with Toni and building teacher capacity with technology.

On Thursday Year 6 are organising ‘Harmony Day’. This day will fit beautifully with the ‘No Bullying’ themes from last Friday. Harmony Day helps us to be aware of appreciating individual differences and being grateful for the diverse cultures that make up our great school community.

Then we finish the week off with another exciting visitor-much loved author Jackie French. Jackie will spend from 2-3pm with our students, sharing her experiences as an author and ideas around what inspires her as a writer. A huge thank you to the Jugiong Writers festival committee for supporting Jackie’s visit to St Patrick’s School.

In the words of St Patrick:

‘May the strength of God guide us, may the wisdom of God instruct us, may the hand of God protect us, may the word of God direct us. Be always ours this day and for evermore’.

Christine Baron

Principal

School Fees are due this Friday 22 March. Prompt payment is greatly appreciated.

Please note that you have a number of options available for payment including cash, cheque, eftpos facilities in the office and Bpay option as designated on your fee invoice.

St Patrick’s Day

On Friday we celebrated our patron saint’s day, St Patrick’s Day.

The school was a sea of green and we celebrated with our annual activities.

The SRC led the school and parish with a beautiful Mass, Thank you.

Easter in a Box

At the end of this term we will be doing Easter in a Box. Children will need to bring in an empty shoe box for this activity. If you have any extra shoe boxes, please bring them in to share.

Project Compassion

Families have been given a Project Compassion box to support Caritas Australia during Lent. This year the theme is “Give Lent 100 %”. Each classroom also has a project compassion box where donations can be made.

PROJECT COMPASSION 2019 PRAYER

Creator God,

You are our constant hope!

In the season of Lent, you call us to prayer,

fasting and love of those most marginalised.

As a community of faith and courage,

let our gifts to Project Compassion be symbols

of hope and solidarity with our one human family.

Accompany us as we journey with Jesus

to bring ‘good news’ to all creation and ready our hearts

to work for the common good of all your people.

We ask this in Jesus’ name

AMEN

Mass and Liturgy Times:

This term, Mass will be on Fridays at 12pm and Liturgies will be Friday at 12:30pm.

Liturgies at this stage will be held at the school.  

Dates to mark on your calendar:

22/03- Liturgy led by Years 1 and 2 (12:30pm).
29/03- Mass led by Years 5 and 6 (12:30pm).
05/04- Liturgy led by KINDER / 1 (12:30pm).

12/04- End of term Mass led by whole school (12pm).

Prayer / Thoughts / Questions / Reflection for the week:

WEEK 1: ZIMBABWE 1ST SUNDAY OF LENT

Twelve-year-old Thandolwayo would walk seven kilometres each day, threatened by crocodiles, to collect contaminated water for her family. It looked like she would never realise her hope of finishing her education and becoming a nurse, until a Caritas Australia-supported project created access to clean water helping Thandolwayo to stay at school and achieve a future full of hope. Please donate to Project Compassion 2019 to provide access to clean water and a future full of hope for vulnerable communities in Zimbabwe.

WEEK 2: INDONESIA 2ND SUNDAY OF LENT

Tati lives in the remote forest of West Kalimantan. She is a mother of three who was earning an income working in a local rubber plantation. Since taking part in eco-tourism training with Caritas Australia and its partners, Tati can now afford to send her children to school. With new hope and commitment, Tati aspires to a future free from poverty for her family. Please donate to Project Compassion 2019 and help lift communities in Indonesia out of poverty and give them hope to protect our common home.

God Bless, Mrs Flanagan REC

Community Council Update

Well, what a busy start to 2019! Thank you to all parents and friends who have contributed already, whether it's through cooking and working for Tuckshop, reading with the students or helping out with some of our major events.

The Community Council has welcomed a new member to the team, with Michelle McDonnell commencing with the Council at our next meeting on 4 April 2019. Congratulations Michelle. Should you have an interest in joining the Council or wish to find out further information about how the Council operates please don't hesitate to contact me on 0416 285 262, or chat to any member of the team.

As we welcome a new member, we also farewell one of our long serving members, Chris McDonnell. Due to work and travel commitments, Chris has decided to step down from the Council. I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the Council, to thank Chris for his contribution to the Council, which also included a stint as Chairperson.

What a weekend of celebrations we had for St Patrick! It certainly was the Festival of Music and Fun, kicking off with a day of fun, prayer, food and Irish joke telling on Friday for our students; followed by a great night for our parents and friends at the Irish Variety Night; and then last but not least our annual Colour Explosion.  I'm exhausted thinking about it!

Massive thank yous to everyone involved and for pulling all of these events together. To the coordinators; the cooks and bakers; the waiters; the local performers; the flower arrangers; the heavy lifters; the cleaners; the photographers; the canteen volunteers; and of course to all of our visitors, family and friends for helping us raise some much needed funds for our School and Hall. These events were a fantastic way to involve our entire community – there really was something for everyone.  A special mention to Jugiong Public School, who joined us for the Colour Run and contributed the tyres to our obstacle course.

Initial counting has us sitting at more than $2,700 in funds raised from the Variety Night, and more than $2,600 raised so far for the Colour Explosion.  Our student art on Saturday Night raised almost $1,700 at our auction. Many of the artworks purchased will remain in the Hall so that others can appreciate these works of art.

Regarding the Colour Run, students have until the end of this week to get more donations, and even if you didn't get a chance to come along on Sunday you can still raise money.  All monies will be collected next week. Further information will go out next week about this.

Should anyone have anything to add to our agenda for our next Council meeting on 4 April, please let me know or speak with any of the team – Craig Hargreaves, Kim Paton, Jacki Tozer, Emma Peterson, Gemma Crowe, John Morgan, Michael Leane and Michelle McDonnell.

Thanks and have a great week.

Renee Lindley

Community Council Chair

COLOUR RUN - COLOUR EXPLOSION FUN 

We are looking forward to hosting Harmony Day celebrations and Mufti Day this Thursday. An invitation went home yesterday inviting you to join us for our Harmony Day celebrations.

As we will be having a number of different cultural dishes on offer please ensure that you have updated the front office of any food allergies that your child may have. 

Call now for sports coaches for Rugby Union for the McTaggart Cup on Wednesday 3 April. If we don't find a coach we may not be able to take a team to Wagga. At this stage, we have Michelle McDonnell for netball but we do not have any Rugby League coaches at all for Mortimer Shield 5/6 or Trent Barrett 3/4. We have previously advertised for these roles but have had no replies.

We will be having The Australian Circus Company come for a whole school performance next Monday, 25 March. The show will start at 9.10 am followed by individual classes having workshops.

Hi Parents,

As the cooler weather approaches, now is the time to start thinking about winter uniforms.

If you need new uniforms please place your order no later than April 1st. 

Order forms are available on the school website and can be sent to the front office.

Alternatively, you can come and see me on Monday afternoons between 2.30 - 3 pm.

ALSO: I have excess second-hand stock of both summer and winter shirts, and grey shorts.

Next Monday (25th March), I will have these out for a gold coin per item!! First in best dressed ;)

Thanks, Bec

Week 6 - Term 1 

Kindergarten/Year 1: Indi Cole - for great care with her presentation of work 

Year 1/2: Jack Paton - for displaying helpful classroom behaviour towards his peers 

Year 3/4: Jess McDonnell - for being a mature and responsible role model 

Year 5/6: Asher Jones - for showing initiative and creativity on her Modern Day images of God

Week 7 - Term 1 

Kindergarten/Year 1: Jayden Crossley - fantastic knowledge of sounds

Year 1/2: Archie McDonnell - using lots of strategies when reading

Year 3/4: Jezanna Winchester - accurately using a protractor to measure angles

Year 5/6: Lillian McDonnell - continued commitment and passion for writing

Week 6 - Term 1 

RESPONSIBLE:  Tyler Manns, Andrew Cole, Ella Nugent, Asher Jones, Lachlan Morgan & Joey Gailey

RESPECTFUL:  Harry Peterson & James Reardon 

SAFE: Harry Peterson & Riley Smith 

Week 7 - Term 1 

RESPONSIBLE: 

RESPECTFUL: Asher Jones & Jessica McDonnell

SAFE: Hugh Ryan & Asher Jones

The following have celebrated their birthdays recently: 

Ellie McDonnell celebrates her birthday today as does Jezanna Winchester!

We hope you all have a wonderful birthday and you were surrounded by lots of love

STUDENT OF THE MONTH - TERM 1 2019

Last Friday, 8th of March we held our first "Student of the Month" Awards presentation.  Congratulations to the following students who have been recognised for their learning excellence during Term 1.

Kindergarten/Year 1  - Dale Paton and Riley Smith 

Year 1/2 - Pippa Fitzgerald and Tessa Crowe

Year 3/4 - Hugh Ryan and Lilly Cotterill 

Year 5/6  -  Sadie Eccleston and Isaac Pearce 

Congratulations students 

The Southern Sports Academy is again holding it’s annual School Holiday Netball Camp.  This year it is to be held at the Equex Centre, Wagga Wagga on the 16th-18th April 2019.

The camps are a valuable opportunity for children of all skill levels to receive top quality coaching with former NSW Swifts player, Jackie Murphy, hosting our Junior Netball Camp, along with a panel of experienced coaches including Southern Sports Academy Coaching staff, special guest coaches and Southern Sports Academy athletes.

This year players between the ages of 7 and 10 will be attending one day only, on Tuesday 16th April, while players aged between 11 and 14 will attend on Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th. 

The annual Junior Netball Camp has become a crucial event for the identification of the best young talent in the Southern part of the state.

Applications may be filled out online via the Academy’s website (www.ssa-nsw.org.au) or through the following link - 2019 Netball Development Camp

Thanks,

Cathy