Dear families and friends,

Welcome back to Term 2.

Thank you to all the students who attended the ANZAC Day march last week. The number of children participating was very encouraging and they marched wonderfully. I felt extremely proud to be marching alongside such a respectful and responsible group of children. Thank you, parents and grandparents, for bringing the children along and making this a great community event.

Congratulations to all of Gundagai in the opening celebration of the refurbished main street. How good does it look! The purple lighting of the trees at night is enchanting. Well done Gundagai!

Once again this is a very busy term. This Friday, St Patrick’s will host the Western Region Cross Country Carnival being held at the Race Course. A huge thank you goes out to all the parents, Community Council members, Mrs Lisa Wilson and Mrs Natasha Flanagan for organising this event and showcasing St Patrick’s and the great facilities of Gundagai.

Sarah Scott and Isaak Pearce busking at the Main Street opening.

NAPLAN 2018

This term, our Year 3 and Year 5 students will participate in NAPLAN testing (National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy). We wish all our Year 3 and Year 5 students the very best.  Parents may wish to visit the official NAPLAN site for more information.  NAPLAN 2018     https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/

Mother’s Day

On Monday the 14^th of May, St Patrick’s will be holding a morning tea to celebrate Mother’s Day. All mothers and grandmothers of St Patrick’s and the Gundagai community are warmly invited to come along and join together in celebration of motherhood.

Semester One Reports

Our school Semester 1 parent/teacher interviews shall take place on the 2^nd,3^rd and 4^th of July. To better inform the interview process so that it is an effective reporting experience for parents we invite parents to respond to a reporting survey which will be sent out via email. Your responses will shape the Semester two interview process. Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Fundraising Fun

From a fundraising focus, this term sees the return of the Meat Raffle at Lott’s on a Friday night. We would like to thank all of our St. Patrick’s community members for supporting these events with their time & effort. It's a great opportunity to chat with the locals followed by a family meal!

Supportive Playgroups

Fridays 9:00 am - 10:30 am for 8 weeks starting 11th May

The Supportive Playgroup Program will run for eight sessions and is open to all parents/carers of pre-school students regardless of whether or not you are attending St Patrick’s Primary in the future. This is an opportunity for parents of pre –school children to be involved in a supportive playgroup that has a focus on engaging families in their children’s learning. The playgroup focus is to support families to “see” the learning that occurs in everyday play and learning opportunities. This program aims to build parents/carers awareness of how they can influence their child’s learning.

What are the benefits of Playgroup?

For Families: Parents/ carers:

• understand the learning children do through play and other learning experiences.
• receive ideas for activities that they can do at home to support their child’s learning
• have the opportunity to interact with each other, share knowledge and experiences and build parenting and friendship networks.

For Children:  Children and parents/carers become familiar with set routines, learning expectations and environment.

• Children have the opportunity: to develop literacy, numeracy, social and emotional, fine and gross motor skills.
• to develop good transition skills as they move into a new learning setting.
• to develop learning habits of mind, such as cooperation, purposefulness and persistence.

The Main themes that will be covered include: Talking together, Reading together, Singing together, Playing together, Laughing together, Belonging and Learning together.

I personally will be facilitating the program along with Kerri-Ann Powell, an Early Learning Educator.

I am really excited to be able to offer this Supportive Playgroup opportunity to the Gundagai community to support parents in becoming a powerful positive influence on their child’s future learning, health and well-being. This program has been designed to transition into our “Little Learners” preschool experience which will begin in Term 3. 

If you would like more information about this program please call me on 0423452072 or email vincent.powell@cg.catholic.edu.au

If you would like to register you may go online at SUPPORTIVE PLAYGROUPS or contact the school office.  

St Patrick’s “Parent Hub”

Parents this room has been created for parents to use as you see fit.  The room has been prepared as child-friendly and caters for parents to come together and meet, have coffee, share a meal or just spend time in comfort while waiting to collect your children. Parents are invited to utilise our new room for parent/child gatherings and after-school activities. I will be seeking feedback as to how we can improve this room to cater for your needs. I would like to emphasise that this school and its facilities are for the students and parents to utilise and I invite you to do so.

Once again, I wish to emphasise to all parents if you have any concerns with our school or your child’s learning and well-being, please contact me immediately so as we can work together to solve any issue. I very much value this collaborative approach and the results are always better when we work together. Our door is always open to discuss any issues – no matter how small you may think it is.

Have a great week,

LEARN SERVE LEAD SUCCEED                                          

Welcome back to Term2. I trust everyone had a happy, safe and restful holiday.

School Mass

This term on SATURDAY 26^th May we will be having a whole school Mass commencing at 6 pm. (arrive around 5:45 pm)

Looking forward to seeing everyone there.

Mass and Liturgy Times:

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

Liturgies may be held at the school, pending the weather on the day.

Dates to mark on your calendar:
04/05- NO MASS Western Region Cross Country
11/05- Mass led by Years 5 and 6 (12pm).
18/05- No Mass or Liturgy

25/05- Mass led by Years 1 and 2 (12pm).

26/05- WHOLE SCHOOL Mass Saturday 6pm.
01/06- Liturgy led by Years 5 and 6 (12:30pm).

08/06- Mass led by Staff (12pm).
15/06- Liturgy led by Years 3 and 4 (12:30pm).

22/06- Mass led by Staff and Leaders (12pm).
29/06- Liturgy led by Kinder (12:30pm).
06/07- End of term Mass led by SRC (12pm).

Thoughts/ Questions / Reflection for the week: Breaking Open the Word
Step One: Listen to the Word
When you hear the word proclaimed today, what phrase or image of the Gospel strikes you? 

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more. You are pruned already, by means of the word that I have spoken to you. Make your home in me, as I make mine in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself but must remain part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers; these branches are collected and thrown on the fire, and they are burnt. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask what you will and you shall get it. It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit, and then you will be my disciples.’

Step Two: Look into Your Life

Question for Children: How do you keep yourself connected to Jesus in your daily life?

Question for Youth: Jesus is the vine – we are the branches, connected to Him as our life-source. When do you feel most connected to Jesus in your everyday life? How can you go there more often?

Question for Adults: How does your own connection to Christ, the vine, affect your daily life? What image from this reading helps you see the importance of this connection to Christ?

It is the 25th Anniversary of The Biggest Morning Tea on May 24. The Kindergarten, Year 1 & 2 students will again perform two songs at the event and we would love you to come along and join this very worthy cause. 

Please mark the date of the Year 6 Camp on your calendars.

Sunday 26 August returning on Friday 31st.

School photos this year will be held on Friday 10 August.

We had a very successful street stall last month with a profit of $1494.45. Thank you so much to the organisers, those that gave up their time to sit on the stall, cooking and for the sale of your raffle tickets. Your contributions are always so greatly appreciated. 

100 Club winners: Alan Worldon & Rod Burns

Raffle 1st Prize: Judy Bell, 2nd Prize: Marg McDonald 3rd Prize: Christine Gregg 4th Prize: Kerrie Ann Powell

KINDERGARTEN: Emily Ryan - writing wonderful sentences.

YEAR 1/2: Nathanael Tozer - putting his thinking cap on and becoming more confident in mathematics.

YEAR 3/4: Jezanna Winchester - working hard to work independently.

YEAR 5/6: Molly McDonnell - her commitment to and love of writing and publishing texts.

RESPONSIBLE: Sophie Graham, Tessa Crowe, Lachlan Morgan & Maya Flanagan

RESPECTFUL: Jack Ryan, Eliza Hargreaves & Maya Flanagan

SAFE: Tyler Manns, Harry Peterson, Emily Ryan & Samuel Turck

St Patrick's Parish will celebrate Mother's Day at the Vigil Mass at 6:00 pm on Saturday night 12 May. Please gather your mums, grandmothers, aunties and special women in your lives photos and send them to po-de@bigpond.com by Thursday 10 May They will be included in a loop of photos to be shown during reflection time after communion.

Wear red, orange or yellow to welcome the Holy Spirit. The Parish will be celebrating the feast of Pentecost at a special Mass - the birthday of the church - on Sunday 20 May at a 5:00 pm Mass. This will be a whole family celebration. We will celebrate our parish community with a meal together in the hall after Mass on that Sunday. Soup, crispy bread and tea/coffee with a slice. Please note that the Vigil Mass will still be celebrated on Saturday evening at 6:00 pm. Currently, our Christmas nativity set is in need of repair. If you are able to contribute a gold coin to this restoration project at this special meal together, it would be greatly appreciated.