Western Region Cross Country Carnival

A big thank you to the Gundagai Adelong Race Club for allowing the Western Region Catholic Cross Country to be held on their racecourse. As always, the Race Course and facilities were exceptionally well presented, much to the delight of our visiting schools from Lake Cargelligo, West Wyalong, Grenfell, Young, Temora, Boorowa, Murrumburra, Cootamundra, Tumut, Batlow and Adelong. Congratulations to McAuley College Tumut and St Mary’s Young who tied for the overall school trophy and to St Patrick’s who came in second. Thank you to all of the parents and teachers who planned and assisted in the running of the carnival and for the children who gave their very best. What a fantastic day!

Great Books

As I move in and out classrooms I am very impressed with the students love of reading and the writing they are producing. This year we have purchased over a thousand dollars worth of great books to support our student’s literacy. St Patrick’s is very fortunate to have such excellent resources to support class and home reading. I encourage all parents to ensure that their children spend at least 15 min a night reading so as to build their literacy skills, imagination. creativity, their love learning and insight into this wonderful world in which we live.  Your encouragement of the Premiers Reading challenge is also a way in which you can support your child’s reading growth and love of literature.

Mother’s day

On Monday the 14^th we will celebrate Mother’s Day with a morning breakfast at the school from 8:00 till 9:30 am. All mothers and grandmothers are warmly invited to attend the breakfast followed by a visit to the classrooms.

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/

NAPLAN TESTING TIMETABLE 2018 Year 3 & 5

Supportive Playgroups begins this Friday - 9:00 am - 10:30 am for 8 weeks.

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 preschool 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.

I personally will be facilitating the program along with Kerri-Ann Powell and Natasha Smith.

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. 

Peer Support

This week we begin our Peer Support groups with the focus on Friendships. This program supports students to develop the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to maintain friendships and interact with one another in a friendly and positive way. Skills such as critical thinking, empathy, conflict resolution, assertiveness and relationship building are strategically embedded in the program to assist students in building their well-being capacity.

Have a great week

LEARN  SERVE  LEAD  SUCCEED

School Mass

This term on SATURDAY 26^th May we will be having a whole school Mass commencing at 6pm.

(arrive around 5:45pm)

Looking forward to seeing everyone there.

Mass and Liturgy Times:

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

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

Dates to mark on your calendar:
11/05- Mass led by Years 5 and 6 (12 pm).
18/05- No Mass or Liturgy

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

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

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

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

Thoughts/ Questions / Reflection for the week: Breaking Open the Word
Step One: Listen to the Word

Which line in this reading caught your ear? What sense do you get about God as you listen to this Word proclaimed today?

My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God because God is love. God’s love for us was revealed when God sent into the world his only Son so that we could have life through him; this is the love I mean: not our love for God, but God’s love for us when he sent his Son to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.

The word of the Lord.

Step Two: Look into Your Life

Question for Children: In what ways do you experience God’s love, offered to you through family, friends, and teachers?

Question for Youth: Jesus commanded us to love one another. Who is most in need of your love and kindness right now? How can you be more loving to those most in need this week?

Question for Adults: Concretely, how do you show love to others?

Welcome to Term 2. What a great start to the Term with the Western Region Cross Country held last Friday. Thank you so much to everyone who volunteered on the day, with cooking, manning the canteen, BBQ and coffee van, setting up and pack down. Special thanks to Sarah Graham for coordinating the canteen and BBQ. It was a great day and a great fundraiser for the school.

We have a Community Council meeting coming up this Thursday, 10 May. Should there be anything you wish to raise with the Council, please email our Chair Chris McDonnell at cmcdonnell@awex.com.au or speak with any of our Council members:

• Chris McDonnell
• Renee Lindley
• Jacki Tozer
• Kim Paton
• Craig Hargreaves
• Emma Peterson
• John Morgan
• Gemma Crowe
• Peter Gailey

We would also like to welcome our newest Council member Michael Leane to the Council.

We look forward to another busy term, with the Council's continued focus on our outdoor play area. This term we are working towards upgrading the playground astro turf and additional covered areas for our students.  Last term, new outdoor seating and tables were installed in the playground; and, whilst not an outdoor need, the Council also purchased a new oven for the Tuckshop – a much needed upgrade! Thanks to Tuckshop Coordinator Leanne McDonnell for researching and sourcing the oven.

Enjoy your week.

Week 1 – Being Friendly

We are commencing our Peer Support lessons this week. The whole school participates in Peer Support for 30 minutes each week. Two Peer leaders facilitate a small group of 8-10 younger students, who work together through a number of structured activities. Each teacher will supervise 2-3 groups in their classroom. We are working on a module called Keeping Friends helping us explore the concept of friendship, build relationships and develop skills in empathy and critical thinking. The module runs for 8 sessions. Our first session enables the children to get to know everyone in their group, agreeing on how they will work together and interact cooperatively with others. They will also begin to think about the meaning of friendship. We encourage you to talk to your children about Peer Support every week as it will help to reinforce the concepts learned in each session.

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.

Dear Parents,

We are participating in Redgum Book Club this term and the catalogue has been sent home with your child. Every order will earn resources and books for our school. 

To view the current catalogue, open the link Redgum Book Club Term 2 catalogue

You will find more great titles to order this term on their website, with books starting from $2 www.redgumbookclub.com.au  Orders over $30 will receive a free Australian Geographic poster.

The catalogue is now open and closes on 21^st May.  Ordered books will be delivered free to the school week commencing the 4^th June. 

Books included in the current catalogue:

• Kensy and Max - A spy adventure series from bestselling Australian author Jacqueline Harvey.
• The Trials of Apollo: The Burning Maze - The third title in Rick Riordan's Trials of Apollo series - set in the action-packed and hilarious world of Percy Jackson.
• Ice Wolves: Elementals - New York Times bestselling author Amie Kaufman delivers heart-pounding adventure and breathtaking magical inventions in this unforgettable story about finding one's place in a sharply divided world.
• A Fortunate Life by A.B.Facey - A true classic of Australian literature, his simply written autobiography is an inspiration.
• Grace by Morris Gleitzman, Australian Children's Laureate 2018-2019 - A compassionate look at religion, freedom and rebellion.

How to place an order:

• Order and pay online by credit card or PayPal redgumbookclub.com.au
• Email your order form with your credit card details orders@redgumbookclub.com.au
• Fax your order form (02) 9997 5850.

If you have any questions about Redgum Book Club orders, please contact Lesley at schools@redgumbookclub.com.au