Dear Parents

Our spirits have definitely lifted with the beautiful sunshine and warmer days. We look forward to the Spring weather to re energise and spend more time with family outdoors.

Happy Father’s Day

We hope all families enjoyed Father’s Day on Sunday or celebrated significant others in their lives.  Our special male figures (Dads, Grandfathers, Uncles and family friends) play such an important role in our lives and it is such a heartwarming day to celebrate their contributions and sacrifices.

Street Stall

A big thank you to our street stall coordinators Simone Jones and Kate Graham for a successful three days fundraising.  There was such a vast variety of items, plants, books, treats and delicious food available to the Gundagai community to purchase.  Thankyou to all parents who cooked, donated their time to be rostered on and to all families who purchased raffle tickets.  Thank You to Simone and Kate for sourcing the raffle prizes and businesses who supported our school.  What a magnificent street stall it was!

Little Learners

Our Little Learners has been a big hit with our Preschoolers every week.  They have moved through the exciting programs of Move It, Read It, Connect it, Hear it! This Friday the children will do Discover it!

A big thank you to the Years Five and Six students for coordinating the fun activities and assisting Mrs Baron and Mrs Johnson.  The younger children have really loved having the big kids involved and establishing trusting friendships with them.  Thank you 5/6!

Arrival To School

Just a reminder that all students are expected to be dropped off before the 8:55am warning bell. Arriving on time for morning play allows all students to get ready for the day, form friendships and hear important announcements on morning assembly.  Arriving on time is allowing them that time to settle and sets them up for a successful day. 

Have a lovely week,

Lisa Wilson

Assistant Principal 

The St Patrick’s community extends our sincere sympathy to two of our school families on the passing of their loved ones.

The Blundell family have recently experienced the sad passing of Leah’s mother Lorraine after a brief illness, and Leah’s aunty Robyn only a week earlier.

We were also saddened by the passing over the weekend of Gary Clarke, loved uncle of Ms Natasha Smith and Great Uncle of Kaydee. Our loving thoughts and prayers are with these families at this sad time. May God’s love give them strength and courage in the days ahead.

Father Bernie Hennessy

On Thursday 8^th September Fr Bernie (our past Parish Priest) celebrates his 50^th year of Ordination into the Priesthood. We send our congratulations to Fr Bernie on this memorable occasion. We thank him for the wonderful service and dedication to St Patrick’s Parish while he was our Parish Priest. May his ministry and example be an inspiration for all he administers to. We pray that he will receive many blessings for his tireless work. We will send a card of congratulations to Fr Bernie.

SRC Mass

This Friday the SRC will present our school Mass. The SRC are elected representatives of our student body from Years 3-6 who work to promote our school and help to organise many important projects within the school. We warmly invite you to join us at 12 noon this Friday.

Altar Serving

Thank you to all our Altar Servers who each week demonstrate their ministry in the Mass. Our Parish is so appreciative of your efforts and dedication.

Sacramental Program

Early in Term 4, we begin our preparation for First Holy Communion. This Sacrament will be celebrated on Saturday 5^th November at the 6pm Mass. More details will be advertised in the next Newsletter.

Kate Howe

REC

Community Council Update…SO MANY THANK YOU’S!

What a BIG few weeks we have had! Thank you to everyone who has contributed to and participated in our recent fundraising activities!

The TRIVIA NIGHT was an amazing success! Thank you to Pete and Cal Reardon for coordinating a fabulous night. Thanks also goes to Lisa and Shaun Ryan, Sam Johnson as well as our scorers Liz Ferguson and Michelle McDonnell, Leanne McDonnell and Simone Jones for cooking and to everyone else who pitched in and helped on the night. A big shout out to our ex-students Lucy Reardon and Grace Luff for donating their time on the night, we truly appreciated their generosity. Also thank you to the families who donated to the auction. The event was well supported by parents, staff, and the wider community, thank you. We raised $8,900!

The STREET STALL was another great success. We raised $5,600! Thank you to Simone Jones for her enthusiasm, hard work and creative ideas over the past 4 years to make the street stalls a success, and for the hundreds of apples pies she has made during this time. Lisa Peterson has kindly offered to help Tash Smith organise the street stall next year. Also thank you everyone else who baked to keep up with the demand, donated items to sell and time to sit on the stall both at Foodworks, and in the week prior at Woolworths. We are very lucky to have a wonderful group of grandmothers that we can call on for help and we had many give up their time for the street stall and bake. It was also wonderful to see the new families contribute, including our Kinder parents who have been very generous this year with their time, energy and fresh ideas.

The fundraising committee has decided to postpone the Fete and instead host a SUMMER DISCO PARTY on the 2^nd of December 2022. We have had a busy term with fundraising and as the fete requires lots of volunteers with energy, it was decided to host a smaller, more relaxed function and try the fete in Term 1 2023. Please SAVE THE DATE for the disco. The committee has also organised a fantastic raffle which will run during term 4 and we need lots of support to promote this, as the prizes are very desirable and showcase our local area.

The CC has ordered the new stage curtains for the school hall which will be in place for Alice the Musical. The school gazebo will arrive soon. We have contributed $5000 to the cost of excursions. We are continuing to investigate grants for the hall upgrade and Covered Outdoor Learning Area. Thank you to Lauren Eccleston and Bonita Taylor for offering assistance with the grant applications.

Finally, thank you to the parents who make the meat raffles and canteen happen each week, especially the mums who take on an extra canteen day at short notice to make sure the children don’t miss out. These fundraisers continue on behind the scenes and make a significant contribution to our fundraising profits. Our families are busy and hardworking, and we appreciate the parents who make the time to contribute to the success of the school community. Enjoy a well-deserved spring holiday.

Kate Graham

Secretary

Community Council

On Monday 29^th August, the teaching staff undertook further Professional Development of CATALYST by completing modules 5 and 6. An outline of what each module covered is outlined below.

Module 5-​​​​​​​Classroom Management and Behaviour. This module explored behaviour as a curriculum which students need to be taught. Prior learning from the Science of Learning, and Rosenshine's Principles of Instructions assisted understanding of the purpose behind explicitly teaching behavioural expectations to students.

Module 6-Student Engagement. This module looked at best strategies and techniques to use in class every day to achieve maximum engagement.

Learning Support Assistants (LSA’s)-Completed the Disability Standards for Education Parts 1 and 2.

The units of work completed by teachers and LSA’s will enable all staff to provide best teaching practices to our students.

 SRC Sports Colours Day

Sports colours day will be held on Wednesday the 21st of September Week 10

Bring a gold coin donation and wear the colours of your favourite sporting team - football, soccer, netball, hockey, Rugby Union, cricket etc

When: Wednesday 21st September.

Cost: Gold coin donation

We would like to Thank Robert Bolger and Cheryl Franklin for assisting with our handprints on the Mural of the Learning Hub.  Every child was able to place their hand on the wall in their choosen colour.  The wall looks amazing.  If you are driving or walking past make sure you have a look. 

The School Photographer will be at St Patrick’s on Friday the 16^th September for school photos.   Envelopes can be sent into school prior to photo day or brought in on the morning of photos. If you are paying online please ensure you write your receipt number on the envelope.  

Please contact the office if you would like a "Sibling Envelope" sent home

We will hold our Week 10 Award Assembly and BOOKWEEK Parade and activities on Thursday 22^nd September. Please note the following times.

9.00-10.00am-AWARD assembly

10.00-11.00am-BOOKWEEK Parade

11.30-1.00pm-BOOKWEEK activities

Book Week is ‘Dreaming with Eyes Open’. Students are invited to dress up in their best costume to reflect this theme or come dressed in your favourite book character. Parents, grandparents and family members are invited to join us for the BOOKWEEK parade from 10.00am on our blacktop area.

Aunty Sue Bulger has accepted an invitation to read ‘Dreamtime’ stories to our students on Wednesday 21^st September. We look forward to this special presentation for Bookweek.

10.00-Infants

10.30-Primary

New dates have been set aside for our whole school production of ‘Alice the Musical’.

Wednesday 16^th November commencing at 11.30am-Matinee performance

Thursday 17^th November commencing at 6pm-Nighttime Performance.

The Kindergarten Orientation program is designed to familarise the children with our school, routines, students and staff. This will also help prepare them for Kindergarten in 2023. We will begin with two sessions that take the children through to lunchtime, followed by a full day session.

Friday 4^th November-9.00-1.30pm

Friday 11^th November-9.00-1.30pm

Friday 18^th November-9.00-3.15pm (full day)

Our final session will be held on Friday 25^th November from 9.00-11.00am. This will be a Teddy-Bears picnic (or favourite soft toy) with games and activities. We will provide some special treats for the children. Please advise us if there are any allergies. At the conclusion of this session, we welcome all mums and dads to come along around 10.45pm for a special presentation to the children.

Congratulations to all our students who represented our school at the Interschool Public Speaking Competition against McAuley Tumut on Tuesday 30^th August. The students are to be thoroughly commended on their efforts and delivery of their speeches on the day. The standard was exceptionally high this year. Congratulations to Sophie and Abigail, who will now represent our school at the WR Public Speaking finals on Friday 16^th September. Many thanks to our adjudicators Mr Peter Gain and Mrs Anne Saunderson.

Year 6:

Winner: Sophie Graham-St Patricks

R/U-Gracie Peterson-St Patrick’s

 Year 5:

Winner: Abigail Bock-St Patrick’s

R/U: Charlotte McDonnell-St Patrick’s 

Year 4:

R/U-Riley Smith

Participation Award: Christyne Calub

 Year 3:

Participation Awards: Indi Cole and Lachlan Hargreaves

Country Children's Early Learning provides after school care and vacation care to the community of Gundagai.  Postions have become available to work within the Gundagai centre.  If you, or anyone you know would be interested in working during the school holidays or after school please contact Julia Morphett on 02-6236 8305.  Julia will be able to provide more detailed information regarding the roles and responsibilities. 

Congratulations to our Week 6 and Week 7 Class Awards

Week 6 -26th August 

Kindergarten: Harley Rose for working quickly and accurately across all areas 

Yr 1/2 : Leila Gaskin for a positive attitude to all of her school work

Yr 3/4 : Conor Cotterill for his enthusiasm and focus towards literacy lessons

Yr 3/4 : Joseph Murphy for his participation in class discussions especially History

Yr 5/6 : Jack Paton 

Week 7 - 2nd September 

Kindergarten: Ryan Robinson for trying hard with finger spacing and punctuation in story writing

Yr 1/2 : Justin Sedrak for showing improvements in his writing

Yr 3/4 : Indi Cole for her participation in all learning areas 

Yr 5/6 : Nate Tozer for utilising technology to create an engaging and vibrant Google advertisement 

Yr 5/6 : Ellie McDonnell for her enthusiastic approach toward Literacy

We would like to send out our birthday wishes to the following students who have recently celebrated a special birthday:

3rd of September : Gracie Peterson 

4th of September: Charlie Ryder 

6th of September: Lola Eccleston