MAY 8, 2025 NEWSLETTER

CHILD SAFETY STATEMENT

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back for Term 2. I hope the break was enjoyable and you got to enjoy the glorious weather.  

The death of Pope Francis marks the end of a remarkable chapter in the life of the Catholic Church. Just a day earlier, he appeared before the faithful in Saint Peter’s Square, offering his Easter blessing and a message of peace and freedom. It was his final public gesture in a life devoted to service. As we enter a time of mourning and reflection, we reflect on the loss of a spiritual leader and the enduring power of his example. In remembering Pope Francis, we continue the mission he championed: one of mercy, courage, and compassion.

The staff participated in 3 busy days of professional learning in Week 1.  

Day 1 - We joined with St. Patrick's Koroit to focus on the safe and purposeful use of AI in education.  The two schools will collaborate to implement an AI in Education Framework designed by Catholic Education Ballarat and participate in a prototype initiative to trial an education based chatbot platform.  

Day 2 - We revised our science/inquiry scope and sequence and gained a deeper understanding of the new EMP mathematics program by joining a podcast with the creators of the program.

Day 3 - We joined with almost 400 teachers from school across the Southern Zone Network from Colac to Portland and inland to Mortlake to unpack the new Diocesan DOBCEL Strategic Plan 2035.  We worked with Pasi Sahlberg, a Finnish educator, author and scholar and Dave Runge, an educational researcher, to contextualise the 5 pillars and 3 strategies.  

ANZAC Day - It was an honour for our senior students to be invited to participate in the ANZAC Day parade and ceremony.  It was a little difficult being at the end of the school break with so many of our school leaders away.  

Congratulation to all of our athletes who represented St. Patrick's at the District Athletics Carnival last Friday.  We had some outstanding results, with a small team going to the next level in Ballarat.  

We look forward to hosting our mums at the Mother's Day Breakfast on Friday morning.  Thank you to Tony and the team of dads who are providing the food and working in the kitchen. 

Please read all about the exciting news of our ResourceSmart Award nomination in an article below. So Proud!

Olga Lyons 

SCHOOL CLOSURE DAYS - 2025

Term 2  - Tuesday June 10 - Wellbeing PD       

Term 3  - Monday July 21 - Structured Literacy PD

Final Day for Students in Term 4 - Wednesday December 17

BAPTISM

Congratulation to Edward and Albie Taylor who were Baptised at the Sunday mass at the weekend. 

Parents wanting to have their children Baptised can contact the Star of the Sea Parish Office to register.  Ph: 5562 2231

FROM THE REL - MICHELLE MALONE

2026 ENROLMENTS

OUR DIOCESAN COMMUNITY

Please find below the link for the March 2025 edition of “Our Diocesan Community” 

CLASS AWARDS

The following students received awards at Friday's assembly.

YEAR 1 NEWS

YEAR 2 NEWS

What an exciting start to the term it has been for our Year 2 students! We've been full of energy, creativity, and learning as we dive into a range of fun and meaningful activities.

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, we've been busily crafting something very special for all of our wonderful mums. The children have put so much care and love into their creations—we just know the mums are going to be impressed!

We also enjoyed another fantastic visit to the Port Fairy Library. During our reading session, we listened to some wonderful stories and took part in a fun activity. It was a lovely opportunity to connect with books in a different environment and grow our love of reading.

In the classroom, we've been stretching our brains with some very tricky addition problems involving regrouping. The students have shown fantastic persistence and teamwork while tackling these challenges—what a great effort!

Looking ahead, we are all very excited for our upcoming excursion to the Warrnambool Lighthouse Theatre, the Warrnambool Library and Tower Hill. We'll be heading out with the Year 1 and Foundation classes for a day full of adventure and learning.

We’re off to a flying start and we can’t wait to see what the rest of the term brings!

ATHLETICS NEWS

Warrnambool and District Primary School Division Track and Field Championships

St Patrick’s student’s last Friday attended the Warrnambool and District Primary School Division Track and Field Championships at Brauerander.

It was a very successful day led by Lilly Roberts, Harvey Lambert and Tilly Hetherington who all finished first in their respective discus, high jump and 100m sprint events.

Wilton Knee, Alex Harris and Will Versace had second place finishes in the discus, 200m and 1500m events.  

Sully Hayes finished 3rd in both his 800m and 1500m events. 

Conor Sheehan finished 6th in the hurdles event.

Our 12/13 year old boys relay team consisting of Alex Harris, Will Versace, Freddie Simpson and Patrick Hayes finished 2nd.

All of the above children have earnt the right to compete at the Greater Western Regional Primary Track and Field events in Ballarat on October 10th.  

Congratulations to all of these students and other competitors on the day for representing our school so well and with great sportsmanship.

Moyne School’s District Cross Country Championship

St. Patrick’s students competed on Tuesday in the Moyne School’s District Cross Country Event at Russell Clark Reserve in Port Fairy. 

Congratulations to the following first place winners from the day:  Freya McCullum, Sully Hayes, Will Versace,

Congratulations also to Lewis MacKenzie for his 2nd place finish.

These students will be competing at the Warrnambool and District Primary School’s Division Cross Country at Albert Park, Warrnambool on the 16th May.

OVAL CONDITIONS

With the small amount of rain we are having this week our dry, patchy ovals have become very muddy.  Once we get some reliable rain we will be able to spread some seed during the holiday break.  Consequently, some of the junior students went home with very muddy uniforms on Tuesday.  

To avoid this, the children playing football or soccer are able to bring a footy/soccer jersey to put on over their blue polo tops during break times.  

RESOURCESMART SCHOOLS AWARDS

We've done it again! We are excited to let you know that we are a finalist in the 2025 ResourceSmart Schools Awards again for the 3rd year in a row. This time it is to acknowledge the great leadership of Benson Steere, in coordinating the Sustainability program in our school.

The ResouceSmart Schools Awards celebrate the legendary efforts and impacts made by
schools in sustainability. Our school has been chosen as a finalist in the Teacher of the Year category for Benson's efforts to Build Community Connections in Port Fairy. 

Benson has made sustainability a core value at St Patrick’s and has maintained the school's 5 Star status over four years. 

By working together with the wider community, he created real-world learning opportunities for students like beach monitoring days with Deakin University, water-saving projects with Wannon Water and using recycled fabrics to make pencil cases for the Bandari School's Foundation students in Tanzania. 

His passion has created a culture where sustainability is celebrated and embraced by all, making a lasting impact on both the school and the township of Port Fairy, and building the future we need.

We have been invited to attend the awards ceremony at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on June 5th along with the other finalists. 

The Theme for the awards this year is 'Working Together'. Speaking of working together, since 2008, 1,600 ResourceSmart Schools (including us!) have worked together to:
• save more than $63 million on bills
• plant more than 5.1 million trees
• save more than 110,000 tonnes CO2e greenhouse gas emissions
• divert 100,000 cubic metres of waste from landfill
• save 1.9 million kilolitres of water.

The ResourceSmart Schools Awards are a joyful and affirming celebration of schools and students, and their sustainability triumphs. The awards are the state’s largest sustainability celebration for primary and secondary school students, teachers and school volunteers taking remarkable sustainability action. We are proud to be recognised among the schools doing sustainability work that benefits students, the planet and the wider community alike.

They are an annual celebration that shine a spotlight on all the inspiring, impactful, and important steps Victorian schools are taking toward creating a sustainable future for all of us.

SRI CHINMOY PEACE RUN - MAY 10

The Sri Chinmoy Peace Run is coming to Port Fairy this Saturday, 10th May.

The Australia Peace Run is presently in full swing, a 15,500 km journey relaying the universal dream of peace and oneness from heart to heart right around this vast continent.

The Peace Run is a global torch relay that has given people in over 150 countries a chance to share their hope for peace. Since 1987, it has touched millions of lives worldwide. It carries a simple but powerful message: peace begins with us.

We’re lucky to have this inspiring event pass through our town on May 10th, and you’re invited to be part of it!

Join us at approximately 3:30pm next Saturday 10th May at the start of the Rail Trail near Glaxo, where community members can join the runners as they approach town. Bikes and scooters are welcome—the runners will be moving at a gentle pace. We’ll travel together into town and gather at Fiddlers Green, where everyone will have the chance to carry the Peace Torch, which has travelled through hundreds of countries.

After a short gathering at Fiddlers Green, we’ll head to the Community House for afternoon tea and an opportunity to hear inspiring stories from the Peace Runners.

Runners keen for a longer journey can also join the team running from Warrnambool on Saturday or towards Portland on Sunday—please get in touch if that’s you!

Let’s come together to celebrate peace, connection, and community.  More information is available on the link below. 

WHO IS SRI CHINMOY?

Sri Chinmoy's work for peace spanned five decades and earned him appreciation from luminaries such as President Mikhail Gorbachev, President Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa.

In 1970, with the encouragement of then United Nations Secretary General U Thant, Sri Chinmoy began a twice-weekly series of talks and reflections on peace at the United Nations in New York, which he continued until his passing in 2007.

Sri Chinmoy was an athlete, a poet, a music-lover, a philosopher and an artist – and he showed that all of these could play a powerful role in the pursuit of peace. Over the years, he provided the visionary spark for numerous imaginative grassroots initiatives to bring people together. The Peace Run – the largest of these initiatives – was founded in 1987.

DR. MICHAEL CARR-GREGG

We're excited to remind you that Dr. Michael Carr-Gregg is visiting the South West on May 5th at the Lighthouse theatre at 7.00pm. 
Join one of Australia's highest profile adolescent psychologists who will deliver two FREE presentations specially designed for Parents and Carers.  Register below:

CYBERSAFETY

In today's digital world, young people are more connected than ever, using technology for education, social interaction and entertainment. While the internet offers incredible opportunities, it also presents significant risks, including cyberbullying, online predators, exposure to inappropriate content and excessive screen time. Cybersafety is about equipping children and adolescents with the skills and knowledge to navigate the digital landscape responsibly. This includes fostering open communication between parents and children, implementing appropriate parental controls, educating young people about privacy and online etiquette, and encouraging a balanced approach to technology use. By promoting digital wellbeing and responsible online behaviour, we can help young people harness the benefits of technology while staying safe in an increasingly connected world.

SPORTING SCHOOLS - TERM 2

Sporting Schools started on Tuesday May 6. The days will be Tuesdays and Thursdays. The last day will be Thursday June 19.

To sign your child/children up for Sporting Schools use the eForm on the Schoolzine App the night before or the morning of the session that they will be attending. Please do not sign up days/weeks in advance, plans often change and we will be expecting them to attend.

NEW QUIET PLAY AREA DURING ASSEMBLIES

New Quiet Play Area During Assemblies

To ensure our assemblies run smoothly and without distractions, we are opening the back room in the hall as a designated quiet play area for younger children. This space will allow little ones to play quietly while still being part of the school community, helping to maintain focus for the students presenting. We kindly ask that parents supervise their children in this area and encourage quiet activities. This space is to be left neat and tidy. Thank you for your support in making our assemblies a positive experience for everyone!

SCHOOL DATES - 2025

COMMUNITY NEWS