27 November 2024 — Week 9, Term 4
Welcome from the Principal
Dear Families
As we welcome December in a few days, the season of Advent heralds the Church’s New Year. Advent is a season of waiting. Many of the words we pray and sing are full of desire, hope and expectation. One of our Advent companions is Mary, and during these weeks, we remember her as she waited for the birth of her child. We know what waiting is like, especially at this time of the year. We wait as the chance of rain increases, and as the school year draws to a close. Advent is a season to prepare for Christmas when Christ’s first coming is remembered. We know that the first coming of Jesus at Bethlehem will not happen again, so during Advent, we prepare and long for a new coming of Jesus into our lives. We remember the call of Jesus to his followers to make our world a peaceful and loving place, and so, during Advent, we make special efforts to be signs that God is with us. This is what the word “Emmanuel’ means – God-with-us, and why it is used throughout the season of Advent.
Preparations are well underway for our end of year celebrations. Anticipation is certainly building, particularly from our Year 6 students who are nearly at the end of their time at St Patrick’s School. Over the course of the year, the school has taken on board feedback supplied by both parents and staff and as a result, there have been some changes made to the program of events. The dates and times of these events have been confirmed and have been communicated via the Newsletter during Term 4.
- Tuesday 3 December - End of Year Whole School Mass
- commences at 9:30am in the St Patrick’s Parish Church
- uniform – formal for Years 1 to 6 and sports uniform for Prep
- All parents are most welcome to attend!
- Thursday 5 December - Year 6 and Whole School Awards Ceremony
- commences at 6:00pm in the St Patrick’s Parish Church
- students arrive at 5:45pm and meet their classroom teacher outside the western doors of the Church
- uniform – formal for Years 1 to 6 and Sports uniform for Prep
- Please Note – There will be no BBQ prior to the awards this year
- Friday 6 December – St Patrick’s School Christmas Concert
- commences at 10:30am in the St Patrick’s Parish Church
- uniform – sports uniform from Prep to Year 6
- morning tea will be held from 10:00am until 10:30am – all are welcome to attend. Please enjoy a hot beverage and a piece of graduation cake to celebrate.
- students are permitted to leave from 12:00pm with their parents after seeing their classroom teacher
- if you do intend to leave at 12:00pm, could you please provide clear details using the following link https://forms.office.com/r/8sXvY41kU4
- school will be open as per normal until 2:55pm to supervise students if required.
On behalf of the students and staff of St Patrick's School, I would like to wish you all a very happy and holy Christmas. Christmas is such a special time for family and friends. Enjoy the remainder of the term and I look forward to touching base with you all before the school year finishes.
Keith Blaikie—Principal
Keith.Blaikie@twb.catholic.edu.au
A picture tells a thousand words!
General Information
St Patrick's Parents and Friends Association
From a community aspect, the annual St Patrick's Parish and School Fete proved once again to be a highly successful event. Many observers would suggest that it was the biggest crowd in many years. Whilst the use of mini golf and other novelty events proved to be a major success, it was the support of the school and parish community that made the night a roaring success. At the heart of a school community is a very vibrant and enthusiastic Parents and Friends Association. From a monetary perspective, the Parents and Friends Association has been extremely active. During 2024 the St Patrick’s P&F have provided funds to the value of $19,155 in the following areas:
- $12,000 was donated to update and improve the old bitumen basketball court which now is home to many a game of handball.
- $1,800 was provided to support our Glengallan students in their recent camp to Maroochydore which helped to offset some of the cost to parents.
- $5,355 was donated to St Patrick’s School which helped in the purchase of books for the library, arts and crafts for various celebrations throughout the year. These funds also purchased subscriptions to various online literacy and numeracy resources.
2025 is also building to be another busy year for our Parents and Friends Association. Grant applications will be sourced to specifically target a shade structure to cover the new handball court and to potentially update the existing playground facilities. An up-to-date timetable of parent social events will be produced for each semester. Our goal is to build on the existing platform of parental engagement to make St Patrick’s School one that is truly inclusive of all where hospitality remains the school’s beating heart.
Date claimer - Allora Bush Christmas – Saturday 7 December
If you would like to be involved in the Allora Bush Christmas, please keep Saturday, 7 December free. St Patrick’s School has been approached to participate this year. Whilst school holidays have already begun, the Allora Bush Christmas provides a wonderful opportunity for your children to sing some Christmas Carols. Just look for Mr Blaikie on the day. It is hoped that younger children will perform earlier in the afternoon from 3:00pm, followed by the older children and other local artists into the evening.
St Patrick’s School Booklists – 2025
The much anticipated booklists for 2025 are now available. These booklists may be accessed via the school’s website. Please just click on the following link https://www.allora.catholic.edu.au/booklists. As always, if you have any queries or questions please contact the office.
Gala Day Uniforms - For Sale
Due to the upgrade of the St Patrick's Gala Day uniforms for 2025, the Parents and Friends Association will be offering all outdated uniforms for sale. Netball shirts together with soccer and rugby league jerseys will be on sale on Friday 6 December from 10:00am. All items will be on sale for $10 each. It will be first in best dressed to snap up a piece of St Patrick's School nostalgia.
Religious Life of the School
Sockvember - Priseis W (Year 6)
On Wednesday, 20 November the whole of the St Patrick’s came together as a community to raise money for child poverty and to celebrate Sockvember (formally known as Socktober but we were a little late).
Students banded together to donate a gold coin for Catholic Missions. Not only did we have fun wearing our crazy socks, we also raised awareness about the problem of child poverty and how we can potentially solve these very serious issues. The St Patrick's community raised some money so that poor children around the world can access the supplies essential to support their learning and their lives.
It was wonderful to see the students come together to understand that our small school can make an impact on our world.
Upcoming events
- Thursday 28 November - School Advisory Council (Board) Meeting from 6:00pm in the library
- Friday 29 November - Interhouse Swimming Carnival from 9:00am until 1:30pm
- Tuesday 3 December - End of Year Whole School Mass commencing at 9:30am
- Thursday 5 December - Year 6 and Whole School Awards Ceremony commencing at 6:00pm
- Friday 6 December - Morning Tea with Year 6 Graduation Cake from 10:00am until 10:30am
- Friday 6 December - Christmas Concert commencing at 10:30am in the Church
- Saturday 7 December - Allora Bush Christmas from 3:00pm
- Wednesday 25 December - Christmas Day
- Monday 27 January - Australia Day Public Holiday
- Tuesday 28 January - School office opens from 9:00am to 12:00pm for 'Book Drop-Off'
- Wednesday 29 January - Term 1 commences at 8:40am with 'Welcome Assembly' at 9:00am in the Church
See the Sentral calendar for more information.
Reminders
Uniform Days
Summer Uniform
Formal - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday
Sports - Wednesday, Friday
Please remember that we are a...
‘Nut Aware’ School.
Times for Mass at St Patrick's Church are as follows:
1st Sunday - 9am 2nd and 3rd Sunday – 5.30pm
4th & 5th Sunday Liturgy of the Word with Communion - 9am
