23 April 2025 — Week 1, Term 2
Welcome from the Principal
Dear Families
Welcome back to another term. We hope the Easter holidays provided opportunities for you, as a family, to spend some valuable time together. Easter is not just one day. It is a whole season of 50 days. Eastertime is about new life and we rejoice in the new life of Jesus. At the Easter Vigil, the Pascal candle was lit from the Easter fire and carried into the darkened church. This new Pascal light will burn brightly for 50 days of Easter. It is a symbol of the risen Jesus, the ‘Light to the World’, whose light was not put out with death but shines now for us all to see.
As many of you would be aware, it is with great sadness that we heard this week of the death of the Holy Father, Pope Francis on Easter Monday. As the first Pope from the southern hemisphere, he will be remembered for his concern and dedication to the poor and those on the margins of society. He lived a simple life and was truly a humble servant of God. He brought to the attention of the world, many of the issues that matter: - global peace; refugees and asylum seekers, the destruction of the environment and a more inclusive and compassionate Church. He was a man of extreme dedication to his beliefs and tirelessly worked up until his death. As many theologians would attest, his final homily which was delivered on Easter Sunday to the masses in Rome will forever be remembered for its simple but profound message.
“The risen Christ is the definitive turning point in human history. He is the hope that does not fade. He is the love that accompanies us and sustains us…Let us make room for the light of the Risen Lord! And we will become builders of hope for the world” (Pope Francis Easter Sunday homily 2025).
The cool crisp mornings of April are very much synonymous with ANZAC Day. ANZAC Day is such a special day where we stop to remember the sacrifice of ordinary men and women who have served in Australia's Defence Forces. In particular, we do not have to look far for examples of self-sacrifice and courage displayed by the soldiers of the Gallipoli Campaign. I would like to share with you a story about Alexander White, a 33 year old maltster from Ballarat. He was wounded by a Turkish shell fragment. In hospital, nurses found that he wore a locket containing the photograph of his wife and infant son. They also found in his possession, a Bible and a poem he had cut from a newspaper. Let me share the poem with you:
Let me be a little braver
When temptation bids me waver,
Let me strive a little harder
To be all that I should be.
Let me be a little meeker
With the brother that is weaker
Let me think more of my neighbour
And a little less of me.
Lest We Forget
As always, if you have any queries or concerns, please contact the school.
Keith Blaikie—Principal
Keith.Blaikie@twb.catholic.edu.au
St Patrick's Family Fun Day Supporters
General Information
St Patrick's Parents and Friends Association
Preparations are well underway once again for the annual St Patrick's P&F Family Fun Day which is being held on Saturday 3 May from 12:00pm to 7:00pm. Whilst the weather caused some major headaches in Term 1, the outlook for 3 May is positive. As you would see in our photo gallery, 34 local businesses have pledged their support behind the St Patrick's P&F Family Fun Day which is a superb effort. Our sincere thanks go to these supporters.
With the annual St Patrick's P&F Family Fun Day in mind, there will be a St Patrick's P&F Meeting tonight Wednesday 23 April commencing at 6:00pm. There will be an online link created for the event but due to Microsoft TEAMs, we can only send an invite if requested. Please contact the office if you would like to be included in this TEAMs invitation. As always, our aim is to provide as much transparency as possible into the activities of the St Patrick's P&F Association. Please remember that all meetings are open to any member of the school community. You do not have to be a member of the executive committee to attend.
Social Events - Term 2
The following social events have been confirmed for Term 2:
- Saturday 3 May - St Patrick's P&F Family Fun Day from 12:00pm to 7:00pm at the Allora Bowls Club.
- Thursday 8 May - Mother's Day Liturgy commencing at 9:30am in the Church followed by morning tea. Please note that the Mother's Day Stall will take place on Wednesday 7 May from 2:00pm to 3:00pm in the Parish Meeting Room. Students need to bring no more than $10.00.
- Friday 20 June - St Patrick's P&F Family Fellowship at 3:00pm at the Railway Hotel.
As always, if you have any questions or queries, please contact the school or the St Patrick's P&F directly via email at stpatspnf@gmail.com.
ANZAC Day
As in previous years, students from St Patrick’s School will march in the Allora ANZAC Day parade.
We encourage all St Patrick’s students to participate in the march. This is an extremely important and reverent occasion for our students to remember the sacrifice and service of our Australian Defence Force personnel.
For those children representing St Patrick’s School in Years 1 to 6, they need to wear the regular formal summer uniform (that is not sport uniform) and, especially, their school hat. Prep students will wear their normal uniform which is the regular sports uniform. They will also need to bring a water bottle and we ask that sunscreen is applied before the children march.
Students are required to assemble at the Sports Museum from 10:15am which is located on the corner of Drayton and Herbert Streets. The march will commence at 10:40am and will finish at the Allora Cenotaph on Warwick Street. Students may be collected after the ANZAC Service has finished. Please see your child’s classroom teacher before you leave the Allora Cenotaph. Please approve this activity via the Parent Portal.
St Patrick’s School will also commemorate ANZAC Day on Thursday 24 April with a liturgy commencing at 2:15pm. The students from Glengallan will lead this commemoration. Our ANZAC Liturgy will be held on the grass near the Shrine. Everyone is most welcome to attend!
Teaching and Learning
Grattan Institute (April 2025)
The Maths Guarantee: How to boost students' learning in primary school
There has been much discussion in Australia's mainstream media over the Easter break in regard to the recently published report by the Grattan Institute which centres on the tools required by educators to boost students' learning in the key learning area of Mathematics.
Staff at St Patrick's School are in the process of analysing this report over the course of the coming weeks. Our aim is to identify areas of deficiency within our current teaching practices using the recommendations from the report.
The following recommendations have been provided by the Grattan Institute. They include:
Recommendations
Governments, Catholic education leaders, and independent sector leaders should take the following steps to boost primary school maths achievement.
1. Raise expectations
∙ Commit to a long-term aspiration of 90 per cent proficiency in NAPLAN numeracy, with an interim target of a 15 percentage point increase over 10 years.
2. Provide better guidance
∙ Commission detailed, national guidance on what effective maths teaching entails.
∙ Review existing guidance – including written guidance, advice provided by departmental or Catholic education staff, and professional learning content – to ensure it is coherent and aligns to the evidence base.
3. Arm schools with high-quality curriculum materials, catch-up interventions, and assessments
∙ Establish an independent quality assurer to review the quality of externally-created, comprehensive curriculum materials used by schools – including those created by governments or funded by non-government systems – to ensure schools can confidently select evidence-informed resources that will support effective teaching and learning.
∙ Commission rigorous research to evaluate the impact on learning of maths catch up intervention programs and digital maths applications to help schools invest in resources that demonstrably lift maths learning.
∙ Commission rigorous research to determine the validity and reliability of maths assessments so schools can accurately track student progress and identify who needs additional support.
4. Improve teaching quality
∙ Monitor the fidelity with which agreed reforms to initial teacher education are implemented, and update course core content as new guidance on effective maths is published.
∙ Develop quality-assured micro-credentials on how best to teach primary maths and lead maths improvement.
∙ Establish Maths Hubs based in outstanding schools, funding them to work shoulder to shoulder with local schools to lift practice.
∙ Create an expert career path for specialist Primary Maths Master Teachers.
∙ Encourage primary schools to employ dedicated maths teachers where appropriate.
5. Tighten monitoring and oversight
∙ Mandate a national early years screening tool to identify students at risk of falling behind in maths.
∙ Strengthen school reviews to include a more rigorous examination of instructional quality in mathematics.
Further updates will be provided later in our Term 2 Newsletters.
Upcoming events
- Wednesday 23 April - Newsletter
- Wednesday 23 April - St Patrick's P&F Meeting commencing at 6:00pm in the library or online. All are welcome to attend!
- Thursday 24 April - ANZAC Day Liturgy commencing at 2:15pm near the Shrine (Glengallan students to lead) - All are welcome to attend!!
- Friday 25 April - ANZAC Day Public Holiday (Allora Parade gathers from 10:15am) Please see the Newsletter for further details.
- Tuesday 29 April - Darling Downs Rugby League (selected Glengallan student only)
- Wednesday 30 April - Central Downs Cross Country at Pilton (postponed from Term 1)
- Wednesday 30 April - St Patrick's Playgroup commencing at 9:00am until 10:30am (Please meet near the sandpit)
- Friday 2 May - Whole School Assembly commencing at 2:15pm in the Church
- Saturday 3 May - St Patrick's P&F Family Fun Day from 12:00pm to 7:00pm at the Allora Sports Club (postponed from Term 1)
- Monday 5 May - MAY DAY Public Holiday (school closed)
- Tuesday 6 May - Winter uniform for Years 1 to 6 commences
- Wednesday 7 May - Newsletter
- Wednesday 7 May - St Patrick's P&F Mother's Day Stall from 2:00pm to 3:00pm in the Parish Meeting Room
- Wednesday 8 May - Mother's Day Liturgy commencing at 9:30am in the Church followed by morning tea
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
