2025 Term 3 Week 2

Vision & Mission Statement

Principal's Reflection

Grandma Grandpa, Oma Opa, Nanna Poppy, Nonna Nonno, Nana Nini, Aja Aji, Granny Pops………. Whatever name you choose we all have the gift of Grandparents and those Elders we look up to and learn from. Many of us have fond memories of growing up and having sleepovers at Grandma’s or raiding the cookie jar. Memories we will treasure, the same memories our children are experiencing with the Grandparents and Grand friends in their lives. What we may not realise, or what may not come to mind so quickly are all the little (and sometimes big) life lessons these important people in our lives taught us.

Last weekend was World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. This day to celebrate and acknowledge the contribution our Elders have made, and do make to our lives was initiated five years ago by Pope Francis. This year it fell on Sunday 27th July. The Sunday closest to the Feasts of Anne and Joachim, Grandparents of Jesus. The 2025 theme was “Blessed are those who have not lost hope” (Sir 14:2 ) these words, taken from the Book of Sirach, express the beatitude of the elderly and show the hope in the Lord as the path to Christian and reconciled old age.

In this Jubilee year of Hope, Pope Leo IV hoped the day provides an opportunity to reflect on the presence of grandparents and the elderly as a sign of hope in every family and ecclesial community.

Pope Leo IV in his message for this day asks us to reflect on the presence of grandparents and the elderly, not as recipients of pastoral care, but as a sign of hope in every family and ecclesial community.

Last Friday, the day before the Feasts of Anne and Joachim we celebrated Grandparents Day at St Patrick’s. Thank you to everyone who joined us! This was a very special morning where our students truly celebrated the gift of Grandparents and Grand friends in their lives. There was a tremendous sense of joy, love and hope in our classrooms and playground as families shared the experience of school and a meal with each other. Please enjoy browsing through our photo gallery later in the newsletter.

In light of World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly I encourage everyone in our community, students and parents to contact the Elders of your family, let them know they are appreciated and most importantly how you are—as we all know we are not only the light of their lives and bring them great joy, we are the fulfillment of their dreams.

You may have noticed as I have that recently there has been much public discussion around the Australian Government's model of funding schools. Catholic Schools NSW have put together some data to explain how government funding for non-government schools—such as Catholic and Independent schools— supports your right to choose the best educational environment for your child while also reducing costs for Australian taxpayers.

Using the most recent data, the report outlines how funding these schools through a mixed education model reduces pressure on public education resources, with savings of up to $6.88 billion annually. The report highlights how school choice benefits families and the broader community alike.

To read more, find the report here: Money invested, Money Saved - July 2025 - Adobe cloud storage.

May God's blessing be upon you all,

Petrina

Religious Education

Celebrating Saint Mary MacKillop – A Day of Learning, Love and Service

As we approach the Feast Day of Saint Mary MacKillop on August 8th, our school community is preparing for a special Formation Day where all students from Kindergarten to Year 6 will come together to learn more deeply about Mary’s incredible life, her faith, and her dedication to the poor and marginalised.

Saint Mary MacKillop is a true inspiration to us all. Her love for God and her strong belief in the dignity of every person led her to do remarkable things. She founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, and through her work, helped bring education, hope and care to people in need across Australia and beyond.

On our Formation Day, students will take part in a variety of creative, active and research-based activities to explore Mary’s life and the way her values of kindness, compassion, justice, forgiveness and respect continue to shape our school today. Some activities may include:

• Storytelling and role plays about Mary’s early life and the challenges she faced
• Art and craft activities representing her work with the poor
• Prayer and reflection spaces inspired by her deep faith
• Research and writing tasks exploring the work of the Josephite Sisters today

A highlight of the day will be the opportunity for Years 5 and 6 students to visit a local nursing home, sharing time, stories and smiles with the elderly—just as Mary MacKillop did when she reached out to the lonely and forgotten. We are also excited to welcome a guest speaker who will share insights into how Mary’s legacy continues through the work of the Sisters of St Joseph today.

To continue Mary’s mission of love and service, we invite each student to bring along a coin or small donation to contribute to their class coin line. These coins will help support the Sisters of St Joseph in Timor-Leste, who are working hard to provide essential care and education to children living in poor communities. Every coin counts, and this simple act of generosity will remind us of Mary’s words:
“Never see a need without doing something about it.”

Our Formation Day will be a joyful and meaningful way for our students to connect with the Josephite tradition and deepen their understanding of what it means to live with faith and compassion. May we continue to walk in Mary’s footsteps—serving others, trusting in God, and building a more just and loving world.

Inspired by Mary MacKillop. United in love. Committed to justice.

Keeping Our Confirmation Candidates in Our Prayers

We are very proud of the students in our school community who are currently preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. This is a very special time in their faith journey, as they take the next step in becoming full members of the Catholic Church.

Confirmation strengthens the gifts of the Holy Spirit received at Baptism and helps each person to live as a true disciple of Jesus.

Our students have been preparing for this sacrament with the guidance of their families, teachers, parish priests, and the Sacramental Team. Together, they’ve been learning about the power of the Holy Spirit, the meaning of Confirmation, and how they can live out their faith with courage and love in their daily lives.

As their school community, we offer our prayers and support during this sacred time. We ask God to bless each candidate and fill their hearts with joy, peace and the strength to follow Jesus always. The Bishop’s office has confirmed that the Sacrament of Confirmation will take place on the 27th August at 7pm Holy Spirit Kurri Kurri Church.

We pray for:

Trance O’Neill

Zara Brandobur

Sinclare Tozeland

Noah Attewell

Zoe Rowlands

Payton O’Neill

Henry O’Connor

Anthany Sakaraja

Pedro Gillan Suarez

Quinton Borg

Elsbeth McNab

Parkar Cremona

James Anton

Parents/Carers can still enrol students in the Sacrament of Eucharist and Reconciliation using the contact details provided.

You will need to register your child for the Sacraments through the Parish Office. All communication needs to go through Monique. She will also collect enrolment forms and payments digitally. monique.mesina@mn.catholic.org.au 

The Parish office contact is 4990 1551

Parish Mass Visits – Strengthening Faith and Community

As part of our ongoing commitment to strengthening the partnership between our Parish and School, primary students and teachers will attend Wednesday morning Parish Mass at St Joseph’s Catholic Church, Cumberland St, Cessnock, on allocated weeks throughout this term.

Mass will begin at 9:00am, and we kindly ask that parents/carers drop students at the Church from 8:25am. Teachers will be on-site to supervise from this time. Families are warmly invited and encouraged to join us for the celebration of the Eucharist.

If this drop-off arrangement is not suitable for your family, please contact your child’s classroom teacher to make alternative arrangements.

After Mass, students will enjoy fruit break at Bridges Hill Park before walking back to school with their teachers to continue a normal day of learning. Students should bring their school bag to the Church—bags will be kept safe during the service.

We are also pleased to share that Fr Solomon will continue his Friday classroom visits, where he engages with students in their learning and shares his faith and life experiences. These moments are a valuable way for students to connect faith with everyday life.

RE In the Classroom

Thank you for your continued support in nurturing our children’s spiritual growth.

Melissa Greenup

Father's Day Celebrations

Pupil Free Days

Welcome Miss James

This week we welcomed Miss Madeline James to the teaching staff at St Patrick’s. Madeline will be teaching Year 1 Gold each Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this semester. The children and Miss James had a lovely start to their time together this week.

Year 6 Canberra Excursion - PACER Rebate

As you are aware our Year 6 students have recently undertaken an education tour of the national capital. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage, and democracy.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding to our school in the amount of $45 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate will now be paid directly to the school as we have completed our excursion.

Kindergarten 2026 Play Groups

On Tuesday we welcomed our Kindergarten 2026 students to St Patrick’s as a cohort for the very first time. Our new Kinder friends will be attending playgroups here at school alternate Tuesdays and Thursdays this term. Everyone had a fabulous time! Look at their smiles 😊

Primary Student's Excursion - Aspire

Infants Student's Excursion

Kindergarten to Year 2 will be walking to the PACC on Monday 18th August to see the production Josephine Wants to Dance. Permission is covered by the local area permissions completed at the beginning of the year. Students in Years K-2 will receive an information note next week with all the details.

School Photos

Dear Parents and Carers,

We’re excited to let you know that this year’s school photos will be taken by Newcastle School Portraits on 14 August. Please note that the ordering process will be a little different from previous years.

Please click here to order.

To help you navigate the new system, we’ve attached some helpful information with step-by-step instructions.

Thank you for your continued support!

Thompson's Pie Drive Fundraiser

Orders were delivered and collected by families today.

Together we raised over $1,000 for our school.

Thank you so much for your support and we hope you enjoy your yummy treats!

Book Week at St Patrick's

Library News

Book Fair

Thank you to all the Children, the Mums and Dads, the Nans and Pops, the Grandmas and Carers who all supported our Book Fair for 2025. It was a tremendous success. Special thanks to Mrs Woods and Mrs Durham for coming in and lending a hand on Friday morning after the Grandparents Liturgy, and Mrs Ervin for stepping in after school. It was a wonderful team effort from the entire school community. You make our Book Fairs one of the best throughout the Diocese. 

Premier's Reading Challenge

I am pleased to advise that in the past week, Violet and Alexia from Year 3, Sophia from Year One, and Jax from Kindergarten have uploaded enough books to the Premier's Reading Challenge website and have earned themselves a certificate. Two of the students, Violet and Alexia, have completed their 4^th year so they are now eligible to receive their gold certificate. Well done to those students and thank you parents for helping them get there. We still have time to upload books as the Challenge does not close until Friday 19 September (Week 9). In the past week, I have uploaded one of our new books to all of our Infants, a shortlisted book entitled Don't Worry, Felix. It's a story about a boy who worries about things so his father teachers him a trick to stop worrying. Needless to say, we passed this trick onto our students. 

St Francis Book Club

Earlier this week, your children would have received a 2025 catalogue from St. Francis Book Club for Catholic Schools. This is a new book supplier that specialises in Catholic literature. We are pleased to advise that St. Patrick's has recently subscribed. In case you have not checked them out, here is a link to their website: https://stfrancisbookclub.com.au/

Like other subscriptions, St. Patrick's receives a 10% commission on sales. This will enable us to purchase books to complement our religious lessons or to make available in our library. We encourage you to check it out as there is a lot of information available online. And books always make great gifts if you're short on ideas.Thank you. 

Book Week Parade

Our annual Book Week Parade is fast approaching and will take place on Thursday 21 August. This is an opportunity for our students to dress up as their favourite book characters, and let's not forget the Teachers and Aides. Also, if there are younger siblings who have not started school and would like to come in costume, by all means. There will be a photo opportunity for them with their older siblings at the end of the parade. Check out the attached photographs of our current Year 6 students all dressed up in 2019. Haven't they grown?   

NAIDOC Week

On Monday 1 July, our school celebrated NAIDOC Week with a day full of activities and cultural learning. This year’s theme, “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy,” was all about honouring the past, celebrating the present, and inspiring our future leaders.

The day began with a smoking ceremony led by Uncle Warren Taggart,  which was a special way to welcome everyone and connect with Wonnarua Country. 

Following the ceremony, we walked down to participate in a liturgy, and were welcombed by Saxon and Denver Robertson beautifully played the didgeridoo, setting a reflective and respectful tone for the gathering.

Throughout the day, students rotated through a variety of activities that celebrated Indigenous culture and storytelling. The activities included sand art, bead craft, Dreaming stories including the tale of Tidalic the Frog, dancing with the Mount View High School Indigenous Dance Troupe, whose energy and talent brought the stories to life and Uncle Warren’s sharing of knowledge about Wonnarua Country, offering students a deeper understanding of the land and its history.

It was amazing to see everyone so involved and enjoying themselves. The day was a big success, and we’re so grateful to all who helped make it happen—especially Uncle Warren, the Robertson family, and the dance troupe from Mount View High.

NAIDOC Week is always a special time at our school, and this year was no exception. We’re proud to celebrate the culture, history, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples—and we’re already looking forward to next year!

Mrs Kennedy

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Year 3

3 Gold

Year 3 Gold has been learning about standard and non-standard partitioning of four-digit numbers. We enjoyed our grandparents visiting our classroom. We showed them our computer skills and bookwork and interviewed them about what life was like when they were in primary school. 

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3 Emerald

On Wednesday Year 3 Emerald went to Newcastle and watched the performance called "The Rise of Bozz". The theatre was beautiful and very luxurious. The show was about a school and how it treated students. A group called the uneducated wanted to fight against there rules. They sang really cool songs and the costumes were fabulous. Love hearts came down from the ceiling and the crowd was cheering and clapping. It was so much fun and we give it 5 out of 5 rating.

Year 4

Dear Families,

Welcome back to Term 3! We hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable break. It has been wonderful to see our students return refreshed and ready for another exciting term of learning. Term 3 promises to be full of rich learning experiences, engaging activities, and continued personal growth.

What We’re Learning This Term

English
In this 5-week unit, students are learning about the textual concept of characterisation and the supporting concept of imagery, symbol, and connotation. Through a close study of The Callers by Kiah Thomas, students will explore how authors create characters through appearance, actions, thoughts, and dialogue. They will examine excerpts to identify the author’s purpose and how language choices reveal character traits. Students will apply their learning by creating their own imaginative texts and presenting an original character at the end of the unit.

Mathematics
Our current focus in Mathematics explores the big idea that our number system extends indefinitely to very large and very small numbers. Across this 2-week unit, students will:

• Partition, rename, represent, and order numbers up to six digits
• Recognise, name, and order decimals to hundredths
• Apply the associative, distributive, and inverse properties of multiplication and division to solve real-world problems

Religious Education
This term's module invites students to explore the Christian call to justice as a central part of building the Kingdom of God. Students will examine justice through Scripture, Church Tradition, and Catholic Social Teaching. They will investigate the See, Judge, Act model and explore examples of justice from the actions of biblical prophets, Jesus, and modern-day leaders. The unit encourages students to reflect on their own capacity to act justly and recognise injustice in everyday life.

Science
Students are investigating the life cycles of living things, including animals and plants. They will describe and compare life cycles, conduct an experiment with flowering plants, and learn how organisms depend on each other and their environment to survive. Later in the unit, students will explore survival strategies in natural environments, including building a water filter using natural materials.

HSIE (Geography)
Students are engaging in a geographical inquiry comparing natural vegetation and climate in Australia and a country in Asia (China). They will explore how vegetation is used by animals and people and how natural resources are managed. Students will also compare climate patterns between the two regions.

PDHPE
In PDH, students will identify signs of unsafe situations for themselves and others. They will practice protective strategies and appropriate responses to help promote safety across a range of contexts. In PE, students will continue to build teamwork, coordination, and fair play through structured physical activities.

Reminders

• Homework is issued each Tuesday and due Monday. This includes spelling and maths activities.
• Library/CAPA Day is Monday – please ensure students bring necessary materials.
• Please label all jumpers, lunchboxes, and drink bottles to help reduce lost property.

Looking Ahead

We are so proud of the effort and enthusiasm Year 4 continues to show. This term, we are focusing on developing independence, resilience, and responsibility in learning. We encourage all students to take pride in their work, support one another, and celebrate their progress.As always, thank you for your continued support. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Warm regards,
The Year 4 Team

Year 5

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Year 6

Canberra Excursion – Year 6 Gold & Emerald 

Week 9, Term 2 In Week 9 of Term 2, Year 6 Gold and Emerald travelled to the nation’s capital Canberra! Travelling with the students were Mrs Sylvester, Mr Dilley, Mrs Greenup, and Mrs Ryman. Even though the weather was super cold, everyone had a great time! We stayed at Bush Capital Lodge, which was not far from the centre of Canberra and most of the attractions. Each day was packed with fun and learning. The places places we visited included: 

• Parliament House – We visited the Senate and House of Representatives, learned how laws are made and how voting works. To finish everyone had an ice cream in the hospitality area.  
• Australian War Memorial – This was a special place where we learned about the brave people who served our country. Each group had a tour leader who shared a story of past heroes as we went through the memorial.  
• Questacon – Science has never been so fun! Year 6 were able to play with hands-on exhibits, experienced the earthquake house, went on the giant slide and even saw a lightning show! 
• Australian Institute of Sport – We saw where top athletes train and learnt about what it takes to be an Olympian. 
• National Exhibition Centre – Year 6 learnt about how Canberra is a planned city. We even were able to create our own city out of Lego. 
• Botanical Gardens – We walked through beautiful gardens and learned about native plants, wildlife and Indigenous culture. 
• Mount Ainslie Lookout – The view of Canberra from the top was amazing! Very cold too! 
• Jungle Golf at Power Kart Raceway – This was our night activity and it was so much fun! We played mini golf in a jungle-themed course.  
• Australian Electoral Education Centre – At the AEC, Year 6 took part in the voting process, learning how democracy works. From memory, apples won the vote! 

The whole experience was wonderful for students and teachers. Everyone learned heaps, had lots of laughs, and made great memories with our friends.  

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Awards

Sibling Relationships

Sibling relationships are often a child's first and longest-lasting social connection. These bonds can offer companionship, support and opportunities to develop important life skills such as empathy, negotiation and conflict resolution. However, like all close relationships, sibling dynamics can be complex. Differences in temperament, age, needs and parental attention can all contribute to tension or rivalry. It's not uncommon for children to compete for attention, especially during times of change or stress.

As a parent or caregiver, your role in shaping the tone of sibling relationships is vital. Creating a home environment that celebrates each child's unique strengths and avoids direct comparisons helps reduce rivalry and fosters mutual respect.

By listening without judgement, teaching emotional regulation, and supporting each child's individuality, you can create a family culture where siblings feel secure and valued. This edition of SchoolTV offers insights to support young people in developing positive, lasting sibling bonds that can remain strong well into adulthood.

Here is the link to your Edition https://cessnock.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/sibling-relationships-au

Good for Kids ~ Good For Life

Community Notices