A Catholic School Culture The website at the Catholic Education Office in Melbourne says this about the Religious Education experienced in Catholic schools: “Religious Education is at the centre of both the formal and informal Catholic school curriculum. Our schools are characterised by a high proportion of Catholic teachers and students, with a visible Catholic symbolic culture and active sacramental and liturgical practices. The values, ideals and challenges of the Gospel, embodied in the person of Jesus Christ, find explicit expression in the curriculum and ethos of Catholic schools, as do the teachings and traditions of the Catholic Church.” At this time, students, parents and staff at St Patrick’s are preparing for the Poor Person’s Mass being held on at St Patrick’s church on Thursday 9th of June (10am with Fr. Gary Jones). We have all been asked to think of those wonderful individuals who run the SOUP BUS in Ballarat and to collect valuable resources for them. In doing so, we are in effect living the values and ideals of the Gospel where we are challenged to care for the poor and needy. We read in the Old Testament, “If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the midday.” Is 58:6-11. In other words, by caring for the poor not only are their lives improved, but we also feel better and our lives are made richer. And in the New Testament we read, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Mt 25:40 By collecting for the poor in our community we are not just helping them in their time of need, we are demonstrating our Catholic School Culture and supporting us all.

Michael Kennedy

Newsletter

S T PAT R I C K ' S S C H O O L .

www.spgordon.catholic.edu.au Email: info@spgordon.catholic.edu.au

Helping those in need:

Mass 9th of June at 10am with Fr. Gary Jones

The Ballarat Soup bus is in need of our care

Can people please donate items such as the following by Thursday the 9th of June (items will be presented to a representative on this date)

Soups, Just add water meals, Cereals, Long life milk, Toiletries, Blankets, Jumpers, Socks, Jackets, Back packs, Tea/coffee/ sugar/ honey in takeaway

portions

31st May, 2016.

Year F/1/2 Mr Frost has arrived! Please ensure children are dressed warmly and have over clothes for

the oval. We had a great day on Friday seeing many different kinds of animals- I wasn't so sure of the

snake but the children didn't mind. You can check out our writing and some photos from the day on the

board near the staff room. In science, for the remainder of the term we will be exploring weather in

regards to Earth and Space science. Have a great week.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK Hannah Lynch for trying really hard with her handwriting and sounding out

of words.

Year 3/4 In Grade 3 & 4 this week, our students have been writing recounts about their experiences on

camp. They have also continued to learn about Life cycles of Animals and Plants, Carnivores,

Herbivores, Omnivores and the Food Web. In Maths, they have been "sharpening" their Number skills

by playing "Double, Doubles" and have been learning about the features of 3D Shapes. In Religion,

they have just begun a unit called "People of Prayer", where they will learn about different forms of

prayer. Next week, they will begin learning about "Night & Day".

STUDENT OF THE WEEK Amy Conroy for putting lots of effort into the presentation of her "Wild

Action" Animal Show recount.

Year Five/Six The Year 5/6 class have been working on measurement as part of numeracy. They have

completed some wonderful scale drawings of their bedrooms.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK Gracie Fox for working hard to develop her skills in numeracy, especially for

her persistence in solving problems.

GRADE 3 & 4 CAMP - LOG CABIN CAMP, CRESWICK Last Monday and Tuesday, our Grade 3 &4

students went on camp to Log Cabin Camp in

Creswick. The students took part in many exciting,

team oriented and character building activities.

Some of the activities that were popular with the

students were;

The Giant

Swing,

Damper

Making, the

Flying Fox,

the Night

Walk and Milk

Crate

Stacking. The

camp was a

great success

and the

students

enjoyed

themselves and

created some

great

memories.

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB ORDERS due back Tuesday 1st June, 2016.

TOMORROW, Wednesday 1st June - Year 5 Transition visit to Damascus College, Ballarat.

Friday 3rd June - Year 3-6 students to attend a Les Miserables Production performed by

Loreto College and St Patrick’s College students.

Thursday 9th June - 10 am Mass at St Patrick’s Church Gordon - Helping those in Need.

All families and friends invited to join the Mass.

Thursday 16th June - Netball Championships

Swimming/Gym Program 2016

Senior children - Thursday 14/7 - Thursday 11/8/2016

Junior children - Thursday 18/8 - 15/9/2016

Year 5/6 Beach Camp - 2 night camp from 2/11 - 4/11/2016

GROUND MAINTENANCE ROSTER

May 29th - June 4th - Gibbs Family

June 5th - June 11th - Busuttil Family

SCHOOL UNIFORM Just a reminder that all students are expected to wear black school shoes to and from school each day. If they have sport, they are to bring their runners in their school bag and

change during school hours.

SUPERVISION IN THE LIBRARY Visitors to the library are always welcome before school, but for the safety of all, please ensure that pre schoolers are supervised. Thank you.

This Friday, our Grade 3, 4, 5 & 6 students will be

travelling into Loreto College, Ballarat to see Les

Miserables. Les Miserables is a classic theatre production,

which has been taken on by Loreto College and

St. Patrick's College to perform. This should be a

memorable and rich experience for the students and will

inform for our own school concert in Term 4

Thanks to those parents who were able to attend the Growth Mindset evening with Lorraine Davies

at school recently. Growth Mindset is not a new thing or a new program at our school. It is simply

showing children how successful people think and operate. At St Patrick’s we will continue to promote

Growth Mindset in our classrooms and relationships. Regular newsletter tips will help support this

learning at home. Please read the 8 tips for promoting Growth Mindset and try to follow them. We are

expecting to see all children working together, challenging each other, never giving up on challenges

etc. In this way we will have a Growth Mindset school!

Help children understand that the brain works like a muscle, that can only grow through hard work,

determination, and lots and lots of practice.

Don’t tell students they are smart, gifted, or talented, since this implies that they were born with the

knowledge, and does not encourage effort and growth.

Let children know when they demonstrate a growth mindset.

(e.g. saying…..”I can do that if I try”…”I can’t do it YET!”)

Praise the process. It’s effort, hard work, and practice that allow children to achieve their true

potential. (These things can be replicated if a child finds a future task more difficult)

Don’t praise the results. Test scores and rigid ways of measuring learning and knowledge limit the

growth that would otherwise be tapped. (Otherwise a child will lose confidence if scores drop)

Embrace failures and missteps. Children sometimes learn the most when they fail. Let them know that

mistakes are a big part of the learning process. There is nothing like the feeling of struggling through a

very difficult problem, only to finally break through and solve it! The harder the problem, the more

satisfying it is to find the solution.

(Don’t steal their struggle and do it for them too quickly)

Encourage participation and collaborative group learning. Children learn best when they are immersed

in a topic and allowed to discuss and advance with their peers.

Encourage competency-based learning. Get kids excited about subject matter by explaining why it is

important and how it will help them in the future. The goal should never be to get the ‘correct’

answer, but to understand the topic at a fundamental, deep level, and want to learn more.

(This leads to personal interest and children will then seek further information for themselves.)

Weekend Mass Times

Dunnstown

Saturday 6.30 p.m.

Gordon

Sunday 8.45 a.m.

Ballan

Sunday 10.30 a.m.

This day, Father, may my eyes be opened

to see the beauty in all that is ordinary - yet special -

around me. May the glory of all that you have made

remind me of your presence and lead me closer to you.

The Parents and Friends will hold their major fundraiser in Term 3.

It will be a “Minute to Win It” Family night.

A date will be confirmed soon.

We thank you for your continuing support.

The Gordon Primary School Parents Committee invite the families at St Pat’s to a bush dance on Saturday 4th June at 6:30pm. It's at the Gordon Hall and we've got a great local

band playing for us and calling bush dances!

Let's get together and share a fun night! Nicole Smith President, GPS Parents and Community Committee

On Friday, Lauren from Wild Action came to our school to teach us about "Life Cycles and

Reproduction of Animals". The students listened intently to all the interesting facts that Lauren shared

with us. They also loved seeing al the animals and even giving some of them a pat. Some of the animals

that came were; A Barking Owl, a Fresh Water Crocodile, a Python, a Port Jackson Shark, an

Echidna, a Green Tree Frog and a Kangaroo. Wild!!!