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THURSDAY 6 APRIL

Last day of school for

students. WED 26 APRIL

First day of Term 2 for staff and students.

N E W S L E T T E R

6 T H A P R I L

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Dear Parents, It is hard to believe we have reached

the end of term already. Many exciting and challenging moments have been experienced culminating in our swimming carnivals, and

today’s Holy Week Liturgy and Pasta Day. My sincere thanks to all of the staff and parents who have

contributed their time and effort to ensure these activities were successful.

The swimming carnivals, which were held this week, were a great success and had a real community spirit

about them with the great support of parents and our Year 6 class helping with the juniors.

It was really uplifting to see the delight and pure enjoyment on the children’s faces when they completed events and the sportsmanship was

outstanding. The icing on the cake was the marvellous performances of our interschool team in coming third

in the eight team competition and setting a great example for determination and sportsmanship. We are all very proud of them. A

special mention goes to Noah who was runner up champion boy in his age group.

I would also like to thank Mr Yorke, Mrs D’Agnone-Doyle, Mrs D’Alessandro and our parent

volunteers who helped prepare the children with early morning training and breakfast over the last month—a big thank you and well done to you

all. Results have been published in this edition of the newsletter.

Today we were treated to a timely reminder of the Holy Week story

which depicted the events of the week in the lead up to Easter.

Easter is the most important time of year for us as Christians. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, we

are offered the hope and joy of salvation. Many thanks to the Pre Primary and Year 4 students, and their teachers Mr Hayden and Mrs

Cooks, for the very meaningful liturgy they presented to the school. We strongly encourage parents to

ensure that Church services are part of your Easter time, and have run the times of all Basilica events in today’s newsletter. As a school, we

have done our best to deeply and sincerely instil the Easter message into the children through lessons,

prayer and reflection. This preparation is designed to support their liturgical involvement in the life of their parish.

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday.

John Ryan Principal

From the Principal

St Patrick’s Primary School

8 Ellen Street Fremantle WA 6160

(08) 9335 5215 admin@stpatsfremantle.wa.edu.au

www.stpatsfremantle.wa.edu.au

Dates For the Diary

PALM SUNDAY "The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the

road, while others cut branches

from the trees and strewed them on the road.

The crowds preceding him and those following

kept crying out and saying: 'Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is the he who comes in the name of the

Lord! Hosanna in the highest!'" -Matt. 21:8-9

Well done to the parents who

organised Pasta Day. A total of $575 was raised for Project

Compassion.

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We are currently in the process of setting up our canteen for online ordering. Below is some information regarding the system that we will be using and a brief outline of how it will work. At St Patrick’s, we will be using the online system for lunch ordering only ie. your child will still need to bring money if they would like to purchase from the canteen for recess. We will also retain the current bag system for parents who are less “tech savvy” and would like to continue with the system as it is. We would prefer, however, as many parents as possible to move to the online system. The canteen will be closed during the first week back at school and during this

time we will have the new system put into place. The first day of canteen operation next term will be Wednesday 3rd May.

Canteen News

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Swimming Carnivals

SENIOR SWIMMING CARNIVAL The Senior Faction Swimming Carnival on Monday 3rd April was a huge success. Well done to all the swimmers who took part and challenged themselves—you should all be proud of your efforts. In the lead up to the carnival most of the students in Year 3,4, 5 and 6 took part in morning swimming training. The swimming training sessions are designed to get students confident in their swimming ability and build their swimming strength and endurance. I would like to thank Mrs D'Agnone-Doyle, Mrs D'Alessandro, Mr Ryan, and all the wonderful parents for assisting with the coaching, and all the parents for helping prepare a delicious healthy breakfast for the kids to eat after every session. The day of the carnival wouldn't have been a success without the help of all the wonderful parents who volunteered their time. An event such as this requires a number of helpers doing their specially assigned roles. Thank you to all the scorers, place judges, place marshals, house marshals, announcers, starters, assistant starters, and photographers. Your time and efforts are very much appreciated. Well done to De Vialar for winning the carnival, you pulled together early and took a comfortable lead. Well done to all the champions and runner up champions, it is clear how much effort you have put into training prior to the carnival.

JUNIOR SWIMMING CARNIVAL I would like to thank all the parent and Year 6 helpers for making this year's Junior Swimming Carnival a huge success. The aim of the carnival is for all the students to be exposed to water play in a fun and safe environment. All the students who attended the day participated and had an absolute ball.

Creed Yorke

Sports Coordinator

Yr 4 Champion Boy Ben

Yr 4 R/Up Boy Thomas

Yr 4 Champion Girl Finley

Yr 4 R/Up Girl Ruby

Yr 5 Champion Boy Kale

Yr 5 R/Up Boy Torin

Yr 5 Champion Girl Sascha

Yr 5 R/Up Girl Coco

Yr 6 Champion Boy Cai

Yr 6 R/Up Boy Jakeb

Yr 6 Champion Girl Ceilidh

Yr 6 R/Up Girl Tatjana

Final Results—Faction Carnival

Faction Results

1st De Vialar

2nd Ursula

3rd

Patrick

4th Mazenod

See the Events page on

our school website for

more photos.

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From Our Counsellor

MINDFULNESS FOR CHILDREN: FUN, EFFECTIVE WAYS TO STRENGTHEN MIND, BODY,

SPIRIT Posted by Karen - Hey Sigmund Mindfulness has an extraordinary capacity to build a strong body, mind and spirit in ourselves as adults, as well as in our children. Science has told us that it can help to protect against stress, anxiety, depression, illness and pain, ease the symptoms of autism and ADHD, improve academic performance and social relationships, as well as expand the capacity to experience positive emotions. Mindfulness is about stepping back and seeing thoughts and feelings come and go, without judgement, but with a relaxed mind, fully focussed on the present moment. Children are wonderfully present in what they do, but as life picks up speed, the capacity to experience that calm, strengthening stillness can become more difficult to access. The sooner we can encourage the little people in our lives towards mindfulness, the greater their capacity for mindful presence will be. A regular mindful practice will ensure that existing neural connections are strengthened and new ones established. Mindfulness for children generally works best if it’s kept to about five minutes or less. Of course, if they’re able to go for longer, brilliant – go with that. Ready to play? Mindful Breathing.Get your kiddos into a comfy position and ask them to close their

eyes. Next, ask how their breath feels as they draw it into themselves, and then as it leaves. If they put a hand on their belly, they’ll be able to feel the rise and the fall of their breath. Do this about five times – five inhales, five exhales. After five breaths, guide them to any thoughts and feelings they might be aware of, then invite them to let go of those thoughts and feelings. Ask them to imagine that the thoughts and feelings are bubbles, floating away, as they return to their breathing. Repeat the five breaths – five in, five out – and do this as many times as feels right.

Thought Clouds.This is a slightly different take on the above exercise. When your mindful

ones are into the rhythm of breathing in through the nose for three, and out through the mouth for three, ask them to try this: ‘As you breathe in, imagine that your thoughts are forming as little clouds above your head. Imagine the cloud floating away as you breathe out. Keep breathing slow, strong breaths and let your thoughts come, and then go.’

The Mind(ful)-Body Connection.The way we hold our bodies has a powerful effect on

the way we feel and the way other people see us. Different poses can actually change body chemistry. Nurture the awareness of the mind-body connection in your children by asking them to explore how they feel when they strike a pose. Here are some good ones to try, particularly if they’re about to do something that could make them a little anxious. In a quiet space where they feel safe and private, encourage them to strike one of these power poses and explore with them what they feel – hopefully more confident!

• Superman: Stand with feet just wider than hip width apart. Clench fists, stretch both arms out, and fully lengthen the body. Expanding physical presence by stretching and opening up can increase feelings of

power and pride (think of athletes who cross the finish line first and throw their arms into the air).

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From Our Counsellor

• Wonder woman: Stand up tall and strong with legs apart and hands on hips. And while we’re on superheroes … Ask them to switch on their super ‘Spidey-senses’

to find out what they can taste, smell, hear, see and feel in the moment. The Mindful Jar.A mindful jar works in a couple of ways. First, it will to help them to

understand what happens when strong emotion starts to take hold of them. Second, it can help them find calm when they are feeling stressed, upset, or overwhelmed. Here’s how:Start with a jar and fill it almost to the top with water. Into the water, add a few big dollops of glitter glue (or school glue and dry glitter). Pop on the lid and give the jar a shake. Here are some words:

Imagine that the glitter is like your thoughts when you’re stressed, mad or upset. See how they whirl around and make it really hard to see clearly? That’s why it’s so easy to make silly decisions when you’re upset – because you’re not thinking clearly. Don’t worry this is normal and it happens in all of us (yep, grownups too). [Now put the jar down in front of them.] Now watch what happens when you’re still for a couple of moments. Keep watching. See how the glitter starts to settle and the water clears? Your mind works the same way. When you’re calm for a little while, your thoughts start to settle and you start to see things much clearer.’The beautiful part of this exercise is that while they are learning about their emotional selves, they are also engaging in an act of mindfulness as they watch the glitter fall to the bottom of the jar.

Safari.Oh but not just any safari! The idea here is to guide them towards switching on their senses, turning down their thoughts, and being fully engaged in the present moment. Take them outside and explain to them that they are on safari, looking for any animal that crawls, flies or walks. Let them know that they have to be quiet and alert, with their hearing, feeling and seeing super-senses switched on so they can discover tiny wild beasts that the world may or may not have seen before.

Mindful Smelling.Take a bunch of delicious smelling things from around home – candles,

fresh herbs, flowers, fruit, vanilla, cinnamon, grass – anything – and invite them to breathe in the smell and to feel what happens in their body as they do that. (‘The cinnamon reminds me of Christmas,’ or maybe ‘The lavender makes me feel sleepy.’)

A Breathing Buddy.Have them lie down with a soft toy on their tummy. As they breathe,

guide them towards noticing the toy moving up and down. This can help them to understand what it feels like to have strong breaths, which is a powerful way to calm themselves when high emotion overwhelms them.

A Mindful Walk.Take a short walk together to help them to learn to be mindful while

they’re moving. First, ask them to focus on their breath. Then turn their attention to anything else their senses tune in to the moment – the breeze against their skin, the sound of the trees, the smell of fresh air, the way their body feels as they move. The idea is for them to experience the sensations, rather than to become too ‘heady’ by thinking too hard about them.

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The Mindful Snack.Next time you have a bite to eat together, try mindful eating for a few minutes. ‘Let’s try something called mindful eating. It’s where you slow things down when you eat so you can notice things you don’t usually notice. What does your food feel like to touch? What about the smell? What if you squish it a little – what does that feel like? Now take a bite but chew very slowly. Really notice your mouth moving up and down. Can you feel the food against your tongue and between your teeth. What does it taste like? What does it feel like? Keep chewing for a little while (20 to 30 seconds). When you’re ready, notice what the food feels like as it moves down your throat and towards your belly.’

Guided Meditation.The Smiling Minds app has guided meditations for ages 7 to adult. It’s

free, easy to use, and brilliant. Being ‘still’ can be hard sometimes (for all of us). If your kiddos are squirmy at first, just keep practising in short bursts until they become more used to it. Afterwards, do something fun with them – give them your full attention with a little chat about what they did, read a story, have a cuddle – whatever works for them, so they associate it with special, fun time. Anything you do to introduce them to a mindfulness practice will be worth it. In no time at all they’ll be doing it on their own and gearing themselves with an incredible skill that will give them a solid, sturdy foundation from which to explore and experience the world.

www.heysigmund.com

From Our Counsellor

ATTENTION ST PAT’S PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS:

You may or may not be aware that last year St Patrick’s Primary School was blessed with a grant from DDWA. This grant is to be used toward funding various talks on special needs within our school community, or other resources for adults. Last year we had a talk from Dolly Bhargava about Communication Strategies for children with Sensory Processing Disorder. This year we have not yet had any further discussions on what the grant should be used toward. We understand that parents work and are unable to attend meetings during school hours, so we would love to hear from you by email! Send your thoughts and suggestions to stpatssnsg@outlook.com

We also have some booklets available that may be of interest to you for you to borrow from our school office:

• Getting Started—Using Visual Systems to Promote Communication

• Getting Started—Using Visual Systems

to Support the Development of Self-Esteem

• Getting Started—Using Visual Systems to Provide Positive Behaviour Support

• Getting Started—Rainbow of Emotions

and Emotional Management • Getting Started—Using Visual Systems

to Promote Play

(all by Dolly Bhargava) Renee Williams Special Needs Support Group

Special Needs Support Group

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By now you should have returned the payment slip from the bottom of your Fee Account to the office, showing your preference for paying fees this year. If not, please return by the end of the week, either to the office, or via email to admin@stpatsfremantle.wa.edu.au Your options to pay fees are as follows;

1 x Annual Payment due by 31st March 2017

4 x Quarterly Payments – each one due by the end of every term.

Regular Instalments – weekly, fortnightly or monthly to finalise your account by 31st December 2017.

You may choose to pay any of the above options by Cash, Cheque, Visa, MasterCard or Direct Debit.

Around St Pat’s

Should you wish to set up a payment plan, you will need to complete a bank form (available from the office), or return the completed Payment Slip located on the bottom of the fee statement. A Fee Payment needs to be made to the school every term, so if you have not yet made a payment or set up a plan, you are required to make a payment this week. If you have any queries with your fee account or are having financial difficulty, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Easter break. Amy Fulton Finance Manager 9335 5215

Term One School Fees

Well done to all of the

children who exercised

their millinery muscle

and came up with

some amazing Easter

hats.

The works of art were

showcased in an Easter

Parade on Tuesday.

More Photos of the Easter Parade and

the SEDA clinics can be found on the

school website under Events.

Over the last 4 weeks the

students in PP to Year 6 have

been developing their football

with the assistance of the

Dockers SEDA students. I would

like to thank the SEDA students

for helping our students develop

and grow. I have been truly

amazed at he amount of

development I have seen across

all year groups over the course

of 4 short weeks.

Mr Yorke

The Year 5 class enjoyed pizza on the

Esplanade as Maths Ninja winners!

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P & F Dates for your diaries:

Term 2 School Disco: Friday 12th May

Mother’s Day Mass & Morning Tea: Friday 12th May

P & F Meeting: Tuesday 23rd May, 7pm

Pre-Primary to Year 6 Lap-a-thon (Yr 5 fundraiser): Friday

26th May

School Cross Country Carnival—Morning Tea Stall (Yr 5 fundraiser): Friday 2nd June

Term 4 Parent Presentation by Paul Litherland from Surf Online Safe—Monday 13th Nov, 6.30pm

P & F News

Congratulations to all the students who competed in both the swimming carnivals on Monday, it was so great to see you all competing so graciously and supporting each other. It was great to see so many parents, grandparents who came along to support as well. Congratulations also to those students who competed in the Interschool Swimming Carnival on Wednesday. You all did so well and 3rd place is a great outcome out of 8 competing schools.

Thank you to everyone who brought in Classroom Cash Coupons over the past three weeks. If you still have some at home, please still keep them and bring them in when we return from holidays as we still have time before we have to submit them all.

It’s hard to believe that we are now at the end of Term 1—it flew by. Term 2 is a busy term for the P&F and also some of the class fundraisers are being held during this term so make sure to put the dates below in your diaries if you have not already and watch out for notes that will come home.

We hope you all have a wonderful and safe break. Happy Easter and also ANZAC Day—two very special occasions being held through these holidays. Peta Evans President (on behalf of the P & F Exec)

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Parish News—Holy Week 2017

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Community News

FREMANTLE TOPSPIN TENNIS

SCHOOL HOLIDAY TENNIS CLINICS @ FREMANTLE TENNIS CLUB WEEK ONE: Monday 10th - Thursday 13th April 9.00am -12.00pm (All ages

welcome) WEEK TWO: Tuesday 18th - Friday 21st April 9.00am -12.00pm

To enrol your child please contact Brendan 0401565051 or email fremantletopspintennis@gmail.com

The following information has been sent to St Patrick’s for inclusion in our

newsletter. Please note that the information is for your interest but does not imply that St Patrick’s Primary School endorses these activities or the information.

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Community News