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Congratulations to the St Patrick's 2023 Spelling Bee winners. Well over 200 students competed in this year's Spelling Bee, wow! After many hard-fought rounds, we ended up awarding 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in both the Junior (Yrs1-3) and Senior (Yrs4-6) categories. What a wonderful achievement. We must also give mention to the many students who gave the Spelling Bee their best shot this year, and we hope to see them all back again next year.
This week is Teacher Aide Appreciation Week. We just love our Support Staff here at St Patrick's and we are blessed to have such skilled, caring and dedicated staff who are always ready to guide our students. They quietly go about their work and get the job done without any fuss. We have heard it said that if Teachers are the glue in a school, then Teacher Aides are the glitter glue! So today we spread a little glitter back on our wonderful support staff. Thank you for all you do!
St Patrick's Book Week celebrations culminated today with our 'Reading on the Deck' event. Families were invited to come along to school, gather around the deck, have some time to read with the children and share a sausage sizzle together. It was just wonderful to see the number of families who took time out of their day to spend it engaged in reading with our children. What a fabulous way to end a week of celebrating literature!
The St Patrick’s Reef Guardians Team were excited to attend the Bundaberg Multiplex earlier this week for ‘Science Together’ a celebration of 20 years of Reef Guardian Schools in Bundaberg. Students showcased their environmental projects and interests alongside an impressive line-up of speakers including world-renowned scientist and inventor Dr Jordan Nguyen.
What an exciting week we have had celebrating Catholic Education Week. The week began with some acts of kindness challenges. Students helped deliver hand-made cards to local Police and Ambulance officers, Shalom, St Mary's, St Joseph's, local hospitals, our neighbours and the SES. We were led in a beautiful Courtyard Prayer by 3C who highlighted how amazing Catholic schools are and how blessed we are to be part of the St Patrick’s community. Our Choirs and String Ensembles competed at the Bundaberg Eisteddfod and were simply outstanding. Our Mini Vinnies Team were sensational, working hard selling over 700 Kindness Cupcakes and organising special little thankyous for the entire staff. A cheeky leprechaun hid joy gems around the school in an effort for us to realise that when we work together we can achieve great things. Students in years 5 and 6 had a visit from some of the members of the Bulldogs NRL team, talking about integrity and teamwork. There has been a certain energy and electricity in the air this week and it has been just lovely to see so many happy and excited faces.
On Monday and Tuesday this week our Junior and Senior Choirs along with our Junior and Senior String Ensembles competed at the Bundaberg Eisteddfod. They were filled with excitement, anticipation and for some, nerves for their performances. We are so proud of the way all of our students conducted themselves at the Eisteddfod, congratulating and praising other groups on their performances. All four of our groups received 1st place with beautiful feedback from the Adjudicator. Congratulations must go to Miss Kate, Mrs Morley, Mr Goodall, Mrs Connolly and Mrs McLucas; for all of their hard work, dedication and passion for the musical development of our students.
Congratulations to our Challenge Cup Teams who represented St Patrick’s so well this week. They competed against teams from throughout our Diocese. The Rugby League Team came 15th out of 24 teams and our Netball Team also fought hard throughout the carnival, finishing 8th out of 32 teams. All players displayed excellent sportsmanship and were accompanied by a great group of supportive, positive parents. A big shout out to Mr Plumb, Mr Zandona, Mrs Medley and Miss Whaleboat who prepared these teams over many months and coached them through to a great result.
What a way to end the Festival of Athletics and the term at St Patrick's. Today our Junior Athletics Carnival capped off a wonderful week of Athletics. It was great to see our youngest students giving every event their best shot! The happy faces say it all. Thank you to the many parents and extended family who have been there this week to support the students. Congratulations to MacKillop for taking out the Spirit Award and to Coolock for taking out the overall win as the champion house for 2023!
On Wednesday we held our Senior Athletics Carnival at Shalom. It was a fabulous day of competition, with fantastic displays of resilience, sportsmanship and determination. We must thank Mrs Hammermeister and her team for the wonderful job they have done in organising the carnival, along with Mr McMahon and Shalom for the use of their wonderful facilities. Presently Coolock are in the lead, but with the Junior Carnival still to come anything can happen.
Today's Music Retreat was fabulous. We had 47 students working with our very talented music tutors; Mrs Kate Hardisty, Mr Michael Goodall and Mrs Bernadette Connolly. Our students spent the day at Chaverim learning new music and techniques. They spent over 5hrs rehearsing and the day culminated with performances for parents at school. We are in awe of the talent of our tutors, our students are so blessed to have the opportunity to learn from the very best. What a day!
We were so grateful to have Bishop Michael and Fr Don visit us at St Patrick's today. They were with us for 4C's Courtyard Prayer, spoke with the children undertaking their Sacraments and even had a chat with Year 3. 4C presented Bishop Michael with his very own plant as part of their pledge to protect part of God's creation; our planet.
On Thursday our Year 3 students were lucky enough to go on an excursion to Mon Repos. While they were there, they had the opportunity to visit the Turtle Discovery Centre with its interactive displays. They explored the Conservation Park with a Ranger and learned about turtle research and nesting. They went on a walking tour and learned about Indigenous bush tucker and survival techniques. The students even got to play some games on the beach that simulated turtles hatching and the dangers the hatchlings face along the way.
As part of National Road Safety Week, our Prep to Year 2 students were lucky enough to have Senior Constable Britt Duncan and Sergeant John Kendall come along to talk to them about road safety. Our students had a fabulous time learning about road safety and they even got to have a close look at police cars and hear their sirens firsthand. We may have some future Police Officers among our students after the fun they had today.
Lest We Forget. Today we gathered together to march in memory of, and to give thanks for, the sacrifices of our service men and women. We are so thankful for our amazing school community, so many of our staff, students and families coming together to honour the ANZAC spirit. Yesterday we held a special prayer service at school and were privileged to have Major Halstead, Captain Halstead and Sergeant Hart at our ceremony.
Today's Senior Cross Country was a great display of determination and team spirit. All of our students gave it their best and encouraged each other in every race. The smiles on the students' faces say it all. Congratulations to the McAuley House for taking out the trophy today.
Our Junior Obstacle Course and Cross Country was so fun. It is always wonderful to see our youngest students giving it their best shot. A huge thank you to Mrs H and Miss G for organising such a fabulous event. Congratulations to Xavier House who came away with the win on the day. As always, we must thank the large number of parents and family members who came along to support our students.
Today we held our annual Mini Fair as part of our Project Compassion fundraising efforts. Once again it was a roaring success; we managed to raise in excess of $2500 to go toward setting up a library for a school in Nepal. What a day; our students had fun, parents joined in and our wonderful friends from Carinbundi provided some fabulous stalls too. We must thank our staff for working so tirelessly to ensure the day was a great success. The pictures say it all.
Year 6 had a fabulous time on their camp this week. They had to opportunity to explore the Maryborough Military Museum, Hervey Bay Aquatic Centre, Lake McKenzie, Eli Creek and Fraser Island's (K'gari) SS Maheno to name a few. What an adventure! Thank you to all of the staff who accompanied the students.
Our 2022 Musical, Disney’s Moana Jr, was an overwhelming success. With a cast and crew of 75 students and a team of dedicated teachers and parents we were able to perform for 4 sell-out audiences. A production of this magnitude could not happen without the leadership of a fabulous group of staff members: Jed Morley (Director and Choreographer), Amelia Morine (Costume design and creation), Jessica Cullinan (Props design and creation), Rebecca Lovejoy (Make-up design), Sara Salmond and Shaye Curd (Backstage), Kirsty McCulloch – Shalom (Musical Specialist) and the Enthusiasm Coordinator, Tracey Cook. We must also thank Cathie and Andrew McInnes for their tireless assistance behind the scenes and Jodi Prange for the amazing photos.
Our Junior and Senior String Ensembles along with our Junior and Senior Choirs recently competed at the Bundaberg Eisteddfod. Not only did these students represent our school so beautifully they represented themselves and their families wonderfully as well. Our Senior Choir, Junior Strings and Senior Strings all received 1st place in their respective sections. Our Junior Choir came 2nd in their section and were one of the few schools with Prep students in the line-up. We must thank Mrs Morley, Mrs Connolly and Miss Kate for all of the work they put into our music program. We are so blessed to have each of them. It was impressive to hear the standard of all of our performances.
Today our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students travelled to Shalom to participate in NAIDOC on the grass. They had the opportunity to experience some indigenous games, food and craft. What a wonderful experience for our students. Thank you to Shalom for hosting us and Mrs Driver for accompanying the students.
Congratulations to our two sporting teams who competed at this year’s Challenge Cup held in Yeppoon. The Rugby League and Netball teams competed with spirit, skill, sportsmanship, determination and grit throughout the three days of competition. All competitors should be very proud of their achievements and conduct at this carnival. You were all wonderful ambassadors for our school.
Our school community should be very proud of our students for their participation, enthusiasm and sportsmanship that was displayed across all age groups at our Junior and Senior Athletics Carnivals last term. Thank you to the staff and House Leaders who assisted in many roles at the Carnivals, ensuring that all students had a highly enjoyable experience. Most importantly, thank you to the parents and grandparents of our students whose support and encouragement contributed to a wonderful atmosphere at both events.
We are so proud of our school community coming out in force once again to keep the spirit of the Anzacs alive at the Bundaberg Anzac March today. On Friday we commemorated Anzac Day with a whole school prayer service. It was a great way for us to acknowledge the sacrifice of our diggers. As a school community we believe it is important that we know what we stand for. Respect and gratitude for the sacrifices made for us, are two of those things. Lest We Forget.
The wonderful cast of our 2022 school musical, Moana Jr, are so very excited to have received their cast shirts today.
Our Senior Cross Country was a superb day. We saw such grit and determination from all of our competitors under some tough conditions. It is always so humbling to see every one of our students, of all sporting abilities, give it their best shot. Thank you to everyone who came out to support the children.
Today we held our Junior Obstacle Course that was so much fun for our Prep to Year 2 students. It is always inspiring to see our youngest students giving the course their best effort, and they do it with a smile on their faces and a determined spirit. We are so blessed with the fantastic support of our school community for our whole school events, and today was no different. What a great day!
Dance Night was a fabulous way to finish off our St Patrick's Day festivities. We had an amazing turnout of families to celebrate with us. We must thank Miss G for preparing the students so well and for leading the night with such enthusiasm. Thanks to Mrs H and Mr Fox for all of their behind-the-scenes work too. What a great night!
Happy St Patrick's Day! We celebrated with a beautiful liturgy this morning, led by Fr Sijo and Year 6. It was lovely to welcome Fr Sijo to our school. We also acknowledged our Year 6 leaders who were absent for their induction and congratulated our House Captains for 2022.
Today we held our Year 6 Leadership Induction. We are very proud of these young people and as the leaders of our school, they take on an important role within our community. They have accepted the responsibilities of leadership and have committed themselves to supporting all students, setting a good example, accepting help and advice, and demonstrating their faith through their actions and words. We know they will all be amazing leaders for us during 2022.