30th October 2025

A message from our Principal

Hello St Patrick’s families, I hope this finds you well. It’s all fete, fete, fete at the moment, but lots of other important events and news are coming from the school.  

 Stop, Drop & Go 

Many families take advantage of the stop, drop and go space on Balonne Street, in front of the school office, either in the morning or for pickup in the afternoon. This is a designated space for picking up and dropping off and isn’t a space that families can park and leave their car. Parking in this zone not only makes drop off and pick up more difficult for other families, it also makes it more dangerous as cars are forced to moved randomly in and out of the space to get around the parked car, as compared to a smooth line of vehicles moving through the zone. There is also a clear ‘No Standing’ sign at the end of this zone, to prevent cars sticking out into the Alfred Street through traffic. For the safety of our students and families, please ensure you are following the expectations (and laws) that apply to this space appropriately. 

 Taking Pride in Our Uniform & Presentation 

One of the points families often highlight as a positive at St. Patrick’s is our uniform, and the general presentation of our students. Unfortunately, I have had to talk with a lot of students of late about improving their general presentation and making sure they look neat and tidy. In particular, I have had to talk to students about; 

• Tucking their academic shirts in 

• Fixing up their collars (no ‘popped’ collars!) 

• Making sure hair is tidy and, when longer than collar length, tied back 

• Having the correctly coloured shoes and socks. 

Personal presentation is such an important part of our how we show pride in ourselves and our school. It is also an important part of preparing ourselves to learn. In the same way that warming up before competition prepares the body for success, taking the time to make sure you are well presented at the start of the day prepares the mind for success. It organizes the brain and makes it attentive to the task at hand – learning! With that in mind, over the next few weeks I will be focusing on recognizing well-presented students, but also looking for those students who need a reminder of what our school dress expectations are. If you are unsure of these expectations, please make yourself familiar with our uniform policy. 

https://www.stgeorge.catholic.edu.au/policies 

 Grandparents Day – Monday 3rd November 

This coming Monday we will celebrate Grandparent’s Day and the wonderful role grandparents, and those who are like Grandparents to us, play in our lives. We will hold a liturgy in the church, starting at 9.45am, that will take us close to first break. We will then come back from the church and eat together, as a whole school, in the senior eating space, with an invitation to parents and grandparents to join us for this time. Families may bring some food to share with their own family, if they choose, but there is no need to bring a plate to share with others. The school will also provide some scones with jam and cream for our special guests on the day. Students will then go to play at their regular time of 11.00am and families may go home. 

I  look forward to welcoming you all into our school; this will be a great opportunity for St.Patrick's to recognise and thank the important role grandparents play in our lives. 

St Patrick’s Parish Fete – Set Up & Pack Down Helpers Needed 

Fete is this Saturday and we are looking for volunteers to help set up on Saturday morning and pack away on Sunday morning. There is no need to register you interest, we just ask that people be at school at the following times; 

• Setup – Saturday morning, 8am, in the hall 

• Pack down – Sunday morning, 8am in the hall. 

This is an easy way for you to do your bit so please come along and help out. Thankyou! 

That’s all from me. Have a great weekend! 

Jim. 

Middle Leader News

Toowoomba Catholic Schools use an A to E scale to show the standard at which students are achieving against the Australian Curriculum. They have developed a set of definitions for each scale to give further information about to interpret these scales. 

Each Learning Area on the report card at St Patrick’s has a Course Descriptor which outlines the learning that has happened relevant to the Australian Curriculum. This Course Descriptor combined with the A to E scale and definitions from Toowoomba Catholic Schools, will give an accurate representation of the standard at which your child is achieving. The definitions for each scale are described below. 

Annette Colley

Middle Leader (Curriculum) 

Mrs Blanch's Update

Throughout the final week of Term 3, the message of RUOK? was spread throughout St Patrick’s.

Students were engaged in classroom learning activities that promoted themes such as being a good friend, recognising when someone might be feeling a little down, and how to reach out to help a friend in need. Year 5 students visited each class to teach a celebration dance to all students. On Friday 19th September, we enjoyed a yellow dress day and we came together to share what we had learned.

The grand finale was our shared song and dance ‘It’ll Be Okay”.

Mrs Webster's News

Hope you are all well and enjoying the term. Please find the following information on what we have been and will be learning in Drama and Health. 

Drama

Lower 

In lower school, students have continued to participate in a variety of structured skits to develop sense of confidence, self-control and role play. Students have been taking part in role playing of different characters or things using verbal and non-verbal communication to develop self-confidence when performing in front of others. They have explored basic elements by using their bodies and voices to convey a character. They have started to practise the poems for this term.

Middle & Upper

In the middle school, the students have continued with writing their own individual scripts.  They have all worked hard on these and cast for characters for their own plays. They will be presenting these plays which will assist with building skills to develop a character. Students will be experimenting further with loudness/softness, pace and pitch of their voices and how this effects a situation/scene. Students will explore combining facial and vocal expression to communicate meaning and to show a range of emotions when participating in their own/others mini narrative plays.   

Students have all worked collaboratively on writing and practising these plays and have used the elements of drama to shape character, voice and movement in their play performances. I’m so proud of everyone as it was a bit daunting for some students to perform in front of their peers.  

Once these performances are complete their students will be selecting a poem / tongue twister to present and perform for peers with clear articulation, modulation devices and expression. 

Health

In Health across the school, we have continued with learning more about Making Safe and Healthy Choices- Protective Behaviours.  

Prep 1 &2

• We have continued with looking at Safe and unsafe situations and our safety network. Students participated in discussions about keeping ourselves safe utilising some of the Daniel Morcombe Student Protection resources leading up to Day for Daniel on Friday 31st October. We identified Safe Adults and Safe places and our Safety network on a hand /shield to identify people they could talk to, so they are safe.  We Identified Safety people- (Police Ambulance and Fire) in the community that protect and support their safety.  

Years 3-4  

Students have been completing their healthy posters and over the next few weeks they will explore protective behaviours utilising some of Daniel Morcombe Student Protection resources, Day for Daniel on Friday 31st October -React, Response and Report. Students will continue to look at how we can protect ourselves and help-seeking strategies that they can utilise for themselves both online and offline and when helping others. We will discuss what a digital footprint is and how we can protect our profile online.  

Years 5-6  

Students have been completing their healthy advertising posters and will participate in discussions and learn about protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies that can be used in a range of online and offline situations. Day for Daniel Friday 31st October the students will utilise some resources on React Response and Report and establishing their safety network. Students will continue to look at the privacy and protecting their identity/digital footprint, the impact of online culture and help-seeking strategies that they can utilise for themselves and when helping others.  

Have a great day! 

Jane Webster 

Mrs Eley's update

SPORT NEWS:

My apologies for this being my first communication with you this term. Term 4 is always a busy one with the fete, swim block and then the swimming carnival.

This term the Prep to Year 2 classes is engaging in tagging games and working cooperatively within a group challenge. So far, we have played some pretty cool tagging games with more to come.

Year 3 and 4 are participating in a unit of cricket. We are learning the skills of batting and fielding through paying various warm up and larger group games. This week we played ‘Face it, place it, chase it’. It’s a combination of softball and french cricket – Lots of fun!

Year 5 and 6 are participating in various warm up and whole class games with the idea of modifying or creating their own game. My hope is that we will be able to collate all the games and create a book that can be borrowed from the library for all to enjoy.

SWIM BLOCK will take place in week 7; Wednesday 19th – Friday 21st and week 8; Monday 24th – Tuesday 25th November with the Individual Medley to follow on Wednesday 26th. The annual school swimming carnival will take place on Friday 28th November. More information regarding this will follow in a note that will be sent home to families in week 5.

LIBRARY NEWS:

Term 4 in the Library always seems to be a short one because of the annual stocktake.

Next week, week 5 will be the last week for borrowing Library books. Student returns will take place in week 6 and week 7. Reminder letters of overdue books will be sent home before the end of the term so all books can be returned and accounted for. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Julie or myself with any questions regarding overdue or lost books.

Thank you for your support with this 

St Patrick’s Library Staff

                                                                   “Reading is Power and Knowledge”

Student Achievements

Tuckshop

Hello St Pats Families

A special Halloween Treat has been added to Flexischools under Specials' for Friday. Please note this treat is a Halloween Lolly and there is a maximum of 2 per child only. These are for 2nd break only. If there is excess stock the kids are welcome to purchase over the counter at the end of 2nd break until sold out.

This is a once off treat for Halloween and won't be repeated.

I hope your children have been enjoying their tuckshop.

Any questions - please reach out.

Candice

TERM 4 - Snapshot

Parish News

OCTOBER: ROSARY FOR PEACE
With the October 7 feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Catholic Church traditionally dedicates the whole month to praying the Rosary. Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics worldwide to pray the Rosary for peace in war-torn lands in October, the month the Church dedicates to the Holy Rosary. Read more in CathNews 

MISSION:  Balonne Catholic Parish is a faith filled and prayerful community where members strive to commit to living and sharing the Gospel values that Jesus has taught.

Contact Parish Office : Leanne Brummell  46253021 / email:  stgeorgeparish@twb.catholic.org.au (Wed & Fri 9am-12.30 pm)  Fr Periya 46253021  

Is your Sentral for Parents app working?

St Patrick’s Parent Portal provides a more streamlined communication with parents. Please be sure you follow the instructions below on how to register. If you are having issues with your app, please contact the school office so we can help you get things resolved.

St Patrick's OHSC

Vacation Care is coming up! Get your child locked in at OSHC!

While you may have already received communication regarding the TCKC Christmas closures, I would like to share the specific dates relevant to St Patrick’s OSHC.

Please refer to the calendar below for further details.

We are currently in the process of planning activities for the four weeks of Vacation Care. To assist our team with preparations, we kindly ask that you begin submitting the dates your child will be attending during the holiday period. Early submissions will greatly support our staff in organising engaging activities.

If your child is starting Prep in 2026, we encourage you to begin the enrolment process now. Children commencing Prep are eligible to attend OSHC during the January holiday period. Enrolment information is available on the TCKC website: www.tckc.qld.edu.au

St Patrick's Parish Fete

Community News