“The most effective Catholic schools are distinguished, not by their physical resources, elaborate buildings or level of government financial assistance, but by their outstanding social climates which give them a special ethos or spirit … The distinctive nature or ethos of such schools is an important element of their informal curriculum - that implicit, unofficial or unstudied learning which takes place through interactions, relationships and life of students, parents and staff.”
Br Marcellin Flynn - The Effectiveness of Catholic Schools
Parents & Friends
St Pat's Parents & Friends Association (P&F) is an energetic and visible part of the school community and offers many opportunities for parents to gather and become involved in the life of the school.
ST PATRICK'S PARENTS AND FRIENDS ASSOCIATION AIMS:
- to provide funds for the school, through fundraising
- to provide a social network for all parents
- to assist with parent education in areas where parents seek information
- to liaise with other groups e.g. School Advisory Council, Patcare (confidential support for families in need )
- to provide support for the school: teachers and students through - co-ordination/participation in different grade activities, skills sharing, children's social events e.g. sausage sizzles, excursions, Parent day stalls
Fundraising helps the school to develop and implement programs and building works which would otherwise not be achievable through government funding alone.
Our school community is committed and understands that we are all responsible for the wellbeing of our school. Most importantly though, we enjoy a lot of laughs and make some wonderful friendships along the way.
Class Contact Parents
Each class has designated parents whose task it is to promote a sense of community among parents of the class group. The class contact parent will liaise with the class teacher and the parents of the particular class to organise a range of activities such as emailing or ringing around re social events; welcome new families and new babies; prepare meals to assist a needy family; and generally ensure parents know one another.
Involvement in the Parents and Friends, on any scale, is satisfying and rewarding for you and your children and benefits the entire school community.
School Advisory Council
St Patrick's is a school which operates with the consent of the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne and is operated and governed by Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Ltd (MACS).
MACS governs and operates 292 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese to continue the mission of Catholic education to proclaim the Good News and equip our young people with the knowledge, skills and hope to live meaningful lives and enrich the world around them. Because the good work of educating the young is a co-responsible task led by every member of the Catholic school community, School Advisory Councils have been established to provide a crucial point of connection between the wider school community and school leaders.
This governance model was designed to ease the administrative burden on our schools and parishes, allow parish priests to focus on the mission of education in the parish, enable greater collaboration between schools and ensure greater consistency in school policies and procedures.
More information on MACS is available at macs.vic.edu.au
Parent Helpers
Parents are warmly welcomed to help at school. Parent Helper education sessions show parents how to assist during the literacy block. This is an opportunity to help small groups of children to develop reading and writing skills under the guidance of class teachers. Parents are shown ways to assist the reader and writer in the early phases of learning.
Camps & Excursions
Parental involvement is an essential element of these extra curricular programs. Parents are asked to support programs and assist in ensuring the correct ratio of student to adults is maintained.
Sporting Events
Throughout the year St Pat's students are involved in many sporting events such as swimming, cross country, athletics, interschool sport, hooptime and much more. Parents are needed to assist teachers supervise and support these activities.