Dear Parent, Guardians and Carers,

Welcome to the start of the 2025 school year. I hope that you all had a great Christmas and New Year and that you were able to spend some quality time together as a family. It has been great seeing all the students and catching up with them and discussing their adventures over the break.

This year we have welcomed 26 new Foundation students to St Patrick’s and 9 students across other year levels. It is a privilege that they have chosen St Patrick’s as the school for their child/ren and we look forward to a long and successful association with these children and their families.

This year we have also welcomed some new staff members to St Patrick’s. I would like to welcome Annie Bristow (Year 5/6 Teacher and Library Teacher), Amy Wallace, Tanya Murphy, Candice Morris and Jo De Lazzer (ESO’s) to St Patrick’s. We are grateful for having such high-quality new staff members at St Patrick’s in 2025.

Parent, Guardian and Carer – School Relationships Code of Conduct

At St Patrick’s Primary School Stratford, we are committed to nurturing respectful relationships and active partnerships with you as parents. We believe that our students’ learning journeys are enriched through positive and reciprocal home and school relationships.

As parents, you act as one of the most influential role models in your child’s life. We therefore seek your support in promoting and upholding the core values of the school community and its culture of respectful relationships.

Whole School Approach to Positive Behaviour Support - School Wide Expectations

At St Patrick’s we implement the Whole School Approach to Positive Behaviour Support (WSAPBS). The WSAPBS provides the framework to create environments that are predictable and known, providing safe learning spaces for the staff and students at St Patrick’s.

SAFE, RESPECTFUL & RESPONSIBLE

Safe, Respectful and Responsible are our three School-Wide Expectations. ALL staff, students and parents at St Patrick’s are expected to live out our school wide expectations through their practices and behaviours. This includes:

Staff to Staff, Staff to Student, Staff to Parent

Student to Student, Student to Staff, Student to Parent

Parent to Parent, Parent to Staff, Parent to Student

We expect that all staff, students and parents are safe, respectful and responsible always.

Complaint Handling

St Patrick’s is always happy to discuss with parents, guardians, carers and community members any concerns that they may have. Concerns in the first instance should be directed to your child’s teacher. Where possible, your child’s teacher will work with you to ensure that your concerns are appropriately addressed. Before school is a very busy time for teachers, with many students and parents in the room, therefore making it a challenging time to discuss your concerns. If you are needing to speak with your child’s teacher, please contact them via Dojo or email or the school office to arrange a suitable time to meet.

Where concerns cannot be resolved in this way, parents, guardians, carers or community members may wish to speak to the Principal or Deputy Principal.

Parent Communication

The staff of St Patrick’s understands the importance of parent communication to support your child with their learning and their experience at school. Parents can communicate with school staff via Dojo, email or by contacting the school office. All St Patrick’s staff have been instructed to respond to parent communication during the hours of 8:00am and 5:00pm, Monday to Friday. If staff receive communication from parents outside these times, they will respond at their earliest convenience. In the busyness of the school day, teachers are often unable to check Dojo or emails, if an important message needs to be given to your child, please contact the school office.

2025 Pupil Free Days and School Closure Days

In 2025, St Patrick’s will have 8 pupil free days and 2 school closure days. The pupil free days provide opportunities for the staff of St Patrick’s to undertake professional development focused on the school’s improvement agenda, whilst the school closure days allow for the acquittal and banking of Time in Lieu (TIL) accrued through after school activities. Our 2025 pupil free and school closure days are:

• Tuesday, 28^th January
• Wednesday, 29^th January
• Friday, 7^th March
• Term 1 or 2 date – TBC
• Term 1 or 2 date - TBC
• Friday, 6^th June
• Monday, 18^th August
• Monday, 3^rd November
• Thursday, 18^th December
• Friday, 19^th December

Drop Off and Pick-up

With enrolments continuing to grow at St Patrick’s, drop-off and pick-up times are becoming increasingly busy. Can I please ask that you are all being safe and following the road rules and road signs appropriately. I understand that you are all busy, however taking a few extra seconds/minutes to drive at or below the speed limit; park in a designated zone; and encourage your child to cross the road at the school crossing, will help to ensure everyone’s safety. Children are very vulnerable to what they see, so please model these appropriate behaviours.

PSG Meetings and Parent/Teacher Interviews

Parent/Teacher Interviews are scheduled for Tuesday 4th March and Thursday 6th March. Term 1 Parent/Teacher Interviews are a great opportunity for parents to share information about their child with teachers, whilst teachers will also be able to provide some initial feedback on how your child has started the year. Parent/Teacher Interviews are open and ready for parents to book via PAM.
We have a couple of job share classrooms this year. To avoid double booking, can those children in 5/6C, please book an interview with Meg Greenway and those in Year 2 book an interview with Amy Armstrong.