5 November 2025 — Week 5, Term 4
Welcome from the Principal
Dear Families
At last Friday’s whole school assembly, I shared a truly heartwarming story that truly reflects the spirit of St Patrick’s School.
Early Thursday morning, as I was walking back to school along Warwick Street, I had just reached the new roundabout when one of the road workers approached me. After exchanging greetings, he asked, “You must be the principal of St Patrick’s School.” His name was Tom, and he wanted to share something special.
Tom told me about three boys who regularly pass the roadworks on their way home. He said these boys are always polite, ask the workers how their day has been, and even compliment the quality of their work. Tom became quite emotional as he explained how these simple, kind words had a profound impact on all the workers at the site.
On behalf of a grateful community, I want to thank Alby, Aiden, and Edward. Boys, you deserve to be congratulated for living out the mission of our school. Just like Saint Mary MacKillop, you strive for excellence with love, dignity, integrity, and justice — and you have shown exactly that.
In regard to the school's Parent Teacher Interviews for Term 4, please keep an eye on your Sentral notifications as further information will be provided to you. As per our Semester 1 Academic Reports, there will be no comments for Maths, English or Religious Education. As a result, the Term 4 Parent Teacher Interviews are mandatory. Teachers will be able to facilitate an in-depth conversation in regard to your child's holistic development at school.
Book Fair has kicked off this week in the Parish Meeting Room. Whilst you are more than welcome to attend in person as payment facilities will be available, we have also provided a QR code to the Scholastic Book Fair in the Newsletter which will allow purchases to be made online. The Book Fair provides a wealth of ideas for Christmas.
St Patrick’s School Book Fair (Parish Meeting Room)
- Monday 3 November - students to compile their 'Wish List'
- Tuesday 4 November - Book Fair open from 8:30am to 1:00pm
- Monday 10 November - Book Fair open from 8:30am to 9:00am and 3:00pm to 4:00pm
- Tuesday 11 November - Book Fair open from 8:30am to 1:00pm
As always, if you have any queries or concerns, please contact the school.
Keith Blaikie—Principal
Keith.Blaikie@twb.catholic.edu.au
General Information
Thank You to Our Amazing Fete Supporters!
We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make the St Patrick’s Parish and School Fete such a wonderful success!
Your support helped us create a welcoming, family-friendly environment where people of all ages came together to connect, celebrate, and enjoy a shared sense of belonging. Whether you volunteered your time, donated goods, sponsored activities, or simply came along to join the fun — you played a vital role in fostering the strong and positive relationships between St Patrick’s Parish, St Patrick’s School, and the wider Allora community. 🙌
We are truly grateful for your generosity, spirit, and community pride. Here's to many more joyful celebrations together!
St Patrick's and Parish Fete Supporters
Kids Helpline - Chris Byrne (School Counsellor)
Since 1991, Australia’s kids and young people have been turning to our professional counsellors, no matter who they are or what they want to talk about. Over this time, we have responded to 9 million contacts. For some young people, connecting with Kids Helpline has been a life-saving experience, while for others it’s about practical help and emotional support at the critical moment they need someone to listen. Please find below some information in Question and Answer format on the amazing phone and web chat services offered by Kids Helpline. This resource is well worth investigating.
Question
What is Kids Helpline?
Answer
Kids Helpline is Australia’s only free (even from a mobile), confidential 24/7 web chat and phone counselling service for young people aged 5 to 25.
Question
Is it safe?
Answer
Yes. Kids Helpline counsellors are university qualified and screened for suitability. Kids Helpline receives funding from state and federal governments to enhance access to mental health support for young people.
Question
Do kids have to have severe issues before contacting Kids Helpline?
Answer
No. Kids Helpline’s motto is “No problem is too big or too small”. Young people can talk about whatever is on their mind including: friendship and peer issues, school and study stress, or feeling sad or upset.
Question
Kids can talk to their family if they want, so how can Kids Helpline help?
Answer
Sometimes young people’s regular supports, like family members, might not be available, such as if they are sick or away. Also, young people can worry about burdening family members with their concerns, or can be embarrassed to talk about certain topics face to face, and end up not saying anything. Kids Helpline ensures that young people always have someone to talk to.
Question
How much personal information do kids have to give Kids Helpline?
Answer
None at all. Kids Helpline is happy for young people to use a nickname or screen name when chatting to preserve privacy. Sharing any personal information is purely voluntary. It is a good idea for young people to tell Kids Helpline their age, however, so the counsellor can know where in the 5 to 25 year age range the young person is at.
Question
Can I contact Kids Helpline with my child to find out what it is like?
Answer
Absolutely! This is a great way for family members and young people to get comfortable with contacting Kids Helpline. It is a good idea to do this even if your young person doesn’t need Kids Helpline now, so they can be confident to call by themselves if they need to in the future.
Queensland Track and Field
Our congratulations must go to Toby who recently competed in the Qld Representative School Sport 10 to 12 years Track and Field Championships held in Townsville. He was part of the Darling Downs team and came 12th out of a field of 19 competitors in the discus competition. Well done!!
Allora Showgirl 2026 (Carol Lyall – Allora Show Society President)
Exciting News for the Allora Show 2026! We’ve done it! Two amazing humans — Justine and Peter — have joined me to bring back the Show Girls and Rural Ambassadors to the Allora Show 2026!
Categories now open:
- Junior Princess: 12 – 17 years
- Show Girl: 18 – 28 years
- Junior Rural Ambassador: 15 – 19 years
- Rural Ambassador: 20 – 30 years
- Rural Ambassador is open to both male and female contestants!
If you would like to enter, please email your entry to allorashowsociety.president@gmail.com or visit the QCAS website to download the form and email it through to me.
We are also looking for two creative, enthusiastic people to help organise a Show Cocktail Evening to celebrate our wonderful contestants.
If you are keen to get involved and help us celebrate the incredible youth of Allora, send me an email or text — we would love to have you on board!
Teaching and Learning
What do zoo animals and volume have in common?
Glennallen students made volume zoo animals to investigate and revise the concept of volume. To do this they had to find out the area of different cardboard boxes and then put all the areas together as well as making an animal in the process. We had to learn how to find the volume and area of boxes so that we could calculate the entire area of the volume of the zoo animals. We worked in groups of two people that worked well together to create our animals. In conclusion, the activity worked well because we completed all the animals, and we had a bit of fun by decorating them as well.
William S - Year 6
Zoo Animals
Social media age restrictions
Please find the latest information and resource links in regard to the changes to access Social media for yuor information. The Australian Government is protecting young Australians at a critical stage of their development, through world-first social media age restrictions.
From 10 December 2025, age-restricted social media platforms will have to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under the age of 16 from creating or keeping an account.
The restrictions aim to protect young Australians from pressures and risks that users can be exposed to while logged in to social media accounts. These come from design features that encourage them to spend more time on screens, while also serving up content that can harm their health and wellbeing.
While no formal assessments have been made, the age restrictions are likely to apply to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube, among other platforms.
More generally, age restrictions will apply to social media platforms that meet three specific conditions, unless they are excluded based on criteria set in out in legislative rules made by the Minister for Communications in July 2025.
The conditions for age restriction are:
- the sole purpose, or a significant purpose, of the service is to enable online social interaction between two or more end-users
- the service allows end-users to link to, or interact with, some or all of the other end-users
- the service allows end-users to post material on the service.
Online gaming and standalone messaging apps are among a number of types of services that have been excluded under the legislative rules. However, messaging services that have social-media style features which allow users to interact in other ways apart from messaging may be included in the age restrictions, as well as messaging features accessed through age-restricted social media accounts.
Source: Social media age restrictions hub | eSafety Commissioner
Liturgical Life of the School
Socktober at St Patrick’s School
As October traditionally focuses on missionary work around the world, St Patrick’s School embraced the spirit of giving by celebrating Socktober in style on Friday 31 October.
Socktober is an initiative that engages Australian students to make a difference by raising awareness and critical funds for mission programs supporting children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Our students rose to the challenge, creating and kicking their homemade sockballs with enthusiasm, while staff enjoyed their time defending the goals!
The day ended on a sweet note with Zooper Doopers, and together we raised $280 for Catholic Missions. A big thank you to our students, staff, and families for your generosity and support in making this event a success!
Socktober 2025
Upcoming events
- Monday 3 November to Friday 7 November - St Patrick's Book Fair (Parish Meeting Room)
- Monday 3 November - students to compile their 'Wish List'
- Tuesday 4 November - Book Fair open from 8:15am to 1:00pm
- Monday 10 November - Book Fair open from 8:30am to 9:00am and 3:00pm to 4:00pm
- Tuesday 11 November - Book Fair open from 8:30am to 1:00pm
- Wednesday 5 November - Newsletter
- Tuesday 11 November - Remembrance Day Liturgy commencing at 9:00am at the Shrine (Cunningham to lead)
- Wednesday 12 November - St Patrick's Playgroup from 9:00am to 10:30am
- Wednesday 12 November - Prep 2026 Transition Day # 2 from 8:45am to 11:00am - Parent Information Session from 9:00am
- Thursday 13 November - School Advisory Council Meeting commencing at 6:00pm in the library
- Friday 14 November - Whole School Assembly in the Church commencing at 2:15pm
- Wednesday 19 November - Newsletter
- Wednesday 19 November to 21 November - Glengallan Camp to the Gold Coast
See the Sentral calendar for more information.
Reminders
Uniform Days
Summer Uniform (commences Monday 1 September 2025)
Formal - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday
Sports - Wednesday, Friday
Please remember that we are a...
‘Nut Aware’ School.
Times for Mass at St Patrick's Church are as follows:
1st Sunday - 9:00am 2nd and 3rd Sunday – 5:30pm
4th & 5th Sunday Liturgy of the Word with Communion - 9:00am
