St Patrick's is a Catholic Primary School situated in the Bega Valley on the far south coast of NSW. St Patrick’s is committed to excellence in teaching and learning and the development of Christian values. The school motto “Christ With Us” is taken from St Patrick’s own words and reflects the core focus of our Christian values and is the heart of who we are. Our Vision Statement is 'School With a View'. We strive to develop the following principles: Look After Each Other - A view to our relationship with God and one another; Look Into Thinking - A view to creative and critical thinkers; Look To The Future - A view to life long learning. As a school we strive to ensure that the students receive a quality learning experience through programs such as First Steps Literacy, Reading and Spelling, and Brain Based Learning in Mathematics. We engage our students in a variety of learning styles. The use of learning tools such as De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats, Bloom’s Taxonomy and the Habits of Mind by Art Costa support these Learning Programmes. At St Patrick’s we offer a diverse curriculum targeting Literacy and Numeracy, Music, environmental awareness and integrated learning. Specific examples of this are Sacramental Programs, our school band and choir, specialist dance choreographer, ‘munch and crunch’ garden, local and interstate excursions and many other school based cultural experiences. Our students also participate in local community sporting events, public speaking competitions, and build strong community links. We are proud of our students and their many achievements in all aspects of school and community life. Our NAPLAN results reflect a steady improvement in both Literacy and Numeracy. With the implementation of First Steps, the Literacy results for Year Three and Year Five have shown a progressive movement of students in the lower bands to the higher bands, particularly in Spelling. In reading Year 3 students had great success with a growth in Band 6. Year 5 students have had positive..