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- From the Principal - Mrs Katie Browne
- From the Assistant Principal - Mr Simon Farrugia
- From the School Office
- P&F News
- Calendar Overview
- 2025 Term Dates and Pupil Free Days
- After School Art Classes at St Paul's from external provider
- Mothers Day
- Bishop Brian Mascord reads The Parable of the Lost Sheep
- Catholic Care Families and Communities Program
- Art Incursion - Year 5 & 6
- Awards
- Road Safety 2025 - National Road Safety Week
- SEL Focus - Week 3 and 4
- Canteen for Term 1 - Thursdays only
- Community News
Dear Families,
We warmly welcome the announcement of our new leader, Pope Leo XIV. His message of peace resonates deeply at a time when so many communities are facing profound trauma due to war. We pray that he will be divinely inspired to guide us forward, ensuring we remain true to our values while also acknowledging the changing times.
Last Friday offered a valuable opportunity for our Stage 2 teachers to collaborate with their peers from Milton, Warrawong, and Mittagong. Together, they embarked on developing a unit of work in Mathematics. This professional learning day allowed staff to share effective teaching practices and explore the potential of Artificial Intelligence in crafting engaging activities that align with the curriculum. Recognizing that AI is an evolving presence, we believe it's crucial to begin investigating its capacity to enhance our students' skills and abilities. Embracing a learn-by-doing approach, we will begin sharing practical applications of AI that can both meet our students' diverse needs and streamline some of our routine tasks. We eagerly anticipate the end of this term when the teachers will reconvene to share their experiences implementing the unit and the insights gained from this cross-school collaboration.
Next week, commencing Tuesday, 20 May, I will be attending the Association of Catholic School Principals Conference in the Hunter Valley. This conference provides an excellent forum to hear from leading voices in education and to connect with fellow principals from across our Catholic dioceses. During this time, Mr. Simon Farrugia will be Acting Principal. However, on Friday, 23 May, Mr. Farrugia will be participating in a High Potential and Gifted Education professional development day, and Mr. Kevin Devine will step in as the relief principal for the day. We are fortunate to have Mr. Devine, who recently retired as Principal of St Justin's Oran Park, to support our school.
God Bless,
Katie Browne
Principal
Catholic Care counselling and groups
If you would like the opportunity to upskill regarding supporting your child’s well being, resilience or emotional regulation consider contacting Catholic Care and joining a group session.
A Legacy That Will Endure
Pope Francis’ impact on ecological consciousness and action remains profound. His work has not
only reshaped Catholic social teaching but has also influenced global policies, interfaith dialogue, and grassroots activism. His insistence that caring for creation is an integral part of Christian discipleship has ensured that ecological responsibility is now central to Catholic identity and mission.
Caring for the environment has been embedded in Catholic teaching for centuries and spoken about by popes for decades, but Pope Francis has placed a renewed emphasis on this dimension of faith, particularly in response to the current global ecological crisis. He has underscored that care for creation is not an optional concern but a fundamental element of Christian vocation, a shared responsibility to the poor, and a duty to future generations.
Honoring God the Creator is now, more than ever, a core element of Catholic faith and will continue to be a defining aspect of the Church’s mission in the years to come.
During this time we celebrate the work of Pope Francis and continue to use the learnings from his encyclical to ensure we care for our common home. We celebrate Laudato Si’ Week from 16–24 May.
P&F Meeting tonight 7pm Zoom
We would love to see you on zoom.
Here are the joining instructions.
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android:
https://dowcatholic.zoom.us/j/98253248759?pwd=89aHMJc2qQceOyWgNbUkSvTqRF3Z2u.1
Password: 906102
Tell Them From Me Survey (TTFM)
The Tell Them From Me Parent survey is live and has been shared with you via Compass. This is a reminder to please take some time to fill this out as it gives the school valuable feedback. The link for this survey is: http://tellthemfromme.com/stpauls
Afternoon Dismissal From the Hall after Assemblies
Students and teachers often reflect on ways that we can make aspects of our school safer and more orderly for all. We have noticed of late that the afternoon dismissal after an assembly in the hall is one such area we can improve on. Below is a guide for dismissal which will be lead by the teacher/leader on the microphone:
- Leader of the gathering will thank all for their attendance and explain that the dismissal will be guided by them.
- We will ask for parents and visitors to wait until the students have left. We will ask that they please wait patiently and keep noise to a minimum to model expected behaviours to the students.
- We will ask for our students to leave the hall in an orderly way with their teachers.
- We will invite visitors to leave the hall. If taking their child home, the visitors are asked to wait under the Hall awning until their child returns with their bag and there is a teacher at the parish gate to dismiss them.
- If not taking their child with them, visitors can leave through the parish gate.
* All visitors are reminded that there are safety concerns with crossing the road on Garret Street and encouraged to park north of the church on the school side of the road.
* If the event finishes before 2:45, visitors are asked to sign their child out at the office, or are invited to wait under the hall awning until dismissal.
Athletics Carnival Track Event
Unfortunately with the predicted (now current) weather, we had to make the call to postpone our track carnival. Our proposed date for the rescheduled carnival is Tuesday 3rd June. We are currently discussing with our Parent Liaison Group, the possibility of a different venue. This may attract a cost for bus travel from our families and will be communicated as soon as possible.
Uniform Items
The school sells sun hats ($16), School Bags ($65) and the girls winter skirt ($70). These are available to purchase from the school office and payment is by cash or eftpos.
Volunteers
If you volunteer at the school, parents or carers need to do an induction by scanning the QR code in the document:
Contact details
It is important that your contact details are up to date. It would be appreciated if you could log onto the Compass Parent Portal and check that your mobile/telephone number and email address are correct.
If you find that they are incorrect, you may update them in the portal.
Please also check that your email address is reachable, we sometimes find that we receive ‘bounce backs’ due full inboxes.
School Fees
School fee statements have been issued. Payment of fees is by BPay, Compass Portal or at the office. Fees can be paid by instalments – weekly, fortnightly, termly or via a lump sum. The necessary form would need to be completed ASAP and returned to the school office.
From the commencement of the 2025 school year, the management of certain aspects relating to school fee accounts in Primary Schools has been transferred to the School Fees Liaison Office at the Catholic Education in Wollongong.
What does this mean for families:
- Your school’s administration office is your first place for enquiry regarding school fees. School staff will provide information regarding instalments, methods of payment, giving access to an Application for Fee Concession and attend to other general enquiries.
- If you are experiencing financial difficulty or need to make an arrangement for payment of your school fee account, please email sflo@dow.catholic.edu.au with your name and the school in which your children are enrolled. The School Fees Liaison Office will then contact you directly to offer assistance.
- Please note that each school has a dedicated School Fees Liaison Officer to provide a personalised service to individual families. This Officer will also have a close relationship with your school.
If you require further information about this initiative, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.
Injuries
If you child sustains an injury outside of school eg broken arm / leg and they have a cast/sling etc the office must be informed and a letter from the Doctor / ED report must be given to the office so that a risk assessment and care plan can be done for the student.
Only medication that is prescribed by a doctor is permitted to be dispensed at School upon completion of a “Consent to Dispense Medication” form which is available from the office. The form and the medication are to be given to the office staff in the original packaging with the student’s name and dosage. We are not permitted to administer Panadol unless prescribed by a doctor and the necessary form completed. Thank you for your cooperation with this.
If your child is Asthmatic or Anaphylactic please ensure the necessary plan has been forwarded to the office along with any medication so that it can be processed. We also need a "Consent to Dispense Medication" form to be completed.
Please see below the calendar overview for Term 2 2025:
| Week 3 |
Thursday 15 May - Tell them from me survey - Year 4 Friday 16 May - Athletics Program K - 6 Friday 16 May - National walk safely to school day |
| Week 4 |
Thursday 22 May - Assembly at 2:15pm all welcome Friday 23 May - Athletics Program K - 6 |
| Week 5 |
Tuesday 27 May - Newsletter Week 5 Tuesday 27 May - Science and Engineering Discovery Day Year 6 - selected students Tuesday 27 May - K to 2 Shoe Tying Workshop at school Wednesday 28 May - Parent Forum in the School Hall at 6:30pm to 8pm - Parents welcome Thursday 29th May - Enviromental Incursion K to 6 Friday 30 May - Enviromental Incursion K to 6 Friday 30 May - Athletics Program K - 6 Friday 30 May - Kindergarten 2026 Interviews |
| Week 6 |
Monday 2 June - Chess Tourament at Tudor House - selected students Tuesday 3 June - Athletics Track Events (to be confirmed) Thursday 5 June - Assembly at 2:15pm all welcome Thursday 5 June - Kindergarten 2026 Interviews Friday 6 June - Athletics Program K - 6 |
| Week 7 |
Monday 9 June - Public Holiday - No students at school Tuesday 10 June - Newsletter Week 7 |
| Week 8 |
Thursday 19 June - Assembly at 2:15pm all welcome |
| Week 9 |
Tuesday 24 June - Newsletter Week 9 Friday 27 June - St Paul's Feast Day |
| Week 10 |
Thursday 3 July - Assembly at 2:15pm all welcome Friday 4 July - P&F Pie Drive, Pizza and Pyjama day Friday 4 July - Last Day of Term 2 |
| Term 2 | Last Day - Friday 4th July |
| Term 3 | 21 July - 26 September |
| 21 July - Pupil Free Day | |
| 22 July - Pupil Free Day | |
| 23 July - Students Return | |
| Last Day - Friday 26 September | |
| Term 4 | 13 October - 19 December |
| 13 October - Pupil Free Day | |
| 14 October - Students Return | |
| 18 December - Last Day for Students | |
| 19 December - Pupil Free Day |
*These are provisional dates and are subject to change.
Thank you to the parents who organised and assisted with the Mother's Day Breakfast and Stall last Wednesday 7th May. Graeme and Cheryl from Magnificup were here with the coffee van which was a hit and the breakfast was a great success. The students then chose their special gift for their mum's/grandmother's/ special person and there was great excitement with the shopping experience. Thank you for your support of these events.
Dear Families,
Catholic Care has been consulting with us in order to provide services for families in the Southern Highlands. Currently services are provided in the Illawarra and Macarthur area and families from the Southern Highlands can attend although this is not ideal, hence the reason we have been consulting to bring the service to the Southern Highlands.
Catholic Care surveyed families and found parents are seeking additional support in how to help their children manage their mental health and wellbeing. As a result they have put together some group sessions to provide support for families.
Groups will be available in the St Paul’s School Hall from Term 2 and Catholic Care will also be available to support families with counselling services at a location to be determined. Bookings must be made directly with Catholic Care. Please see the flyer for further information on how to do this.
This is a great opportunity for families and we encourage you to consider how it can be of support for you.
Thank you.
On Friday, Bruce from Ngununggula came and taught stage 3 new art skills. Students created art using paper and charcoal.
Bruce taught the students how to create depth though creating a landscape.
Students enjoyed creating something new and learning new skills.
The art looked great.
Thank you to Bruce for coming to our school.
Congratulations to the following students who were awarded the Principal's Award in Week 2
| Kindergarten | Keturah | Senkwe |
| Year 1 | Hugh | Johnstone |
| Year 2 | Jayden | Wipranata |
| Year 3 | Jacob | Stevens |
| Year 4 | Kora | Muhlbock |
| Year 5 | Scarlett | McKelvey |
| Year 6 | Chayut | Promajak |
Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a Merit Award in Week 2
| Kindergarten | Harrison | Reeves |
| Year 1 | Tamanpreet | Kaur |
| Year 2 | Paige | Horenko |
| Year 3 | Riyaz | Joshi |
| Year 4 | Edison | Warburton |
| Year 5 | Hannah | Allison |
| Year 6 | Prinsha | Parajuli |
Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a Mission Star Award in Week 2
| Kindergarten | Nash | Towell |
| Year 1 | Peter | O'Reilly |
| Year 2 | Oliver | Chalmers |
| Year 3 | Isla | Hine |
| Year 4 | Hattie | Eccleston |
| Year 5 | Max | Xu |
| Year 6 | Cruz | Fortier-Di Rosa |
This week is National Road Safety Week.
An annual initiative from the Safer Australian Roads and Highways (SARAH) Group, partnering road safety organisations and Government. The week highlights the impact of road trauma and ways to reduce it.
For more information, please visit the website:
ACCEPTING 'NO' FOR AN ANSWER
Self Management
- Look at the person.
- Say 'Okay'.
- Stay calm.
- If you disagree, ask later.
We we have a company called Lunch Bunch Canteens who will be fulfilling our lunch orders each Thursday only.
Please find the menu below and how to order details.
Corpus Christi Event - Rosemeadow
Basketball - Moss Vale
Any new junior players who sign up for our winter competitions will receive a free basketball (see attached information). We particularly need girls born 2014 - 2018 for our U10 and U12 competitions.
Connect English Conversation Classes
