Newsletter Week 8 Term 1 2021

Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

John 11: 44

(from the Gospel for the fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B)

Dear parents and carers,

The Gospel for this weekend is the familiar story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. This is a richly significant story. It tells of a man (Lazarus) who was dead. All life and hope had left him. He was in his tomb. Through the actions of Jesus and His divine message of hope, love and faith, Jesus brought Lazarus back to life. Lazarus was revitalised! 

The significance of this scripture passage is for us to reflect upon those areas of our lives that have lost life, hope or vitality. We ask how by opening ourselves to God’s presence we can “back to life” those parts of our life that have been otherwise lifeless. 

The great message of Jesus’s ministry is that we are always loved by God, whether by human standards we deserve it or not. Human standards are not God’s standards. There is always hope for renewal and starting again.

NAPLAN OMNIBUS TESTING for Year 3 and Year 5- Thursday 25 March

We have been informed that on Thursday 25 March, our Year 3 and Year 5 children will participate in NAPLAN omnibus testing. Naplan is now an online test, with the exception of the Year 3 writing Assessment (which remains a pen and paper assessment). The purpose of the omnibus testing is to confirm the readiness of our local and national network readiness for NAPLAN. The children will complete a short literacy and numeracy style test. These brief assessment's are not marked and no feedback is provided. Significantly, the children will have a real time experience of using the NAPLAN browser app that they will use for NAPLAN proper. 

In preparation for the omnibus test, children who have a school managed devices will have the NAPbrowser app installed and updated by the school. Children who have their own device will need to ensure that their iPad is updated with the latest IOS and have the latest version of the NAPbrowser downloaded and installed. All children in Year 3 and Year 5 will need headphones for both the omnibus test and for NAPLAN in May.

The omnibus bus test is a practice in using an online testing platform. If there are problems with our local network or with the network across Australia, they will be identified in time to be corrected before NAPLAN. NAPLAN will be conducted with Year 3 and Year 5 between 11 and 14 May commencing with writing. Here is a link to a video that explains NAPLAN Online.

CROSS COUNTRY CHANGE OF DATE- now 31 March 2021

Due to the NAPLAN omnibus testing, we have had to reschedule our cross country carnival to Wednesday 31 March. The cross country will be held at school. Parents and community members are welcome to attend. The children love to be cheered on and encouraged!

PERSONAL PLANNING (PP) MEETINGS

Today we concluded our first round of PP meetings for 2021. It has been wonderful to meet with families to discuss your child’s learning and support needs. The student voice element of each PP has been a particular highlight. The family and child are included in all PP planning. This is an important and practical way in which we can enact the partnership between home and school in the best interests of your child. Thank you for prioritising these meetings.

POSITIVE BEHAVIOURS FOR LEARNING (PB4L)

PB4L is our school wide system for teaching and rewarding behaviour expectations for children in all settings across our school. The Code 5 rules the children are taught are a tangible expression of these expectations. The children are affirmed and rewarded for observing the expectations we set for them. PB4L is premised on some basic rights and related responsibilities for all children. It is an operating assumption that all rights carry with them responsibilities. You can not have one without the other. I have included a copy of the Rights_and_Responsibilities.docx document for your consideration. This document attempts to define the rights and responsibilities all children have whilst at school. Please take a moment to review and discuss these with your child. 

COVID-19 updated advice

As advised last week, the restrictions around COVID-19 management for schools have been relaxed. The advisory we received reminds us that ‘Whilst this is a relaxing of requirements, we must all remain vigilant and maintain our personal hygiene procedures at this point in time, and especially as we approach the winter season.’

The implications for these relaxed restrictions for our school are as follows:

Morning Assembly: We will continue with the morning arrangements that we have had in place for the last twelve months. There will be no morning assembly. Children will continue to line up in their designated spots, wash hands, go into class and pray the school prayer and get down to work. 

Morning Announcements: Will continue at 10:50am whilst the children are eating inside. We will celebrate birthdays, make announcements and award the “secret spotter” uniform award.

Weekly School Assembly: We are pleased to welcome to parents and community members to join us at our weekly school assembly at 2:15pm each Thursday. You will notice that all children are seated on chairs as part of the social distancing requirements that are still in place. We ask that parents sit at the back of the school hall. Children will return to class after assembly to collect their bags. Normal afternoon dismissal procedures will be followed.

Parents and community attendance at the cross country (Wednesday 31 March):  We are pleased to announce that parents and community members can now attend the school cross country in Week 10.

Click here for the  current COVID- 19 guidelines for Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Wollongong. 

DROP OFF ZONE and BUS ZONE IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL

At our Garrett Street entrance to the school we have designated P2 Drop Off zone as well as a bus zone. Both these designated zones are strictly NO PARKING zones.

When using the Drop Off zone you should stop, allow your child to get out of the car and then immediately leave. In doing so, you free up a stopping spot for the next family which makes the system flow smoothly. Please DO NOT get out of your car and/or walk your child into school. You are not permitted to stay in the Drop Off zone for more than two minutes. If you want to escort your child into school, please park further down Garrett Street or in the vacant lot opposite the school. You can walk your child into school at your leisure.

Please note that it is both illegal and very dangerous to make a U-turn in front of the school.

The bus zones need to be kept clear at all times. Buses arrive throughout the morning to drop children at school. They run to a tight schedule in order to get all children using their service to schools on time. It is important that the buses are not obstructed by illegally parked cars.

ALLERGY AWARE SCHOOL

St Paul’s is an “allergy aware school”. We have several children in our school community who have serious allergies and are at risk of anaphylactic shock. We work closely with the families to ensure we have systems in place to manage each child’s safety. Children with allergies are taught to be both aware of their environment in order to avoid their allergens as well what to do if an exposure to an allergen should occur. Our recent staff First Aid training had an emphasis on anaphylaxis management and response. We have implemented regular handing washing, teaching all children to be allergy aware and not sharing food at school. 

As a community we all have a role to play in keeping all children safe. We discourage bringing nuts and nut products to school. I have linked a fact sheet regarding allergy aware schools for "Allergies and Anaphylaxis Australia" for your information. We ask that you are mindful of this when packing your child’s lunchbox. 

Sport Uniforms

Sport uniforms are to be worn on the following days for each class:

Monday 22nd March will be a make up lesson for Gymnastrix so sports uniform will need to be worn.

Kindergarten – Monday, Wednesday & Friday

Year 1 – Monday & Friday

Year 2 – Monday & Friday

Year 3 – Monday, Wednesday & Friday

Year 4 - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

Year 5 - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

Year 6 - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

School Terms for 2021