“And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Mark 7:37

(From the Gospel of the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary time, Year B)

Dear Parents and Carers,

Sunday’s Gospel is about the presence of God in our hearts and minds. When we let God into our hearts and minds we can see clearly the way forward and know the words to speak that bring about the love of God. Our focus at St Paul’s on being a Mission Star is what this reading is all about. Seeing and speaking with God in our heart. During this challenging time of remote learning and restrictions it can be difficult at times to keep our Mission Star focus front and center however we have much to celebrate and be grateful for. Try to spend time enjoying the simple pleasures in life such as having time to be with each other, spend time going to the park for longer or having a family picnic in your own backyard. With Spring now the official season our days are warming and opportunities to be outside and enjoy the sun are growing. I am grateful for the wonderful work that our staff are doing each day to support your children with their learning and I am truly grateful for the way our families have embraced remote learning and adapted at such short notice at such a difficult time for our community. You are in our thoughts and prayers on a daily basis and while we are not able to see your smiling faces everyday we know you are out there doing your best. Thank you.

This week marks the first week in my role as Acting Principal. I am deeply humbled to be taking on this vocation and am truly grateful for the way the community has received the news. Don O’Brien was a wonderful mentor who taught me many things about leadership. His love and passion for teaching and leading in Catholic schools was evident in everything he did and I have had the privilege of learning from him for the past three and half years, a time that I will treasure and look back on as I move forward in this role.

I would like to welcome Mrs Dulcie Ryman to our staff as the Acting Assistant Principal. Dulcie has previously been a part of our school community and is very excited to be returning to work with us for the remainder of the year. Dulcie has worked extensively with the Catholic Education Office Diocese of Wollongong and brings with her a depth of experience.

I would like to thank Mr Peter Michael for the compassionate way in which he came, at short notice, to support us over the past three weeks and his School Community of St Peter and St Paul Catholic Parish Primary School Kiama for supporting these changes. Peter’s leadership and support, at such a difficult time, helped us to navigate our way through a very challenging few weeks. He will continue to provide support to me as we move forward.

Finally we would like to wish all our fathers a Happy Fathers day. 

PRAYER FOR FATHERS

God our Father, through the intercession of St. Joseph, foster father of Your Son,

Our Lord Jesus Christ, we give you thanks and praise for all fathers in the world.

We pray for them so that they may find courage and perseverance to balance work, family and faith in joy and sacrifice.

We pray for men, especially the priests and monks, who are not fathers but still mentor and guide us with fatherly love and advice.

We remember fathers, grandfather, and great grandfathers who are no longer with us but who live forever in our memory and nourish us with their love. 

Amen

God Bless,

Mrs Katie Browne

Acting Principal

Dear Families,

I would like to introduce myself to the beautiful community of St Paul’s Moss Vale.

My name is Dulcie Ryman, I am a wife, mother, sister and teacher. I have been in education for 33 years, where I have taught across all grades in both the Catholic and government education sectors. Most recently, I held a position as an education officer in the School Improvement Primary team in the Diocese of Wollongong. It was in this position that I was extremely lucky to become a part of the St Paul’s community. My role in supporting St Paul’s over 4 years from 2015-2018, had a huge effect on me, so much so that I stayed connected to the community, and being asked to take up the acting principal position at this time is an honour and a pleasure. I feel like I am home. I look forward to working with you and the students of this most amazing school.

Parent Portal

The St Paul’s Parent Portal is a one stop shop for families. It has links to the class overviews, information about school procedures and links to a variety of online sites that provide a wealth of information for families. Take some time to have a look and feel free to provide some feedback via the feedback form. You can access the portal via this link. Please bookmark it and check in as the class pages will be added to during the year.

https://sites.google.com/dow.catholic.edu.au/st-pauls-moss-vale/home

Dulcie Ryman

Acting Assistant Principal

Thank you to all the families that contacted the school and offered to provide meals for the O'Brien family. We still have a few days available in week 10. If you are able to provide a meal please contact Mrs Norman in the school office, letting her know which day you can do this. On the day or the day before, drop the meal to the school office and we will ensure that it is delivered to the family on the same day. 

Thank you in advance for your support towards the family.

Dear Parishioners,

We had all hoped that we may of been released from lockdown, however we now turn to 10th September for hope.

As we are unable to gather for Mass, Weddings or Baptisms it is a difficult time for many of us. Rest assured your intentions remain in my prayers & Masses each day.

As has been mentioned on our Facebook page, we have all been asked to stay at home, so I understand you have been unable to drop off your planned giving envelopes or contribute to the collection plate by cash. If you are able and are in a position financially to still contribute to the running of the parish any donations can be deposited directly into the parish account as follows:

BSB 066 711

Account Number: 001780

Account Name: Moss Vale Parish

Reference: : [Surname] [Planned Giving Number OR Donation]

Any contributions received will be greatly appreciated at this time, as we have only last week received our insurance for all our churches totalling $27,482.00 (an increase of $4,000 in comparison to last year).

Thank you to all those parishioners who have continued their planned giving via direct giving.

Please be aware that the parish office is operating on reduced hours, however emails and phone messages are being monitored remotely.

God Bless

Fr Marek

ATTENDANCE

On a weekly basis you will receive an email regarding your child’s outstanding/unexplained absences. 

• You can go into compass to your child’s records and update the unexplained absence.
• You can print this and fill in the reason for the absence and return it to the office.
• You can ring the office and the office staff will enter the reason for the absence.

If your child has been absent from school and has had to have a covid test, a copy of the negative result needs to be sent to the school prior to your child returning to class.  This is a requirement from CEDOW.

Remote Learning School Supervision

During remote learning only children of essential workers can come to school if there is absolutely no other option. If your children do need to come to school then please click on the link bleow and complete the google form. The google form enables us to ensure we have enough staff to cover supervision while keeping the numbers of staff attending school to a minimum in order to meet the Public Health Order requirements. We have allowed for it to be completed until the end of term, that is for week 9 & 10.Your support with this is greatly appreciated.

Remote Learning Supervision Schedule

Bishop Brian would like to invite parents and caregivers to participate in a survey that seeks to collect information regarding "what they believe to be important for their children in presenting them for the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist”.

Click on the link to view the letter.  Sr_Monica_Sacraments_Survey_Letter.pdf

School Terms for 2021