“ For the son of man came not to be served but to serve.”

Mark 10:45

(From the Gospel of the 29th Sunday in Ordinary time, Year B)

Dear Families,

We are all being called to serve. This pandemic is asking things of us that we have not been asked of before. We hear stories daily of the amazing things our health workers are doing, of small business owners trying to keep it all together in order to make a living, of our teachers who are working tirelessly to ensure your children are accessing quality learning materials remotely and as parents and carers you are being asked to support remote learning while trying to work yourself or care for many family members. It is these acts of service that are critical to our faith. We are called to serve and when we do it is then that we truly see the face of Christ in each other. Be kind to yourself as we navigate these uncertain times on the road to recovery and healing.

Return to School

18 October / Week 3

Kindergarten and Year 1 - face to face learning only.

Year 3 - 6 Supervision only and remain with remote learning.

25 October / Week 4

All students return to face to face learning. Kindergarten to Year 6.

It is expected that all children return to school. Remote learning will not continue from Week 4. Please see the attached fact sheet regarding compulsory school attendance.

Personal Planning Meeting

This week class teachers are taking some time to update personal plans. Personal plans are for students with diverse learning needs. If you would like to read more about the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data and what is involved you can access a fact sheet via the link. We will be holding Zoom meetings in Week 3 for families to discuss the personal plan which is a requirement of the government and part of the process. Parents and carers of students with a personal plan have been informed of the plan. Not all children have a personal plan. If your child has a personal plan please make a booking using the compass app, you will see the link on the home page. We encourage our Year 6 parents and carers to book a meeting, as we will discuss transition to High School and some of the things you can do to prepare. We look forward to meeting with you.

Professional Learning Teams

Part of the work that we do as teachers is to work collaboratively in order to improve teacher practice. This week the infants and primary teams will be meeting to evaluate the work they have been doing in the area of Literacy.  This work has had significant impacts on the introduction of synthetic phonics in the infants classes and the development of grammar and punctuation metalanguage with the primary classes along with the introduction of Spelling Mastery lessons. Our recent NAPLAN data indicated that this work is having a positive impact on student learning in reading and writing. We will continue to focus on developing literacy within the school and begin to turn our attention to numeracy in 2022. The students will be attended to on these days by a casual teacher. Your child’s class teacher has prepared the day plan and the casual teacher will check in to monitor the student’s work remotely. We chose to have these days early this term so teachers are not being taken away from class once the children return to face to face learning. If your child has any issues with their learning please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Wellbeing

Last week I sat in a meeting with the Principals and Assistant Principals in our diocese to talk about wellbeing. Over the last two years as a community we have been impacted by natural disasters, a pandemic and the loss of our Principal. On their own, each of these things can have a significant impact on an individual's wellbeing but together they are likely to compound how we feel more so. We are looking carefully at things we can do to ensure the student's wellbeing is our priority and continue to support staff with their wellbeing. Attached to this newsletter are three great resources on things you can do as a parent or carer to support your child’s wellbeing and prepare them for returning to school. One of these resources is a social story that you can read with your children in getting ready for their return to school. You can also find other great links to websites for parents and carers on our Parent Portal.

Return_to_school_Parent_Conversation_and_SEL_Scenario_Cards.pdf

Return_to_school_Parent_Conversation_and_SEL_Scenario_Cards _pdf 77.67 KB

Wellbeing survey

How are you going? - Survey Link

We would like to know how you have found remote learning and how you think your child/ren are feeling about returning to school.  This week we have surveyed the children in Year 3 - 6 about remote learning and how they feel about returning to school. This information will help us in our planning to meet their wellbeing needs. We would also like to know how you as parents have found remote learning and feel about your children returning to school. This survey has been de-identified and is confidential. We are not collecting email addresses however if you are at all concerned about your child’s wellbeing then please contact your child’s teacher. 

Moving into the Digital Age

From 2022 we will be moving all files online. This means we will not keep paper files at school but will scan and upload all information into our COMPASS system. All permission notes will be online and you will be able to give permission through the Compass app. If you need access to the compass app we can provide you with your login details. If you have any concerns about this move into digital files only or would like some help in navigating the Compass app then please contact the office.

Care Packs

If you didn’t get a care pack when you collected your child’s remote learning materials, send your child to the office, when they are back at school, and we will send it home with them.  

God Bless,

Katie Browne

Acting Principal

Dear Families,

Please find the link to the recently advertising the release of a resource titled ‘Getting Ready for the Teenage Years’.

‘Getting Ready for the Teenage Years’.

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/a/dow.catholic.edu.au/st-paul-s-moss-vale-home-page/home

Dulcie Ryman

Acting Assistant Principal

Dear Families,

During these challenging times, we have been very grateful for the way that technology has supported our students to stay connected, and to participate in their learning from home. 

However, we remain mindful of the need to ensure our student’s online safety when accessing this technology. 

There are many programs and resources available to support families with this. Many are listed in the attached open letter published by the eSafety Commissioner.

If you have any questions, concerns in relation to technology, or require any help in supporting your child’s online safety, please don’t hesitate to contact the school.

Mari Sullivan

Instructional Coach and Middle Leader

1:1 IPAD ORDER FOR YR 3 2022

Last year saw the full implementation of the 1:1 school managed iPad program. This program is designed to ensure children have access to a high-quality learning device that is managed at school to keep the children safe from inappropriate content. iPad’s have enormous capacity for assisting children’s learning but can have their pitfalls if not managed appropriately.

Hence we, along with many other schools in our system have made the 1:1 School Managed iPad program compulsory from Year 3. Families are billed through the school fees over two years. At the end of Year 6 the children are able to take the device with them once we have wiped the contents and restored the original settings.

On Monday 11^th October Yr 2 parents were sent an email via Compass to complete an “Insight” survey with regard to the ipad to be ordered for their child.  Please complete the survey by 15^th November to ensure delivery of the IPads by 2022.

PP MEETINGS WEEK 3 TERM 4

Could the parents of students with a Personal Plan please book in for their PP Meeting via Compass.  You would have received an email from the office last Friday 8^th October.  PP Meetings will take place in Week 3.  If you have a problem booking and appointment, please contact the office.

THANK YOU - CONTAINERS

Thank you to those parents who provided a meal to the O’Brien Family.  Some bags and containers have been returned and can be collected from the School Office

SCHOOL PHOTO DAY Tuesday 23 November 2021

The School Photo Day has been moved to Tuesday 23 November.  Please send in your order envelope to your child’s class teacher.  Some families may have already returned their envelope, so you do not need to do this again. There is an individual order form as well as sibling order form.  These have been sent out via the Compass Alert. Unfortunately, photos will not be processed and sent to the school by the end of this year, so they will be distributed in 2022.

PAYMENT OF SCHOOL FEES BY INSTALMENT

EXISTING FAMILIES IN OUR SCHOOL WITH INSTALMENTS

If you are currently paying by instalments there is no need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment as your request carries over from year to year unless you wish to amend the frequency of your payments eg Weeky to Fortnightly, etc.

EXISTING FAMILIES IN OUR SCHOOL WITHOUT INSTALMENTS

If you would like to pay school fees by instalments in 2022 and have previously not taken up this option for payment, please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on the school’s website or from the school’s administration office.  On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at the school office.  Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your school fee account during the process of invoicing 2022 school fees. Your school fee statement will provide a list of scheduled payments and their due date depending on the frequency you have chosen eg Fortnightly, Monthly, etc.

IMPORTANT: Please note that if you currently have a child or children at another school in the Diocese and you are paying by instalments at this location, you will not need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment.  The instalment request carries over from school to school with the same frequency of payment eg weekly, fortnightly, etc.

Events Calendar (Covid Permitting) 2021