Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. 

Teresa of Avila

Dear Families,

We are well and truly into the term. With the season of Lent upon us it is a good time to stop and reflect. During the first half of the term teachers spend a lot of time establishing routines and expectations with the children. It is not uncommon for students to begin to push back, test the boundaries or seem tired and irritable because of the busy day. This type of behaviour should only be short lived. As adults we often go through a similar feeling when we start a new job or make a change in our lives. The first few weeks are generally exciting and may be a bit nerve racking or uncomfortable. We may find that we are finding some things a little challenging and exhausting but with time we eventually settle into the new change and feel comfortable. This is the same for your children. Over the next few weeks the children should be settling into the new class and developing a good rapport with their teacher. They might still be tired but that is a sign of a busy and productive day.

One of the challenges for parents can be finding out what has happened in your child’s school day. Sometimes just changing the way we ask and when we ask questions can be enough to find out a lot and enjoy hearing about their day. 

These links take you to two articles that provide great ideas on how to talk to your child after their school day. Things to do that will encourage conversation and things to avoid saying that will result in one word responses.

How do you ask kids about their school day at school  and get an answer?

Talking about School

If in your conversations there is a concern raised please don’t hesitate to contact the classroom teacher. The sooner we know about something the sooner we can investigate and find out what may be going on and come to a resolution.

We understand that school can be confusing places for parents and carers at times. If at any time you are not sure of a procedure or how to best support your child then please contact us so we can assist you. It can be anything from how to fill in the homework reading diary to how to do a particular maths equation or knowing how to read with your child at home. If you do not know what something means then please ask. We are more than happy to explain and help.

The SPMV School Community Portal is a great place to look for help. It has links to a range of websites that provide up to date information for families. Through the course of this year we will continue to update this site to provide a one stop shop for families on school related topics.

Thank you and God Bless,

Attendance

Regular attendance is vital to a student's learning and wellbeing. If you are finding that your child is repeatedly not wanting to come to school it is essential that you make an appointment to come and discuss this first with the classroom teacher.  Our system has a range of resources to support student attendance. You can read the attachments below.

Following COVID we understand that many families have not been able to travel and so are making the most of opportunities to travel throughout Australia and overseas to see families. While connecting with family or having family holidays is important, regular school attendance is also vital for children's learning and wellbeing. From 2024 students will only be granted approved leave for exceptional circumstances. Where possible families are encouraged to book holidays and travel during school holiday time. We ask that you take this into consideration moving forward when making plans.

B4._2022_CEDoW_Parent_Brochure_Compulsory_School_Attendance_1_.pdf

B4 2022_CEDoW_Parent_Brochure_Compulsory_School_Attendance_1 pdf 74.24 KB

Early pickups

Where possible it is important that families avoid picking their children up early from school. By law your child is required to be at school until they are dismissed at 3pm. Children who leave prior to this time must be signed out and should receive a sign out slip and carry that with them. While we understand after school activities are important they should not require a student to leave school early to attend them.

Learning Support at St Paul’s

St Paul’s operates in the Response to Intervention approach for learning and wellbeing.  This approach ensures that all students are monitored and supported at their point of need. To read further about how we manage learning support please see the attached PDF.

Learning_and_Wellbeing_Support_at_St_Paul_s_Moss_Vale.pdf

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System Professional Learning

Mr Peter Hill - Director and Mr Tim Gilmour - Deputy Director are leading our diocese in system wide professional learning under the heading Continuous Catholic School Improvement. Monday and Tuesday 6 and 7 March Mr Farrugia and Mrs Browne will be attending the first two days of this learning. During this time Sandra Hogan will be the relief Principal.

Launch Explore Summarise Review

Our Teaching staff will be participating in professional learning in exploring the potential of using challenging mathematical tasks during Week 8. This professional learning is run by the diocese with Professor Peter Sullivan who has led research in this area. We look forward to sharing our learning in due course.

NAPLAN

This year NAPLAN has been brought forward into Term 1. Year 3 and 5 will begin their NAPLAN tests on Wednesday 15 March.  All students are expected to participate in NAPLAN unless an exemption has been granted.  NAPLAN data provides our school with valuable information about our students' learning and guides our professional development plan moving forward. If a student is sick and misses a test we can catch them in the test window. The test Window for writing is the 15 - 20 March and for all other tests the 15 to 27 March. All students will require headphones for the tests as there are audio questions. Please ensure they are sent into school with the student’s name on them.

Harmony Day

Harmony Day is Tuesday 21 March. It is a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism, and the successful integration of migrants into our community.

Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world and we should celebrate this and work to maintain it.

Harmony Week is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.

These values align very closely with our school Vision and Mission. To celebrate Harmony day we invite everyone to come dressed in clothing or colours that represent your family's cultural backgrounds. This will be a P&F fundraiser so children are asked to bring a gold coin donation to participate. Children who do not wish to participate can wear the sports uniform or school uniform.

P&F

The next P&F Meeting is Tuesday 14th March from 7pm to 8pm.  The Zoom link will be sent out on the day.

Brigadoon planning is in full swing for Saturday 1st April.  We need as many volunteers from our community to help the day run and raise as much money for the school as we can.  If you are able to spare an hour or two, or any friends or family members can, it will all help benefit our amazing school!  If you can spare some time, please click here to put your details in to volunteer.

Western Region Swimming

Congratulations to all our students who competed in the Western Region Swimming Carnival at Campbelltown yesterday. The following students have progressed to the Swim Selection Trials in Corrimal on 13 March - Dominic B, Grayson H, Henry H, Matthew H and the Snr Boys Relay team - Odhran, Samuel, Matthew and Dominic. Special congratulations to Matthew H who was U11 Age Champion and Henry H who place 3rd Jnr Age Champion. Well done to all involved and thank you to Mrs Calla-Hunstone for attending and taking care of our swim team.

Swimming selection trials @ Corrimal on 13 March:

Dominic B 11 Years - 50m Freestyle

Grayson H 8 Years - 50m Freestyle

Henry H 10 Years - 50m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke, 50m Butterfly, 50m Breaststroke and 200m Medely.

Matthew H 11 Years - 100m Freestyle, 50m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke, 50m Butterfly, 50m Breaststroke, 200m Medely.

Odhran, Sam, Matthew and Dominic - 4 x 50m Relay

Good luck everyone!

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 you are recording your child's absence on compass, please put in the reason for the absence eg Illness due to cold, tummy upset etc.

MEDICATION

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.

NATIONAL RIDE TO SCHOOL DAY - FRIDAY 24TH MARCH

WOLLONDILLY SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS PHYSIE