As we gradually move through the painful parts of darkness and find restored peace of mind and heart, we learn anew how to lean on the compassionate One, whose tender embrace sustains and strengthens us, even when we do not sense this presence.

Joyce Rupp

Dear Families,

I hope that you were able to enjoy time together over the winter holiday break. Sometimes just having a change of routine can be beneficial. Not having to make school lunches, wash uniforms or do homework is enough to recharge your energy. I wish you all peace as you return to your routines. 

This term has indeed started with a heavy heart in the passing of Miss Mari Sullivan. The funeral was held today and several staff attended. If any family feels their child would benefit from seeing the school counsellor then please contact the school office.  We pray for Mari, her family, friends and colleagues at this challenging time. May she rest in peace.

On Saturday 5 August we will remember Don O’Brien who served as our school principal from 2018 to 2021. Fr Marek will say mass in memory of Don on this day at St Paul’s International College Chapel at 8am. Families are welcome to attend.

This term is a busy term with many exciting things happening. The CEDoW leadership retreats take place for the REC, AP and Principal, Stage three will be going to Canberra and celebrating mass with the Bishop. We will celebrate St Mary MacKillop’s Feast day, science week, book week, 100 Days of Kindergarten and will participate in our school’s cyclic inquiry. At the end of term some of our Year 6 students will make their confirmation.

Wishing all our community members a successful term.

Thank you and God Bless,

Cyclic Inquiry

This term we finalise our preparations for our cyclic inquiry. On September 7 and 14 a panel of experts will visit our school and engage in conversation with the leadership team and focus groups about our school. This inquiry is about identifying our future directions for the next four years. From these we will develop our School Strategic Plan and each year we will develop an annual plan that assists us in achieving our strategic plan. The cyclic inquiry is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on where we have come from and where we are going. We have achieved a lot over the past four years and have a lot to be proud of. One example of a wonderful achievement  is the revised Vision and Mission and the addition of school values. Now our focus will be to embed what these look, feel and sound like in our school. Our St Paul’s “Feast Week” of celebrations in the last week of Term 2 enabled us to focus on respect and what this means for our school. This was the first step in beginning to embed our Vision and Mission.  Our next celebration will be St Mary of the Cross MacKillop with a focus on the value of determination. Please see the section about this below for the details of this event.

School Uniform update

Prior to the holidays we surveyed families about some school uniform items. I would like to thank all our families who took the time to complete the survey and provide feedback.  There was a clear majority in each of the categories and we have made the decision to go with what the majority of families have said. These decisions are now final and have been communicated with Whytes. No further discussion will be had regarding changes to the uniform.

The presentation of students attending St Paul’s is important, as this is a reflection of the pride they have in the school and themselves. The uniform standard is one we are proud of and brings a positive response from parents, teachers and the wider local community. At St Paul’s parents have traditionally tried to ensure that students wear the correct school uniform. The uniform code relies heavily on parent support, so it is in partnership with the parents that the school has compulsory uniform requirements.

All students are expected to wear the full, correct uniform at all times and maintain the uniform standard. The school uniform should be neat and tidy and all students' clothing should be clearly marked with the student’s name. It is hoped that the senior students of the school would set the uniform standard for the rest of the school and make the wearing of the correct uniform their responsibility.

Where a student’s uniform standard is not considered appropriate, parents will be contacted to allow the matter to be discussed and assistance provided where necessary. Parents needing assistance maintaining the school’s uniform standards should make time to have a confidential discussion with the Principal.

Results of the survey

• The Winter skirt is currently being redesigned to allow for more room and the ability to sit crossed legged on the floor comfortably. It will have inverted pleats and elastic around the back. It is intended that it will be available for winter 2024.
• In summer girls will have the option of shorts with an elastic back and will wear the short sleeve unisex shirt with the shorts. It was clear that families would like us to keep the summer and winter shirts as unisex. This means in winter girls will continue to wear a tie. Kindergarten children are exempt from wearing a tie.
• Families will be able to order a woollen jumper with the school logo. If you wish to order one you need to allow time for it to arrive. 
• Whytes have sourced a winter pant for the girls that has an elastic back which will allow for a better and more comfortable fit.

Other uniform items to note

• Students may wear a long sleeve sky blue, white or navy t-shirt under their sports top in winter for added warmth. The sleeves are not to display any pictures or writing.
•  We have made sure all shirts and jumpers have the school logo. This is intentional so that when on excursions off site our children can be recognised as members of St Paul’s Catholic Primary School. 
• Families are not required to replace current uniform items with the new ones. The current skirt can continue to be worn for the next few years until they are phased out.
• Leggings are not suitable uniform items for girls and are not to be worn in place of the sport shorts or tracksuit pants.

We thank you for continuing to ensure your children are dressed appropriately for school.

NAPLAN

Student reports are due to arrive soon and will be sent home as soon as they arrive. Attached to this newsletter are two information flyers about the changes to the report and how to read it. If you have any questions about your child’s NAPLAN report then please make an appointment with your child’s teacher.

Each year the RECs attend a two day retreat. These retreats are designed to provide faith formation and spiritual renewal for leadership team members. Ms DuBois will be on retreat from Thursday 27 July to Friday 28 July.

Take it Down - New platform to help prevent the spread of unwanted intimate child images online

A powerful new tool has emerged to safeguard the online privacy of young people who have unwillingly or unknowingly shared intimate images or videos of themselves with malicious recipients.

The Take It Down platform empowers individuals under the age of 18, regardless of their location, to remove or prevent the online sharing of nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images or videos taken of them.

This service is provided anonymously and does not require the uploading of any images or videos to the platform's system.

Take It Down sends a unique fingerprint of the intimate content to their participating social media/content distribution platforms who use the fingerprint to block the content.

The participating platforms include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pornhub, OnlyFans, Clips4Sale and Yubo.

Instances of image-based abuse can also be reported to eSafety or the police.

P&F Thank you

A big thank you to our P&F for all of the hard work they put in to the pizza and pie day at the end of last term which was a huge success!

Term Overviews

Welcome back! We hope that all of our families had a chance to spend some time replenishing your energy ready for Semester Two. 

The Term overviews for each grade have now been published onto our Parent Portal. Please take some time to read through the information specific to your child’s grade.