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- From the Principal - Mrs Katie Browne
- From the Assistant Principal - Mr Simon Farrugia
- From the REC - Ms Catherine du Bois
- From the School Office
- P&F News
- Year 5 Mini Vinnies - Mufti Day Winter Appeal
- Opera Australia Incursion
- Book Week Parade - Tuesday 29th August
- 100 Days of Kindy
- Stage 3 Excursion to Canberra
- Awards
- Pastoral Support
- St Paul's Science Fair
- Road Safety
- Catholic Care - Counselling Service
- SEL Focus Week 3 & 4
- Calendar Overview
- Community News
God’s goodness seems to speak in everything
Mary MacKillop
Dear Families,
This week Year 4 undertook the Religious Literacy Assessment. This assessment is aimed at capturing the children's knowledge of the content they have learnt in Religion lessons over the last 4 years and how they apply it to their lives. As a school we have been doing particularly well in this area. It is evident that our students can articulate how learning about Jesus can make meaning for them in their lives. This was reinforced in the Tell Them From Me Data we collected earlier this year. More than 80% of our students in Year 4 - 6 believe the school provides adequate opportunities to engage in prayer and liturgy and they can apply the teaching of Jesus in their everyday lives. This is a wonderful achievement for our school community and reinforces our school vision and mission to ensure we are a compassionate and inclusive community respecting the dignity of all and inspiring continual growth in faith, learning and wellbeing.
Thank you and God Bless,
Mary MacKillop’s Feast Day
Next week we will celebrate Mary MacKillop’s Feast day on Tuesday 8 August. On this day we will focus on the value of Determination and showcase some of the work we have been doing in Mathematics. Families are welcome to attend. The program for the day is as follows:
- 8:30 - 9:00 am Parent/carer Workshop on Mathematics in the School Hall
- 9:15 am - Whole School Liturgy in the school Hall. Families welcome
- 10:00 am - Classroom mathematics sessions. Families invited to attend and participate
- 11:30 am - STEM fair for classes
- 2:00 pm - STEM fair for families.
- 2:30 - 3:00 pm Parent/carer Workshop on Mathematics in the School Hall (Repeat).
NEW Homework Procedure
After a period of consultation and feedback from families we have developed a Homework Procedure. This procedure will come into effect from now however some grades may require a period of adjustment. We would not normally begin a procedure like this halfway through the year however we feel it is necessary to be clear about the expectations for everyone.
System Professional Development
On Wednesday Mrs Browne, Mr Farrugia and Mrs Claremont will be attending a System Professional Development day. This day is being led by Helen Timperley, Professor Emeritus of Education. She will facilitate this day elaborating on the continuous nature of inquiry through the Spiral of Inquiry model, and provide practical guidance on how to apply it in a real school environment. On this day Mrs Colleen Easton will be the relief principal.
Mr O’Brien’s Anniversary
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.
St Dominic’s Feast Day
St Dominic’s Feast Day is on August 3 in Australia. Due to the close nature of both Feast Days St Mark MacKillop and St Dominic we will hold our celebrations for his feast day over to Term 4.
Western Region Athletics Carnival
We wish our students attending the Western Region Athletics Carnival on Friday 4 August all the best.
School Uniform - Amendment
Moving forward children will be allowed to wear coloured runners. We appreciate that predominantly white runners can be challenging to purchase at times and do get dirty. Children may wear coloured runners that are designed for sport and running. It is essential they wear a shoe that provides support for high impact activities including running and jumping. Students may NOT wear fashion style shoes such as Jordans, Converse, basketball shoes or strong fluorescence colours and patterns. The runner should be a basic runner worn for sport.
We thank you for your support in ensuring your students are wearing the appropriate uniform at all times.
Sport News
Western Region Athletics
This Friday (4th August), The St Paul’s Athletics team will compete at the Western Region Athletics Carnival. This is the next step in the athletics pathway for our students. Students will be competing in their individual events to gain a spot at the Wollongong Dio Selection Trials.
We wish our athletes all the best at this event.
Basketball Gala Day
St Paul’s will be hosting a Basketball Gala Day involving the Highlands Catholic Primary schools along with St Anthony’s Picton. This will be on Friday 15th September. A limited number of teams will be able to attend this day and we will be asking for nominations from Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 shortly. Unfortunately we cannot send all students who nominate. This is not a competitive day, nominations are open to all who wish to participate.
Confirmation
The Confirmation program will begin this term, with the Confirmation ceremony taking place on Wednesday 20th September.
Enrolments for Confirmation have now closed.
Classes will be held at 8.30am on Sunday 6 Aug, 13 Aug, 20 Aug, 27 Aug, 10 Sep, 17 Sept followed by attendance of the 10am Mass which is compulsory. There will be no class on Father’s Day 3 Sept and on the 17 Sept there will be practice after the 10am Mass starting at 11am.
Year 6 Bishop Mass
Students in Year 6 attended Mass with the Bishop on Wednesday 26th July at St Thomas Aquinas in Bowral. They had a wonderful time and enjoyed answering the Bishop’s questions during the homily and meeting students from other schools.
Mary MacKillop
We will hold a whole school liturgy in the Church on Tuesday 8th August, commencing at 9:15 am. All are welcome to attend.
Assumption of Mary
We will hold a Whole School Mass in the school hall on Tuesday 15th August to celebrate the Assumption of Mary. This will commence at 12:00 midday. All are welcome to attend.
Catherine du Bois
Religious Education Coordinator
They will be closed on the 12th of August and hope to re-open in the new premises on 16th August.
You will then find them at:
3/458 Argyle Street, Moss Vale
There is a new summer uniform item available for Girls, starting in Term 4.
You can now try on and pre order 'Tailored Girls Shorts' from Whytes at Moss Vale for $49.95 from Mid June.
They are a stretch gabardine fabric with:
- Wide curved waistband with 2 buttons
- 2 front pockets
- 2 back pockets
Girls could wear these in Term 4 and Term 1, along with the short sleeve blue button up collared shirt, also available from Whytes.
The other summer uniform option for girls is still the the dress.
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.
Payment of School fees
See document from CEO below:
Injuries
If a student has sustained an injury please inform the school office as we have to do a care plan and risk assessment. Please also forward any ED report or doctor letter as well.
Leave for students
If a student is going on leave for 10 days or more, parents will need to apply in writing and in advance for this leave.
Withdrawal
If you intend to withdraw your child from the school, the withdrawal form is available from the office. We currently have a waitlist, so advance notification would be appreciated.
Book Club
The latest Book Club Catalogue was sent home at the beginning of the term. If you would like to place an order, please have it in via the Scholastic website or app by Monday 7th August.
On Tuesday 1st August, we had a visit from Opera Australia who performed 'El Kid'. It was based on Three Billy Goats Gruff, a 50 minute Opera using the popular tunes of Bizet's Carmen. It was introducing the drama of Opera to primary school students.
On Tuesday 29th August we will celebrate book week with our book week parade. Students can come to school dressed in costume and they can change into casual clothes for the rest of the day.
Families are welcome to come along to the parade to watch. Provided the weather is nice, we will have it out in the playground.
We will start at around 9:15am to 9:20am. We anticipate finishing by around 10am.
Our aim is to have our parade themed around Australian Authors.
More info to come.
On Friday 11th August, Kindergarten will celebrate 100 days of Kindergarten!
Kindergarten students can come dressed as a 100 year old person (or their sports uniform).
We will be doing lots of activities around the number 100!
On Monday 14th August, Year 5 and Year 6 will be going on an excursion to Canberra.
They will visit the War Memorial, Parliament House and the National Electoral Education Centre.
They will depart the school at 6:30am and return at 5:45pm.
Congratulations to the following students who were awarded the Principal's Award in Week 2
| Kindergarten | Eleanor | Martin |
| Year 1 | Riyaz | Joshi |
| Year 2 | Peyton | Mathias |
| Year 3 | Georgia | Allison |
| Year 4 | Nevaeh | Hine |
| Year 5 | Lilly | Allen |
| Year 6 | Jordy | Norman |
Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a Merit Award in Week 2
| Kindergarten | Sahas | Basnet |
| Year 1 | Hugo | Allen |
| Year 2 | Henry | Cutroni |
| Year 2 | Tyler | Wray |
| Year 3 | Katie | Cumming |
| Year 4 | Madeline | Hely |
| Year 5 | Shannon | O'Meley |
| Year 6 | Liam | Edmends |
Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a Mission Star Award in Week 2
| Kindergarten | Nicholas | Wray |
| Year 1 | Aria | Moss |
| Year 2 | Beau | Figtree |
| Year 3 | Leo | Doyle |
| Year 4 | Summer | Cuttriss |
| Year 5 | Odhran | Connolly |
| Year 6 | Felix | Bratkowski |
Seasons for Growth - Week 5
Please find attached a letter and poster regarding Seasons For Growth.
Warm regards,
Bernadette Taylor
Pastoral Support Worker
- 8:30 - 9:00 am Parent/carer Workshop on Mathematics in the School Hall
- 9:15 am - Whole School Liturgy in the school Hall. Families welcome
- 10:00 am - Classroom mathematics sessions. Families invited to attend and participate
- 11:30 am - STEAM fair for classes
- 2:00 pm - STEAM fair for families.
- 2:30 - 3:00 pm Parent/carer Workshop on Mathematics in the School Hall (Repeat).
What is the Parent/Carer Workshop?
The workshop will focus on the current practice of teaching and learning mathematics in our schools and how you can support your children in being confident and capable students of mathematics. Topics covered are:
- How is Maths taught today in Primary School
- What Maths is taught today in Primary School
- How do children record their work
- The Language of Mathematics
- How can I help my child at home
- Question and Answer
We would love to see you there!
Road Safety
Keep your child safe
Your primary aged child is still developing an understanding of danger and safety. While they are often keen to do things for themselves, an adult must always be responsible for your child in the traffic environment.
Your child is a vulnerable road user. They are still developing the skills that help them to judge the direction of sound and the speed and distance of vehicles. Your child is physically small, making it harder for drivers to see them. They may be easily distracted and tend to only be able to focus on one thing at a time. This means that they find it difficult to deal with sudden changes in the traffic environment.
Your child may be able to tell you the rules and how to keep safe near in and around vehicles, but in reality, will not always be able to apply them.
This excerpt has been taken from safetytown.com.au
St Paul's Moss Vale provides all students with a generalist counselling service. The School Student and Family Program is facilitated by CatholicCare and funded by the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong. The School Counsellors are here to support students' welfare and well-being and work closely with students and school staff to meet the individual needs of each student.
This term, we now have Bryan McDade (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and Rochelle Ingate (Fridays) working at the school.
The school counselling team at St Paul's work with students in various areas. These include:
- Individual counselling for students
- Support for parents
- Consultations with school staff
- Case management and referral to external agencies
Students can access school counselling for a range of different reasons, such as:
- Family and relationship breakdown
- Self-esteem and confidence
- Anger management
- Stress, anxiety and depression
- Grief and loss
- Suicide ideation and self-harm
- Social skills
- Confidence and resilience building
In term 3 we are looking forward to facilitating group activities focusing on subjects relevant to students and include topics such as mindfulness, communication, anger and anxiety management.
Students wanting counselling need consent from both parents via the intake and referral forms which can be accessed through the school.
If you would like to access the school counselling service, please complete an intake and referral form.
We look forward to working with the students at St Paul's this term and are more than happy to answer any questions you might have.
Bryan McDade & Rochelle Ingate
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
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Listening to others Social Awareness
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Please see below the calendar overview for Term 3 2023:
| Week 3 |
Tuesday 1 August Opera Australia Incursion K-6 Friday 4 August Western Region Athletics Carnival |
| Week 4 |
Tuesday 8 August Mary Mackillop Whole School Liturgy at the Church 9:15am Tuesday 8 August St Paul's STEM Fair Thursday 10 August Assembly 2:15pm Friday 11 August 100 Days of Kindergarten |
| Week 5 |
Monday 14 August Year 5 and 6 Excursion to Canberra Tuesday 15 August Assumption of Mary Whole School Mass in the Hall 12pm Friday 18 August Mufti Day for Year 5 Mini Vinnies Winter Appeal |
| Week 6 |
Thursday 24 August Assembly 2:15pm |
| Week 7 |
Tuesday 29 August Book Week Parade Wednesday 30 August Fathers Day Breakfast 8am Wednesday 30 August Fathers Day Stall |
| Week 8 |
Thursday 7 September Assembly 2:15pm |
| Week 9 |
Wednesday 13 September Kindergarten Excursion to Calmsley Hill City Farm Friday 15 September Basketball Gala Day Friday 15 September P&F Movie Night at Empire Cinemas |
| Week 10 |
Thursday 21 September Assembly 2:15pm Friday 22nd September PUPIL FREE DAY |
Raising Fathers
Fathering from the Front Line
You are invited to a special evening event on 28 August 2023 in Campbelltown with Robert Falzon from menALIVE, as he unpacks practical advice and shares stories that are powerfully important, informative, and instructional for fathering in today’s world.
In an age where there is training to do almost everything, there are so many fathers who are in desperate need of tips and tools to do one of the most important and impactful tasks on earth – Fathering! – and this evening will be a source of great formation and encouragement for dads.
Details:
Speaker: Robert Falzon: Fathering from the Front Line
Topic: Fathering from the Front Line
Date: Monday 28 August 2023
Time: 7 - 8.30 pm
Location: Level 1, Micah House Resource Centre, 35A Cordeaux Street, Campbelltown
Cost: Free
For more information and bookings visit: DOW Raising Fathers Evening.
Upcoming Webinar
As part of CCSP’s ongoing collaboration with eSafety the Term 3 parent education webinar Online relationships and consent: Sending nudes and sexting will be held on 15 August 2023.
This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people in secondary school.
It will cover:
- the impact of sharing nude images without consent
- practical suggestions for starting the chat about respectful relationships, consent and pressure to send nudes.
- where to get support for a young person who has experienced abuse.
- the impact of sharing nude images without consent
Webinar details
Tuesday 15 August 7.30pm – 8.00pm