God loves courageous and generous souls.

Mary MacKillop

Dear Families,

This coming Sunday is Father’s Day. We wish all fathers and father figures a very happy Father's Day.  We hope that you get to spend it with the people you love. Often our Dads are courageous and generous souls and it’s because above anything else they love their family and would do anything to protect them. The P&F have organised a BBQ on Wednesday morning under the School Hall cola. We hope you enjoy the morning with your children and each other. Only children who have a parent or carer attending may attend the BBQ for safety reasons. Thank you  to the P&F and parent helpers  for organising this event.

We are very close now to meeting with the Cyclic Inquiry panel to share our story as a school. In the lead up to the preparation for these two days, staff have reflected on what we have achieved over the past four years and analysed various datasets to identify where we are heading for the next four years. This has been a joyous experience as we have much to celebrate and to look forward to. I would like to thank the staff for their level of participation and professionalism in walking through this process. I would also like to acknowledge the community, students and families for engaging in the Tell Them for Me survey earlier this year. This data gave us great feedback and insights that we have been able to use towards future ideas. 

On Thursday 14 September a member of the panel would like to meet with a parent group to engage in a discussion about the school. If you are available from 12 noon on that day for about an hour please let the office know. We would love to have you.

With Spring just around the corner, enjoy the burst of new life and smell of freshly cut grass. As the days get longer may you enjoy the outdoors and feel a sense of renewal.

Thank you and God Bless,

Teacher Aide Appreciation Day

Today is Teacher Aide Appreciation Day. We are very fortunate to have wonderful School Support Officers who fulfil this role in our school. Our teaching staff will tell you they couldn’t do their job without their support. We are extremely grateful for the work they do for our school community and the dedication they have towards their roles.

Book Week

Thank you to everyone for your participation in Book Week. It has been a wonderful day today seeing the level of enthusiasm and participation. A special thanks to Mrs Smith and Mrs Gillespie for the preparation towards the day and the Burgess family for donating the printing cost of the large display in the library.

System Professional Development

Mrs Browne, Mr Farrugia and Mrs Claremont will be at System Professional Development with the diocese on Wednesday 30 August. Sandra Hogan will be the relief principal on the day.

Body Image Presentation by the Butterfly Foundation

We have been fortunate to receive an opportunity to have a member of the Butterfly Foundation present to our Year 6 class. Joining us on the day will be Year 6 from St Thomas Aquinas Bowral and St Michael’s Mittagong. This day is being funded by the Bowral District Children’s Foundation. We appreciate their generosity in providing this great service to our schools. A letter was sent to Year 6 parents via compass yesterday with further details.

Principal’s Retreat

Mrs Browne will be on retreat on Tuesday and Wednesday in Week 8.  Mr Farrugia will be acting principal on these days.

Screen Awareness week

This week parents are encouraged to check in with their children about their devices. Screen Awareness week is a week where we can sit with our children and have a look at what they are viewing. Online environments can be wonderful places where we can interact and learn so many things but they can also be dangerous and unsafe. As parents and carers it is vital we check in regularly to see what our children are viewing and accessing. Moving forward each term we will name Week 7 as Screen Awareness week and prompt families to check in with their children at home. At school we will go through the user agreement with the children and remind them of their responsibilities in using technology and what to do if they have a problem. The eSafety Commissioner is an excellent website for families to source fact sheets on challenging situations and how to be safe online. Another site is the Thinkuknow site that has a seven day challenge for families. Please see the attached resource which guides families through a safety audit of devices.

The Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong has a Social Media Policy and it is recommended that families review the expectations named in this policy on a regular basis.

7_day_family_online_safety_challenge.pdf

7_day_family_online_safety_challenge _pdf 723.84 KB

Connection to Country Day

On Monday 11 September we will be holding a connection to Country Day. This day will be an opportunity to engage with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Inslader community representatives in storytelling and games.

Berrima Buslines

Students must show their bus pass when catching the bus. All drivers will be checking these over the coming weeks. Students who do not have a bus pass will be charged a fee. Please contact Berrima Buslines if you have any questions about bus passes and travel fares.

St Paul’s participates in the 1:1 iPad school managed  program from Year 3. Parents purchase the iPad through school and pay for it over two years in the school fees. This program is compulsory. Future details will be sent out later this year.

We currently have vacancies for new enrolments in all year groups except Year 2.  If you know someone who is considering our school, please let them know to download the application from the website or give the school a call.

Sport News

Basketball Gala Day Nominations

Nominations for the Basketball Gala Day need to be in by this Friday 1st September so that teams can be finalised.

The Gala day will take place on Friday 15th September and St Paul's will be hosting at Moss Vale Basketball stadium.  We will be entering a team for Yr 3 & 4 Boys, Yr 3 & 4 Girls, Yr 5 & 6 Boys and Yr 5 & 6 Girls.

If your child would like to attend, please nominate by Friday via this link:

Google Form Link

NSWPSSA Football Competition

Congratulations to Phoebe Abbot who was the Captain of the MacKillop team that competed at the NSW PSSA Football Competition in Nelson Bay from 14th - 18th August.  The MacKillop Team placed 3rd in the competition.

Thank you,

Confirmation

Thank you to the families who have been involved so far in the Confirmation Program. Don’t forget to organise the sponsor for students and work on the Saint Poster, ready to share in Session 5 – 10^th September. Please also think about how many guests you would like to invite to the Confirmation Mass on the 20^th September.

The Confirmation rehearsal will be held on Thursday 14^th at 5pm in the school hall. Students are also required to attend confession on Friday 15^th at 5pm in the church. Alternatively, they can attend confession on Saturday 16^th.

Thank you

New Summer Uniform Item for Girls

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.

Bernadette Taylor

Pastoral Support Worker

The mission of the Bowral District Children’s Foundation is to improve the health and wellbeing of children and youth in the Southern Highlands with a focus on youth mental health.

If you are interested in giving back to the community, whilst having fun and being involved with like-minded people, we are looking for someone to join us specifically in the role of Secretary.  The committee is active and engaged, and will support you in the role.

What’s involved:

**  Taking minutes at our monthly meetings and assembling the agenda.

**  Occasional assistance with correspondence such as mail-outs

** Involvement with organising and attending events – as much or as little participation as you wish.

For more about us, visit www.bdcf.charity

Please direct enquiries to Skye Leicester 0412 599 628

Go 4 Fun

Go4Fun is a free program for NSW children aged 7 to 13 who are above a healthy weight, and their families.

Run by trained health and community professionals, it’s a fun way to build self-esteem and learn about eating well, staying active and living a healthy life.

Go4Fun is running at 9 locations across south western Sydney in Term 4 from Monday 9^th October. People can register by calling 1800 780 900 or visiting go4fun.com.au