Thank you and God Bless,

World Teachers Day

On Friday we celebrate World Teachers day. This day is about acknowledging all the work our teachers do to ensure  students are able to learn and grow. Teaching is a vocation and a teacher's work is never done.  Thank you to the teachers of St Paul's for the work they do in living the vision and mission of St Paul's. We take your hat off to you for the time, energy and commitment you give each and every day.

Justin Coulsin

We were fortunate to have Justin speak at our school in week 1. Justin had some key messages: 

• children thrive when we understand and meet their basic psychological needs;
• our job is not to fix our kids, but to create an environment that supports their growth and development;
• children flourish when we minimise control, but maximise our warmth and involvement, and establish healthy boundaries;
• He encourages the use of the three E’s - Explore, Explain, Empower.

If you were unable to attend and would like more information about his work you can access it via his website. The talk he gave was about his book the Parenting Revolution which can be found on his website. His website called Happy Families. It has lots of tips and access to information. His goal is for “parents, teachers, and those who work with children to see them for the precious humans they are; to connect with them in meaningful ways; and to guide those children to become strong, caring, whole adults.” This is very much about who we are as a Catholic school and it was great that we could provide the opportunity for the community along with St Thomas Aquinas at Bowral and St Michaels at Mittagong.

Cultural Sharing Morning Tea

We would love you to join us on Friday morning between 9am and 11am for our Cultural Sharing morning tea. Thank you to the Perera Family who are generously providing the food for this morning tea. All are welcome including your children who can play in the hall.

Transition to School Playgroups

Next week our Transition to School Playgroups begin. This is a wonderful opportunity for our 2024 Kindergarten students to get to know each other and start to see what school is all about. These groups will run on Wednesday and Friday afternoons from 1:45 to 2:45pm. 

Personal Planning Meetings

These meetings have been taking place this week and last week. If you have not had a meeting and would like to please contact the office to arrange a time. Personal Plannings meetings are for those children who have a personal plan.

Year 6 End of Year Events

A letter has been sent home today through compass outlining all the end of year events for Year 6.

Year 5 Leadership Preparation

A letter was sent home in week one via compass outlining the leadership process. If you did not receive it please contact the office.

New Curriculum Preparation

We are preparing to begin implementing the new curriculums in English and Maths for Years 3 - 6. This work is necessary and important to ensure a smooth transition for staff. The new curriculums are similar to the current curriculums being taught but with new and improved features for teachers. Mrs Browne, Mrs Claremont and Mrs Adams have been to an English day and will be attending a Maths day in a few weeks. 

Book Fair

The annual book fair will be taking place from the 30th October – 3rd November.

Parents are most welcome to come and view the books and other items before (8:15 – 8:45am) or after (3:00 – 3:30pm) school. If you cannot attend but would like your child to purchase something then please ensure that the envelope comes with them indicating the preference of what you want them to buy. Payment can be made via the attached QR Code via Scholastic, EFTPOS via Scholastic in the Library or cash can be sent to the school (please enclose exact amount of cash as money is not
held at school and no change can be given).

Other books will be available for families to purchase as donations to the Library. Families who make donations towards these will have a name plate put inside the front cover and will be allowed to borrow the book first. These books can be paid for at the School Office as they are not supplied by Scholastic.

All the children will have the opportunity to view items before the book fair where they will be given the opportunity to fill in a wish list (attached to the wish list will be a QR code). This will give you an idea of the cost of items. There is no expectation for families to purchase however funds raised from this event go to much needed resources for our school!

Spring Solstice - Turning of the Mary Poppins Statue

At the beginning of the holidays Shannon and Felix were invited to turn the Mary Poppins Statue. This is a special event in Bowral to mark the fact that the author of Mary Poppins - P. L. Travers lived in Bowral. 

Innes Road Dismissal Procedure

The following message was sent to all families via Compass on October 16.

Innes Road and the egress access to the playground from Innes Road is used for afternoon pickup for children travelling home with their parents or carers. The current system of dismissal has recently come up in discussions regarding safety concerns and parent feedback regarding the social aspect of school pick up. 

The school has attempted several other systems to manage a safe pick up and exit from the school. Our new dismissal procedure from Innes Road now has parents walking up the driveway of Innes Road and entering onto the school grounds.  

Parents enter the school via the double gate on Innes Road after a staff member has opened them, walk up the egress, through the school gates and pick their child up from the school grounds and then leave via the same way.  

This new procedure aims to deliver positive safety outcomes for everyone and allow for some community interactions to take place. This new procedure will happen as of today (Monday 16th October). The students have had some time practising this today and staff members will be present to facilitate the smooth transition.

Thank you for your support with the smooth transition for this new procedure. Over the past week we have felt that there has been an increase to the safety aspects of dismissal. I would also like to remind families that during dismissal, the adventure playground is considered “out of bound” and any sports equipment is not to be used.

We ask for your cooperation with such matters affecting the safety of our students and their families. Please do not hesitate to contact the school with any questions or concerns.

Thank you,

Grandfriend's Day

We will be celebrating Grandfriend’s day on Wednesday 1^st November with a whole school liturgy in the hall at 12:00 midday. During this liturgy, a special photo slideshow of many of our students with their grandparents will be shown.

After the liturgy, grandparents and special friends will be able to visit classrooms to see their grandchildren and watch/participate in some learning activities. Grandparents and special friends are invited to bring in an old item to show the children if they wish (such as an old toy or even their own report card from when they were a student). They will also be able to visit the book fair during this time. Finally, at 1:30, when second break begins, visitors will be able to stay for a picnic on the playground (BYO).

The theme of this day is KINDNESS, which ties in with one of our patron saints, Saint Dominic.

All grandparents, family members and special friends are warmly invited to attend on this day.

Thank you

Bernadette Taylor

Pastoral Support Worker