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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
- Naplan Testing - Year 3 & Year 5
- Harmony Mufti Day
- Awards
- Council of Catholic Schools Parent Survey
- Calendar Overview
- Pastoral Support
- STEM Resources
- SWAP IT! News
- SEL Focus
- Canteen for Term 1
- Community News
May the strength of God pilot us, may the wisdom of God instruct us, may the hand of God protect us, may the word of God direct us. Be always ours this day and for evermore.
St Patrick
Dear Families,
This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of St Patrick. St Patrick was known to preach all over Ireland, to pray and express his love for God. He was known to use shamrocks to teach about the Holy Trinity. His life was not easy and he suffered greatly at times. St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. This feast day ties in well with our Harmony Day celebrations the following week. Harmony day is a day where we celebrate our diversity by acknowledging our cultural heritage. Children are invited to dress in clothes or colours that represent their cultural heritage or wear orange the colour of Harmony day. A gold coin donation will be collected and the money raised will go towards Caritas. We are fortunate to have a diverse range of cultures at St Paul’s. As we work towards our vision which is to create a faithful, compassionate community that aspires to lifelong learning, participating and acknowledging events like this will support us in achieving our vision. Two parts of our mission is, a) to be welcoming and inclusive and, b) to respect the dignity of all. By learning about each others backgrounds we are being welcoming, inclusive and respectful. Harmony Day is a great way to increase knowledge and reduce assumptions.
Wishing all our families a wonderful week.
Thank you and God Bless,
NAPLAN
This week Year 3 and Year 5 children participate in NAPLAN testing. These tests provide the school with great data that support us in tracking long term growth. For families it provides you with a snapshot of how your child is progressing in Literacy and Mathematics. These tests are just a sample of your child’s capabilities and should always be compared with other work samples and school based assessments when wanting to truly see how your child is going. NAPLAN is not something that should cause a great deal of stress for students. Students are encouraged to do their best and know that they will have lots of opportunities to learn, practice and show their capabilities throughout the year.
SCREEN AWARENESS WEEK
This week is a great time to check in with yourself and your children’s use around technology and devices. The esafety Commissioner is a great website that provides up to date information on how to support adults in managing online content. Two weeks ago we shared the Smart Devices Procedure with the community. If you didn’t get a chance to review it please take a look. This procedure has been designed to ensure safe use of all smart devices while at school and the expectations around when these devices can and cannot be used.
P&F Meeting Tuesday 19 March 7 pm on Zoom
The P & F meeting has been postponed to next week. We look forward to seeing you on zoom. Class parents are asked to attend so the events calendar can be finalised.
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data - NCCD
The NCCD is an annual process where schools work to ensure adjustments are in place for students with a disability and report this information to the government which results in a funding allocation. Please see the attached letter regarding this process. We will begin holding personal planning meetings towards the end of term.
Emergency Evacuation and LockDown practice
We conducted an Emergency Evacuation practice last week and will practise a lockdown this week. This is necessary to ensure we are prepared should we need to evacuate or lockdown.
Proposed Drainage works in Garrett Street
The council will be completing drainage works from the first week of March until the end of April. Traffic flow will be severely interrupted as one lane will be closed at a time leaving one only one lane/one way access. This work will take up to 8 weeks. Please allow extra time to get to school during this time.
Change of Date for staff Spirituality Day
Please note that the pupil free day for the staff Spirituality day has been changed to Friday 5 April. This is so we can engage the CLEM team from the Catholic Education Office to support us on this day. There will be no one on the school site on this day.
STEM Survey
If you would like to participate in this survey please click on the link below. The survey has been given approval from CEDOW. If you would like to see the letter of approval please contact the school office.
My name is Dr James Deehan and I am interested in learning more about STEM education in the Wollongong Catholic Diocese. The experiences of Catholic and nonmetropolitan schools are often greatly underrepresented in education research, policy and support.
We are seeking for parents/ guardians to complete short (5-10 minute) surveys on their experiences of STEM education:
- Parent/ Guardian Survey - https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7673373/NSW-STEM-Education-Parent-Guardian-Survey
Everyone who responds to our survey will go into the draw to receive a $50 gift card.
Even just one parent/ guardian response would be greatly valued to make sure the perspectives of the St Paul's Catholic Primary School community are represented. It would be appreciated if you could forward the survey links to possible participants.
I would be delighted to discuss this project further if you have any concerns or questions.
Kind regards,
Dr James Deehan
Acting Sub Dean Graduate Studies (Faculty of Arts & Education)
HDR Coordinator
School of Education
Faculty of Arts and Education
Sport News
Swimming:
Congratulations and well done to the following students who represented our school and participated at the Diocesan Swim Trials at Corrimal on Monday 11th March – Teagan C, Grayson H, Tahlia H, Henry H, Matthew H, Dominic B and Odhran C.
Big congratulations to Matthew H who has now qualified for the MacKillop Swim Trials at Homebush on 3 April in the following events: 100m Freestyle, 50m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke, 50m Butterfly and 200m Medley. Good luck Matthew.
Well done to Jesse K and Scout E who participated in the Rugby League Trials at St Greg’s, Gregory Hills on Friday 8th March.
Cross Country:
The school Cross Country will take place onsite at St Paul’s on Thursday 4th April. All students will be participating on the day and parents are welcome to attend. There will be a coffee van onsite for parents and spectators from 9:30am – 12 noon. If parents are available to assist with marshalling on the day, please let the office know. Parents are required give consent via compass. The top 3 students from our carnival will progress to the next level on 7th May at Nowra (students must be turning 8 this year).
Dates to note:
Athletics Field Events on 21 June
Athletics Track Events on 27 June (coffee van onsite)
Cybersafety webinar run by the eSafety Commissioner
Over the past few years I have had many parents ask for advice on parental controls for devices and parental involvement in their child’s online profile. The eSafety Commissioner is running a seminar which addresses this for you. This 30 minute session provides an overview of different types of parental controls and how to set them on smart devices and computers, in apps and on gaming platforms for your child’s safety. It's suitable for parents and carers of children and young people in primary school.
Click here to register.
Thank you,
Please pray for the students who are preparing for the sacrament of First Reconciliation, who are half way through the program. Students will make their First Reconciliation on Thursday 11th April at 10:00am. As this is during school hours, parents are not required to attend.
Catherine du Bois
Religious Education Coordinator
WEEK 7:
WED 13/3- WRITING
THURS 14/3- READING
WEEK 8:
TUESDAY 19/3- LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS
THURS 21/3- NUMERACY-MATHS
Reminder: Students are to have headphones at school.
Kind regards,
Mary Lou Claremont and Simon Farrugia
- Wear orange
- Wear cultural background colours
- Wear cultural costume
Congratulations to the following students who were awarded the Principal's Award in Week 6
| Kindergarten | Billy | Cummings |
| Year 1 | Amelie | Goldsmith |
| Year 2 | Riyaz | Joshi |
| Year 3/4 W | Archie | Anderson |
| Year 3/4 B | Scarlett | McKelvey |
| Year 5 | Eadie | Babula |
| Year 6 | Jesse | Khan |
Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a Merit Award in Week 6
| Kindergarten | Wolfgang | Ryall |
| Year 1 | Zayn | Smith |
| Year 2 | Isla | Hine |
| Year 3/4 W | Grace | Desborough |
| Year 3/4 B | Xavier | Krohn Haertsch |
| Year 5 | Chayut | Promajak |
| Year 6 | Milton | Sheather |
Congratulations to the following students who were awarded a Mission Star Award in Week 6
| Kindergarten | Adalyn | Mathias |
| Year 1 | Esra | Anderson |
| Year 2 | Patrick | Grange |
| Year 3/4 W | Evie | Ireland |
| Year 3/4 B | Oliver | Day |
| Year 5 | Prinsha | Parajuli |
| Year 6 | Lilly | Allen |
Dear Families,
The Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT is conducting a survey to gauge parental involvement in their child's school including their learning.
They are looking to receive feedback on areas that are really important to parents.
Participants have the option to receive a 2024 Faith Diary as a token of appreciation by providing their name, address, and mobile phone number at the end of the survey.
https://ccsp.schoolzineplus.com/survey/57
Please see below the calendar overview for Term 1 2024:
| Week 7 |
Wednesday 13 March - Naplan Writing - Year 3 & 5 Thursday 14 March - Naplan Reading - Year 3 & 5 Friday 15 March - Gymnastics K-6 |
| Week 8 |
Tuesday 19 March - Naplan Language Conventions - Year 3 & 5 Tuesday 19 March - P&F Meeting for Term 1 at 7pm Thursday 21 March - Naplan Numeracy Maths - Year 3 & 5 Thursday 21 March - Assembly 2:15pm Friday 22 March - Harmony Mufti Day Friday 22 March - Gymnastics K-6 |
Week 9 |
Monday 25 March - School Photos Friday 29 March - Good Friday (Public Holiday) |
| Week 10 |
Monday 1st April - Easter Monday (Public Holiday) Thursday 4 April - School Cross Country Thursday 4 April - Assembly 2:15pm Friday 5 April - Pupil Free Day Saturday 6 April - Brigadoon |
| Week 11 |
Monday 8 April - Gymnastics K-6 Friday 12 April - Gymnastics K-6 Friday 12 April - Last day of term 1 |
Morning Tea
Please find attached the details regarding a flyer to invite you to our Cultural Story Sharing Morning Tea on Monday 18th March at 8:30am.
There will be Year 6 Leaders inviting parents at drop off time to the Morning Tea.
Gardening Group
The Gardening Group have been busy in the garden of late. The spinach has been the greatest success along with some herbs and mini potatoes. The photos show the students erecting a new garden bed in preparation for winter planting, and then the journey the spinach has been on.
The journey:
Leanne from Gubbins Mitre 10 Moss Vale donated gardening supplies and spinach seedlings,
St Paul's students planted, grew, and collected the spinach,
The spinach was delivered to the Popin Centre at Moss Vale,
Michele from the Popin Centre arranged for amazing volunteers to cook up some delicious food to donate to people in the community.
This is a wonderful sign of God's work, when the school and community work together to help one and other.
Thank you everyone for your support and especially thank you to the gardeners who do the composting task daily and those who turn up every week to care for the garden.
Warm regards,
Bernadette Taylor
Student Wellbeing Officer
If families are getting rid/throwing out any hot wheels tracks/cars, marbles or ping pong balls the school would be happy to take them to add to our STEM resources.
Accepting “No” for an Answer
Self Management
- Look at the person
- Say ‘Okay’
- Stay calm
- If you disagree, ask later
- Ignore distractions and interactions
We we have a company called Lunch Bunch Canteens who will be fulfilling our lunch orders each Tuesday and Thursday.
Please find the menu below and how to order details.
St Paul's International College
Resilient Hearts Event - Mothers Day Long Lunch
New Active and Creative Kids Vouchers
The new Active and Creative Kids voucher is now available, helping to make activities more affordable for eligible NSW families. Parents, guardians and carers of eligible school-aged children will be able to use two $50 vouchers per calendar year.
About the new program:
- Vouchers are available to those receiving Family Tax Benefit Part A, or Family Tax Benefit Part B, or both
- Vouchers can be downloaded as a QR code and used toward either an eligible physical or creative activity
- The $50 vouchers will be issued in school term 1 and school term 3.
Vouchers must be redeemed before their expiry date
Cancer Council Nutrition Snippets
Aus Kick
U9's All Girls Soccer Competition
Live Life Well
Healthy Family Bulletin