Dear Families,

Last Monday the staff participated in a Spirituality day. This day provided an opportunity for staff to deepen their faith and spend time in prayer. This year our focus is to deepen the prayer and liturgical life of the school. In order to do this staff require the opportunity to deepen their own prayer life and understanding of the ways in which they can pray. Being able to spend time contemplating and opening our hearts to God gave us a renewed sense of energy and a chance to think about what this can look like for our students on a daily basis. Throughout this year we will share our strategies and look ultimately to inviting families to join us in  prayer offering some different experiences. Our first strategy was to embed Christian Mediation into our daily routines. This prayer experience does not require us to do any more than be still and silent using the word Maranatha,  “Come Lord Jesus” to open our hearts to the possibility of feeling the presence of God. Staff and students can already feel the difference in their lives just by being able to be still.

On Wednesday Fr Marek blessed our new prayer garden. This is a space where people can go to think about things and talk to God and it is a place to remember those who were a part of our community and are no longer with us. It is wonderful seeing the children spending time there. This year marks 10 years since Mrs Chris Smith passed away. After her passing the P&F and school developed a trust fund to sponsor an annual award for  students that displays qualities like Chris. Rather than have such a large sum of money sitting in the bank the P&F moved to sponsor the award annually and have the funds used to purchase the new sign board in the back of the hall where the student names are kept and to put the remaining funds into the prayer garden. The P&F were also successful in obtaining a BDCU grant to go towards the prayer garden with a focus on providing a sensory experience for students.  As a result we were able to build a permanent structure that will last a lifetime and in a spot that is central to the school and parish community with plants that have a smell and provide a textured touch experience. 

We would like to thank the P&F committee members who did the hard work behind the scenes in applying for the grant, BDCU for granting us the money and Cameron from CMSCAPES for building such a beautiful space. We would also like to thank Rod Smith who came on behalf of the Smith family. This garden is in memory of Chris Smith (Teacher), Rachel Neville (SSO Office), Don O’Brien (Principal) and Mari Sullivan (Teacher) and all those who have been a part of the St Paul’s community and are now at rest in heaven.

Next week we will celebrate Harmony day on Thursday. Harmony day is a day to recognise all the cultures that make up our amazing country Australia. We have been blessed to have families move to Australia and in particular the Southern Highlands bringing with them aspects of their own cultures while learning and engaging in our Australian culture. It is the blend of cultures that makes our community unique. Harmony day is a chance to celebrate what makes St Paul’s Community such a special community full of a variety of cultural backgrounds. On this day the children will learn about the different continents that make up our world. At the end of the day we will celebrate with an assembly that will showcase our unique community. Last year we aligned three of our values with  our saints; St Paul - Respect, St Mary MacKillop - Determination and St Dominic - Kindness.

It is fitting that we align our fourth value of Community with Harmony Day.  When we say we value community we are saying that we respect each other's differences and use our individual skills and talents to contribute to the benefit of the community. Overarching all of this is Spirituality. We are Catholic however we have the benefit of a range of religious backgrounds in our community which contributes towards growing our own spirituality. Regardless of our religious background we each have our own spirituality and it is through the exposure of our Catholic religion and learning about other religions that we deepen our personal spirituality and connection with God.

God Bless,

Morning Drop Off

Sacramental Program: Reconciliation

The enrolment period for First Reconciliation has now closed.

Classes will be held on Sundays only: 16th, 23rd, 30th March & 6th April.

On Thursday 20th March, we will be celebrating Harmony Day as a school community.  Staff and students are invited to wear their cultural dress or colours on this day.  Alternatively, students can wear orange (the colour of Harmony Day) or aussie colours (green and/or gold).  Closed in shoes and hats are still required. 

Throughout the day, students will be participating in a range of engaging activities to learn about different cultures around the world.  Our Year 6 students will be involved in the running of these activities. 

In the afternoon, we will hold a special Harmony Day assembly, commencing at 2:15 in the school hall.  We will listen to the Lord’s Prayer in different languages and learn more about the purpose of Harmony Day.  We will also showcase some of the activities that students participated in.

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.