Early arrivals and Departures

Parents and carers are reminded that supervision does not begin until 8:20 am. Children should not be dropped at school prior to this time.  If in the extreme circumstance that a family requires assistance prior to the drop off time then they must make an appointment with the principal to discuss.

Families are also discouraged from taking their children from school early as this is considered an absence and impacts on learning time.

Attendance

Regular school attendance is important for faith, learning and wellbeing growth. CEDoW launched an updated attendance policy this year and there are new procedures in managing attendance. Parents are discouraged from taking their children on holidays during school time. Any time away that equals five or more days must have the following form completed. 

https://forms.dow.catholic.edu.au/to/yVv9DA.

When you go to add the absence into compass if your dates are five or more days then you will be automatically redirected to complete this form.

Should you have any issues please contact the school office.

Catholic Care has been consulting with us in order to provide services for families in the Southern Highlands. Currently services are provided in the Illawarra and Macarthur area and families from the Southern Highlands can attend although this is not ideal, hence the reason we have been consulting to bring the service to the Southern Highlands.

Catholic Care surveyed families and found  parents are seeking additional support in how to help their children manage their mental health and wellbeing. As a result they have put together some group sessions to provide support for families.  Groups will be available in the St Paul’s School Hall from Term 2 and Catholic Care will also be available to support families with counselling services at a location to be determined. Bookings must be made directly with Catholic Care. Please see the flyer for further information on how to do this. This is a great opportunity for families and we encourage you to consider how it can be of support for you.

So you have watched Adolescence… Where to Turn for Advice

Image courtesy of Netflix

For any parent who has watched the Netflix drama Adolescence and was left highly disturbed by the harmful impact that social media is having on young men and boys, you are not alone. 

It’s hard to think of a show that has captured the world’s attention so fully and shone a much-needed light on the dangerous impact of misogynistic content, algorithms and influencers on the minds of young men and boys.  

Shockingly, despite our best efforts as parents to raise great kids, it is not a fair fight when tech companies and algorithms can influence our teenagers within seconds.  

As Australia’s national online safety educator, nothing is more important to us than ensuring young people are safe to create, connect and explore the wonders of technology and the internet.

It’s what motivates us in every aspect of our work, whether we’re connecting with educators, parents and young people to develop digital literacy and resilience resources, encouraging the tech industry to take a Safety by Design approach by putting safety at the forefront of the design, or developing guidance to prevent under 16-year-olds from having accounts on certain social media services.

eSafety Resources

eSafety resources to help you and your community navigate the risks facing young people online:

• Register for our free 45-minute parent webinar, exploring the online experiences of boys and young men, to understand the impact of social media, gaming, and influencers on attitudes, behaviours and sense of identity
   
• Listen to ABC Fran Kelly and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant unpack the themes of Adolescence, including toxic masculinity and the online manosphere
   
• Listen to ABC Big Ideas! to hear eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant and other experts in their fields discuss how parents can better support young people to navigate the risks and threats online
   
• Read our blog about how eSafety is shining a light on the dark forces manipulating our teenagers
   
• Read eSafety's young men online research series which explores young men's experiences and how they can be supported to develop healthy and positive masculinities
   
• For the young person in your life: explore our resources for young people. 

Athletics Carnival

Following a successful application for a Sporting Schools Grant, we have engaged the services of “No Limits Sports” to run the Field Athletics Events.  This will involve 6 weeks of learning how to throw and jump for the following events – Discus, Shot Put and Long Jump.  “No Limits Sports” will then measure the throws and jumps which we will use to select the athletes to compete at the Western Region.  This means that students need to wear their sports uniform on Fridays.

We will still have the Track Events at school as outlined below:

Date:

Tuesday 13^th May 2025 - Track/running Events - Kindergarten to Yr 6

Venue:

St Paul’s - Oval

Time:

Events will commence at 9:15am

Attire:

The children are to wear their full sports uniform, including a hat and sunscreen and they may need a tracksuit and coat. They will also need some form of groundsheet / towel to sit on. Children are encouraged to show their House Colours with ribbons, coloured T-shirt, etc. No crepe paper please.

Need:

The children will need plenty of drinks, their morning tea and lunch. 

Parents are welcome to attend and there will be a coffee van onsite on this day.

100 m events are separate for each age group (8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 years) whereas all other track and field events are categorised into three groups:  Junior (ages 8 - 10), Under 11 and Senior (ages 12 and over).  As with all sports in the diocese, the age your child turns this year determines which age level they are placed in.  In order to qualify to represent the School at the Diocesan level, student must have competed at our School carnival and must turn 8 years of age this year.

If you decide to take your child home early from the Carnival, they need to be signed out with their teacher.

All students will take part in the 100m races and tabloids.  Students need to nominate for the 200m, 800m races by completing the google form by 9^th May

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Good luck to Scout E who is attending the Rugby Trials on Friday

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Good luck to those students who will be representing the school at the Diocesan Cross Country next Tuesday 6th May.  We still need a parent volunteer to act as a marshall on the day, so if you are available, please let the office know.  Mr Farrugia will be attending the event.

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Thank you to the staff, students and families who attended the ANZAC Day march in Moss Vale last Friday.