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“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:43
(from the Gospel for the solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Year C)
Dear parents and carers,
Our Pets Mass last Sunday was a wonderful community celebration. It was fantastic to see so many creatures great and small come along to Mass with their owners. The children were really excited to introduce their pets to each other. Thank you to everyone who came along and participated in our faith community. A special thanks to those who contributed to the Mass be it by reading, singing, serving or processing with the gifts. We hold the Pets Mass each year in November. At the end of the Mass, everyone went home with a smile on their faces and joy in their hearts.
Swimming Carnival tomorrow Friday 22 November at Moss Vale Pool
We will hold our annual swimming carnival tomorrow Friday 22 November at Moss Vale Pool. We anticipate commencing events by 9:45am. A running order for the day is published below.
Where: children should come to school as usual. We will walk the children to the pool after roll call.
What to bring: children are to wear their swimmers under their sports uniforms and bring a change of underwear for the end of the day. The children can wear a colour house shirt if they wish. Each child will need a towel, hat, recess and lunch. Please apply and send sunscreen with your child for the walk to and from the pool. We suggest bringing extra drinking water.
Seating: the children will be seated in House Groups in the seats adjacent to the pool at the rear of the swimming complex; children will be marshalled for events from this area; children are required to return to this area after events and remain there awaiting further marshalling directions; there will be regular class based water events throughout the day; children need to be in seating area listening for instructions.
Event nominations: as advised children have been placed in the events they have nominated with you to participate in. Our expectation is that children will participate in all events for which they have been nominated. Withdrawal is on medical grounds only. Similarly, children will not be included on the day in events in which they have not been nominated. We ask for your cooperation and support in this.
Kinder and Year 1 arrangements: Kinder and Year 1 will arrive at the pool at at around 11:30am. The team songs will take place then. The Kinders and Year 1 children will have their nominated events and water activities before returning to school before the end of the carnival.
Early departure: If you are taking your child home from the pool, please let your child’s teacher know. Kinder and Year 1 children can be collected from school after you have picked up your Year 2 to 6 children.
Return to school: the children who have not been picked up from the pool, will be walked back to school in time for the usual daily dismissal routine.
Please note: the pool has asked that there be no hair dye, streamers or face paints. These can stain and contaminate the pool. We ask that children not use the pool canteen.
The swimming carnival has been a highlight of our school calendar. The carnival emphasises participation and good sporting attitude. We are all there to encourage, support and celebrate our children’s achievements. I’m sure it will be a fantastic day focused on the children.
Swimming Carnival Awards Assembly Thursday 28 November at 2:20pm
We will award event ribbons, swimming age champions and house points at a special school assembly on Thursday 28 November at 2:20pm in the school hall. Everyone is welcome to join us in celebrating the outcome of the 2019 swimming carnival. Please note that there will be no Friday assembly that week.
Drought Support Initiative
Last week, I let you know about an initiative to support a school in New England being severely impacted by the drought. St Mary of the Angels, Guyra is a community that requires urgent support and attention. The town of Guyra has been without water for five months and is on category 5 water restrictions. Many of the children of the school come from farms. Their families have been without income for several years. The impact extends to the town where businesses, trades and services are being impacted. Families are concerned that they may not be able to afford Christmas gifts for the children.
After speaking with the Principal, she believes that the psychological lift for the community and her children gained from knowing that people from as far away as Moss Vale are thinking of them in their time of need would be invaluable. We want our children to have an experience of what St Mary MacKillop directs us to do, that is“see a need and do something about it”.
What we would like to do is to provide child to child gifts from our children to the children of St Mary’s.
We are calling for small gifts (pencils, colouring books, stickers, books) that could be placed into a small, shoe box size container to give to each of the sixty families of the school. We don’t expect expensive gifts. A visit to the Reject Shop with your children helping to choose small gifts would be a great way to gather donations together. We will have the children write messages of support to be included in each box along with a prayer card. Mrs Burton and her husband have volunteered to drive the gifts up to Guyra and deliver them to the school on Thursday 12 December.
Could you begin sending gifts, small boxes and/ or Christmas wrapping paper into school next week. We will place a box in the school foyer. Teachers will also collect donations each day from the children. In order to have the gift boxes made up and ready, we will need all donations to be sent into school by Friday 29 November.
iPad arrangements for Year 3 to Year 6 in 2020- survey due Friday 29 November.
Over the past few months we have writing to you regarding the changes to our 1:1 iPad program at St Paul’s. Year 3 are participating in the school school managed device program. Our Year 4 to 6 classes who have formerly participated in a voluntary Bring Your Own iPad (BYOI) have been presented with options for participation. For the majority of families who already have an iPad for their child to use at school, the decision is to join the school managed program or maintain the existing non managed arrangement. Families who currently do not have an iPad for their child are given the option of purchasing an iPad through the school to be paid off over two years. Alternatively, those families may wish to source their own iPad for their Year 4 to 6 child for use at school. These options have been explained in detail in our correspondence. You have a copy in your COMPASS account for your reference.
We need to place orders for the purchase of the iPads. We need to know what your intentions are for participation in our school 1:1 iPad program in 2020 and onwards.
I ask that ALL Year 4 to Year 6 families for 2020 (our current years 3 to 5 classes) complete the short survey below for each child you have in Year 4, Year 5 or Year 6 in 2020.
The link to the survey is
https://forms.gle/bxaHN9vCC4P3bnYZ6
I ask that you complete this by Friday 29 November. I thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Kindergarten 2020 playgroup
Our Kindergarten Transition Playgroup concludes with the final session next Tuesday 26 November. It is wonderful to see our new Kinder children, their parents and families are participating, meeting each other and playing together.
Kindergarten 2020 Orientation Thursday 28 November at 9:15am
We will be holding the more formal Kinder Orientation on Thursday 28 November commencing at 9:15am. Please note that this date has moved from the date previously advertised in this newsletter and date claimer. On the morning of the orientation, the children will be dropped off to work in the Kinder classroom. Parents and family members will then meet in the school hall. The current Kinder parents will host a morning tea for our new families at the end of the meeting. The Orientation morning will conclude by 11am.
Year 5 Leadership Day at Santa Sabina Outdoor Education Centre, Talong Friday 29 November
We will be taking our Year 5 children to Talong to participate in a leadership formation day. This is in preparation for the student leadership election process to be held in early December. Candidates for our school student leadership roles will be required to make a brief (1 to 2 minute) speech regarding their understanding of leadership and suitability for the role. The day at Talong is an opportunity to for the children work on team building, collaboration and understanding leadership. We ask that the permission and medical forms sent home last be returned by tomorrow Friday 15 November.
Student Resource Packs for 2020
This year the school introduced student resource packs. These packs include what your child needs at school. The cost of the resource pack is fully covered by your school resource fee. By bulk purchasing we are able to buy items cheaper than is available in retail outlets. In organising this, we no longer need to send home the list on school needs that you need to provide at additional cost. Items such as, for example, pens, pencils, work books, art materials and glue sticks are included in the resource packs. Teachers have worked out what the children need in class. In introducing this efficiency, we are saving you money. The only items we ask you to provide is an art shirt, library bag, pencil case and headphones. We acknowledge that children usually like to choose these items themselves. We are currently organising the student resource packs for 2020. They will be ready for the return to school in January.
Summer Uniforms in Term 4
Now the children have returned to Term 4 they are to be wearing their summer uniforms.
Summer uniforms are worn in Terms 1 and 4. Winter uniforms are worn in Term 2 and 3.
Whytes in their shop front on Argyle Street, Moss Vale and NSW Uniforms (mob: 0400805 596 email: ethnae@drewdesigns.com.au) both stock a full range of our uniforms.
Full Implementation of the new uniform from Term 1 2020
The two year transition period from the old to the new school uniform concludes at the end of Term 4, 2019. From the beginning of the new school year, all children will be expected to be wearing the “new” school uniform that was designed in 2017 and introduced in 2018.
Term 4 date claim
I have included a Term 4 overview of significant dates for your information below. Please take a moment to review these dates in readiness for Term 4.
Skoolbag Closure
In the past we have discussed moving away from Skoolbag and into Compass for all notifications such as the weekly newsletter and notifications to parents.
Skoolbag has now been de-commissioned. There will be no further messages sent via Skoolbag this week or in the future.
They are now sent via email and a compass notification.
Any future notifications will also be sent via compass, with last minute messages sent via SMS. Please make sure SMS notifications are turned on in your Compass settings if you wish to receive the notifications this way.
If you need your Compass log in details again, please contact the school office.
St Paul's Facebook page
Our facebook page is now established and we are enjoying using this platform to promote the positive school community we have here at St Paul's. Please remember to 'like' the St Paul's Moss Vale page (click the link below)
Date claimers for Term 4:
TERM 4 |
|
Week 1 |
SPB4L meeting (Tues 15 Oct) VEX scrimmage at Kiama Year 6 (Fri 18 Oct) Whole School Assembly (Fri 18 Oct) |
Week 2 |
Wingecarribee Environmental Day - Year 5 & 6 (Tues 22 Oct) Educating with a Mission Lens Staff Development Day- no pupils (Fri 25 Oct) |
Week 3 |
Kinder 2020 playgroup in school hall (Tues 29 Oct/ Thurs 31 Oct) Principal & CEDoW meeting (Wed 30 Oct) Book Fair (Thurs 31 Oct & Mon 4 Nov) Grandfriends Mass, open classrooms and picnic (Fri 1 Nov) |
Week 4 |
Melbourne Cup (Tues 5 Nov) Water safety program (Tues 5 to Fri 8 Nov) Kinder 2020 playgroup in school hall (Thurs 7 Nov only) Interest groups (Fri 8 Nov) Fr Richard’s b’day ( Sun 10 Nov) |
Week 5 |
Kinder 2020 playgroup in school hall (Tues 12 Nov/ Thurs 14 Nov) Principal’s and Clergy meeting (Wed 13 Nov) Whole School Assembly (Fri 15 Nov) Pet’s Mass (Sunday 17 Nov) |
Week 6 |
Kinder 2020 playgroup in school hall (Tues 19 Nov/ Thurs 21 Nov) Swimming Carnival (Fri 22 Nov) |
Week 7 |
PP planning- all week Kinder Transition Playgroup (final session Tues 26 Nov) Kinder 2020 Orientation in school hall at 9:15am (Thurs 28 Nov) Whole School Assembly- swimming awards at 2:20pm (Thurs 28 Nov) Year 5 leadership day- Talong (Fri 29 Nov) |
Week 8 |
Principal’s Business meeting- Mon 2 Dec P&F AGM- Tues (3 Dec) PP meetings- Tues to Fri Interest groups (Fri 6 Dec) VEX nationals Adelaide (Fri 6- Sun 8 Dec) |
Week 9 |
Director of Schools Farewell Mass (Thurs 12 Dec) End of Year Mass and Assembly (Fri 13 Dec) Semester 2 Reports issued (Fri 13 Dec) |
Week 10 |
Year 6 farewell Mass (Mon 18 Dec) Year 6 day out/ last day of the year for students (Wed 18 Dec) End of Term 4 for staff (Thurs 19 Dec) |
Pet’s Mass
The Mass for Pets was held at St Paul’s on Sunday 17th November. This was a wonderful opportunity to gather together as a community and give thanks for the amazing animals God has gifted to us. We had many animals in attendance, particularly dogs of all sizes. They all managed to get along relatively harmoniously throughout the Mass.
A huge thank you to all of the children, teachers and parishioners who were involved in this Mass.
Thank you
Catherine du Bois
Religious Education Coordinator















FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL'S DESK
YEAR | STUDENT NAME | REASON |
KINDERGARTEN | Kaitlyn Aguinaldo | Including others in her play |
YEAR 1 | Shannon O'Meley | Speaking kindly to everyone |
YEAR 2 | Xavier Marr | Being a good Samaritan |
YEAR 3 | Isabella Garnett | For being a caring and helpful friend |
YEAR 4 | Angus McVie | Sharing his basketball and including others in a game |
YEAR 5 | Liam Ellis | For being kind and thoughtful |
YEAR 6 | Molly McKeon | For being kind to all and always helping |
This week our Parish Priest Father Richard visited the Year 5 students to talk about the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Father discussed what he does as a priest and why he decided to become a priest. Thank you Father for your visit.




DIOCESAN SPORTS AWARDS
Our sporty Year 6 students Jessica Wray and Lillian Ragan received a Sports Medallion at the Diocesan Sports Awards in Wollongong last Friday night. Here is Jessica with her award on the night.
Well done girls!!
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS FISHING WORKSHOP
Kids fishing workshop for 8-14 yr olds run by NSW Fisheries at Windang on 22nd January. The workshops run for 4 hours, including lessons on casting, knot tying, tackle and rules before 90 minutes fishing. Kids get to take home a quality rod and reel, all for $40. Bookings are essential, contact Stephen on stephen.thurstan@dpi.nsw.
MITTAGONG JUNIOR DISCO