“Go and tell John what you see and hear: 

the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, 

lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, 

and the poor have good news preached to them.”

Matt 11: 4- 5

(from the Gospel for the third  Sunday of Advent, Year A)

Dear parents and carers

At 10:30am this morning Mrs Burton arrived at St Mary of the Angels, Guyra to share our gifts with them. She was accompanied by the Holmes family, whose aunt was, coincidentally a former Principal of the school. I spoke this morning to the current Principal, Mrs Sharon Wittig, who asked me to pass onto you her gratitude on behalf of the whole community at Guyra. She said the overwhelming generosity and kindness shown by St Paul’s has given her whole school community a much needed boost. She commented that being the recipient of such kindness has impressed upon the children of her school the importance of stepping up in times of need and making a contribution to supporting and seeking solutions to those in need. She further noted that this is a kindness that can only be repaid by responding in kind and passing the kindness along to others in need when the time arrives. This is the heart of Jesus’ message. We build the kingdom of God everytime we act in this kind and generous manner. God bless you all for your support of this initiative. It has been positively received and greatly appreciated.

This is a most poignant way to conclude our year together. Christmas is the season of new beginnings and hope for the world. I pray that over the Christmas season you have time to be truly present with your children, families and friends. This is the ultimate gift we have to share- the gift of ourselves. I wish you all a holy, safe and happy Christmas and New Year.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 29 January when our Year 1 to 6 children return to school. Our new Kindergarten children will commence school on Thursday 6 February.

VEX nationals

Last weekend our VEX robotics team competed in the nationals in Adelaide. We placed equal second in the scrimmages. Our two teams ranked third and sixth in the Australian rankings overall. This is a simply amazing outcome. St Paul’s has only been working with STEM and robotics this year. Our children have exceeded our wildest expectations. More significantly they did so with great dignity, respect and pride. We are all very proud of them.

Thank you to the parents who accompanied their children to Adelaide. We are grateful for your support. I believe they too had a great weekend.

I wish to publicly acknowledge the work of Mrs Jo Smith who has been the driving force behind this success. We are blessed to have her at our school.

You can view a Channel 9 Adelaide news report regarding this event on our facebook page. Our children are clearly present in the report!

Student Leadership elections Wednesday 11 December.

The student leadership election process was conducted yesterday. Candidates for our school student leadership roles completed an application and made a brief one to two minute speech in front of Year 3 to 6. I would like to commend the thirteen candidates for the quality of their applications and the speeches. Each candidate showed a depth of understanding about the nature of leadership and service to our school community. The election process was held afterwards. The outcome of the election will be announced at tomorrow’s end of year assembly. The leaders will be commissioned at the Thanksgiving Mass.

End of Year Assembly and Mass Friday 13 December running order for the day

On Friday the 13 December, we will hold our final assembly and Thanksgiving Mass. Both events will take place in the school hall. 

10:15- 10:45am- children have first break

11 am- 12 pm- End of Year Assembly including announcement of Student leaders for 2020

12:00- 12:20pm- comfort break (bathroom and drink)+ morning tea for adults in hall

12:30- 1:30pm- Thanksgiving Mass including Commissioning of Student Leaders for 2020

1:30pm- normal second break.

Families are welcome to take your children home after the Mass. Please notify your child’s teacher before departing so the class roll can be updated. Children who remain at school will have second break and the afternoon as normal. Everyone is most welcome to join us in celebrating a very successful year and giving thanks for the many blessings on our community.

Carols in the Park Saturday 14 December from 7pm

We have been invited to sing at the Carols in the Park community event to be held in Leighton Gardens. The children have been practicing the three carols we will sing. Any child enrolled at St Paul’s is invited to attend and join us in singing. We sent a letter home in hard copy and via COMPASS regarding the arrangements. Children need to meet us by 6:50pm. Look for the St Paul’s flag in Leighton Gardens. The organisers have given us an indicative performance time of 7:25pm. This may vary on the night. Once we have sung our three songs, we ask that families collect the children from us again at the St Paul’s flag. They can spend the rest of the evening with you and in your care. Children are to wear Christmas themed clothes. What the children are wearing today for the Christmas mufti day is most suitable. Any child from St Paul’s who is at Leighton Gardens on Saturday evening is welcome to join us singing. We hope to see you there!

Year 6 Farewell- Monday 16 December at 6pm

On Monday evening we will farewell our beautiful Year 6 class with a Mass at 6pm in the parish church. The Year 6 children are to wear their school uniforms. They will sit with their families at the Mass. There will be a light supper for the families of the Year 6 children immediately after Mass. The supper will be hosted by Year 5. Following supper, there will be some brief speeches and we will watch the Year 6 DVD together. The children will receive a gift, including a copy of the DVD. We will finish the evening with a cupcake! We anticipate that the farewell will be concluded by no later than 8pm. 

Year 6 will have their annual day out at Bundanoon on Wednesday. The traditional guard of honour will be held at 2:40pm on Wednesday afternoon.

Teacher Allocations for 2020

Our school has been undergoing some significant changes in the past two years. In order to ensure these important and necessary changes are properly embedded within the school’s pedagogy and operational practices, we do not have any grade changes for teachers for 2020. The teacher allocations for 2020 are as follows:

Kindergarten- Miss Jessica Malloy

Year 1- Mrs Marg Burton (4 days) Mrs Alyssa Williamson (1 day)

Year 2- Mrs Tania Calla-Hunstone (4 days)/ Mrs Alyssa Williamson (1 day)

Year 3- Miss Catherine du Bois (REC)/ Ms Mari Sullivan (IC)

Year 4- Mrs Yvonne kiah

Year 5- Mr Chris Boyd

Year 6- Mrs Jo Smith

Assistant Principal/ Reading Intervention- Mrs Katie Browne

Music/ library/ PDHPE/ PPT- Mrs Louise Cassidy

Principal- Mr Don O’Brien

The school leadership team is comprised of the Principal, Assistant Principal, Religious Education Coordinator and Instructional Coach. I thank Mrs Browne, Miss du Bois and Ms Sullivan who join me in leading and managing the school. These important roles require time away from class. The class sharing arrangement we have in place for Miss du Bois and Ms Sullivan minimises the impact on their class effectively. We thank parents for your continued support and understanding.

We will continue to be superbly supported by Mrs Eileen Vaughn in the Office, Mrs Maria Cevenaro in the library and Mrs Michelle Gillespie, Mrs Raelene Rowland, Mrs Carole Hall, Mrs Helen Gorton and Mrs Suzanne King in the classrooms.

New Appointment to our School Office- congratulations to Mrs Hayley Barton

I am pleased to announce that Mrs Hayley Barton who has been working in our school office on a temporary basis this year, has been successful in securing a permanent role with us following a recent recruitment process. Hayley’s permanent position will commencing in 2020. Congratulations Hayley!

Promotions Afternoon- Tuesday 17 December

To help smooth the transition to their new classes, we will be conducting a promotions afternoon on Tuesday next week. The children will spend the afternoon in their 2020 classroom with their new teacher. This is a “get to know you” exercise for both the children and the teachers in readiness for 2020.

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:

End of Year Assembly and Thanksgiving Mass

On Friday the 13th, we will hold our End of Year Assembly in the school hall, commencing at 11:00. This will be an opportunity to hand out many special awards, give some farewells and announce the Year 6 captains for 2020. After the assembly there will be a short break, followed by our Thanksgiving Mass at 12:30. There will be many students involved during this Mass, including lots of live music. The new student leaders will receive their badges and recite their leadership pledge in front of the school community. There will also be a special photo presentation shown, celebrating the many achievements and experiences of 2019.

All are warmly invited to attend these events.

 Year 6 Farewell Mass and Supper

The Year 6 Farewell Mass and Supper will take place on Monday 16th December (Parents are invited to both the Mass and the Supper). This is an important event for our Year 6 students and our staff as we bid them farewell. Mass will commence at 6:00 pm followed by supper, speeches and a presentation in the school hall. Year 6 students are required to wear their summer school uniform.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Advent and Christmas

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and joyful Christmas. May Christ’s peace and hope be with your family now in in the weeks ahead leading up to Christmas. Your involvement and support throughout the year has been much appreciated. 

Thank you

Catherine du Bois

Religious Education Coordinator

As the end of the year approaches we find ourselves becoming tired from a year of hard work, complicated by hot and smoky weather. Christmas can be a challenging time for some people. While it should be a joyous time to stop and reflect on the love that the birth of Jesus has brought to us it can be a time when people miss loved ones, feel pressure to purchase gifts and attend functions, travel long distances and be reminded of difficult family situations. Our children can often sense some of these challenges and they too are feeling tired and busy.  Little things can quickly become big things. If your child comes home feeling frustrated or upset by something that may have happened at school, please take the time to sit and listen. Actively listening involves reflecting back what you hear your child saying and asking them how they feel. Acknowledge how they feel and identify what it is that has upset them. Ask them if they were able to resolve it or if they let the teacher know. If they feel they have resolved the issue appropriately then praise them for working it out. If they haven't resolved it then a simple email to the teacher to let them know what your child has told you is sufficient and the teacher will follow up with them. Please remember that you only hear one side of the story so jumping to conclusions and making judgements is not helpful. We take all concerns seriously and follow Catholic Education Diocesian policies to investigate these concerns.

If you would like further information about the CEDoW policy then press this link. https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/about-us/policies/student-pastoral-care-and-wellbeing-policy/

Katie Browne

Assistant Principal

Due to the early lunch tomorrow, Flexischool ordering will close off at 8am tomorrow morning.

Taliah in Year 2 competed at the Equestrian Australia Nationals in Werribee Victoria recently with her pony Taylar Made Fairy Floss!

Taliah was part of the NSW team competing against competitors across Australia and New Zealand.  Taliah placed 4th in the open leading rein pony and was also awarded the Molly Lord award for Smartest Parade Rider.

Well done Taliah what an achievement!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas and a relaxing break over the holiday period.

A Reminder the last day of Term 4 is WEDNESDAY 18TH DECEMBER.

First day back Term 1 2020 for Year 1 to 6 is WEDNESDAY 29TH JANUARY.

The new Kindergarten 2020 first day is THURSDAY 6TH FEBRUARY.