“You are the light of the world.”

Matt 5:14

(from the Gospel for the fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time , Year A)

Dear parents and carers

Today we welcomed our twenty two brand new Kindergarten children and their families to our school community. The children arrived ready to start the big school adventure. It is a time of high emotion, for parents as much as for children. The children quickly settled and got on with the important business of getting to know each other and making friends. We have lots of extra hands in the Kinder classroom to support the children as they make the transition to school life.

Kinder will continue to be dropped off and picked up from the Kinder classroom for tomorrow, Friday and again on Monday. We will of course stay with the children until they are picked up. If Kinder families have older children to pick up, please park in Innes Road. We’ll open the playground gate at 2:30pm to allow you access. Once you have collected your Kinder child, wait in the playground until the teachers walk the children down to Innes Road. You can walk down with them. It’s a good opportunity for the Kinder children to see the dismissal procedure before actually participating in it. We will be practicing this with them before we expect them to join the rest of the school for the normal dismissal routine.

We will let Kinder parents know when your child will begin normal morning drop off routines and join the school for morning assembly. We anticipate this will begin next week, potentially on Wednesday. We will confirm this with you as well as give you an overview of the procedure.

Beginning of School Mass 

This morning we celebrated Mass with our Year 1 to Year 6 students. Fr Zachary from Penrose Park said Mass for us. It was lovely to see parishioners and parents joining with the children to offer thanks to God for the gift of each other, school and community whilst asking God’s blessing on our work together for 2020. The children as always, sang and prayed beautifully. They are a credit to us all!

Managing Air Quality 

Given the poor air quality recently, we have put in place some additional procedures. Children who have respiratory conditions will be kept inside on days when the air quality is poor. This will be done on a case by case, day by day basis. The child will have a friend to stay with them and they will be given activities to keep them entertained. We had a similar process in place last year.

On especially hot or smokey days, we will take the decision to keep all the children inside. Again they will be given access to activities. We will manage toilet breaks. Again, the safety, well being and best interests of the children will always guide our decision making.

Coronavirus Advice

We have not received any further advice regarding coronavirus. The Catholic Education Office is in close contact with NSW Health officials to monitor and pass on advice. The advice shared last week remains current.

The NSW Government has today requested that children who have visited China in the past two weeks not attend school or childcare services until 14 days have lapsed from their date of departure from China. 

Anyone who develops a fever, cough, sore throat or shortness of breath within 14 days of travel to Hubei Province or contact with a person with confirmed coronavirus, should immediately isolate themselves from other people, contact their GP or local emergency department or call the healthdirect helpline 1800 022 222.  

1:1 iPad Meeting and Responsible User Agreements

On Tuesday evening we conducted the launch of our school 1:1 iPad program. We had some very excited children and very appreciative parents in attendance. The children received their new iPads and covers. The school managed iPads are set to “go to sleep” at 8pm each evening and “wake up” at 7am. Between these hours the devices can only be charged.

We met with all children between Year 2 and Year 6 on Wednesday morning to go over the school’s Responsible User Agreement which sets out the school’s expectation for technology use at school. The children had these agreements explained to them. Each child has signed an agreement. We will send home your child’s Responsible User Agreement tomorrow, Friday 7 February for you to review with your child, co-sign and return to school. These agreements are signed annually and placed on your child’s file. 

The children will be undertaking a digital citizenship program with Mrs Cassidy through out Term 1.  These programs and lessons are developed for each of the stages within the school and are age appropriate. If there are any problems with technology, please let us know.

Listening Interviews for Kinder to Year 6 in Week 3 (Monday 10 Feb to Friday 14 Feb)

Knowing each child as a person and as a learner is an important part in establishing an effective learning environment for your child in their new class. Next week (Week 3), we will conduct listening interviews with you. This is an opportunity for you to meet and to talk with your child’s teacher for the year. The teachers are listening to you. You know your child better than anyone and we want to know all about your child. These brief ten minute meetings are vital in establishing the home and school relationship. 

At the meeting you will be given a class overview for the term. If your child has a health care plan, your child’s teacher will give you a copy of your child’s plan we have on file for you to review and update, if required. It is an annual requirement that we update medical and health related plans.

In order to stay in touch with your child’s learning, you will receive a Term Overview at the beginning of each term. 

An online booking note was sent home earlier this week. We are using COMPASS to make these bookings. If you have any difficulty making a booking please contact the school office. I ask that you make these meetings a priority.

Kinder and Year 1 Meeting Tuesday 11 February at 6pm in the school hall

Kinder and Year 1 families are invited to a meeting at 6pm on Tuesday 11 February to learn about how we teach reading at St Paul’s and how you can help. After an initial presentation you will be separated into Kinder and Year 1 groups. The term overview will be presented to you at this time. If you have a child in both Kinder and Year 1, we suggest you attend the Year 1 meeting. These meetings will take about 45 minutes in total. The Kinder and Year 1 teachers would also like to conduct a Listening Interview for children in their classes. You have received a note regarding this.

P&F Annual General Meeting (AGM) Wednesday 12 February at 7pm & nomination process.

All parents of St Paul’s are automatically members of the Parents & Friends Association. The P&F works to support the school and provide much needed resources for all our children to use. Specifically, the school has just installed 75” TVs and Apple TVs in Kinder to Year 5 classrooms as well as the library. The P&F has agreed to service half the cost of the loan to provide this technology to our children. The work of the P&F is to fundraise in order to meet commitments such as this.

The AGM for the P&F will be held on Wednesday 12 February at 7:00 pm in the school hall. Attached to this newsletter is a nomination form for the executive positions within the P&F. If you would like to nominate someone for these positions, please write the person’s name and indicate the position (or positions) for which you wish to nominate them. Place the nomination form in a sealed envelope addressed to the Principal and return it to the school office before Tuesday 12 February.

Sacramental Programs Information Evening Wednesday 12 February

In the Diocese of Wollongong, all sacramental programs are offered and conducted through the local parish. Catholic schools support these programs. The organisation and provision of the sacramental programs is conducted by the parish. Each year, the parish conducts reconciliation for Year 3 and older children in Term 1; Eucharist for Year 3 and older children in Term 2 and Confirmation for Year 6 children and older in Term 3. Families are asked to present their children for these programs when they feel ready and able to commit to the requirements of the sacramental program. Fr Richard would like to hold a meeting in the school hall at 6pm on Wednesday 12 February for all families who would like to present a child as a candidate for any of the sacramental programs in 2020.

Gym on Fridays for all classes and Assembly on Thursdays fortnightly

We have engaged a specialist sports company, Gymnastrix, to conduct gymnastics lessons with all classes on Fridays. The company provide qualified teachers, who deliver program and assess the children. They also provide all the necessary equipment. The cost of this program is included as part of your school fees. All children will need to wear their sport uniform on Fridays for Term 1. We have booked nine lessons to accommodate the swimming carnival to be held on Fri 21 February. You have not paid for a gym lesson on this day.

Gym classes therefore mean that we will need to move our fortnightly assembly to Thursday afternoons in odd weeks (Wk1, Wk3, Wk5, Wk7, Wk9). In Week 11, we will conduct a Holy Week liturgy in place of the assembly.

We recommenced interest groups with the children this week (Thursday afternoons) on even weeks (Wk 2, Wk 4, Wk 6, Wk 10). In Week 8 we are conducting the school cross-country on Thursday 19 March and thus will not hold interest groups on that day.

Photograph Permission

You would have received the photo permission form for your children last week. We are required to seek this permission from you annually. The consent form allows for your child’s image to be used in the school newsletter, our school facebook page or by the diocese in their publications (print and digital). If you do not give consent for your child’s image to be used or do not return the permission form, we will not be able to use your child’s image. Your child therefore, will not appear in any of our school publications (print and digital inclusive). We love to celebrate your child’s achievements. Publishing pictures is a good way to do this. We ask that you return the consent forms at your earliest convenience.