“Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.”

Matt 17: 7

(from the Gospel for the second Sunday of Lent, Year A)

Dear parents and carers

The Gospel for this second Sunday of Lent recounts the Transfiguration of Jesus. The true glory of Jesus’s divinity is revealed to the three disciples whom He led to the top of “a high mountain”. In scripture, mountains are a metaphor for holy places and moments where the presence of God is revealed and directly experienced. Just think of Moses on Mount Sinai, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and, later in the Gospels, Jesus on Calvary. 

At the Transfiguration, Jesus His divinity is clearly visible to the disciples. Their view of Jesus changed and their capacity to recognise the divine in their friend Jesus caused the disciples to see Jesus differently. Being transformed or changed is the point of religion. An essential part in the process of transformation is to do as Jesus implored His disciples to do at the Transfiguration, namely to“have no fear”. Fear is one of the greatest barriers we face in fully accepting God’s love and being, as St Irenaeus says “fully alive”. 

Overcoming fear is a central theme for Jesus. He teaches us to place our trust in an all loving, all forgiving and all compassionate God. Thirty-three times in the New Testament Jesus tells us to “be not afraid”.  If we truly do so, what possibly could we be afraid of? 

In this Lenten season, let’s ask ourselves, “Do I place my trust in God? Or do I try to be self sufficient trusting only myself?” and  “Do I listen to the messages of the world or do I listen to the message that Jesus taught us; to trust God and ‘have no fear’?”

Parents & Friends Meeting- Tuesday 10 March at 7pm in the staff room

Our first ordinary P&F meeting will be held next Tuesday evening in the school staff room commencing at 7pm. All parents and carers of children enrolled at St Paul’s are automatically members of the school P&F. You are all invited to attend the P&F meetings which are held on the second Tuesday evening of the month. P&F is one of the ministries of the parish. P&F organises events within the school to both “fun” raise as well as “fund” raise. In partnership with the school in 2019, the P&F have helped to fund the installation of the 75” TVs and Apple 2 TVs in classrooms and learning areas. This has been an essential step in the implementation of the school managed 1:1 iPad program for our Year 3 to Year 6 classes as well as facilitating technology in Kinder to Year 2 classes. 

Brigadoon Saturday 4 April

Our first major P&F fundraiser is fast approaching with Brigadoon to be held on Saturday 4 April. We are looking for volunteers to man the gates at Brigadoon. Our P&F are paid according to the number of volunteers we have on the day. The more volunteers, the more money we raise for our school. You will find a letter from our P&F President Amanda Eccelston regarding Brigadoon attached to this newsletter. Please try to support this very significant fundraising event.

Paul Kelly Cup- Thursday 12 March, Welby Oval

Our Year 5 and Year 6 students have the opportunity to compete in the Paul Kelly Cup next Thursday 12th March at Welby Oval. The objective of the Paul Kelly Cup is to give children a positive, initial experience of playing AFL. Children do not necessarily require experience in Australian Rules Football. Games are played under modified rules with separate boys and girls competitions. Participation and fun are the outcomes for the day. The participants have received information and a permission slip earlier this week. The children will depart from school at 8:45am next Thursday morning. They will be back at school in time for the normal afternoon dismissal.

Cross Country Thursday 19 March at school

Our annual cross country carnival will be held in Week 8 on Thursday 19 March here at school on our oval. The cross country will select runners to represent the school the at primary schools cross country to be held on 5 May. Parents and community members are most welcome to join us for the day and cheer the children on. It is always a lovely community day!

School Fees via COMPASS and setting up payment installments

Our diocesan system of schools now centrally manages school fees on behalf of all our schools. Your school fee accounts are now distributed electronically from CEDoW via COMPASS. Our diocesan system of schools no longer distributes paper accounts. Your school fees account for 2020 is now available in COMPASS for you to review.

If you had a fee payment by installment arrangement with the school in 2019, this arrangement should still be in place. If you are a new family to the school or you wish to vary your fee arrangements, you can set up installment payments to manage your fees by completing a “Diocesan Request to Pay School Fees by Instalment”. This is available on the school website under the “Fee Information” link on the home page. Once you have completed this form please email it to  instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au . We ask that you do this as a priority. Please be aware that the new diocesan system automatically generates reminder emails. Having the payment plan in place and being adhered to will avoid this happening.

If you require further information regarding fees, all details are available on the school website home page. Please follow the “Fee Information” link to access these documents. 

If you are having difficulty meeting your fees obligations, please make contact with me through the school office. We can discuss options together.

Photograph Permission- thank you for returning them asap

Thank you to the many families who have returned this permission form. If you haven’t yet returned the form, we ask that you do so at your earliest convenience.

Responsible User Agreements- thank you for returning them asap

Thank you everyone who has already signed and returned your child’s Responsible User Agreement. We ask that you return these as a priority if you haven’t already done so.

Environment Interest Group- gardening gloves required

If your child is part of the Environment Interest group, we ask that you send some gardening gloves to school for your child’s use during the Thursday afternoon interest group. Gardening gloves are available at most supermarkets or variety stores. They are inexpensive but very helpful for the children who will be doing some gardening.

Dear students, families and school communities,

Thank you for your school's participation in Catholic Schools Week from 1-7 March. It's a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and showcase many of the fantastic things happening in your school every day, and in all our Catholic schools across the Diocese of Wollongong.

We thank you for working together in partnership with us to help make your school community such a vibrant, nurturing place of learning, faith, belonging and hope.

If you or a family member or friend would like to enrol your child in one of our schools, please download an enrolment package here.

Have a look at our Catholic Schools Week video below, celebrating what our students across the diocese love about their Catholic school. Can you spot the students from your school?

Sacramental Programme 

First Reconciliation

Enrolment forms are still available for those who wish to participate in the Reconciliation Programme (students in Year 3 or older). These can be picked up and returned to the Parish office or at any of the weekend Masses.

• Enrolment period: 2nd February – 9th March
• Reconciliation Classes: 15th, 22nd and 29th March
• First Reconciliation: Friday 3rd April

Catholic Schools Week

To celebrate Catholic Schools Week, we held a poster competition with each of the classes. Students designed a poster based on the theme ‘Embracing Our Future Together’. Everyone did and amazing job and many of these will be displayed in the school foyer. The winner from each class (Year 1 – Year 6) will present their poster at the next morning assembly. Well done everyone!

Thank you

Catherine du Bois

Religious Education Coordinator

What to do when my child is sick? 

Part of growing up includes getting sick from time to time. When your child is sick please keep them home as this reduces the chance of the illness spreading. It is also very difficult for children to learn and socialise when they are unwell. If a child becomes sick during the school day we will observe them for approximately 20 mins however if they remain unwell we will send them home. 

It is essential you notify the office that your child is sick and will not be coming to school, you can email or make a phone call and leave a message. The class roll will be marked to reflect that your child was absent due to illness. 

We have regular hand washing routines in place at school. Staff will be reviewing with the children how to wash their hands thoroughly and good hygiene practices around coughing and sneezing will be discussed. Please see the attached hand washing flyer and discuss this with your child.

Alex Rider Short Story Competition

The Tesselaar fundraising magazines were sent home yesterday from the P&F.

Just a reminder that the online orders end on 3rd April 2020.

Thank you for your support :-)