“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.”

Matt 25: 40

(from the Gospel for the solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Year A)

 Dear parents and carers

This week we have been celebrating NAIDOC week. The children have been undertaking NAIDOC activities throughout the week including creating the “sea of hands” which you can see on our facebook page. Recognition of the unique place our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sisters and brothers have in our society is foundational to our shared Australian identity. Happy NAIDOC week!

 WATER SAFETY PROGRAMS for KINDER to YEAR 2

The water safety program has run very smoothly this week. The children have certainly enjoyed going to the pool. They have been an absolute pleasure to work with both in changing at school and working with the instructors at the pool. They are a credit to us all!

Thank you for ensuring that your child has all that is necessary for the pool each day. I know it is a bit of a stretch washing and drying swimmers, towels and clothing daily. We appreciate it! The water safety program concludes with the final lesson tomorrow.

 KINDERGARTEN 2021 school visit Tuesday 24 November

We are looking forward to our “Meet the teacher and classmates” visit for our new Kindergarten children next Tuesday. COVID-19 restrictions have been relaxed to allow limited Kindergarten visits. We are conducting the visits in two sessions of forty five minutes in the school hall. The first session is at 9:30am and the second at 2:00pm. The children will attend one session.

The children will meet their teacher, meet some of their classmates and receive a gift from their Big Buddy. Parents are asked to drop the children and pick them up forty five minutes later. Parents and carers will have the opportunity to also meet the Kinder teacher as well as collect an information pack. We have created an e-Book welcoming the Kinder children to St Paul’s. 

Whilst these arrangements are not what we had hoped for and beyond our control, we have worked hard to make our newest children and families feel welcome to school. We look forward to meeting the children and their families 

WATER SAFETY PROGRAMS for PRIMARY in Week 7- please register your child!

Our Year 3 to Year 6 children will participate in a surf safety and awareness program. On Friday 20 November, surf life savers will visit the school to provide an introductory theory program to the children. This will involve general beach safety as well as learning about rips and how to “read” a beach. 

During Week 7, the children will travel by bus to Sandon Point near Bulli, where they will work with a company called Sea Australia. Our school staff will attend in a supervisory role. The program will be delivered by qualified instructors. For further information regarding the company and the range of programs they offer. 

https://www.seaaustralia.com.au/

Year 5 and Year 6 will be attending on Wednesday 25 November. Year 3 and Year 4 will attend the next day on Thursday 26 November. We will travel to Sandon Point by bus.

REGISTRATION FOR SURF SAFETY IS ESSENTIAL FOR YOUR CHILD TO PARTICIPATE

We need parents of Year 3 to Year 6 children to complete the Sea Australia waiver form available at the link below by Monday 23 November. If your child is not registered your child will not be able to participate in this program. The registration form is available at the link below:

https://www.seaaustralia.com.au/school-waiver-form 

Please be sure to select St Paul’s Moss Vale from the drop down menu when asked “What school does your child attend?”

The costs of both the water safety program and the surf safety programs are included in your resource fees. These programs are fully covered by the school fees and are at no additional cost to families. We anticipate that this program will be both helpful in developing the children’s water safety skills as well as having some fun together as they learn.

1:1 iPAD PROGRAM 2021

This year, we introduced a school managed 1:1 iPad program that commences in Year 3. The iPad is a powerful learning tool. The school managed program we introduced this year means that the school supplies, populates the device with the required apps and manages the device as part of the school fees. The iPad is paid off over two (2) years. School management of the devices involves providing, updating and managing apps, limiting screen times outside school, restricting the child’s capacity to install additional apps and programs including social media as well as filtering content. We emphasise that the iPad is a learning tool and not an entertainment device.

The program has been a great success. The benefits of the program were clearly demonstrated during remote learning earlier in the year. Once the device has been paid off over two years, the child will continue to use it until the end of Year 6. Once all financial obligations to the school have been met at the end of Year 6, the device will be wiped, given a factory reset and then given to you to keep.

Children entering Year 3 will be supplied with an iPad 8 32GB as well as a protective cover. This year we are able to offer Apple care for the device if families would like to take up this option for an additional fee. 

It is our very strong preference that all families of Year 3 children participate in this program. Whilst existing iPad can be subscribed to our school system for some elements of the program, it is not ideal. 

I will write to Year 2 families (Year 3 2021) with further details about the program shortly.

CHECK THE CEDoW COVID-19 WEBSITE FOR UPDATES

Stay up to date with the latest information regarding COVID-19 and its implications for our school by visiting Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) COVID-19 Information centre available here. This site has been created and regularly updated with COVID-19 specific advice for all our school diocesan communities. 

Thank you everyone for your ongoing understanding, patience and support as we move through time this together. As difficult and often inconvenient as it is, this is how we do our bit in keeping everyone safe and continuing to manage the pandemic. 

DAYS AND DATES FOR TERM 4

Given recent changes to COVID0 19 restrictions, we are now in the position to plan events. The dates for these events are listed below. I would particularly draw your attention to the Week 10 arrangements with Tuesday 15 December being the last day of the year for the children. Staff will continue to work on site until Thursday 17 December.

Confirmation Program

A group of students have commenced classes for the sacrament of Confirmation. Online Communion classes are also underway. The ceremonies for these sacraments are due to take place in Week 8. Please continue to pray for these students and their families.

Activate Fire

On Wednesday 18th November, our Year 6 students participated in an immersive spiritual experience, Activate Fire. This online program is based on the Year 6 Confirmation Unit: Celebrating the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the day, students listened to songs and participated in a range of exciting games that linked to the content. Joel and Seth from CYMA led some discussions about prayer, God’s love and the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. All students participated with great enthusiasm and had an amazing day.

Thank you

Catherine du Bois

Religious Education Coordinator

Bus Behaviour Expectations for St Pauls’ Students.

When travelling on the school bus, St Paul’s students are expected to follow the bus rules and act respectfully towards other students, bus users and the bus driver. This is particularly important as they are wearing the St Paul’s School uniform. Whilst in our school uniform, the children are representing our school and community. 

Our expectations for our children using the buses are simple and based in mutual respect. When children catch the bus to and from school they are expected to sit in a seat and talk quietly to the person next to them. Their school bag should sit at their feet and all their belongings should stay in their bag. Children are expected to remain in their seats for the duration of the journey and not move around the bus. Children certainly should not be yelling at other students or use inappropriate language. 

Unfortunately, we have had recent reports of students from St Paul’s being loud, disruptive and using inappropriate language whilst on buses. This is disappointing. We ask that you please talk to your children about the expectations for using the bus and their shared responsibility to represent themselves, your family and our community with pride and dignity. 

If your child has had an unpleasant experience on the bus, we recommend that you contact the bus company to report your concern. If the matter involves a St Paul’s student, please contact the school directly and we will follow it up.

We have reproduced the Berrima Buslines behavior expectations for you below. Please review these expectations with your child. We want everyone who uses the buses to have a safe, pleasant experience. All users have a responsibility to ensure this happens.

School Students Behaviour on Buses

Travel by bus for all students is subject to them conforming to the Code of Conduct developed by Transport for NSW. This Code of Conduct and the Guidelines for Managing School Student’s Behaviour on Buses were developed to clearly outline every student’s responsibility to behave in a manner that ensures the safety and comfort of passengers and drivers.

Disobeying these rules may lead to the withdrawal of bus travel passes and/or prosecution.

A reminder that when completing the application form the parent/guardian/carer explicitly declares that they support the code and that it has been explained to their child.

You can access this information via the Berrima Buslines Website.

https://www.buslinesgroup.com.au/berrima-school-buses/free-school-travel.html#behaviour