Newsletter Week 9 Term 1 2021

“Truly this man was the Son of God.”

Mark 15: 39

(from the Gospel for Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Year B)

Dear parents and carers

This weekend we celebrate Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. Holy Week including the Easter Triduum is the central celebration of our liturgical year culminating in Easter Sunday. It goes to the heart of the Christian message.

At Mass this weekend we will hear St Mark’s account of Jesus’ betrayal, last supper, agony in the garden and arrest, Peter’s denial, Jesus’ trial, condemnation, crucifixion, death and burial (Mk 14:1- 15: 47). Mark’s account will be read this weekend upto the end of the events of Good Friday concluding with Jesus’ burial. The account leaves off in a seemingly hopeless situation.

Jesus’ last day is a dark story of betrayal, torment and death. He was abandoned by his friends and then denied publically by them. He was falsely tried, tormented and mocked, then finally executed in a cruel and humiliating manner. He was buried hurriedly in a borrowed tomb. And yet, in the midst of this most despairing of ends lies, the seeds of new hope and transformation are laid. In the desperate hopelessness there is, miraculously found new hope. Easter and the promise of new life awaits in just a few days.

It has been said that you can not have the joy of Easter Sunday without first living through Good Friday. Herein lies the central message of the Paschal mystery. There is always hope. There is always a new beginning after an ending. What was made and broken, can be re-made. This is the message of Christian faith, hope and ultimately love.

Take some time over the next week to reflect on how this message relates to your life and life situation.

Where have I been broken and need renewal? When in my life have things changed unexpectedly? Were there blessings in these changes? Where are the lessons I can learn in the circumstances I find myself in now? What is the Holy Spirit asking of me now?

NAPLAN OMNIBUS TESTING for Year 3 and Year 5

Today our Year 3 and Year 5 children participated in a diocese wide “NAPLAN omnibus test” as a prelude to the forthcoming NAPLAN assessment in Term 2. The children were very calm and settled. The practice went smoothly. This “test” will not be marked or reported upon. Today’s omnibus bus test was a practice in using an online testing platform. It did provide the children an opportunity to practice, in a time limited setting, the use of the NAPLAN lock down browser. If we were to have problems with our local network or with the national network, they would have been identified today affording us time to correct any issues before NAPLAN. Thankfully, we experienced no problems today.

NAPLAN will be conducted with Year 3 and Year 5 between 11 and 14 May commencing with writing. Here is a link to a video that explains NAPLAN Online.

CROSS COUNTRY POSTPONEMENT (AGAIN!) & CHANGE OF DATE- now 21  April 2021

Following the extreme wet weather we have experienced in recent weeks, we will need to reschedule our cross country carnival to Wednesday 21 April (Week 1 Term 2). Our school cross country is held at school. The school oval and grounds are saturated, muddy and slippery. Past experience indicates that it will take at least a week to ten days for the grounds to be sufficiently dry in order to be safe and serviceable. The weather forecast indicates further rain early next week. We would prefer not to risk children’s safety. Hence the move to the first week of next term. I apologise for any inconvenience. Safety remains our priority. 

We will select the school cross country team after the carnival. The diocesan cross country will be held on Tuesday 27 April (Week 2 Term 2) at Willandra Farm, Nowra. Parents and community members are welcome to attend. The children love to be cheered on and encouraged!

CANTEEN SERVICE COMMENCING IN TERM 2

I am pleased to announce that our canteen service will recommence in Term 2. The canteen will operate on Thursdays each week. The service will be an online ordering service only. There will be no counter service. Orders for the canteen will need to be submitted each Wednesday. Our canteen supplier, Fresh Start Canteens, have moved to an online ordering system called QuickCliq. You will need to set up a free account account for your family with QuickCliq in order to place orders and pay. We will send details for this next week. 

COVID-19 safe arrangements currently in place

The ongoing relaxing of restrictions have necessitated some adjustments of our routines and management of COVID-19.

Morning Assembly: We will continue with the morning arrangements that we have had in place for the last twelve months. There will be no morning assembly. Children will continue to line up in their designated spots, wash hands, go into class and pray the school prayer and get down to work. 

Morning Announcements: Will continue at 10:50am whilst the children are eating inside. We will celebrate birthdays, make announcements and award the “secret spotter” uniform award.

Weekly School Assembly: We are pleased to welcome parents and community members to join us at our weekly school assembly at 2:15pm each Thursday. You will notice that all children are seated on chairs as part of the social distancing requirements that are still in place. We ask that parents sit at the back of the school hall. Children will return to class after assembly to collect their bags. Normal afternoon dismissal procedures will be followed.

Daily cleaning: Our high touch areas and hard surfaces are cleaned twice daily by our cleaners. This measure remains in place and will continue in Term 2.

Good hygiene practices: Regular hand washing, use of hand sanitiser and regular reminders about sneezing and coughing remain in place.

Stay at home if your child is unwell: If your child is unwell, please keep your child at home. If your child has ‘flu like symptoms consult your doctor and consider having a COVID- 19 test.

COVID-19 testing: If your child has been sent home from school and has been asked to have a COVID-19 test, we need to sight a negative test result before your child returns to school. An electronic copy of the text advising the negative result is sufficient.

The current advice reminds us that ‘ We must all remain vigilant and maintain our personal hygiene procedures at this point in time, and especially as we approach the winter season.’

Click here for the  current COVID- 19 guidelines for Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Wollongong. 

DROP OFF ZONE and BUS ZONE IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL

At our Garrett Street entrance to the school we have designated P2 Drop Off zone as well as a bus zone. Both these designated zones are strictly NO PARKING zones.

When using the Drop Off  zone you should stop, allow your child to get out of the car and then immediately leave. In doing so, you free up a stopping spot for the next family which makes the system flow smoothly. Please DO NOT get out of your car and/or walk your child into school. You are not permitted to stay in the Drop Off zone for more than two minutes. If you want to escort your child into school, please park further down Garrett Street or in the vacant lot opposite the school. You can walk your child into school at your leisure.

Please note that it is both illegal and very dangerous to make a U-turn in front of the school.

The bus zones need to be kept clear at all times. Buses arrive throughout the morning to drop children at school. They run to a tight schedule in order to get all children using their service to schools on time. It is important that the buses are not obstructed by illegally parked cars.

ALLERGY AWARE SCHOOL

St Paul’s is an “allergy aware school”. We have several children in our school community who have serious allergies and are at risk of anaphylactic shock. We work closely with the families to ensure we have systems in place to manage each child’s safety. Children with allergies are taught to be both aware of their environment in order to avoid their allergens as well what to do if an exposure to an allergen should occur. Our recent staff First Aid training had an emphasis on anaphylaxis management and response. We have implemented regular handing washing, teaching all children to be allergy aware and not sharing food at school. These arrangements were in place pre-COVID and will remain in place post-COVID.

As a community we all have a role to play in keeping all children safe. We discourage bringing nuts and nut products to school. I have linked a fact sheet regarding allergy aware schools  for "Allergies and Anaphylaxis Australia” for your information. We ask that you are mindful of this when packing your child’s lunchbox. 

Sport Uniforms- same  as last week

Sport uniforms are to be worn on the following days for each class:

Kindergarten – Wednesday & Friday

Year 1 – Friday

Year 2 – Friday

Year 3 – Wednesday & Friday

Year 4 – Wednesday & Friday

Year 5 – Wednesday & Friday

Year 6 – Wednesday & Friday

Date and Events Overview TERM 1 2021
Week 9	AFL clinic (Yr 3 to 6)- Wed 24 March NAPLAN omnibus testing (Yr 3 and Yr 5)- Thurs 25 March
Week 10	Holy Week  Last day of Term 1- Thurs 1 April Daylight saving ends- Sun 4 April
TERM 2 2021
Week 1	School resumes for Term 2- Monday 19 April Cross country- Wed 21 April
Week 2	Diocesan Cross Country- Tues 27 April
Week 3	Diocesan Principal’s retreat- Mon 3 & Tues 4 May Mother’s Day stall- Fri 7 May
Week 4	NAPLAN - Tues 11 May to Thurs 20 May P&F meeting- Tues 11 May at 7pm
Week 5	Diocesan Assistant Principal’s meeting- Mon 17 May
Week 6	Staff Development Day- Mon 24 May
Week 7	NCCD moderation- Thurs 3 June
Week 8	Queen’s Birthday long weekend- Mon 7 June School athletics carnival- Fri 11 June
Week 9	Semester 1 reports- Fri 18 June
Week 10	Parent Teacher interviews- Mon 21 to Thurs 24 June Last day of Term 2- Fri 25 June

School Terms for 2021

Term 1	Thursday 28 January —  Thursday 01 April
Term 2	Monday 19 April  —  Friday 25 June
Term 3	Monday 12 July  —  Friday 17 September
Term 4	Tuesday 05 October  —  Wednesday 15 December (students)

Sacramental Program

Please continue to pray for the students who are preparing for the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation.

Holy Week

In Week 10, a Holy Week Display will be set up in the school hall. Classes will visit these displays and complete some activities to learn about the events in Holy Week. Parents and visitors are welcome to view these displays on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons between 2:30 and 4:00pm.

Thank you

Catherine du Bois

Religious Education Coordinator

 

 

Self-regulation is the ability to understand and manage your behaviour and your reactions to feelings and things happening around you.

It includes being able to:

• regulate reactions to emotions like frustration or excitement
• calm down after something exciting or upsetting
• focus on a task
• refocus attention on a new task
• control impulses
• learn behaviour that helps you get along with other people.

Why is this important?

Self regulation is important as it helps us to concentrate and focus on what we need to do and assists us in developing positive relationships. At St Paul’s we teach children about the zones of regulation to support them in being able to self regulate.

These zones are:

Blue: When you are feeling depressed and sad.

Green: When you are calm, happy and ready to learn.

Yellow: When you are starting to feel frustrated and annoyed.

Red: When you are angry, over excited or overwhelmed.

At each level there are strategies to assist in staying in the green zone or moving towards the green zone. 

If you would like to read more about self regulation you can access an information page on the “Raising Children's Network” by this link. There is also a link on the parent portal.

https://raisingchildren.net.au/toddlers/behaviour/understanding-behaviour/self-regulation

Parent Portal Link. Take some time to have a look.

https://sites.google.com/dow.catholic.edu.au/st-pauls-moss-vale/home

Regards,

Katie Browne

Assistant Principal

KINDERGARTEN	Evan Pertout
YEAR 1	Zoe Grace Gavallas
YEAR 2	Bridie Culpeper
YEAR 3	Jesse Khan
YEAR 4	Aiden Speerin
YEAR 5	Alex Farcic
YEAR 6	Ruya Gunduzalp

On Monday two of our students, Matthew Holmes and Henry Holmes competed in the MacKillop Swimming Selection Trials at the Sydney Aquatic Centre in Homebush.