Dear Parents and Carers,

Last Thursday, we enjoyed a fantastic day at our school Athletics Carnival. The sunny weather provided the perfect backdrop for students to showcase their enthusiasm and house spirit, proudly dressed in their House colours.

The day brought our community together—providing students with an opportunity to demonstrate their sporting abilities as a pathway to the Diocesan Carnivals, while also enjoying time with friends and building strong connections with their House teams. This year, we introduced high jump to the carnival program, which I had the pleasure of leading. It was inspiring to see our students show such resilience and perseverance as they gave their best efforts to clear the high jump bar.

Events like these involve many hours of planning and preparation. A heartfelt thank you to Mrs Lyons and the Sports Team for their outstanding organisation, to our dedicated teaching staff for running both competitive and non-competitive events, and to our wonderful parent helpers who supported us throughout the day. We also extend our thanks to Little Athletics for generously providing equipment for the event.

It was a great celebration of participation, teamwork, and community spirit. We look forward to presenting the ribbons and medals at a special assembly on Wednesday 25 June at 2.30pm.

Catholic Education System Leaders Day

On Monday, our school had the privilege of hosting the Catholic Education System Leaders Day. All primary and secondary principals from across the Diocese were in attendance, with the day centred on the importance of improving teaching and learning to ensure growth for all students—in faith, learning, and wellbeing.

Peter Hill, Director of Schools, extended his thanks to St Paul's for sharing our facilities for such a significant event.

A special thank you to our school captains, Sienna and Logan, and our vice captains, Magdelena and Harrison, who warmly welcomed our visitors as they arrived at the school hall. We also thank Olivia and Amarli for their thoughtful leadership of the Welcome to Country, which opened the meeting with respect and meaning.

It was a proud day for our school community.

Kindergarten Enrolments 2026

Enrolment interviews for Kindergarten 2026 are now complete. On Monday 23 June, letters of offer will be sent to families.

It is always a pleasure to meet with families and hear their hopes and dreams for their child’s education. We have received a large number of enrolments this year, exceeding the number of available places, which is a testament to the strong reputation St Paul’s holds within the wider community, as a school known for quality education, genuine welcome, and a spirit of inclusion.

Families also expressed their appreciation for the rich tradition of St Paul’s, with generations of families having attended the school. Our high expectations for learning, combined with this strong sense of community, reflect the dedication and commitment of our staff, students, and families in building a nurturing and supportive school environment where all are valued and can thrive. We look forward to welcoming our new students for playgroup sessions later in the year.

Angela Pecnik

Principal

Teachers will be available to discuss student progress at Learning Conversations for all students Kinder - Year Six. These conversations will be held as a face-to-face or phone conversation meeting with your child's teacher/s.

Learning Conversations are booked through Compass. 

Semester One reports will be released on the Parent Compass Portal on 

Friday 27 June.

Year 4 BLUE reports will be released on Friday 20 June.

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) states that students in Year One-Six receive grades ranging from A-E. Kindergarten receive a three point scale of- Thorough, sound and basic.

The A to E grade scale summarises the standard (or quality) of achievement associated with each grade. The scale describes:

• the depth of knowledge and understanding and
• the range of skills that students working at that standard typically show.

Grades are given for individual achievement. Students will get the grade that best matches the standard of their achievement. Teachers should consider all evidence gathered and should not be limited to a set number of children allocated to each grade within their class or school.

Grades are one aspect of school reporting to parents. Other important tools include:

• teacher comments
• parent-teacher conversations and
• information about student effort and application.

Year One- Six

Kindergarten

A three-point scale is used for Kindergarten students to describes performance at each of three grade levels.

To access your child’s report:

• On a mobile device: Tap your child’s photo and select ‘Reports’ from the top menu. Then, choose ‘Semester 1, 2025 Reports’.
  
• On a desktop or laptop: Click ‘View Academic Report’ beneath your child’s photo, then select ‘Semester 1, 2025 Reports’ from the list.

Mrs Nichole Benoit

ST VINCENT DE PAUL WINTER APPEAL

Tomorrow Thursday 19th June, our annual winter appeal will take place. Students are able to wear Pyjamas and have had the opportunity to purchase a hot chocolate and donut for $5. An event has been released on Compass where orders can be placed. This will close at 11:59pm tonight. Students will come to the canteen area during the middle session to receive their donut and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate and donuts will be served by Mrs Marsh and the Mini Vinnies team. 

SPAP VINNIES COMMUNITY SLEEPOUT

On the evening of the Thursday 19th June, students are invited to participate in a SPAP Vinnies Community SleepOut to raise awareness of Homelessness. We will come together as a school community to celebrate this event in the school hall beginning at 5pm and finishing at 6.30pm. If you are able to attend and support this event, your support will be greatly appreciated. Please complete the Google Form if you are able to attend. If anyone has cardboard boxes at home that we could use to create shelters, they would be greatly appreciated.

During this event students must be accompanied by an adult. There will be the opportunity to purchase chicken noodles or a cup a soup and participate in activities to raise awareness. Community members from St Vincent de Paul will also be attending.

The schedule for the evening:

5pm: Doors open and welcome all in attendance.

5:10pm: Prayer and presentation about why we are supporting the Homeless.

5:25pm:  Activities: Building a shelter from Cardboard, “House of Hope” Craft Activity, The Balloon Game

6:00pm: Time to purchase Chicken noodles or Cup a Soup $5 each with all proceeds going towards the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal.

6:30pm: Evening ends

Good afternoon everyone, here are your senior leader reporter’s Logan and Magdalena.

In the past weeks we have had a few different and exciting events. 

Last Thursday we had our athletics carnival where all grades had fun running and participating in the events. There was shotput, discus, long jump, 800m, 200m and 100m. We all had lots of fun. We also had high jump as another activity.

Tomorrow we have our Pj day where Mini Vinnies will serve us donuts and hot chocolate. Make sure you wear your pjs and your sneakers. You can also wear oodies or robes. 

On Tuesday 24th June. We have the netball Gala day for grades 3 to 6. 

These are the senior leaders signing out for the week! Magdalena and Logan!

In Week 8, the PB4L focus is uniform expectations

The teachers will:

• Remind students to wear the correct winter uniform
• Contact parents if required through Compass 
• Reward and praise when students are wearing the correct uniform by giving our raffle tickets

In Week 9, the PB4L focus will be showing respectful behaviour during assemblies

The teachers will 

• Pre-remind students of the PB4L expectations
• Explicitly teach the students how to demonstrate respectful behaviour when entering and exiting assemblies and during the assembly
• Praise and reward students when they are demonstrating desired behaviour

New assembly procedures

Starting in Term 3, we will be introducing a small change to our assembly procedures. The year group presenting at assembly will now begin seated on the stage. Once their presentation is complete, they will return to sit in their normal position during assemblies.

This change will allow students receiving awards to stand on the stage, giving them the opportunity to be more visible and celebrated by the school community.

We thank you for your support as we continue to refine our practices to enhance student experience and recognition.

Road Safety Reminders

Hold your child’s hand when walking to school 

Your child may be easily distracted and too small to be seen by drivers. They are still developing skills that help them to predict or identify dangers and may tend to act impulsively. An adult should always be responsible for your child’s safety when out and about. Talk with your child about safe behaviour on the footpath. It’s not a safe place to play as it is near the road and vehicles may be entering or exiting driveways.

Until your child is at least 8 years old, Hold your child’s hand:

• on the footpath
• in the car park
• when crossing the road.

Then, up until at least 10 years old, supervise your child very closely, and hold their hand when crossing the road. If you can’t be with your child, organise for another trusted adult to accompany them. At the end of the school day, your child may be excited, distracted or tired and often not concentrating on what is happening around them. Help keep them safe by meeting your child at the school gate. Never call them across the road.

Gemma Bolton

PB4L Leader

Collaborative Planning

During Week 8, the teachers at St Paul's have engaged in collaborative planning for Mathematics. The planning involves looking at Scope and Sequences for Mathematics that were created by Christine Mae, who is a leader in education in the area of Mathematics. From there, teachers design units of work that support the "big ideas" in Mathematics, this helps students to develop deep understandings about Mathematical concepts and apply these to real life situations. 

To support our planning process, Kate Thomas an Education Officer from Catholic Education Office Wollongong has been working with Miss Ceccato and Mrs Staff to plan for Professional Learning for our teachers. The whole process aims to ensure we are creating a knowledge rich curriculum, based on the NSW Syllabus for Mathematics. 

“NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. Wherever you live, taking part in NAIDOC Week is a great way to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.” (https://www.naidoc.org.au/)

We will celebrate NAIDOC Week at St Paul’s on Wednesday 2 July.

Mufti day: Students are invited to wear the colours of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags or an Aboriginal art shirt on Wednesday 2 July.

Class activities: Students will engage in NAIDOC week activities in the classroom.

Assembly: We will have a whole school assembly and liturgy at 1pm in the hall. When the assembly finishes there will be a special afternoon tea in the hall for families of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students leading the assembly. Awards will be presented as usual after the Assembly.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have been working with Aunty Josephine Ball and Samuel Mongta, the St Paul's and St Joseph's Aboriginal Education Assistants, to prepare a number of dances for the assembly. These include the Rainbow Serpent dance, Clearing dance, Show off dance, Pippy dance and Lyrebird dance.

ACE Awards:
Sarin 2R
Anna 2B
Armani M 2B
Ruby 2R
Eliza 2B
Chloe 2B
Caleb 3B
Spohie 3B
Eva 3R
Mahlee 3B
Leila 4B
Andrej 4R
Chantalee 4R
Mason 5B
Melek 6B

Principal's Awards:
Sarin 2R
Anna 2B
Armani M 2B
Chloe 2B
Ruby 2R
Eliza 2B
Leila 4B
Andrej 4R
Chantalee 4R
Melek 6B

Mary MacKillop Awards:
Chantelee 4R
Leila 4B

Pies and sausage rolls $6 each..delivered hot every Friday!