Last Sunday in Parishes throughout the Diocese of Wollongong we celebrated the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A. The reflection by Loyola Press explains that last Sunday's Gospel reading Jesus offered three parables to describe the Kingdom of Heaven.  All three parables use commonplace experiences to describe aspects of the Kingdom of Heaven. Contained within these parables are words of caution as well as words of consolation. In the parable of the sower we are warned against judging others. To judge and uproot the “weeds” prematurely will harm the wheat; final judgement rests with God. In the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast, we are consoled by the message that God can work wonders and produce abundance from even the smallest beginnings of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to Term 3 and I hope you all had a chance to spend quality time with your family and friends.  Having spoken with quite a few parents and carers, grandparents andb students over the past week, it sounds like it was a balanced opportunity for rest, a bit of catchup for some, time with family and friends.  A very warm welcome to all new families who have joined the St Paul’s school community as of this term. St Paul’s is a community of spirit, hospitality and welcome and  I am sure our new students and their families will experience the beauty of the St Paul’s hospitality. 

NAIDOC WEEK

Last week we celebrated Naidoc Week, which took place nationally during the student vacation period. St Paul’s not only celebrated this very important and significant national event with various engagement opportunities and activities, but also with a wonderful celebration of the richness and diversity of Aboriginal culture and first nations people's last Wednesday at our whole school liturgy.  Naidoc week provides an opportunity for our community to come together to recognise and celebrate the rich traditions and culture that our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples past, present and those of the future contribute to our communities. We especially recognise our Elders as the theme for Naidoc week this year is “For Our Elders.” 

The statement from the National Naidoc Week Committee outlines the importance of our Elders in all communities. Across every generation, our Elders have played, and continue to play, an important role and hold a prominent place in our communities and families.  They are cultural knowledge holders, trailblazers, nurturers, advocates, teachers, survivors, leaders, hard workers and our loved ones. They guide our generations and pave the way for us to take the paths we can take today. Today we make tribute to our Elders past and present and those of our future.

I would like to acknowledge a number of people who planned and facilitate the Naidoc Week liturgy and activities, Mrs Marsh, Miss Tonini, Miss Stroligo, Mrs Hingston, Aunty Jo Ball, Miss McNamara, Mrs Jodi Robson and Preston Wall. 

Grandparent's Day

Yesterday we welcomed and celebrated with grandparents and parents and carers, Grandparents Day. This was an opportunity to express our gratitude to the grandparents of St Paul’s for the many things they do for our community, the care, love and support they show our students. This day was in recognition of The Feast of Joachim and Anne which is celebrated on July 26 each year.

During our Grandparent’s Day Liturgy of the Word and Blessing we recognised the importance of honouring our grandparents and thanking them for the blessings they have passed down to us in love.

World day for Grandparents and the Elderly was inaugurated by Pope Francis in 2021 and is celebrated on the forth Sunday of July. Pope Francis in his message this year states that Grandparents Day invites us to reflect on the bond that unites young and old. The Lord trusts that young people, through their relationships with their grandparents , will realize that they are called to cultivate memory and recognize the beauty of being part of a much larger history. Friendship with a grandparent can help the young to see life not only in terms of the present and realize that not everything depends on them and their abilities. For grandparents, the presence of a young person in their lives can give them hope that their experience will not be lost and that their dreams can find fulfilment. 

As grandparents to Jesus St Anne and St Joachim taught the art of meeting and walking together and at St Paul’s we recongise that our grandparents are an integral part of our St Paul’s community and I would like to express my gratitude to all our grandparents for the love and support you express daily to our students and the support you provide our school community. 

Thank you to those grandparents who joined our community to celebrate this occasion and to Mrs Jodi Marsh, Mrs Rebecca Nunes, Mrs Kristie Bicknell and the staff at St Paul’s for their organisation and support on the day. A wonderful community celebration!!

We have just received our 2023 Naplan results and I would like to congratulate our Year 3 and Year 5 students on their achievements. This year the report to parents and carers will be presented differently. Information has been shared with parents and carers throughout the year and further information will be shared with Year 3 and Year 5 parents and carers when you receive your child's report and Mrs Rebecca Nunes had included further information for our school community the Assistant Principal section of the newsletter. Congratulations Year 3 and Year 5.

I thank you all for your ongoing support.

Yours in Faith and Learning,

Michelle Rodwell

Principal

Acknowledgement to Country

St Paul's Albion Park acknowledges and pays respect to the Dharawal people past and present, the traditional custodians of the land on which our school is built.

NAPLAN was held for students in Years 3 and Year 5 in March. Parents and carers will be receiving the student's results tomorrow. The student reports have changed this year.  Education ministers have agreed to change the way NAPLAN results are reported to parents and carers, now that all students are taking the tests online, and with the move to an earlier NAPLAN in March. New proficiency standards with 4 levels of achievement for each year level will replace the previous 10-band structure that covered all 4 levels tested and the old National Minimum Standard set in 2008 when tests were on paper. The new proficiency standards include a baseline benchmark to identify students who are likely to need additional support.

The numerical NAPLAN bands and the national minimum standard will be replaced by the following 4 levels of achievement:

• Exceeding
• Strong
• Developing
• Needs additional support

The descriptors for each category will make it clear to parents what their child’s literacy and numeracy skills are at the time of NAPLAN testing, and support discussions with their school on their child’s progress.

See the flyer for more information.

DID YOU KNOW?

NAPLAN online reading, numeracy and conventions of language use a tailored test design. The tests automatically adapt to a student’s test performance and ask questions that match the student’s achievement level. Tailored testing allows all students to demonstrate their knowledge and encourages students to stay engaged with the test. Tailored testing also provides teachers and schools access to more targeted and detailed information on students’ performance in the assessment.

• more precise measurement of student performance and greater differentiation of students, achieved by asking a wider range of questions without adding to the length of the test for each individual student

• increased student engagement because the tests adapt to the student’s test performance

• lower levels of discouragement among students who experience difficulty early in the test, as they are given questions of lower complexity, more suited to their performance. High-achieving students are given more challenging questions

• potential to reduce anxiety in students who find NAPLAN challenging

• a wider range of aspects of the curriculum can be tested. While each student will answer the same number of questions as in the paper tests, the number of questions that may be presented to students is larger.

Students from Years 3- 6 participated in weekly surveys during Term 2 about their well-being. These surveys provide valuable data to the school on ways to help and support individual students and drive teaching and focus for the classroom and the whole school.

Recently teachers had the opportunity to collaborate and identify ways to support their student's well-being. One of the common themes was sleep. A large number of students reported that their sleep was not going well. 

The Pivot Organisation highlights the importance of sleep for young children. 

"A good night’s sleep can have a hugely positive impact on a student’s mood and their learning outcomes. When students sleep well, they are better able to concentrate in their classes and retain new information. When students are tired, they will be less likely to focus and learn new information quickly and efficiently. Equally, when students do not sleep well, they are less likely to be able to consolidate and easily recall new information.

The recommended daily amount of sleep for adults is around 8 hours a night, but children and young people may need more. Experts suggest that 9-11 hours of sleep is best for 6-13 year olds, whilst for 14-17 year olds the optimum length of sleep is between 8-10 hours. Sleep allows our bodies and minds to rest and recharge. When students experience healthy sleeping patterns and good quality sleep, they are more likely to have healthy bodies, experience full cognitive function and have stable moods.

Without enough restful sleep, students may struggle to function properly. In these cases, concentration may be impaired, and it may be harder for students to retain memories and have clear thought processes. Quality is just as important as quantity when it comes to sleep for students. Evidence shows that good sleep routines can help sleep come more easily and can improve how well someone sleeps. Good sleep routines include:

• Keeping bedtime around the same time every night
• Sleeping in quiet, dark, cool room
• Reducing the use of mobile phones and other blue-light emitting devices in the last hour before bedtime

When we experience heightened emotions or high levels of stress during the day, this can have an impact on our ability to fall asleep and can also impact the quality of sleep that we experience. If we don’t sleep well, research shows that we are more likely to experience heightened emotions and become increasingly sensitive to stressful situations. Sleep can impact our ability to regulate our behaviour.

Poor sleep can impact how students perceive and judge the different situations that they find themselves in throughout the school day. If they find themselves in new or challenging situations, students who aren’t sleeping well may be less likely to assess these situations accurately. This can result in students struggling to react with appropriate behaviours. For students, poor quality sleep or reduced sleep can result in a higher risk of anxiety, depression and aggressive behaviour in their learning environments."

"Take It Down" Platform - Preventing the Unwanted Spread of Intimate Child Images Online.

A powerful new tool has emerged to safeguard the online privacy of young people who have unwillingly or unknowingly shared intimate images or videos of themselves with malicious recipients.

The Take It Down platform empowers individuals under the age of 18, regardless of their location, to remove or prevent the online sharing of nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images or videos taken of them.

This service is provided anonymously and does not require the uploading of any images or videos to the platform's system.

Take It Down sends a unique fingerprint of the intimate content to their participating social media/content distribution platforms who use the fingerprint to block the content.

The participating platforms include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pornhub, OnlyFans, Clips4Sale and Yubo.

Instances of image-based abuse can also be reported to eSafety or the police.

On the last Friday of Term Two, the school joined together to raise funds for the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal. Students wore warm pyjamas, sipping on hot chocolate while eating donuts to raise the funds. Due to the generosity of all students and families, over $1600 was raised. This money has been forwarded to the local branch of St Vincent de Paul who will distribute it to those in need this winter. A huge thank you to all!

Mini_Vinnies_Winter_Appeal.pdf

Mini_Vinnies_Winter_Appeal _pdf 4.61 MB

During Term 3, St Paul's will be hosting a Handball Competition run by the 2023 Senior Leaders. The games will happen during lunchtimes, finals will be held on Thursday the 7th of September and prizes will be awarded to the winners. 

Enjoy this short video of the Senior Leaders discussing their roles and more details about the upcoming Handball Competition. 

ACE Awards

Eva 5 Red

Abigael 5 Blue

William 2 Blue

Grace 5 Blue

Lily 5 Blue

Ava 6 Blue

Logan 5 Red

Libby 4 Blue

Jai 1 Red

Tyson 3 Blue

Lukas 3 Blue

Alastair 3 Red

Eva 2 Red

PRINCIPAL Awards

Roman 4 Red

Levi 2 Blue

Jackson 4 Red

Stephanie 2 Blue

Lorcan 2 Blue

Emily 2 Red

Ava 2 Red

MARY MACKILLOP Awards

Jackson 4 Red

Year 4 Celebration of Learning! Please see our fabulous learning!!

Throughout the year teachers have access to a variety of quality professional development opportunities. Casual teachers are employed to cover classes with the teacher ensuring the teaching program and routines are followed. 

“Those who dare to teach, never cease to learn” John Cotton-Dana

Recently St Paul’s staff attended a professional development workshop that explored high impact, evidence based strategies to support the teaching of writing in our classrooms from Kindergarten to Year 2. Our Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 teams are eager to put these strategies into practice as we develop the skills of our young writers. We will share our progress via Seesaw throughout the term. 

Mrs Alexandra Hingston

Middle Leader

This week our teachers have implemented targeted teaching small group lessons in Mathematics using the Outcomes of Representing Number around the 6 aspects of Place Value.  The students across K-6 have been working with various-sized numbers and decimals to deepen their knowledge in reading, writing and representing numbers.

1. Count
2. Make and Represent
3. Name and Record
4. Compare and Order
5. Calculate
6. Rename

Our teachers have been planning with Bridgeen Pritchard an expert in Mathematics Education from the CEDoW to develop well-structured sequence of lessons that incorporate best practices in Mathematics. 

Here are some pictures of the work that has been happening in classrooms during targeted Mathematics lessons.

Mrs Belinda Evans

Middle Leader

Whilst all students receive high quality instruction in our classrooms, it is essential to recognise that not all students learn at the same pace, or consolidate the key concepts at the same level. This has been particularly evident following the interruptions to learning that many of our students have experienced over the past two years.

Tier 2 Interventions are evidence based programs that feature a highly structured, systematic approach to the teaching of key literacy skills and numeracy concepts. These programs are run daily, in small groups and are facilitated by highly trained Teachers and/or School Support officers, in collaboration with your child's classroom teacher and the school’s Diverse Learning Team. At St Paul’s we offer a range of intervention programs that offer students an opportunity to access specific, targeted instruction to consolidate key concepts, skills, knowledge and understanding in both Literacy and Numeracy, including MiniLit (Stage 1) and MacQ Lit (Stage 2 and 3), MultiSensory Structured Language (MSL) (K-6) and Small Group Classroom Intervention Programs for Numeracy. We also have access to programs to support Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and student wellbeing. 

Students who qualify for a Tier 2 Intervention are those students who receive additional support in the classroom but have not demonstrated expected growth in either Literacy or Numeracy. The St Paul’s Diverse Learning Team have recently completed initial assessments to determine the students who would benefit from a Tier 2 Interventions across our school throughout Semester Two, and these interventions commenced in Week 1.

Mrs Alexandra Hingston

Middle Leader

St Paul’s will be participating in the ICAS Assessments again this year. The official sitting window is between the 7th August and 1st September 2023. Specific dates for each assessment can be seen in the table below.

ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies.

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student that takes part will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals and are invited to attend special award ceremonies to have their academic excellence publicly recognised.

These assessments are suitable for students wishing to extend themselves academically and take up the personal challenge of competing in an international assessment that has been running for 40 years. Your child will be presented with high-quality, expert-developed questions, allowing them to apply their learning without the need for prior study or revision. ICAS Assessments are now online, a move that reflects a sector-wide transition to online assessments. This allows greater accessibility for students and faster delivery of results.

Learn more about ICAS here: https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas

2023 Participation and Payment

St Paul’s has signed up for the ICAS Assessments parent payment system (PPS) for all

assessments. Through this system parents can pay for ICAS directly online while tests will

still being held at our school. Please use the following details to register your child no later than

Monday the 31st of July. 

The parent page link is:

https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps

The School access code is: TBJ084

If you sign your child up for an assessment please also fill in the below permission slip which was handed out to students in week 7.

ICAS AssessmentsTM

2023 Permission Form

Please return this form to the school office no later than Monday 31 July.

I give permission for my child, _______________________  in class _______   to participate in the 2023 ICAS Assessments listed below.

Name of Parent/Carer  _______________________  Date__________________

Signature of Parent/Carer ________________________________

Miss Eliza Treble 

Middle Leader 

On the 25th of July the St Paul's school community came together to recognise the wonderful contributions that Grandparents make towards our school community. It was great to spend the morning with so many grandparents and we thank our grandparents for joining us. Please see some photos of our wonderful morning.

The Catholic Education of Wollongong has an extremely informative website that has all information regarding sport for our diocese. This includes information about gala days, trails and much more. If you ever have any questions about sport this is the place to look https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/sport/. Of course we are always happy to help here at school and this website is where we go for the answers! 

On Friday the 28th of July a number of our students will be participating in the Soccer Gala. Our students will be travelling to three different venues. 

Senior Boys Yrs 5-6 will be playing at Terry Reserve, Albion Park and parents/carers will be responsible for transporting their children. Miss AlanaStroligo and Mrs Bree-Anna Fogliada will be attending this venue. 

Senior Girls Yrs 5-6 will be playing at Darcy Wentworth Oval, Warrawong and parents/carers will be responsible for transporting their children.  Mrs Belinda Evans and Mrs Angela Waistell will be attending this venue.

Junior Boys and Girls Yrs 3-4 will be playing at Lyrebird Park, East Nowra and will be travelling to and from the venue by bus from school with staff. Students will need to be at school at 7am. Miss Julianna Tonini and Miss Eliza Treble will be catchin the bus with students. 

All venues will have canteen facilitates available on the day. 

Each child is to wear their full sports uniform. Soccer boots are optional however shin pads are a requirement. No Jewellery is to be worn on the day and cannot be taped over. 

If you have not yet completed the compass event can you please do this as soon as possible. Any questions please contact Miss Treble. 

On Tuesday the 8th of August, 2023 our selected Diocesean Athletics Team will be heading to Kerryn McCann Athletics Centre, Beaton Park, Gwynneville to represent St Paul’s. All students that have been selected will receive and note with their events and all information for the day. Parents will also receive a compass event that will need to be completed. 

We wish our St Paul’s team the best of luck!

Miss Eliza Treble

Middle Leader

We are encouraging all students to bring waste-free lunches as part of our commitment to promoting sustainability and reducing waste.

The Year 5 Waste-Free Warriors and Year 6 Pastoral Care Leadership Team will be monitoring this and rewarding students who bring a waste-free lunch with prizes and raffle tickets.

Encouraging waste-free lunches not only helps the environment but also teaches our students valuable lessons about responsible consumption and the importance of sustainable practices. It's a wonderful opportunity for them to develop lifelong habits that contribute to a healthier planet.

We appreciate your cooperation and support in making our school a more sustainable and environmentally friendly place. 

Mrs Katie Colquhoun

Year 6 teacher

Congratulations to the Maths Olympiad team for successfully completing the second competition paper. Throughout the term you have continually demonstrated dedication, persistence and problem solving skills and achieved some wonderful results. We are so proud of your efforts!

Could all parents and carers please contact the school office if there is any change to your child's school dismissal/pick up arrangements. Students will not be able to leave with any other parents or carers if the school office has not been notifiied prior to 3:15pm. We thank all our parents and carers for supporting our school with transparent communication about our students dismissal/ school pick up arrangements.

Please ensure when your contact details change to email the info account, so we have a record of the new details. info@spapdow.catholic.edu.au

If there has been any change of information in relation to your child, please contact the office as soon as possible.  This could include change in emergency contacts, change of address, email or phone number, or updated medical information. 

Parents are reminded that in accordance with updated regulations, any student who comes to school with an injury must have clearance from a doctor that clearly states the nature of the injury and what the student can and can not do at school, this includes them being on the playground at recess and lunch times. We understand that this can be difficult to obtain at some times, we have found that if you are able to ask for this information at the time of consultation it will save you the challenge of following up. We anticipate this will be helpful if you unfortunately find yourself in this situation. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call the school office.

Rachel Samson is an Australian-based Clinical Psychologist and Family Consultant with a passion for supporting parents to develop healthy parent-child relationships that promote optimal child development. Read her great article on how to support a sensitive child.

Jump Rope for Heart is the Heart Foundation’s primary school skipping challenge that helps kids move more, have fun and raise funds for lifesaving research and programs.

This year we’ve got an audacious goal to see our student Heart Heroes at St Paul’s to log 40 hours of skipping throughout the program this term!

Register your child online, so they can receive the full benefits of the program and participate in online fundraising, simply follow the link below to get started. www.jumprope.org.au/parents 

Students will be skipping throughout the term in PE lessons and during break times. The running club will also have a special skipping focus where students can practise particular tricks they are learning. During this time you can share their online fundraising page with family and friends to help raise money for this great cause.

We will hold our school Jump Off Day at the end of term, this will mark the end of
the program and is a chance for everyone to come together to skip and show off their
newly learned skills. More details regarding our Jump Off Day will be shared with families later in the term. 

Thank you for supporting the Jump Rope for Heart program!

Mrs Amy Lyons

Jump Rope for Heart Coordinator

Change and loss are issues that affect all of us at some stage in our lives. At St Paul's, we recognise that when changes occur in families through death, separation, divorce and related circumstances, young people may benefit from learning how to manage these changes effectively. CatholicCare Wollongong are therefore offering a very successful education program called Seasons for Growth which will commence in term 3 from week 5. This program is facilitated in small groups and is based on research which highlights the importance of social support and the need the practise new skills to cope effectively with change and loss. The program focuses on issues such as self-esteem, managing feelings, problem-solving, decision-making, effective communication, and support networks. 

If you think your son or daughter would benefit from Seasons for Growth, we encourage you to talk to your child or children about participating in the program. You will also see information posters around the school. Our school is pleased to be able to offer this important program and we are confident that it will be a valuable learning experience for those who request to be involved. If you require further information please contact Bernadette Taylor, CatholicCare's Pastoral Support Worker here at St Paul's, on Monday or Tuesdays.

Bernadette Taylor, CatholicCare's Pastoral Support Worker

Please join the SPAP Parents and Friends Executive for the Term 3 SPAP Parents and Friends Meeting on Monday 14 August at 6:30pm via Zoom. A Zoom link will be shared with parents and carers via Compass.

If you have any agenda items you would like to add to the agenda please email Kelly Rayner via fuller.kelly@abc.net.au

The School Canteen will now be open on a Friday starting in Week 3 -Friday 4th August.

See the latest newsletter from the St Paul's Parish

Please find attached my workshop flyers for Term 3 and 4. These are free for people living in the Shellharbour Council Area. If you have clients/families who may benefit please have them call me to register or go on my waitlist for future workshops.  

Term 3

• Circle of Security Parenting Workshop– Tuesdays 9.30-12 starting 29^th August
• Cool Kids Anxiety Workshop– Mondays 4.30-6 starting 31^st July (this group will be for younger ones,  6-9yos. Have space for 1-2 more)

Term 4

• Circle of Security Parenting Workshop – Mondays 5.30-8pm starting 30^th October
• Chill Little Kids – Thursdays 10-11.30 starting 26^th October (parents only workshop for parents of shy/withdrawn children 3-6 yo)

Warm Regards

Kristin Nisbet

Parenting Program

Southern Youth and Family Services