Dear Parents and Carers,

Over the last two weeks we have had many wonderful learning and community experiences for our students. Our Mother’s Day celebrations included the P & F Mother’s Day stall where students were able to choose a variety of special gifts. We hope all of our mother’s enjoyed receiving their gift on Mother’s Day. The beautiful Afternoon High Tea where our mother’s enjoyed time to sit and relax with their friends to enjoy a warm drink and some delicious treats. Our local community spoiled our mums with some amazing lucky door prizes. Congratulations to those mums who were lucky enough to win a prize. Our school choir performed a beautiful rendition of ‘The Ones Who Mother Me’. Following this our mums visited their child’s classroom to share in the learning throughout the term.

Two grades ventured out of school for their excursions. Year 1 enjoyed a day at the Botanical Gardens in Wollongong and Year 4 visited Minnamurra Rainforest. I know the students and their teachers had a great day.

This week we have an Assembly led by Year 6 and our P & F 70/80s themed disco on Friday 23 May. I hope that our students can attend. The cost is $5 per student. This year the P & F are providing two glow sticks rather than a packet of chips. Students should bring a bottle of water or a drink bottle.

Awards

We are currently reviewing the rewards to ensure that children are receiving their ACE, Principal and Mary MacKillop awards correctly. When the school transitioned over to the Compass system there were some discrepancies. Miss Nunes in the Admin team is currently cross checking awards sent in by parents with Compass. We are starting with our 2025 Year 6 cohort to ensure they receive the correct awards before they leave at the end of the year. 

If you have a Year 6 student who has not brought in all of their awards and given them to the office I encourage you to do this no later than the end of Term 2. 

Professional Learning for Teachers

Throughout each term some of our teachers may be absent from class to engage in professional learning days to deepen their knowledge of the new NSW syllabus documents which they use for programming units of work. The NSW syllabus documents provide the outcomes for each stage of learning. Each child’s learning is assessed and allocated grades based on the NSW syllabus outcomes. This year our teachers are also working on deepening their knowledge of contemporary pedagogies which include high impact teaching strategies. This aligns with our school ‘Annual Improvement Plan Goal of 

Early Career Teachers

We are fortunate at St Paul’s to have several early career teachers. To nurture their growth they will be attending professional learning days throughout the year. It is important in an era where we have a teacher shortage we ensure our early career teachers are provided the support they need to deepen their knowledge of how students learn best to support growth in each child’s faith, learning and wellbeing. 

Kindergarten 2026 Enrolments

On Saturday, 17 May, we commenced round one of our Kindergarten interviews. I want to thank the members of the St Paul’s Leadership Team who supported me by meeting with families. It is pleasing to know that so many families who want to join St Paul’s to educate their children in Faith, Learning and Wellbeing.

We currently have spaces for two Kindergarten classes. We are blessed to have so many families applying; however, we will not be able to accommodate all of those wishing to join St Paul’s. We are guided by the Catholic Education Wollongong Enrolment Policy and procedures when deciding on letters of offer.

Our Kindergarten interviews are continuing throughout the next few weeks. An “Acceptance of Offer” form will be sent to successful applicants on the 23 June.

Warm regards,

Angela Pecnik

Principal

Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) schools, in partnership with families, are responsible for encouraging and supporting the regular attendance of students at school. Under the Education Act 1990 (NSW), it is the duty of a parent of a child of compulsory school-age to cause the child to be enrolled at and to attend a government school, or a registered non-government school, or to be registered for home schooling.

All Catholic education schools within the diocese of Wollongong are aiming for 90-100% attendance. Our new policy and procedures state the following:

• If a child is away for 3 consecutive days parents will be contacted by the school.
• If a child's attendance drops to between 71-89% they will be contacted by the Assistant Principal who is overseeing student attendance. The purpose of this communication is to understand why the student has had full days or partial absences from school. An Attendance Plan will be created to monitor attendance and support the parents and students with coming to school regularly.
• Partial absences are arriving late or leaving early.
• If a child's attendance drops to less than 70% the Assistant Principal will make contact with our Catholic Education Wollongong Wellbeing and Student Support Team to work together with the family to monitor the child's attendance.

Attendance Procedures

If a parent wishes their child to undertake an extended absence for the purposes of travel, the parent must attach to the Notification of Extended Absence travel documentation indicating the intended dates and locations of travel. The parent must indicate on the form the purpose of the travel and the circumstances that make it necessary for the travel to be undertaken outside the school holiday period.

Generally, an explanation for an extended absence for the purposes of travel should not be accepted by a Principal, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

If Extended Absences for Travel are declined by the Principal the attendance will be marked as Unjustified. Leave can still be taken by families even if not approved. It is important to note that any type of leave will impact their attendance percentages.

We value your feedback and want to hear about your experiences with our school! We're inviting you to participate in the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) parent survey. Your honest opinions will help us understand what we're doing well and where we can improve to make our school even better for your child.

The survey is anonymous and takes just a few minutes to complete. Please click on the link below to share your thoughts: https://tellthemfromme.com/survey/splash/8m4gs

We would appreciate parents completing the survey by Friday 30 May, 2025.

On the 12 of May, Year 5 and 6 students embarked on a day of leadership exploration with Cameron Brown from Explore, Discover, Act. The day was packed with engaging exercises aimed at fostering leadership skills and cultivating a culture of teamwork. As the day unfolded, several key lessons emerged, leaving a lasting impact on the young minds present. Some of these key takeaways include:

• There is no one way to lead
• Communication is key to successful leadership
• Look for different people’s perspective
• Calmness and trust are important
• Welcome others
• Leadership is not about winning but leading the team in the right direction

Students enjoyed a pizza lunch to celebrate. As the day drew to a close, the students left with a new found appreciation for the qualities of effective leadership and an ability to work effectively as a team.

 

Congratulations to the Year 6 students who made the Sacrament of Confirmation in the St Paul’s Parish on the 6th and 7th of May. Father Leo confirmed the candidates.

MAY THE MONTH OF MARY

In the Catholic Church the month of May is Mary’s month. It’s the month we honour Blessed Mary as the Mother of Jesus and our Heavenly Mother. Take time to pray the Hail Mary this month.

OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

Mary Help of Christians is one of the names given to Blessed Mary. The 24th May is the Feast Day of Our Lady Mary Help of Christians - the Patron Saintof Australia. In the early stages of the Australian Catholic community the faithful relied heavily on the rosary to sustain their faith as Mass was forbidden, and the devotion to Our Lady Help of Christians became a cornerstone of their religious practice. Their steadfast devotion to Mary culminated in Australia being the first nation to adopt her as principal patroness under the title “Help of Christians.”  

The teachers will 

• Pre-remind students of the PB4L procedures for lining up ready for dismissal, students catching the bus will now remain with teachers until 3:20pm and then move to bus lines
• Pre-remind students of behaviour expectations when lining up and catching the bus

Week 5, the PB4L focus will be behaviour in the school hall 

The teachers will

• Pre-remind students of the expectations when entering and exiting the hall
• Praise and reward students when they are responding to teacher instructions and the bells

PB4L Student representatives

The PB4L student leaders have met with Mrs Bolton and have been busy conducting surveys to our students to inform staff on playground equipment requests. 

Congratulations again to our team! 

Hello St Paul’s we are your vice captains signing in for the week. I am Harrison and I am Magdalena. A lot has happened at the beginning of Term 2 and things will happen in the coming week.

This term:

• Year 5 and 6 participated in a leadership day on Monday the 12th May.
• Last Friday 70 students and some teachers attended the walk safe to school day.
• On Wednesday the 14th May, 2 grades went on an excursion. Year 1 went to the Botanical Gardens and Year 4 went to the Minnamurra Rainforest. Both grades had a great day.
• Year 6 attended the Parish mass in St Paul’s church last Friday. 
• Then this Friday on the 23rd May we have our school disco in the school hall. The theme is 80’s. Come dressed up! K-2 at 4:45pm till 5:45pm Years 3-6 at 6pm till 7 pm.

Collaborative Planning

During Week 4 the staff have been involved in Collaborative Planning. Our focus for these sessions has been English. The staff are planning units of work with mentor texts to support students' understanding of the outcomes in the English syllabus. These outcomes include Oral language and communication, Vocabulary, Reading, Creating Written Texts and Understanding and responding to literature. 

Check out the Year 2 teachers working hard planning for English...

ACE Awards:
Lucy 1R
Ella T 2B
Kye D2R
Nate 2B
Ava D 2B
Indiana 2B
Willow 2B
Leo 2B
Jensen 2R
Xander 2R
Layla 2R
Jack 2R
Harlow 3B
Evana 4B
Tyson 5R
Allira 5B
Madison 6R
Billy 6B
Chase 6B
Rocco 6B
Zoe 6B
Nate 6B
Arihana 6B
Piper 6B
Harrison 6B

Principal's Awards:
Ella T 2B
Kye D 2R
Nate 2B
Ava D 2B
Indiana 2B
Willow 2B
Leo 2B
Jensen 2R
Xander 2R
Layla 2R
Jack 2R
Toby 4R
Evana 4B
Allira 5B
Madison 6R
Billy 6B
Chase 6B
Rocco 6B
Arihana 6B

Mary MacKillop Awards:
Toby 4R
Evana 4B
Allira 5B
Arihana 6B
Rocco 6B
Billy 6B
Chase 6B

Please note that the Week 10 Assembly will be at 1 pm

If your child visits an Illawarra – Shoalhaven Emergency Department you may receive an “Emergency Department Post Card”. This card encourages parents / carers to contact the school. This is part of Health and Education’s ongoing commitment to the well-being and safety of students. Even if you haven’t received a Post Card you must let a school know about the visit. It is also important to communicate with the school after any significant injury to ensure your child is safe at school.

Contacting the school enables you and the student to be involved in developing any plan needed. If you can, before leaving the hospital ask for a written note or medical certificate outlining any necessary information for your child's teacher/s and school staff.

Communicating with the school

• Phone or visit the school's main office and ask to speak to the Assistant Principal or a Leadership team member about returning to school after a student is discharged from the hospital or after a significant injury
• The school may discuss your child's needs with you over the phone or if necessary, invite you to a meeting at the school. 
• Provide the school with documents provided by the hospital or fracture clinics such as written notes, a discharge summary or a medical certificate outlining the necessary information for your child

Please be assured that all information will be treated with the utmost confidentiality and sensitivity.

We have been in contact with Shellharbour City Council Road Safety regarding the installation of bollards for No Parking, 2 Minute Limit and Kiss and Drop Zones. These will make the different parking zones more visible for our families.

Council are waiting on the delivery of these bollards and once they arrive they will be installed on Tongarra Road.

Please see the attached flyers that the Council has provided for your information.

We thank you for your patience.

The school disco will be held on Friday 23rd May. Please make sure you have handed in your consent form and paid the $5 entry fee. Don't forget to scan the QR code below.

Please join us for the Parents and Friends Term 2 Meeting on Tuesday 27th May at 6pm via zoom. A zoom link will be sent via Compass. 

Zoom Protocols:

• All screens should be on so we can verify who is attending the meeting
• Please use airpods as this meeting is for adults and the information discussed should not be shared with students
• Items for discussion should be added to the agenda prior to the meeting