Last Sunday was the Third Sunday of Advent, which is often called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is a word that means “rejoice”. The Gospel reading was taken from the first chapter of John and begins by telling us that John the Baptist “was not the light, but came to testify to the light”. John the Baptist himself makes it clear that he is not the Christ. He again explains that he is “the voice of one crying out in the desert, make straight the way of the LORD”. John made it clear that he was not the Christ, not Elijah, and not the Prophet. What he was is what we are called to be—ones who proclaim Jesus’ message of truth and joy to all. Last Sunday Pope Francis during his Angelus address invited us all to focus less on one’s self and to put Jesus at the centre of all our interactions with others and lived experiences we share with others.

Dear Parents and Carers,

On behalf of the staff and students at St Paul’s I would like to acknowledge and thank the parent community who has worked with us and supported us throughout the year especially during remote learning. I would like to also acknowledge and thank the Parents and Friends Committee for their support throughout the year. St Paul’s is very fortunate to have a culture of collaboration with parents and carers and we will continue this collaboration in 2021. 

As I reflect on the year I am very proud of the staff and students who have worked tirelessly throughout the year especially considering the challenges that a pandemic has placed on schools and the continuity of learning. What I have learnt this year is that our St Paul’s Community can adapt and cope with constant change and what I have witnessed this year is that the St Paul’s Community is a spirit-filled community that care and support each other especially in times of need. What a wonderful community we have at St Paul’s Catholic Parish Primary School. 

On Monday evening I had the pleasure of joining our 43 Year 6 students and their parents and carers and the St Paul’s staff to celebrate the Year 6 Graduation. This was a wonderful occasion to recognise the many achievements of these students. Today our Year 6 Students will complete a milestone in their lives, the completion of their Primary Education. For the majority of these students St Paul’s has been the only school they have ever known. As these students leave us to begin the next phase of their journey, I thank them for sharing their special gifts with all of us. Year 6 please be assured that each of you takes with you our love and prayers and you leave with us the memory of the special, unique person that each of you are. On behalf of the staff and students I wish our Year 6 students the very best as they transition to secondary schooling and know that they will cherish the time they spent as part of the St Paul’s school community.

For a number of our families their association with the St Paul’s Community will be coming to an end. I take this opportunity to thank these families for living out their commitment to the school and for contributing to the building of this wonderful community in a multitude of ways. We farewell the following families at the end of 2020 - Bastian Family, Bloomfield Family, Chetcuti Family, Cresswell Family, Czornobej Family, Edwards Family, Moon Family, Power Family, Windley Family, Brennan Family, Harmsworth Family, McGlashan Family, Micovski Family,  Mundt Family, Murphy Family, Pyers Family, Smith Family, Huetter Family, Charmers Family, Smallman Family, Madeley Family.

As we make preparations to begin a new school year we do this with the knowledge that we will be farewelling some of the existing members of our community. I wish to acknowledge the work of Mrs Wendy Carter who has been a staff member at St Paul’s for over thirty years. Wendy’s passion for the environment and her involvement in community events is testament of Wendy’s commitment to her profession. Wendy will be retiring to enjoy travel with her family and on behalf of the community I wish her the very best.

I would like to acknowledge the work of Mrs Janet Sykes who has been a staff member of St Paul’s for the past 6 years. Janet’s passion for supporting the diverse learning needs of students is testament of her commitment to her profession. Janet has been teaching in the Diocese of Wollongong for 40 years and will retire to spend time with her family, especially her granddaughter. On behalf of the community I wish Janet the very best.

I would like to acknowledge the work of Mrs Judith Johnson who has been a staff member at St Paul's for 3 years. Judith in her role as school support officer has supported many St Paul's students. Judith will be retiring to enjoy more time with her family and on behalf of the community I wish Judith the very best.

I would like to acknowledge the work of Mrs Wendy Maccioni who has been a staff member at St Paul’s for the past 6 months. Wendy has worked in the school office and has made many wonderful contributions to the community. On behalf of the community I wish Wendy the very best.

I would like to acknowledge the work of Mr Lawrie Burns the School Chaplain who has been part of the school community for the past 8 months. Lawrie has supported the well being of many students and facilitated a number of well being programs with grades at St Paul’s. On behalf of the community I wish Lawrie the very best.

To each of these valued staff we say ‘thank you’ for the contributions they have made to making a difference to the lives of our students. We wish each of them abundant blessings as they all begin their new adventures in 2021.

This year we have achieved a great deal and there is much to celebrate. The recent results from the Annual School Survey which parents and carers, students and staff completed is indicative that our community values and acknowledges the many strengths of the school. 

Student Satisfaction

95% of students agreed that they are proud of the school, 93% of students agreed that the school helps them in their understanding of the Catholic faith, 96% of students agreed that their teacher encourages them to learn to the best of their ability, 98% of students agreed that they understand their rights and responsibilities at school, 93% of students agreed that they felt safe at school, 92% of students agreed that there are people at school they could approach for help if they had a problem, 94% of students agreed that there are sporting and other activities in which they can become involved.

Staff Satisfaction

100 % of staff agreed that the school helps students to develop a knowledge and understanding about Catholic tradition,  96% of staff agreed that the school helps students understand their rights and responsibilities, 100% of staff agreed that students are challenged to maximise their learning outcomes, 100% of staff agreed that the school strives to meet the individual learning needs of students, 100% of staff agreed that the school provides appropriate information to parents about student progress, 100% of staff agreed that the school provides a safe and supportive environment.

Parent Satisfaction

99% of parents agreed that the school helps their child to develop knowledge and understanding about Catholic tradition. 85% of parents agreed that their child is challenged to maximise his/her learning outcomes. 86% of parents agreed that the school strives to meet their child’s individual learning needs. 85% of parents agreed that the school provides appropriate information about their child’s progress,  90% of parents agreed that the teachers are genuinely interested in the welfare of their child, 95% of parents agreed that the school provides a safe and supportive environment and 93% of parents agreed that the school effectively communicates information about activities and events.

As I complete my first year as Principal at St Paul’s, I wish to express how blessed I feel to have been so warmly welcomed into the St Paul’s community by the wonderful staff of St Paul’s, Fr. Leo and the St Paul’s Parish, parents and carers and students. In a year that has presented unique challenges, I have been very fortunate to be surrounded by a welcoming and caring community that has helped to support my transition as Principal at St Paul’s. I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to all members of this community for the care and support each of you have provided. I look forward to continuing our journey and am excited by the opportunities for continued collaboration in 2021. I would like to warmly wish our students and their families a Holy and Spirit filled festive season and a safe, relaxing and enjoyable holiday. On behalf of the staff we look forward to seeing our students and parents and carers on 28 January 2021.

Wishing you every blessing,

Michelle Rodwell

Principal

It was with great disappointment that this year the whole school could not celebrate the 2020 year in Mass together due to COVID restrictions. The Infants classes and Stage 3 (Years 5 & 6) celebrated Liturgies in their classrooms which they really enjoyed with singing and movement included in each liturgy.

Stage Two (Years 3 & 4) were fortunate to be able to celebrate Mass with Fr Leo in the church, giving Year 3 a second opportunity this year to receive the Eucharist after their First Holy Communion.

At this Mass we thanked God for a successful school year in spite of the difficulties we were faced with COVID. We also were able to say thank you to 3 wonderful staff members who have given so much to our school, especially Mrs Carter who has worked at St Paul’s for close to 30 years. Mrs Sykes and Mrs Johnston were not able to attend the Mass but the children prayed for them and acknowledged all their hard work. A special part of the Mass was the blessing the children sang to Mrs Carter, extending their arms out to her. It was an emotional moment of grace for the children and staff.

St Vincent de Paul had asked for our school for assistance in helping those in our local community who were having difficulties at this time of year. The response from our students, their families and our staff was overwhelming, with more than 30 large boxes of food items and treats for Christmas. Mrs Maureen Buchanan from our local Chapter of SVDP thanked our school community and assured us that we had brought joy to many people this Christmas. We also collected $697.00 to help the society with other needs for disadvantaged families.

Below are a few photos of only a small portion of our gifts that were placed in the church, and back of the SVDP van.

I would like to thank Fr Leo, the wonderful students at St Paul’s, our dedicated staff lead by Mrs Rodwell, and the parents and families, for the amazing support you have all given me this year in my role as Religious Education Coordinator. It was a difficult year due to COVID yet I felt blessed to be surrounded by people who cared so much about those in our school community and assisted each other in many different ways. I would like to thank all families for their generosity this year as we were able to donate $1,370.50 to those less fortunate in the local area and overseas this year.

I loved my involvement in the children’s faith and how they have demonstrated the importance of God in their lives. Thank you for the support and blessings I have received from all of you. 

Julie Ferguson

Religious Education Coordinator 2020

Early Stage 1

Kinder Blue: Mrs April Grove

Kinder Red: Mrs Alexandra Hingston

Early Stage 1 Stage Leader: Mrs Belinda Evans

Stage 1  

One Blue: Mrs Elizabeth Rippon (Monday- Wednesday) and Mrs Tracy Whalan (Wednesday-Friday)

One Red: Miss Rachel Allison

Two Blue: Mrs Suzette Bennett

Two Red: Mrs Jodi Marsh (Monday- Wednesday) and Mrs Michelle Griffiths (Thursday- Friday)

Stage 1 Leader: Mrs Jodi Marsh

Stage 2

Three Blue: Miss Olivia Djodan (Monday, Wednesday - Friday) and Mrs Janet McDonald Cook (Tuesday)

Three Red: Miss Julianne Tonini

Four Blue: Mrs Julie Ferguson (Monday - Wednesday) and Mrs Angela Spaccavento (Thursday and Friday) Please note that Mrs Gemma Bolton will be replacing Mrs Ferguson for Term 1.

Four Red: Mrs Laura Miller

Stage 2 Leader: Miss Olivia Djodan

Stage 3

Five Blue: Mrs Suzanne Hayes

Five Red: Miss Katie De Sousa

Six Blue: Mrs Bree-Anna Fogliada (Monday - Wednesday) and Mr Cain Holgate (Thursday and Friday)

Six Red: Mr Brian McCann (Monday, Tuesday and Friday) and Mrs Rebecca Nunes (Wednesday and Thursday)

Stage 3 Leader: Mrs Rebecca Nunes

Additional Staff

Teacher Professional Planning Release Creative Arts: Mrs Maree Pollard (Tuesday -Thursday)

Teacher Professional Planning Release Physical Education: Mr Cain Holgate (Tuesday) Mr Brian McCann (Wednesday and Thursday)

Reading Recovery: Mrs Belinda Evans and Mrs Monica McCann

Support for MiniLit, MacqLit and Multisensory Learning: Mrs Emma Mansbridge (Tuesday - Thursday)

Support for Case Collaboration Meetings: Mrs Nicola Turner (Tuesday and Thursday)

Our Year 6 families gifted St Paul's School with a bird bath, bird feeder (complete with seed), Bunnings Gift Cards and some beautiful plants to attract the birds into our school.

Mrs Rodwell presented this to the school in the virtual assembly.

Congratulations to the following students who have received or will be receiving a Principal Award and/or a Mary MacKillop Award:

Principal Awards

Flynn Glover - 1 Blue

Elise Jennison - 3 Red

The PB4L Team

Thank you to all students who are trying their best to follow our school rules in the playground and classroom

This year, our student community has been supported by a very hard-working and dedicated team of student representatives. These Student representatives have all showed initiative, given selflessly of their time to attend meetings and perform their duties, been outstanding role models for their peers and conducted class PB4L meetings to listen to and record the ideas and opinions of the student body. 

They all reported back to the staff PB4L team with great insight and honesty, and their efforts are enormously appreciated by all staff and students at St Paul’s. 

A huge thank you to all of our PB4L Representatives from Years 3-6! We are awarding these outstanding students a special award to thank them and recognise their contribution to the life of St Paul’s! 

Year Three 

Austin Nixon 

Kobi Elliott 

Year Four 

Wesley Smith 

Matthew Parker 

Year Five 

Lilly Mowbray 

Connor Shelton 

Year Six 

Ellie Micovski 

Tim Bloomfield

Our PB4L Draw winners for Week 9 are:

Zoe Moran - K Red

Poppy Faulks - 3 Blue

Rocco Hart - 1 Blue

Natalie Moon - 6 Blue

Eli Coopes - 3 Red

Our PB4L Draw winners for Week 10 are:

Savannah Apps - 2 Red

Jack Hingston - K Blue

Madison McKenzie - 1 Red

Reuben Jomon - K Blue

Harrison McDonald - 2 Blue

Sean Bancroft - 6 Blue

We have learnt so many new things! Our first year at school has been very unique with learning at home and also learning at school. We have had a great time improving our reading and writing skills. Groups have been so exciting this year and we have really enjoyed using the iPads. We also loved visiting the library and borrowing some interesting books. Dressing up in Passive Play has been so exciting. We have created some amazing pieces of art and craft. We have made lots of new friends and are really looking forward to Year 1.

Our Excursion to Symbio was so much fun! We caught a bus there and we even got to pat an alligator, snake and a blue tongue lizard. We were so tired on the way home that some of us even fell asleep.

Mrs Hayes, Mrs Hastings and Mrs Grove have really enjoyed teaching Kinder Red and Blue this year. Kindergarten have been an absolute pleasure to teach. We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a bright and happy New Year to follow!

Year One 2020 has been awesome!  We have had so many fun adventure and learnt lots!

We wish you a very Merry Christmas! We hope you have a lovely Christmas with your family and friends. Make some lovely memories and have fun!

Stay safe and may God bless you and keep you all safe! 

Love from Miss Allison, Mrs Miller and Mrs Mansbridge

Together we were Super Heroes who flew through the year to achieve great things!

Due to Covid regulations most  of our school liturgies were in the classroom. Both classes were beautiful in the way they displayed reverence and participated in meaningful ways , through prayer, songs, dance and drama.

Two Red took on the responsibility of caring for Spiky (our stick insect) this year and both classes made sure our gardens were mulched, weeded and watered.

We had great fun during the year wearing Mufti Clothes and participating in Special days. We loved CRAZY HAIR Day and White Balloon Day. Dressing up for Book Week was lots of fun and writing a special message for R U Ok day was a highlight. Getting into the gardens and making our school playground look beautiful was also enjoyable!

Your teachers were very excited watching you learn and engage with your many hands-on activities and experiments. Our Science excursion to the Planetarium and Space Centre opened all our eyes to the many wonders of Science. We have enjoyed being curious, investigating, questioning and recording observations.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time with you, Year Two!

You have been a fabulous group and have made the year a special one! So many times you have displayed perseverance, kindness, resilience and humour. Your maturity shows that you are truly ready for Stage Two. 

We wish you all a safe, relaxing and enjoyable holiday and a very Merry Christmas! 

Mrs McDonald-Cook, Mrs Carter and Mrs Whalan.

After COVID lockdown we were able to come back to school. We learnt lots of fun things like coding and meditation. We took part in Environmental Day group tasks, freeze frame drama in Religion and completed science investigations.

2020 has been a roller coaster of a year for all of us, but we were still able to carry on and Bounce Back from any challenges, with a positive attitude.

We took on the responsibility for our Year 3 gardens and the daily cleaning of the school Fogo bins. We enjoyed a variety of group work activities such as building and construction where we learned how to work together and practiced our communication skills.

We learnt about money through our Two Bob Billabong incursion and had a wonderful, adventurous and rich learning experience at the Nan Tien Temple. At the Temple we learnt about Chinese Buddhism through Tai Chi, temple visits and information about symbols, rituals and though tasting some delicious vegetarian food.

We would like to wish all our lovely Year 3 students and their families a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! Love Mrs McCann and Mrs Bennett.

This Term Year 4 have been throwing themselves into all of the activities they missed earlier in the year and showing some excellent school spirit!

• We kicked off Term 4 with an energetic Book Week parade and a virtual author visit where the students tried their hand at writing and illustrating their own story about Doug the Bug! 

• Our visit to Minnamurra Rainforest was excellent, the Year 4 students listened to a presentation on the importance of National Parks, worked together to create maps of the rainforest, stood quietly and listened to the sounds of the rainforest then finished the day with a challenging trek up the steep path to the waterfall. 

• In Science and Technology both Year 4 classes showed their excellent group work skills as they worked together to communicate and make different Lego creations to deepen their understanding of the importance of providing clear steps in a process to help their coding.

• A number of students represented Year 4 in the SPAP X Factor Performances and we loved watching these performances.
• Finally, Year 4 were very committed to their Christmas Concert rehearsals and during the filmed performance and we are so proud of them for their hard work during preparation for this special event. 

To all of our wonderful Year 4 students and families, we wish you all a very happy, holy and safe Christmas break. Lots of love from Julie Ferguson, Michelle Griffiths and Julianne Tonini.

Year 5 have all worked so hard during 2020! We have witnessed such growth academically and socially with every student and been lucky enough to enjoy a whirlwind of learning experiences! We can’t wait to see the students become leaders in Year 6 in 2021. We would like to commend the students for all their efforts during the year.

This year, Year 6 have been active participants in their respective leadership groups. Our Senior Leaders and School Captains have led various initiatives, including handing out the Merit Awards each week.  Our ICT Team has supported the staff and students in all their tech needs, including assisting with our Virtual Assemblies each week.  The Pastoral Care team have been responsible for saying the Angelus and other prayers daily over our microphone. Finally, our Hospitality Team has helped to lead fun days, fundraisers and school events within our school community. We were even fortunate enough to take part in a special leadership day where we worked with each other to develop important skills in the areas of relationships, resilience and reflection. We are so proud of our leaders and the maturity and care they have given to their leadership roles!

Remote learning feels like a lifetime ago!  Our Year 6 Superstars handled remote learning incredibly well!  The teachers will always remember our hilarious class and grade Zoom calls and the feeling of seeing all your faces back at school again!  Our students displayed resilience and persistence in the face of an unpredictable challenge and didn’t let anything get in the way of learning.

First, our Camp was cancelled due to flash flooding.  Then our Camp was cancelled due to Covid.  Finally, after a whole year of hoping and praying, Mr McCann’s dreams became a reality and we made it to Camp!  Year 6 tackled the challenges of the High Wires, the Giant Swing and the Zipline.  Every single student had an absolutely fantastic time and made memories which we know will last a lifetime!

For the first time in St Paul’s history, Year 6 were privileged to attend a special primary students fun day at Jamberoo Action Park!  We spent the day controlling the action on all the awesome rides Jamberoo has to offer.  Mrs Rodwell, Mr McCann, Mrs Fogliada and Mr Holgate were so impressed by how well our Year 6 students demonstrated our 3 school rules: Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Safe. 

This week, Year 6 graduates from Primary School.  On Monday, students shared with their parents and teachers in a celebration of the Liturgy of the Word, followed by a dinner and disco.  On Wednesday, the St Paul’s community will farewell our Year 6 friends with a guard of honour at 3:00 pm.  The staff of St Paul’s are so incredibly proud of the kind, respectful and hard-working students of Year 6 and wish them all the very best in their years at high school!

Year 6, what a year it has been!  To say we are proud of all you have achieved this year would be an understatement.  Even though we will miss you dearly, we know that you will all LOVE your next adventure of high school and we look forward to hearing about all your successes.  We wish you all the best of luck!  Have a very Merry Christmas and absolutely fabulous New Year!  

Love Mr McCann, Mrs Fogliada and Mr Holgate

The P&F and St Paul’s school community would like to thank the following parents who have been instrumental in the activities of the P&F throughout the past 7 years.

These parents leave the school community at the end of 2020:

• Maria Bancroft
• Trish McGlashan
• Helen Moon
• Kellie Mundt

We wish you, and your families every blessing in the years to come.

Exciting news for The Second-Hand Uniform Stall for 2021. A new coordinator, Deanna Carbonara, is volunteering her time to continue to provide this helpful service to our St Paul’s School Community.  Parents/carers who require uniform items will now need to contact Deanna (0409 563 546). Items requested will be left at the office to pay and pick up at your convenience.

All items $5

Please Note:

The Office can only accept EFTPOS payments when purchasing uniforms.

DONATIONS of uniforms which you no longer require are always needed to replenish our stock. It is important that all uniforms have been WASHED and are in relatively GOOD condition (no rips, big stains or broken zippers please).

Parents and Carers are welcome to drop off the uniform donations at the front office.