In last Sunday’s Gospel according to Mark we find Jesus moved with pity. Leprosy was a living death: the sufferer was isolated from family and community, and had to cry out ‘Unclean, unclean!’ when anyone approached. Touching the leper made Jesus ritually unclean also. There are no lengths to which Jesus will not go to help this man. He touches him, speaks to him, and gives him his freedom to be fully human again.

We are reminded that Jesus cares for us just as we are. He identifies with us in our pain. As we begin the sacred season of Lent let us take the time to deepen our awareness of our own personal need for salvation, that we may celebrate the saving death and resurrection of Jesus with a deeper joy and gratitude for his infinite mercy. 

Lent is a time of Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving and is also a time to hear the Word of God, to be reconciled with one’s self and with one’s neighbour. 

Dear Parents and Carers,

Last week our students were able to come together as a community to celebrate the beginning of the school year with a Liturgy of the Word whereby our School Captains, Senior Leadership Team and Year 6 students were commissioned. As a school community we also participated in the St Paul’s annual swimming carnival. I would like to thank Mrs Jodi Marsh and Mr Brian McCann for their preparation and organisation of both events. It was wonderful to start our school year coming together as a spirit filled community.

On Monday evening a number of parents and carers were able to join together via Zoom for the St Paul’s Parents and Friends Committee’s Annual General Meeting and Term 1 meeting. I would like to acknowledge and thank the Parents and Friends Committee for their ongoing support. I would like to thank the outgoing Parents and Friends Leadership Team on behalf of our staff and students and thank them for their years of support and dedication, especially with Fundraising. It is through their initiatives that our students continue to access the curriculum through the provision of many resources including STEM and Sport Resources. 

Congratulations to the following parents and carers who were appointed positions at the Annual General Meeting

President:  Sara-Jay O’Shea

Vice President and Sponsorship/Grant Co-ordinator:  Melanie Jennison

Treasurer:  Bernadette Arnold

Assistant Treasurer:  Kirra Groznik

Secretary:  Amy DeSantis

Assistant Secretary:  Katie Zanin

Second Hand Uniform Coordinator:  Deanna Carbonara

St Paul’s is very fortunate to have a culture of collaboration with parents and carers and we will continue this collaboration in 2021 especially through the Parents and Friends Committee.

Let us embrace this first week of Lent with open arms and allow God into our lives.

Wishing you every blessing,

Michelle Rodwell

Principal

As previously advertised, teachers are currently offering meet and greet phone calls with parents. The purpose of these calls is to help the teacher get to know your child and talk through their transition to the 2021 year. These calls are optional. 

The booking links are provided. Bookings close Friday 19 February

To book an optional phone call with your class teacher for any student in Kinder - Year 6 please click on the relevant class.

To book a time for KINDER click the link.

To book a time for Year ONE click the link.

To book a time for Year TWO click the link.

To book a time for Year THREE click the link.

To book a time for Year FOUR click the link.

To book a time for Year FIVE click the link.

To book a time for Year SIX click the link.

If your child has a personalised plans teachers will be contacting parents between weeks seven and nine (8 March - 26 March) to discuss their goals. More information will be provided to these parents shortly. 

While most students wear their uniform with pride, there are a number of reminders around hair and jewellery that need to be consistently reinforced.

The requirements for the uniform at St Paul's are as follows:

UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS

• Wear the correct school/sports uniform at all times
• School/sports uniforms are to be worn in a neat manner
• School shoes are to be black leather (for safety at school). No brand names are to be visible
• All sports footwear must be jogger style
• All sports socks must be plain white, ankle-length socks. No brand names
• No coloured hair decorations – girls may wear headbands, ribbons, scrunchies in red or royal blue
• No jewellery except for plain studs or sleepers (one per ear lobe), watch, signet ring or religious medals
• No nail polish or make-up
• School hat is to be worn at breaks, PE and sport.  We have a “NO HAT-NO PLAY” policy- children will be asked to sit in the shade if they do not have their hat

HAIRCUTS

• The emphasis is on “neat and tidy”
• Girls long hair or hair below the shoulders is to be tied back
• Boys hair should be no longer than collar length or hair below the shoulders is to be tied back
• Extreme hair cuts and coloured hair are not permitted
• The emphasis is on evenly cut hair

We are pleased to see most students adhering to these requirements for the St Paul's school uniform.

One of the School Review and Improvement priorities at St Paul's is to create opportunities for parents and carers to share in their child's learning journey.

This week you will have received a hard copy of the Parent Code of Conduct related to the use of Seesaw at St Paul's. The note is attached for your information or in case the hard copy did not make it home. Please complete the return slip and send it back to school. We look forward to sharing our learning with our parents.

Last Friday, Years 3-6 gathered together to celebrate the beginning of the 2021 school year. Our school captains were inducted and Year Six leaders received their badges. K-2 students gathered together for a prayer celebration in the library.

Today, Wednesday 17 February we celebrated Ash Wednesday. Years 3-6 received ashes in a Liturgy of the Word from Father Leo in the Church. Mrs Marsh distributed ashes to children from K-2 in a prayer celebration at school.

Ash Wednesday begins the Church season of Lent. Our prayer cloths on the classroom sacred spaces will change to purple.

Catholic Schools Week begins Sunday 28 February through to Saturday 6 March – Week 6 of this Term. St Paul’s school community will be participating in a number of activities throughout the week. 

• Monday 1 March - Liturgy of the Word will be celebrated with the students 
• Tuesday 2 March - Each class will create a tour of their classroom, with the video released on SeeSaw. Details of how parents can connect to See Saw accounts will be released next week.
• Wednesday 3 March - Religious Education books will be sent home.
• Thursday 4 March - Each grade will participate in rotations around a number of different Creative Arts activities
• Friday 5 March – Mufti Day - Children are invited to dress in mufti clothes. Please ensure students wear appropriate clothes and closed in shoes. Each child will receive a special treat. Our Virtual Assembly will be released in the afternoon.

Father Leo Duck has given dates for the celebration of the Sacraments for 2021.

Further information about preparation and registration will be forwarded to you as it comes to hand.

FIRST RECONCILIATION (for students in Year Three or above)

21 June to 25 June

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION (for students in Year Three or above)

11 September or 12 September

CONFIRMATION (for students in Year Six)

29 April or 30 April

Confirmation enrolment forms were sent home to all Year Six students last week. Please return the completed forms as soon as possible to the school office. Year Six students will be preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation during class time.

Jodi Marsh

Religious Education Coordinator

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

PB4L Student Representatives

Congratulations to the following students who have been nominated and selected by their classroom teacher to represent the student voices for 2021

Stage Three Student Representatives:

6 Red - Mackenzie Hutchinson

6 Blue - Sienna Allitt

5 Red - Alani West

5 Blue - Mackenzie Frazer

Stage Two Student Representatives:

4 Red - Mason Hili

4 Blue - Addison Dunn

3 Red - Roman Melillo

3 Blue - Abigael Whitfield 

We will be holding our first Student PB4L meeting next Tuesday at the Recess break in the 4 Red classroom. 

Raffle Tickets:

Staff have been awarding raffle tickets for positive playground play. The PB4L reps have been collecting these and we had our first draw for 2021 this week. Congratulations to the following students for their outstanding playground choices over the past few weeks.

Our PB4L Draw winners for Week 4 are:

Koby Green - 2 Blue

Ruby Baxter - 3 Red

Ayokunmi Adewumi - 5 Red

Flynn Glover - 2 Blue

Matthew McCabe - 4 Blue

The PB4L Team

Starting Year Six has been an adventure. We've been discovering who we want to be as school leaders and getting back into routine at school. Our teachers have been doing great at introducing us to our focus areas in all subjects, and in Year Six for us it has been very fun and all our teacher’s are very funny and Mr McCann always finds some way to relate our work to food. Brain Breaks have been a great tool for us when we’ve been doing lots of work, and our mindfulness meditation has also been a great tool to get us back into a ready to learn mood. We may be learning to get back into routine with our work, and are very focused when there's work to do. There's still lots of things to learn before we’re ready to go to High School!!

By Violet Fonge and Arabella O’Shea 6 Red

In Yr 6 we do daily mindfulness. We learn about being mindful of our surroundings and focusing on our breathing. We also have a mindfulness space in our classroom for when we feel overwhelmed or anxious. We can take a break and choose from a selection of activities such as affirmations, mindful movement and gratitude practice. 

We also love having Brain Breaks spread throughout the day. Some examples include Go Noodle, Just Dance, physical activities and Minute to Win It. These allow us to have a bit of fun whilst keeping us fit, healthy and ready to learn. These help us a lot and are a good way to reset and focus on our next lesson.

By Sienna Allitt 6 Blue

In Year Six we do English Must Do’s which are tasks we complete independently each day. One of our tasks was to redesign a book cover for our favourite book. I chose Harry Potter.

By Alyssa Shepherd 6 Blue

An example of a binary coding activity we completed with a partner during Science

Could parents please be mindful of not standing in front of Fr. Leo's driveway whilst waiting for your child to exit the school via the back gate. Could parents move to the concrete area outside the school gates adhering to social distancing protocols.

Please be mindful when driving out of the back carpark not to mount the curb up onto the grassed embankment. This embankment, which runs the length of the car park adjacent to the council reserve, includes a shallow drain which is vital during rain.

Thank you for your ongoing support with parking and student pick up via the school back gate.

On Tuesday 9 February we held the annual St Paul’s Swimming Carnival   at the Albion Park Swimming Pool. We had fantastic weather and all students who attended had an enjoyable day. It was great to witness the sportsmanship and support that the students offered each other. Students were cheering loud to support the competitors and at the end of each race they were seen congratulating each other and shaking hands. 

We were very fortunate to have a wonderful group of parent helpers to assist the staff with the running of the carnival. From the results of the carnival we will now select the students to represent St Paul’s at the South Coast Swimming Carnival. Those students selected will receive their information next week and the permission forms will be sent out on Compass.

We wish to congratulate all students for their efforts and also announce the following students as the 2021 Age Champions. They received their medals on Monday morning at the morning assembly.

Under 8 Boys - Jacob Mackiewicz

Under 8 Girls - Chloe Zonneveld

Under 9 Boys - Cooper Shepherd

Under 9 Girls – Zara McCloy

Under 10  Boys – Lucas Glover

Under 10 Girls -  Charlee Mackiewicz

Under 11 Boys – Eamon McCann

Under 11 Girls – Lacey Pearson

Under 12 Boys – Koby Hillard

Under 12 Girls – Chloe Barnes

Congratulations as well to St Francis of Assisi (Green) House on being the overall winners for 2021.

Brian McCann

Sports Coordinator

Just a reminder that toys, particularly trading cards such as Pokemon, are not permitted at school. If these items are lost or damaged the school takes no responsibility.  The school provides a variety of equipment to use during break times.

Olivia Djodan

Acting Middle Leader

Week 4

• Extending Mathematical Understanding Training - Mrs Rodwell, Miss Djodan and Ms Mansbridge attending
• Year 1 and 2 teachers working with English as an additional language or dialect CEDoW personnel 
• Student Record Digitisation Project - Mrs Bicknell attending 
• TechOne Training - Mrs Bicknell attending 
• Reading Recovery OPL Meeting - Mrs Evans attending 
• Learning for Leadership - Mrs Evans and Mr McCann attending 
• Gifted Education Network Meeting - Mrs Fogliada 

Week 5 

• Learning for Leadership - Mrs Evans and Mr McCann attending 
• National Consistent Collection of Data - Mrs Evans, Miss Djodan and Mrs Fogliada attending 
• School Case Collaboration Team Planning Day - Mrs Rodwell, Mrs Nunes, Miss Djodan, Ms Mansbridge, Mrs Evans, Mrs Fogliada, Mrs Marsh, Mrs Hingston attending 

Olivia Djodan
Acting Middle Leader

The Catholic Education Office Diocese of Wollongong developed a Parent and School Partnership Framework This framework to support the creation and maintenance of the partnership between parents and school so that together we can create:

• identifiably Catholic communities, inspired by the person and teaching of Jesus Christ, where all strive to act with hope, integrity, justice and compassion;

• effective schools which improve outcomes for students.

The Framework articulates 5 partnership principles and expectations. When schools and parents work together it is expected that both parties will uphold the Partnership Principles and Expectations. These principles and expectations apply to all interactions between home and school, including face to face, phone, written and online communication.

For further information on the Parent and School please see the link below

Enrolments for Kindergarten 2022 are now open. Enrolments packs are available for collection at our school office. Please let your friends and the wider community know that enrolments are now open.

Applications close 3:00pm, Thursday, 1 April 2021.

We have begun coding this week in the library at recess. Our Year 4 students have been learning about how to navigate Apps, using the MBots so they can block code a sequence of instructions and prefer simple tasks. Our Year 6 students have begun building their robot's called “Rise” so they can stack towers to score points in VEX game. Watch this space!!

Belinda Evans

Acting Middle Leader

Fee Statements have now been emailed to all families from the Catholic Education Office, please note that fees are 30 day accounts.  If you are not paying your fees within the 30 day period you will need to complete a Request to Pay School Fees by Instalment form and email it to the CEO Wollongong.  You can nominate to pay your account weekly, fortnightly or whatever best suits your finances however this must be arranged by completing the form attached and emailing it to:  instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au as soon as possible.

Please note that Bpay is the preferred payment method.  If you have any queries don’t hesitate to contact the school office.

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) takes place every year. The NCCD is a collection that counts:

• the number of school students receiving an adjustment or ‘help’ due to disability

• the level of adjustment they are receiving to access education on the same basis as other students.

Students are counted in the NCCD if they receive ongoing adjustments at school due to disability. This ‘help’ allows them to access education on the same basis as a child without disability. The NCCD uses the definition of disability in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Schools provide this information to education authorities.

All schools in Australia must collect information about students with disability. The NCCD:

• ensures that the information collected is transparent, consistent and reliable

• provides better information that improves understanding of students with disability

• allows parents, guardians, carers, teachers, principals, education authorities and government to better support students with disability.

Please see the link below and the attachment for further information and facts about NCCD.

At the end of Term 4 2020 the school canteen service provider Fresh Start Canteen indicated that they would need to review the service at St Paul's. Subsequently the school canteen will not be operating this term. We are currently investigating further options with the Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Wollongong and will communicate progress throughout the term.

Our 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.