In Parishes throughout the Diocese of Wollongong we celebrated the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C and the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The reflection by Loyola Press explains that in last Sunday’s Gospel reading the Transfiguration occurs after Peter's confession that Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus' prediction about his passion.  Jesus takes three of his disciples—Peter, James, and John—to a high mountain. While they are there, Elijah and Moses appear with Jesus. 

Elijah and Moses are both significant figures in the history of Israel. Moses led the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and received from Yahweh the Ten Commandments. Appearing with Jesus at his Transfiguration, Moses represents the Law, which guides the lives of the Jewish people. Elijah is remembered as one of the most important prophets of Israel who helped the Israelites stay faithful to Yahweh. Some believe that Elijah's return would signal the coming of the Messiah for the Jewish people. This belief is evidenced in the question posed by Jesus' disciples after they have witnessed the Transfiguration. 

The appearance of these two important figures from Israel's history indicates Jesus' continuity with the Law and the prophets. They also reveal that Jesus is the fulfilment of all that was promised to the people of Israel. Jesus instructed the disciples to keep secret what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. The disciples' confusion continued as they wondered what Jesus meant by “rising from the dead.” Until they also witness his passion and death, the disciples cannot possibly understand Jesus' Transfiguration. We, however, have the benefit of hindsight. In our hearing of it, we see in this event an anticipation of Jesus' Resurrection, a foreshadowing of Christ's glory in heaven, and the promise of our own resurrection.

Dear Parents and Carers,

On Monday  the 8th August St Paul’s celebrated the Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross MacKilllop with a Liturgy of the Word. The teaching of Jesus, conveyed through the gospel passage, characterised much of the life and work of Mary MacKillop.  Mary was a prolific writer, sending messages to her sisters in the schools and communities across Australia. Two of the quotes attributed to St Mary of the Cross MacKillop that capture the essence of the teaching of Jesus is, “Do all you can with the means at your disposal and calmly leave the rest to God.” and “Never see a need without doing something about it.”

At this special time each year, we give thanks for the life of Mary MacKillop, her influence on our world and her legacy as a woman of inspiration and deep faith. She was canonised a saint of the universal church on 17 October 2010, becoming Australia's first saint. 

Catholic education has a long history in the Albion Park community and St Paul’s. The school was established in 1882 by the Sisters of St Joseph to serve the needs of the Albion Park Catholic community. Initially known as St Joseph’s, the single building school commenced with three Sisters and fifty students. In 1925, the beginnings of the present school were built, Bishop William Hayden of the Wilcannia-Forbes Diocese, a former Parish Priest, officially opened these. Since 1882 the school has grown to accommodate the expanding rural district as well as to serve the many families engaged in the various industries of the area. 

As we continue the work of Catholic education, may we never forget their dedication and commitment, and may we be strengthened by our rich history, as we walk in the footsteps of Mary MacKillop and her Sisters.

Whole School Community Events

It was fabulous to see so many students at the first after hours school disco in three years. A huge thank you to Sara-Jay O’Shea who was the resident D.J at both discos and to the St Paul’s Parents and Friends Association for organising the disco and those staff members who supported the Parents and Friends Association with supervision. 

Congratulations to the students who represented St Paul’s at the South Coast Diocesan Athletics Carnival at Beaton Park yesterday. Thank you to Mr Brian McCann and Mrs Louise Frendo for organising the team and for supervising at the carnival. Our students competed very well and displayed that St Paul’s great sportsmanship spirit, with a number of students moving to the next sporting pathway for Athletics.  Well done St Paul’s.

This coming week we celebrate Science Week and I would like to thank Mrs Belinda Evans and Miss Samantha Ryan for organising a great week of learning experiences, including an incursion with a Scientist coming to St Paul’s to facilitate a number of Science experiments including a favourite-slime!! Our students are looking forward to celebrating Science Week next week with many exciting learning experiences that I am sure they will be coming home to share with parents and carers.

In Week 6 we celebrate Book Week and I would like to thank Miss Julainne Tonini and Mrs Alexandra Hingston for leading a team of staff who have planned learning experiences to explore books and the theme Dreaming, including a Zoom session for grades with an author. Parents and carers are welcome to join our students and staff on Friday 25 August at 9am for our Book Week Parade. Our students are looking forward to celebrating Book Week in week 6 with many exciting learning experiences that I am sure they will be coming home to share with parents and carers.

Parent and Carer Workshops

Thank you to Doreen Waddington the St Paul’s Catholic Care Counsellor for organising Small Steps to facilitate two parent and carer workshops on Anxiety in Children. I attended the workshops which provided strategies for parents and carers on how to support your child with anxiety. Thank you to those parents and carers who were able to attend. 

In Week 7 Mrs Olivia Roberts and Mrs Belinda Evans will be facilitating a workshop for parents and carers on how to support your child with Mathematics at home. The workshop will be held on Friday 2 September at 2:15pm. We hope to see many parents and carers at this workshop session if you are available. See the Numeracy page in our School Newsletter for further details. At St Paul’s we certainly value the relationship and partnership we have with our parents and carers. In this partnership, the responsibility for student’s learning, well-being and faith development is shared between parents and carers as the first and primary educator of their child, and the school community. Thank you to our parents and carers for this wonderful partnership.

Principal Appraisal

This term staff from the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong will be facilitating my Principal Appraisal. A key component of this process is for the community to provide feedback regarding my leadership at St Paul’s and you would have received a survey form that you will be able to complete. This is an opportunity for you to provide your feedback about my role as Principal and staff and students at St Paul’s will also be part of the overall appraisal process. I look forward to the appraisal process and know that the recommendations from the process will provide me with further insight and guidance to improve my leadership for the community at St Paul’s. Thank you to those parents and carers who have completed the survey.

Central Playground Update

As you are aware there will be an upgrade to the Central playground which will include excavation and drainage, landscaping and the installation of new play equipment. The upgrade will begin in the coming weeks with the excavation and drainage. Please see below a snapshot of the drawings for the upgrade to the Central Playground. We are very excited to see the work begin at St Paul’s and I will keep you regularly updated on the progress of the upgrade.

Thank you to all parents and carers for your continued 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.

St Paul’s Catholic Primary School follows the charism of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. On Monday we celebrated the Feast Day of Australia’s First Saint with a school liturgy.

The original school of St Paul’s Albion Park, that consisted of one large room and a verandah, was established in 1882 with three religious sisters of St Joseph sent by Mother Mary MacKillop at the request of the parish priest, Rev Fr Augustus William Petre. With an enrolment of approximately 40 students, two Sisters did the teaching duties and the third Sister of St Joseph looked after the convent. For over 40 years the Sisters taught in one large room.

Mother Mary MacKillop visited the Albion Park Parish on the 8th March 1899. She spoke with the Sisters of St Joseph that were present at Albion Park and examined the school.

THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD

YEAR SIX MASS WITH THE BISHOP

Catholic schools from the Diocese of Wollongong are invited to take part in The Christmas Story 2022 – a visual arts exhibition and competition for children in Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6).

As part of the Creative Arts unit in Term 3, Mrs Ferguson will create a variety of learning experiences to help students build their artistic skills. It is essential that all artwork creation takes place on-site at school and no work is completed at home to ensure the authenticity of students' work. 

Minimum size for artwork is 30cm x 40cm; Maximum size is 80cm x 120cm.

STUDENT ATTENDANCE AT FRIDAY MASS

This term, some grades will attend Mass with the Parish members at 9.30am (weather permitting). Parents are welcome to join us.

DATES FOR LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS IN TERM 3

PARISH NEWS

Towards the end of Term 3, the individual student reports will be dispatched to schools for distribution to parents. These reports contain more detailed information that will provide parents with the best understanding of their child’s achievement in NAPLAN.

PB4L is an evidence-based framework that emphasises school-wide systems of support for all students and staff. These include proactive strategies for defining, teaching and supporting appropriate student behaviours. Positive behaviour supports are implemented for all students, across all school settings, by all staff, at all times. This continuum of support ensures students’ academic and social outcomes.

All student behaviour expectations are founded on our three school rules – Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe.

PB4L Focus for Weeks 4 - 6 Term Three 

Based on the PB4L data, the focus for weeks 4-6 is Engaging in Learning. The students are encouraged to be ready to learn, stay on task, seek help if needed and try their best by being a persistent learner. Staff will provide explicit teaching on how to engage students in learning. 

PB4L Focus for Weeks 4 - 6 Term Three

ACE Awards

Chanel Mercieca

Flynn Glover

Harrison Whitehead

Savanna Mercieca

Ruby Whitehead

Madison Smith

Baye Bisset-Amess

Jack Barea

Jaycie Doyle

Alex Hofman

Paiten Hughes

Principal Awards

Kaleeah Van De Voorde

Brianna Greig

Mary MacKillop Awards

Nicholas Carbonara

Amellia O'Dwyer

Alexis Wau

Andre Akele

Sharing Numeracy Learning
This week  students will be sharing their Mathematics learning by bringing home their workbooks or via Seesaw/Google Classroom. Teachers will choose the method that best suits the learning happening in their classrooms. There is an increased focus on the importance of concrete materials in the numeracy classroom, therefore taking photographs of students using these materials may be a more appropriate form of sharing learning for some grades, as opposed to sending mathematics books home. 

 Should your child be sharing their learning via an online platform, please acknowledge their work by either liking or commenting on the photographs or tasks in lieu of the paper slip used for workbooks. 

Parent Information Session 

St Paul’s is holding a Parent Workshop on Friday the 2nd of September at 2:15pm. This will be focused on supporting your child with mathematics at home. Olivia Roberts and Belinda Evans will be running the session. If you would like to attend please complete this quick survey here. More information to be provided via Compass.

Year 6 Numeracy Learning

Last week, Year 6 Blue explored ways of communicating their learning through hands-on investigations. They participated in an investigation that consolidated their prior learning of vertically opposite, complementary and supplementary angles to determine the size of angles without protractors. This activity allowed students to collaborate in small groups, using mathematical language to reason and discuss possible solutions. The work and engagement from this task was very impressive and we are so proud of their hard work!

Olivia Roberts

Middle Leader

Staff professional learning is a key component for professional growth for the staff at St Paul's and a key component for teacher accreditation and maintenance as established by the NSW Education Standards Authority. At St Paul’s, we value the critical role ongoing professional development plays in enhancing quality learning and teaching. Therefore, throughout the year all staff are encouraged to engage in professional learning opportunities. The New South Wales Education Standards Authority requires Staff to ‘participate in learning to update knowledge and practice targeted to professional needs and school and/or system priorities’ and regularly ‘undertake professional learning programs designed to address identified student learning needs’. (NESA Standard 6)

Week 5

Olivia Roberts

Middle Leader

SPLICED

Our dedicated SPLICED students from Years 1-6 have committed a considerable amount of time and effort to their SPLICED Projects.  Three students Myah B, Hayley F and Scarlet R have had their work selected for publishing in the annual SPLICED book for the Diocese.

Myah’s work is titled Declutter the Mind and managing our Masks, focusing on the domains of Philosophy & Psychology including artworks and a poem.

Scarlet’s work is titled The Thought Process of the Average Person: Anxiety, Emotion and Treatment, from the domain of Psychology including an artwork and poem.

Hayley’s work is titled The Benefits of Meditation and Mindfulness from the  Psychology and Science domain with artwork, poetry and a magazine article. 

Other students participating in SPLICED have until the end of the term to complete projects for publication on the website.

Mrs Jodi Marsh

Diverse Learning Needs Support Teacher Monday - Thursday

Mrs ALexandra Hingston

Diverse Learning Needs Support Teacher Friday

On Tuesday some students from our school participated in the ICAS Writing assessment. Congratulations to these students on their efforts during this assessment. The next ICAS assessment is focusing on digital technologies and will be held this Friday. The remaining assessments will be completed on the following dates:

• Week 5 Tuesday 16th August - ICAS English
• Week 6 Tuesday 23rd August - ICAS Spelling Bee (personal headphones are required)
• Week 6 Friday 26th August - ICAS Science
• Week 7 Tuesday 30th August - ICAS Mathematics

We wish all of our children who are involved in the remaining ICAS assessments well and we look forward to celebrating your achievements with the St Paul’s community later in the year.

Bianca Koczka

Middle Leader ICT and Special Projects

Theme: Glass: More than meets the eye

Creative Science Incursion: Tuesday 16th August 

Show: Sub-Zero Slime Show

The students at St Paul’s have a wonderful opportunity to watch a slimy show. Jenny from Creative Science will be presenting a  slimy, gooey, and cryogenically cool exploration of the states of matter and how heat causes a change of state. Solids and liquids are tested with slime, putty and wax, and spectacularly cool liquid nitrogen provides explosive demonstrations of the properties of gases. The students will love it!

Belinda Evans

Middle Leader

Book Week 2022

Theme: Dreaming with eyes open...

Dates: Term 3 Week 6-August 20-26th 2022

Each year teachers and students across our country spend one glorious week sharing stories, celebrating Australian children's literature, and discovering the magic of reading. This year's Book Week theme "Dreaming With Eyes Open" acknowledges Australia's First Nations People and their rich story based culture. 

Throughout Week 6, your child will have the opportunity to participate in a range of activities that celebrate the CBCA Shortlisted Books for 2022, visit the library and enjoy the adventures of “Story Quest; Book Week 2022”; a live streamed production  featuring a selection of CBCA  shortlisted books 2022 that have been woven into an engaging, original narrative filled with music, adventure and intrigue. 

To conclude the Book Week celebrations, the Book Week Parade and Mufti Day will be held on Friday the 26th of August . 

• All students are invited to bring in their favourite book and dress up as their favourite character for the day. 
• Parents and carers are invited to attend. 
• Each class will parade around the Front Playground during the morning assembly. 

FOR YOUR DIARY

What: Student Book Week Parade 

Date: Friday 26 August

Time: 8:55am-9:55am

Location: St Paul’s Front Playground

The Book Week Committee 

The waste-free warriors will be resuming their duties this term and meeting every Tuesday at lunchtime to plan whole-school initiatives and identify the environmental needs in our school. After meeting yesterday, the goal for term 3 is reinstating a whole-school focus on waste-free lunches. Some of the jobs that they will be doing to accomplish this goal is doing random spot checks of lunchboxes, rewarding students with a waste-free lunch and talking to students about what goes in our fogo bins. The energy and enthusiasm of our waste-free warriors is inspiring and we look forward to what the term brings. Watch this space for the exciting things we get up to!

On Tuesday 9 August our St Paul's Athletics Team attended the South Coast Athletics Carnival. The students braved the cold and wet conditions and were happy to have the opportunity to represent the school and compete against the best athletes in the Diocese. Every student gave it their best and were great ambassadors for our school, displaying sportsmanship and cheering each other on.

Congratulations to the following students who placed in the top 4 of their event/s and will compete next Tuesday 16 August at the Diocesan Selection Trial Carnival:

Madelynne Dowel: 800m, Junior Girls 4 x 100m Relay, High Jump, Shot Put

Jacinta Vieira: Junior Girls 4 x 100m Relay, 100m

Savannah Apps: Junior Girls 4 x 100m Relay

Zali Barrett: Junior Girls 4 x 100m Relay

Connor Alaban: 100m

Milla Nagy: High Jump

We wish these students the best of luck at the next level. 

A special congratulations to Madelynne who placed 2nd overall at the South Coast Carnival in the 10 Years Girls Age Group.

Unfortunately the Basketball Gala Days which were scheduled to take place in September have been cancelled.

Brian McCann and Louise Frendo

Staff Development Days for 2022

• Term 4: Monday 19 December
• Term 4: Tuesday 20 December

Please note that all students will now finish school on Friday 16 December.

Other key dates for 2022

• 9 August ICAS Assessment -Writing
• 12 August ICAS Digital Technologies
• 16 August ICAS English
• 23 August ICAS Spelling
• 26 August ICAS Science
• 30 August ICAS Mathematics
• 23 September Last day of Term 3
• 10 October First day of Term 4
• 16 December Last day of Term 4

Assembly dates for 2022

• Week 4: Friday 12 August - Year 2
• Week 6: Friday 26 August - Kinder
• Week 8: Friday 9 September - Year 4
• Week 10: Friday 23 September - Year 1

Enrolments for Kindergarten 2023 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. Please share this information with your friends and family. 

All acceptance letters for Kindergarten 2023 have now been sent out via email. If you have not received this please call the school office on 4256 2772.

Please see below the Transition to School Playgroup dates which have been sent out via email.

CSPA 2022 Parent Survey on Student Wellbeing and Learning

Have your say on what matters regarding the wellbeing and learning of your child.

For example, has COVID or your partnership with the school affected your child’s wellbeing and learning?

If you are a parent or carer with a child in a Catholic school, CSPA would love to hear from you.

Click on the survey link and share your feedback to assist CSPA in reporting to the Federal Government and Catholic education.

Your feedback will remain anonymous.

Hi Families!

We are currently planning our September School Holiday program and can confirm we will be running 4 days both weeks, Tuesday – Friday!

We have a lot of exciting activities including some action packed excursions in the works so keep an eye out for our flyer in the next Newsletter!

If you would like some further information about enrolling at OSHC, or would like to be notified when our program is released, please email us at albionparkoosh@catholiccare.dow.org.au

Becky & Matt @ St Paul's OSHC