In Parishes throughout the Diocese of Wollongong we celebrated the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A. Last Sunday’s Gospel outlined the Laws that Christians are asked to follow, the 10 commandments. Jesus requires us his followers to go beyond the Law by doing more than the Law requires. The responsibility lies with each of us to form our conscience so that we recognized when we have crossed the line and are no longer following the spirit as well as the letter of the law, of the commandments.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the Week 4 school newsletter and the 4th week of learning at St Paul’s. On Monday  13 February 2023, Australia commemorated the 15th anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations. In 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd presented this apology in the Australian Parliament which was a momentous occasion of recognition and reconciliation in our nation's history. 

At St Paul’s we are committed to walking together with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sisters and brothers in a spirit of true reconciliation. One way of expressing this commitment is to acknowledge this apology in our school community. Thank you to Mrs Jodi Marsh and Miss Julianne Tonini who facilitated a special prayer ceremony on Tuesday morning.

Kindergarten 2023

It has been a pleasure to welcome our Kindergarten students to St Paul’s as they have spent the last week transitioning into formal education. The kindergarten students bring such joy to the school community with their wonder and awe and inquisitive minds. A warm welcome to our new kindergarten parents and carers. It was wonderful to see both familiar faces and new faces throughout the week as you have supported the transition processes we have in place for our kindergarten students, it is great to welcome you to our school community. Our school community has been very supportive in welcoming our new kindergarten students and parents and carers and providing care for our students. This is certainly testament of the caring and supportive St Paul’s school community culture that I witness daily.

Whole School Liturgy and School Leaders Induction

On Thursday 9 February, we celebrated a beautiful Liturgy of the Word with whole school community to celebrate and give thanks for the 2023 school year and to commission our Year 6 Leaders. At this Liturgy of the Word our student leaders were officially inducted to their significant student leadership roles for 2023. 

St Paul’s Swimming Carnival 2023

On Monday students in Years 3 to 6 participated in the St Paul’s Annual Swimming Carnival. Our students were very excited to participate in a planned community event. It was a fabulous day whereby our students exhibited the St Paul’s spirit and sportsmanship, encouraging each other to try their best. 

Thank you to Mr Brian McCann and Mrs Louise Frendo for their tireless work and excellent organisation of the event.

Parents and Friends Executive Team for 2023

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 Executive Team on behalf of our staff and students and thank them for their years of support and dedication, especially with Fund-raising. It is through their initiatives that our students continue to access the curriculum through the provision of many resources including STEM and Sport Resources. 

A special thanks to Amy De Santis for her leadership as the St Paul’s Parents and Friends Association President for the past  year.  Amy has been instrumental in her role as the Parents and Friends President and I would like to personally thank Amy for her support, care and amazing collaboration.

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

President – Amy De Santis

Treasurer – Katie Zanin

Secretary – Kelly Fuller

Purchasing Facilitator- Sara-Jay O'Shea 

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 2023 especially through the Parents and Friends Association.

School and Parent and Carer Collaboration

A continued priority for St Paul’s is Parent and Carer Engagement in their child’s learning, well-being, spiritual growth and attainment. Outlined below are a number of processes that the school community have put in place this term to engage parents and carers in their child’s learning, well-being, spiritual growth and attainment. These processes include:

Grade Curriculum Overviews were shared with parents and carers in Week 2 on Friday 4th February. The Grade Curriculum Overviews outlined the core content in each Key Learning Area that students will focus on for Term 1. 

Student Information Notes were distributed to parents and carers in Week 2 on Wednesday 2nd February. This provided an opportunity for parents and carers to share information with the classroom teacher highlighting your child’s strengths and other relevant information. Thank you to those parents and carers who have returned the student information sheets.  

Parent and Carer Grade Information Sessions are being facilitated with parents and carers throughout weeks 4 and 5. The Parent and Carer Grade Information Sessions provide an opportunity to further understand the content of the Term's learning for each grade and the expectations and key dates and information pertinent to learning. The power point used to facilitate the content of the Parent and Carer Grade Information Sessions will be shared with parents and carers. 

Individual Parent and Carer and Teacher Learning Conversations will be facilitated throughout the remainder of the term on request by either the classroom teacher or parents and carers. This is an opportunity to share relevant information about your individual child’s academic, spiritual, well-being and behaviour needs. 

Student Mathematics Assessment of Learning will be shared with parents and carers throughout the term. Students will be bringing home 1 Assessment of Learning in Mathematics following the completion of a unit. The purpose of this process is to provide ongoing information to parents and carers outlining your child’s progress in particular strands in mathematics.

Student Work Books in the Key Learning Areas of Religious Education student books will be sent home at the end of Week 6 on Friday 3rd March. and English student books will be sent home at the end of Week 10 on Friday 31st March. This will provide another opportunity for parents and carers to talk with your child about the learning your child has engaged in throughout the term. 

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.

St Paul’s Uniform and Homework Policies

Over the past twelve months our school community has engaged in a consultation process with staff, students and parents and carers to gain input for the updated Uniform and Homework Policies. 

The policies outlined expectations and responsibilities for staff, students and parents and carers regarding our school uniform and homework expectation. 

The draft policies are linked below for further school community feedback. If you would like to provide further feedback regarding the policies please click on the form below each policy to document your feedback. We would like to thank our school community for their many contributions that have been used to develop the content of the policies.

Homework Policy

Homework Policy 1.77 MB

Feedback Form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfe2Kq-zMbOYvMfeIFvug4huTZIWDxvmMSqYYTxnX3dSdHxdA/viewform

Uniform Policy

Uniform Policy 1.52 MB

Feedback Form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfoVUbd5K7O_qcPaUpB-UpdlQxe3ATB3_sFxT-NpygWoBVfPQ/viewform

Welcome to St Paul’s Sausage Sizzle Afternoon

A reminder that our Welcome Sausage Sizzle Afternoon celebration is on Thursday 16 February in the Front Playground from 4pm till 5pm. This is an opportunity to welcome our 2023 Kindergarten families and new families to St Paul’s. An invitation was sent home with students last week and a Compass notification with the invitation was shared with Parents and Carers last week. Please find the invitation below. We are looking forward to seeing our families tomorrow afternoon.

Welcome BBQ

Welcome BBQ 84.34 KB

On Monday Jodi Marsh and I will be leaving for Los Angeles for the Religious Congress. Angela Crandell will be relieving Principal from the 20 February until the 10 March. Angela is currently the Assistant Principal at Stella Maris. We welcome Angela to the St Paul's. I wish you all the best for the upcoming weeks and look forward to seeing our wonderful students, staff and parents and carers on the 13 March.

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.

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Each year students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. 

From 2023, NAPLAN is moving to Term 1 and will take place from Wednesday 15 March to Monday 27 March. The reason for this change is so that results can be returned to schools earlier in the year which will support teachers to understand the learning needs of their students and plan accordingly. 

NAPLAN tests are just one part of our school learning assessment program and questions are primarily based on knowledge, understanding and skills gained from the prior year of schooling. 

In preparation for NAPLAN 2023, our school will undertake activities to help students to become familiar with the format and functionality of the online tests. These activities are not an assessment of student ability and will not be marked.

Students and parents can access the public demonstration site (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) to familiarise themselves with NAPLAN and the types of questions and tools available. Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not required nor recommended. 

Students will be required to bring their own headphones to complete the tests. Bluetooth headphones do not operate when using the NAPLAN browser. Plug in headphones are required for all students in Year 3 and 5 sitting the NAPLAN tests. Should you require more information please contact the school.

Disability adjustments are available for NAPLAN to enable students with disability to participate on the same basis as other students. The adjustments provided for NAPLAN should reflect the type of support and assistance your child is already receiving for classroom assessments. Some adjustments, however, are not available for NAPLAN tests where it may interfere with the skills being tested. For example, a support person cannot read questions or stimulus material to your child in the reading or conventions of language tests.

If you have a child with disability, the first step is to talk to your child’s teacher about disability adjustment options. You will need to provide consent for any adjustments.

Consent is also needed for any child whose parent decides to withdraw them from the testing.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact your child’s teacher, Mrs Evans or Mrs Nunes

Various awards are presented to the students of St Paul's to celebrate positive behaviours. An outline of the award system is listed below.

Currently, we ask that when a student is eligible for the next award they return their awards to their class teacher. The teacher signs these and returns them.

As an example, if a child has 5 merit awards these are returned to the teacher. The student will then receive their ACE award at the next school assembly.

The PB4L team is currently investigating ways to streamline this process. For now please keep all awards so that your child can bring them to school to receive the next award.

We thank you for your support.

ESafety advice for parents -

ThinkUKnow program

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) are urging families to be proactive this school year and update the privacy settings on children’s devices to help prevent predators from contacting them online. 

The AFP-led ThinkUKnow program – Australia’s first and only nationally delivered, law enforcement-led online safety program – has produced guides for parents and carers.

• Gaming devices and what you need to know
• Parent and carer social media starter kit

For more information, visit https://thinkuknow.org.au

The students have completed the iPad rollout and are learning how to use their iPads as a learning tool.

Over the last few years, St Paul's has consulted with parents and carers through P&F meetings and grade-appropriate meetings regarding the iPad program. 

Since 2020 students have used the 'School Mangaged' system and the 'Bring Your Own Device' model has been phased out. This year all students from Year 4 to Year 6 will have a personal device to use. 

Last Thursday, we had our 2023 Beginning of School Year Liturgy in the Hall. At this liturgy the whole school came together to welcome all to the 2023 school year. The  school captains and Year 6 student leaders received their badges. Each class received a class candle to display in their class sacred space.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Church’s season of Lent. The marking of the ashes on our foreheads on this day is a public expression of our faith and humility. It is a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Through prayer we come closer to God so that we are better able to realise the promises made for us at our baptism, to live justly as Jesus teaches us. Fasting joins us in solidarity with people experiencing poverty who often have no choice but to go without the basic human needs. Sharing what we have, or ‘almsgiving’, is a sign of our commitment to justice and our thanks for all that God has given us.

Lent prepares us for the season of Easter, the most important time in the Church’s calendar. By praying, fasting and giving alms, we are reminded of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus brought the promise of hope to all people so that we may “Have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) As we live into that fullness, may we also be challenged to act with love and hope, now and for all future generations. 

The blessing and distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday normally takes place during the celebration of Mass. However, when circumstances require, the blessing and distribution of ashes may take place apart from Mass, during a celebration of the word of God.  

This year we will celebrate with a liturgy on Wednesday 22nd February in the Church for Years 3-6 at 9:30am. Kindergarten to Year 2 will receive ashes in the hall at a prayer celebration at 12:00pm.

Shrove Tuesday or ‘Pancake Tuesday’ takes place the day before Ash Wednesday. It is the day that Christians are encouraged to go to confession in preparation for the penitential season that ends 40 days and 40 nights later with Easter Sunday.

Over the years Shrove Tuesday not only became a day for Confession but a time for Catholics to feast on eggs, sugar and dairy which are traditionally restricted during the Lenten fast. These foods became pancakes.

On Tuesday 21st February, pikelets (a smaller version of the pancake) will be available in the school canteen as a pop up special. There will be the option to donate towards "Project Compassion". Project Compassion donations support Caritas Australia's community development and emergency relief programs in partnership with marginalised communities around the world. Please order your pikelets online or students can bring money on the day.

DIOCESAN LAUNCH OF PROJECT COMPASSION

On Tuesday 21st February, our school captains along with Mrs Nunes will be attending the Diocesan Launch of Project Compassion in Corrimal. Project Compassion boxes will be sent home with students next week.

MASSES FOR TERM 1

This term Year’s 4 to 6 will be attending the Parish Mass on Friday, specified in the dates below. Parents are invited to attend and are most welcome to stay for morning tea in the hall afterwards.

ASSEMBLIES 2023

Each grade will have the opportunity to present an assembly fortnightly on Friday afternoons in the hall at 2:30pm. ACE, Principal and Mary MacKillop Awards will be presented at these assemblies. Parents are welcome to attend. Please see below the dates for Semester One.

MINI - VINNIES

What is Mini Vinnies?

Mini Vinnies empowers primary school students to become advocates within their school and local community by putting their values into action. Students meet regularly to learn about social justice issues, develop leadership skills and engage with the wider St Vincent de Paul Society.

This year our Mini-Vinnies group will be meeting on Monday at Recess in the St Joseph’s room. Mini-Vinnies is open to all students from Year 3 to Year 6. 

Please listen for the announcement on morning assembly for when Mini-Vinnies will begin.

PARISH SACRAMENTAL PROGRAMS

CONFIRMATION, RECONCILIATION AND FIRST COMMUNION IN 2023

Dear Parents and Carers of Catholic Children in Years 3 to 6 in 2023.

If you wish for your child to receive the sacraments of Confirmation, Reconciliation and First Holy Communion in 2023, please check the St Paul's Parish website (www.st paul's parish.org.au) for information on dates and expectations of the parish for each of these sacraments.

Thank you,

Therese McQuade

Coordinator, Sacramental Programme

St Paul's Parish

Confirmation:

Parent/Carer Meeting for Discernment (held in church) Tuesday, February 21st, 7pm

Mrs Jodi Marsh

Religious Education Coordinator

Kindergarten had a great first week of school. They have been busy learning what to do at ‘big school’, playing on the playground and making new friends. We have focused on our St Paul’s school rules of: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe. We can’t wait to see what they achieve during this first term. 

Mrs Olivia Roberts, Mrs April Grove and Mrs Kelly Rogan

Kindergarten Teachers

On Monday 13th February we held our annual swimming carnival at the Albion Park Pools. We were fortunate to have the weather on our side. The carnival was a great way to begin our school sport events for the year.

We were once again joined by the students from ASPECT and it was fantastic to see them and all our students enjoying their time at the pool and showing great sportsmanship. 

We would like to extend our thanks to all of the parents and carers that volunteered their time to assist in the running of the carnival. Your involvement was a great help to ensure the day ran smoothly. We wish our Swimming Team the best of luck at the South Coast Swimming Carnival on Tuesday March 7. 

The winning house and Age Champions will be announced at the morning assembly this Friday February 17.

Louise Frendo and Brian McCann

Bringing pets onto school grounds is not permitted. Having pets at school poses safety and health risks for students and teachers, especially for those who have allergies which can be triggered by certain animals. This includes for news/show and tell or when walking students to and from school. Special requests for animals on site need to be in writing to the Principal. A risk assessment will then determine the outcome of this. Please note Assistance dogs are acceptable. Please find the link from the Department of Education regarding animals in schools.

If your child has an injury could you please book in to have a return to school meeting prior to your child's return. This will allow the school to ensure that appropriate plans are put in place for our students' safety and wellbeing.  Please contact the school office to make this booking prior to their return.  

Any parent requesting leave for their child for 10 or more consecutive days is required to complete an Application for Extended Leave Form. These are available from the school office. To ensure approval before the Leave takes place, we require the completed form lodged at school office a minimum of 2 weeks before the Leave commences. Please complete one application per student.

Just a reminder that if your child is unwell please keep them at home until they have recovered and no symptoms, especially with flu-like symptoms.

If students are unwell throughout the day at school they will present to sick bay for the office staff to call home to be collected as soon as possible.

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. 

We have started STEM coding at lunchtime in the library. Teachers have selected a small group of students from each grade to participate in coding activities using some of our robotic devices, such as Mbots, Sphereos, Ozobots, VExiQ and BlueBots. The students and teachers are enjoying learning about block coding, driver control and re-designing robots so they can compete in coding games. 

Last week was the first week of the Wednesday Recess time Sport Club. This term, Mrs Lyons will be providing interested students with opportunities to extend their running and fitness skills in the lead up to the Cross Country and Athletics Carnivals. The wet weather last week definitely did not deter students ranging from Year 1 to Year 6, who participated in a high intensity interval workout in the hall. There were many red faces at the end of the workout, with students working hard and having fun with a range of peers. 

We have made a great start to the school year with 25 students from Stage 2 and 3 attending our first choir rehearsal last Tuesday. The students enthusiastically took on some new breathing and vocal warm ups. They are looking forward to leading the school in Advance Australia Fair each Monday morning at assembly so this song has been a focus. All students have suggested a favourite song they would like to sing across the year. We're looking forward to singing and having fun together this term. 

 

 

Laudato Si’ is an encyclical of Pope Francis published in May 2015. It focuses on care for the natural environment and all people, as well as broader questions of the relationship between God, humans, and the Earth. The encyclical’s subtitle, “Care for Our Common Home,” reinforces these key themes.

At St Paul’s, we pride ourselves on our ability to care for our common home by disposing of our rubbish correctly, composting our organic waste and working together to keep our playgrounds and gardens free from rubbish.

In 2023, we will be bringing back the Laudato Si’ Environmental Award. This plaque will be awarded weekly to the class who can keep their recycling bins free from contamination (tissues and plastic). Our Year 6 Pastoral Care team and the Year 5 Waste-Free Warriors will be collecting recycling from the classrooms and will be looking out for the classes who recycle correctly.

The winning class will be announced fortnightly during our Friday morning Assembly beginning in Week 5.

On Friday 3rd March St Paul’s will participate in Clean Up Schools Day.  Each grade will clean a designated area of the playground with their teachers. We encourage students to bring their own reusable gloves on the day. Students will also be participating in activities that emphasise the importance of disposing of our rubbish correctly. This day is a great opportunity for the school community to come together and beautify our school again after the Christmas break. Students will not only be picking up any rubbish in the playgrounds but they will also be weeding the gardens.

Mrs Katie Colquhoun

Each year, the NSW Premier holds the Premier's Reading Challenge. The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and to enable students to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read more and to read more widely. 

The Challenge will commence on Monday February 27. All students in the Infant Grades K-2 will participate in the Reading Challenge in their classrooms however students in the Primary Grades 3-6 are invited to participate individually.

The students in the Primary Grades are required to read twenty books from the book lists found on the Premier's Reading Challenge website. Many of the books from the lists are on SORA or in our school library and have been specially marked. Students in Years 3-6 need to complete their online reading records located on the website. A user name and password are required to log into their individual record. These remain the same as last year. If students have forgotten their details or are new to the Challenge please email the school PRC Co-ordinator Mrs Carol Harb harbc02@dow.catholic.edu.au

There have been some changes to the challenge rules this year. Students can now read 10 Personal Choice Books and in an approved series on the PRC booklist, you can read any five books as PRC Books. You can find all the rules listed on the PRC Website. https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html

The Challenge closes for student entries on Friday 18 August.

Happy Reading!

Louise Frendo - Library School Support Officer

School students will be required to have a valid School Opal Card or travel pass for the commencement of school in January 2023. Students who need a School Opal card or travel pass for 2023 can apply now.

Catholic Care have appointed two new counsellors to support the St Paul’s Community for the 2023 school year. We warmly welcome Sahar Yazdani who will support St Paul’s on a Friday each week and Rachel Mintoff who will be supporting St Paul’s every Wednesday on an even week and Tuesday to Thursday on every odd week. Welcome Sahar and Rachel to the St Paul's School Community.

CatholicCare has been here for over 40 years to give everyone – regardless of faith or background – someone to turn to during challenging times. We can bring you the right support to overcome adversity, big or small, with the help of dedicated and qualified staff

Link https://www.catholiccare.dow.org.au/services-and-programs/