Dear Parents/Carers,                                                                        

We have finally made it to the end of the term. I would once again like to thank the community for the many ways you have continued to support the teachers in creating a positive story for our school and keeping the learning at the centre of what we do.

As a follow up to the data I shared with you about attendance in the previous newsletter, I thought it would be timely to also provide the following information about arriving late to school. This would be a worthwhile conversation with your children, even if they have very strong attendance at school. 

Every late day can affect your child’s learning and wellbeing. Every minute counts.

Lateness = Lost learning and impacts on wellbeing

Further Information Of Interest

WHY MUST I SEND MY CHILD TO SCHOOL

Education in NSW is compulsory. This means all children from six years of age and under the minimum school leaving age are legally required to attend school.

WHY IS REGULAR ATTENDANCE AT SCHOOL IMPORTANT?

Regular school attendance will help your child to succeed in life. Attending school every day makes learning easier for your child to build and maintain friendships with other children. If your child doesn’t learn the basic skills in the early years of school,  they may develop learning problems in later years.

MUST I SEND MY CHILD EVERY DAY? YES.

It is a condition of enrolment that you send your child to school every day. A small number of absences may be justified if your child has to:

• go to a special religious ceremony
• is required to attend a serious and/or urgent family situation (eg funeral);and
• is too sick to go to school or has an infectious illness.

MUST MY CHILD ATTEND ALL ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING SPORT? YES.

Children are expected to attend all regular school activities. Do not keep your child at home for the following:

• birthdays;
• minding other children;
• routine check-ups or care such as hair cuts;
• minor family events;
• sleeping in.

Medical and other health appointments for your child should be made either before or after school or during the school holidays.

WHY IS ARRIVING AT SCHOOL ON TIME IMPORTANT?

Arriving at school and class on time:

• ensures that your child doesn’t miss out on the important learning activities scheduled early in the day when they are most alert;
• helps your child learn the importance of punctuality and routine; and
• gives your child time to greet their friends before class and therefore reduces the opportunity for classroom disruption.

Staff Development Day

Monday, 9 October 2023 (Week 1, term 4) is a scheduled staff development day. Students do not attend school on this day.

School development days are used by schools to build on the knowledge and skills of our teachers, school leaders and school administrative support staff through a targeted professional learning program.

The professional learning planned for the day is aligned with the St Paul’s School Improvement Plan and will focus on the Health component of the  P.D.H.P.E (Physical Development, Health and Physical Education) syllabus.

Staff will be analysing the behavioural and wellbeing data of the students to design units of work relevant to each grade cohort. These units of work will then be taught during Term 4.

Principal Awards

Congratulations to the following students who have recently received a Principal Award. 

Amelia Cork, Emerson Turner, Giovanni Novella, Marco Bradley, Savannah Stanley, Olivia Burns, Thomas Vincent, Johnny Alam, Domenic Mazzocco, Aaliyah Linden, Flynn David, Taline Artin, Alessia Herrera, Eve Rota, Cameron Grech, Elliot Flannery, Victoria Howe, Sebastian Armstrong, Edward Knapp, Kyah Graham.

Fortnightly Target for PB4L

At St Paul’s I will not disrupt others when they are learning. ‘Stop, Think, then Choose what to do.’

Teachers at St Paul’s take the time to teach and revisit the fortnightly targets at the beginning of each week. This allows all students across the school to become familiar with the target and what it means. Students are exposed to scenarios and role play experiences to assist them in understanding how to best follow these targets.

The behaviour data at St Paul’s shows that a large percentage of the in class behaviours is disruption. When students are talking to their peers, calling out or moving around the classroom, this disrupts the learning of all other students in the class.

Students are learning that “Sometimes it is okay to ignore others”. During learning activities, students sometimes find that other people disrupt them and that makes them feel frustrated when they are trying to learn. 

Students are being encouraged to use our whole school strategy when someone is disrupting their learning, that is important to stop, think and choose whether it’s appropriate to speak up or ignore the behaviour. 

Thank You

Thank You to our group of parent volunteers who assisted at the Father's Day Stall. A very special thank you to the Kelly family for their generous donation and support.

Colour Fun Run

A reminder the colour fun run is this Thursday, 21 September 2023. The  fundraising letter is attached below and can also be found in the resource tab of the compass event.

Please ensure you have given consent for your child to attend. 

School Disco 

Canteen Closed Early 

A reminder the school canteen will be closing early this Thursday, 21 September 2023. Lunch order times will be adjusted to accommodate both infants and primary classes before attending the colour fun run.