Dear Parents/Carers,                                                                        

As we return from the Easter Vacation, the events of the Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday) are front and centre and my thoughts are still focused on the meaning of the cross.

Jesus said:

“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, that man will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24)

Our Catholic School has a crucifix on its walls or on sacred spaces in each classroom, and so it should. The cross is a central religious symbol in the Christian way. The cross points to one mystery of paradox, of limit and of the prospect of transformation through failure. In the striving for excellence at our Catholic primary school, there is also a space for failure. Somehow the examinations, NAPLAN, sporting successes, prizes, must never be established as a norm for school endeavour lest the shadow side of our school is ignored.

The paradox of failure is an authentic human experience and our children need to be in touch with its realities. Our Catholic christian position is that on the point of failure stands the prospect of redemption and grace. There is no implication here of opting out from striving for excellence or accepting indifferent efforts but an awareness that we all carry limits, no matter whoever we are or whatever we do and this is important to our growth into humanity. Limits do not represent our worth as persons. By inviting our shadow to stand with us we are more in touch with the wholeness of our journey. We must never forget to remind the children that Jesus’ story offers us a way of change. The two faces of Good Friday and Easter Sunday belong to the same person, Jesus.

Please remind your child about this, not just at Easter, but as they experience success and failure in their growth and development to adulthood and the many challenges you walk with them as they learn about life, friendship and love for others.

Staff Professional Learning

Teacher professional learning (TPL) helps teachers gain insight into and knowledge of their craft. It encourages the development of new ways of thinking about content and new approaches to teaching. This will substantially affect student achievement over a sustained period of time. Changes in teaching practice and improved student achievement need to be observed and/or measured.

In implementing changed practice, teachers acquire new knowledge, modify their existing beliefs and attitudes in relation to their teaching and sustain that change over time. This change in teaching practice needs to correlate strongly with the improvement of specified student outcomes.

There are five key areas that are important in the design and delivery of effective teacher professional learning that can lead to improved student outcomes (Desimone (2009).

1. Content Focus
2. Active Learning
3. Coherence
4. Duration
5. Collective Participation

The past Term has seen every classroom teacher take part in extensive Professional Learning aligned with Curriculum Reform and the new English and Mathematics Syllabus.

The Curriculum Reform identifies 4 essential features of the new Curriculum:

• Strong foundations for learning, life and work
• Learning with understanding
• Skills in applying knowledge
• Excellent ongoing progress

During this term’s professional learning opportunities teachers worked Collaboratively in grades with myself and Middle Leader Angela Mourinho in analysing the NSW Curriculum Review document from NESA to gain a deeper understanding of the pedagogy behind the new English and Mathematics Syllabus. Teachers then deeply analysed and critiqued a sample unit of work and aligned this mentor text with the syllabus outcomes. This process clearly showed the connections between focus areas of the syllabus and highlighted how an exceptional unit of work allows students the opportunity to learn with understanding and develop skills in applying knowledge, making them active learners.

Sheereen Brunetta
Assistant Principal

Winter Uniform

From the beginning of Term 2, if the weather turns cold, students may begin transitioning into their Winter uniform. During this transition period students must wear either all winter or all summer uniform. They cannot be mixed.

From the week beginning Monday, 13 May 2024 (the week after Mother's Day) all students must wear full Winter uniform.

Online Enrolments - 2024

The CEODoW has moved all schools to a new online enrolment platform, called Funnel, removing the use of all paper forms.

Please take note, particularly for sibling applications. The online application form is  accessible from the home page of our school website.

https://www.spcdow.catholic.edu.au/

Applications close Friday, 12 April 2024.

At St Paul’s I know when to ask for help. 
How Big is My Problem?

Being able to ask for help when you need it is an essential skill.  Asking for help, no matter how big or small the issue might be, is often hard to do. Some people see it as a negative thing but that’s simply not the case!

Problems come in different sizes. Small problems can be taken care of quickly and can be solved on our own or with the help of another person. Children can help each other solve small problems. Medium problems take more time to solve and require more help. Usually adults help solve medium problems. However, it’s expected that children help solve medium problems with the adults. Finally, big problems take a lot of time to take care of and require help from others. 

In Weeks 9, 10 and 11 the students at St Paul’s have been learning when to ask for help. Students in all grades have been discussing when it is necessary to ask a teacher for help, and what problems they can solve by themselves. The ‘How Big is my Problem’ visual below has been used to assist students in understanding when they need assistance from an adult, and when they can problem solve alone.

Children have been practising how to ask for help appropriately by:

• Looking at the person
• Using a pleasant voice/tone
• Explaining their concern statement (Excuse me, can you help me solve this problem….)
• Stating their problem specifically (steps that have already been taken to solve this problem, how it makes you feel)
• Saying “Thank you”
  

Wollongong Representative Selections - 2024

Over the past few weeks, we have had students attend Diocesan selection trials for netball, hockey, football, and rugby league. Congratulations to all students who participated in these trials and displayed St Paul's school spirit. Congratulations to Jaimee, Joshua, and Dominic, who were selected to represent Wollongong in hockey and football at the Mackillop Trials in May.

Western Region and Swimming Selection Trials 2024

On Wednesday, February 28 2024, 22 students from St Paul's attended the Western Region Swimming Carnival. We are proud of all our students who competed and represented our school with honour. We had an incredible day, with several notable achievements. One of our students, Chase, was announced as the 2nd place winner in the Junior Boys age category. Congratulations to Archie, Chase, Isla, Bryson, and the Junior Boys Relay team, who all made it through on the day to the selection trials. Following these trials, Chase and the Junior Boys Relay team will now represent Wollongong at the Catholic Schools NSW Mackillop Swimming Trials, which will take place in April. We wish them the best of luck!

WEN Day

P&F Meeting 

The next P&F meeting will be held Wednesday, 3 April 2024 at 7:00pm in the school hall. All are invited to attend.