Dear Parents/Carers,                                                                        

I’d like to welcome everyone back for term 3. Term two was such a huge agenda and the work of the P and F building community at St Paul’s was so significant. Last term we shared:

• St Paul’s School Fete - the highlight for our students;
• Grandparents and Great People Day - the second most important highlight for the our students;
• Mothers Day Stall
• School Cyclic Inquiry, where we formulated future directions for our school.
• And we had a significant financial audit of our management processes, something that happens every four years. This was highly successful and I would like to acknowledge the work of Mrs Bronwyn Roberts for being such a professional steward of this area.

The School Cyclic Inquiry has set the school up to be future focused and we have three areas that we, as a school community, will seek to place even greater focus. I will share some of this with you, but over the term I will seek to provide more detail as the planning of a new Strategic Plan for St Paul’s begins to take shape from this process.

Our three key areas of focus on our new plan will be:

• Nurturing and enriching Catholic identity.
• Improving student learning outcomes.
• Enhancing the wellbeing of staff through promoting co responsibility and the core work of teachers.

These key areas will be “unpacked” further with you in future newsletters.

When I reflect on our work from last term I actually see a school that has tried to live and journey together in a way that I would call holistic living. I see this as the ongoing maturation of a learning community that seeks to integrate the spiritual, emotional, intellectual and practical dimensions of one’s being. If we do this well as a community, we are modelling to the students all about the meaning of living a “good life”. I would define a “good life” as one that is lived with purpose that enhances the common good and the fulfilment of each individual’s potential (clearly articulated in our vision).

So how do we respond when planning for the future in moving forward with our three key areas? Across all three key areas we need to provide learning and teaching with a broad vision of how people might live in harmony. This will ensure our horizons are expanded and we creatively find ways of moving forward our new strategic plan as we respond to a constantly changing environment and world view. The speed of social change and the multiplying of knowledge at such a rapid rate means that during one lifetime a person will need to make several major shifts in consciousness and life skills. This reflects our St Paul’s vision:

Go Gently,

Michael Reardon
Principal

Year 6 Bishop’s Mass

On Friday, 26 July, Year 6 celebrated Mass with the Bishop and Year 6 students from our local southern highlands schools. A very big thank you to the Year 6 teachers for preparing the students for the Mass. They were extremely well behaved and participated enthusiastically in all aspects of the Mass. 

Thank you to the students that participated in the Liturgical movement. Your grace and elegance and countless hours of practise paid off. 

Years 3-6 look forward to celebrating Mass with the Parish on the following dates:

• Thursday, 8 August - St Mary of the Cross Mackillop Feast Day
• Thursday, 15 August - The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Parents are welcome to join the St Paul’s School and Parish community at these 2 Masses.

Catherine Hatter
Acting REC

Step into the Enchantment of Book Week 2024: Reading is Magic!

(Week 5, Monday 19th - Friday 23rd August)

Get ready to embark on a spellbinding journey through the pages of imagination as we celebrate Book Week 2024 with the enchanting theme, "Reading is Magic." During this magical week, students will have the opportunity to dive into a myriad of activities designed to ignite their love for reading. From storytelling sessions in the library, to creative activities and a book parade, there's something mystical for every bookworm to discover.

St Paul’s Book Character Parade - Friday, 23 August 2024

Students can come to school dressed as a favourite book character on Friday, 23 August 2024. Be creative and use items you already have at home... no need to go shopping for an outfit!

The Book Character Parade will begin at 2:30pm. Families are invited to come along and watch the parade. Parents will enter through Larkin Place and Mitchell Street gates. The  parade will be held on the playground. 

The Book Character Parade will conclude at the end of the school day with normal afternoon dismissal.

Book Club

Book Club Loop online orders are due by Monday, 12 August 2024.

NAIDOC Week 2024

To celebrate NAIDOC week the St Paul’s school community welcomed Mr Troy Allen and his performance - 'Wadjiny" on Tuesday, 23 July 2024.

Troy combined dance, storytelling and music in his performance and had students and teachers join him in the dance as they all mimicked the kangaroo, emu and other Australian animals using their newly learnt movements that stretch back thousands of years.

He also had a fine collection of artefacts, weapons, tools, nets and other everyday items which were used to fully engage and educate the students.

A constant throughout his stories was the theme of great respect for land and all creatures that inhabit it. 

The performance ended with Troy creating fire in his hand with the help of some of the male staff members. 

August P&F Meeting

The August P&F Meeting will be held Wednesday, 7 August 2024 beginning at 7:00pm in the school hall. All parents are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Father's Day Stall - Monday, 26 August 2024

Save the Date - School Disco

Canteen Caper Day - Wednesday, 4 September 2024

Free Program for Separating and Divorcing Parents

Family Transitions Triple P Online, developed by the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program, is an easy-to-use online resource that gives proven tips and strategies for managing the transition in a way that can boost parenting confidence and minimise the impact on children.