Dear Parents/Carers,                                                                        

As I begin  to write this letter, NAPLAN has begun its journey at St Paul’s, we have had school camp for Year 6 and the experience of the corresponding sleep deprivation from the students and teachers for the rest of the week that it brings, as well as the PAT data meetings that teachers are currently having with you to share their knowledge and learnings about your child’s literacy and numeracy levels. In addition to this, Chess Club, Mini Vinnies and Garden Club will be commencing in the coming weeks. In fact it is only week 7 and we have also had our school cross country event.

Last week 78 children also had the opportunity to attend the Wests NRL Gala Day and Sporting Schools Clinics (AFL and Ultimate Frisbee) are also timetabled this term, with more to come next term. Most of this work comes outside the normal work flow of teachers and constitutes a huge demand on teacher and parent time, but we see this work as very important and therefore find the time to make it happen. Quite often, it comes with the added workload to a teachers day that can run into their lunch breaks.

Our teachers, whilst they struggle with such demands every day, go the extra mile and still see the value in such extracurricular activities for the students. The graph below clearly outlines NESA timetable requirements for school. The many matters outlined above don’t necessarily fit within these requirements, yet our children still have the opportunity. A clear example is the required 120 minutes for PDHPE. Our children receive 75 minutes weekly for sport alone as a minimum which does not constitute the many gala day experiences they receive and leaves only 45 minutes for Health and Personal Development, both necessary parts of the curriculum. The only way we can provide such additional experiences is because of the desire of the staff at St Paul’s to nurture the interests of the students beyond those minimum requirements.

As the education sector continues to evolve, please bring an open heart to the work of our staff at St Paul’s, knowing they do their best  to go beyond the advice above to provide a well rounded education for your children, even with the adversity the times are currently challenging us to respond to.

I thank our teachers and staff as well as you, the parents, for working together  to get the balance right, which will always be a challenge.

Go Gently,         

Michael Reardon
Principal

St Patrick's Feast Day

We look forward to celebrating St Patrick’s feast day this month.  This day falls on Monday, 17 March. We will start the day with an assembly Prayer led by Year 6H to remember St Patrick and the work that he did in the early Church.

Students may wear something green with their uniform on the day eg. A shamrock, ribbon, socks, hat or glasses.

As part of our Lenten tradition of Almsgiving, we also ask that the students bring in a coin donation. This activity will be organised by our Mini Vinnies group. As the children enter the school on this day, they will be asked to place their donation on a large green shamrock. This will be located near the flagpoles on Area 3. Our goal is to cover the shamrock and raise as much money as possible. Funds raised will go to Caritas Australia. Caritas is an international aid and development organisation of the Catholic Church. 

Please support Project Compassion to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity for vulnerable communities around the world.

St Joseph’s Feast Day

St Joseph’s Feast Day falls on Wednesday, 19 March. St Paul’s School was run by the Sisters of St Joseph from 1888 to1989. As a Catholic school with a Josephite history, it is important that we mark this feast day in some way. We will start the day with an assembly Prayer led by Year 4F to remember St Joseph and his place in our Catholic story. Each class will also focus their Religion lesson on St Joseph on this day.

Harmony Day

Harmony Day will be celebrated on Friday, 21 March. We will celebrate the day with a prayer assembly led by Year 4H. It is an important day because it gives Australians an opportunity to celebrate our successes as a culturally diverse society. 

Orange is the official Harmony Day colour. We invite the students at St Paul's to wear an orange accessory on Friday, 21 March if they wish, for example a bracelet, a hat, a bow, or maybe orange socks.

Lent - Project Compassion

The season of Lent began with Ash Wednesday. Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. During Lent we experience a type of spiritual makeover. Personal pledges to forgo favourite foods, to fast, to give to charity and to extend our prayer time are simple and effective ways to re orientate our hearts towards life and love.

On Ash Wednesday Years 3 to 6 celebrated Mass with our parishioners. Our Kindergarten, Years 1 and 2 classes attended a liturgy in the church and also received the ashes. All classes have been focusing on Lent in their RE units.

On Tuesday, 21 February, two of our students,  Eldan V and Indi N accompanied Mr Reardon and myself to the annual Caritas launch for Project Compassion. Project Compassion boxes have been placed in all classes and students have been encouraged to contribute during Lent. Donations to Project Compassion allow Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.

The PAT (Progressive Achievement Test) assessments are a valuable tool in education as they help teachers gauge the knowledge, understanding, and capabilities of students from Foundation to Year 10. By measuring various domains, PAT provides insight into each student's current academic standing, enabling educators to track progress over time.

Benefits of PAT assessments include:

1. Identifying Student Capability: PAT helps identify what each student is capable of, allowing teachers to adjust teaching strategies accordingly.
2. Personalised Learning: The data from PAT can be used to tailor lessons and activities to meet the individual needs of students. This helps ensure that students are appropriately challenged, reducing the risk of either under-challenging or overwhelming them.
3. Progress Monitoring: Teachers can track student progress over time, providing insight into areas of growth or where additional support may be needed.
4. Informed Decision-Making: The results provide teachers with evidence to inform their decisions about next steps in instruction, helping them make more informed choices about how to best support their students' learning journeys.
5. Differentiation: Since PAT assessments are designed to assess a wide range of skills and understanding, the information gathered allows for differentiated learning—ensuring that each student is working at the right level for them.

In short, PAT assessments give teachers a clear picture of where their students are in their learning, allowing them to provide targeted support and appropriate challenges to foster academic growth.

Cross Country

What a fantastic day at our Cross Country Carnival – the year's first big school community event! With 625 students racing across challenging 3km and 2km tracks, we saw incredible resilience, determination, and school spirit. We were also pleased to welcome eight students from Mater Dei School, Camden, who joined us in the fun. It was wonderful to have you as part of our cross country!

Thank you to our staff, parent volunteers, and students for making the day enjoyable. We were blessed with beautiful sunshine at The Equestrian Centre – perfect conditions for a great event.

We wish the top three primary competitors all the best in the upcoming Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong Cross Country Championships, which will take place in May, at "Willandra" Browns Mountain Road, Nowra.

Sporting Selections

Congratulations to our students who have been selected for the AFL Combined Wollongong, Canberra/Goulburn team and the Wollongong Hockey squad for the MacKillop trials in March. We are proud of their achievements and wish them the best of luck in the upcoming trials!

Western Region and Swimming Selection Trials 2025

On Thursday, 27 February 2025, 26 students from St Paul's proudly represented our school at the Western Region Swimming Carnival. It was a fantastic day with outstanding performances and achievements.

St Paul’s placed 2nd in the overall school points.

Chase – U11 Age Champion
Ruby – 3rd Senior Girls Champion
Archie – 3rd Junior Boys Champion

Congratulations to the 18 students who qualified for the Wollongong Selection Trials. After competing last Friday, Chase and Jaimee have secured a spot to represent Wollongong at the Catholic Schools NSW Mackillop Swimming Trials in April.

We are incredibly proud of all our swimmers for their dedication and sportsmanship. Best of luck to Chase and Jaimee in the next stage.

Chris Lawrence NRL Gala Day 

Last Thursday, 79 students participated in the @playnrlwesternsydney Chris Lawrence NRL Gala Day.

It was a day of all seasons, but our students showed incredible sportsmanship and enthusiasm throughout, in true St Paul's spirit. They had the opportunity to participate in non-competitive rugby league tackle or league tag, giving their best effort in every game.

Thank you to our fantastic parent volunteers and dedicated staff for making these opportunities possible. Your support means so much to our students!

P&F Annual General Meeting - Tomorrow, Wednesday, 12 March 2025

Tomorrow, Wednesday, 12 March 2025 the P&F Annual General Meeting will be held. At this meeting all the executive positions become available.

Whether you're a long-time contributor or simply curious to see what it’s all about, this is a fantastic opportunity to meet other parents, share ideas, and make a difference in our school community. 

Zoom Link - https://dowcatholic.zoom.us/j/61031744912

As per the constitution, volunteers are not to exceed 3 consecutive years in their positions and at present we have committee members who have exceeded this. They have done an amazing job, but the P&F are now needing new members to take on these roles.

Attached is the Nomination Form for these executive positions and included is a detailed role description of each position. If you would like to nominate, please complete and return to the school office or via email to info@spcdow.catholic.edu.au