Dear Parents and Guardians,

I have experienced a few conversations with students this past fortnight that  have reminded me about how important a climate of affirmation for us all is. It encourages our students to feel a sense of self worth and to know that their gifts are appreciated.  It is like a few words of affirmation seeks a new creation in each child or person, allowing talents to come to fruition. Psychologists tell us that only 20% of a person’s talents are realised during their lifetime.  That is why wellbeing and pastoral care at our school is so important as it helps to create a climate whereby our children are provided with opportunities for realising their talents, talents that are theirs and due recognition is given to such talents.  Affirmation reaches to all aspects of school life, from our school assemblies, which are the most fun for my week, to individual presence in the classroom. Affirmation is a powerhouse that challenges the peer group which inhibits or stunts the giftedness of other students or each of us.

In light of my thoughts, I had two conversations with students who represented our school recently during the Diocesan Athletics Carnival and the Cross Country.  They spoke to me with great animation, happiness and confidence as they shared their special gift with me. I asked them to write about it and I would share it in our newsletter.  Below are their contributions:

Now how did those stories make you feel?  One child’s affirmation I’m sure brings you great positivity too, it certainly does so for me as I write this newsletter.

Every child OR adult needs to experience their special time in the sun!

Michael Reardon
Principal

Year 6 Representatives

Congratulations to our new Year 6 representatives added to the Student Leadership Team for Terms 3 & 4.

• Evangaline Vella - 6T
• Alexander Keramea - 6F
• Charlotte Cornett - 6H

A special thank you to the students who did this role in Terms 1 & 2.

• Charlie Humphries - 6H
• Steffanie Sammut - 6T
• Rachael Maatouk - 6F

We give 3 students from Year 6 each semester an opportunity to be on the Student Leadership Team to give more of our students the opportunity to build on their experience as leaders in the school.

School Uniform

In recent days some of our students have come to school with new haircuts that fall outside our school policy. No child should have a cut shorter than a number 3. This is to ensure consistency of expectation that is there for the better good of all. Hair standards are also part of the uniform code of the school. The uniform code reflects the discipline code in the school. If you allow your child to leave your home out of uniform then what message does that convey to your child about our uniform code, which everyone signs up for upon enrolment?

This has been a concern raised at P&F meetings and it is the wish of this parent community that the following hair policy be followed. Please ensure you monitor closely the hair policy when visiting the barber or hairdressers.

HAIR
Students are required to wear their hair in a neat and tidy manner.  Haircuts should be of an even grade. Hair should be well brushed and combed and it is assumed that hair will not be in such a condition as to invite comment. Ribbons must be school colours. No oversized bows and hair embellishments.

BE AWARE OF THE FOLLOWING:

• Extreme styles, bleaching, colouring or dyeing of hair are not permitted.
• Gel, mousse and hair spray or other substances should not be used.
• There will be no undercuts, steps or shaved lines within the hair.
• Nothing shorter than a Number 4 comb is acceptable.
• Hair should not extend to cover the eyes or touch the shirt collar (boys).
• Boys hair should be of a length not to attract attention. ‘Man buns’ are not permitted at St Paul’s.
• Students who do not abide by the haircut requirements will be asked to fix the identified problem.
• Long hair is to be tied back or plaited. Ribbons and bands of school colour are to be worn.

Transition to Summer Uniform

As the weather becomes warmer, from next Monday, 2 September 2019, parents can choose either full Winter or full Summer uniform for their child. Full summer uniform only must be worn from Term 4.

SCHOOL FEES
Week 10 this Term, Thursday 26 & Friday 27 September Year 5 will attend their overnight excursion/camp to Teen Ranch, Cobbitty. This week Year 5 Exucrsion/Camp Levy Fee reminder statements and letters were sent home yesterday to those with outstanding levies for the 2019 Year 5 Camp. If you have been sent home a reminder letter in regards to this levy, please ensure payment is made by Friday, 6 September 2019 to avoid disapointment.

If you are experiencing financial hardship please make contact with the school via info@spcdow.catholic.edu.au your request will be handled with the utmost confidentiality. 

COMPASS
Parents consent to excursions through the parent portal.
Parents now provide online consent to events (School excursions & sporting events) via the parent portal. This means excursion notes will no longer be sent home in a hard copy. Parents will receive an email alert directing them to log into their Compass site to view the excursion note and provide consent.

Please ensure your email address is up to date. This can be done via the Compass portal. If you have not logged into Compass or require another copy of your log in letter, please make contact with the school office.

It is imperative that all parents log into Compass as at the end of Term 3, Friday, 27 September 2019, the Skoolbag app will be turned off and all parent correspondence and alerts will be via the Compass parent portal only.

ABSENTEES
Regular attendance at school is important for students to reach their potential. The school is required to record the reason for any absences as a way of ensuring that students are absent from school only when they are sick or have another explanation for not attending school.

Please assist us to fulfil our legal obligations regarding student absences by indicating the reason/s for the absence/s using the Compass parent portal.

https://spcdow-nsw.compass.education

LATE ARRIVALS
Please be aware, as of this Thursday, 29 August 2019 there will be a change to late arrivals. If your child arrives to school late, they need to be signed in at the school office by a parent where they will receive a late pass lanyard. They will then be able to proceed to their classrooms on their own. Once the bell has gone the school day has begun, and parents are unable to accompany their child to the classroom as lessons are taking place and this will lead to disruption of student learning. If students are not accompanied into the school office and signed in by a parent the late arrival will be marked as an unexplained partial absence.

MEDICATION POLICY
If your child is required to take medication during the school day, you must complete a 'request for school to administer medication' form and provide the medication in its original packaging. Please see below a copy of the CEODoW Administration of Medication in Schools Policy for your perusual, and a copy of the request to Administer Medication Form.

National eSmart Week - 1 – 7 September (Week 7)

National eSmart Week is back and with it comes the opportunity to showcase our commitment to cyber safety.  At St Paul’s, we aim to educate students and create a culture free from cyber bullying, with digital citizens who know how to embrace the best that technology can offer whilst being safe, respectful and responsible online.

During Week 7, all classes, Kinder through to Year Six will participate in a variety of age appropriate lessons which will help develop their digital citizen skills. This would be the perfect time for you, as parents to discuss with your child the importance of being eSmart and revise the Responsible Use of Technology Agreement (below) which you all signed at the beginning of the school year. 

Responsibilities of Students 

I agree to and accept that the following rules must be followed when using digital devices, the Internet and email at St Paul’s Catholic Primary School. 

I will: 

•  treat computers and other digital devices with care at all times 
• seek authorisation when changing device settings, deleting or uploading programs into devices 
• use the school network and school owned devices to store or share any files that are only of an educational nature 
• access only areas of the computer or network that are related to my learning 
• be ethical and responsible when accessing sites and inform my teacher if I come across material that is inappropriate 
• use the Internet or email appropriately as a responsible digital citizen 
• comment on my own and the work of others in a respectful and constructive manner 
• protect my own or other people’s personal information over the Internet, including last name, address, telephone number and email address

Responsibilities of Parents/Carers 

I will: 

• work collaboratively with the school to promote a safe learning environment for students 
• take responsibility for my child’s access and online activities at home 
• model appropriate use of technology 
• notify the school promptly about cybersafety issues 
• supervise and discuss internet content and time spent using technology to help children grow into ethical and responsible digital citizens 
• report serious out-of-school hours Cyberbullying to the Police, Internet Service Provider and the School 
• follow due process and use relevant procedures when bringing complaints and grievances to the notice of a school following the Complaints Handling Procedure  
• notify the school promptly if I don't wish for my child’s photo to be published on the Internet   

Recommended websites to visit:

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/online-safety-guide

https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/online-safety

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/net-safety.html

http://www.thinkuknow.org.au/resources/factsheets-for-parents

Top 10 Cyber Safety Tips for 2019 – For Adults and Children

1.   Care about the Share

Social media wants you to share as much as you can bear! But the share should be rare. NEVER share: passwords, private/personal information, your location.

2.   Privacy Matters

If you care about the share, you’ll protect your privacy, no matter what. Regularly check your privacy settings on social media, and always think before you post. It’s amazing where data ends up – usually all over the internet.

3.   Respect the Privacy of Others

Treat others’ privacy as you would your own. Ask for your friends’ permission before uploading photos and videos of them. It’s not all about you, amiright?

4.   Keep Everything Updated

Any idea what causes the most security breaches on the internet? Software that isn’t up-to-date. Seems crazy simple, but it’s true! Be vigilant about updating software, including apps, anti-virus and even the humble browser.

5.   Spam, Spam, Spam, Spammidy-spam

Even with the best anti-spam and malware software – that’s up-to-date – spam is the modern version of junk mail. It’s everywhere! Learn how to tell the difference between real emails and messages, and dodgy things with dodgy links. Sometimes they don’t look so dodgy...always be suspicious of hyperlinks in emails.

6.   Control the Troll Within

There be trolls out there – beware! Don’t feed them, don’t give them what they want: an angry response. Block/Report the trolls. But also: resist the inner troll. If you’re not adding something to the debate online, don’t bother. Don’t be part of the problem.

7.   Cyberbullying and Harassment

If you’re being targeted by this kind of behaviour, know what you can do, and where you can get help. Visit the National Centre Against Bullying website and the Office of the eSafety Commissioner's website.

8.   Keep Your Friends Close and Strangers at Arm’s Length

Do you know how many true friends most people have? Three. Yup, those four thousand and fifty-two Facebook ‘friends’ are a combination of acquaintances,people-you-met-once, people-you-can’t-remember-meeting-once, and probably, some ‘randoms’. They don’t need to know what you had for breakfast, or what concert you went to last night, do they?

9.   Feel the Flow – Keep Your Life in Balance 

Technology is incredible. Gaming, networking, apps…online shopping! But make sure you take time out and find the right balance for you. Too long on tech can put the world out of whack.

10. Have Fun, Friend

Always remember to chill out and keep things in perspective. There’s too much information online to take it all in! Focus on each moment, and enjoy.

Over the past week, data has been extracted from our previous system SENTRAL to our new system COMPASS. Here we compared data collection from 2018 - 2019, so we could see if there was an increase or a decrease in behaviours.

This was then broken down into playground, classroom and bus lines.

Overall there has been a decrease in Major behaviours that have occurred from 2018-2019.

This can only mean a few things. That the playground expectations are being explicitly taught to our students, that the students are responding to SPB4L, that SPB4L is having an impact on the students here at St Paul’s Camden.

This data drives us - where to next? I am hoping to see that the Major behaviours continue to decrease through the explicit teaching of rules and behaviour expectations and that students continue to develop increased understanding of their expectations as well.

Book Week

Book Club

Online Book Club orders close Monday, 2 September 2019.

Premiers Reading Challenge

Author Visit

As part of Book Week we had an author visit from Michael Salmon. Below is one students description of the day.