Dear Parents/Carers,

This past week has been a more settled one now that the floods are over!  Our P&F meeting had to be rescheduled and we finally had the AGM last Wednesday.  Daniela Ryan has been re elected as president, along with Emma Jane Garbutt, Vice President, Melissa Maydew as Secretary and Roberto Santucci as our new Treasurer.  I’d like to acknowledge the wonderful work that Michelle Muscat has provided to the role of Treasurer over the previous five years and I’m sure Roberto will benefit from Michelle’s work.

The P&F are a critical part of building community in any school setting.  It is the primary advisory to the principal concerning school matters. They provide a forum where matters relating to the growth and development of the school community can be explored. It is a means by which the school can also promote social contact between parents and friends of the school.  The P&F is a consultative body under the auspices of the principal. The quality of the relationships between parents and the school is reflected in how each member present is significant for the education of the child.  Such relationships call for tolerance and mutual respect for the position and perspectives of the other person.  This is the goal for every P&F meeting.

If the Catholic school is to engage in spreading the Kingdom of God, then it is vitally concerned with the people of the community.  A school cannot be some kind of island which ignores the world. The pattern of relationship in our school must always be two way and based on relational covenants. A covenant is a contract built upon the sacred relationships between individuals and groups. They are founded on a moral purpose which is the glue that binds people together in community. When school communities maintain their focus on the children and the better good of all, covenants are created between participants where each member seeks to reach out to others to support their contribution in achieving successful learning opportunities for the children and community experiences that make people feel welcome at St Paul’s.  This is the work of the P&F.

Go Gently,

Michael Reardon
Principal

Principal Awards

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

Alessio Silvano, Corey Teuma, Noah McAllister, Ariana Criniti, Elizabeth Knapp, Indie Tulich, Braxton Small, Sarah Murphy, Chiara Musico, Abel Lockett-Salo, Joseph Iofrida, Sebastian Vella, Edward Knapp, Oliver Mackie, Oliver Duggan, Maddison Maycock, Lucas Muscat, Mackenzie Bowen, Emily Caudle, Layla McCarthy, Addison Russell, Maddison Scott, Jackson Carney, Obinna Hampo, Harrison Brookes, Bianca Colusso, Jaime-Lea Middleton, Olivia Davies, Elise Murphy, Angela Pisanko, Isabella Cefai, Archie Milne, Atticus Booth, Alexa Wiles, Annabelle Duggan, Edwin Costelloe, Eve Rota, Ella Mulholland, Isla Fuller, Lenny Sacilotto, Marlee Evans, Liver Lawrence, Poppy Begovich, Jett Wisby, Savannah Stanley, Willow Grimson, Max Young, Jacob Dunbar, Mark Starr, Lucy Farrugia, Ryan Maydew, Jonah Hatcher, Lorena Brescia, Anabelle Knapp, Clare McLachlan.

Staff Spirituality Day - Student Pupil Free Day

On Tuesday, 26 April 2022, staff will participate in a spirituality day at Mary Mackillop Place in North Sydney.

This day will be a pupil free day and no staff will be onsite  to supervise children. 

Jo Rogan Finishing At St Paul’s

It is with a sense of sadness that I inform the school community that Jo Rogan will be finishing in her role as school counsellor, effective from the end of term.  Jo has given remarkable service to the students over my time at St Paul’s and prior.  Jo has been a key support to student well being and would also support parents indirectly through  her work with the children.  There were many times when I would seek out Jo’s advice in order to support particular family situations or even staff well being.  I wish to acknowledge the great “hole” that will need to be covered due to Jo’s work.  Catholic Care are engaged by CEODoW to provide counselling support and will be involved in replacing Jo next term to continue this very important work. 

St Paul’s Fete Meeting - Thursday 31 March 2022 (next week)

Next Thursday at 7.00pm there will be a meeting in the school hall to determine the potential viability of a school fete, to be held late term 3 during September.  The St Paul’s school fete has a long tradition and is a part of every child’s story who has attended school.  Even parents are able to tell their story about attending the fete as a child.  As the fete was cancelled for the past two years due to COVID directives by NSW Health, it has not been possible to celebrate this wonderful event. However, with many key people now leaving the school we have to establish whether it is still viable. Therefore, it is critical that we have as many people as possible at this meeting to vote in a new fete committee and to also enable a decision about the fete’s ongoing viability.  Mark McInness will be chairing the meeting.  The purpose of the meeting is to establish a new fete committee and document potential names of stall holders and teams to run each stall.  Please come along otherwise we will not be able to reactivate this wonderful experience for the children.

ANZAC Day March

Kindergarten 2023 Enrolments

Enrolments for Kindergarten 2023 are now open. Enrolment packs will be available to download from our school website. 

https://www.spcdow.catholic.edu.au/parents/enrolment-information/

Enrolments close Friday, 8 April 2022 at 3:00pm

School Fees

School Fee’s that are not on an instalment plan are now overdue. School fee reminders are being sent out directly from the School Fees Liaison Office – CEO Wollongong.  Mr Reardon is currently in the process of making interviews with fee payers that have an outstanding debt.  If you are currently experiencing financial difficulties please email the school and request a Fee Concession Form to allow the school to best assist you. 

1. email the school office via info@spcdow.catholic.edu.au  
2. email subject line -  COVID POSITIVE 
3. Email needs to contain - Childs name:Childs class:Date child tested Positive to COVID-19:

The school will submit an absentee record for your child and return email you with the date your child can return to school.  

Attendance Note

Please ensure when entering an absent note for your child that you only enter the dates and do not alter the times in any way. The times are automatically set and altering the times will result in a partial absence for the day.

Parent/Teacher Data Meetings to be held in week 10

From Monday, 4 April to Thursday, 7 April 2022, parent/teacher meetings will take place via Zoom. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss your child’s Semester 1 learning goals for Mathematics and English. Every child will bring home their goals in an envelope on Friday, 1 April 2022. If your child is away on this day, your child will bring the envelope home the next day they are at school. The meeting will provide an opportunity for your child’s teacher to explain the learning goals, the strategies that will be used to achieve this in the classroom and the strategies that you can use at home to support your child.

Bookings for the parent/teacher meeting will be open via Compass on Monday, 28 March 2022 at 9:15 a.m and close Friday, 1 April 2022 at 3:30pm Zoom links for individual classes will be sent via the COMPASS app prior to the meetings.

If you have any further questions, please contact your child’s classroom teacher.

St Patrick's Day

St Patrick’s Day, is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Patrick was born in Britain in the fourth century and didn’t arrive in Ireland until he was 16 years old, when he was sent to work in the country. After he arrived, Patrick became interested in Christianity and started teaching others about the religion. He is said to have converted many of the country’s residents to Christianity. By the time of his death on March 17, 461, he had established monasteries, churches, and schools. Many legends grew up around him—for example, that he drove the snakes out of Ireland and used the shamrock to explain the Trinity, the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one God. 

At St Paul’s we celebrated the day with a special assembly prayer focusing on St Patrick. The students wore green accessories on the day and donated $774.25 For Project Compassion.  These funds together with other money donated to the Project Compassion boxes in each class room will be forwarded to Caritas Australia at the end of Lent.  Our generous support will help to change the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people. Thank you for your support.

St Joseph’s Feast Day (19 March)

St Joseph was the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus. According to the Scriptures, he was a carpenter, a working man. The Gospel of Matthew calls him a “righteous man,” meaning he was an observant Jew who obeyed God’s law.

We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. Joseph was engaged to Mary, but upon discovering that Mary was pregnant with Jesus, he decided to call off the marriage—but “quietly,” since the penalty for adultery was death by stoning. However, the angel of the Lord told him in a dream that he should go ahead with the marriage because Mary’s child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. “He did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him” (Matthew 1:24).

We also know that Joseph loved Jesus. His demonstrated great concern for the safety of this child, entrusted to him. Not only did Joseph leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life. Another example was when Jesus stayed in the Temple. We are told that Joseph and Mary searched with great anxiety for three days for Jesus (Luke 2:48). We also know that Joseph treated Jesus as his own son even though the people of Nazareth say of Jesus, "Is this not the son of Joseph?" (Luke 4:22)

Mary referred to Joseph as Jesus’ father, honouring his role in caring for and protecting Jesus, and raising him in the Jewish faith; however, the reply of Jesus refers to God as his Father, and introduces a common theme in his preaching: Our faithfulness to God must come before even our closest human relationships.

The Solemnity of St Joseph is celebrated on March 19. He is also honoured as the patron saint of workers on May 1.

At St Paul’s, each class celebrated this Feast Day on the Eve of St Joseph’s Feast Day with a ‘Liturgy of the Word’ in their classroom.

Harmony Day (21 March) 

Harmony Day was celebrated on Monday, 21 March 2022. It is an important day because it gives Australians an opportunity to celebrate our successes as a culturally diverse society. It is also a day that celebrates inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.

At St Paul’s we started the day with a Prayer Assembly focusing on Harmony Day. The students were invited to wear orange accessories with their uniform and made paper chains to mark our unity as a community.

Year 3 & 5 NAPLAN Practice Tests

NAPLAN practice tests will be completed via the online assessment platform on Thursday, 24 March 2022 (Years 3 and 5)  and Friday, 25 March 2022 (Year 5 only).

Participation in the practice tests is highly beneficial for our school and students in their preparation for NAPLAN. It allows students to become familiar with the online assessment platform and processes.

The practice tests include an omnibus test (combination of reading, conventions of language and numeracy questions) and a writing test, both approximately 40 minutes. Students in Years 5  participate in both tests. Students in Year 3 participate in the omnibus test only.

Scholastic Book Club 

Thank you for supporting our school library. Every Scholastic Book Club order that is processed through the LOOP platform for St Paul’s school earns reward dollars which has allowed us to purchase new resources for our school library. 

Scholastic Book Club Issue 2 catalogues were sent home last week. A reminder that cash payments cannot be received at our school but Scholastic’s online LOOP payment system enables families to make payments by credit card.

scholastic.com.au/LOOP

On the closing date, book orders are submitted by the school to Scholastic, books are delivered to school and then sent home with students. This can take up to two weeks after the closing date.

The closing date for LOOP orders for Issue 2 will be Friday, 25 March 2022

Junior Fiction Stocktake

During Week 10, we must conduct our JUNIOR FICTION library books stocktake. This is a significant task and we require all Junior Fiction texts to be returned to the school before Friday, 1 April, Week 9. Most infant students borrow weekly from the Junior Fiction section of the library. Please have a look at home and return the books to the library.

Social Awareness

This week we will explore the third of the 5 core components of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). 

Social Awareness is being aware and respectful of the feelings and perspectives of others.

Over the past two weeks, students at St Paul's have explored the way in which they can be aware of others around them. This included looking at a situation from another perspective, valuing the opinions of others, building relationships and having empathy. 

Throughout our weekly journaling, students were able to self-reflect on how they treated others, and how the actions of others made them feel.

Flexi Schools Online Lunch Ordering

Please ensure when placing an online lunch order that your child's class has been updated to their 2022 class.

Canteen Caper Day

2022 P&F Committee

Congratulations to the newly elected 2022 P&F Committee.

• President - Daniela Ryan
• Vice President - Emma-Jane Garbutt
• Treasurer - Roberto Santucci
• Secretary - Melissa Maydew
• Events Coordinator - Melissa Moore & Renee Stanley

AGM Minutes