Dear Parents/Carers,

As we move towards the end of the term I find myself reflecting on the power of the cross.  Jesus said:

“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him take up his cross every day 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

The Catholic School usually has a crucifix on its walls and on a prayer space or wall in the classrooms, and so it should.  The cross is the 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 in our Catholic school, there is also a space for failure.  Somehow the examinations, successes, the sporting prowess of students, special prizes, must never be established as a norm for school endeavour lest the shadow side of the school is ignored.

The paradox of failure is authentic and children need to be in touch with its realities.  The Christian position is that on the point of failure stands the prospect of redemption and grace.  There is no implication here for opting out from striving for excellence or accepting indifferent efforts but an awareness that we all carry limits whoever we are and whatever we do.  By trying to incorporate our failures, our shadow, into our lives, we are more in touch with the wholeness of our journey and growth as people.

Through failure, Jesus offered a way of transformation.  The two faces of Good Friday and Easter Sunday belong to the same person, Jesus.  Do you allow yourself to also represent the two faces of Good Friday and Easter Sunday?  My family reminds me all the time of both!  Something to consider as we head into Holy Week next Sunday.

Go Gently,

Michael Reardon
Principal

Principal Awards

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

Aubree Bentham-Esner, Archer Linden, Harper Grimson, Samuel Porter, Leo Lonergan, Eden Shephard, Sebastian Armstrong, Ashton Youkhana, Cody Russo, Kalanee Pierce, Nishan Singh, Marcus Mura, Olivia Puckrin, Holly Nightscales, Charlotte Campbell, Pasquale Oliva, Parker King, Alexander Brett, Maya Gerloff, Hannah Gray, Harper Cox, Zoe Farrugia, John Colosimo, Brysen David, Brenden Grech, Mariah Oliva, Ava Grech, Georgie Haddad, Brearne Smith, Nicholas Brajuha

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. 

Great Fete News

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the fete meeting to determine whether we can go ahead with the fete this year.  Normally it is in May, due to COVID restrictions it is hoped that we can go ahead with the date set - 17 September (second last weekend of term 3).  Not only was there a great turn up for the meeting but most positions for the fete stalls have been filled and the fete committee pairs established.  I have listed below the summary from the meeting.  My apologies to anyone that I have missed out or managed to get wrong, please let me know!  Also a special thank you to Mark Mc Innes for leading the night.  I’m excited to see a number of new families come on board either on the committee or the stall holders.  Everyone is keen and motivated to enable the story to continue for our students.  Every ex student has a story to share about their time at St Paul’s and the great day that was the fete. 

A special thank you to the fete committee.  There was a nomination and acceptance process on the night.  As you can see the fete committee will work in tandem with their colleague.

Below is a summary of volunteers from the evening:

Proposed date TBC    -  New date 17 September 2022

Next Fete meeting: Thursday, 28 April 2022  

First Thursday back after the holidays.  This is where we will start planning the work of the stall holders. 

PLEASE COME AND JOIN IN, IF YOU COULDN’T MAKE THE FIRST MEETING.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Zoey (4 Hope), who was invited to audition for Gymtastic’s international team. Last week Zoey was informed that she had been offered a position in the performant team and that she will be attending the 20^th World Gymnaestrada in Amsterdam, representing Australia from 30 July until 5 August 2023. 

Term 1 - Teacher Professional Learning summary

All teachers working in NSW schools must be accredited with the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) to be eligible to teach in NSW. It is mandated that teachers maintain their accreditation through continuous rigorous professional learning opportunities to ensure current teaching practices are based on evidence and research.

St Paul’s prides itself on the development and professional pedagogical growth of teaching staff and this past term saw the teachers engage in many professional learning opportunities under the guidance of leadership. Completing Professional Learning helps teachers keep up to date with relevant content, skills and pedagogy and supports their professional growth.

The following is a summary of the Professional Learning staff engaged with in Term 1:

Mrs Brunetta
Assistant Principal

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 this Friday, 8 April 2022 at 3:00pm

Unexplained Absences

Regular emails are sent to families with any unexplained absences. Today notes will also be sent home. We ask that if your child has any unexplained absences that you add an attendance note on Compass as is legally required.

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.

NAPLAN Dates for Year 3 and Year 5

The official Naplan testing dates will be as follows for both Year 3 and Year 5 students. If your child is absent for unforeseen circumstances they will be offered to sit a catch-up test within the testing period. 

Stage 3 Cyber Safety Presentation 

Youth Officers attached to Camden Police Area Command will attend St Paul’s on Wednesday, 27 April 2022 to present a cyber safety presentation to Years 5 and 6 students. This presentation provides a balanced perspective of technology, providing information on both its benefits and its challenges. 

During this presentation students will learn about:

• Keeping themselves safe while using devices and social media
• What they should and shouldn’t upload onto social media
• What is cyberbulling and what should they do if they are been bullied online
• Sending inappropriate images
• Stranger danger online

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

Responsible Decision Making/Relationship Skills

Over the past two weeks, students at St Pauls have explored ways in which they can work together. This included calmly discussing their role in a group and taking responsibility for their part in a task. Students learnt that responsible decision making and relationship skills includes working with others, including others, asking permission to cross boundaries, making apologies, supporting others, giving compliments,  apologising and disagreeing appropriately.

Students have continued to self-reflect on how they treat others through our weekly journaling.

Waste Free Wednesdays at St Paul's