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Dear Parents/Carers,
Welcome to a new academic year. I trust that you and your family were able to celebrate Christmas in a special and joyful way.
We particularly extend a warm welcome to our new kindergarten children and families new to our community. We also welcome our new staff members; Miss Amy Huska(5F), Mrs Belinda Williams who has come to us from working in School Improvement Services, Special Education at our head office. Mrs Williams will replace Mrs Martin, whose appointment as Acting Assistant Principal, Holy Family, Luddenham, came only in the last week of school. We are very fortunate to have Mrs Williams with us as she will bring a wealth of experience to her new role and is also a member of our leadership team. Mrs Kelly Sharkey is also working in the office assisting with the school administration responsibilities for the year. We are a “can do” community and I’m sure all will experience the beauty of St Paul’s hospitality which was so very evident when I came to the school at the beginning of 2018.
I would like to share with everyone our focus areas for 2023. Some, you may notice, begin to happen very early this term, others will become more evident as the year progresses.
We will implement considerable teacher training in the area of social and emotional wellbeing and ensure that this is a significant focus when covering the PDHPE syllabus. You will find this most evident in the first term as all classes will be taught the health component of the syllabus that covers this area.
At the end of term 1, learning goals for each child will be developed based on assessment data collected throughout the term. These will be finalised with the child, parent and teacher at a personal meeting. We will have flexibility to have the meetings via zoom or in person.
In addition to the above we have surveyed staff and students about how respectful relationships and wellbeing can be enhanced to support students in their learning. We will also be having our second Listening Assembly in term 2 to hear parent voice about this area, which has heightened significantly since COVID.
Last year there were also considerable challenges concerning student absence, largely due to the impact of COVID and the related health regulations. Our plan is to monitor this closely and I will share some of the data collected as we progress through the year. Student performance in our National Testing was significantly impacted by student absenteeism throughout 2022.
St Paul’s plans to continue our focus on building student number fluency and applying related mathematical content to solving mathematical problems. Our National Testing data identifies the continued need to enhance teacher content knowledge, especially in Stage 3 Mathematics outcomes as well as assisting teachers to create challenging realistic problems that enable the students to apply this content knowledge.
In addition, the K-2 Mathematics and English Syllabus has been revised and will need to be fully implemented this year. This will require ongoing professional learning for all staff throughout the year.
It is my hope that our improvement agenda can be followed through and the restrictions created by the COVID19 pandemic are now in the past. I know we can achieve our plans for this year provided the constant disruptions that as a community we have endured (including the floods) in recent times are no longer there.
Go gently,
Michael Reardon
Principal
Student Data Meetings
The student data and goal setting meeting will take place in Week 9 (27 - 31 March) and will follow the same zoom format as last year. This is an opportunity for the teachers to share with you your child’s strengths and learning needs goals that have been established through the use of a variety of data sets and work samples. This meeting will replace the Meet and Greet meetings from the past that were held several years ago.
Meet and Greet Meetings are still available for you within the first four weeks of the term either at your request or the request of your child’s teacher. If you would like a Meet and Greet meeting feel free to arrange this with your child’s teacher through the office. These can either be done via zoom, over the phone or in person. Please contact the office as soon as possible to arrange a time with your child’s teacher. Quite often these meetings are beneficial should your child suffer from anxiety, there has been a significant change or loss to the family or simply because you would like to directly meet your child’s teacher at the beginning of the year to create a positive working relationship. I am very aware in most cases, such a meeting is not needed either by the parent or the teacher and this is why we have chosen to make this on a needs only basis. You may find that it is necessary to arrange a Meet and Greet Meeting for one of your children but not the other, and that is perfectly fine and understandable. Due to this meeting not being formally timetabled, the same information about homework, timetables, sport days etc will be sent home in a thorough Grade Outline for term one.
Student Supervision
A reminder to all parents that morning supervision begins at 8.30am, when the school gates are opened and afternoon bus supervision ends with the last bus leaving at 4.00pm. Supervision on area two, in front of the canteen finishes at 3.40pm.
Your child should not be dropped off at the office area on a regular basis before 8.30am. Last year some children were at school at 8.00am and were sent to the office. This is beyond our regular hours and is an unreasonable expectation. It would be expected that you take them to ASPIRE like other parents do and pay for this service that is available to you. If you are going to be late for any reason when picking up your children, please contact the school office. The phone is attended until 4.30pm, after this time it will go directly to the message bank and will not be followed up until the next morning. Ringing after this time to make appointments to meet with teachers or members of the Leadership Team would be an unreasonable expectation and will need to wait till the next morning after 8.30am. Teachers have considerable administrative responsibilities to attend to, various meetings, lesson planning to complete and unfinished marking that weighs heavily on them. Please be mindful of this when you ring and expect to speak to them beyond these times.
Protocols When Seeking To Meet With Staff
Last week, even with it being the first week, I had a situation that reminded me to make sure I explicitly state the hierarchy we follow when dealing with matters at the school. Naturally, as a parent, you would usually seek out the teacher first if you are concerned about any matter to do with your child. Should this not be resolved at that point then you would seek a meeting with the Middle Leader assigned to your child’s grade to discuss how to move forward with your concern. Only after this point, should Mrs Brunetta or I be involved. At any point, Mrs Debrincat, our Religious Education and Wellbeing Coordinator is available to support children and parents for many of these matters. If everything went to either the Assistant Principal or Principal first, nothing would be resolved effectively as there simply would be no time to do so with 620 children and 450 families! Also, usually such meetings are not five minute matters and our time needs to be prioritised to the more pressing or high end immediate matters.
Below are the Middle Leaders responsible for each grade:
- Kindergarten - Mrs Donna Rae
- Year 1 - Mrs Maria Debrincat
- Year 2 - Mrs Catherine Hatter
- Year 3 - Mrs Angela Mourinho
- Year 4 - Mrs Angela Mourinho
- Year 5 - Mrs Belinda Williams
- Year 6 - Mrs Kristen King
Haircuts
Please ensure your child's haircut meets the requirements outlined in our school handbook as stated below.
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 3 comb is acceptable.
- Hair should not extend to cover the eyes or beyond 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.
I will be monitoring students this week and approaching any student who does not meet these requirements.
Principal Awards
Congratulations to the following students who have recently received a Principal Award.
Braxton Small, Matilda Slattery, Lachlan Cassone, Amelia Winkler, Ashlynn Phillips, Mia Browne, Emerson Turner, Oliver Blore, Achie Milne.
2023 Staff List
Kindergarten 2024 Enrolments
Enrolments for Kindergarten 2024 are now open. Enrolments packs are available to collect from the front of the school office.
School Fees
STATEMENTS 2023
School Fee statements were distributed to families last week. These statements detail all fees invoiced for 2023 and include a schedule of payments and due dates if the family are paying by instalment. The first school fee payment for the year will be due on 28/2/23.
Parents, please note the following;
- The invoicing of school fees and the distribution of school fee statements each month, is now a function carried out by the Catholic Education Office.
- Payment of fees, whether as an annual payment or payment by instalments is due on the date/s provided on your school fee statement.
- If an amendment is made to your school fee account eg; your child changes subjects in a secondary school, etc. you will be emailed a statement which will provide a new schedule of payments and due dates. Please review this schedule to make any changes to your payments that are necessary.
REMINDERS FOR LATE PAYMENTS
SMS and email reminders are automatically generated by our accounting software based on the number of days a payment is overdue and are distributed by the Catholic Education Office. For those families that may have difficulty in paying their school fees, these reminders may cause some distress. This is not our intention. Our intention is to support the collection of school fee accounts centrally and in so doing, alleviate some of the administrative work of our schools.
SCHOOL FEE ACCOUNT ENQUIRIES
Please note, despite the centralisation of various functions, your school/s will always be your point of contact for matters pertaining to fees. If you wish to discuss your school fee account, please contact your school office. The role of the Catholic Education Office is to action centralised tasks on behalf of schools.
IF YOU WISH TO PAY BY INSTALMENTS
Many families have already elected to pay their school fees by instalments. If you wish to avail yourself of this option please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on your school’s website or at your school’s office. On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at your school’s office. Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your account and a schedule of payments and due dates will be provided on your next school fee statement. Please note it is only necessary to complete this form once during the period of child/children’s enrolment unless you wish to amend your payment frequency.
DIFFICULTY WITH PAYMENT
If you are experiencing financial difficulty, we encourage you to contact the school in which your child/children are enrolled to discuss an arrangement that will assist you meet your commitments. This may include the completion of a Diocesan Application for Fee Concession which is available from the administration office of each school. Be reassured that your situation will be treated with strict confidentiality and respect for your circumstances. If you wish to submit an application, please do so at your child’s school. Please note, if you have children in more than one school, it will only be necessary to submit one application.
For those families that received a Fee Concession in 2022, you will receive an email prior to your annual review date attaching a further Application for Fee Concession. You may also initiate an earlier review if you wish to do so by contacting your school office.
For further information regarding school fees, please access the Diocesan School Fee Management Policy and Frequently Asked Questions which is available on your school’s website.
From the Handbook - ANAPHYLAXIS POLICY
We have several children in our school who are allergic to nuts. Their allergies are life threatening so we ask all parents to refrain from sending their children to school with peanuts, peanut butter, and peanut products.
Please refer to the “Anaphylaxis” Policy below.
Student Birthday Celebration
A reminder that if your child is celebrating a birthday and you wanted to send in a treat for their class, the school asks that only sealed lollypop's be sent in to share with your child's class. Allen's lollipops are ideal.
With student allergies and the need for parent permission, it is not possible to distribute any other items.
Year 6 T-Shirts
The traditional St Paul’s Year 6 T-shirt order has been placed. These T-shirts are worn weekly on your child’s sport day, day one of the Year 6 overnight excursion to visit Parliament House and on various other days specific to year 6. All children have been fitted for their T-shirt.
This year the Year 6 T-shirt levy has not been billed directly to your school fee account.
If you would like your child to have a Year 6 T-shirt please confirm and pay for your child’s T-shirt via the compass event that will be sent over the coming days.
T-shirts will be distributed later this term to all students who have paid the $50.00 Year 6 T-shirt Levy in full. If you are currently under financial strain please email Mr Reardon via info@spcdow.catholic.edu.au and arrange a meeting with in in regards to this levy and your school fees.
Grade Sport Days
GRADE |
SPORT DAYS |
Kindergarten |
Wednesday |
Year 1 |
Friday |
Year 2 |
Thursday |
Year 3 |
Wednesday |
Year 4 |
Friday |
Year 5 |
Thursday |
Year 6 |
Wednesday |
Scholastic Book Club
Thank you for supporting our school library. Scholastic Book Club Issue 1 catalogues were sent home yesterday. 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 1 will be 20 February 2023.
Waste Free Wednesdays
St Paul’s is committed to being an environmentally friendly school. We encourage all students to bring a waste free lunch every Wednesday. On this day, we ask parents to pack a lunch for their child that contains no throw away packaging. Rather, we recommend using a bento style lunchbox where each food can be contained in its own section, or using re-usable packaging such as containers, bees wax wrappers, silicone zip bags. Some of the benefits of Waste Free Wednesdays are outlined below:
- Reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill.
- Reduce the rubbish within our school grounds.
- Cut household spending. Buying foods in larger, bulk packaging is more cost effective for your family.
- Consider healthier options to include in school lunches.
Each Wednesday, class teachers will award one playground token to every participating student. The tokens are counted towards the House Cup at the end of the term. The winning house receives additional play time at the end of the term.
Help St Paul’s. Help the Environment. Waste Free Wednesdays.
All online orders must be submitted prior to 8:30am
Canteen Caper Day
Tuesday, 7 February 2023 | 2023 Kindergarten Cohort Begin | |
Wednesday, 8 February 2023 | 7pm | P&F Meeting - School Hall (All welcome) |
Tuesday, 14 February 2023 | 12:15pm | Beginning School Liturgy (1-6) |
Tuesday, 21 February 2023 | Canteen Caper Day - Pancake Day | |
Wednesday, 22 February 2023 | 9:30am | Ash Wednesday Mass (3-6) |
Wednesday, 22 February 2023 | 10:45am | Ash Wednesday Liturgy (K-2) |
Wednesday, 1 March 2023 | Western Region Swimming Carnival | |
Tuesday, 7 March 2023 | 10am | Lenten Liturgy (K-6) |
Friday, 10 March 2023 | School Cross Country | |
Friday, 24 March 2023 | Camden Show | |
Thursday, 6 April 2023 | 12:15pm | Holy Week Liturgy (K-6) |
Thursday, 6 April 2023 | Last Day of Term 1 | |
Monday, 24 April 2023 | Staff Sirituality Day - Pupil Free Day | |
Tuesday, 25 April 2023 | ANZAC Day | |
Wednesday, 26 April 2023 | Students Commence Term 2 |