2022 Newsletter #38 November 23
Principal News
Welcome to Week 8
Time is certainly flying by with only just over 3 weeks of school left for the year. We have been so fortunate that this year we have been able to have the students onsite full time, every term. Although there is only 3 and a half weeks to go, it is going to be busy!
Last week parents and students enjoyed the MAPPEN expo. It was great to see students problem solving, learning to work in groups with others and developing resilience while learning about a range of integrated curriculum areas.
This evening some of our grade 2 students will be celebrating the Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation). We wish them all the best in taking the next step in their faith journey.
Tomorrow we once again have the 'Police in Schools' visiting the Senior students. This session will sum up all of the learning they have been doing over the year. The Seniors will also celebrate a Liturgy on Friday at 12.15pm.
Teachers have been busy writing reports over the last week or two, along with putting students into 2023 classes. Reports will be able to be accessed on Monday 12th December. Students will also receive a letter on this day with their 2023 teacher and classroom. This will be followed by a transition morning on Tuesday 13th December.
Our Annual General Meeting is on Tuesday 29th November at 7.30pm via Zoom. It would be great to see as many of our St Paul's Community attending.
A reminder to get your tickets for our End of Year Concert 'The Evening News'. If you can not make the cinema screening a link will be provided so you can watch it at home.
We would also like to advise the School Community that Vince Muscatello will be on leave until the end of the year. In his absence, please contact Lauren Gibson or Melissa Sutherland.
Finally, congratulations to this week's milestone achievers for following our school norms: Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be Your Best.
BEE MILESTONE: Fetongi Latukefu, Alia Lijo and Natasha Cavallo.
HIVE MILESTONE: Andrea Norton, Denim Humphrey, Malia Fonua, Olly Morton, Elena Akkus, Charlotte Hogan, Harshveer Khangura and Ava Fidura.
Have a great week!
Melissa Sutherland
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - Tuesday 29th November - 7.30pm
As we are coming into a busy part of the year, our AGM will be held online. We would love as many people from the St Paul's Community to come along. To join us please follow the link below.
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/73670116523?pwd=gbWQYvfmNxmbuCaDikpdyxO5u7VddU.1
Or Open Zoom and put in the meeting ID and Passcode.
Meeting ID: 736 7011 6523
Passcode: BqM77x
The AGM Booklet can be accessed on Simon Everyway - Daily Messages
Arts news
Have you got your tickets yet for our End of Year Concert - Cinema event?! The 6:45pm screening has now SOLD OUT!! As a result of this, two new time slots have opened up for the event at 6:15pm and 7pm.
Tickets are FREE OF CHARGE but are necessary so that we can keep track of the number of people attending the event, as we have limited seating per session. Every person attending will need a ticket, including students.
To order your tickets simply click HERE
The Candy Bar will be open on the night for you to purchase popcorn, drinks or any other goodies that you may like. You can also choose to bring your own snacks, but please note that NO HOT FOOD will be permitted in the cinema.
Administration News
Thank you to those families who have completed their 2023 School Fee Commitment forms so promptly. This is the first time we have done this electronically. Reminder that they are due no than this Friday 25th November.
Admin will follow up with fee calculations once the commitment forms are returned. If you need any help don’t hesitate to contact Admin.
Middle Unit News
Last Thursday as part of our Mappen Unit our students were incredibly lucky to have Maeva come and speak to the unit. Maeva spoke about where she grew up and the places that she has travelled. She shared personal stories about her travels such as the things she did to earn money, the volunteer work that she did and how she paid for a student's schooling, who she continues to support now. She informed our students about the types of cooking they did and the ways that different people lived. Maeva also talked about the ways that she has continued her volunteer work in her current life. The students were incredibly engaged in her presentation and inspired our students to learn more and maybe one day travel too. We would like to thank Maeva for sharing her experience with us.
Next Thursday 1st Dec our students are having an activity day, as Day 3 of their camp. Students will get to participate in a rotation of activities, including Enviro Edu and Limitless Dance. Students can come in casual clothes on this day or their sports uniform and are required to bring their own lunches, snack etc (as per normal).
Senior Unit News
MAPPEN Expo & Football Clinic
Last week was an exciting time in the senior unit as the students engaged in MAPPEN week. The children used their critical thinking and creativity skills to come up with amazing ideas as young entrepreneurs. It was fantastic to watch the students collaborate with their peers to bring their projects to life. The shark tank activity was an opportunity for all team members to shine as the students developed a business plan, a presentation and a prototype to present to other students and families. Well done everyone. You certainly brought your A game!
We have been lucky enough to host a football clinic run by Ben McGlynn over the last few weeks. Student have been encouraged to participate in the clinic to learn and develop essential football skills. We were excited to see so many students take advantage of this opportunity.
This week the Grade 5 mathematics students have been learning about measurement. It was great to observe them interacting with temperature but measuring the water using a thermometer. What a great hands on activity to support the learning concept!
Diary Dates - Tuesday 29th November
- The Grade 5 students will attend the special activity day at St Joseph's College.
- To celebrate the end of Primary School and prepare for the Graduation Mass, the Grade 6 students will be going Ten Pin Bowling & attending the Sacred Heart Church for Graduation Practice. Students can wear their sports uniform. Chips & Icy poles will be provided at Ten Pin Bowling.
Please ensure you have given permission for these activities on SIMON Everywhere.
Foundation Unit
Welcome to Week 8!
Some dates for the diary:
On Wednesday 7th December the Foundation Unit will be going to Benetook Farms from 9:am - 11:00am as part of their reward for all of the children in the unit reaching 50 GOTCHA'S. They will be travelling by bus and will have the opportunity to feed the chickens, pick strawberries, spend some time in the maze, ride the bikes and explore the site. The children can wear their sport clothes on this day. After returning back to school the children will be having a pizza lunch from Dominoes, supplied by the school. If you do not want your child to have pizza please provide lunch for them. It will be a fun day full of activities. Please remember to log onto the SIMON Everywhere App to sign the consent form.
On Thursday 8th December the children will be spending some time with their buddies from 12:00pm - 2:00pm. This will be a great opportunity to develop their relationships with each other and take part in some fun activities.
Junior Unit News
Thank you so much to all the wonderful volunteers who came in to talk to the children last week. They thoroughly enjoyed hearing about different types of jobs and all the hard work that adults do! Thank you, too, to those of you who were able to attend our final Junior Unit Liturgy and our Mappen Expo.
Please remember that next week (Week 9) our specialist day will be on Tuesday rather than Thursday. This means the children will need to wear their sports uniforms on Monday and Tuesday just for next week.
SRC News
The SRC will be selling ZOOPER DOOPERS every Thursday recess until the end of term @1.55pm. Zooper Doopers will be $1 each and the money raised will be used by the SRC to purchase some new games and equipment for students to use during play breaks. Students can find the SRC representatives in the hall from 1:55pm.
Technology News
This week, Foundation students had a great time using the Boom Cards app on our iPads to review and consolidate some of their learning from earlier this year. By following recipes to make virtual pizzas, burgers, chocolate boxes and so much more yummy food, following arrows to locate items in a grid and sequencing visual images to complete 3, 4, 5 & 6 step stories, they have been practicing the foundation skills of coding: following and describing sequences of steps.
If students have access to a tablet or iPad at home, they can download the Boom Cards app from Google Play or the App Store and use the pins (codes) below to continue to play these games. The pins are valid until the end of next week and students know how to 'fast play' them.
Alternatively, if using a computer or laptop, students can use the link below to play.
https://wow.boomlearning.com/fastExplain
Credibility of information online - what a minefield!
So, how do you tell what is creditable and what is not? Where do you begin?
Introducing...
Credibility Checkers, such as in the image above, are questions you can ask yourself when consuming content online. Whilst there’s no definitive formula when measuring credibility, these Credibility Checkers inform and empower you to be aware when consuming content online. Don't forget your children are also consumers of online information and while they learn about credibility at school as part of the digital citizenship and internet safety curriculum, it never hurts to reinforce this information at home.
Until next week, remember, "technology is not good or evil in and of itself. It's all about how people choose to use it." - David Wong
Cheers, Mrs Simms
Religious Education News
Sacrament of First Reconciliation
Congratulations to those students in Grade 2 who are celebrating their Sacrament of First Reconciliation this evening at 7pm at our Sacred Heart Parish. We congratulate you on the commitment and preparation that both you and your families have made throughout the term and wish you all the very on your faith journey.
Library News
Hello from the Library.
All students library books and take home readers are due back into our library by next Monday 5 December. Overdue notes have been given out this week, as usual if there is a problem with a particular book, just get in touch.
Thanks very much for your help here,
kind regards Marg Pongrac
Hands Up Mallee
Don't froget that this week is the last week to enter the Walk to School photo competition to win a $50 Intersport voucher. See flyer for more information.
This week the SENIOR UNIT will be able to ride/scoot on the basketball court at lunchtime. Hopefully we will have a few students participating and they can create an obstacle course to navigate.