2023 Newsletter #06 April 5

PRINCIPAL NEWS

Welcome to the final week of term 2.  This term has certainly been filled with lots of learning and engagement by the children.  As we end the term and move into the holidays we recognise that Easter is a time of joy and celebration for Catholics as we commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Chris.  For many Catholic families, Easter is a time to come together and share in traditional customs and practices. This might include attending Mass together, participating in the Stations of the Cross, and preparing and sharing special meals. In addition to these religious practices, many families also enjoy spending time together engaging in fun activities, such as decorating Easter eggs, going on Easter egg hunts, and taking part in other Easter-themed games and activities.  However your family chooses to spend Easter and the holidays, we hope you have a safe and restful time together.

Rhia Doherty, who was due to return from maternity leave next term, has tendered her resignation.  We would like to thank Rhia for her commitment to the St Paul’s community over the last 10 years.  Rhia was going to be part of the senior team.  We have advertised for a new teacher and will let the community know once the position is filled.  Vince Muscatello also continues his leave with myself, Rebecca Thurman and Lauren Gibson continuing to lead the school.  Again, we will update the community if anything changes. 

We  say goodbye to the following students and wish them well for their future education.  Paityn & Charlotte Miller, Lilly O'Meara-Quayle, Jackson Puleio and Haseena Qasem.

Crazy hair day was a blast! The students got to show off their wild and wacky hairstyles.  Some students had rainbow-colored hair, while others chose to put their hair up in wild shapes and designs.  We thank the parents who were able to bring in a gold coin donation.  The money raised goes to Project Compassion.  Project Compassion is Caritas Australia's annual Lenten fundraising and awareness-raising appeal. Project Compassion assists and empowers communities in Australia and all over the world by helping those in great need to shape a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.

Harmony Day was celebrated on  24th March.  Harmony Day is a uniquely Australian celebration which promotes harmony and unity among all cultures.  Orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Week. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.  At St Paul’s we celebrated our cultural diversity with students wearing orange or a cultural dress from their heritage. 

St Paul’s hosted a group of ‘Murray to Moyne’ Riders on Friday evening.  Jim Waight from the Catholic Education Office in Ballarat and his team ‘The Licorice Allsorts’ stayed in the Hall before the start of the ride.  As of Friday evening, Jim and his team had raised over $60,000 for the Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute, a foundation that is close to his heart.  

Last Friday 31st March the school participated in the annual Cross Country.  All of the students had a great time and showed resilience and perseverance.  It was fantastic to see a number of parents, family members and friends watching the students.  The students that came first, second and third will receive their ribbons at assembly tomorrow.

On Thursday we will have an early finish time of 2.25pm.  The day will begin with Holy Week Liturgy, followed by the Foundation Easter Bonnet Parade.  Parents are invited to attend assembly at 1.45pm.  

Thank you to the parents who completed the Enhancing Catholic Identity Survey.  All of the parents who completed the survey went into the draw to win a prize.  Congratulations to Krystal Shaw who won a canteen voucher!  

Child Safe Standards are a set of principles and actions that our school implements to ensure the safety and well-being of all of the students in our care.  The standards are designed to help organisations create a culture of child safety and prevent child abuse from occurring.  Since their introduction in 2016 some additional standards have been added.  Rachel Slimmon has been working with the Student Representative Council to come up with a poster that can be shared with the students.  This will be rolled out next term. 

Finally, congratulations to this week's gotcha award recipients - Phillip Abucha, Renay Akdemir, Mehar Atwal, Alice Blanchard, Dan Boby, Aubree Carmichael, Kooper Carmichael, Isabella Carter, Natasha Cavallo, Chase Chau, Dartanyon Coffield, Hannah Davies, Lola Droffelaar, James Echanes, Ava Fidura, Harriet Gibson, Lilah Golding, Oliver Harradine, Chimdindu Ilozue, Memphis Johnson, Mansirat Kaur, Spencer Kimpton, Sione Latukefu, Monica Leslie, Parvaan Maan, Halle Mammone, Luca McDonald, Sophie McGregor, Daldauwi Moore, Isikeli Nadalo, Andrea Norton, Soobhanah Parvez, Cienna Pascale, Jesse Pitt, Layla Powell, Bruce Ratcliffe, Faye Ratcliffe, Charlie Robinson, Dustin Scott, Heidi Slilmmon, Ruby Slimmon, John Thang, Oliver Thannhauser, Nhyla Tickle, Orlo Williams, Jett Yates, Aria Yates, Lan Vong, Lesieli Toto, Shani Singh, Aiden Silcox, Rhianna Shermin, Ellie Sexton, Hayley Rowe, Emmy Rayson, Olivia Puleio, Olivia Prescott, Asiate Pohahau, Lam Nguyen, Olly Morton, Oliver Moroni, Veronica Lotong, Catherine Lotong, Ethan Jones, Angela Iang, Sienna Humphrey, Denim Humphrey, Harper Hannah, Marc Guevarra, Christiaan Giang, Khloe Garland, Chaunte Clark, Emma Circosta, Harrison Burns, Mia Aranas, Samuella Allieu and Rueben Allford.

We wish you and your family a Holy and Happy Easter.

Melissa Sutherland

Acting Principal 

End of Term 1 2023

Tomorrow Thursday 6th April 2023 is the last day of school for Term 1.  

**School will finish at the earlier time of 2.25pm.**  

The school buses will be running to an earlier time table.  Parents of children who make a connection to normal Main Road City Buses, please note that these buses run to the normal timetable.

Monday 24th April is a Pupil Free day, Professional Development day for staff.  Tuesday 25th April is ANZAC Day public holiday.   

Term 2 Classes for students will resume again on WEDNESDAY 26th April 2023.

Foundation Unit News

Welcome to Week 10 and what a busy term we have had!

The children have had a fabulous start to the year and have shown that they really understand what it means to BE YOUR BEST, BE RESPECTFUL AND BE SAFE.

The children have been trying really hard to learn the "Rainbow Words" and many of the children have their name on the rainbow. Please remember to encourage your child to practise these words at night when you are listening to them read. 

In Religion this term we have learnt about what it means to belong to different groups. They now  understand that they belong to a Catholic School and are aware of the many symbols that represent a Catholic Community. We have set up our prayer tables and discussed the important symbols on the table. Today we went on an excursion to Sacred Heart Church to have a look inside at all of the symbols and objects that you see in the Church. We discussed the similarities to our Chapel at school. 

Tomorrow we will have our Easter Bonnet Parade and we welcome parents and friends to come and join in the fun. It will take place after the Easter Liturgy. I hope you have had some fun creating an Easter Bonnet with your child.

Throughout the term in Maths we have covered a variety of things including:

• Making and sorting groups
• Patterns
• Place value - Counting forwards and backwards, ordering, writing and identifying numbers, saying the number that comes before and after a given number, matching numbers with a quantity.

In Literacy we have learnt so much. Some of the things we have learnt are to:

• identify and read high frequency words
• say the name (grapheme) and sound (phoneme) of letters
• learning how use the correct pencil grip and form letters correctly
• describe what a syllable is
• blend sounds to read short words

We would like to say a huge thank you to our parents for encouraging your children to be independent learners and allowing them to complete their morning jobs before the day begins. Your efforts at home with readers and rainbow words compliment what we are doing at school and it gives the children the best start to their learning. We hope you all enjoy a restful break over the Easter holidays and enjoy some sleep ins and are ready to begin term 2. 

Junior Unit News

What a fantastic term we have had in the Junior Unit. The students have shown incredible amounts of growth, really settling into the routines in the classroom. 

In Religion this term, we have been learning all about the different communities we are a part of. We have been focusing on being able to identify the link between the choices we make and the effect these have on the relationship with self, others and creation and for the Christian, one’s relationship with God. This week we have dived into ‘The Easter Story’, linking it to the Liturgical seasons reflecting Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. The students could link the Liturgical Calendar's colours to the seasons of the Church and the life of Jesus.

In week 9, the students absolutely loved coming to school with their crazy hair!  Below are some pictures from the day.

On behalf of the Junior Unit team, we wish you all a safe and enjoyable holiday break!

Middle Unit News

WOW! We can’t believe this term has come to an end. The students have worked so hard and are ready for a well-deserved rest. Just a reminder that Term 2 starts on Wednesday the 26th April.  We wish all our families a safe and restful break.

It is with great excitement that our 2023 Camp dates were released this week. All middle unit students will attend a two-day, one-night camp to Swan Hill from Tuesday 9th May to Wednesday 10th May.  Camp is such an exciting experience for students. We encourage all students to attend and encourage parents to discuss camp with your child in a positive manner.   Please ensure you check  SIMON Everywhere for details and to give consent for your child to attend the camp.  Packing lists, itineraries, and further details will be provided early Term 2.

For our class novels this term we have been reading books by Roald Dahl.  We began the term with "Witches" and are currently reading "Danny, the Champion of the World".  Tomorrow for the last day of the term, students will watch "Fantastic Mr Fox" based on the novel of the same title. This is rated PG.  If you have any concerns about your child watching this please speak to your classroom teachers.

Senior Unit News

Well here we are, one more day to go and our final newsletter for term 1!

Senior Unit Camp - Mon 29th - Wed 31st May 2023

Senior Unit Camp - Mon 29th - Wed 31st May to Roses Gap Recreation Centre, 1006 Roses Gap road, Roses Gap.  This is an outdoor adventure camp. During our stay we will be involved in a range of activities such as rock climbing, giant swing, flying fox, canoeing and other team building activities.  Please ensure you give consent for the camp on SIMON Everywhere app and  for more information.

Senior unit staff would like to thank our students and their families for a great term and a fabulous start to 2023. We also take this opportunity to wish you all a blessed Easter. Whether you are heading away for a break with family, staying in Mildura and enjoying all it has to offer or simply working over the next two weeks, stay safe and we look forward to seeing you all back for term 2.

End of Term Movie

To celebrate the end of term, this Thursday, students in the Senior Unit will be watching a movie. The movie, yet to be confirmed, may be rated PG (parental guidance recommended). If you have any issues or do not wish your child to watch a PG rated movie at school, please contact your child's classroom teacher. 

Hands Up Mallee

A huge thank-you to all our students that participated in National ride2school day on Friday 24th March. It was another huge success with all the students enjoying being able to ride/scoot during the  lunch and recess breaks. We had approx 80 students which is almost one third of our school community! As a result of our efforts, we have been awarded a $200 HART Sport voucher from Sunraysia Community Health Services and Hands Up Mallee. well done everyone!

Sport News

What a fabulous term of Sport we have had. It was wonderful to see so many Parents, Carers and Special Friends at our School Cross Country on Friday. It was wonderful to see everyone cheering each other on as everyone participated in their event. 

Senior Unit Interschool Sports 

During term 2 there will be more opportunities for the senior unit students to compete in interschool sports. The following sports will be held throughout term 2, AFL, Netball, Soccer, Hockey, Division Cross Country and Rugby. 

Sacred Heart Parish News

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