2023 Newsletter #17 October 25
Principal News
Dear St Paul’s families,
Welcome to our news update. There was lots of excitement on Monday as children were telling me about their exploits on the weekend at the Mildura Show and all the rides they went on, the showbags they bought and the obvious sugar overload from all the treats. By all accounts they had a lot of fun and really enjoyed themselves. Last Friday afternoon I got to celebrate afternoon tea with 6 students from Foundation to Grade 6. The conversations we had were fantastic and I learnt so much about them. It was the highlight of my week.
ST PAUL’S VARIETY NIGHT: A big night is planned for this Thursday night with our variety night planned by Miss Jess and her team. Please check daily messages & Facebook page for details.
CLASSES 2024: Thank you to those parents who emailed me further information regarding their children for the 2024 school year. The deadline was last Friday and therefore no further requests will be accepted.
STAFFING: You may have noticed, on our Facebook page, we have advertised the role of canteen manager for the 2024 school year. Please have a look on our school website for further information regarding the role. It may be of interest to you, or you may know of someone else suitable for the role.
PARISH NEWS- Congratulations to our St Paul’s children who celebrated the sacrament of First Eucharist over the weekend. It was lovely to see their families and friends joining in the celebrations with them as they continue to their faith journey as Catholics.
CONGRATULATIONS: For those of you who regularly use the school crossing you will always be greeted by Judy with a warm welcome. Last Friday night Judy, was presented with an award, in recognition of her 35 years’ service as a crossing supervisor by Mildura Rural City Council. An amazing achievement. Please congratulate her when you see her next. Well done Judy.
2024 FOUNDATION- This Thursday, our 2024 Foundation children will be attending St Paul’s for their third session. They will be participating in activities with the 2024 Foundation teachers. Next year we will be running three foundation classes. Mrs Heeps, Miss Giddings, and Miss Squillace will be teaching Foundation. The sessions are focussed on Play based Learning, with outside play (bring a hat) fruit snack will be provided and story and activities during the session.
CALENDAR UPDATES: Please check the calendar carefully for events coming up in the next week or two, especially the days when there is no school for the children.
Friday 3rd November- School Closure,
Monday 6th November- Pupil Free Day- Staff Participating in Professional Development at St Joseph’s Red Cliffs
Tuesday 7th November- Melbourne Cup Public Holiday
ASSEMBLY: J4 will be hosting assembly this Friday at 2.45pm in the hall. All welcome to attend.
GOTCHA AWARDS- Congratulations to this week’s milestone achievers for following our school norms: Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be Your Best!
Bee Milestones - Neve Morton, Asiate Pohahau, Levi Hickey, Samuel Laiju, Luca McDonald, Rhianna Shermin, Jack Vea, Aria Yates, Louis Nguyen, Lizbeth Mathew, Ariah Tickle, Maggie Slimmon, Milan Caristo, Ruby Slimmon, Aidan Silcox, Daisy Gibson, Esta Pascale, Samuella Alleiu, Faye Ratcliffe, Dartanyan Coffield, Laura Cifra, Alirah Jones, Jack Vea, Matthew Read, Hannah Davies, Baran Rona, Yana Alofi and Owen Vo.
Hive Milestones - Olly Morton, Gabb Yandan, Chaz Biddle, Baine Hateley, Ana Vea, Nicholas Cross, Luke Hunt, Soobhanah Parvez, Amber Echanes, Lenin Guevarra, Felix Blanchard, Bella Kennedy, Harshveer, Khangura, Khloe Garland, Shani Singh, Niro Arden, Tate Gorringe, Lucas Nguyen, Olivia Puleio, Charlie Robinson, Elisie Freeman, Helen Mouzakis, Halle Mammone, Jackson Puleio, Hayden Rowe, Charlie Stephens, Eden Vo and Dean Morvell.
I hope you all have a great week and enjoy the weekend.
As always,
Keep the Faith
Vince Muscatello
Religious Education News
Sacrament of First Eucharist
Congratulations to the following students in our St Paul's School Community who celebrated their Sacrament of First Eucharist last weekend at the Sacred Heart Church.
Natasha Cavallo ~ Harriet Gibson ~ Monica Leslie ~ Joseph Lloyd ~ Dustin Scott ~ Ruby Slimmon ~ Tilly Wankun ~ Lam Nguyen ~ John Thang ~ Joshua Catipay ~ Amber Echanes ~ Ava Fidura ~ Marc Guevarra ~ Renay Akdemir
Congratulations and may God bless you all on your First Eucharist and may you grow in the peace and love of Christ!
Mission Week
Monday 30th October - Thursday 2nd November 2023
Every October, Catholics all over the world celebrate World Mission Month. Mission Month is a time to remember Jesus' very important mission to share God's love with everyone in the world. This may sound like a hard task, until we remember that we don't work alone. Jesus gave this mission to all his followers and together we can reach out with love and friendship to all God's children, everywhere!
Each year, we celebrate Mission Week, which is a time for students to be immersed in learning about 'mission' and what it truly means to reach out with love and kindness to those who are most in need in our world. In response to their learning about mission, they have been planning a fundrasing activity to 'reach out' and support the Shared Table in Peru. Next week, we will be commence our Mission Week activities. Please see our outline below:
Monday 30th October - Whole School Mission Liturgy at 9.15am in our School Hall
Tuesday 31st October - Junior Unit Fundraising Stalls - 11am-11.20am
Wednesday 1st November - Middle Unit Fundraising Stalls - 11am-11.20am
Thursday 2nd November - Foundation & Junior Unit Fundraising Stalls - 11am-11.20am
We kindly ask children and their families to bring some small change into school next week to support our fundraising activities, with all proceeds donated to Peru. Some classes will be selling ice creams, icy poles, fairy bread, lucky dips, cheerio jewellery, woollen bracelets, donuts and nail polish, while others will be running activities including guess the lollies in the jar or throw a wet sponge at a teacher! Prices will range from 50c-$2 and students will be sure to make some great memories! It is lovely to see the level engagement amongst the students during our learning about 'mission' and knowing that they are truly reaching out to make a difference to those most in need.
If you have any further questions regarding our Mission Week celebrations, please don't hesitate to contact Mrs Blagus - mblagus@spmildura.catholic.edu.au. Thank-you!
Foundation Unit News
Welcome to Week 4!
Last week the Foundation Unit were very lucky to have a visitor from Tankard Dental. Giselle and Smiley came to talk to us about the importance of keeping our teeth clean and healthy.
This Friday we are celebrating Grandparents Day in the Foundation Area from 9:00am - 11:00am. We welcome all grandparents or special people to come and share in some fun activities.
As the weather is getting warmer and there are a number of children who have not got a hat could you please ensure your child has a clearly named hat. If your child's hat is lost, please purchase one from the uniform shop online. Look forward to seeing many faces at our Variety Night tomorrow night. The Foundation students are performing at 5:35pm. Come and enjoy the art, talent and food.
Junior Unit News
Welcome to Week 4, the weeks are really flying by!
In Literacy, we have been using our ‘Story Circle’ template to help us write narratives. This has been based off of the book ‘Bee & Me’, which is a wordless picture book. It has been fantastic to see the students show off their creative writing skills.
Religion: In week 2, the Junior Unit students participated in a Teddy Bears’ Picnic. It was a wonderful celebration for the students and their special teddy bears! Here are some images of the celebration for you to enjoy :)
Important Annoucement: We are excited to announce that our Junior Unit Camp Day is set to be held on 30th November (Thursday, Week 9). More information soon.
SPECIAL REMINDER: This Friday the 27th October, J4 will be hosting assembly. You are, as always invited to join us for assembly Friday afternoon at 2:45pm in the school hall.
Middle Unit News
Congratulations to our Grade 4 students who made their First Holy Communion over the weekend. This is such a special time for them and their families. We wish students all the best as they continue on their faith journey.
We would also like to acknowledge the expectational way Middle Unit students have been wearing their hats during sport and break time. Keep up the great sun-smart work!
Next week we celebrate Mission Week with a liturgy and some student-run stalls. More information can be found in this newsletter.
Last week students completed our Inform & Empower Incursions. The students have enjoyed these sessions with Marty and learning about;
Keeping information private
Being alert and aware online
Navigating unsafe interactions
Over the next few weeks, things are getting busy. Please read all dates in the newsletter carefully and keep up to date via Simon and Facebook.
Save the date - Friday 17th November, 9am, Middle Unit Liturgy.
Senior Unit News
2024 Leadership Speeches
Next Tuesday afternoon, our Grade 5 students will be presenting their speeches to their peers and teachers.
If you would like to attend, the speeches will run on Tuesday from 2:25pm - 3:25pm in the Senior Unit.
We will finalise a run sheet and add to SIMON messages so that you can attend when your child is presenting.
We look forward to seeing our students present!
Swimming
Our students have enjoyed the opportunity to learn and/or brush up on their swimming skills this week. Thanks to the staff at First Stroke Swim School for being so accommodating throughout the week.
With two swimming days left, please ensure students bathers and towels are dried or changed ready for each day.
Grade 6 Graduation
Our Grade 6 Graduation Mass is Sunday 10th December @ 5pm-6pm at Sacred Heart Church.
Structured Literacy Project
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope this email finds you well. As you may recall, our school has recently embarked on a change in our literacy instruction practices, which is called the DOBCEL Structured Literacy Project.
In our work with La Trobe University, part of our evaluation of the DOBCEL Structured Literacy Project includes conducting interviews with parents and carers each year, across the participating schools. This will provide parents and carers with an opportunity to share your experiences and perspectives of how the DOBCEL Structured Literacy Project is being implemented in our school. This year we are inviting parents and carers of students in Foundation, Year 2, Year 4, and Year 6. If you would like to take part in an interview with a researcher from La Trobe University, please read and sign the attached consent form. This signed form should be returned directly via email to e.charles@latrobe.edu.au.
The first six parents and carers across all schools who sign and return the consent form will be selected to take part in the interviews. Participating parents and carers will receive a $25 grocery Coles Myer voucher as an acknowledgement and thank you for your time.
Interviews will be 30 to 45 minutes in length and can be scheduled at a mutually convenient time. They will take place online on Microsoft Teams. We are aiming to schedule interviews in mid to late November or early December.
If you have questions about the interview, you are welcome to contact
Eamon Charles on e.charles@latrobe.edu.au, Emma Rutherford on ERutherford@ceoballarate.catholic.edu.au,
or Professor Pamela Snow on p.snow@latrobe.edu.au.
Eamon Charles, Ba Sp. Path (Honours), CPSP Speech Pathology Australia
Academic Intern | Science of Language and Reading (SOLAR) Lab
School of Education | La Trobe University
E: e.charles@latrobe.edu.au T: 94791585
ONLINE ORDERING - Canteen & Uniform Shop
Thank you to parents who are now using Online Ordering for Canteen & Uniform Shop.
Canteen and Uniform shop online through CDF Pay secure payment portal.
- Create CDFpay account - scan QR code or browse to https://spmildura.cdfpay.org.au
- Verify your account & add children (they are selected from class lists within CDF pay)
- Select Shop - Canteen or Uniform
CANTEEN
Price list has had a long overdue update and new prices are effective from 13/10/23. When ordering online the prices will automatically calculate.
- Order separately for each child, it will be added to your cart and then checkout.
Don't hesitate to ask for if you need any help. There may be teething issues but we will work through them asap.
Remember, for term 4 you can order Canteen either online or with a paper bag & money with the child. We will change over to totally online from beginning of 2024 onwards.
UNIFORM SHOP
Orders are placed in similar manner but choose Uniform Shop. Orders will be sent home with child - generally at end of next day.
PE NEWS
Welcome to term 4 P.E. news. It has been wonderful seeing the students embrace learning new skills. Lacrosse has been a big hit with all students.
This week, the Senior Unit students are participating in Swimming and Water Safety lessons at First Stroke Swim School. Swimming and water safety is essential in the Australian lifestyle. By learning to swim students are then able to participate in a greater variety of water-based activities.
Hands Up Mallee
Once again, we are participating in Walk to School Month during November. Walk to School month will run from Monday 30th October – Friday 24th November.
Why Walk to School?
It encourages Victorian school aged students to walk, ride or scoot to and from school. It’s a great way to help students learn healthy habits and achieve the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity, every day. Along with the health benefits, it’s also a great way to make friends, improve fitness, and build confidence. Active travel options to and from school reduce traffic congestion, save on parking, and reduce our impact on the environment.
The top 3 schools who have the highest percentage of active travellers will win a school supply of coloured powder to enable you to conduct a school colour run. The winning school will also be presented with the prestigious Golden Sneaker trophy.
We are encouraging students to walk to school or to even park the car a block or more away from school and allow the children to walk even part of the way to school.