2024 Newsletter #06 April 17
Principal News
Dear St Paul's families,
WELCOME back for the start of term two. I hope you all enjoyed the Easter holiday break and took the opportunity to recharge the batteries a little bit. Despite a little bit of rain there has been an abundance of sunshine with warm days set to continue. April wouldn't be the same without the temperature dropping at night either as we begin our cooler evenings and mornings. A gentle reminder to make sure your child's school jumper is clearly named as the lost property box always fills up quite quickly at this time of year.
Over the holidays there have been lots of maintenance works undertaken and completed. The holidays are usually the best time to do it as there are less interruptions for both children, staff and of course the trades.
LANDSCAPING- Thank you to Zac McGlynn and his team from B& M Design landscaping who were working on a few projects for us. The Labrynth at the front of the school is almost complete. The edging and surface has been done and we are now waiting on some seating to be installed. Concrete edging has been laid around the new junior playground area and some more will be installed around the shade sails area near the senior classes. Bollards in the drive through area have also been replaced.
ART ROOM REFURBISHMENT: The old junior unit art room has undergone a transformation with two new withdrawal spaces being installed. Hopefully they will be fully operational next week. Thank you to JAAG Construction and Vivid glass for the installation.
NATURE STRIPS- Work has begun on the front nature strips along Fourteenth Street and Etiwanda Avenue. Hopefully this will make it easier for parents and children who walk along the paths and don't have to worry about three corner jacks! Thank you to Scott Heeps from Sunraysia Bobcat & Excavator Hire for the works undertaken so far.
GOAL POSTS: The new goal posts have been installed on the John Hill oval. A very special thank you to Brad Hards and his team from Hards Homes who genereously donated their time and resources to install the posts for us. It is very much appreciated. The goals certainly got a good work out yesterday with the senior and middle unit students playing football.
ANZAC DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY- Next Thursday 25th April is Anzac Day. Each year our school leaders have participated in the ANZAC day service representing St Paul's school community.It is a stark reminder of the sacrifices that have been made by so many men and women throughout all the wars and campaigns to this day to provide us with the freedom we have now. It is important that we learn about and understand our history as a country, both the good and the bad , and how we can continue to make our world a better place for all. In honour of our Anzacs and all those currently serving in the armed forces we say 'thank you'.
ENROLMENTS 2025- Enrolment applications are now open for all families for the 2025 school year. Please visit the school website to complete an application.
OPEN DAY 2025 ENROLMENT TOURS- Wednesday 1st May we will be conducting tours at 9.30am, 12.30pm and 5.00pm for the 2025 school year. Enrolment tours can be booked via the school website.
St Paul's History- Don't forget to check out Chapter 6 in today's newsletter as you learn about 1976.
UPCOMING CALENDAR EVENTS:
Thursday 25th April- ANZAC Day Public Holiday- School Closed
Friday 26th April- St Joseph's College Year 7 2025 enrolment applications close.
- Assembly 2.45pm in the hall
Monday 29th April- Friday 3rd May- Catholic Education Week
Wednesday 1st May- 2025 Foundation enrolment Tours- 9.30am, 12.30 pm and 5.00pm
Friday 3rd May- Catholic Education Week Mass 10.00am Sacred Heart Church
Tuesday 7th May- School Advisory Council meeting 7.00pm at school
Friday 10th May- 7.30am Mothers' Day Breakfast in the hall
- 9.15am Mothers' Day Mass in the hall
Friday 11th October- St Paul's 50th Anniversary Celebrations
I hope you all have an enjoyable week and as always
Keep the Faith
Vince Muscatello
St Paul's History- The Early Years Ch.6
1976
School in 1976 began for the teachers during the holidays, when they attended a three-day seminar conducted by the Religious Education Office in Ballarat. This proved invaluable as a time to get to know each other better by talking, thinking, communicating, and relaxing together.
The staff meeting notes for the first months of 1976 reflect that the experiences of the previous year were used as a basis for decisions and policy. Emphasis was put on organization, communication and consistency, both between teachers and children. Sr. Pam encouraged the staff to participate in the decision-making and people responded well to this.
The results of this are recorded in the Principal’s report to the Annual General Meeting in April and in a report on the School Review carried out by Mr. N. Lalor, consultant, In July 1976. The former is a very comprehensive report on many aspects of the school. It was organized in grade groups with the basic skills taught in the morning and other areas covered in the afternoon program.
Discipline was seen as more consistent and children seemed more secure. The fact that the staff of 1976 was unchanged was seen as important in providing continuity and stability. Hope was expressed that a more open type of environment could be established so that the children could become more independent and the building be used fully. Miss L. Short had been appointed Vice Principal.
The review states:
“It is quite noticeable that improvements have taken place at the school since my initial visit in September 1975. The staff are to be commended for these improvements”. These are listed as follows:
- Basic skills areas are receiving adequate attention.
- Students displayed a sense of purpose and involvement.
- Teachers are running and recording continuous testing programs.
- Audio-visual equipment is available, but not used to the extent it should be.
- Library resources are being developed but are being hampered by the lack of a full-time librarian.
At this time, the library was staffed part time and Mrs J. Hall was employed as teacher/librarian. She had previously worked on a voluntary basis in 1975 and much valuable work had been done in cataloguing and organizing books and equipment. The original site for the library was in the “pit” area, but this area became a thoroughfare between the senior and junior areas and was not compatible with satisfactory library organization.
During 1976, two important School Board projects were initiated as money-raising ventures. The first was the weekly running of “Bingo” games in conjunction with Sacred Heart School and St. joseph’s College. Parents are rostered to help and the three schools share profits. The second was the “White Elephant Sale” which has become an annual event. This is held at Sacred Heart School with both primary schools participating. Bot of these have become the main method of raising local contribution funds.
The School Board also continued to organize regular working bees which are the only means of keeping the extensive grounds in order. Some members and the staff were able to attend an in-service activity given by Br. Austin concerning the aims and hopes for a Catholic school, that it be a community of all the people concerned in it. This helped in the development of better understanding of each groups’ responsibilities within the Catholic school.
Another in-service activity organized for the staff in September 1976 was run once again by Neville Johnson of the Melbourne State College, with June Huggins to assist him, and was titled “Resource Based Teaching and Learning and the Curriculum”. It was again centred on the resources of the Library and presented many ideas for helping children to learn. June Huggins displayed school-made books from “Birralee” Primary School which became the stimulation for similar productions from St Paul’s.
Sts Anne and Joachim Catholic Parish Bulletin
Parent Noticeboard
Our Diocesan Community - March 2024
Please find below the link for the March 2024 edition of “Our Diocesan Community”
https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ODC-March-2024-web.pdf