2024 Newsletter #13 July 24

Principal News

Dear St Paul's families,

Welcome to this week's news update. It was nice to get a little bit of sunshine this week and recover from the windy cold conditions over the weekend. It has certainly had an impact on the number of children suffering from colds and flu-like symptoms at the moment.  Please be vigilant and if your children are not well, keep them home so the germs don't spread.

STAFF UPDATE: Last week Mrs McGlashan visited and has informed me she will be on Long Service leave for the rest of the year.  Once her Long Service Leave is completed, she will retire.  Mrs Gray who is currently teaching J7 will continue in that role for the remainder of the year as well.  There will be an opportunity to formally farewell Mrs McGlashan at the end of the year and thank her for her amazing contribution to St Paul's.  This was officially Carmel's 36th year at St Paul's.

BIKE SAFETY: Unfortunately, this week some opportunistic youths entered the school grounds and stole a student's bicycle. The bike has been recovered however is damaged beyond repair.  The children who are riding their bikes to school or scooters are encouraged to have a bike chain or lock as well to deter thefts from occurring.  As a result of this the bikes, scooters and racks will be relocated near the Languages portable closest to the staff carpark.  This will add another layer of security.

MIDDLE UNIT CAMP UPDATE:  Friday 9th August- Middle Unit No New Learning Day
Under our updated Enterprise Agreement, employees participating in the camp will receive compensatory time off. To accommodate this, a no new learning day for Grade 3 and 4 students is scheduled on Friday, 9th August. Parents are kindly requested to consider keeping their children at home on this day if possible.  For those unable to do so, care will be supervised by a casual relief teacher, and no middle unit staff will be present on-site.

WELCOME: Over the next two weeks we welcome Shanee Luke to St Paul's. Shanee is completing a placement as a Learning Support Officer.  I hope she finds her time with us enjoyable and insightful.

NAIDOC DAY: Don't forget this Friday we will be celebrating NAIDOC day as a school community. The day will commence with a liturgy in the hall at 9.15am. You are most welcome to attend.

INTERNATIONAL STAR: If you have been reading the local papers recently as well as social media, you will know that this weekend. former St Paul's student and one of the most sought after international performing arts stars, Siobhan Stagg, will be performing at the Mildura Arts Centre on Sunday night, 28th July. There may be some tickets still available at https://bit.ly/siobhanstaggtickets 

Finally, congratulations to this week’s gotcha recipients for being their best, being respectful and being safe - 

Bee Milestones - Tolini Vave, Eden Vo, Reyon Shermin, Lachlan Limburg, Fetongi Latukefu, Harper Hannah, Eywa Lopez-Bertalli, Elih Groenen, Oliver Harradine, Ruby Slimmon, Dan Boby, Faye Ratcliffe, Joseph Santos, Aiden Varghese-Moolayil, Francis Chan Za Hmung, Helen Mouzakis, Charlie Stephens, Ella Garland, Max Mangan, Olly Morton, Sam Midgley, Natasha Cavallo, Lam Nguyen, Dustin Simmons, Spencer Kimpton, Hannah Davies, Sofia Cricelli, Jesse Pitt, Jack Stevenson, Zac Erben, Paddy Stevenson, Chimdindu Ilozue, Mackenzie Mangan, Zalee Le Poidevin & Michael Davies. 

Hive Milestones - Arianna Pileggi, KyKy Philp, Max Mangan, Ella Garland, Darius Davis, Siena Sbaglia, Rosie Midgley, Sophie McGregor, Harriet Gibson, Kalasia Fonua, Manmeet Kaur, Jaxon Higgins, Archer Barlow, Baine Hateley, Gabb Yandan, Aiden Varghese-Moolayil, Charlie Robinson, Jolene Peters, Emilia Barlow, Kevin Norton, Daisy Gibson, Lilah Golding, Kooper Carmichael, Oliver Traeger, Erica Ram, Eseta Toutai, April Nyabonda, Parnaaz Khosa, Mason Roccisano, Harvey Heagerty, Chase Chau, Izzy Nadalo, Dante Mazza, Mischa Pascale, Amy Thouliss & Ariani Arden.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and enjoyable weekend.

As always

Keep the Faith!

Vince Muscatello

Reminders

NAPLAN - Student results - Grade 3 & 5 Student NAPLAN results have arrived.  Please call in to the office to collect your child's.

Continuous Raffle - Thank you to the families who have donated a $30 prize for the continuous raffle.  We are in need of prizes.  Prizes can be dropped at the office. 

Senior Unit News

Cyber Safety

Senior Unit teachers are aware of students utilising messaging apps to form 'group chats' outside of school. We understand that children want to be interacting with their friends using these apps. Unfortunately, there have been instances where the use of these messaging apps are having a negative impact on students learning at school and leading to some students feeling excluded, not wanting to attend school and feeling unsafe. 

At St Paul's we want all students to feel safe, included and welcome in the classroom. As we continue to integrate technology into our children's education, it's crucial to emphasise the importance of cyber safety. As a school we have a zero tolerance policy for students who misuse technology in a hurtful manner. 

Below is a resource from Inform and Empower that may be of benefit to you and your child to work through together, emphasising the importance of being safe online. 

If you would like access to more resources, please contact Tom Pike (Senior Unit Learning & Teaching Leader) on tpike@spmildura.catholic.edu.au.

Inquisitive - Earth and Space Science

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This week in our Inquisitive unit we have been exploring how earthquakes occur. The students had a lot of fun demonstrating what happens during an earthquake with their Mars Bars! 

Unfortunately, there have been instances of students stealing items from teacher desks and spaces.  This will not be tolerated and students have been reminded about the importance of respecting teacher and LSO spaces. 

Middle Unit News

This week, the Middle Unit students have been exploring heat conduction and heat transfer. Yesterday, we had the unique opportunity to view images taken with a thermal camera. Students were fascinated to see how the camera displays heat distribution and pinpoint the warmest areas on our bodies.
We also observed how heat transfers from our bodies to objects, noticing that the heat remained visible even after we removed our hands. Additionally, we examined how lights emit heat and that they do not cool down immediately after being turned off. A big thank you to Shell (LSO) for bringing in the thermal camera!

Junior Unit News

Welcome back to Term 3.  We hope everyone enjoyed the school holidays. Our students have returned to school ready for another busy term. 

Religion: This term students will be invited to consider the ‘call’ to Christian life and the nature of what it is to be ‘called.’

This term in Inquisitive, we are learning all about Earth and Space Sciences. In this Science and Technology unit, students identify Earth's resources, including water, soil and minerals and describe how they are used in a variety of ways. Students will recognise why and how we should care for the environment and our natural resources. Students will plan and implement strategies considering conservation of resources to address sustainability and to meet needs.

Last week, each class engaged in a practical investigation ‘How to make ice cream in a bag’. The students questioned and explored the origin of things we use in our everyday lives. The goal of the lesson was to understand that ‘everything comes from something’.

Below is the list of ingredients used to make ice cream in a bag! Feel free to give it a go at home :) 

Mini Olympics

Our whole school Mini Olympics will be taking place in  on Friday 16th August at the Mildura Athletics Track at the Old Aerodrome Ovals, cnr 11th St & Flora Ave.

The day will run from 8:50am - 3:15pm. 

Parents will be required to drop off and pick up their children to and from the event. 

More details, including a the consent letter,  timetable of events and pick up procedure, will be made available on SIMON. 

NAIDOC Day 2024

St Paul’s will be celebrating NAIDOC Day this Friday 26th July.

At St Paul’s we recognise NAIDOC Day as an important opportunity for students to learn about, celebrate and recognise the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The day will commence with a whole school Liturgy in the Hall beginning at 9.15am and throughout the rest of the day students will undertake various Indigenous Cultural learning experiences within their units. 

We will gather together again at 3pm for a cultural dance performance by some of our Indigenous students.

We extend a warm welcome to all members of our school community to attend and celebrate this day with us.

Everyone is encouraged to wear casual clothing in NAIDOC colours and/or designs on the day.  Please ensure children wear closed in shoes (eg runners).

Cyber Safety - The use of social media by children under 13

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok require users to be at least 13 years old to create an account. These restrictions help protect young children from risks such as inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and privacy concerns.

Despite these rules, some children may still be tempted to use social media before they reach the appropriate age. As educators and parents, it is our responsibility to guide them in making safe decisions.

Conflicts arising from social media interactions often spill over into the school setting, making it difficult for teachers to manage and can disrupt the child's focus and engagement, ultimately impacting their learning.​

Please take the time to watch this special report on "School TV"

https://spmildura.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/cyberbullying-special-report

Technology News

Coding at its most basic level is defined as 'giving a computer a sequence of instructions to follow to complete a task.' Recently, Foundation students discovered the importance of a sequence of instructions being in the right order and to be specific when they attempted to instruct Mrs Simms to make fairy bread!

To begin with, the first instruction clearly isn't to be put the butter on the bread!

There were obviously some steps prior to that, like take the bread out of the packet and take the lid off the butter.

Then, it was quickly evident 'tip the sprinkles on the bread' was not specific enough when the whole bottle was turned upside down and sprinkles went EVERYWHERE!

Adding some adjectives like, slowly and, a small amount, turned out to be very helpful.

Luckily, they had nailed the sequence of instructions and being specific by the time it was their turn to make  fairy bread.

By far, the best step was eating it when they were done!

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Stay tuned in the coming weeks to find out what coding is happening in the Middle and Senior classes.

Library News

BOOK FAIR - Reminder our Book Fair will be held on Monday 29th - Wednesday 31st July.  Book fair will be open before school (8.30 - 9am), at lunch (11 - 11.30am) & after school (3.25 - 3.45pm) on these days for students to purchase books.

Children's Book Week

We will be celebrating Children's Book Week with a dress up parade and great activities on Wednesday  21st  August.  The theme for Book Week this year is 'Reading is Magic'. 

Students are invited to dress up as their favourite book character or as something to do with the theme. 

On this day Parents and special friends are invited to come along and watch our parade at 9.00 am.  Looking  forward to seeing everyone there.

Learning Diversity - NCCD

Sts Anne and Joachim Catholic Parish Bulletin

Parent Noticeboard

Our Diocesan Community - July 2024

Please find below the link for the July 2024 edition of “Our Diocesan Community” 

https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ODC-July-2024-web.pdf   

Worldwide Marriage Encounter

Live Your Best Life in Love... A Marriage Encounter weekend is for you…

Every married couple deserves this very special weekend.  Time-out to nurture your most precious relationship away from daily distractions.  The two of you will come away from your weekend feeling more deeply connected and with tools to help keep the passion alive.  No group sharing required.  The weekend is based around Catholic values.  Couples of all faiths are welcome.

Please check our website for more details and to book your special weekend:

Our next weekend is: 4 - 6 October 2024 at St Paul's Retreat Centre, Wantirna South.

Starts Friday evening at 7pm and finishes Sunday afternoon around 4:30pm

Information/Bookings: Phone Mercy & James 0409 183 676 or

Email: vicbookings@wwme.org.au    Website: wwme.org.au