2024 Newsletter #19 October 16
Principal News
Dear St Paul's families,
Welcome to this week’s news update.
ST PAUL’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY: WOW, WOW, WOW! What an amazing day on Friday last week. The whole school Mass was wonderful. The children really rose to the occasion and set the tone for the day. Thank you to Mrs Blagus, (organizing the Mass), the children and staff who made this day such a memorable one. It was lovely to see so many past staff, parents and students in attendance. Thank you to Father Matt for making the Mass so engaging.
The afternoon tea was well attended and the opportunity for our visitors to wander through and see the children in action was very rewarding. The time capsule was buried near the flagpoles at the front of the school. Luckily, we also located the 40th anniversary capsule. In ten years’, time both capsules will be opened and put on display before the 60th capsule is buried. The day was capped off with a reunion dinner in the hall and it was a very humbling experience to listen to those present share their memories of St Paul’s. The past teachers and principals spoke of the early challenges they faced but highlighted the many successes. The Saturday morning tours were well received with more past students, families and teachers wandering through the school and reflecting on their time here at St Pauls.
A special thank you to former staff members: Val Easterbrook, Judy Hall, Margo Adair, Kay Wagner and Maureen Saunders who helped sift through old photo albums and newspaper articles to put our displays together.
I have received quite a few emails from visitors thanking our school community for the event and more importantly, keeping the St Paul’s Open Plan vision alive after fifty years. It was fair to say that the Mass for me was one of the most memorable experiences as principal at St Paul’s.
SAC MEETING: Last night the School Advisory Council met and discussed the Council’s objectives moving forward. We are seeking new nominations for the council as we have some members concluding their term at the end of the year. If you are interested, please let the office know and your details will be passed onto me.
There will be a concept plan on display at the front of the school next week for parents to have a look at and make suggestions as we begin our 10-year Master plan as a part of our overall school improvement.
Due to changes in our governance structure over the last few years, there will no longer be an Annual General Meeting held in November each year. The SAC have begun looking at our proposed Pupil Free days for 2025 as well our planning another fundraising event in term one next year. Keep your eyes peeled for a proposed comedy night at school.
MAINTENANCE UPGRADES: Over the holidays the Chapel received a new lease of life with a fresh paint job to the exterior. Mac’s Patch is now complete. Thank you to Damian Patten from Change of Colour Painting Services for the work carried out on the chapel. Over the holiday people some irrigation repairs have continued on the Mercy oval and are still in progress.
SECURITY CAMERAS: Last term we had the unfortunate experience of children entering our school grounds illegally resulting in the theft of a student bicycle. As a result of this we have undertaken the installation of security cameras around the outside of the school buildings to ensure our grounds, students and staff have a safe environment. They will be activated shortly.
STAFFROOM EXTENSION: The works on the staffroom extension are progressing at a steady pace after some initial delays. During the holidays the slab was poured, and a lot of the interior framing is well underway. The new staff toilets are almost complete which will allow us to repurpose the existing staff toilets for the Senior unit children. This will eliminate a considerable amount of time wasted by children walking to and from the toilets at the back of the hall and maximise learning time.
CLASSES 2025: This time each year we begin the process of planning for our 2025 classes. Parents who have information they wish to share regarding their child’s classroom placement for the 2025 school year must do so in writing via email to: principal@spmildura.catholic.edu.au . A considerable amount of time and planning is put into organizing classes for students and many factors are taken into consideration. Parents have until Friday 1st November to send me an email. Please understand that everything we do is in the best interests of your child.
Congratulations to this week’s recipients of our Gotcha awards for following our school norms and reaching the important milestones.
BEE MILESTONE: Charlotte Hogan, Ariah Tickle, Lily Dobricic, Lavinia Fatanitavake, Jassi Benipal, Blair Traeger & Emilia Barlow,
HIVE MILESTONE: Alyson Morshedi, Hannah Davies, Monica Leslie, Charlie Stephens, Dean Morvell, Max Mangan, Bruce Ratcliffe & Ella Garland,
CALENDAR EVENTS:
OCTOBER:
Wednesday 16th - First Reconciliation - Parent information meeting for Children Grade 2 and above 7.00pm
Thursday 17th - 2025 Foundation Transition Session 1
Friday 18th- Grade ¾ Gala Basketball Day
Senior unit division Basketball & Softball
Assembly- 2.45pm in the hall
Thursday 24th- 2025 Foundation Session 2
Friday 25th - First Holy Communion
Saturday 26th- First Holy Communion
Sunday 27th- First Holy Communion
Monday 28th- Mission week begins
Thursday 31st- 2025 Foundation Transition Session 3
NOVEMBER:
Friday 1st - Assembly 2.45pm in the hall.
Monday 4th- Pupil Free Day – Staff Professional Learning
Tuesday 5th- School Closure - Melbourne Cup Public Holiday
Wednesday 6th – Pupil Free Day Saff Professional Learning.
I hope you all have a wonderful week and enjoyable weekend.
As always
Keep the Faith!
Vince Muscatello
Religious Education News
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Students in Grade 2 and above are invited to celebrate their Sacrament of First Reconciliation this year. Last week, students will have received a copy of the registration form which is to be completed and dropped off directly to the parish office. Parents will also need to attend a parent information evening tonight (Wednesday 16th) at 7pm at the Sacred Heart Church. Children do not need to attend this session. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be celebrated on Wednesday 27th November, at a time that is chosen by each family. If you have any further questions, please contact the Parish Office on 5021 2872.
Sacrament of First Holy Communion
Next Friday 25th, Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th October, students in Grade 4 and above will be celebrating their Sacrament of First Holy Communion. Students receiving their First Holy Communion will need to attend a practise at the Sacred Heart Church on Wednesday 23rd October at 5pm, 5.30pm or 6pm (families can choose a time that suits them best to attend). If students are celebrating their First Holy Communion at the St Joseph's Red Cliffs Church, they will need to attend Mass this Sunday at 10am and stay for a practise straight after Mass. If you have any further questions, please contact Carmel at the Parish Office on 5021 2872.
Senior Unit News - Week 2
RRRR - Term 4
This term, the Senior Unit will begin learning about positive gender relations. The content outlined through the RRRR program is listed below for you. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Tom Pike on tpike@spmildura.catholic.edu.au.
Swimming Lessons - Week 4
As part of our Water Safety Awareness program the Senior Unit students will be attending First Stroke Swim School, Hutchinson Street Mildura for water safety lessons. These lessons will happen in Week 4 28th October - 1st November. Students will travel each day to & from the venue by shuttle bus leaving at 12.00pm & return by 3.00pm The students will be in 4 groups: S11 - 12:15pm, S12 - 12:45pm, S13 - 1:15pm and S14 - 1:45pm. Times approximate. Each day the children will need to bring their bathers, towel, goggles and a plastic bag to put their wet clothes into. Please ensure fresh bathers and towels are brought to school each day.
Please ensure you have given consent for your child to attend the swimming program on the SIMON Everywhere APP.
Contact Tom Pike at tpike@spmildura.catholic.edu.au if you have any questions.
Middle Unit News
Welcome to Term Four! We are sure it will be a busy and fun end of the year.
This term in Literacy and Inquisitive, students will have a Geography focus. We will be learning about some natural features of Africa, South America and Australia, as well as native Australian animals and their habitats. If you have visited a natural Australian landmark, feel free to email a photo to your child’s classroom teacher.
Our Religion unit this term is ORIGINS. Origin stories are stories that relate to the beginning of something important. They tell us of important connections to family, place, special people, and key events in our lives. In this unit, we will look at our family origins, the origin of the Messiah through prophecy in the Old Testament and the birth of Jesus in the New Testament. Yesterday student received an Origins Questionnaire. We would love it if you could discuss the answers with your child so they can come back to school and share their stories.
Date for the Calendar: Middle Unit Liturgy 9:15am Friday 29th November.
Junior Unit News
Junior Camp Day Information:
On Thursday the 7th of November, the Grade 1 & 2 students are invited to participate in our Junior Camp Day. Activities are still being finalised and permission slips will soon be sent out to all parents/ caregivers.
The day will commence with normal school drop off with activities commencing at 9am.
- Grade 1 students will be invited to stay back at school until 6pm. Dinner will be included.
- Grade 2 students will be invited to stay back at school until 8:30pm.
A formal invitation will be sent out in the coming weeks with all of the information included eg. what to wear, activity run sheet etc.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me: aoxlade@spmildura.catholic.edu.au
We are seeking some photos of Junior Unit students that have celebrated Baptism. If you could please send through any photos from the Baptism celebration to Mrs Gray, that would be muchly appreciated. Thank you :)
Technology News
If you want to find out what is happening in the Tech space this term? Read on....
FOUNDATION
This term, Foundation students are focusing on the Design and Technologies strand of the Technology curriculum. Drawing inspiration from the story of the 'Three Little Pigs,' they will:
- Investigate the different properties of materials.
- Create and record their own design ideas for a house, using drawings and models.
- Explore the potential of various tools, resources, and materials available to them.
- Work together, following a series of steps to solve design challenges with guidance.
- Reflect on their design ideas, processes, and outcomes by using personal preferences and set criteria to evaluate their success.
This hands-on experience encourages creativity and problem-solving in a collaborative environment!
JUNIORS
In the Junior class, Year 1 and 2 are also focussing on the Design and Technologies curriculum. Like the Foundation students, they will explore the properties and purposes of different materials. Students have already begun expanding their vocabulary and learning new words to describe the characteristics and properties of materials.
As part of their investigations, students will explore how layering clothing and materials—such as those used in jackets—helps retain warmth. Applying this understanding, they will design, create, test, and evaluate a product aimed at keeping a bottle of water warm. Students will also explore how plants and animals are grown for food, clothing and shelter and apply this understanding to design a shelter for a plant or animal.
Throughout this unit, students will practice essential Design and Technologies skills, including designing, generating ideas, working safely, and evaluating and comparing their results.
MIDDLES
The Middle Unit students are also engaging with the Design and Technologies curriculum. They are investigating how technology is used in food and fibre production, exploring its evolution and advancements over time. They have begun by looking at the difference in the journey's of fresh and processed foods take to get to the supermarket for us to buy and turned their hand at making cheese the old fashioned way. Well, oldish, they did use a microwave!
1. Collect some milk.
2. Heat the milk.
3. Transfer milk to bowl.
4. Add some citric acid (lemon juice).
5. Add some salt.
6. Mix to combine.
7. Wait approximately 30 minutes
8. Separate the curds from the whey
9. Left with curds, or almost cheese!
With only 10ish weeks in term 4, there is not enough time to complete the last few steps of:
10. Press curds into cheese mould.
11. Store until ripe, which depending on the type of cheese can be months or even years.
12. Cut and package cheese.
13. Transport to supermarkets.
SENIORS
Unlike the other units, the Senior students in Year 5 and 6 are diving back into the Digital Technologies area of the curriculum. Their learning will involve an exciting game called Stair Jumper, where students take on the role of user interface detectives, identifying areas for improvement in the game's interface. Through interactive activities and teamwork, they will explore the key elements of user interface design.
Students will work together to evaluate in-game screens, analyse code, and make real-time changes to improve the overall user experience. They will also explore the logic behind algorithms by studying flow chart symbols and decision-making processes in programming.
This dynamic unit combines both theory and hands-on practice as students step into the role of a user interface designer. They'll experience the iterative design process—where ideas are tested, refined, and improved—as they work on developing their own games and websites.
In Other Tech Related News...
Over the next two weeks, we’re excited to welcome back the crew from 'Inform and Empower' for their fourth visit this year. Actually, that's not quite true! Technically, we’re visiting them at their headquarters as we connect online through the amazing capabilities of the internet. They will continue to support our students in developing a deeper understanding of cyber safety and digital wellbeing. For more information about this term’s incursions, please refer to the tip sheets available for parents and carers.
Hands Up Mallee
Just a reminder that hats are again compulsory for students to wear during play times and sport as the sun's UV rays are getting very high on the UV index. Well done to all those students who are being their best already by being SunSmart.
2024 School Magazine
Every family will receive a FREE 2024 school magazine. If you would like to purchase any additional copies, for $25, please complete this form by Friday 31st October. Please contact the office to make payment.
https://forms.gle/i8KRbfQZ3Krvar8CA
Sts Anne and Joachim Catholic Parish Bulletin
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