2025 Newsletter #02 February 12

PRINCIPAL NEWS

Welcome to week 3.  The hot weather has subsided slightly, but not enough for us to enjoy our ‘Beginning of Year Picnic’.  However, classrooms (except J4)  will still be open this evening from 6pm to 7pm for parents who would like to attend an informal meet-and-greet with their child's teacher.

Welcome

A special welcome to our new staff members in 2025.  Savanna Kalms (Gr3/4), Ellen Bock (Gr 3/4), Chloe Henderson (Gr 5/6), Penny Phoutjantai (LSO) and Georga Fawdry (LSO).

Sports Uniform Days 

Just a reminder that on the following days children are required to wear sports uniform.

Foundations - Thursday

Grade 1&2 - Tuesday and Thursday

Grade 3&4 - Monday and Friday

Grade 5&6 - Monday and Wednesday

Assembly 

On Friday 2.45pm we will hold our first official assembly for the year.  Students will get a chance to farewell Mrs McGlahsan as she begins her retirement.  Parents and families are welcome to attend.  

School Photos

On Tuesday, 18th February we will have our school photos.  Please ensure your child is in FULL Summer Uniform NOT sports uniform.  See information Flyer below. 

2025  School Advisory Council Members

This year, we are excited to welcome both new and returning members to our School Advisory Council (SAC). The SAC plays a vital role in fostering communication between parents and the school, ensuring that the parent community has a voice in important discussions and decisions. Through collaboration and shared insights, SAC members help support the school's vision and mission, enhance the learning environment, and strengthen the partnership between families and educators. We appreciate their dedication and look forward to a productive and engaging year ahead!

Thomas - Father to Paddy (Gr 3) and Jack (Gr 1)

Kathryn - Mother to William (Gr 3) and Oliver (Foundation)

Karla - Mother to Ashton (Gr 4) and Luca (Gr 2)

Mia - Mother to Harvey (Gr 6)

Liz - Mother to Max (Gr 5), Mackenzie (Gr 3) and Murphy (Gr 1)

Alana - Mother to Archer (Gr 3) and Emilia (Gr 1)

Catherine - Mother to Noah (Gr 3)

Book Fair

The book fair is back!  The book fair is available for students wanting to purchase books on Monday 24th, Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th February.  Students can purchase books before school from 8.30am until 9am or after school until 3.45pm.  

Date for the Diary

The grade 5 students will begin their transition by visiting St Joseph's College on Tuesday 18 March at the Mercy Campus.  That evening will also be an opportunity for families to have a tour of the school.  More information will follow.

Meet the Teacher 

Classrooms will be open from 6pm-7pm for parents and students to have an informational meeting with their child’s teacher. If you would like a more extensive conversation, please make an appointment.

Meet the Teacher  - J5

Unfortunately Mrs Lucy Gray will not be available at 'Meet the Teacher'.  The classroom will still be open if children would like to show families around the room.  

If you would like to make a alternative time with Lucy, please email her directly on lgray@spmildura.catholic.edu.au

Melissa Sutherland

Principal

School Photos - Tuesday 18th February 2025

Please note FAMILY PHOTOS must be ordered before 4.30pm the night before Photo day.

Letter to parents from DOBCEL: Endorsement and Opt-Out

The Ballarat Diocese is partnering with the School of Education at La Trobe University to roll out and evaluate a new approach to initial literacy instruction in Ballarat Diocese schools, including St Paul's.  
The aims of the research are:
● To determine whether this approach results in measurable gains in students’ reading, writing, and spelling skills, as against our routine practices in recent years.
● To document student wellbeing (behaviour and emotional adjustment) in response to the new teaching approach.
● To examine changes in teacher knowledge and confidence in the teaching of literacy, and to understand teacher views about this new way of teaching.

If you do not wish for your child/children’s data to be used in the study, you may opt out by completing the attached returning it to Admin. Your child/children’s data will not then be included in any analysis. Even if you do initially agree, you may choose to withdraw your child/children’s data at any point later on. If you are happy for your child /children’s de-identified data to be used as part of the research, you do not need to do anything in response to this letter. By not responding you are endorsing the use of de-identified data for the research.

Foundation Unit News

We would like to welcome all of the new Foundation parents to our school community. The chlildren have had a wonderful start to the year and are doing an exceptional job of learning and following all of the school norms and expectations. You may hear your child talking about the "3 Bees" - Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be your Best. You also might notice the children coming home with a GOTCHA (sticker). These are a reward for following the 3 B's. There has definitely been a lot of excitement when receiving a GOTCHA.

In Religion, we have been learning about "Belonging". We have talked about belonging to our families, our school and many other groups we belong to. We would like to set up a family photo display in the classroom and we are asking if all children could bring in a family photo (or email, see emails below)

Miss Squillace - lsquillace@spmildura.catholic.edu.au

Mrs Powell - jpowell@spmildura.catholic.edu.au

Mrs Heeps - mheeps@spmildura.catholic.edu.au

Just a few reminders:

Tuesday 18th February - Photo Day

Tuesday 25th February - Books & Pyjamas night (more information to come)

Junior Unit News

A very warm welcome back from the Junior Unit team! We hope you had a wonderful summer break and are ready for another amazing year. It has been amazing to see the children already settling straight back into the routines of the Junior Unit. We started the year by participating in various ‘get to know you’ games across the unit, which was enjoyed by all. 

In Religion, we had the special job of decorating our prayer cloth that will be used in our classroom prayer spaces. 

An important note: Children are required to wear their sports uniforms on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Our specialist lessons will all take place on Tuesdays.

We try very hard to keep all the children's lunches nice and cool by placing them in the Junior Unit fridge each morning. Where possible, we ask that you help us manage the challenge of fitting many lunches into the fridge by using the smallest lunchbox container or even just a named ziplock bag. Thank you for your help with this.  

Students have started borrowing their home readers to practice reading each night. This gives them the opportunity to reinforce their reading skills and build fluency outside of the classroom. We encourage families to support this by setting aside time for regular reading at home. We thank you for your support! 

We look forward to meeting you all, if we haven’t already. In the meantime, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions or queries: 

J4- Aimee Couzner 

aoxlade@spmildura.catholic.edu.au 

J5- Lucy Gray (Tues - Fri) 

lgray@spmildura.catholic.edu.au 

Jordana Shields (Mon)

jshields@spmildura.catholic.edu.au 

J7- Mila Giddings 

mgiddings@spmildura.catholic.edu.au 

J8- Danielle Baker (Mon -Thurs)

dbaker@spmildura.catholic.edu.au  

Narelle Simms (Fri) 

nsimms@spmildura.catholic.edu.au 

Middle Unit News

Welcome to 2025

Welcome to all the families connected to the Middle Unit in 2025! We have had a terrific start to the year with many activities having already taken place. 

This year in the Middle Unit, we are encouraging our students to become Yetis! We've had a focus on "The Power of Yet" where we discuss skills and learnings that students may not be able to do YET! 

Religion

This term, we are exploring the concept of "growth" in Religion lessons. 

Last week, students created some Growth Goals by writing them on paper leaves to remind them of what they'd like to achieve in Term 1.

We also started our weekly prayer on Tuesday, where we introduced students to the Catholic approach to prayer, including the use of the prayer table. Each class created their own handprint inspired cloth that is being used on each prayer table to promote a sense of belonging and unity with the students. 

This has been a lovely way to begin the year and we are looking forward to checking in with students on their Growth Goals. 

Senior Unit News

Welcome to the 2025 school year! We hope you and your families have returned from the Christmas break feeling rested and refreshed.

We are thrilled to welcome our new Grade 5/6 cohort and look forward to a year filled with growth, learning and memorable experiences. 

This year, our Senior Unit teaching staff are as follows;

S11 - Chloe Henderson 

chenderson@spmildura.catholic.edu.au 

S12- Rebecca Stevenson (Mon-Wed) & Maria-Stella Blagus (Wed-Fri)

rstevenson@spmildura.catholic.edu.au

mblagus@spmildura.catholic.edu.au

S13- Kirstie Emmett 

kemmett@spmildura.catholic.edu.au

S14 - Amy Jones

ajones@spmildura.catholic.edu.au

We will be supported in classrooms by Jennifer Tassone, Narelle Simpson, Kristy Porter and Shell McClure.

Communication: Please be aware, communication via email is often the easiest way to contact classroom teachers. Feel free to email your child’s teacher with any questions or concerns that may arise throughout the year. 

Open communication is key to a successful year. Please keep a close eye on our school newsletter to keep you informed about important dates, reminders, classroom updates, and upcoming events. Please keep up to date with our newsletter and SIMON in the coming weeks for information regarding T20 Cricket and the Grade 5 visit to St Joseph’s College. 

Chromebooks:  All Senior students now have access to Chromebooks. We use Chromebooks frequently in the Senior Unit and they are an important part of your child’s learning.

Grade 5 - students are expected to leave their Chromebooks on the Chromebook trolley’s in their classroom each night. 

Grade 6 - students are encouraged to leave their Chromebook on the Chromebook trolley in their classroom each night. If your child brings their Chromebook home, please ensure your child is charging their device to 80% each evening.

Important: Our Grade 5/6 students will be required to wear their correct sport uniform on Mondays and Wednesdays. Specialist days will take place on Wednesday each week. 

We are excited to work together to make this year a positive and rewarding experience for your child. Thank you for your support and partnership. Let’s make this a fantastic year in Grade 5/6!

Library News

We have our first Book Fair for the year coming up in week 5.  The Book Fair will be open next Monday 24th , Tuesday 25th  and Wednesday the 26th  February in room 6.  Opening times are before school 8.30am until 8.55am & after school 3.25pm  until 3.45pm.

Everyone is warmly invited to pop in and have a look.  All purchases go towards making money for our school. There will be a colouring in competition to go with the Book Fair, drawn on Tuesday 25th.  All students have the chance to win $15.00 towards their books.

Looking forward to seeing you.

Maddie.

The Arts

It has been an absolute joy being back in the The Arts room this year with all of our amazing artists at St Paul's!

Our newest learners in Foundation have started to learn about the elements of colour and line and began their first ever project last week. They learnt about using water colour paints and will be adding the next part this week using the paint slicks to create different types of lines.

Also stay tuned for the self portraits being produced by the rest of our students. Juniors are creating fun Lego self portraits, Middles are working on bright, eye catching self portraits in the style on Brazilian artist, Romero Britto and Seniors are designing fantastic self portraits in the dark and whimsical style of Tim Burton. 

Ms Jess 

The Day The Crayons Quit

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Technology News

It has been a busy and exciting start to the year in Technologies!

• Foundation students had their first lesson last week, where they got to know their teacher and had fun designing and creating their own puzzles.
• Year 1 students have learned their Chromebook passwords and will begin using Chromebooks next week.
• Year 2 students, already familiar with Chromebooks, have been busy creating their own unique passwords to help keep their accounts safe.
• Year 3 and 4 students were excited to log into Google Classroom for the first time this week. This platform will help them complete tasks and engage in online learning platforms.
• Year 5 and 6, being more experienced users, logged into our new typing program and began practising the important skill of typing efficiently.

We look forward to a great year of learning and exploring technology! 🚀💻

Cyber Safety Incursions with Inform and Empower

Once again this year, St Paul’s is partnering with the team at Inform and Empower to support our students in developing safe and responsible online habits. Over the next two weeks, all students will take part in live incursions, learning about online risks and how to stay safe in the digital world.

For more details about these sessions, please refer to the flyers below. 🔒💻✨

Hands Up Mallee

The search for Australia’s Healthier Lunchboxes is here! 
Snap a photo of your child’s healthier lunchbox for an opportunity to WIN from a record prize pool worth $18,000, thanks to Woolworths. There are 6 prizes to give away, winning entries will be awarded a Woolworths e-card to the value of $1000 and a $2000 e-card will be awarded to their school. Entries close 28th February. How great would it be to celebrate a healthy, inspiring lunchbox from our students! 

Please click on link to enter and see further details.

Walking Club and Breakfast Club have again resumed for the year. Walking Club runs every Monday, Wednesday & Friday from 8:00 am to 8:30 am where students have the opportunity to get some physical exercise at the front of school under staff supervision and socialize with their friends all while listening to music before school (this also helps them to achieve the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day). At the conclusion of Walking Club, students are then welcome to go down to the Hall for Breakfast Club from 8:30 am until 8:45 am. This provides students with the opportunity to have some breakfast (or a second breakfast) provided by the school (in conjunction with the Mildura Regional Schools Breakfast Partnership Program). This is open to ALL students and is again a wonderful opportunity for students to socialize in a relaxed setting whilst filling their tummies so they are ready to learn. It is also a wonderful opportunity for our Senior students to do some volunteer work assisting with the serving of breakfast and giving back to their school community.

If you would like any further information about either of these programs please don't hesitate to contact Narelle Simpson via email nsimpson@spmildura.catholic.edu.au 

Sts Anne and Joachim Catholic Parish Bulletin

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