2025 Newsletter #03 February 26
PRINCIPAL NEWS
Welcome to Week 5.
As February comes to an end, we’re excited to share with you all of the wonderful things happening at St Paul's! From student achievements to upcoming events, this newsletter is packed with important updates and celebrations.
ASSEMBLY
On Friday J4 will start our class items off at assembly 2.45pm. The colour run fundraiser will also be launched at assembly. All family and friends are welcome to attend.
T20 Cricket
Students in the Senior unit attended the T20 cricket. We were proud of their efforts and received lots of positive comments about students sportsmanship and behaviour. Well done!
PULSE DATA
Students from grades 3-6 and staff are participating in a weekly ‘Pulse Check In’. A pulse wellbeing check-in for students is a valuable tool that helps St Paul’s support students’ mental, emotional, and social health. The weekly survey allow for the early identification of mental health concerns, enabling timely intervention and support. By creating a safe space for students to express their feelings, pulse check-ins normalise discussions around wellbeing, reduce stigma, and encourage students to seek help when needed. This regular check-in process empowers students by giving them a voice in their wellbeing, fostering a sense of belonging, and promoting ownership of their emotional health. Additionally, students who feel supported are more likely to engage in their academic work and perform better in school. Data gathered from these check-ins allows schools to make informed decisions, providing tailored interventions and resources that meet the specific needs of students.
FIRE DRILL
Last week staff and students participated in an evacuation drill. Staff knew that there would be a drill, but did not know the time or the day. Students responded well, and everyone was accounted for on the basketball courts within 6 minutes. It is great to practice these drills so that if we really had to evacuate, everything would run smoothly. Wardens met after the drill to discuss changes that need to be made to the emergency evacuation plan. Next term will be practice lock in drills and shelter in place.
BOOKS and PJS
The Foundation students had a great time at school in their PJs last night. It was great to see many families attending to support their children with the early development of reading and writing. We look forward to being partners on their education journey.
PUPIL FREE DAYS
Just a reminder of our Pupil Free Days for 2025. These are also located on the Calendar on SIMON Everywhere APP.
Term 1 | |
Friday 7th March | Building Culture & Wellbeing |
Term 2 | |
Tuesday 22nd April | Curriculum Planning - RRRR, Vic Curriculum Capabilities, Fullness of Life |
Wednesday 23rd April | Review School Closure - Stephen Russell & Chris Mitchell |
Thursday 24th April | First Aid |
Tuesday 27th May | 2035 Strategic Plan |
Term 3 | |
Friday 19th September | Wellbeing/Curriculum |
Term 4 | |
Monday 6th October | Literacy Planning Collaboration |
Friday 19th December | Staff Planning |
ASH WEDNESDAY MASS
Tuesday 4th March, the students will learn about Shrove Tuesday and why pancakes are traditionally eaten. Then on Wednesday 5th March Lent will begin with the Ash Wednesday Mass at Sacred Heart Church.
Lent: A 40-day period before Easter when Christians prepare through prayer, fasting, and doing good deeds. It starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday.
Ash Wednesday: The first day of Lent. Many Catholics go to church and get ashes on their foreheads as a sign of repentance.
Shrove Tuesday: The day before Ash Wednesday. It’s also called Pancake Day in some places because people used to use up rich foods (like eggs, milk, and sugar) before fasting for Lent. It’s a day of feasting and getting ready for the spiritual journey of Lent.
NAPLAN
Naplan for years 3 and 5 begins on Wednesday 12th March. If you have any questions regarding NAPLAN please see your child's teacher. Parent Information flyer below.
A Friendship Blessing
Creator God, as Pilgrims of Hope, we pray for one another along the journey of 2025. With confidence we pray for one another using this reflection;
May you be blessed with good friends.
May you learn to be a good friend to yourself.
May you be able to journey to that place in your soul where
there is great love, warmth, feeling, and forgiveness.
May this change you.
May it transfigure that which is negative, distant, or cold in you.
May you be brought into the real passion, kinship, and affinity of belonging.
May you treasure your friends.
May you be good to them and may you be there for them;
may they bring you all the blessing, challenges, truth,
and light that you need for your journey.
May you never be isolated.
May you always be in the gentle nest of belonging with your anam ċara.
Amen
Melissa Sutherland
Principal
NAPLAN Parent Information
Religious Education News
Ash Wednesday Mass
On Wednesday 5th March, we will be celebrating Ash Wednesday together with the students and staff from Sacred Heart Primary School. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, in the Catholic Church. During Lent, Catholic Christians focus on growing closer to God through acts of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. During the mass, ashes will be placed on the foreheads of participants as a symbol of repentance, humility and the call to prepare for Easter.
Lent is a 40-day journey (not including Sundays) that invites Catholic Christians to reflect on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on Holy Thursday. It is a time for Catholics to grow spiritually and reflect on how they can serve others in the community and beyond.
Our Ash Wednesday Mass will be celebrated at 10am at Sacred Heart Church and parents and friends are warmly invited to join us.
All students and staff will be transported to and from the church by bus, with shuttles departing at 9:15am. We expect to return to school by approximately 11:30am. Lunch orders will still be available on this day.
As this is an offsite event, we require parental permission for students to attend. Permission forms have been set up on the SIMON Everywhere App and we kindly ask that parents/guardians provide their consent. Thank you to all who have already provided consent.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding our Ash Wednesday event, please don’t hesitate to contact the school.
Project Compassion - Hope in Action
As we begin the Lenten season, our school community is once again coming together to support Project Compassion, an initiative that helps raise funds for people living in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. Project Compassion encourages us to live out the values of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, and there’s no better way to embody these values than by supporting those in need.
What is Project Compassion?
Project Compassion is the main fundraising campaign for Caritas Australia, and it focuses on helping people in developing countries achieve a better life by providing access to essentials such as food, clean water, healthcare and education. Each year, it empowers thousands of Australians to make a meaningful difference through small acts of kindness that together create a lasting impact.
How are we getting involved with Project Compassion at school?
Throughout Lent, our school will raise awareness of the importance of the Catholic Social teachings and the importance of reaching out to others through Religious Education lessons. Students will learn about the lives of those in need and the impact that Project Compassion has had in supporting vulnerable communities worldwide.
In addition to our school-wide activities, our Student Representative Council (SRC) will guide fundraising efforts later in Term 1. These activities will offer students and families an opportunity to get involved in creative ways and contribute.
How can you get involved at home?
Each family will receive a Project Compassion box next week. We encourage families to collect small donations at home to contribute to the cause. This is a wonderful opportunity to involve children in the act of almsgiving, teaching them about generosity and the importance of helping others. Please return the boxes to school by the end of Term 1.
We are grateful for the ongoing support of our school community as we work together to make a difference this Lent. Every donation, no matter how small, helps bring us one step closer to creating a better world for those in need.
If you have any questions about Project Compassion or how to get involved, please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Blagus at mblagus@spmildura.catholic.edu.au.
Thank you for your generosity and for helping us spread kindness, compassion and love during this sacred season of Lent.
Foundation Unit News
We would like to say a huge "thank you" to all of the parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles that attended our Foudation Books and Pyjama's night. It was lovely to see so many people there to support their child with learning to read at school and take part in some reading activities. The room was buzzing with excitement from the children as they completed the activities. We would also like to thank everyone for buying a book and donating it back to the school library. If you were unable to attend the night and would still like to purchase a book to donate, please see your child's teacher.
The reading folders were given out and they are to be taken home each night in their Library bag and then returned to school each morning. It is important to spend time with your child each night learning the Rainbow words in fun ways and reading the weekly sentences. This will prepare the children for Term 2 when they start taking home their readers. If you have any questions about the Reading Folders please don't hesitate to talk to your child's teacher.
Today is the last rest day for the Foundation students, they will begin school everyday from next week. If you find your child is not coping with the full weeks please talk to your child's teacher about continuing the rest day.
Just a reminder to send in a family photo for our display board in the classroom.
Junior Unit News
Can you believe we’re already halfway through the term? Time has flown by, and we are incredibly proud of how far our Junior unit students have come. It’s been a pleasure seeing them engage with new challenges and develop their skills. We look forward to what the second half of the term will bring!
In Inquisitive, we have been busy investigating how the past, present and future are signified by terms indicating and describing time. Below is a list of all of the learning objectives:
- Students investigate how the past, present and future are signified by terms indicating and describing time.
- Students will define and use words relating to sequencing time e.g. then and now, long ago, yesterday and tomorrow.
- Students will sequence days, months and seasons and will be introduced to an Aboriginal seasonal calendar.
- Students will identify days of personal significance and ones that are significant to other cultures and communities. They will also investigate and create timelines displaying their own personal histories.
This work is integrated into our Literacy learning, offering students numerous opportunities to expand their knowledge and apply it to enhance their writing.
Here are some writing samples from this unit of work:
Grade 1:
Claire: Easter is a special day of the year.
Jolene: My birthday is a special day of the year.
Julian: In the past telephone cords could stretch.
George: Historians are people who study old things from the past.
Nicholas C: How many people are in your family? Five people are in my family.
Murphy: Who is in your family? Do you have a brother or a sister?
Emilia: How many people are in your family? How many brothers and sisters do you have?
Mayta: I love Christmas with my Mum.
Grade 2:
Heidi: Did you know a family is people that love you and help you whenever?
Lilah: Did you know that you need your family to live?
Memphis: When it’s nearly Christmas, my family gets a big lego set to build.
Siena: My family has a tradition that we wake up early on Christmas morning.
Esta: My family put candy canes on the Christmas tree and on Christmas we eat all of them.
Sione: Historians are people who study old photos and read old books.
Alirah: Historians are people who study the past.
Luca: How many people are in your family?
J4 will be presenting at assembly this Friday! Assembly begins at 2:45pm in the school hall.
Middle Unit News
Geography and Literacy
Our students have enjoyed learning all about 'natural' and 'human' features of places this term in our Geography unit.
We have been applying our learning about local features of Mildura in our writing as well, using sentence expansion, coordinating conjunctions and note-taking.
It has been a joy to see how much the students have been lapping up all the learning, particularly when they can share their own experiences of different natural and man-made features that they have visited.
At Home Reading
We have had a number of parents inquire about whether we have set readers for students that they take home.
As students get to Grade 3, while it is not prescribed, we do encourage students to borrow books from the library that they can take home to read. They can borrow from the library before school and during Lunch Play on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. We absolutely encourage all students to read as much as they are able as it is a great way to support their learning at home.
Contacting Classroom Teachers
If you wish to contact any of the Middle Unit teachers, you can contact them by email as listed below.
M1 - Mrs Karen Brouwers - kbrouwers@spmildura.catholic.edu.au
M2 - Miss Ellen Bock - ebock@spmildura.catholic.edu.au
M9 - Mr Tom Pike - tpike@spmildura.catholic.edu.au
M10 - Miss Savanna Kalms - skalms@spmildura.catholic.edu.au
Senior Unit News
What a busy few weeks we have had in the Senior Unit!
Thank you to all the families who attended our Meet the Teacher event. It was lovely to see some new and some familiar faces.
In Literacy, the Seniors are learning how Australian people, places and culture are similar and different to Europe and North America. Students have been planning and writing paragraphs about the diverse landscapes of Canada and the USA.
In Religion, students have been learning how people bring hope to the lives of others around the world through acts of kindness, friendship and support. Please ask your child about a young Australian named Campbell Remess, whose mission is positively heartwarming.
Thank you to Ms Parker, Kristy and Maddie, who supported our students participating in T20 cricket this week. Congratulations to our Grade 5/6 students who represented our school with pride and showed great sportsmanship throughout the day.
NAPLAN - In Week 7, our Grade 5 students will be participating in the following NAPLAN assessments;
- reading.
- writing.
- conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation)
- numeracy.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding NAPLAN, feel free to contact your child’s teacher.
Upcoming Events:
5/3 - Ash Wednesday Mass
7/3 - Student Free Day
10/3 - Public Holiday
12/3-14/3 - NAPLAN
Library News
Thank you to everyone who made an effort to come to our Bookfair this week! We are extremely grateful for the money raised for our school. And a big congratulations to all students who completed a colouring in for our competition - Loretta struggled to pick just 4 winners with all the amazing submissions.
Our lucky winners were very happy!
Maddie
Colour Fun Run
This term we will be fundraising for school sports resources with a Colour Explosion School Fun Run with Australian Fundraising!
The Colour Fun Run will be on Friday 4th April
- Please make sure students wear a WHITE shirt and closed in shoes.
- Students will be given free sunglasses and a rainbow headband for the event.
- Students will be covered in non-toxic, biodegradable colour powder from head to toe.
- Colour Powder is made of high-quality corn starch and permitted food colours. Safety data sheet is available upon request.
More information to come!
Hands Up Mallee
Commencing this Monday 4th March, Walking Club will be running every day from 8:00 - 8:30am. Breakfast Club will continue to operate on Monday, Wednesday & Fridays.
This Friday, any student in the Foundation Unit who rides to school can meet Narelle Simpson at the front of the school during the first half of lunch play to have some fun and games with their bikes and scooters. We will also practise bike safety activities. Just a reminder that helmets are required. If you would like any further information, please email Narelle at nsimpson@spmildura.catholic.edu.au
Technology News
It has been another exciting and busy fortnight in the Tech Room!
This week, we wrapped up our Inform and Empower Digital Wellbeing and Safety incursions, with our Junior students eagerly singing and dancing along with Ollie Online. This engaging and interactive session was a fantastic way to reinforce important online safety messages in a fun and memorable way!
Recently in Tech lessons, Year 1 students have been learning about the hardware components of a Chromebook and how to sign in to their school Google accounts. Building on these skills, Year 2 students have taken the next step by creating their own unique and memorable passwords to keep their Google accounts safe and secure.
It’s been fantastic to see students developing their digital skills and gaining confidence in using technology safely and responsibly!