Newsletter #37 December 2
Principal's News
Dear St Paul's families,
Welcome to the weekly update.
The 2020 school year has almost come to an end with two weeks left for the children. It's hard to believe that we are here considering the year we've had. None the less I am sure everyone is looking forward to a well earned rest over the Christmas holidays and hoping for a better 2021. This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent and begins our time of preparation for the birth of Jesus. It is a special time of the year and it's important that we don't forget the true meaning of Christmas. I've heard many Christmas sayings over the years but there is one in particular that resonates with me," It's not what is under the tree that is important, it's the people around it that matters most- Your family".
Late last week we conducted interviews for a replacement teacher for Mrs Cathy Regester, who is returning to South Australia at the end of the year. I am pleased to inform you that Mr Jack Freeman has been appointed to the position and will begin the 2021 school year with us. On behalf of the St Paul's community I would like to welcome Jack in an official capacity.
Monday night we held our Annual General Meeting via Google meet. Thank you to the parents that joined us online. I think we broke the record for the shortest AGM in St Paul's history. We are still seeking three nominations for new members to join us. If you wish to know more about the role of the School Advisory Council, please contact our current members, Lauren Droffelaar, Julie Humphrey and Loretta Ghidinelli. They will be more than happy to have a chat with you.
Yesterday, the grade 6 children had a great day rehearsing for their graduation ceremony as well as going to the pool. Last night the School Advisory Council held their last meeting for the year. I would like to say thank you to Kelly Nowak and Jack Freeman who have been on council for the last two years. I have certainly appreciated their support and contribution to St Paul's.
As you will be aware there have been some new announcements regarding the easing of restrictions as we approach the end of the year. Some of the changes are:
- The Year 6 Graduation will be held at Sacred Heart church on Sunday 13th December from 6.00-7.00pm. It will be slightly different to previous years. At this stage the invitation is for students, their parents and some staff. We are capped at 150 people, therefore it is most unlikely we will be able to cater for siblings or extended family members.
- We are allowed to conduct interviews/school tours for prospective students and their parents onsite (limited numbers apply).
- We will be able to have our final assembly with all children and staff in the hall. Traditionally at this assembly we farewell staff and families leaving St Paul's as well as announcing our 2021 school leaders. We will be streaming this via our online google meet platform as we still cannot have parents onsite for this gathering due to numbers. Hopefully parents can join us via google.
Welcome to Anne, Deborah, Zac and Rebecca who will be with us over the next couple of weeks as they complete their LSO placement. This is the second time they are visiting St Paul's having been here during the remote learning phase.
A special welcome to our 2021 Foundation children who will be joining us for their final session for the year. They will also be meeting their Foundation teachers for next year as well. Thank you to the parents for supporting us during this modified time. Thank you to Mrs Simms and Mrs Heeps for organising the parent information session as a webinar.
I hope the current Foundation children enjoy their Breakfast at school tomorrow morning and their excursion to Benetook Farms. I am sure they will have lots of fun. Also good luck to the Year 6 children who will be visiting St Joseph’s College as a part of their transition program tomorrow as well. It's going to be exciting for them to finally visit the college and get to know more about secondary school life.
Next Monday a letter will be going home with your child informing them of the class they are in for 2021. On Tuesday 8th December from 9.00-11.00 all children will be in transition activities where they will spend the morning with their new class mates and teachers.
Congratulations to this week's Gotcha Winners. I really do get a buzz out of presenting the certificates to the children across the whole school.
25 GOTCHA AWARDS: April Nyabonda, Xander Dingwall, Gabrielle Smith, Olivia Smith, Alan Jessil, Kalasia -Rose Fonua, Jett Johnson, Geordie Moraitis, Alexis Baker, Isabella Burdett, Eliza Campbell, Oliver Welsh, Leticia Sapuppo, Alissa Ovenden, Darcy O'Callghan, Sophie King, Jack Humphrey, Leylan Clifford, Suiti Havea, Bella Hensgen, Xander Hunia, Jacob Nowak & Jordan Schilling
50 GOTCHA AWARDS: Cienna Pascale, Abbiegail Peters, Tolini Vave, Jett Yates, Hayley Rowe, Darcy Strubelj, Macki Tickle, Samuella Allieu, Bridie Cranston, Felix Moyle, Manpriya Atwal, Lilliana Bush, Oliver Capp, Christian Hunt, Oladeji Obatoki, Prabhnoor Purba, Zac Scott, Andrew Giang, Siena Fraser-Donoghue, Thomas Graham, James Mott, Hailey Wilson & Oscar Hissey
As always,
Keep the Faith
Vince Muscatello
SEMESTER 2 REPORTS
Reports will be available on Simon Everywhere from Monday 14th December.
As our school moved to remote learning as a result of COVID-19 again in Semester 2, our usual ways of working and engaging with students have subsequently looked different in Semester 2. Included in this change has been how we assess and report on student learning. Our school, teachers, students and families have all had to adapt, change and respond to the landscape – sometimes on a daily basis. There have been countless positive opportunities and new learning, but there have also been challenges and we have each responded as best we can on a weekly basis.
I thank your child for all they have achieved and all they have contributed – they should be proud of their efforts, even in the challenging moments. I also thank each parent/carer and family member for your encouragement, feedback, patience and willingness to engage with us to support your child’s ongoing wellbeing and learning.
Teachers have used a broad evidence-base to make their own balanced assessments of your child’s progress at this point in time. Such evidence includes student-led conversations and teacher observations, assessments, notes and work samples.
In that context, this report again looks slightly different from usual. Following the advice of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), Victorian Department of Education and Training, and Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd (CECV), this report will provide:
For English and Mathematics
- An assessment based on the 'I can statements' taught during remote learing
- achievement via a teacher judgment against the Victorian Curriculum F–10 achievement standards using an age-related five-point scale
- progress from the last time that curriculum area was reported on
For all other curriculum areas delivered
- a short description of what was taught, and
- a short comment on progress and achievement in student learning across the semester
The report will also include a comment on how your child has adjusted to the remote and flexible learning environment, with reference to the ‘Personal and Social Capability’ curriculum.Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s classroom teacher for clarification. I thank you for understanding the variations in this Semester 2 report, as impacted by the change in learning environments this Semester, and the approach our school has taken.
Orientation to 2021 Classes - Tuesday 8th December 9am-11am
On Tuesday 8th, students will move to their 2021 classes from 9am-11am.
Parents and students will be advised of these child/s class teacher/s and room via a letter home on Monday 7th December.
Current Grade 6 students are still required to attend school on this day.
Senior Unit News
Grade 6 Graduation - Important Information
Due to COVID-19, we are restricted on the number of people that can gather in places of worship. As a result, Grade 6 students are only allowed to have 2 accompanying guests to attend the Graduation Ceremony.
Please click on the link below to complete the Google Form (no later than Monday 7th December) to nominate the 2 guests that will be attending the Graduation Ceremony on Sunday 13th December 2020 6pm at Sacred Heart Church.
Only the nominated guests will be permitted to attend.
https://forms.gle/R1HfP8miZhf8ziYHA
PG movies
Over the next two weeks the Senior Unit will be watching a number of PG movies as a way of wrapping up our Guided Reading Groups and celebrating the end of the year. If you have any concerns with your child viewing PG rated movies please let your classroom teacher know.
Camp Days reminders
Next week, we will be participating in the following camp days:
- Wednesday 9th December - Grade 5/6 Camp day - visiting Sunraysia Ten Pin Bowling then Jaycee Park for a pizza lunch (provided). Students to please wear their sports uniform and pack a drink bottle, snacks and hat.
- Thursday 10th December - Grade 5/6 Camp Day - leaving school at 9am, we will be visiting the Perry Sandhills, Darling and Murray River Junction for lunch (packed), then the Wentworth Pool. Students are to wear their sports uniform and bring a packed lunch, snacks, drink bottle, bathers, rashie or t-shirt to be worn in pool, towel, hat and sunscreen.
Grade 6 Fun Day
Yesterday the Grade 6's spent the day together, preparing for their Graduation Celebration at Sacred Heart Church and then enjoying the afternoon at the Waves Pool.
A big thankyou to Mildura Garden Supplies for donating rocks that the Grade 6 students have decorated for their upcoming Graduation ceremony and to the team at the Waves Pool for always making our visits fun!
Middle Unit News
Hello Middle Unit families!
We have begun teaching time at school and have realised that students need to practice their skills in being able to tell time using an analog clock. We will be teaching this at school, however, any chance you get at home to draw your child's attention to an analog clock would be a great extra learning opportunity. We are teaching about the parts of a clock being the face and hands as well as helping children understand what the numbers represent.
We are also looking forward to a week of learning about Christmas and how important this time is to us and our families. Some students have been asking if they can bring decorations into the classrooms to spread the holiday cheer. We don't mind at all if they would like to do this. We will be drafting some letters to Santa and learning all about the Birth of Jesus and why we, as Catholics, celebrate Christmas.
Finally, today students have started coding using Scratch online. Feel free to ask your child about this so that they can show you how hard they have been working at home. We hope everyone is happy, well and excited for some family time in our upcoming Christmas holidays.
Regards,
Middle Unit Teachers.
Junior Unit News
We have had another busy week of learning and participating in fun and engaging activities in the Junior Unit. The students have enjoyed participating in a Graeme Base Author Study, where each class has enjoyed exploring some of his stories including: Uno's Garden, Animalia, Bumblebunnies, The Legend of the Golden Snail and Jungle Drums. The students have enjoyed engaging with different literacy activities connected to each of these stories. The students have demonstrated their creativity through writing narratives, designing socks, designing posters, writing alliteration sentences and more! Here are some examples of the alliteration sentences that Junior Unit students had written:
"Wobbly white wombats watering Western Australian’s wildlife."
"Dancing dolphins diving deeply to the disco."
"Dramatic dinosaurs dance in the dangerous desert.
"Delicate dogs damage a dizzy dragon on the duck pond."
"Mr Green Gorilla grows a giant grape in a giant greenhouse."
The students have enjoyed participating in interactive Social and Emotional Learning lessons. This week the students were excited to participate in a life raft activity with their peers and discussed problem solving strategies and the importance of working cooperatively with others.
The Junior unit students participated in their first Advent Liturgy on Monday, to acknowledge the special time of waiting and preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We will participate in unit liturgies for the next two Mondays leading up to Christmas.
We have had an incredible week and look forward to another great one next week!
From the Junior Unit
Foundation Unit News
Tomorrow the Foundation unit will be celebrating the end of the year by beginning the day with breakfast at 8am. They will then be travelling by bus to the Benetook Farms. They will return to school for a Pizza lunch supplied by Dominoes and then watch the movie "Sing". There is great excitement about the day within the unit. Children are to wear their sports uniform.
A reminder to please ensure you have signed the consent form on the Simon App.
Yesterday a very special package arrived from the office, all the way from the North Pole. There was lots of enthusiasm and excitement as the parcel was unwrapped. An Elf arrived, the children have called her "Bella" and she is going to keep an eye on us all to make sure we are being good in the lead up to christmas.
My New Gallery
Technology News
It was all about Design Technology last week for the Middle and Senior Unit Classes.
Students in year 3 & 4 were super engaged and relished the opportunity to so something for someone else as they designed and began creating coding mats for the Foundation and Junior classes. Their mats are Christmas themed and they can't wait for the younger students to enjoy programming 'Code and Go Robot Mouse' around them.
Senior Unit students engaged their design thinking, creativity, temawork and problem solving skills to build 'Battle Bot' armour for a Sphero. The challenge was to build an armour that could 'destroy' another bot by popping its balloon. After they built their designs, they tested them under battle conditions, then evaluated the strengths and weaknesses. It was interesting to hear how they proposed to improve their designs based on those evaluations!
Until next week, remember...
TECHNOLOGY, like art, is a soaring EXERCISE of the human IMAGINATION ~Daniel Bell
Mrs Simms
Arts News
The big premiere for our Virtual School Concert is getting close! The majority of the filming is done and Ms Jess is a very busy beetle editing it all together. You can look forward to seeing a variety of fun and entertaining items including some mice, skeletons, basketballers, dinosaurs, chicken nuggets and much, MUCH more!
Make sure that you set your reminder for Thursday 10th of December at 6pm, so that you can watch the premiere live with the rest of the school community. Not able to tune in at that time? DON'T WORRY... You can watch it at any time after that, you just won't be able to comment in 'real time'.
There will be more instructions coming on how to view our concert on our facebook page. Stay tuned!
Languages - Italian News
Mamma mia ! The end of the year is fast approaching ...
Middle and Senior Students have now completed their "La Mia Famiglia" Google Slides Italian presentation about their families - I have been impressed with the digital presentation that the students have produced and then also read out aloud in Italian during our Language lessons. There are certainly some creative and extensive "Mia Famiglia" presentations put together by our students. I invite you have a look at some student samples in the link below and I hope your child will share their own Italian Google Slide presentation with you as well.
Middle and Senior students have also enjoyed participating in a mini Kahoots challenge to assess their Italian knowledge and learning throughout this year - particularly during their Remote Learning lessons. It has brought a smile to my face to see the encouraging Kahoots results and even more so, the sense of achievement and pride amongst the students in our school. Bravissimi Studenti !
Grazie - Signora Ghidinelli
My New Gallery
Physical Education Update
Foundation Dance & Catching
Junior Catch
Middle Catch
Senior Virtual Classroom
Fun! Fun! Fun has been the theme for our PE lessons.
Senior & Middle classes: enjoyed choosing their own activities this week. They had access to 'Mrs Mitchell's virtual classroom' and a buddy wagon full of equipment. A diverse range of 12 activities ensured everyone could find something they wanted to practice or learn more about. I was most impressed with some students who created their own games by combining some of the activities.
Foundations: loved learning the bucket catch game that the rest of the school have been playing the last couple of weeks. The catching challenges kept everyone engaged as they enthusiastically built their duplo towers. Throwing and catching with brightly coloured and different shaped objects followed.
Juniors: played a number of target and catching games such as ten pin bowling, frisbee barrell throw, beanbag target mat, scoop and ball and mini tramps. Children rotated around each station with big smiles on their faces.
Hands Up Mallee
A few weeks ago, we asked for help to be able to provide a kitchen caddy to each classroom so we could follow the same practices as what is happening in the home. Thank-you to the families that sent in spare kitchen caddies for us. A special thank-you to the Humphrey family who purchased the extra caddies we needed. All classrooms now have their own kitchen caddy in the classroom.
We are so lucky and blessed to have such wonderful supportive families in our community – Thank-you again.
Breakfast Club Roster | ||
Friday: Bianca De Maria | Monday: Christian Dobricic Thomas Graham | Wednesday: Suiti Havea Bella Hensgen |
